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Shares of smartphone maker HTC plummeted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange after the company reported a sharp drop in its profits for the first quarter of 2012.Its shares dipped as much as 6.8% to 545 New Taiwan dollars.

The firm said net profit for the first three months of year fell 70% from a year earlier to £95 million (NT$4.46 billion).

The numbers come as the firm faces increasing competition from rivals such as Samsung and Apple.

HTC also reported a 35% drop in revenue for the period. Analysts said the weak results had raised concerns about the impact of increasing competition on the firm’s future growth.

HTC, which used to be a contract electronics manufacturer, started making phones under its own brand just five years ago.

The firm made rapid progress and was one of the early market leaders in the Android sector. It gained valuable share in key markets such as the US, and at one time was the world’s third-largest mobile phone maker.

However, the company failed to hold on to its dominant position and has been losing ground to other Android phone makers, as well as Apple’s iPhone.

The firm is launching a new series of phones, dubbed HTC One, in a bid to regain its market share.

Analysts said that even though the company had suffered a setback, it had a good chance to bounce back.

Samsung Electronics has said it’s profit for the first three months of the year to almost double as its smartphone sales continue to grow.The company said it expects an operating profit £3.2 billion (5.8tn won) for the period.

The success of Samsung’s Galaxy range has seen it become the world’s biggest selling smartphone maker.

Analysts said the firm had benefited from keeping its margins healthy, despite growing competition.

With memory chip prices rising, chips will play a big part in second quarter profits. Expectations for operating profit will reach somewhere between 6.5tn to 7.5tn won.

While Samsung’s phone unit has prospered, other divisions, including memory chip manufacturing, have been going through a tough time.

Prices for memory chips have been falling globally, not least due to oversupply.

Analysts said that natural disasters last year in Japan and Thailand had resulted in a fall in production of various electronics products, which use these chips, resulting in high inventory levels putting pressure on prices.

At the same time, slowing demand from key markets such as the US and Europe hurt chipmakers.

However, analysts said that as the global economy recovers and supply chains in the region get back on track, chip prices were likely to recover, boosting Samsung’s profits further.

While the company is expected to grow further, analysts warned that Samsung will have to overcome potential hurdles on the way.

To begin with, it will have to fend off competition from its biggest rival Apple, they said.

The fear is that increased competition may force Samsung to lower its prices in a bid to attract customers, a move which, if implemented, would impact on its profit.

At the same time, Samsung is also involved in a legal battle with Apple over patents involving technology it uses in its smartphones and tablet PCs.

A big rise in online betting via mobile phones has helped Paddy Power to increase it’s profits with a 16% rise annual rise.The bookmaker, which makes most of its profits in the UK, said pre-tax profits for the year to 31 December 2011 rose to £100.9 million (121.2m euros).

Paddy Power expanded its High Street network, opening 41 outlets in the UK last year to bring its total to 165.

Online revenue increased by 26%, driven by a 225% rise in turnover from betting on mobile phones to £304.7 million.

The company said that 49% of its online sports betting customers used their mobile phone to place bets.

Online betting accounts for 79% of Paddy Power’s profits and the company said it had increased the number of UK online customers by 50% to 710,043.

“Our class leading mobile product, married to the strength of our brand and strong value offering has driven acquisition and retention, leading to 1.1 million active customers online,” said chief executive Patrick Kennedy.

Although the company now has 165 shops in the UK it plans to open another 35 to 40 each year.

Microsoft’s profits in the three months to the end of March dropped slightly but the results still beat analysts’ expectations after a surprise rise in sales of its Windows operating system.The world’s largest software firm made a net profit of £3.2 billion ($5.11 billion), compared with £3.3 billion a year earlier.

Sales rose by 6% to £10.875 billion.

Windows sales rose 4% against forecasts of a 4% decline, though sales at its entertainment division, which includes the Xbox console, fell 16%.

Its business division saw revenues increase 9% “reflecting the continued strength of Office 2010″, the company said.

Microsoft shares rose 3% in after-hours trading in New York.

The company also noted that the results for the same quarter a year ago had been boosted by a £288 million tax benefit.

Windows is facing competition from the growth of tablet computers such as Apple’s iPad and mobile devices using Google’s Android system.

However, Microsoft is hitting back with the release of Windows 8, an operating system for PCs and mobile devices.

Earlier this week Microsoft said this next operating system would come in three different types.

For those with Intel-compatible machines, the OS will be available in two versions – Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro.

And for those with devices, largely tablets, powered by ARM-designed chips, there will be a Windows RT version.

Apple has unveiled a new iPad with a high definition screen.It said the resolution of the display was 2,048 by 1,536 pixels. The tablet is also powered by a new A5X chip with improved graphics performance.

Apple dominates the market but should face a fresh challenge later this year when tablets running the full Windows 8 system are expected to go on sale.

The new iPad – which is simply called by that name – also features a 5-megapixel camera sensor. It will be able to run on 4G LTE networks where the service is available and can act as a wi-fi hotspot for other devices if carriers allow the function.

It is 9.4mm deep, slightly thicker than the 8.8mm profile of the iPad 2. The basic 16GB model with only wi-fi will cost £399 and the top of the range 64GB model with wi-fi and 4G will cost £659.

It is due to go on sale on 16 March in the UK, US, Canada, Germany, France, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and Japan.

The previous model will stay on sale at a reduced price, starting at £329. Mr Schiller said that would make it more affordable for schools to buy the machine.

The firm also announced an upgraded TV box which can now handle 1080p video

Blackberry maker Research In Motion (RIM) has said its co-chief executives Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie have stepped down from control of the company.Mr Lazaridis, who founded RIM in 1984, will become vice chairman. Mr Balsillie will continue to sit on the board but not have any operational role.

Investors have called for a strategy change as the company struggles to compete with Apple and Google.

The departure of RIM’s co-chief executives was long overdue. Not even troubled computer giant Hewlett-Packard – which lost two CEOs in less than a year – was as bad a technology car crash as Research In Motion.

Here was a company that defined what smartphones were all about; that had cornered the important corporate market; that had made serious inroads into the youth market with cheap entry-level smartphones. And then threw it all away in an orgy of poor executive decisions, lacklustre innovation, unkept promises in delivering new product and – the greatest sin of all – a total lack of understanding that its part of the tech industry was undergoing a fundamental shift.

First Apple, then Google managed to eat the Blackberry pie, and RIM did nothing to stop them. The company’s new boss will have to work very hard to keep RIM in the smartphone game.

Mr Lazaridis, speaking after the announcement, said he recognized things needed to change at the company.

“There comes a time in the growth of every successful company when the founders recognize the need to pass the baton to new leadership,” he said at a press conference at RIM’s headquarters in Waterloo, Canada.

“Jim and I went to the board and told them that we thought that time was now.”

Mr Heins started at RIM in 2007, having previously worked at Siemens Communications. He became the chief operating officer in August 2011, according to the company.

Mr Heins said: “As with any company that has grown as fast as we have, there have been inevitable growing pains. We have learned from those challenges and, I believe, we have and will become a stronger company as a result.”

Barbara Stymiest, who has been on the board of RIM since 2007, has been made the new chairman, a post that Mr Balsillie and Mr Lazaridis also shared.

It had its worst service outage in 2011 and has been losing market share to its competitors in the smartphone markets.

Billions of dollars have been wiped from its market value as shares have tumbled 75% over the past 11 months and sales have dropped.

UK shoppers are buying more online products and services and at a faster pace than many other countries- a survey of global shopping habits by KPMG has found.Seventy seven per cent of British shoppers prefer to buy goods like CDs, DVDs, books and video games online – compared with 65% globally.

But when it comes to mobile banking, consumers in the UK are more reluctant than those in other parts of the world.

KPMG surveyed 9,600 consumers aged between 16 and 65, across 31 countries.

When buying goods or services, the majority of customers (both in the UK and globally) now said that they look at social networks such as Facebook and Twitter and online review sites.

“From buying goods on their mobile phones to keeping up with friends on social networks, consumers are increasingly reliant on a range of technologies that perform important – yet often overlapping – tasks,” said Tudor Aw, KPMG’s European head of technology.

“This new ‘converged lifestyle’ will have huge implication for retailers.”

Eighty eight per cent of respondents in the UK and worldwide reported downloading an app to their mobile.

In the UK, 74% of consumers said they were more likely to buy flights and holidays online and six in 10 used some form of online grocery shopping.

In the US, by contrast, the same amount would book flights but only 21% said they were more likely to buy groceries online.

But when it comes to mobile banking, only 27% in the UK said they had used some form of mobile banking in the past six months.

That compares with 52% globally – a massive jump from just under 20% in 2008, according to the audit firm.

Consumers in the UK are also more reluctant to embrace the cloud – storing their data online rather than on their own computers – with 53% of respondents saying they do some compared with 65% globally.

“The report also shows that consumers’ concerns over privacy and data security have increased over the last few years and companies across all sectors need to take this concern seriously,” Mr Aw said.

Online sales rose faster than expected in the US on Black Friday, according to surveys- with more expected next week.Internet sales totalled £524 million ($816 million), a 26% gain on last year, said Comscore. IBM Coremetrics put the rise at 24%.

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is treated by many retailers as the start of the Christmas shopping season. They offer one-off discounts to mark the occasion.

Analysts said heavy promotional activity helped drive demand.

By comparison, a report by Shoppertrak suggested that in-store Black Friday sales were up by 7% on last year, at £7.12 billion ($11.4 billion).

Around 50 million Americans visited online retail sites on Friday, according to Comscore.

It said Amazon was the most popular destination, with 50% more visitors than any other retailer.

Walmart, Best Buy, Target and Apple were next in line, said the analytics company.

“Despite some analysts’ predictions that the flurry of brick-and-mortar retailers opening their doors early for Black Friday would pull dollars from online retail, we still saw a banner day for e-commerce,” said Comscore’s chairman, Gian Fulgoni.

IBM Coremetrics also noted a trend towards shopping on smartphones and tablet computers.

It said Black Friday purchases made on mobile devices had accounted for 9.8% of all online sales, compared with 3.2% last year.

IBM described mobile shoppers as having had a “laser focus” since they had been more likely to view a single page on a retailer’s site rather than browse what else was for sale.

IBM said Apple’s iPhone and iPad had generated the most mobile internet visits to online stores, accounting for more than double the traffic originating from devices running Google’s Android system.

The company also noted a jump in Black Friday related chatter on social networks. It recorded a 110% rise in discussion volumes after consumers had shared tips on how to secure products before they sold out and the best places to park.

Friday’s internet sales are expected to be eclipsed today on what is referred to as Cyber Monday – which many experts believe will be the US’s busiest online shopping day of the year.

Close to 123 million Americans plan to make an online purchase according to a survey commissioned by the US National Retail Federation, an industry lobby group. That would be a 15% increase on last year.

NRF said nearly eight in ten online retailers would run special promotions including “flash sales that last an hour” and “free shipping offers”.

The federation also highlighted the shift to mobile devices, saying it expected 17.8 million Americans to use them to shop today, nearly five times the number in 2009.

“Retailers have invested heavily in mobile apps and related content as the appetite for Cyber Monday shopping through smartphones and tablets continues to rise,” said Vicki Cantrell, executive director of the NRF’s website shop.org.

UK internet retailers said it was less clear which day will be the UK’s busiest online shopping day this year.

“Over the last couple of years we have seen a fortnight of peak activity over the period corresponding to both this and next week,” said Andy Mulcahy, a spokesman for the industry body Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG).

“We expect £3.72bn will be spent online over the two week period.”

Mr Mulcahy said that although some retailers are trying to generate interest in the idea of a cyber event in the UK, but they are split over which day to mark.

Visa Europe said it believed today will be the UK’s busiest internet shopping day, with £303m spent online.

eBay has forecast that it would experience its peak in activity this Sunday with more than 5.5 million people expected to log onto the UK version of its auction website.

Amazon said it expected to experience more demand the following day.

“In recent years, the first Monday in December has been Amazon.co.uk’s busiest day with orders for over 2.3 million items being placed on Monday 6th December last year,” said Christopher North, the website’s managing director.

Shares of smartphone maker HTC have fallen by 7%, the maximum allowed in one day, after the company cut its growth forecast.Taiwan-based HTC said on Wednesday that it expected revenues for the final three months of 2011 to be little changed from a year earlier.

The firm had earlier forecast growth of 20% to 30%.

HTC, the world’s fourth-biggest smartphone brand, blamed increased competition and weakening demand.

Analysts and the markets were surprised by the statement filed with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.

In October, the company had warned that fourth quarter revenue was slowing, predicting 125bn to 135bn New Taiwan dollars (£2.6 billion- £2.9 billion), compared with T$135.8bn (32.81 billion) in the previous three months.

Although HTC did not give a specific forecast for Wednesday’s further downward revision, it said it predicted no growth compared to the same period last year. HTC’s revenue in the last three months of 2010 was £2.166 billion.

Analysts said the grim outlook could be blamed on lack of new products to compete with an expansion in Apple’s distribution channels in the US.

However, the company said it expected a pick up in revenue in the first half of 2012.

Mobile phone operators must do more to help people avoid getting unexpectedly large bills after downloading data warns the Communications Ombudsman.The complaints watchdog says the so called “data download bill shock” is a serious and growing problem.

Chief Ombudsman Lewis Shand Smith says that is because it is becoming more common for people to download big files, like videos, onto mobiles.

He says that has led to a rise in the number of customers being affected.

As technology improves it is becoming more common for people to download bigger files.  Those include songs, videos and emails with large attachments.

Communications Ombudsman Lewis Shand Smith thinks phone companies could do more to warn people but says they are doing nothing wrong under the current regulations.

He said: “Most mobile operators are playing by the rules, so that then begs the question are the rules what they ought to be? Customer satisfaction is always a priority and there are several ways people can keep track of exactly how much data they use.”

He’s calling on mobile phone operators to do three things:

• First of all, be very clear about what they mean by unlimited in the advertisements;

• Secondly, give advice to consumers so they know when they’re reaching their limit;.

• Thirdly, give advice on the amount of data that’s being downloading.

In a series of statements the big five mobile phone operators said: “There are a variety of different tariffs and deals that let customers manage their bills effectively.

“Customer satisfaction is always a priority and there are several ways people can keep track of exactly how much data they use.”

Depending on your download connection the amount of data you use for one song is roughly 3 megabytes, for a three-minute video it’s 15 megabytes and for a half hour TV show it’s around 350 megabytes.