Moto appears to be continuing its long, arduous road toward recovery on news of its financial results for the fourth quarter of ‘09 — or, at the very least, it’s not losing any ground. Overall, the company posted a meager profit of $142 million for the quarter on revenue of $5.723 billion, $14 million better than a quarter prior and a staggering $3.799 billion better than the same quarter a year ago. Breaking it down by division, Mobile Devices is still in the red, but not by terribly much — it did $1.8 billion in sales with an operating loss of $132 million, while Home and Networks Mobility (the guys responsible for wireless infrastructure and set-top boxes) made $91 million on sales of $2 billion. Some 12 million handsets were shipped in the quarter alongside 3.4 million set-tops; that marks a downtick of 1.4 million phones from the third quarter, but as the company shifts focus to smartphones, it makes sense that would happen to a certain extent — provided the company can keep margins high.

RIM being a thriving and profitable company is hardly a new story — as confirmed by third quarter earnings of $628 million off the back of a record-breaking 10 million units sold — but the way it’s making its money seems to be changing. More than 80 percent of new BlackBerry subscribers in the quarter were private customers, marking a distinct shift — maybe not away from the corporate arena, but definitely toward embracing the consumer market. In an effort to further consolidate its global empire, RIM has also announced a partnership with China Telecom to go along with its earlier China Mobile deal . Oh, and there’s the small matter of the 75 millionth BlackBerry being sold, but we’re sure the cool cats up in BB HQ aren’t counting handsets, they’re probably too busy rolling around in piles of money. BlackBerry shipments break record in Q3, RIM profits jump 59 percent originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Dec 2009 09:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds

Oh how the mighty have fallen. Nintendo just announced that its interim net profit was cut by more than half to

Microsoft just turned in its first quarter financial report card, and while the good vibes around Windows 7 launch haven’t yet begun to fade, the numbers here aren’t exactly cheery: revenue is down 14 percent from last year at $12.92b, operating income is down 25 percent at $4.48b, net income is down 18 percent at $3.57b, and earnings per share are down 17 percent at $0.40. Not wonderful, but it’s better than analysts were expecting, and the stock is actually way up on the news. Adding in the deferred revenue from early sales of Windows 7 makes things look a little better still, with only a four percent decline in revenue and an eight percent increase in earnings per share, and the Entertainment and Devices Division — home of the Xbox 360 and Zune HD — is also a bright spot, increasing income from $159m to $312m on essentially unchanged revenue. Of course, the big test will actually be next quarter, after Windows 7 has really had a chance to make an impact — we’ll see if all these warm fuzzies translate into cold hard cash. Filed under: Misc. Gadgets Microsoft first-quarter income down 18 percent, still beats expectations originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:17:00 EST.

Apple’s stock has hit a personal high for the company at $205.04 per share, up from its previous high of $202.96 back in 2007. The company’s overall value is rated at $183 billion (Microsoft is $236 billion, in comparison). [ BusinessWeek ]

Endless hardware rumors . A dedicated fanbase. The best Android phones around . How is it that HTC, a company that people actually like , and which looks like it’s doing so well from where we all stand, is hemorrhaging profit ? Q3 financials are in, and they show nothing but pain : Smartphone maker HTC Corp reported Tuesday an 18% drop in third-quarter net profit…

We’d heard Apple was pushing the Financial Accounting Standards Board to change the rules by which Cupertino’s accountants reported iPhone and Apple TV revenue, and it looks like the effort was successful. The new rules allow Apple (and other companies like Palm ) to report revenues on products that bundle hardware and software all at once, instead of parceling out the revenue over time using subscription accounting to enable free software upgrades. For investors, that means Apple’s quarterly earnings reports will more accurately reflect the state of the company’s cash flow, but we’re more interested to find out if this means iPod touch OS updates will be free now, since the previous rationale for charging was that iPod revenue wasn’t recorded using subscription accounting. We’ve got a feeling Apple’s all too happy to take your $4.95, but we can hope, right? [Via MacRumors ] Filed under: Cellphones , Misc. Gadgets Standards board changes subscription accounting rules, Apple CPAs drunk with power originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:52:00 EST.

Apple’s pretty famous for using subscription accounting for the iPhone and Apple TV as a way to bend the rules and offer free software updates after purchase — basically, instead of putting all the money from the sale on the books at once, the company’s accountants spread the revenue out over two years, extending the “transaction” to cover upgrades. That’s great for iPhone owners, but it’s not so great for Apple or its investors, since the company’s stock price doesn’t always reflect the true amount of iPhone money coming in — in fact, Apple earnings reports now include a second, unofficial balance sheet that does away with subscription accounting to show off the real numbers. Yeah, it’s confusing, but it might finally be about to change, since the Financial Accounting Standards Board just tentatively approved new rules that could allow Apple to do away with subscription accounting and still deliver free updates. That means Apple’s quarterly earnings will now feature much larger official revenue and profit figures — last quarter’s official revenue was $8.34 billion , while the unofficial number was $9.74 billion — the lawyers and accountants will be happy, and we’ll still get free iPhone updates. Good deal all around — except for iPod touch owners, who will still have to pay $9.95 and not get a camera .

Nerds of the world jump of happiness, for HP has brought the legendary HP 15C Scientific Calculator and the HP 12C Financial Calculator for the iPhone and iPod touch, complete with custom skins and programming. What are these “calculators” I am talking about, you ask? Please, allow me to pull a Chris Anderson here: The HP-15C was a high end scientific programmable. To the HP-34C’s numerical integration and root solver the HP-15C added complex numbers and matrix calculations. The HP-12C is HP’s longest and best selling calculator. Though it has been followed by many newer models, with both more and less features this model continues to sell well