Kai-Fu Lee’s time as president of Google China began with controversy, as Microsoft sued the search company for poaching him, then faced a countersuit by Google. His departure was a severe blow for Microsoft’s Chinese operations, and brought out the depth of the animosity between the two companies.

Mr Lee’s impending departure from Google has also sparked debate - not least because it is still unclear exactly why he is leaving and what he is going on to do.  

Continue reading "Debate over Google China chief’s next move"

Overdue or not, Eric Schmidt’s resignation from the Apple board today is certainly the right move. It’s understandable that neither side wanted to look like they had been forced into this by news of a Department of Justice investigation, so it’s fitting that they used the cover of Google’s announcement of the Chrome OS - a piece of vapourware that is at least a year away - to make the necessary split.

There are still some loose ends, however. For instance, what about Art Levinson? The former Genentech CEO still sits as a non-executive director on both Apple and Google boards. The companies have never been transparent about whether Levinson ever recuses himself from discussions of strategy that touch on both companies, as Schmidt did.

Also, did the growing competitive stresses lead to any personal tension between Schmidt and Steve Jobs? Given Jobs’ famously irascible temper you have to wonder,  though Schmidt’s more conciliatory style makes it easier to imagine that what on the surface looks like an amicable parting of ways was exactly that.

The departure comes the week after news that Apple had blocked the Google Voice application from the iPhone - but we hear that that decision was actually made some weeks ago, so it sounds less likely to have been the source of an immediate flare-up between the two sides.

The Applesphere has been abuzz this morning about the possibility of Steve Jobs giving a keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January.

This emanates from a Wall Street Journal report of a dinner hosted by Gary Shapiro, Consumer Electronics Association president, in San Francisco on Tuesday night.

I was also at the dinner and have a transcript after the jump of the CEA president’s comments, which reveal Apple will have a big presence at CES, but only through third parties. Continue reading "What the CEA really said about Steve Jobs"

Consumers worldwide spent nearly half a billion dollars on digital video software last year, according to a new study by John Peddie Research.

The firm predicts flat spending this year, partly due to the economic downturn but also because “consumers have made it very clear that they are not interested in difficult-to-use video editing software.” Continue reading "Video software for the Flip generation"

Apple is aiming to ship its oft-rumoured tablet-style touch-screen computer this fall, we reported over the weekend, combining a big screen with the functionality of an iPod Touch.

The company has been striving to perfect the device for years, while attempt by PC makers to peddle Microsoft-powered tablets have fizzled.

Continue reading "Apple ties tablet release to music sales drive"

Apple’s iPods on occasion catch fire or explode, but federal officials and the company have declined to issue a recall because the accidents are so rare, according to a Seattle television news report. After battling for months, station KIRO obtained 800 pages of documents from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Those files include 15 complaints of smoking or fire, including some depictions of iPods igniting while teenagers slept. With 175m units sold, however, fewer than one in a million have been reported for that defect to the CPSC, though of course, not all such problems are reported. This being America, litigation is pending.

The DRM music struggle has been largely won for consumers - even Apple now lets you download and move your music around freely, compared to its former restrictions.

So, onto the next battle. The MP3 is no longer our friend, fellow music lovers, we must fight for a better quality listen. Continue reading "Olive is a lossless leader in digital audio"

Even sceptics would agree, that’s a lot of iPhones: Apple just said it sold 5.2m of them in the three months through June.

True, it’s not as many as the company sold when it introduced the iPhone 3G a year ago, a blockbuster 6.9m units in the initial quarter. But the 3G had just shy of three months to help rack up the overall shipment numbers.

Continue reading "Apple sells 5.2m iPhones, most of them recently"