17 May 2012

As Facebook grows, millions say, 'no, thanks'

Don't try to friend MaLi Arwood on Facebook. You won't find her there.

17 May 2012

Toshiba eyes $5.6 billion operating profit by 2014-15

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's biggest chip maker, Toshiba Corp, said on Thursday its annual operating profit is likely to reach 450 billion yen ($5.60 billion) by the business year ending in March 2015. In its mid-term business plan, the electronics conglomerate also said its capital spending for the three years to March 2015 will be about 1.4 trillion yen and it plans to spend around 1.1 trillion yen on research and development during the same period. ...

17 May 2012

Apple readies iPhone with bigger screen: sources

A man looks at his Apple iPad in front an Apple logo outside an Apple store in downtown ShanghaiTOKYO (Reuters) - Apple Inc plans to use a larger screen on the next-generation iPhone and has begun to place orders for the new displays from suppliers in South Korea and Japan, people familiar with the situation said on Wednesday. The new iPhone screens will measure 4 inches from corner to corner, one source said. That would represent a roughly 30 percent increase in viewing area, assuming Apple keeps other dimensions proportional. Apple has used a 3.5-inch screen since introducing the iPhone in 2007. ...


17 May 2012

LG upgrades flagship smartphone to revive fortunes

South Korean handset maker LG Electronics Inc. has upgraded its flagship smartphone model with a faster chip and a longer battery life, hoping to regain ground lost to more nimble rivals.

17 May 2012

Pinterest raises $100 million in funding: WSJ

(Reuters) - Pinterest, the increasingly popular online bulletin board, raised $100 million in a financing round that values the U.S. start-up at $1.5 billion, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter. The funding is led by Japanese e-commerce site Rakuten, with Pinterest's existing venture-capital investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, FirstMark Capital and Bessemer Venture Partners also participating, the report said. Pinterest could not immediately be reached by Reuters for comments. ...

17 May 2012

Samsung Electronics stock recovers losses, trading flat on day

People shop at a Samsung Electronics store in the company's main office building in SeoulSEOUL (Reuters) - Shares in South Korea's Samsung Electronics recovered from a more than two percent loss on Thursday morning and were trading flat at on the day by 00:26 a.m. EDT. The world's largest electronics company by revenue had been hit by a newspaper report that Apple Inc had given a large chip order to a rival, losing 6.2 percent on Wednesday. (Reporting by David Chance; Editing by Joseph Radford)


17 May 2012

Australia warns of 'bespoke' online child sex abuse

Neil Gaughan (C), head of the Australian Federal Police's high-tech crime squad, pictured in Canberra in 2010Australian police warned Thursday that paedophiles were using Internet live-streaming sites to order "bespoke" child sex crimes for real-time viewing, from countries including the Philippines.


17 May 2012

Nearly All Rumors Agree: New iPhone Will Have a 4-Inch Screen

After yesterday's report that Apple has been ordering 4-inch screens (or larger) for its next generation iPhone, Reuters chips in today Saying the same thing.

16 May 2012

LG announces Optimus UI for Ice Cream Sandwich devices

LG announces Optimus UI for Ice Cream Sandwich devicesLG on Wednesday announced a new user-interface skin for its Android-powered devices running Ice Cream Sandwich. The South Korean company’s Optimus UI 3.0 is said to be designed with convenience and speed in mind, and is being labeled as both unobtrusive and simple. “With smartphone hardware becoming more and more similar, it’s important for manufacturers to differentiate their products from the competition through the user interface,” said Dr. Jong-seok Park, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “Both carriers and customers tell us that they want LG phones to look and feel unique and the UI plays a big part in that. LG is really going to push the boundaries of what is possible in user interfaces starting with


16 May 2012

Google Music deauthorization limit poses a problem for rooters

Google Music deauthorization limit poses a problem for rootersSimilar to Apple’s iTunes program, Google Music only allows a certain number of devices to be connected to the service at one time. Google allows users to upload up to 20,000 song for free, which can then be accessed by up to 10 “authorized” devices. Once the limit is reached, a user can “deauthorize” a device to allow another a different phone or tablet to take its place. The problem, however, is that Google has limited device deauthorizations to just four per year. While Google’s limit may not affect the average Joe, rooters, ROMers, enthusiasts and even bloggers may run into some trouble. Custom ROM users in particular may run into trouble — Google Music often has difficulties handling custom


16 May 2012

Soon you can make calls on your phone aboard a Virgin Atlantic plane

If you're flying to London from New York or vice versa, you now have the option to ride on the first plane ever to allow in-flight calls. Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic airline recently announced that you can now make calls … Continue reading

16 May 2012

Watch a paralyzed woman control a robotic arm with her mind

Cathy Hutchinson hasn't been able to move her body for the past 15 years. But thanks to a brain implant from a Brown University team of neuroscientists, she's recently been able to pick up a bottle of coffee on her own by … Continue reading

16 May 2012

Activision and Electronic Arts settle lawsuit

Riccitiello, CEO of Electronic Arts, addresses attendees during the International CTIA WIRELESS Conference & Exposition in New Orleans(Reuters) - Activision Blizzard Inc and arch rival video game company Electronic Arts Inc have settled a lawsuit in which Activision accused two former executives of breaking their employment agreements to develop games for EA. "Activision and EA have agreed to put this matter behind them," the companies said on Wednesday in a joint statement. Neither company disclosed details of the settlement. Two former Activision executives, Jason West and Vincent Zampella, developed the original "Call of Duty" game and several others in the series. ...


16 May 2012

Ad execs say jury still out on Facebook as medium

A Facebook application logo is pictured on a mobile phone in this photo illustration taken in LavignyNEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - General Motors Inc's decision to stop advertising on Facebook may be a wake-up call for the No. 1 social network, but Top advertising executives say it's far too early to know if the site will take off as an advertising platform. "There's a lot of potential but it's not a slam-dunk," said Martin Sorrell, chief executive of WPP Plc, the world's largest advertising agency. "Showing the impact of branding on Facebook is going to take a long time," he added. Facebook is due to begin trading on Nasdaq on Friday in an initial public offering that will raise about $15. ...


16 May 2012

Several brokerages stop taking Facebook IPO orders

The Facebook profile of founder Mark Zuckerberg on a mobile phone is seen in this photo illustration taken in LavignyNEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors who want Facebook Inc shares when the No. 1 online social network goes public later this week may have lost the opportunity. TD Ameritrade and Fidelity's brokerage arm both stopped accepting orders of Facebook shares as of Tuesday evening, according to representatives for each of the companies. Morgan Stanley & Co did the same, according to three advisers at the firm who declined to be named because they are not authorized to speak to the press. E*Trade Financial also stopped accepting orders as of 4 p.m. ...


16 May 2012

Factbox: Facebook's IPO: who gets rich?

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The rich are going to get richer when Silicon Valley's biggest IPO starts trading on Friday. Facebook this week raised the number of shares it intends to float by 25 percent to 421 million shares, and lifted the target price range to $34-$38 per share as investors clamored for a slice of the third-largest IPO in U.S. history. As a result, the No. 1 social network and its shareholders will now collectively reap more than $15 billion from the initial public offering - a $5 billion hike from early May, when Facebook sought an IPO of roughly $11 billion. ...

16 May 2012

Global mobile phone sales now in decline

Global mobile phone sales now in declineDespite some vendors seeing record smartphone sales, worldwide sales of mobile phones declined 2% year-over-year to 419.1 million units in the first quarter of 2012, according to research firm Gartner. The decline represents the first of its kind since the second quarter of 2009. “Global sales of mobile devices declined more than expected due to a slowdown in demand from the Asia/Pacific region,” said Anshul Gupta, principal research analyst at Gartner. “The first quarter, traditionally the strongest quarter for Asia – which is driven by Chinese New Year, saw a lack of new product launches from leading manufacturers, and users delayed upgrades in the hope of better smartphone deals arriving later in the year.” In the smartphone market, Android accounted for more


16 May 2012

Pinterest Raising $120 Million to Fund International Expansion [REPORT]

Pinterest is raising $120 million in a funding round expected to be announced Thursday or Friday morning, according to multiple sources. The investment, Pinterest's third, places the two-year-old social bookmarking site's valuation in the range of $1 billion to $1.5 billion.

16 May 2012

Pinterest Raising $120 Million to Fund International Expansion [REPORT]

Pinterest is raising $120 million in a funding round expected to be announced Thursday or Friday morning, according to multiple sources. The investment, Pinterest's third, places the two-year-old social bookmarking site's valuation in the range of $1 billion to $1.5 billion.

16 May 2012

Activision, EA settle lawsuit over execs' leaving

FILE - This undated file photo of a video game image released by Activision shows a scene from The legal battle between gaming giants Activision Blizzard Inc. and Electronic Arts Inc. is over, with the companies announcing they have settled a case that accused EA of improperly recruiting two executives who oversaw the creation of the smash videogame "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2."