With an estimated spend of $17.5 billion in the last year alone, Apple surpassed Hewlett-Packard (HP) to become the world’s largest buyer of semiconductors in 2010, reportsIHS iSuppli. Apple’s investment in chips for its iOS and desktop devices rose by 80% from the year before, with the company incorporating large amounts of flash memory into its iPhone, iPod and iPad devices. The rise correlates with Apple’s increase in device sales, shipping more than 48 million iPhones last year, a rise of 89%....

Apple has reportedly begun working with chip maker TSMC to start trial manufacturing of next generation A6 processors, moving the Cupertino-based company away from rival Samsung to a non-competitive vendor,Reuters reports. TSMC may be given the go-ahead to mass-produce Apple’s new processor should it be able to manufacture the chips in high quantities with minimum defects. Reports had previously suggested the Taiwanese manufacturer, the world’s largest chip maker, was already being considered to become an Apple supplier with recent legal action against Samsung likely forcing the shift....

WhenApple launchedthe long-awaited update to industry-leading video editing software Final Cut Pro, many people couldn’t wait to jump onto the Mac App Store to download a copy. As customers began using the software, it quickly became apparent that the new version of Final Cut Pro X wasn’t meeting user expectations; support for older file types was no longer available, functions became difficult to find and audio markers no longer work “the way they used to”....

Withnumerous reportssuggesting that Apple was to begin selling an unlocked model of its iPhone 4 smartphone this week, the handsethas gone livetoday on the US Apple Store, allowing customers to purchase both 16GB and 32GB variants. Prices for the 16GB model begin at $649.00, with the 32GB costing $749.00 – both devices are available in black and white. Currently, the unlocked phones would only work on GSM carriers. This could indicate that Apple is already flushing out stocks of the iPhone 4 to make way for the next iPhone refresh....

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has started investigatinga complaint filed by a customer in June this yearagainst Apple for its anticompetitive practices in India,reportsThe Economic Times. The suit alleged that the company was engaging in anticompetitive behaviour by restricting the iPhone to just two carriers—Aircel and Bharti Airtel—in India and to its own authorised resellers, disallowing customers to get it serviced from non-authorised outlets and preventing installation of apps on it from sources other than the App Store....