Wii U sales plummet to just 160,000 units in Q2

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Wii U sales plummet to just 160,000 units in Q2

Nintendo shares fell 5% in Tokyo on Wednesday as the company posted June-quarter results that don't paint a pretty picture. The company managed to swing to an $88 million net profit despite sales that fell 3.8% on-year, but Nintendo's new Wii U console still isn't showing any signs of life. A report from earlier this week revealed that U.K. retail giant Asda recently pulled the Wii U from store shelves, and now we know why: June-quarter sales totaled just 160,000 units globally. That figure is down by more than 50% from Nintendo's March-quarter unit sales, and cumulative sales since the console launched last November total 3.61 million units. Nintendo hopes to sell 9 million Wii U consoles by March 2014.

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HTC’s Q2 profit tumbles as company forecasts first-ever loss for Q3

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HTC’s Q2 profit tumbles as company forecasts first-ever loss for Q3

They say the darkest hour is just before dawn, and HTC certainly hopes "they" are right. The company on Tuesday posted second-quarter financial results that were in line with its unaudited pre-announcement. Profit tumbled more than 80% to approximately $41.7 million on revenue that came in just under $2.4 billion. The bad news gets worse, however. HTC said that it may post an operating loss in Q3 2013 for the first time since before its IPO as revenue and gross margins both continue to slip. On the bright side, however, the company noted that the HTC One outperformed last year's hero models and it helped HTC "establish strong brand awareness." No shipment or sell-through numbers were provided. HTC's full press release follows below.

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New Moto X images, details revealed as debut nears

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New Moto X images, details revealed as debut nears

Google and Motorola will finally unveil their not-so-secret Moto X smartphone on Thursday, and new information will undoubtedly continue to leak right up until the phone is finally unveiled. In the most recent leak, Android blogger Taylor Wimberly has posted several images and purported new details surrounding the upcoming Moto X on his Google+ page. Wimberly says a sheet of special new Gorilla Glass that Google will call "Magic Glass" covers the handset's face and wraps around the sides, and he says the phone features laminated aluminum and zero-gap construction to help make it more sturdy. Leaked images showcasing the phone's construction follow below, along with what well known gadget leaker @evleaks claims are official final Moto X press renders.

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Galaxy Note III may get ‘gadget spam’ treatment, release in three sizes

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Galaxy Note III may get ‘gadget spam’ treatment, release in three sizes

Samsung truly does not care if you think it's going overboard by releasing a seemingly endless number of smartphones every year. Engadget reports that Samsung may be bringing the "gadget spam" technique that it's perfected with the Galaxy S4 to its upcoming Galaxy Note III phablet. Specifically, Engadget takes a look at the model number for the Note III and finds that Samsung has developed at least three different sizes for the device: One that's 5.5 inches large, one that's 5.7 inches and one that's 6 inches. All three models were shipped to India "for R&D" purposes, however, so it's not clear whether Samsung really plans to release all of them. The latest rumors on the Note III's specs indicate that it will feature a 5.7-inch display, a quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor,  3GB of RAM, Android 4.3 and support for LTE-Advanced.

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Haswell-powered Retina MacBook Pro might not ship until October

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Haswell-powered Retina MacBook Pro might not ship until October

Apple's next-generation MacBook Pro with a Retina display may launch later than expected. According to a report from the China Times, a refreshed version of Apple's high-end MacBook won't ship until October. Earlier reports had claimed that the computer would arrive in mid-to-late September. The latest rumors suggest that the next-generation MacBook Pro with a Retina Display will be thinner and more powerful than the current model. The new notebook will also reportedly feature Intel Haswell processors that will improve battery life by 50% and a full HD FaceTime camera. Prices for the 13-inch and 15-inch models are expected to be in line with current-generation models.

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Verizon’s LG G2 to reportedly launch in September

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Verizon’s LG G2 to reportedly launch in September

A new report claims that LG's upcoming flagship smartphone will be available on Verizon in the coming months. According to Korean news outlet The Kyunghyang Shinmun, LG will launch the G2 in South Korea in early August, in North America sometime in September, and in Europe and other markets by October. The publication cites an unnamed LG executive who claims the G2 will arrive in the U.S. on Verizon. Recent FCC filings have revealed that both AT&T and T-Mobile will also offer the smartphone at some point this year. The latest rumors suggest that the G2 will be equipped with a 5.2-inch full HD 1080p display, a 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 processor, 2GB of RAM and a 13-megapixel rear camera. LG is expected to announce the device at a press event on August 7th.

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More iPhone 5S parts leak as mass production gets underway

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More iPhone 5S parts leak as mass production gets underway

A new leak has revealed a key component for Apple's next-generation iPhone. Images from repair shop iHospital reportedly show the motherboard for the iPhone 5S. The component is similar to the one found in the iPhone 5, although there are slight differences that suggest we may see new hardware in Apple's upcoming smartphone. Earlier reports claimed that the iPhone 5S will be equipped with a faster A6 processor, improved graphics, 2GB of RAM and a 12-megapixel camera with a dual-LED flash. It may also include a fingerprint scanner for increased security, an NFC chip and an upgraded LTE radio. Apple is expected to release the iPhone 5S sometime this fall. The leaked images follow below.

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LG’s smartphone business heats up: Record 12 million sold last quarter

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LG’s smartphone business heats up: Record 12 million sold last quarter

LG has largely flown under the radar among the big Android vendors but the company has quietly been building momentum and on Wednesday it reported a banner quarter for smartphone sales. In its Q2 2013 earnings report, LG revealed that it sold a company record 12.1 million smartphones last quarter, which helped the company generate revenue totaling $13.6 billion and a net profit of $139 million. LG will likely see its smartphone profile grow even more once it unveils its next flagship smartphone, the LG G2, in the coming weeks. Rumored specs for the G2 include a 5.2-inch full HD 1080p display, a 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 processor, 2GB of RAM and a 13-megapixel rear camera. LG’s full press release follows below.

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Live from Verizon’s next-generation Droid unveiling

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Live from Verizon’s next-generation Droid unveiling

The Droid brand is largely responsible for Android's success in the United States. Verizon's massive marketing budget and large subscriber pool helped Google's operating system reach new heights with the release of the Motorola Droid, Droid X and Droid RAZR, among others. Following Google's acquisition of Motorola, and with HTC and Samsung pushing their own brands, the number of Droid-branded devices has dramatically decreased over the past few years. But the latest rumors suggest that Motorola and Verizon have teamed up once again on three new smartphones — the Droid Ultra, Droid Maxx and Droid mini. Are these the Droids we've all been waiting for? Verizon's Droid press conference is set to begin at 12:00 p.m. EDT, 9:00 a.m. PDT, and BGR's live coverage follows below.

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Daily Android activations grow to 1.5 million, Google Play surpasses 50 billion downloads

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Daily Android activations grow to 1.5 million, Google Play surpasses 50 billion downloads

Google CEO Larry Page this week revealed that more than 1.5 million Android devices are being activated each day, up from 1.3 million last September. The company previously announced that there were more than 900 million Android devices worldwide, which the executive said is "pretty amazing given the first Android phone launched less than five years ago." Google's app marketplace has also seen unprecedented growth and Page revealed that over 50 billion apps have been downloaded from Google Play, or double the 25 billion apps the company reported last September. Google is expected to pass Apple's App Store, which reached the same milestone in May, in total app downloads later this year or early next year. The executive also noted that even though it is only four years old, there are now more than 750 million Chrome users worldwide. Google disappointed Wall Street with its second-quarter results, however, reporting earnings of $9.56 per share on revenues of $14.11 billion.

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Major crackdown planned for tech’s biggest alleged tax dodgers

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Major crackdown planned for tech’s biggest alleged tax dodgers

Many governments are getting fed up with major tech companies dodging taxes and now it seems that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is planning to do something about it. Bloomberg reports that the OECD has proposed a plan to crack down on corporate tax dodging that will "develop rules over the next two years preventing companies from escaping taxes by putting patent rights into shell companies, taking interest deductions in one country without reporting taxable profit in another, and forcing them to disclose to regulators where they report their income around the world." Google and Apple have been the most frequent targets of government hearings over alleged tax dodging and both companies have long insisted that their tax avoidance methods are perfectly legal under current laws.

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The good news for Microsoft: Its enterprise business is humming along

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The good news for Microsoft: Its enterprise business is humming along

Lost in all the headlines about Microsoft's epic Surface RT debacle is the fact that its enterprise business is in terrific shape. Computerworld notes that even though Microsoft continues to flail away in the consumer electronics market, its "revenue for businesses was up solidly," highlighted by its Office 365 subscription service that's now projected to pull in $1.5 billion in revenue this year. In fact, Computerworld notes that 88% of Microsoft's Office revenue is coming from businesses, which is just another indication that the company finds itself estranged from much of the consumer market despite its dominance in the workplace. The question, though, is whether Microsoft's enterprise business will be enough in the long run as consumers continue pushing their own favored products onto corporate IT networks.

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Windows Phone has now finally extinguished Symbian at Nokia

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Windows Phone has now finally extinguished Symbian at Nokia

While quarterly losses and dropping handset ASPs gobbled up all the headlines surrounding Nokia's earnings report on Thursday, there is another aspect of Nokia's latest smartphone shipment numbers that shouldn't be overlooked: Namely, that Symbian is finally dead. Asymco's Horace Dediu has posted a chart on his Twitter account showing how Windows Phone devices have gradually killed off Symbian devices at Nokia ever since 2011, when the company first announced it would build devices exclusively for Microsoft's mobile operating system. Nokia confirmed last month that it had already shipped its last Symbian phone so it's not too surprising to see that last quarter's Symbian shipments totaled zero. All the same, it's still a remarkable end for an operating system that less than three years ago was still the most dominant mobile platform in the world. Asymco's chart follows below.

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Nokia narrows Q2 loss; Lumia sales reach record 7.4M, but U.S. sales slide 17%

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Nokia narrows Q2 loss; Lumia sales reach record 7.4M, but U.S. sales slide 17%

Nokia on Thursday posted earnings results for the second quarter of 2013. The company narrowed its loss to €115 million, or approximately $151 million, which is a dramatic improvement from the €824 million loss the vendor posted in the same quarter last year. But Nokia's Q2 revenue fell to €5.7 billion, or $7.4 billion, down substantially from the €7.5 billion in sales posted in Q2 2012. Where Lumia smartphone sales are concerned, Nokia sold a record 7.4 million handsets into channels during the second quarter. North American Lumia sales fell 17% from 600,000 units in Q2 2012 to 500,000 units in Q2 2013, however, despite the launch of Nokia's first flagship Windows Phone 8 device for Verizon Wireless. Nokia's total handset shipment volume fell 27% on-year from 83.7 million handsets in Q2 2012 to 61.1 million last quarter.

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Verizon’s brand new Droid lineup will likely be unveiled next week

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Verizon’s brand new Droid lineup will likely be unveiled next week

Anyone who has been waiting for a new Droid smartphone likely doesn't have much longer to wait. Verizon has sent out invitations for a press conference on July 23rd, when it promises to "unveil the next generation of one of our most popular family of devices," which is a pretty clear reference to Motorola's Droid line of smartphones. We already know from earlier leaks that Motorola is planning to launch three new Droid devices this summer that will reportedly be called the Droid Ultra, the Droid Maxx and the Droid Mini. The new Droids are just a sideshow for Motorola, however, as the company is saving the announcement of its new Moto X flagship device for later this summer.

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Kinect costs almost as much as the Xbox One to build

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Kinect costs almost as much as the Xbox One to build

An anonymous Microsoft employee claims that manufacturing the Kinect sensor costs "almost as much" as manufacturing the Xbox One. The information was revealed in an "Ask Me Anything" session on Reddit, which was verified to be authentic by Reddit moderators. The employee explained that the Kinect plays a major role in the Xbox One experience, adding that Microsoft bundled the sensor with the system to ensure all developers and gamers had access to it for every game. He said that Microsoft took a gamble with the new Kinect sensor, noting that it "costs almost as much as the console to make" and "the success of the Kinect carries much more weight" for Microsoft than the Xbox One. He went on to explain that the sensor is an "integral part of the Xbox One experience." The high cost of manufacturing the Kinect sheds light on the company's controversial pricing strategy. The Xbox One will be available later this year starting at $499, a $100 premium over Sony's PlayStation 4.

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BlackBerry A10 shown on video for first time ever

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BlackBerry A10 shown on video for first time ever

BGR gave the world an exclusive first look at BlackBerry's upcoming flagship BlackBerry A10 smartphone last week, and the device has now been shown on video for the first time ever. YouTube user Vivix phu kien on Saturday published a short video of the A10 that doesn't really tell us anything new about the phone, but it does mark the first time BlackBerry's upcoming phablet has been revealed in a video. According to BGR's sources, the A10 will launch this fall featuring a dual-core processor and a 5-inch 720p display, and it will be the only new BlackBerry 10 smartphone that launches for the remainder of 2013. The leaked BlackBerry A10 video follows below.

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BlackBerry CEO reportedly bringing hammer down on management team

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BlackBerry CEO reportedly bringing hammer down on management team

Three key BlackBerry executives have left the company over the past couple of months and many more could soon be shuffling toward the exit as well. An unnamed source has told Bloomberg that more BlackBerry executives are expected to leave the company in the coming weeks as their retention bonuses expire and as CEO Thorsten Heins starts implementing ambitious sales goals intended to put members of his management team on the hot seat. Heins' goals reportedly cover "phone sales, subscriber growth and product development," as well as the addition of new apps for the BlackBerry 10 platform, Bloomberg's source said. The tougher sales goals are a clear sign that Heins is not pleased with the progress that BlackBerry has made so far in its attempt make BlackBerry once again competitive with iOS and Android.

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Windows Phone reportedly getting Windows 8.1-style overhaul next year

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Windows Phone reportedly getting Windows 8.1-style overhaul next year

Now that Microsoft has unveiled its plan to overhaul Windows 8 later this year, you might think that it's only a matter of time before it does the same thing to its Windows Phone 8 mobile operating system. But The Verge reports that a Windows 8.1-style overhaul for Windows Phone isn't likely to debut until 2014 since the company is now in "shut up and ship" mode for current Windows Phone 8 devices. When the update does arrive next year it will reportedly include "a notification center, improved multitasking, and changes to built-in apps" as well as "a rotation lock option." The Verge's sources say that Microsoft had originally planned to issue several smaller updates to Windows Phone but that problems with ironing out bugs forced the company to issue one bigger update next year instead.

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Photos: Eric Schmidt poses with Google’s Moto X

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Photos: Eric Schmidt poses with Google’s Moto X

The highly anticipated Moto X smartphone made an appearance on Thursday at the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference. The annual event held in Sun Valley, Idaho attracts some of the biggest names in tech, including Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Apple CEO Tim Cook. Schmidt stood out from the crowd not because of what he was doing, but because of the smartphone he was using. Gary He of Insider Images captured photographs of the executive using what appears to be the unreleased Moto X smartphone. When confronted, Schmidt explained that he was "not allowed to comment on the nature of this phone." The Moto X is expected to launch across all major carriers in the U.S. sometime next month. Additional images of Schmidt using the Moto X follow below.

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Lenovo is now the world’s top PC vendor

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Lenovo is now the world’s top PC vendor

It may not be as big of an honor as it was five years ago, but Lenovo can now proudly say that it's the world's No.1 PC vendor. AllThingsD points out that the latest numbers from both Gartner and IDC show that Lenovo has overtaken HP to become the top PC OEM in the world by shipment volume. Lenovo didn't accomplish this through stellar growth, however — the reality is that the company's PC business is simply shrinking less quickly than its rivals.

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BlackBerry’s 2013 Smartphone Roadmap: BlackBerry A10 (Aristo) and BlackBerry 9720

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BlackBerry’s 2013 Smartphone Roadmap: BlackBerry A10 (Aristo) and BlackBerry 9720

It's been a while since we heard about exactly what BlackBerry has in store for the rest of 2013. Thanks to multiple trusted sources, however, we not only know but we also have some exclusive photos. First up is the BlackBerry A10, code-named "Aristo." This device is going to be positioned as the most powerful, capable BlackBerry yet with a big focus on power and gaming. For some people, it might be the BlackBerry 10 smartphone they have been waiting for.

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New photo of Nokia’s 41-megapixel Lumia 1020 leaks with additional specs

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New photo of Nokia’s 41-megapixel Lumia 1020 leaks with additional specs

Nokia is widely expected to unveil the Lumia 1020 during a press conference on Thursday and as is typically the case ahead of Nokia's handset launches, we already likely know almost all there is to know about the unannounced phone. The Lumia 1020 will be Nokia's most impressive camera phone yet, packing a 4.5-inch display, a 41-megapixel PureView camera, a xenon flash and optical image stabilization. According to a new report from Windows Phone Central, Nokia's new smartphone will also feature 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage with no memory card slot, NFC and an optional back plate that supports wireless charging. The blog also published a new photo of the upcoming Lumia 1020, which follows below.

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BlackBerry faces critical questions going into shareholders meeting

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BlackBerry faces critical questions going into shareholders meeting

BlackBerry's stock took a huge 30% hit after the company posted worse than expected earnings last Friday, and executives will likely face difficult and critical questions on Tuesday at the company's annual shareholders meeting as a result. John Goldsmith, the deputy head of equities at Montrusco Bolton, which owns more than 1.5 million shares of BlackBerry, told Reuters that he expects "people standing up and making their voices heard," adding that last week's results were "a quasi death knell for BlackBerry."

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Nokia downgraded following NSN buyout

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Nokia downgraded following NSN buyout

According to Standards & Poor's, Nokia's credit is worse than junk. The ratings agency on Friday downgraded Nokia just a few days after it announced the buyout of Siemens' stake in their joint network equipment venture for $2.2 billion, Reuters reported. S&P warned that the buyout will put further pressure on Nokia's net cash, which "could be as low as 1.3 billion euros at the end of 2013." Nokia argued that in addition to a strong gross and net financial position, the company also has access to additional cash from an undrawn credit facility. The agency still downgraded Nokia by one notch from BB- to B+, however. Moody's is also reviewing Nokia and may downgrade the company from a B2 rating to a Ba3.

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The specter of a smartphone slow-down haunts the industry

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The specter of a smartphone slow-down haunts the industry

BlackBerry missed BB10 shipment expectations by more than 20%. HTC missed profit expectations by more than 30%. Even Samsung missed profit expectations by 10%. This is starting to look ominous, even though each company has its own reasons for soggy spring numbers. Of course, Samsung's profit miss is the biggest news item here — the company had lulled investors into complacency by beating expectations even during quarters when it did not have a brand new flagship phone in its product range. During the second quarter this year, Samsung had a brand new Galaxy S4 in its arsenal ramping up faster than any of its previous high-end phones, and its profit still missed expectations. HTC also had a brand new, well-reviewed model out during the spring quarter.

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Video: Samsung takes a bite out of Apple in bizarre new commercial

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Video: Samsung takes a bite out of Apple in bizarre new commercial

It's never easy to understand foreign television commercials without knowing the local language and culture, but nothing is lost in translation in Samsung's latest TV spot in Iceland. The ad begins with a man trying repeatedly to make phone calls on his Apple. Not on an iPhone, but on an actual Apple. Needless to say, this doesn't work out very well and he grows depressed. But then, the man finds himself with a Samsung Galaxy S4 and all his problems are solved — so he dances with four burglars and a goat to celebrate. The ad closes with the man taking a big bite out of an Apple while holding a Galaxy S4 to his ear, and the goat seems to approve. The full video can be seen below.

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Nokia’s unannounced 41-megapixel Lumia 1020 pictured ahead of AT&T debut

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Nokia’s unannounced 41-megapixel Lumia 1020 pictured ahead of AT&T debut

Nokia is widely expected to unveil the new Lumia 1020 smartphone during a press conference on July 11th. The phone, which was code-named "EOS," continues on the same path Nokia has been travelling since making the switch from Symbian to Windows Phone — each new flagship phone has featured a better camera and a slight specs bump. The camera is expected to be turbocharged this time around, packing 41 megapixels and possibly even optical zoom. Now, thanks to leaked images published by Twitter user @evleaks, we can also confirm that the Lumia 1020 is headed to AT&T and that it will feature a new "Nokia Pro Camera" application to accompany the upgraded camera. Earlier rumors suggested the phone will also include a polycarbonate case and a 4.5-inch display with 720p resolution. The leaked images follows below.

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Assassin’s Creed developer hacked, user data exposed

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Assassin’s Creed developer hacked, user data exposed

Ubisoft, the game developer behind the popular Assassin's Creed franchise, announced on Tuesday that its servers have been hacked by an unknown party and that an undisclosed number of its users' accounts have been compromised. The company said that some user data "had been illegally accessed from our account database, including user names, email addresses and encrypted passwords," although thankfully users' credit card and payment information were not exposed. Ubisoft recommends that its users change their passwords both for their Ubisoft accounts and for "any other Web site or service where you use the same or a similar password."

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Apple goes on ‘iWatch’ trademarking spree – launch may be approaching

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Apple goes on ‘iWatch’ trademarking spree – launch may be approaching

Recent reports suggested Apple's "iWatch" might not launch until sometime next year, but the company's recent trademarking spree suggests that its connected watch might still launch sometime later this year. The news emerged on Monday that Apple had filed to trademark iWatch in Japan, marking the second country in which Apple filed to protect the name, which is thought to be tied to its forthcoming iOS smartwatch. 9to5Mac now reports that Apple has filed to trademark iWatch in a number of additional countries including Colombia, Mexico, Taiwan and Turkey. The moves don't necessarily assure us that a launch is imminent, but Apple is known as a company that goes out of its way in order to avoid tipping its hand too far in advance, so a 2013 launch seems likely at this point.

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Nokia buys Siemens stake in NSN joint venture – will an exit from the phone business follow?

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Nokia buys Siemens stake in NSN joint venture – will an exit from the phone business follow?

For the past three years, markets have been trying to guess whether or not Nokia would dump its stake in the Nokia Siemens Networks, a mobile infrastructure joint venture. The mobile network market is tough and Ericsson is widely viewed to be far ahead of Nokia in terms of selling operators value-added services. Since NSN has some traction in emerging markets, an Indian buyer has been thought to be one possibility. But on Sunday night, Nokia announced that it is actually buying the Siemens stake in NSN for $2.2 billion. This is not chump change for Nokia, which has less than 5 billion euros in net cash and has stopped paying a dividend to conserve its cash reserves.

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