The second-gen Cherry Mobile SkyFire will be available starting next week. More »Quad-core Cherry Mobile SkyFire 2.0 revealed, priced at P7,999
Over the last two decades electronic mail--the email--has not changed much. But with the onslaught of mobile devices the change is coming superfast. Their requirements from email service providers are different from those using PCs. More »Think Out of the (Mail)Box
By Ronald Grover REUTERS - Google's YouTube video service is dipping its toe into pay television by starting on Thursday a subscription service with 30 content creators, including children's programmers Sesame Street and Muppet creator The Jim Henson Co, and the Ultimate Fighting Championship. YouTube, the world's largest video website, allows creators to set subscription fees and accept advertisements, at their discretion, for the channels they create. For $4.99 a month, subscribers can get golf lessons from the PGA Golf Academy. The Laugh Factory charges $2. ... More »YouTube starts paid subscription service
By Gerry Shih SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Box Inc, a cloud-storage company, said on Thursday it has agreed to acquire Crocodoc, a small start-up that provides the technology behind document viewers found on some of the world's most popular websites, including Facebook and Dropbox. The acquisition would provide Box's users with more interactive features such as the ability to annotate documents or create slide shows, said Aaron Levie, Box's chief executive. Levie declined to disclose the terms of the deal. ... More »Box acquires Crocodoc to expand document-viewing features
By Jessica Dye, Joseph Ax and Jim Finkle NEW YORK/BOSTON (Reuters) - In one of the biggest ever bank heists, a global cyber crime ring stole $45 million from two Middle Eastern banks by hacking into their credit card processing firms and withdrawing money from ATMs in 27 countries, U.S. prosecutors said on Thursday. New York federal prosecutors accused eight men of allegedly forming the New York-based cell of the organization, and said seven of them have been arrested. The eighth defendant was reported to have been murdered in the Dominican Republic on April 27, according to U.S. prosecutors. ... More »U.S. charges eight in $45 million cyber crime scheme
By Tom Bergin LONDON (Reuters) - A panel of UK lawmakers will next week grill representatives from Google Inc and its auditor, Ernst & Young, following a Reuters report that highlighted inconsistencies in Google's statements about its UK activities. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said on its website that the representatives would testify on May 16. Google has attracted the ire of British lawmakers for the way it pays almost no income tax on billions of dollars of UK sales each year. ... More »UK lawmakers set date for Google, Ernst & Young tax grilling
SEATTLE (Reuters) - The website for the Washington State court system has been hacked and up to 160,000 Social Security numbers and a million driver's license numbers may have been accessed, officials said on Thursday. The disclosure, which follows a number of major hacking incidents in recent years that have targeted a range of companies from Twitter to Apple, raises concerns that the information accessed could be used to commit financial fraud. ... More »Washington State system hacked, data of thousands at risk
TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Facebook Inc is in advanced talks to acquire Israeli mobile satellite navigation start-up Waze for $800 million to $1 billion, business daily Calcalist reported on Thursday. The deal, which would be Facebook's largest acquisition, would give the social networking company a mapping service and allow it to better compete with Google Inc and Apple Inc . Maps and navigation services have become a key asset for technology companies as consumers increasingly adopt smartphones and other mobile devices. ... More »Facebook in talks to buy Israel's Waze for up to $1 bln - report
REUTERS - Shares in Barnes & Noble Inc rose 23 percent on Thursday after a report that its partner Microsoft Corp is considering an offer to acquire all of Nook Media's digital assets. Microsoft already owns a substantial stake in Nook Media, which makes e-readers and tablets, but the technology website TechCrunch reported Microsoft was proposing a $1 billion offer to buy all of Nook's digital assets. Nook Media also includes the college bookstore chain, though it was not clear if that business would be included. ... More »Barnes & Noble shares soar on Microsoft report
Love image editing? Then these are the tools you must have in your arsenal. More »Top 5 image editing apps on Android
Croma retail has launched two new smartphones and a tablet. We checked out Smartphone 4.65 and found it lacking in quality and specs. More »Croma launches smartphones and tablet
Nokia Asha 501 and Asha platform reinvent the affordable smartphone category More »Nokia Asha 501: the affordable smartphone launched
By Devidutta Tripathy NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Nokia is betting low-priced phones with Internet capability will help it regain lost ground in crucial emerging markets after falling behind in the global smartphone race. On Thursday, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop unveiled a new $99 phone in its mid-range Asha line at a launch in India, one of the most important markets in his bid to revive the struggling Finnish firm. ... More »Nokia pushes $99 Internet phone in market share battle
By Tim Kelly TOKYO (Reuters) - Sony Corp's bid for revival as a consumer electronics maker this business year will hinge on the fortunes of its latest smartphones, as it struggles with shrinking sales of its TVs, digital cameras and game consoles. With consumer spending converging on Apple Inc's iPads and Samsung Electronics Co's Galaxy phones, Sony on Thursday forecast smartphone sales to rise more than one-fourth to 42 million in the year to next March. It predicted sales of its digital cameras and Playstation consoles would contract at double-digit rates. ... More »Sony bid to revive electronics to hinge on smartphones
REUTERS - Ren Zhengfei, founder and CEO of Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, defended the Chinese firm's stand on U.S. cyber-security concerns when he spoke to the media for the first time on Thursday, lifting a veil of secrecy surrounding the elusive executive. Ren has avoided the press since he founded Huawei 26 years ago, which has fueled criticism by some foreign officials that the company is not transparent about its activities. The company has also been accused of being too close to the Chinese government. Huawei has denied ay improper links. ... More »Huawei's CEO breaks silence, says company not connected to U.S. cyber threats
TAIPEI (Reuters) - Pegatron Corp, an assembler of Apple Inc's iPhone and iPad, said it would increase its number of workers in China by up to 40 percent in the second half of the year, fuelling market speculation of a new cheaper iPhone. Pegatron currently employs 100,000 workers. Suppliers have told Reuters that Apple is developing a cheaper model of the phone, broadening its sales base to lower-income buyers in growth markets such as China and India. ... More »Apple supplier boosts China workforce by 40 percent in H2
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - For those on the go, finding a clean toilet in Singapore and giving feedback on the best and worst commodes is now in hand with a new app for mobile phones and tablet computers. The Restroom Association of Singapore (RAS) already has the LOO Connect service on its toilet.org.sg website that allows people to pinpoint and comment on public facilities and to see those given three, four or five stars. ... More »Singapore mobile app flushes out clean and dirty toilets
By Alistair Barr REUTERS - Groupon Inc's quarterly revenue rose a faster-than-expected 7.5 percent after the company's North American daily deals business turned in a strong performance, stirring hopes that the struggling company may have begun to turn things around. Shares in the company, one of the most feted Internet market debutantes of 2011 before daily deals mania cooled, climbed almost 10 percent in after-hours trade. ... More »Groupon shows signs of life, shares surge
WELLINGTON (Reuters) - The United States' chief prosecutor has denied that its investigation into the Megaupload file-sharing site on charges of online piracy is an example of Washington bowing to Hollywood pressure. During a visit to New Zealand, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder also said that he saw no reason why Kim Dotcom, the founder of the defunct site who lives in New Zealand, should not be extradited to the United States to face charges of facilitating massive piracy of copyrighted music and movies. ... More »U.S. top lawman denies bowing to Hollywood in Megaupload case
BOSTON (Reuters) - A hacker released part of an unfinished draft of an upcoming novel from "Sex and the City" author Candace Bushnell after breaking into an email account that she used to share the work with her publisher. The hacker, who goes by the name Guccifer, released some 50 pages of the draft, which is tentatively titled 'Killing Monica,' along with some emails from Bushnell's Earthlink account through a Google Drive account. Bushnell could not be reached for comment. ... More »Hacker releases draft of new novel by 'Sex and the City' author