Need help picking the right tense

Hello, friends. I've got a question for you; two, really.

The task is to pick the right tense for the verb in brackets in the following two sentences; it has to be either in the present simple or present continuous:

Both Apple and Blackberry (launch) important new products this year.

Google currently (hold) the top position, but it has to keep innovating if it wants to remain number one.

The teacher argues that the first sentence should be in simple tense, whereas the second one should assume the progressive form; the student body disagrees on both counts. I do as well.

Please help us set this straight, and if you can, explain why a particular tense should be used.