Apple

iPhone 5 buyers now face a wait of just two weeks when ordering the new phone via Apple's online store.

This latest estimate follows a drop to two to three weeks around November 12. Prior to that, buyers had been looking at a ship time of three to four weeks since preorders for the new iPhone kicked off in mid-September.

The declining wait time shows that the supply of the iPhone 5 is slowly starting to catch up with demand, despite manufacturing challenges.

An official with iPhone supplier Foxconn told The Wall Street Journal last month that making the … Read more

It was a year of fakers: fake degrees, fake demonstrations, even fake interviews. It seems the tech industry this past year has been awash in people who couldn't tell the truth -- or maybe wished the truth were something different.

We had executives racing for the exits of what was a year ago one of the hottest companies on the Internet. We had a head scratcher of a mistake from Apple that even the company's CEO seemed to think was a conundrum. And we have a system that's supposed to protect entrepreneurs that -- and not to … Read more

Many humans are competitive.

They want to prove that they have the winning hand -- or even the winning phone in their hand.

Microsoft, over recent times, has been keen to humiliate these people in public. First, there was the "Smoked By Windows Phone" challenge, in which Redmond's indefatigable Ben Rudolph proved that Microsoft's phones were so much faster than iPhones or Samsungs.

With the advent of Windows Phone 8, you are invited to a new challenge. This is called "Meet Your Match."

It is similar to the "Smoked By Windows Phone" … Read more

Apple has approved 1 million iOS apps, according to an application discovery company.

Appsfire revealed the findings on its Twitter account yesterday. In an e-mailed statement to CNET, an Appsfire spokesperson said that its tally includes all of the apps "that have been submitted and approved by Apple and that went live in the App Store" since its launch in 2008. The spokesperson was quick to point out that the tally does not include those apps that have been submitted and rejected.

The Next Web was first to report on the Appsfire tally.

Apple announced last month that … Read more

When Intel CEO Paul Otellini retires in May, he'll leave a mixed record.

On the one hand, Intel's processor manufacturing prowess remains second to none, with the company often introducing new miniaturization technology years ahead of rivals. As ever more companies withdraw from chip manufacturing, Intel manages to keep turning the crank profitably. During Otellini's reign, Intel has so far generated $107 billion in cash from operations and paid dividends of $23.5 billion.

But Intel also has failed to come to terms with a powerful force in the processor world -- the rise of mobile devices … Read more

Twitter has tweaked its iOS and Android apps to show tweets tailored just for you, much the way its Web site has done since September.

A tap on the Discover page in the apps now displays a few select stories at the top, all considered relevant to you but not ones that you're necessarily already following. Tapping on the "View all stories" link brings up even more tweets that Twitter believes will interest you.

Each story offers a brief description, photo, and link, so you can quickly browse through the list and just tap on the ones … Read more

Facebook has tweaked its mobile apps and Web site with an eye toward sharing.

Released yesterday, FB's latest iOS and Android apps now sport a Share button at the bottom of any post that links to a Web page or other item. Clicking on that button lets you share that post with the entire Facebook public, just your friends, or only certain friend lists.

"You can now use the Share button on News Feed stories from your phone whether you're using the Facebook for Android app, the Facebook for iPhone and iPad app, or the Facebook mobile … Read more

Apple's LTE-equipped iPad Mini and fourth-generation iPad are now available in carrier stores -- at least some of them do.

Both Sprint and AT&T announced today that they're now carrying the devices. Verizon hasn't announced its own availability, but the company is also expected to be carrying the tablets in its stores today. The iPads are already available for immediate shipment on Verizon's site.

Apple launched the Wi-Fi-only fourth-generation iPad and iPad Mini on November 2. The company had promised last month when it announced both devices that it would deliver the LTE-equipped models &… Read more

Top carriers such as Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile are losing sales of prepaid smartphones to the likes of Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile, and MetroPCS, according to an NPD report out today.

Third-quarter prepaid smartphone sales for the smaller carriers rose 23 percent over the prior quarter. But sales among the tier-one carriers dropped by 12 percent over the same period. Why? The smaller players won over customers by offering lower prices and a larger selection of prepaid phones, NPD said.

In the third quarter, 70 percent of smartphone buyers who bought their phones through a prepaid carrier had … Read more