Apple Overtakes Samsung as Top U.S. Mobile-Phone Vendor

Apple has become the leading U.S. mobile-phone vendor for the first time last quarter, securing a record 34% of market share, and knocking rival Samsung off the top spot. The Cupertino, Calif., company shipped 17.7 million phones during the fourth quarter, growing 4% annually, according to a new report by research firm Strategy Analytics. For comparison; that number jumped from 12.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, when Apple captured 25% of the market. "Apple's success has been driven by its popular ecosystem of iPhones and App Store, generous carrier subsidies, and extensive marketing around the new iPhone 5 model," the report said. Samsung took second place in the last quarter of 2012, shipping...

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Pebble Smart Watch

As promised at CES 2013, the Pebble smart watch starts shipping Wednesday. Pebble is the most successful Kickstarter project of all time, raising more than $10 million from nearly 70,000 backers. The watch works in conjunction with your smartphone, making it easy to see who is calling, control your music and receive notifications. Even better, app developers can build Pebble support into their apps, extending the watch's capabilities even more.  the Pebble team shared the latest status on shipping and mass production. Pebble says that while it is working on adding shipment tracking to its account fulfillment page, it isn't there yet. Therefore, the company implores users not to start...

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Microsoft Office 2013 for Windows 8

Office 2013 Review Office for Windows 8 The first version of Microsoft Office for Windows 8 -- Office 365 Home Premium -- is finally available. Priced at $99.95 for an annual subscription, in integrates cloud connectivity, touch and social networks into the Office experience. The apps run in the desktop environment in Windows 8 It's been a long wait, but the first version of Microsoft Office designed for Windows 8 is here. Office 365 Home Premium (a.k.a. Office 2013) — the real thing, not the preview — is now available for download. And it brings the software suite into the world of touch, the cloud and collaboration via social networks. It's a needed upgrade, though it still isn't as convenient to use as...

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