Tag Archives: aapl

Apple, Samsung have won the smartphone market, losers retreat

Like Coke and Pepsi in the cola market, the U.S. smartphone market has been reduced to two dominant brands — Apple (AAPL) and Samsung. Apple and Samsung combined for 68% of smartphones in use in the U.S. in the fourth quarter, up from 57% in Q4 2012, the NPD Group reported Thursday. Of the two, Apple’s iPhone is the clear No. 1 in the U.S. with 42% market share, vs. 26% for Samsung’s Google (GOOG) Android-based smartphones, a consumer survey by

FTC docks Apple for acting like Soupy Sales

The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday said Apple (AAPL) has agreed to refund at least $32.5 million to consumers to settle an FTC complaint over a business practice that sounds a lot like a stunt pulled by late great comedian Soupy Sales. Apple  (AAPL) billed consumers for millions of dollars in charges incurred by children in kids’ mobile apps without their parents’ consent. Apple agreed to pay full refunds to consumers and to change its billing practices to ensure that it has obtained express, informed consent from consumers before charging them for items sold in mobile apps. “This settlement is a victory for consumers harmed by Apple’s unfair billing,” FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez said in a statement. “You cannot charge consumers for purchases they did not authorize.” Apple offers many games and kids’ apps in its App Store that allow users to incur charges within the apps. Many of these charges are for virtual items or currency used in playing a game. The charges can range from 99 cents to $99.99 per in-app charge, the FTC said. The FTC complaint alleges that Apple does not inform account holders that entering their password will open a 15-minute window in which children can incur unlimited charges with no further action from the account holder. Plus, Apple often presented a screen with a prompt for a parent to enter his or her password in a kids’ app without explaining to the account holder that password entry would finalize a purchase.

Apple could be overcompensating with China Mobile PR push

Apple has gone on a PR offensive days ahead of China Mobile selling its iPhone. Apple CEO Tim Cook has given interviews to the Wall Street Journal, CNBC and Chinese media to tout Apple’s long-awaited partnership with China Mobile, announced Dec. 22. He hyped the deal by calling it a “watershed moment” for Apple and cryptically saying it involved more than iPhones. The move is uncharacteristic for Apple (AAPL) . Usually it’s content to sit back and let advertising and organic media coverage do the work of promoting its product launches. But with China its most important market after the U.S., Apple is being more proactive with this launch. Apple and China Mobile (CHL) said pre-orders for the iPhone have topped 1 million units. “To announce the official start of the iPhones shipping to China Mobile beginning Friday, Mr. Cook traveled to Beijing and held a rare briefing with China Mobile Chairman Xi Guohua to highlight the significance of the deal,” the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. “Mr. Xi said the alliance would involve more than just collaboration on handsets and would be ‘broad,’ without elaborating.”