Archive for the ‘Tech News and Gadgets’ Category

Apple expected to unveil iPhone to drive emerging market sales

By Poornima Gupta CUPERTINO, California (Reuters) – Apple Inc is expected to introduce a cheaper version of the iPhone on Tuesday, bringing one of the industry’s costliest smartphones within reach of the masses in poorer emerging markets. The world’s most valuable technology company, which many expect to unveil an iPhone 5C in several colors alongside […]

Olympus pins future hopes on mirrorless format

By Sophie Knight TOKYO (Reuters) – To stem the red ink on its loss-making camera division, Olympus Corp has decided to rely on a format that so far has been a flop outside of its home turf in Japan. The company on Tuesday released the “OM-D E-M1”, a mirrorless model Olympus says is the first […]

Exclusive: Microsoft urged to put Mulally, Lawrie on CEO shortlist

By Nadia Damouni (Reuters) – At least three of the top 20 investors in Microsoft Corp want a turnaround expert to succeed Steve Ballmer as chief executive and have urged the technology giant’s board to consider Ford Motor Co CEO Alan Mulally and Computer Sciences Corp CEO Mike Lawrie for the job, several sources familiar […]

Icahn bows out of battle for control of Dell

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Activist investor Carl Icahn said on Monday he was bowing out of efforts to block founder Michael Dell‘s proposed buyout of Dell Inc, determining “it would be almost impossible to win.” In a letter to shareholders, Icahn cited a change in the record date for stockholders allowed to vote on the […]

Google offers new concessions to avoid fine in EU antitrust case

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Google has offered further concessions aimed at ending a three-year investigation into complaints it was blocking competitors and to avert a possible $5 billion fine, the European Commission said on Monday. The new proposal comes two months after the Commission, which is the European Union‘s antitrust regulator, asked the world’s most popular […]

Vodafone urges Kabel shareholders to accept $10 billion bid

FRANKFURT/LONDON (Reuters) – Vodafone urged Kabel Deutschland shareholders to accept its 7.7 billion euro ($10.1 billion) offer, warning the bid would lapse if less than three quarters of them agree to sell Germany‘s largest cable operator by Wednesday. Earlier on Monday the Financial Times said the British mobile network operator may fail to reach the […]

Internet experts want security revamp after NSA revelations

By Joseph Menn SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Internet security experts are calling for a campaign to rewrite Web security in the wake of disclosures that the U.S. National Security Agency has developed the capability to break encryption protecting millions of sites. But they acknowledged the task won’t be easy, in part because internet security has […]

Apple hit with U.S. injunction in e-books antitrust case

By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. judge who found Apple Inc conspired to fix e-book prices imposed new restrictions on the iPad maker on Friday, limiting its agreements with publishers. U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in New York also said she would appoint an external monitor to review Apple’s antitrust compliance policies, […]

Verizon sued by shareholder over $130 billion Vodafone deal

By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) – Verizon Communications Inc has been sued by a shareholder seeking to void its $130 billion buyout of Vodafone Group Plc‘s stake in the companies’ wireless joint venture on the grounds the price is too high. In a lawsuit filed in a New York state court on Thursday, just […]

Deutsche Telekom applies for sports betting license

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Deutsche Telekom has applied for a sports betting license which could pit the telecommunications company against online gambling companies competing for a limited number of concessions. The matter is still at a very early stage, a spokesman for Deutsche Telekom told Reuters on Friday, adding that the application was being reviewed by […]

Apple hit with injunction in e-books antitrust case

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A federal judge who found Apple Inc liable for conspiring to fix e-book prices entered an injunction on Friday intended to bar the iPad maker from further antitrust violations. U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan said Apple could not enter into agreements with five major U.S. publishers that would impede […]

China Unicom, Telecom to sell latest iPhone shortly after U.S. launch

By Lee Chyen Yee (Reuters) – Chinese telecom carriers China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd and China Telecom Corp Ltd will carry Apple Inc‘s newest iPhone models within days of their launch in Beijing next week as the U.S. technology giant tries to regain lost ground in its second-biggest market by releasing the phones faster. Apple […]

American Tower to buy Global Tower in $4.8 billion deal

(Reuters) – American Tower Corp said it would buy privately held MIP Tower Holdings LLC, the parent of telecom tower operator Global Tower Partners, in a $4.8 billion deal to take advantage of the roll-out of 4G wireless network in the United States. American Tower shares were up about 3 percent in premarket trading as […]

Why TV Could be Better for Kids Than iPads

I have a confession: I’m a tech reporter, with a master’s degree in educational technology – and I don’t often let my kids use an iPad.I’d rather let them watch TV than play with digital devices. I’m not going to tell you how you should raise your kids –that’s up to you – but I […]

Harman CEO says worst over for European car market

By Harro Ten Wolde BERLIN (Reuters) – U.S. audio systems maker Harman International Industries Inc said that Europe‘s automotive industry, which accounts for most of its sales, has already bottomed out and may show modest recovery in the current fiscal year. There are indications that the European car market, where sales dropped to a two-decade […]

Australian teen tests Apple tolerance with new iPhone leak

By Michael Sin SYDNEY (Reuters) – An Australian teenager who has built an online following by leaking pictures of upcoming Apple Inc products has done it again, showing off the purported fingerprint scanner of the latest iPhone ahead of its expected launch next week. Sonny Dickson, who lives with his parents in suburban Melbourne, attracted […]

AT&T, America Movil, Sawiris sound out Telecom Italia: source

By Paola Arosio MILAN (Reuters) – Egyptian tycoon Naguib Sawiris, AT&T and America Movil have made contact with the core Telecom Italia investors who want to sell their shares in the Italian group, a source close to the situation said. The three have not expressed a formal interest in buying the stakes, the source, who […]

Internet’s Hearsay Social raises $30 million in funding

By Alexei Oreskovic SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Internet company Hearsay Social has raised $30 million in funding which it said would help accelerate product development and international expansion. San Francisco-based Hearsay said on Thursday that its latest round of funding came from venture capital firms Sequoia Capital and NEA, which have both previously invested in […]

Samsung’s Smartwatch – Trendsetter or Follower?

At the IFA tradeshow in Berlin, Samsung announced Galaxy Gear:  a smartwatch that can’t make calls on its own, but connects wirelessly with the owner’s nearby smartphone. Samsung may have beaten Apple to the punch, but is this watch doomed to be a forgotten accessory, or is it the start of a trend that’s been […]

Japan Display ponders new plant, IPO possible in 2014 at earliest

By Reiji Murai and Sophie Knight TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan Display, the world’s top maker of screens for smartphones and tablets, will reach maximum capacity at a recently opened factory by next summer, CEO Shuichi Otsuka told Reuters on Thursday, raising the likelihood of an IPO early next year to fund a new facility. Otsuka […]