Here are your Apple rumors and AAPL news items for today:
Taking the Lead: Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shipped more mobile phones in the U.S. than Samsung in the final quarter of last year, USA Today notes. That analysis comes from Strategic Analytics, which says Apple accounted for 34% of the 52 million mobile phones shipped in the U.S. during the quarter. Apple shipped 17.7 million mobile phones during the period, up 25% from the prior year, while Samsung shipped 16.8 million mobile phones in the U.S., holding 32% of the market. LG claimed the third spot with 9%. Samsung had been the top mobile phone shipper in the U.S. since 2008.
Content Watch: Unnamed sources tell Bloomberg that Apple is negotiating with Time Warner‘s (NYSE:TWX) HBO to bring the cable channel’s on-demand programming to its Apple TV streaming media device. While a deal hasn’t been finalized, Apple expects to add the service by the mid-year. HBO’s on-demand programming would be available to users who subscribe to HBO through cable or satellite providers. Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Hulu are already available on Apple TV. The company sold more than 2 million Apple TV units in its last fiscal quarter, but is hoping to bolster available content in order to boost sales.
Historic Rejection: Speaking about the early days of Apple at Georgia State University earlier this week, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak said he created the hardware and software for the Apple 1 computer while working at Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ), the Silicon Valley Business Journal notes. Wozniak was employed at HP designing calculators. After work each day, he said he would go home watch Star Trek and build computers. After building the computer that would become the Apple I, he took it to HP and tried to persuade it to sell the device. But the computer equipment giant rejected his proposal five times. While HP was turning him down, his friend Steve Jobs saw the machine and thought they could make some money selling its printed-circuit boards so other people could make their own computers.
For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors stories.
