Editor’s Note: Related Tickers: Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)
Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) To Soon Start Selling Its Q10 Smartphone (Market News Call)
Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) will soon start selling its new QWERTY keyboard-based Q10 in the U.S., where it is expected to make its appearance by the end of May. According to reports the smartphone will be retailing for $249, which is about $50 more than Apple’s iPhone 5. The Canadian handset maker has entered into tie-ups with all the four top U.S. network carriers – Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile USA – for selling the Q10. The suggested $249 price assumes that buyers will also sign up for a two-year contract.
The brain trust at Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) on Tuesday announced plans to repurchase $50 billion worth of the company’s stock. This buyback — due for completion by the end of 2015 — combined with a bump in the dividend, increases the amount of cash Apple is “returning to shareholders” to $100 billion. The folks in Cupertino are doing this, of course, because Apple’s burgeoning cash coffers are continuing to overflow, having reached $147 billion. So would it be surprising to learn that by the end of what CEO Tim Cook called a “record” buyback, Apple will almost certainly have even more cash than it does today? And given that, does it mean there’s still more to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s long-term strategic plan that remains a secret for now?
Nokia to launch new Lumia device May 14 (MarketWatch)
Handset maker Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) will launch a new Lumia smartphone in London on May 14, the company said Friday. When presenting Nokia’s first-quarter results last week, Nokia Chief Executive Stephen Elop said the company would soon introduce a new Lumia device to be marketed by a leading U.S. network operator. The event would mark the beginning of a series of new Lumia product launches, Mr. Elop added.
Microsoft gets upper hand in first Google patent trial (Reuters UK)
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) came out on top in the first of two patent trials versus Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s Motorola Mobility unit on Thursday, as a federal judge in Seattle ruled largely in its favor. U.S. District Judge James Robart in Seattle said Microsoft owed only a fraction of the royalties Motorola had claimed for use of its technology in Microsoft’s Xbox console. Motorola had sought as much as $4 billion a year for use of its so-called standard, essential wireless and video patents, while Microsoft argued its rival deserved about $1 million a year. Robart decided the appropriate payment was about $1.8 million. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) welcomed the outcome.
Europe forces Google to make searches fairer (The Japan Times)
There soon could be two Googles: one built for Europeans, with links to rival search engines and labels alerting users whenever Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) is featuring its own products, and another version for everyone else. The variations could result from…
