Apples

Samsung is investing $112 million for a 3% stake in struggling Japanese electronics maker Sharp -- a key supplier to rival Apple. The South Korea company will purchase nearly 36 million shares at a price of about $3.11 in a move aimed to strengthen the two companies' relationship, Sharp said. The deal is expected to be completed by March 28. Photos: 10 tech companies to watch in 2013 Samsung's investment probably will lessen Sharp's dependency on Apple. Currently, Sharp supplies screens for Apple's iPad and iPhone 5 devices.

Would the iPhone have sold as well if it was called the "TelePod"? Apple Inc.'s former advertising lead Ken Segall told a college marketing class that the Cupertino company considered naming its phone the TelePod because it sounded like a futuristic twist on the word "telephone" and had similarities to Apple's iPod, which was very popular at the time. Speaking to students at the University of Arizona, Segall also said Apple considered some other names, including iPad, which the company eventually used for its tablet instead.

Over the last year or so since I became a mother, what was my iPad has morphed into the family iPad, has been renamed Elmo by our nearly 2-year-old son, Christopher, and seems to be a bit of a mystery grab bag when I finally get it back in my hands. From his many early FaceTime and Skype chats with "Nana," my mother, he's gotten quite proficient at using it. He now slides the virtual arrow to open it, selects the on-screen folder that reads "Chris' books" and deftly taps through a series of book apps that entertain and engage him. And he knows the ones he wants.

What is ailing Apple? There seems to be no simple answer as to why the tech giant's stock took another beating Monday, dragging the company's market value below $400 billion for the first time since January 2012. It was the fourth straight day of decline, leaving Apple Inc. shares 40% below their high in September, when the stock was valued at more than $656 billion. The carnage has left analysts and investors trying to guess whether there is a bottom in sight, and whether the company might have an announcement or new product in the pipeline that might ignite a rally.

Apple's stock price continued its fall Monday, dragging the company's market value below $400 billion for the first time since January 2012.  In midday trading, Apple's stock was down $7.52, or 1.75%, to $422.95. That put its market capitalization at $397.54 billion. It also cost Apple the title of "world's most valuable company," losing it to Exxon Mobil Corp., which had a value of $ 399.69 billion in midday trading. QUIZ: Test your Apple knowledge Apple is on the verge of crashing through another low. On Jan. 24, 2012, Apple's stock closed at $420.41 per share, just before the company reported blowout earnings that sent its stock soaring to $ 446.66.  That momentum carried the stock through the year, on its way to peaking at $702.10 in September.

Apple Inc. wants to release an iPhone-like wristwatch in 2013, according to a news report. The Cupertino tech company has dedicated about 100 product designers to the project, according to Bloomberg News, which cited unnamed sources. The iWatch, which has been rumored for the last few months, would be able to make calls, show caller ID, check map coordinates, count steps using a pedometer and monitor health-related data using sensors. The device may also run on iOS, Apple's mobile operating system, according to the report.

Greenlight Capital has withdrawn its lawsuit against Apple Inc., having successfully blocked a vote on a controversial stock proposal.  The move was largely considered a formality. But it still marks the end of a brief but unusual public dust-up between Apple and a major shareholder. In a statement issued Friday, Greenlight said: "Apple removed the bundled proposal from the shareholder meeting therefore resolving the issue. "  QUIZ: Test your Apple knowledge   In the end, the legal dispute proved to be a minor annoyance for Apple.

A judge on Friday cut $450.5 million from the $1-billion judgment Apple won in a patent infringement case against Samsung last summer. U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose said she trimmed the award because of what appears to be a technical error in the jury's methodology used to calculate the damages Samsung owed relating to 14 products.  Koh ordered a new jury trial to determine the damages related to those products, which could...

Hundreds and hundreds of mostly regular folks, some from as far away as Florida, lined up in the wee hours of the morning Wednesday to squeeze into an auditorium at Apple's campus for a little pep talk by Apple team captain Tim Cook. He's not really the rah-rah type. But after the formal part of the meeting ended, he sat for 30 minutes on stage for some Q&A. And he used a fair chunk of that time to remind shareholders that despite the stock price's dreadful performance in recent months, the company turned in a historic 2012.

CUPERTINO, Calif. -- There was little of the expected fireworks at Apple's annual meeting Wednesday as shareholders overwhelming reelected all board members and backed the company's position on several proposed changes to Apple's bylaws. However, shareholders hoping for word of a rumored stock split, or news that Apple might increase its dividends or buy back more of its stock, were disappointed. Chief Executive Tim Cook said the company continues to discuss its growing cash balance, and that he shared investors' concern about a share price that has plunged more than 30% from last summer.