Author: Tim Frederick

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)  filed a patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office back on June 28, 2011, the contents of which were just released today by the USPTO. As discussed on CNBC today, some of the revelations found in the patent filing will forever change the way we handle our iPhones and other Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) devices, though the technology may still be some years away from mainstream release. “The technology itself may take awhile to come to market. There’s been a lot of talk for many years about the hype of flexible technology, flexible display technology, and…

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) is losing Millennials to competitors like Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) according to a recent report in The Wall Street Journal, and according to analysts on Bloomberg today, the fast-food chain may be wiser to simply concede that market to their rivals, rather than continuing to diversify into something they are not. “Well, I think it’s been; a Millennial problem has been the start of it, and they’ve been trying to spin their wheels to keep creating new products to try and solve the problem, and that’s created its own set of problems because they’ve been very…

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD)’s same-store sales had their worst performance since 2003 in the last quarter, falling 1.5% in the U.S and 1% in Europe. Millenials meanwhile; those in their 20’s and 30’s, are deserting the fast-food company for alternatives like Panera Bread Co (NASDAQ:PNRA) and Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG).  Mary Chapman, director of product innovation for food industry research firm Technomic, told TheStreet yesterday that McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) isn’t currently appealing to what Millennials are looking for in a low-cost restaurant experience. “What McDonald’s has succeeded by is consistency and speed, and at the same time Millennials are looking…

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) announced today that they’re in the process of rolling out Voice-Over-LTE (VoLTE) calling across the U.S over the coming weeks. As Re/Code reported today, the actual transition to robust usage of their LTE network, and then eventually nothing but VoLTE calls, will be a lengthy one that may not be completed for a couple of years yet. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) is the last of the major U.S carriers to launch their LTE network, which will allow their customers to make high definition voice and video calls, and allow for quicker call setup. Initially however, the…

BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) has four new smartphones in development, each of them aimed at a specific market segment of customers, and at least two of them will be released in the very near future according to a leaked internal document which was unveiled yesterday by the BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) news site N4BB. The document reveals four new phones, codenamed “Affordable” (the Manitoba), “Classic” (the Q20), “Innovative” (the Windermere), and “Prestige” (the Khan). The document further breaks down the target market of each of the phones, and how they think of the phones and themselves. “Contemporary, yet Affordable…an expression that I…

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)’s coming out party as a major force to be reckoned with will have to wait at least another year. What was expected to be a major awards breakthrough for the TV and movie streaming service, which produces popular shows House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black, ended up being a disappointment, as was discussed on CNBC this morning. “Well, the Emmy’s kicked off with host Seth Meyers joking about the rise of Netflix and cable threatening broadcast TV, but Netflix was not threatening anyone last night. Cable did rule, the show that came out on…

Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) may be undergoing a rather Facebookian transformation process, and it’s one that could end up destroying the prominence of the social media network. In an interview on CNBC today, Forbes contributor Ian Morris discussed the recent changes to Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR), which he describes as the “Facebookification” of the site, and the danger those changes herald. “Well I think it’s essentially the same problem that Facebook had. It’s more about the fact that they keep doing things that the public don’t really want. Facebook has this problem whereby it won’t let you see your timeline in the…

Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) has been at the center of two of the biggest news stories of the past month, and the social network has played an unfortunate role in its own way in both of them. However, it’s response to the actions of their users that may in fact be the most unfortunate thing of all, and possibly their greatest mistake, according to Forbes’ Gene Marks. In an article today on the site, Marks comments on the role Twitter has played in suppressing comments, images, and videos deemed offensive in the cases of Robin Williams’ death, and the beheading of…

Sony Corp (ADR)(NYSE:SNE)’s PlayStation Network suffered a major attack and service outage yesterday, the second such attack in a number of years. Unlike the 2011 attack in which Sony Corp (ADR)(NYSE:SNE) lost customer data however, this most recent outage resulted in no data being hijacked, and that ultimately makes the situation a “win for Sony” according to Jon Fortt on CNBC today. “I think it’s a win for Sony. They look like the grown-ups here. Denial-of-service attack is kind of like a brute force attack; you’re banging on the doors, hoping that something in the digital hinges shakes loose, and…

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) may be a major mover following tonight’s Emmy awards, according to analyst and investor Jim Cramer. During a segment on CNBC today, Cramer said he believes that a win or wins for Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) tonight (and specifically for their new prison dramedy series Orange Is the New Black) will result in a jump in the stock’s already hefty value. “When a company wins an Emmy, big deal, right? No, not this one. This is Netflix, and Netflix is becoming just the way you get your cable bill: ‘oh, I see I paid $5 for ESPN.’ So…

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO)’s new CIO and senior vice president of infrastructure, Mike Kail, was brought over from Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) earlier this month to head up Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO)’s IT and data center operations. As the Wall Street Journal reported last week, Kail’s top priority at this point is to continue the process of streamlining and consolidating the company’s data centers. As Kail told the WSJ, owning and operating their own data centers is their number one objective at this point, which will allow them to improve their overall efficiency and cost savings, along the line of what Facebook Inc…

Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL)’s production of the iPhone 6, scheduled for a September 9 unveiling, has come under heavy scrutiny lately. Rumors abound that production has hit major snags and that the phone could experience a moderate delay in release as a result. Macrumors.com editor-in-chief Eric Slivka tells TheStreet that snags like this are common, and a major delay or product shortages in the launch of the newest iPhone should not be expected. “Reports of component delays and issues for Apple leading up to iPhone launches are a regular occurrence, every year we go through the same thing and Apple pretty much…