SMARTPHONE

Whether it's a phone, or a tablet, or a music player, each and every new product released by Apple is thinner, lighter, faster and more powerful than its predecessor. With this in mind, the latest report about Apple's next iPhone, presumably dubbed the iPhone 5, should come as no real surprise: According to DigiTimes, Apple has chosen the powerful Exynos 4 quad-core processor built by Samsung to power its next-gen iPhone.

Amazon got into the hardware game in 2007 with its popular e-book reader, the Kindle. Five years, three Kindle generations and a tablet later, the world's largest online retailer is reportedly building its first-ever smartphone to compete with Apple's iPhone and Google's Android platform.

Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN), the No. 1 e-retailer, could be on the verge of selling its own smartphones which would be made by the same Taiwanese contractor used by Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), the world's most valuable technology company, reports said.

Samsung?s flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S3, is expected to drive the company?s profits to $5.9 billion for the second quarter, according to Reuters. This means that profits will surge by 79 percent during Q2, and the company is predicted to ship 19 million units by the third quarter.

The Samsung Galaxy S3 has finally arrived in AT&T stores, although store managers are warning customers about limited availability.

Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN), the No. 1 e-retailer, could be on the verge of selling its own smartphones which would be made by the same Taiwanese contractor used by Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), the world's most valuable technology company, Bloomberg News reported.

The smartphone phenomenon has found its latest suitor in Amazon. Following the footsteps of Apple, mobile handset manufacturers, including giants such as Nokia, Samsung and HTC, forayed into the high technology market and witnessed significant change of fortunes. Now, the segment has attracted a new contender with Amazon's reported entry into the market.

Apple is highly expected to release its sixth generation iPhone, presumably called the iPhone 5, at some point of time later this year and if ongoing rumors turn to be true, the handset will get major upgrade in terms of its current form factor.

Pre-Orders for the Samsung Galaxy S3 have finally started rolling out on Verizon, and the company has confirmed that the phone will be hitting stores on July 10.

Shares of BlackBerry developer Research in Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM) soared as much as 6.8 percent Thursday despite any corporate news.

In what can be labeled as a form of reverse surveillance, the ACLU of New Jersey has released a Police Tape app to let residents secretly video or record any encounters they have with police.

Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), the world's most valuable technology company, may introduce a smaller version of the iPad to compete with products from Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), the No. 1 search engine, and Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN), the No. 1 e-retailer and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), reports said.

Guessing the names of next-gen gaming consoles is always fun. Fans really thought the Gamecube would be called the Nintendo 128 (since it followed up the Nintendo 64), and using that same logic, gamers still think Microsoft will name its Xbox 360 sequel the Xbox 720. It's all been conjecture, until now. Among a list of domain names seized in a legal battle, the name Xbox 8 sticks out like a sore thumb.

Sprint made the Galaxy S3 available for in-store purchases from July 1, while AT&T announced that it would be selling the phone in its stores from July 6. Following suit, Verizon Wireless on Tuesday announced that it would launch its version of the highly anticipated smartphone on July 10.

Several Apple iPhone accessory companies have confirmed that a new 19-pin 'mini' connector is reportedly going to be included in the iPhone 5, meaning all your iPhone accessories are soon to be obsolete.

Research In Motion is in trouble. The BlackBerry maker has been suffering from an identity crisis for the last six months, which has resulted in mass layoffs, lots of job shuffling, dramatic drop-offs in market share and a quickly decaying portfolio for investors. But not according to newly-appointed CEO Thorsten Heins; in his eyes, RIM is all roses and rainbows and puppy kisses right now!

Samsung?s Galaxy S3, the company?s flagship smartphone for 2012, is giving Apple?s iPhone some stiff competition overseas. In the UK, iPhone sales have seen a decrease following the Galaxy S3?s May release date, the Financial Times reported.

Thanks to unofficial ROMs, the newest version of the Android operating system is already available for latest high-end smartphones like the HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy S3. And now, the Samsung Galaxy S2 has also apparently got the taste of the latest Android desert.

The wait is finally over for people in the U.S. who were looking forward to Samsung's latest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S3. Sprint made the handset available for in-store purchases from July 1, while AT&T announced that it would be selling the phone in its stores from July 6. But if a recent note by one industry analyst is to be believed, it won't be an easy road for this successor of the S2.

After a whole host of delays, AT&T has finally announced that it will be selling the Samsung Galaxy S3 in stores from July 6.

This time, the paparazzi is to blame.