Here are your Apple rumors and AAPL news items for today:
Tablet Race: Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) remains the dominant player in the tablet market, but its share is slipping, the Los Angeles Times notes. Industry research firm IDC says that iPads will account for 53.8% of worldwide tablet sales in 2012, down from 56.3% last year. Tablets running Google‘s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android operating system will see their market share grow from 39.8% last year, to 42.7% this year. Lower prices are driving the rise of Android tablet sales. Over all, IDC says the tablet market will grow from 117.1 million units sold last year, to 122.3 million units this year. Tablets running Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows are projected to grow from 2.9% of the market this year, to 10.2% by 2016.
Odd Choice: In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Google’s Executive Chairman and former CEO Eric Schmidt said it was “extremely curious” that Apple had not sued Google directly for patent infringement. Apple has sued Google’s various mobile device partners, and is involved in on-going patent infringement litigation with Motorola, which Google acquired in 2011. Schmidt noted that the two companies are “well aware” of each other’s legal strategies and continue to communicate about patent issues. Though Apple recently settled its patent lawsuits with HTC in exchange for a licensing deal, Schmidt said he expects the legal sparring over patent infringement claims to continue for some time.
Big Mistake: A stock trader is facing federal charges after he deliberately placed an order for 1.625 million shares of Apple for a client who had ordered just 1,625 shares, Fortune notes. According to a criminal complaint, David Miller, who formerly worked for Rochdale Securities, expected Apple to top fourth quarter earnings estimates. In order to profit from the news, he altered the decimal point on the client’s order, making it worth more than $ 1 billion. The government claims that Miller planned to personally collect the profits on the difference between the client’s actual order and the one he placed. But Apple missed analysts’ forecasts and its shares fell, causing a $30 million loss on the trade. Miller has been charged with wire fraud and could get a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Rochdale Securities is looking for a buyer.
For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors stories.
