Apple's big advantage is controlling all parts of its products, from the user interface to the processor.

ECONOMIST: The battle in the mobile industry takes an unexpected turn

Over the past year the intermittently profitable Santa Clara, California computer maker has moved from quoting traditional pricing-per processor for hardware, per user for software-toward a surfeit of new choices.

FORBES: Motivated Seller

Over the past year the intermittently profitable Santa Clara, Calif. computer maker has moved from quoting traditional pricing--per processor for hardware, per user for software--toward a surfeit of new choices.

FORBES: Motivated Seller

Given how tightly Apple likes to control the user experience of its products, using a Snapdragon app processor would be a remarkable departure from its traditional mobile strategy that has worked so well for the company in developed markets.

FORBES: Apple Can Breathe Snapdragon Fire Back To $650

Analysts noted that the actual performance of each processor will vary depending on the configuration of a user's PC.

CNN: AMD's low-cost Duron chip takes aim at Celeron

That's not surprising as it's been among the few where the software giant has controlled "the whole widget" -- choosing the processor, designing the hardware, and developing not only the operating system and user interface, but a host of licensing standards, services and infrastructure supporting Xbox Live.

ENGADGET: Switched On: Pondering PC 3.0

The phone seems to be called "The Other Half" -- or at least that's the working title for now -- and judging from Jolla's Facebook page it consists of a colorful plastic case, available in various shades including orange or green, which hooks onto the main chassis containing a 4.5-inch display (of unknown resolution), dual-core processor, microSD expansion with 16GB onboard, a "4G" modem, user replaceable battery and an 8MP rear camera.

ENGADGET

Payment processor Paypal has bought the creator of a product that triggers cash transfers when a user flashes a credit card in front of their phone.

BBC: Paypal buys the Cardio credit card scanning service