iPhone 4S pre-orders top 1 million in 24 hours

Apple says first-day pre-orders of the iPhone 4S topped 1 million, breaking the record set by last year's model.

Apple Inc. and various phone companies started taking orders for the phone last Friday. It hits stores this Friday.

First-day orders for the iPhone 4 were 600,000 when it launched last year. It was then sold in the U.S. only by AT&T Inc. The iPhone 4S is also sold by Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corporation.

The base model of the iPhone 4S costs $200 with a two-year contract. It has a faster processor and an improved camera compared to last year's model.

Apple shares rose $9, or 2.4 percent, to $378.80 in premarket trading Monday.

Samsung: Android phone launch delayed for Jobs'

South Korea's Samsung Electronics said on Monday that it delayed the launch of a smartphone based on Google's latest Android operating system as a gesture of respect for legendary Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.

Samsung -- the world's number two mobile phone maker -- and Apple are at loggerheads in a series of patent lawsuits over the technology and design of smartphones and tablet computers.

The Korean company had been due to unveil a Galaxy Nexus smartphone using Google-backed Android software and designed to challenge Apple's market-leading iPhone at an event in San Diego on Tuesday.

"The launch was delayed because we thought it's not the right time to announce it following the passing of Steve Jobs," a spokesman for the company told AFP.

Jobs, 56, died on Wednesday after suffering from cancer.

Last week Apple unveiled its iPhone 4S, which will be available in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Britain on October 14 and in another 22 countries including Italy from October 28.

But Samsung said it would seek a ban in France and Italy on sales of the new iPhone, citing what it called two patent infringements regarding mobile technology.

The South Korean firm also said it would file preliminary injunctions in other countries.

Samsung will announce a new date and venue for its smartphone launch later.

BlackBerry services suffer massive outage in India

Scores of BlackBerry subscribers today faced disruption in accessing Internet and using messenger services, even as the smartphone manufacturer, Research In Motion, assured its customers of resolving the glitch soon.
    
India is estimated to have one million users of BlackBerry.
    
"We are working to resolve an issue currently impacting some BlackBerry subscribers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and India. We're investigating, and we apologise to our customers for any inconvenience caused whilst this is resolved," Canada-based RIM said in a statement.
    
Telecom operators in India maintained that there was no problem at their end. Glitches in BlackBerry services were reported from different parts of the world.

 "Millions of BlackBerry smartphone users have been cut off by a major fault at RIM, the Canadian company that makes the devices," UK's Daily Telegraph said in a report.

Vodafone UK said that customers across Britain appeared to be unable to access BlackBerry Messenger, a free-to-use instant messaging program which has helped make the handset popular with young people.
    
"The glitch was affecting online services for consumers all over Europe, the Middle East and Africa. All are served by a RIM data centre in Slough," it added.

Khaled Hegazy, Vodafone Egypt's spokesman, said "there is a problem with the servers in Canada which is affecting service" in the region. He said they expected it would take about another four hours to resolve the issue, which first appeared to crop up at about 1000 GMT.    

The outage occurred as RIM's co-CEO Jim Balsillie and other executives were in Dubai for the annual GITEX electronics show. Balsillie earlier in the day unveiled a new service at the show that will soon let users of some of its latest BlackBerry phones share documents, web links and other information with others by tapping their smartphones together.

Hundreds of users flooded microblogging site Twitter, complaining about disruptions in BlackBerry services.

S. Korea's LG unveils ultra-high-speed smartphone

South Korea's LG Electronics on Monday launched a new smartphone with ultra-high-speed network technology in a bid to catch up with rivals Apple and Samsung.

LG, the world's third-largest handset maker, said its Optimus LTE smartphone based on 4G wireless technology offers photos and videos with "true natural colours" that are easier on the eye than other smartphones.

The 4G wireless service, based on Long-Term Evolution (LTE) technology, promises fast data traffic and quicker access to applications such as television programmes, movies and video streaming.

Samsung Electronics, LG's bigger rival and the world's number two handset maker, last month introduced a new version of its popular Galaxy S II smartphone based on the technology.

"Since mobile devices are widely expected to become the main platform for media consumption in the LTE era, high-resolution displays on smartphones will be even more necessary," Park Jong-Seok, chief of LG Electronics' mobile unit, said in a statement.

The firm is battling to turn around its loss-making handset operations, where it lags Samsung Electronics and Apple in offering high-margin smartphones packed with special features.

The company replaced its chief executive last year after its mobile unit posted a record loss in the second quarter of 2010 due to a falling share of the booming global smartphone market.

Analysts cautiously expressed optimism, saying LG, after a year-long struggle, is set for continued profit growth based on increased sale of smartphones and ample patents it owns in the new high-speed technologies.

Samsung starts new chip line to boost flash memory

Samsung Electronics, the world's largest memory chip maker, said Thursday it has begun mass production at a new line to raise production of flash memory chips used in tablets and smartphones.

The South Korean firm also announced it has started mass production of advanced DRAM (dynamic random access memory) chips, which use 20-nanometer process technology.

It said in a statement these offer significant improvements in productivity and cut energy consumption.

The flash memory chip market is robust thanks to growing demand for mobile devices such as tablet computers and smartphones.

But demand is weak for DRAM chips used in personal computers, pushing prices down and giving makers an incentive to adopt more advanced technology.

"The global semiconductor industry is in a period of fierce cyclical volatility," said chairman Lee Kun-Hee in a ceremony at the new plant at Hwaseong south of Seoul.

"We must prepare for an intensifying storm in the semiconductor industry by further enhancing our technological capabilities and expertise in order to maintain our leadership position."

Samsung said it has invested 12 trillion won ($10.4 billion) in building the new plant since work started in May last year.

Samsung had a market share of 41.6 percent in the global DRAM market in the second quarter, according to research firm IHS iSuppli.

Its share of the world market for NAND flash chips was also 41.6 per cent in the second quarter, ahead of Toshiba's 28.7 percent.

The company said it would raise production of NAND flash chips to meet growing demand, and would begin production of more advanced flash chips using 10-nanometer process technology next year.

"The latest technology migration by Samsung means a wider technology gap with its rivals in Taiwan and they may even exit the market sometime early next year," Kiwoom Securities analyst Lee Jae-Yun told Dow Jones Newswires.

"Demand for NAND chips will remain healthy due to brisk sales of smartphones and tablets, while supply has significantly shrunk due to production cuts by some chipmakers."

Next iPhone to be unveiled on October 4th?

Apple's CEO Tim Cook might unveil the iPhone 5 on October 4, reports All Things Digital. Rumour mills have been hard at work these past few months suggesting the launch of the device towards the end of 2011.

As has been the tradition with all Apple products, the iPhone 5 is expected to hit store shelves shortly after its announcement.

As Jobs' former right hand man and current CEO of the company, Tim Cook is expected to play a significant role in the announcement of the device.

What remains to be seen is whether Steve Jobs himself will be present at the announcement. During his indefinite medical leave, Jobs still found the time to come on stage to unveil the iPad 2.

HTC unveils new smartphone, the Rhyme

Taiwan's HTC unveiled a smartphone called the Rhyme on Tuesday which features a blinking "charm" that attaches to a bag to let a user know if they have received a call or a message.

The Android-powered Rhyme will go on sale in the United States on September 29. It will cost $199 and will be available through Verizon Wireless.

The Rhyme, which runs the latest version of Google's Android software known as Gingerbread, will go on sale in Europe and Asia in October.

Taiwan's leading smartphone maker stressed the "style" and accessories for the plum-colored device at a launch event in Manhattan on Tuesday.

"Like your glasses, your wallet, your belt or that special bag, the smartphone or the phone expresses who you are as an individual," said HTC's vice president of design, Scott Croyle.

"You want a phone that's handcrafted with style, you want it to be intuitive, you want it to be less than a device and more of a companion," Croyle said.

The Rhyme comes with a tethered accessory called a "charm" that blinks when a user receives a message or a call. "It's more respectful than a ring and more noticeable than vibrate," HTC said.