Amazon tablet could be big seller this fall: Forrester
Amazon, which has been rumored to be readying a tablet for months, could sell between 3-5 million tablets in the fourth quarter of this year, according to a new report from Forrester.

Forrester says that if Amazon introduces a tablet this fall, it could be a winner based on Amazon?s willingness to sell hardware at a loss. This combined with the strength of the Amazon brand as well as its strong content, cloud infrastructure and commerce assets would make an Amazon tablet the only credible iPad competitor in the market.

While Apple is expected to retain the dominant share of the tablet market, Amazon?s entry could lead to the development of a range of Amazon tablets made by different hardware manufacturers that layer Amazon?s software and services over Android to provide a richer customer experience. As a result, more developers could decide to build Android tablet apps.

Forrester also expects Amazon?s entry into this space to further strain the online retailer?s relationship with Apple.

New Apple CEO Receives 1m stock units
Apple is giving Timothy Cook 1 million restricted stock units in connection with his appointment as the company?s new CEO. The stocks will fully vest as long as Mr. Cook continues to be employed by Apple through 2021.

According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, 50 percent of the restricted stock units being awarded to Mr. Cook are scheduled to vest on Aug. 24, 2016. The remaining 50 percent will vest on Aug. 24, 2021 if Mr. Cook is still working at Apple. 

Mr. Cook was appointed CEO of Apple last week, following the resignation of Steve Jobs.

Touchscreens play a big role in smartphone growth: ABI Research
Touchscreens are a key driver of the growth in smartphones, according to new data from ABI Research.

The Mobile Displays and Touchscreens report reveals that smartphones with touchscreens have gone from 7 percent of the total smartphone volume in 2006 ? which was prior to the launch of the original iPhone ? to 75 percent in 2010. Touchscreens played a key role in the 325 percent growth in smarpthones during this period.

Over the next five years, ABI predicts touchscreens will be as pervasive in smartphones as Wi-Fi chipsets are today, reaching 97 percent of all smartphones by 2016.

Screen and touch technologies continue to evolve and are having an impact on mobile devices other than smartphones. Low-cost capacitive touch controllers that use a single layer of sensors instead of two are opening the market for lower-end feature phones. EReaders can also now enable finger touch at a lower cost, potentially helping to standardize the displays in this fragmented category. 

IBM builds mobile, social capabilities
Several recent introductions from IBM are designed to help companies and their employees engage social networking via mobile.

For example, the new IBM Connections apps for Android, iOS and BlackBerry enables users to share files, generate and vote on ideas as well as take and upload photos using mobile devices.

Lotus Notes Traveler, which is available in beta, allows IBM email users to call people listed in their calendar views with just one click.

Other news includes the introduction of meetings support for Sametime, allowing BlackBerry users to participate in online meetings using their mobile devices.For Android users, Sametime now includes text-to-speech, which can read incoming messages when users cannot stop to look at a device, and the ability to automatically update location status.