Michelle Maisto

Gartner has some advice for business leaders and brand managers struggling to get their points across. In a new report, the research firm-which says it gleaned the advice from marketing executives and professors at leading MBA schools-offers four steps toward more effective marketing strategies. The goal, states Gartner, is to present a crisp, compelling story […]

Apple, HTC and Motorola each released new smartphones during the second quarter of 2010, helping to drive the total number of mobile devices shipped worldwide to 325.6 million, Gartner reported Aug. 12. Consumer appetites for such smartphones helped to push the overall mobile device sales tally up 13.8 percent, compared with a year earlier, and […]

For the Dell Streak, pricing, more than features, may make or break its sales success. Dell recently announced pricing for the Streak, its Android-running device that will be available for presale Aug. 12 and begin selling the following day. With a two-year contract from AT&T, the Streak will retail for $300. Unlocked without a service […]

Hewlett-Packard will launch its WebOS-based tablet during the first quarter of 2011, according to a report in Engadget, citing “several trusted sources.” Since HP purchased smartphone-maker Palm July 1, and with it the highly lauded WebOS mobile platform, there’s been much talk of an iPad competitor running the open-source OS, in addition to HP tablets […]

In advance of the BlackBerry Torch’s Aug. 12 debut on the AT&T network, Research In Motion has made BlackBerry Desktop Software 6.0 available. In July, RIM had originally offered it in beta form. The updated interface optimizes the experience of synching media content between a PC and BlackBerry handsets, particularly those running BlackBerry 6, as […]

Fueled by strong netbook sales and form-factor-pushing devices like the Apple iPad, worldwide shipments of graphics-enabled microprocessors are expected to follow a straight path upward, iSuppli reported Aug. 11. While 2010 will see such microprocessors ship in approximately one out of three notebook PCs, by 2014 that figure is expected to reach four out of […]

The ban on BlackBerry Messenger services in Saudi Arabia is over, the Wall Street Journal reported Aug. 10, citing a statement from the country’s Communication and Information Technology Commission. BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion had been in talks with the Saudi government, which believed RIM’s ultra-secure Messaging services offered undue benefits to criminals. The government demanded […]

Peter Skillman, the lead designer on a team that created the Palm Pre, has left Hewlett-Packard, Tech Crunch has confirmed. Where Skillman is headed has yet to be announced. HP purchased smartphone-maker Palm in July, and Skillman was the final remaining member of the Pre design team, which had been assembled by then-Palm CEO Jon […]

Executives from Google and Verizon introduced a joint proposal for an “open Internet” Aug. 9, and called on the Federal Communications Commission to create rules that will ensure an open Internet and penalize “bad actors” that violate such “safeguards.” The same day, analysts with Copenhagen-based consultancy Strand Consult released an analysis of Google’s position on […]

Motorola will continue to include its MotoBlur user interface on Android-running handsets, but will stop putting resources into the promotion of the UI as a brand, Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha said during a conference call announcing the company’s fiscal second-quarter earnings. “We have found that being able to convey the value proposition around MotoBlur is […]

As Hewlett-Packard begins its search for a replacement for former Chairman and CEO Mark Hurd, more details are emerging about the woman at the center of the scandal that led Hurd to resign the post that he has held for the past five years. HP announced Hurd’s resignation late Aug. 6, following an internal investigation […]

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 smartphone will arrive on the AT&T network Aug. 15, the two companies announced Aug. 9. A flagship device for Sony Ericsson, the high-end X10 runs Google’s Android operating system and features a 4-inch display, Qualcomm’s 1GHz Snapdragon processor and an 8.1-megapixel camera with smile detection, face recognition, autofocus and LED […]