Microsoft chops CEO shortlist to a handful of candidates

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer with his company's Surface tablet.
(Credit: Josh Lowensohn/CNET)

Microsoft has apparently shortened its list of potential successors to replace CEO Steve Ballmer, according to Reuters.

In this group is Ford CEO Alan Mulally, former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, Microsoft Executive VP Tony Bates, and Microsoft cloud and enterprise chief Satya Nadella. Reuters was unable to get other names, but a source familiar with the matter said there was at least one other internal candidate and a total of more-or-less five contenders.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who has led the company for the past 13 years, announced in August that he would retire within 12 months once a replacement is found who will carry out Microsoft's new vision of offering more devices and services. The company's board has formed a special committee to seek out potential candidates. Meeting with Microsoft's shareholders, the committee has been narrowing down its list of possible successors from an initial 40 people, both internal and external.

The committee has reportedly spoken with Elop, who will rejoin Microsoft when its US$7.2 billion acquisition of the Finnish company's handset division closes. It has also reportedly talked to Mulally, who has been CEO of Ford for seven years. Initially, Mulally expressed disinterest in the position but has reportedly warmed up to the idea in recent weeks. Bates, who is also reportedly on the shortlist, had previously been CEO of Skype.

Names that were floated over the past couple of months but were not mentioned to Reuters are Computer Sciences CEO Mike Lawrie, former Windows Chief Steven Sinofsky, and former Juniper Networks CEO Kevin Johnson.

While Ballmer is expected to leave Microsoft within the next several months, recent reports say the seat change could happen as soon as the end of this year. According to Reuters, however, the process may take longer.

CNET contacted Microsoft for comment. We'll update this story when we get more information.

Via CNET

Apple sells 150M iPhones, 71M iPads in 2013

No, the iPhone, iPad, and Mac maker has not somehow found a way to make the 12-month calendar two months thinner. It's the end of its fiscal year, which wrapped up last month and has just been reported.

The company tallied up US$7.5 billion in profits on US$37.5 billion of sales in its fourth quarter, led once again by the iPhone. Here's how Apple did when stacking up its results for the entire year:

US$170.9 billion in revenue.

US$37 billion in profits.

150.2 million iPhones sold (versus 125 million last year).

71.1 million iPads sold (versus 58.31 million last year).

16.5 million Macs sold (versus 18.15 million last year).

26.4 million iPods sold (versus 35.16 million last year).

US$16 billion in revenue from its iTunes business.

More than 400 million visitors at its retail stores.

49 new or remodeled retail stores.

US$50 million in revenue per store.

15 "strategic acquisitions," according to CEO Tim Cook, who mentioned the metric during the company's earnings call. And, in chart form:

Click to enlarge.
(Credit: Josh Lowensohn/CNET)

Via CNET

Apple preps phablet and Retina MacBook Air, according to DisplaySearch

iPhone will get big. A lot bigger, display analyst predicts.
(Credit: Apple)

Apple appears to be planning a phablet, a Retina MacBook Air, and a 1.6-inch iWatch in its 2014 lineup, according to a research note from NPD DisplaySearch.

In addition to the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 (some are calling it a 4.8-inch design), DisplaySearch anticipates a phablet-sized 5.7-inch iPhone with a 1,920x1,080 display (see chart at bottom), based on data from the supply chain of manufacturers in Asia.

That's the same resolution in many 10-inch-class devices and would match the 5-inch resolution of Samsung's Galaxy S4.

Other goodies expected from Apple include:

• Big iPad : a 12.9-inch iPad with a 2,732×2,048 resolution display.
• iPad Mini 2: sporting a 7.9-inch 2,048×1,536 display, matching the resolution of the larger 9.7-inch iPad.
• Retina MacBook Air: Finally, a Retina version of the popular Air. The new MBA may have a smaller 12-inch screen boasting 2,304×1,440 resolution. (Or slightly larger if you compare it to the current 11.6-inch MacBook Air.)
• iWatch: 1.3-inch and 1.63-inch iWatch with 320×320 flexible AMOLED display.
• Apple TV: 55-inch, a 65-inch 4Kx2K screen.

More details can be found in the DisplaySearch chart at bottom.

The note from David Hsieh does not begin on a high note, however.

"Over the past several years, Apple has been an early adaptor of display technology as well as a critical part of the supply chain...However, rapid developments in technology and manufacturing of LCD and OLED displays have challenged Apple's leadership in display adoption," Hsieh said.

In other words, lots of mobile players can match or beat Apple's Retina display technology now.

"Other smart phone brands like HTC, Huawei, Nokia and Sony are all gearing up with higher resolution, larger displays, as are the tablet PC makers, led by Google and Amazon," he said.

Via CNET

Dortmund cannot run like robots - Subotic

The Schwarzgelben defender hailed the mentality that Jurgen Klopp has forged at Signal Iduna Park, while insisting he has no intention of leaving the club

Neven Subotic has revealed the work rate demanded by Jurgen Klopp at Borussia Dortmund, although he admits his side "cannot run like robots".

The defender, 24, joined the Schwarzgelben in the summer of 2008 from Mainz along with coach Klopp, and has gone on to form an integral part of the BVB first team in recent seasons.

Dortmund currently sit top of their Champions League group and one point behind Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga, and Subotic puts the club's success down to their tireless efforts in matches.

"We have a tactic that we always try to put on the pitch and we want to fill this tactic with life," he is quoted as saying by The Daily Mail.

"We cannot run like robots so we are just doing our job. Klopp wants us to do our job plus five or 10 per cent more to really do more than the other team."

Subotic has been linked with a move away from Signal Iduna Park, with Manchester United rumoured to be among the defender's admirers, but he insists that a move away is extremely unlikely.

"I wouldn’t move to any other club," he continued. "I'm still growing with this club at a very great rate where it would be silly for me to go somewhere and try to grow faster with a big chance of then maybe sitting on the bench."

Subotic has nothing but words of praise for Klopp, who has signed the Serbia international twice in his career, and claims the 46-year-old cares immensely about Dortmund and his squad.

"You go into a room and see people laughing and you know he is in the middle just being himself," he added. "He is very friendly, very funny but then as a coach he has that serious side too.

"He stands out in the way he gets people to want to be on his good side, everybody wants him to be proud of them because he does so much for us.

"You see him always working and thinking about this tactic and that. He puts a lot of work and effort in and we all try to at least match that, if not top it.

"He is very emotional because he is very heavily invested in this team. You can tell he cares so much that he acts on it. If something happens to a family member that we care so much about we would cry and for him it is kind of the same thing."

Dortmund face Arsenal on home turf as they look to replicate their 2-1 win at the Emirates Stadium a fortnight ago in Wednesday's Champions League encounter.

Xiaomi's first batch of WCDMA Hongmi sells out in just over 4 minutes

(Credit: Xiaomi)

Xiaomi made its first 100,000 units of its China Unicom-compatible WCDMA Hongmi phones (also known as Red Rice) available for purchase today on its Web site. Expectedly, the smartphone sold out, and the Chinese smartphone manufacturer tells CNET Asia that the WCDMA version of its entry-level smartphone was scooped up in just 4 minutes and 5 seconds.

In true Xiaomi fashion, co-founder and CEO Lei Jun first announced on Sina Weibo that the smartphone would go on sale November 5.

The sale of this budget smartphone, for just 799 yuan (US$131), marks the first version of Hongmi compatible not only with China Unicom, but also European 3G carriers due to its WCDMA support -- the Hongmi smartphone that went on sale in August uses TD-SCDMA, for use only in China. When asked about the number of European purchases of Hongmi, Xiaomi explained that its sales were exclusive to China.

While ex-Googler Hugo Barra is heading and strategizing Xiaomi's international expansion, and there is anticipation of the company's official Western debut, international fans are, for now, still left up to their own devices to snag the device through scalpers.

Xiaomi's 4.7-inch Hongmi sports a quad-core 1.5GHz Cortex-A7 processor, 4GB of storage and runs MIUI, the company's custom version of Android's 4.2 Jelly Bean.

The latest smartphone in Xiaomi's lineup, its Mi-3 smartphone, has yet to be sold as a WCDMA-compatible version -- the version that was sold out earlier this month is the TD-SCDMA variant. Rumors however suggest that the WCDMA version of Xiaomi's Mi-3 will be made available some time in mid-November or early December this year.

Ronaldo breaks Messi's record for Champions League goals in a calendar year

He equalised for Real Madrid in their 2-2 draw at Juventus and now has 14 goals in the competition in 2013 - one more than the Barca star in 2012
By Ben Hayward | Spanish Football Writer

Cristiano Ronaldo has broken the record held for Champions League goals scored in a calendar year after his second-half strike for Real Madrid at Juventus on Tuesday - overtaking the mark previously set byBarcelona's Lionel Messi.

Ronaldo latched on to a Karim Benzema pass in the 52nd minute and beat Gianluigi Buffon with a right-footed finish to level the scores at 1-1 after Arturo Vidal had blasted the Bianconeri in front from the penalty spot in the first half.

It was the Portuguese's eighth goal in four Group B games this term and his 14th in the Champions League this calendar year, a total which sees him surpass Messi's 13 strikes in 2012.

Ronaldo's goal was his 59th in the Champions League. The Portuguese now trails only Messi (63) and Raul (71). He also needs just one more strike to set a new group stage record currently shared with Hernan Crespo, Filippo Inzaghi and Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Messi, meanwhile, can add to his tally for Barca on Wednesday at home to AC Milan. The Argentine has hit seven goals in the Champions League in 2013, having been restricted by injury at the end of last season and also at the beginning of the current campaign.

Pep's Bayern equal Barca record

The Bavarians recorded their ninth straight Champions League win by beating Viktoria Plzen, matching the best-ever run set by the Blaugrana in 2002-03

Bayern Munich have equalled Barcelona's record of nine consecutive wins in the Champions League with their 1-0 away victory over Viktoria Plzen, which saw them qualify for the last 16.

Pep Guardiola brought on the Bavarians' top goalscorer this season, Mario Mandzukic, who scored the only goal of the game against the Czech side.

The last time the Bavarian giants failed to beat their opposition in Europe's top competition was when the succumbed to a 2-0 home defeat to Arsenal in the last 16 of 2012-13, when they progressed thanks to a 3-1 win at the Emirates.

Following the loss to the Gunners, they beat Juventus 2-0 both home and away before an impressive 7-0 aggregate win over Barcelona in the semi-finals.

They claimed a dramatic 2-1 victory over rivals Borussia Dortmund in the final and have started the competition well this term by beating CSKA Moscow, Manchester City and Plzen twice.

Barca set the previous record in 2002-03. They won all six of their games in the first group stage and took maximum points in the second one too, until Inter held them to a 0-0 draw at San Siro.