Blog on iPod and iPhone

Apple’s New Hire: Today on Digits: Apple taps the chief of Europe’s largest electronics retailer to head Apple retail stores. Plus: New Internet streaming service BSkyB rises to meet the Neflix challenge;  Megaupload users face possible deletion of data; a judge rules on ongoing litigation between H-P and Oracle over Intel’s Itanium chip; Facebook pads [...]

Verizon’s Tangled Web: As Verizon Communications pushes for more cable-television and high-speed Internet subscribers, a new competitor is emerging: its own subsidiary, Verizon Wireless. Thomas Catan has details on The News Hub. Megaupload’s Kim Dotcom vs RapidShare’s Schmid: In contrast to Megaupload’s flashy owner, Kim Dotcom, RapidShare’s Christian Schmid kept a low profile and even [...]

Today on Digits: Facebook plans to file an IPO and Morgan Stanley is close to striking a deal to manage the filing. Plus: Twitter announces it can now censor its site by country; Apple makes more inroads into the enterprise and new cable plans allow subscribers to scale back without cutting the cord.

On today’s Digits: TelyHD allows entire families to Skype using the television, Walt Mossberg reports. Plus: Megaupload executives are granted bail; AT&T loses out to Verizon in customer race; Netflix tries to find its footing; the NFL says “ok” to tweeting by players during the Pro Bowl; start-up Codeacademy introduces a new program for would-be [...]

On today’s Digits: With a new market cap of $419 billion, Apple has surpassed Exxon as the world’s most profitable company by market cap. Will Apple shares hit $500? Plus: Google makes privacy harder to come by; Bank of America dips into Groupon territory by offering deals; how the FBI’s shutdown of cyberlocker Megaupload has [...]

Apple is back to its old self again, at least as far as earnings are concerned. Mark Lennihan/AP Photo The company said that it sold 37 million iPhones in the December quarter, blowing away Wall Street expectations of 30 million. After a rare miss last quarter, the company posted an astonishing $46 billion in revenue [...]

It’s a tale of two companies as Apple and Yahoo report earnings today. We give you a preview of what to expect. Plus:  Why Verizon missed the mark with earnings; how Google and other tech companies are gaining influence in Washington; Facebook and Twitter call out Google on social search and five ways to (legally) [...]

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in a case involving the use of GPS tracking devices that tested constitutional privacy rights, Jess Bravin reports on Digits. Plus: Assessing Research in Motion’s new strategy; the going rate for hackers-for-hire and what electronics retailers don’t say when they are trying to sell you something.

Kim Dotcom, the Megaupload founder arrested yesterday at his own birthday party in New Zealand, led a flamboyant lifestyle that beckons for a Hollywood-style film adaptation.  Geoff Fowler has details on Digits.

The U.S. shut down popular file-sharing site Megaupload while authorities in New Zealand arrested site founder Kim Dotcom. Plus: Zynga readies an online gaming venture; layoff rumors swirl around Yahoo; tech giants’ revenue slows and how to cut back on data wireless data usage.