Apple's defenders count the errors in Microsoft's anti-iPad ads

• U.S. Judge in e-book antitrust trial says Apple is likely to lose

  It doesn't start until June 3, but the judge is already working on a draft of her decision.

  FORTUNE -- This does not bode well for Cupertino.

  Asked during a preliminary hearing Thursday to share her thoughts about the Department of Justice's case against Apple (AAPL) in the long-awaited e-book antitrust trial, U.S. District Judge Denise Cote said this, according to Reuters:

  "I believe that the government will be able to show at trial MORE

  Philip Elmer-DeWitt - May 24, 2013 8:05 AM ET
  Posted in: Amazon, Antitrust, Apple, DOJ, e-books, IBook, iPad, Judge Denise Cote

• Mailbox comes to the iPad

  The popular mobile inbox app, which generated buzz with a digital queue for sign-ups, is now available for the iPad.

  FORTUNE -- Not since the 1990s -- if ever -- have Internet users gone crazy over an email service the way they have for Mailbox for the iPhone. Some seemed more than happy to wait weeks in a virtual waiting list, one generated by the startup so its servers could handle the MORE

  JP Mangalindan, Writer - May 23, 2013 12:40 PM ET
  Posted in: Dropbox, Email, Gentry Underwood, iPad, iPhone, Mailbox

• Jack Dorsey: 'We are optimizing for growth'

  Square CEO Jack Dorsey spoke to Fortune exclusively about his company's new hardware, Stand, a $299 countertop point of sale system.

  FORTUNE -- On Tuesday, fast growing mobile payments startup Square introduced Stand, a hardware device that cradles an iPad, turning it into a countertop point of sale system. Square CEO Jack Dorsey and Jesse Dorogusker, a former Apple (AAPL) exec who led the development of Stand, spoke with Fortune on Monday MORE

  Miguel Helft, senior writer - May 14, 2013 11:45 AM ET
  Posted in: iPad, Jack Dorsey, Jesse Dorogusker, Point of sale, Square, Square Stand, Starbucks

• Square unveils Stand, a countertop point of sale system

  The fast-growing payments startup is making an aggressive play for larger retailers.

  FORTUNE -- Early last year, Square, Jack Dorsey's fast-growing mobile payments startup, made an unusual hire: Jesse Dorogusker, an Apple hardware executive who was responsible for docking stations, headphones, and other peripherals, joined as vice president of hardware. The move foreshadowed a foray into gadgets by Square, which is best known for its white plastic credit card reader for iOS MORE

  Miguel Helft, senior writer - May 14, 2013 11:23 AM ET
  Posted in: iPad, Jack Dorsey, Jesse Dorogusker, Point of sale, Retail, Revel Systems, Square, Square Stand

• The perils of tracking Apple's supply chain 'build plans'

  Today's bullish estimates can be tomorrow's "orders slashed due to weakening demand."

  FORTUNE -- In a note to clients Monday, Jefferies' Peter Misek offered some intriguing numbers.

  Based on checks with his network of Apple (AAPL) suppliers, he believes that the company plans to build iPhones at the rate of

  25 to 30 million by the end of June
  25 to 50 million more by the end of September
  60 to 65 million more by MORE

  Philip Elmer-DeWitt - May 13, 2013 11:28 AM ET
  Posted in: Apple, iPad, iPhone, Jefferies, Peter Misek, supply chain

• 60 Minutes Overtime: Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Charlie Rose

  A video glimpse into a 30-year relationship that is the definition of frenemies.

  FORTUNE -- Steve Jobs was pretty sick in Nov. 2010 when CBS (CBS) debuted its 60 Minutes app on the iPad, so it's hard to know how involved he was in the negotiations that got Apple (AAPL) the exclusive. But he probably would have got a kick out of what the venerable TV newsmagazine managed to do with MORE

  Philip Elmer-DeWitt - May 13, 2013 7:07 AM ET
  Posted in: 60 Minutes, Apple, Bill Gates, Charlie Rose, iPad, Microsoft, Steve Jobs

• Pie charts of the day: Tablet sales grew 140% year over year

  Apple's iPad sales grew 65%. Samsung's shipments, according to IDC, grew 280%.

  FORTUNE -- How do you make the fact that sales of Apple's (AAPL) iPad grew 65% -- from 11.8 million to 19.5 million -- look bad?

  You bury it under a headline that points out, as several reports did, that its market share dipped below 40% for the first time.

  The data come from IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker, which took iPad MORE

  Philip Elmer-DeWitt - May 1, 2013 7:45 PM ET
  Posted in: Apple, IDC, iPad, Market Share, Sales, Samsung, Tablets

• Chart of the day: Apple's 2nd-fastest growing revenue stream

  Ten years later, it's the sprawling digital mall known as the Apple iTunes Store.

  FORTUNE -- Asymco's Horace Dediu contributed to the bouquet of articles celebrating the iTunes Store's 10th anniversary with a story for Billboard magazine and the bar chart above, posted with a score of eye-popping data points in Happy Birthday iTunes Store.

  What struck me, looking at Apple's most recent SEC Form 10-Q, is that revenue from the iTunes Store MORE

  Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Apr 29, 2013 9:02 AM ET
  Posted in: Apple, Asymco, Birthday, Horace Dediu, iPad, iTunes Store, Revenue, Tim Cook

• All eyes on Apple Inc.

  Its quarterly earnings report is a reality check on three months of speculation.

  FORTUNE -- Today at about 4:30 p.m. Eastern, Apple (AAPL) will report its results for the March quarter, and the fog of rumors and speculation that has swirled around the company since January will lift -- if only for a day or two.

  This is Apple's quarterly reality check, its chance to answer questions that have weighed on the MORE

  Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Apr 23, 2013 8:26 AM ET
  Posted in: Apple, Cash, iPad, iPhone, Margins, Quarterly earnings