Apple (AAPL) is converting a factory it set up to produce sapphire crystal displays into a data center. Apple says it plans to invest $2 billion to convert the facility in Mesa, Ariz., into a command center for its data networks. The more than 1.3 million-square-foot factory was the site of a failed operation by GT Advanced Technologies to make supertough displays for the Apple Watch and iPhone. GT filed for bankruptcy protection in October when
Worldwide tablet shipments recorded a year-over-year decline for the first time since the market’s inception in 2010, research firm IDC reported Monday. Tablet shipments fell 3.2% in the fourth quarter from Q4 2013. Overall shipments for tablets and 2-in-1 devices reached 76.1 million units in Q4, IDC reported. For the year, tablet shipments rose 4.4% to 229.6 million units. Apple (AAPL) retained its lead with 28.1% market share in Q4, down from 33.1% a year earlier. It shipped 21.4 million iPads in the quarter, a decline of 17.8% year over year. Apple’s latest generation iPad Air and iPad Mini products were incremental upgrades that failed to excite consumers. Meanwhile, its tablet business is being cannibalized by the larger-screen iPhone 6 series handsets and by Mac laptops, IDC says. Apple’s iPhone 6 sales soared last quarter. Apple is rumored to be working on a jumbo-size iPad for enterprise and education markets…
Google’s (GOOGL) capital spending popped 57% in Q4 to $3.55 billion, topping Wall Street estimates, and the Internet search giant’s cash balance rose 10.6% to nearly $60 billion. Despite its heavy investments, Google could start paying a dividend like Apple (AAPL), RBC Capital speculated late last year. In Q4, Google’s capital spending accounted for 20% of gross revenue, up from 14% in the year-earlier quarter and 8% in Q4 2012. On Google’s