Google’s mobile operating system Android extended its share in the global smartphone market to nearly 80 percent as its main competitor Apple’s iOS lost ground, according to a report by research firm International Data Corporation. The market share of Android-based phones jumped to an all-time high of 79.3 percent in the second quarter, up from 69.1 percent in the same period of 2012. The shipment of Android phones during this period totaled 187.4 million units.The prevalence of Android is bolst

LG Electronics is poised to launch its latest flagship smartphone, the LG G2.The South Korean tech giant will unveil the handset at a press event in New York on Aug. 7, and customers in Korea will be able to purchase the handset the following day, according to industry sources. The price has not yet been fixed as the company is still in discussion with telecom operators, but it is expected to be around 950,000 won ($850), similar to the price of Galaxy S4 LTE-A which costs 954,800 won.The G2 wil

In yet another twist in a series of patent wars with Apple Inc., Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest smartphone maker, has submitted an appeal of a June ruling by a U.S. agency which said the iPhone maker was not infringing upon some of the South Korean company‘s patents, industry sources said Monday.Samsung’s appeal in the U.S Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit came as U.S. President Barack Obama last week issued a veto on a patent ruling by the International Trade Commission tha

Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest smartphone maker, may roll out its latest phablet, the Galaxy Note 3, at a trade show next month, industry sources said Friday.According to the sources, Samsung is planning to showcase the phablet ahead of or during the IFA Berlin to be held from Sept. 6 to 11.Samsung unveiled its Galaxy Note and Galaxy Note 2, respectively, in 2011 and 2012, at the industrial fair.Specifications on the device were not immediately known, but the phablet will run on th

Samsung Group is nearing an agreement to acquire Novaled AG, a German maker of materials used to light up smartphone and television screens, two people with knowledge of the matter said.“We are internally reviewing plans to acquire Novaled, but no details have been set yet,” said Lee Tae-hun, a spokesman for Cheil Industries Inc., the chemical and electronic materials unit of South Korea’s largest conglomerate, in a telephone interview.A deal to buy Novaled for more than $200 million may come as