Erik Pineda

Samsung leads the pack this time as reports emerged that rivals of the Asian tech giant have decided to counter the success of its Galaxy Note phablet, already on a second iteration that further stretched the device’s screen size, with of courses more potent specs.

Microsoft’s Surface RT has commenced hitting the road and results returned so far on numerous test drives strongly suggest that the gadget is not as confusing as thought earlier by Apple CEO Tim Cook, without of course the benefit of hand-on experience.

These days, Chinese brand Lenovo is touted as the next big thing in the personal computer business, threatening the hold to precarious lead of familiar names like Hewlett-Packard (HP), Dell and Acer.

The Australian economy pulled a pleasant surprise as government data showed the nation’s jobless rate in October steady at 5.4 per cent, veering off from economists’ projections of 5.5 per cent for the month.

Another legal setback for Apple as the tech giant was ordered Wednesday by a U.S. federal court in Texas to shell out more than $US368 million for patent infringement, stemming from the technology behind FaceTime, the video call feature that is a mainstay on Mac computers, iPhone and iPad.

The Lumia 920, according to Nokia, represents improvements from all the shortfalls found on previous Nokia handsets, potentially making the new Windows smartphone an inviting prospect for consumers planning to indulge on new tech toys come the holiday season.

U.S. President Barack Obama has extended his stay at the White House for another four years but his top diplomat, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has opted out for another tour in the Obama Cabinet come the fresh term that starts January 2013.

Giant miner BHP Billiton, currently the largest mining operator in the world, has refused to categorically confirm reports that the company’s CEO, Marius Kloppers, is on his way out after more than five years of stay that was mostly characterised by incredible growth and expansion.

It is a classic case of the Gillard government playing politics over exclusive economic matters, the Coalition said on Thursday, criticising a costing analysis of the opposition tax policies that made its way to media firms.

Struggling Nokia was afforded major boosts in Australia and the United States thanks to giant telcos opting to support new Windows-powered smartphones that the mobile phone maker said will begin rolling out early November.

Not only had she generated millions of hits in YouTube, Prime Minister Julia Gillard acknowledged on Wednesday that she also elicited praises from key world leaders who attended the Asia-Europe Summit held in Laos.

The British national, whose death in 2011 caused the downfall of popular Chinese politician Bo Xilai, was tagged as a willing informant of the UK government and appeared to have played the role two years before his demise, reports said.

Microsoft is fully embracing the $USUS8.5 billion internet communication technology that came with its Skype acquisition in 2011, disclosing on Tuesday that the messaging client would be its sole application for hundreds of millions of global users to connect via PCs or mobile devices.

It will be a pivotal week for economies around the world as the two largest markets get to pick their new leaders.

The Coalition has accused the Labor-led government of unduly injecting politics in the office of the Australian Treasury by utilising its functions in conducting cost analysis of tax polices identified with the Liberal-National alliance.

The tech world constantly produces winners and losers with some twists. The dominant forces of yesteryears now found themselves struggling and barely surviving, which analysts said is the current state of Sony.

News reports have indicated that people lining up for the refreshed regular iPad and the iPad Mini were not as spectacular as the iPhone 5 queues, but Apple reported on Monday that it already sold three million units of all versions of the slate in the first 72 hours of its availability.

Lately he is all over the world and Microsoft big boss Steve Ballmer is a firm believer of the products he sells, which for now hovers only on one ‘powerful’ computing system – the freshly rolled out Windows 8.

Local telco subscribers were being ripped off on current data plans offered by the country’s three major players, the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) said on Monday.

Australia’s economic goals remain firmly in place, Treasurer Wayne Swan said on Monday, insisting that Labor’s commitment of delivering a surplus by May 2013 is not a remote possibility.

The latest Galaxy poll, commissioned by The Daily Telegraph, delivered on Monday figures that were far worrisome for Opposition Leader Tony Abbott as they indicated he would replace the current occupant of The Lodge after the 2013 national election.

Apple, the world’s most valuable company, closed its fiscal 2012 with a whopping net income of $US41.7 billion, a jump of 61 per cent from the $US25.9 billion that the tech giant had netted in the previous year.

More than 30 million hands are fiddling with the Samsung Galaxy S3 at the moment, the South Korean tech giant reported over the weekend, supporting latest data from research firm IDC that showed Samsung once again reigns supreme in the global smartphone arena.

Another teardown of the new iPad Mini revealed that Apple’s Bill of Materials (BOM) for the compact tablet amounted only to $US188, affirming the tech giant’s intent to pocket as much profit as possible from the gadgets it rolls out.

Queensland motel and hotel operators are now empowered by the state government to deny or evict room occupants they believe are sex workers conducting business within their premises.

Australia is poised for bigger role in the global fight to significantly reduce hundred-thousands of deaths due to malaria, which is transmitted to humans by mosquitoes.

Nokia will soon sell a new handset in selected Asia-Pacific and European markets that is geared for buyers looking to enjoy basic communication features plus the indispensable social media tools.

Microsoft’s global marketing blitz is in full swing, deliberately gunning for every possible market to realise the target numbers earlier set by company CEO Steve Ballmer for the newly-unveiled Windows 8.

Gadget teardown specialist iFixit recently got hold of the iPad Mini and pried open the latest Apple product to hit global stores for the holiday shopping season. So what’s inside the latest Apple gadget?