Editor’s Note: Related tickers: Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc (NYSE:MMI), Flextronics International Ltd. (NASDAQ:FLEX), Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK)
Apple iPhones go high, low (WinnipegFreePress)
For the first time since introducing the device that changed cellphones forever, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will offer two distinct versions of the latest iPhones — a cheaper one made of plastic and another that aims to be “the gold standard of smartphones” and reads your fingerprint. Apple unveiled the latest iPhone models, available on Sept. 20, during an event at its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters. The move comes as the company tries to fend off Samsung and other competitors that want to challenge Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the competitive smartphone market. The lower-cost iPhone 5C is expected to help boost sales in China and other areas where people don’t have as much money to spend as they do in North America and Europe.
$500M Google forfeiture helps fund RI police (TimesArgus)
Five Rhode Island law enforcement agencies are faced with an enviable problem: what to do with $230 million forfeited by Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)? Investigators from local agencies are entitled to the money because they helped a federal investigation into the search engine’s distribution of ads for illegal prescription drug sales. In 2011, Google agreed to forfeit $500 million, and last year the U.S. attorney announced the agencies that helped would receive shares ranging from $5 million to $60 million.
Microsoft Says Sales Differences Bar Cert. In Privacy Suit (Law360)
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) on Friday urged a California federal judge to refrain from certifying a class action accusing it of illegally collecting consumers’ personal information during credit card transactions, saying that each class member would have had a different sales experience. Plaintiff Pamela Gossoo on Aug. 30 moved to certify the class action alleging violations of, among other things, the state’s Song-Beverly Credit Card Act, contending that consumer cases like hers, which arise from a single course of conduct that affects large numbers of consumers, are particularly…
Chinese not happy with iPhone 5c pricing, more interested in iPhone 5s (IBNLive)
The world’s biggest public company and the world’s biggest country are at loggerheads over the price of a phone. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s new plastic-backed iPhone 5C will sell for 4,488 yuan China, almost $200 more than the United States retail price of $549 and only 800 yuan less than its top-of-the-line sibling, the 5S. The pricing of what was expected to be a cheap model aimed at growth markets such as China and India has not only stumped investors, but also Apple aficionados in China, a country of 1.4 billion people and the world’s largest smartphone market.
Google loses Street View snooping case appeal (UPI)
A U.S. appeals court refused to toss a wiretapping lawsuit against Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) for collecting people’s personal data while taking pictures for Street View. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a lower court that rejected Google’s argument that having its vehicles, which rolled through neighborhoods around the world, secretly collect email addresses, passwords, images and other personal information from unencrypted home computer networks was exempt from the federal Wiretap Act.
There’s innovation in Apple’s new phones: Pro (CNBC)
What to expect from Microsoft Surface 2 Windows 8.1 Tablets release? (PC-Tablet)
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has sent press invites few days ago to media organizations, inviting them to showcase the release of next generation Surface 2 tablets line-up. Microsoft is expected to release Surface 2 ( no “RT” in the name this time), Surface 2 Pro, and a bunch full of Accessories. After having burnt its fingers, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) will be launching its next iteration of Surface device, the Surface 2 on September 23rd in a special event to be held in New York. The Surface will feature hardware upgrades and so also the Windows 8.1 OS which will try to iron out the flaws in its earlier version and will also help to boost Surface sales.
Online scams mushroom after Apple debuts new iPhones (Gmanetwork)
Barely had Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) finished unveiling its new iPhones when online scammers went to work, sending phishing emails seeking to steal users’ AppleID credentials. Malwarebytes.org reported phishing emails containing links to external sites were being sent en masse on Tuesday (US time), when Apple was to unveil its iPhone 5S and 5C. “(T)he bad guys seem to be more interested in robbing Apple users than rejoicing about the big news of the iPhone 5S. Phishing emails are being sent en masse to harvest people’s Apple ID,” Malwarebytes’s Jerome Segura said in a blog post.
Google chairman lauds Moto X plant in Texas (Macon)
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) Chairman Eric Schmidt on Tuesday called the opening of the Moto X smartphone plant in north Fort Worth just the first in a series of steps that will change the perception of manufacturing in the U.S. “American workers are ready for advanced manufacturing, complex tasks, reasonably sophisticated working environment and the kind of stuff we’re trying to do. We know it because it’s what we have here,” Schmidt said to a large gathering of local and state business and civic leaders, including Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc (NYSE:MMI) unit and its manufacturing partner, Flextronics International Ltd. (NASDAQ:FLEX), opened the plant to the officials and media for tours on Tuesday. Work at the facility, a former manufacturing plant for Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK), started last month.
