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"Welcome to this morning\u2019s edition of \u201CFirst To Know,\u201D a series in which we keep you in the know on what\u2019s happening in the digital world. Today, we\u2019re looking at three particularly interesting stories.\nApple Patent Paves Way for Thunderbolt on iOS Devices\nNew patent applications from Apple show how Intel and Apple's joint technology for wired fast data transfer, Thunderbolt, could be applied to iOS devices such as the iPhone and the iPad. One patent application, for example, mentions a connection \"between a portable media player and a display, a computer and a portable media player, or between other types of devices.\" \nIf Thunderbolt ever comes to iOS devices, it would mean much faster data transfer as well as faster recharging. \nFord to Open Research and Development Lab in Silicon Valley in 2012 \nFord plans to open an R&amp;D lab in Silicon Valley in \"early 2012,\" which would be the first such facility the company has ever opened on the West Coast. The exact location of the lab hasn't been revealed, except that it will be somewhere in the San Francisco Bay area.\nThe lab will help Ford develop partnerships with tech firms, startups and universities in the area. \nSamsung Reports Record Profit on Smartphone Sales\nSamsung has reported a record quarterly profit, thanks to surging sales of Galaxy phones and a one-time deal in which Samsung sold its mechanical-drive business to Seagate for $1.38 billion. Operating profit in Q4 was $4.5 billion, a 73% increase compared to 2010 when Samsung's operating profit was $2.58 billion. \nIn early December 2011 Samsung said it sold 300 million mobile phones that year, and it plans to sell 374 million mobile phones in 2012. \nImage courtesy of iStockphoto, DNY59"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2012/01/06/thunderbolt-ios-ford-lab-samsung-profits/>