Samsung Electronics Co's flagship Galaxy smartphone looks very similar to Apple's iPhone, but the South Korean firm has not violated the iPhone design, a Seoul court ruled on Friday.

Nine jurors began deliberating on Wednesday in Apple Inc's high stakes patent lawsuit against Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, a process that could take several days due to the complex legal issues in play.

Apple Inc's worldwide legal crusade against the Android mobile operating system drew toward a climax on Tuesday as the iPhone maker's attorneys accused Samsung of taking a shortcut by copying Apple's designs after realizing it could not keep up.

Apple Inc and Foxconn have improved work and safety conditions at the Chinese factories that make most of the world's iPads and iPhones, but the auditors they enlisted to monitor the process warned that the toughest tasks lay ahead.

The chief executives of Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd have talked but did not settle the high stakes patent dispute between the two electronics companies, a Samsung attorney said in court on Monday.

Stocks were flat on Monday on signs of fatigue after a six-week run of gains as the European Central Bank quelled speculation about the form of market intervention that may be taken to stem the region's debt crisis.

Apple Inc became the most valuable public company of all time on Monday, after its market value climbed beyond $620 billion to surpass a milestone set by Microsoft Corp more than a decade ago.

Samsung Electronics tried to impose an "unfair and unreasonable" royalty rate on Apple Inc for the use of its wireless patents in the iPhone, which would have stymied Apple's commercial prospects, a former Texas Instruments lawyer said on Friday.

A financial expert said Apple Inc has overstated the profit margins earned by Samsung Electronics Co Ltd for mobile products, an issue that goes to the heart of the high profile patent trial between the two tech companies.

In China's booming smartphone market, which is set this year to overtake the United States as the world's largest, a host of little-known local firms are primed with cheap phones to squeeze market share from U.S. giant Apple Inc's iPhone.

A U.S. judge asked that the chief executives of Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd speak to each other at least once on the phone before a jury begins deliberating next week in the high-stakes patent trial between the two tech giants.

Today, General Motors has announced that the very first Eyes Free integrated vehicle will be its Chevrolet Spark and Sonic sub-compacts.

During today's WWDC keynote, Apple vice president of iOS Software Scott Forstall said, "We want to integrate Siri even better in the car."

Regarded as the visionary of our time, the late Apple founder Steve Jobs is known for creating innovative products, establishing the company to the forefront of consumer electronics.