Apple and Samsung are the only two smartphone manufacturers currently seeing any growth in the United States. The pair are slowly eating away at the market share held by their rivals, including LG, Motorola, Research in Motion, and HTC. In the three months leading up to November 2012, Samsung increased its market share from 25.7% to 26.9%, but Apple is catching up with the Cupertino company enjoying slightly more growth.
HTC China president Ray Yam believes the Taiwanese company’s new licensing deal with Apple will allow it to “take broader steps” and create better products this year. The Droid DNA maker recently entered into a 10-year licensing agreement with Apple that covers all current, pending, and future patents, and ended the litigation ongoing between the two companies.
Huawei has already confirmed that it has a number of new handsets lined up for CES 2013 next week, two of which will be powered by Android. The Ascend D2 is arguably the most exciting one, and as you can see from its leaked press shot above, it’s a very good-looking device. In fact, its chamfered silver bezel with embedded white antennas make it look a lot like Apple’s white iPhone 5.
Struggling Kodak has finally agreed to sell its digital imaging patents to Intellectual Ventures and RPX Corporation — two consortiums backed by Apple, Google, Microsoft, and others — for $525 million. Kodak will receive a portion of the money from 12 intellectual property licensees, with each licensee receiving rights to the patents, while another portion will be paid by Intellectual Ventures, which will then acquire the digital imaging patent portfolio, plus the new and existing licenses.
Chinese gadget vendor Huawei has confirmed that it will announce a new flagship smartphone called the Ascend D2 at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. The Android-powered handset, which is rumored to feature a 5-inch 1080p display, will make its debut alongside the W1, a second smartphone that will run Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform.
