Japan-based consumer electronics & entertainment giant Sony Corp. has agreed to buy cloud-based videogame-streaming firm Gaikai for around $380 million.

Aliso Viejo-based Gaikai allows people to play games on almost any Internet-connected device, such as desktop, tablet and smartphone. Just like Netflix Instant video streaming service, Gaikai allows users to store games on a remote server and stream them to any Internet-connected device without any need to download or install any particular program.

Predicting that Apple's long-term fate will probably mirror that of some of the other technology giants - like Sony and Kodak - which initially peaked and then decelerated after the demise of the their dynamic leaders -, Forrester Research CEO George Colony said in a recent blog post that Apple "will decline in the post Steve Jobs era."

According to Colony, Apple will not be able to sustain its current growth momentum in the long run; and will, in the next 2-4 years, apparently become just a "good company", and no longer a "great company."

In what can apparently be seen as the latest substantiation of the rumors pertaining to Apple's next iPhone iteration - which is widely referred to as the iPhone 5 -, a recent report on the Japanese blog Macotakara has revealed that Sony and Hitachi have begun shipping 4-inch LCD displays for "a new iOS device."

The Macotakara report, citing unnamed sources `in the know' of the proceedings, said that the new iOS handset - which has neither been officially announced nor has there been any disclosure of the timeline for its release - will feature a 4-inch screen.