According to a Wednesday report from Reuters, citing three unnamed sources, South Korean technology giant Samsung Electronics is apparently in talks with Sharp Corp, with regard to an investment of nearly 10 billion yen ($108 million) in the struggling Japanese firm.

In the latest development in the high-profile patent-infringement trial pitting Apple against Samsung, US District Court Judge Lucy Koh reduced almost half of the $1 billion damage award which a jury had ordered Samsung to pay to Apple.

On Thursday, South Korean device manufacturer Samsung failed in its attempts to secure a ban against the Apple iPhone in Japan; with the Tokyo District Court dismissing Samsung's claim that Apple has stolen its technology.

In a Monday announcement, US credit card giant Visa said that it has worked out a global alliance for mobile payments with Samsung, for giving shoppers the benefit of making payments by waving their smartphones near a special reader.

In a move which will mark the first US release of Samsung Electronics' flagship Galaxy smartphone in three years, the company recently revealed that it will launch its highly-awaited new Galaxy S handset - the Galaxy S IV - in New York on March 14.

Samsung recently suffered a setback in its patent-infringement battle against Apple in Germany; with the Mannheim Court turning down the South Korean device manufacturer's request to block the text-to-voice feature of its US rival's popular iPhone handset, claiming violation of one of its patents.

South Korean device manufacturer Samsung is apparently the biggest rival of the bigwig US consumer electronics maker Apple; with the former's Galaxy line of devices posing a noteworthy challenge to the latter's popular devices like the iPhone and the iPad.

In a notably strategic move which underscores Samsung Electronics' resolve to have a distinct edge over its closest rival, Apple, in the high-end smartphone arena, a record-high sales goal for its forthcoming Galaxy S4 series of handsets has been set by the bigwig South Korean device manufacturer.