Apple

New handset sales data from Gartner reveals that smartphones continued to outperform the overall mobile devices market in 2Q09, and were a key factor in consumers upgrading devices.

Dow Jones Newswires notes that China Unicom says it is in talks with Apple about selling the popular iPhone in the world's most populous country but no deal has yet been reached.

Apple's stock soared to an all-time high last night as the company reported its most profitable quarter ever. Its fiscal 2009 fourth quarter - ending September 26, 2009 - saw Apple post revenue of US$9.87 billion (a 25 percent year-on-year increase) and net profit of US$1.67 billion (a huge 47 percent yearly increase). It sold 7.4 million iPhones in the quarter, representing seven percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter.

Apple's iconic iPhone device may be a hit with consumers but it is doing little to increase operator profits, according to a report released this week by Danish firm Strand Consult.

Movie rental retailer Blockbuster has signed a deal with Motorola to being "thousands" of titles to select models of the US vendor's devices.

Apple is investigating media reports that one or more of the company's iPhones have exploded in Europe, a European Commission spokeswoman said Tuesday, reports Reuters

Bloomberg reports that former Palm CEO Ed Colligan rejected a proposal in 2007 from Apple's head man Steve Jobs to refrain from hiring each other's employees, declaring it wrong and "likely illegal."