Amazon takes on iPad with larger Kindle Fire

Amazon takes on iPad with larger Kindle Fire
Judge approves DOJ settlement in e-book case
Samsung’s Galaxy S III hits sales of 20 million in 100 days
Apple’s grand plans for reinventing TV still getting blocked by cable companies
Obama Chooses Steve Jobs Over Google
Amazon refreshes Kindles, including cheaper Fire
Amazon joins gadget makers jockeying for edge
Microsoft adding staff, R&D in China mobile push
Facebook closes its purchase of Instagram
Quora leads Android Apps of the Week
Audience Inc says Apple unlikely to use its tech in new iPhones
Sony’s 84-inch LED TV with 4K resolution costs $24,999, ships in November
T-Mobile gets Samsung Galaxy S Relay 4G with QWERTY keyboard and Ice Cream Sandwich
Apple cuts memory chip order to Samsung for new iPhone: source
Facebook completes acquisition of Instagram
Sony PS Vita exploit opens the door for unauthorized apps, piracy
Review: Kindle Fire HD screen is a big improvement
Tablet Devices Keep Austistic People Working
Sprint updates Galaxy Nexus to Jelly Bean, Verizon continues to take its time
News Summary: Judge OKs deal on e-book pricing
Watch the Obama Speech That Set a Political Record on Twitter
Rape threat cited, NY website operator gets prison
Factbox: Amazon unveils new tablets to challenge the iPad
Amazon takes on Apple with larger, cheaper Kindle Fires
Judge approves DOJ settlement in e-book case
Obama Chooses Steve Jobs Over Google
AT&T bringing LTE to 44 more markets by the end of the year
Judge approves U.S. settlement with publishers over e-books
18 Animated GIFs From MTV's Video Music Awards
Galaxy S III sales top 20 million in just 100 days
Amazon FreeTime Gives Parents More Control Over What Kids Watch
New iPods may be announced with iPhone 5 on September 12th
'X-Ray' and other features for new Amazon gadgets
Audience says Apple may not use its tech in new iPhones
Amazon refreshes Kindles, including cheaper Fire
Staples to carry new Kindle Fire models as early as this month
Watch the Final 'Twilight: Breaking Dawn 2' Teaser
TV Reruns Restore Sanity; Popular Kids Are More Likely to Smoke

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 02:57 PM PDT

Amazon unveiled four new Kindle Fire tablet computers on Thursday, including ones with larger color screens, as the online retailer steps up competition with Apple ahead of the holiday shopping season.

Judge approves DOJ settlement in e-book case

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 04:45 PM PDT

A federal judge has approved the U.S. Justice Department's settlement with a trio of electronic book publishers accused of conspiring in a price-fixing scheme orchestrated by the late Steve Jobs.

Samsung’s Galaxy S III hits sales of 20 million in 100 days

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 07:38 PM PDT

Samsung announced that the Galaxy S III smartphone has exceeded sales of 20 million. The Android phone had reached 10 million sales by the end of July, with a substantial number of pre-orders boosting the Galaxy S III's strong performance. … Continue reading →

Apple’s grand plans for reinventing TV still getting blocked by cable companies

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 06:55 PM PDT

Apple is unlikely to announce a new TV product this year, according to an insider familiar with the company's activities, because cable companies are still posing a major challenge. While Apple engaged in serious negotiations with leaders of the music … Continue reading →

Obama Chooses Steve Jobs Over Google

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 04:43 PM PDT

We knew President Barack Obama was an Apple fan (he totes a Macbook and an iPad). Now we have more proof.

Amazon refreshes Kindles, including cheaper Fire

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 03:18 PM PDT

Amazon.com Inc. refreshed its Kindle line of gadgets on Thursday. It updated its Kindle Fire tablet computer and announced new stand-alone e-reader models.

Amazon joins gadget makers jockeying for edge

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 01:42 PM PDT

Amazon announced four new Kindle Fire models on Thursday, a day after Nokia and Motorola unveiled five new smartphones between them. These announcements are coming before attention turns to a new iPhone from Apple next Wednesday.

Microsoft adding staff, R&D in China mobile push

Posted: 05 Sep 2012 11:26 PM PDT

Microsoft Corp. will hire more than 1,000 additional employees in China this year and boost research and development spending by 15 percent as it tries to catch up with Apple and Google in the fast-growing mobile Internet market, executives said Thursday.

Facebook closes its purchase of Instagram

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 10:41 AM PDT

Facebook has closed its purchase of Instagram, the wildly popular photo-sharing app that it agreed to buy before its initial public stock offering in May.

Quora leads Android Apps of the Week

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 03:00 PM PDT

This week's selection is led by Quora. The popular web-based question and answer service now has its very own official Android app, and it's a good one, too. We've also got a couple of impressive new beta apps: DayFrame is like a digital photo frame for your Android smartphone or tablet, while µTorrent, the popular peer-to-peer filesharing program, unveiled its beta app. Check out these, and two other worthy selections, in this week's top Android apps.

Audience Inc says Apple unlikely to use its tech in new iPhones

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 08:44 PM PDT

(Reuters) - Audience Inc, which makes chips used in Apple Inc's iPhones, said its top customer is unlikely to use its technology for the latest iPhone, sending its shares down 58 percent in after-hours trading. Audience's chips, which improve voice quality in mobile devices by filtering out background noise, are supplied to contract Apple manufacturers including Foxconn and Protek Ltd. The Mountain View, California, company also sells processors and licenses its processor intellectual property to Apple and some of its units. ...

Sony’s 84-inch LED TV with 4K resolution costs $24,999, ships in November

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 08:35 PM PDT

As if there was any doubt Sony's (SNE) giant 84-inch 4K resolution LED TV would be expensive, Sony has finally priced its upcoming XBR-84X900 TV. The flat screen with a whopping 3840 x 2160-pixel resolution and integrated speakers will sell for $24,999. While Sony will start taking preorders for the TV beginning Thursday, September 6th, it won't actually be available until November. Early adopters can find demo units at select Sony stores before deciding if 4K is worth the investment. Beyond the TV's ability to scale 1080p content to 4K resolution, the XBR-84X900 also has SimulView (two-player gaming without split screens), full 3D with passive 3D glasses and large library of apps, videos and music services expected from a high-end HDTV. Sony's full press

T-Mobile gets Samsung Galaxy S Relay 4G with QWERTY keyboard and Ice Cream Sandwich

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 07:40 PM PDT

Continuing its commitment to offering smartphones with a wide variety of form factors, Samsung (005930) and T-Mobile jointly announced the Galaxy S Relay 4G — a slider smartphone with a QWERTY keypad and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich packed with business-friendly features such as enhanced Microsoft Exchange ActiveSYNC and AES-256 bit encryption. The Galaxy S Relay 4G will run on T-Mobile's 4G HSPA+ 42 network and will have a 4-inch Super AMOLED screen, 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 5-megapixel rear camera and 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera capable of shooting in 720p HD. Although specific pricing and release timing weren't announced, T-Mobile says the Galaxy S Relay 4G should arrive in the coming weeks. T-Mobile's full press release follows below. T-Mobile Continues to Expand Popular

Apple cuts memory chip order to Samsung for new iPhone: source

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 07:23 PM PDT

SEOUL (Reuters) - Apple Inc has reduced its orders for memory chips for its new iPhone from its main supplier and competitor Samsung Electronics Co, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Friday. South Korea's Samsung is a core Apple supplier, producing micro processors, flat screens and memory chips - both dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips and NAND memory chips - for the iPhone, iPad and iPod. ...

Facebook completes acquisition of Instagram

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 06:55 PM PDT

Facebook (FB) on Thursday officially completed its acquisition of Instagram. "As we said from the beginning, we are committed to building and growing Instagram independently. Mike Schroepfer, Facebook's VP of engineering, said. "Instagram will continue to serve its community, and we will help Instagram continue to grow by using Facebook's strong engineering team and infrastructure." The Instagram team confirmed that while it will be moving to Facebook's Menlo Park offices, the popular photo application will "remain the same one you know and love." Read [Facebook] Read [Instagram]

Sony PS Vita exploit opens the door for unauthorized apps, piracy

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 06:10 PM PDT

There's no game gaming companies hate to play more than cat and mouse with hackers. Proving once again that no gaming hardware is hack-proof, Eurogamer has learned that hacker Yifan Lu has found an exploit in Sony's (SNE) PS Vita handheld that will open doors to hackers to develop unapproved applications and even pirate software. Lu's exploit is reportedly based on another hacker's work — the Half-Byte Loader that allows homebrew on the PlayStation Portable — and is the first real hack for the Vita since it launched in December. Whereas last generation's Nintendo DS and PSP were plagued with piracy due to bountiful firmware exploits, Sony's Vita and Nintendo's (SNE) 3DS have remained largely safe from piracy since their respective launches. Although Lu says he

Review: Kindle Fire HD screen is a big improvement

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 06:10 PM PDT

Amazon's new Kindle Fire HD boasts a much more vibrant screen than the original tablet that came out about a year ago. That makes buying movies and TV shows to watch on the device a lot more appealing.

Tablet Devices Keep Austistic People Working

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 05:50 PM PDT

People with autism were kept on task at work with an iPod Touch featuring various checklist and and prompting apps. Larry Greenemeier reports.

Sprint updates Galaxy Nexus to Jelly Bean, Verizon continues to take its time

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 05:25 PM PDT

Nearly three months after Google (GOOG) announced Jelly Bean, Sprint (S) on Thursday finally updated the Galaxy Nexus smartphone to the latest version of Android. The update includes the normal benefits of Jelly Bean such as Google Now, offline voice dictation and the Project Butter user interface, however it will also remove Flash support. "Adobe will not be certifying the Adobe Flash Player for Android Mobile devices that either release with or update to Android 4.1," Sprint said in its update notes. "Devices that upgraded from Android 4.0 to Android 4.1, may exhibit unpredictable behavior, as it is not certified for use with Android 4.1. Adobe recommends uninstalling Flash Player on devices which have been upgraded to Android 4.1." Verizon

News Summary: Judge OKs deal on e-book pricing

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 05:18 PM PDT

TURNING THE PAGE: U.S. District Judge Denise Cote approved a Justice Department settlement with three electronic book publishers accused of engaging in a price-fixing scheme with Apple Inc., and the iPad maker's late CEO, Steve Jobs.

Watch the Obama Speech That Set a Political Record on Twitter

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 05:13 PM PDT

Barack Obama delivered a passionate defense of his record in office, and emphasized the differences between his platform and that of challenger Mitt Romney during his nomination acceptance speech delivered Thursday evening.

Rape threat cited, NY website operator gets prison

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 05:10 PM PDT

An eyewear website operator who threatened some of his customers with murder or rape when they complained about their eyeglasses was sentenced Thursday to four years in prison by a judge who said he terrorized them.

Factbox: Amazon unveils new tablets to challenge the iPad

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 05:02 PM PDT

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc unveiled new Kindle Fire tablets on Thursday, challenging Apple Inc's dominant iPad. The world's largest Internet retailer, which debuted a 7-inch tablet at roughly half the price of the iPad last year, on Thursday introduced a number of devices with a range of prices, screen quality and sizes. In contrast, iPads are one size currently. Below is a sampling of the new Fire tablets detailed on Thursday, contrasted with comparable versions of the iPad. 4G Kindle Fire HD 64GB iPad 3G Price:$599$829 Storage: 64 gigabytes64 GB Display: 8.9 inch9. ...

Amazon takes on Apple with larger, cheaper Kindle Fires

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 04:59 PM PDT

SANTA MONICA, California (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc unveiled larger Kindle Fire tablets on Thursday, challenging Apple Inc's dominant iPad with lower prices and a trove of digital content that Amazon hopes will win it a bigger share of the booming tablet market. The world's largest Internet retailer lifted the lid on devices with price tags ranging from $159 to $599. The new tablets come with ads known as "special offers" that appear when screens are locked and in the corner of the home screen, helping Amazon keep prices low. ...

Judge approves DOJ settlement in e-book case

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 04:45 PM PDT

A federal judge has approved the U.S. Justice Department's settlement with a trio of electronic book publishers accused of conspiring in a price-fixing scheme orchestrated by the late Steve Jobs.

Obama Chooses Steve Jobs Over Google

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 04:43 PM PDT

We knew President Barack Obama was an Apple fan (he totes a Macbook and an iPad). Now we have more proof.

AT&T bringing LTE to 44 more markets by the end of the year

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 04:40 PM PDT

AT&T (T) customers in Philadelphia, Seattle, Pittsburgh and dozens of other markets will get access to the carrier's LTE services by the end of the year, AT&T announced Thursday. AppleInsider has helpfully compiled a list of every market that received an individual press release announcing LTE availability by the end of the year and has tallied that AT&T will be bringing its LTE network to a total of 44 new markets. In addition to the three listed above, AT&T will also be offering LTE to prominent markets such as Milwaukee, Memphis, Detroit, Cincinnati and Portland, Ore. among others. Read

Judge approves U.S. settlement with publishers over e-books

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 04:14 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A judge approved on Thursday a Justice Department settlement with three publishers accused of conspiring with Apple Inc and other publishers to push up the prices of electronic books. U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan said comments on the settlement were "voluminous and overwhelmingly negative," but there was no excuse for price-fixing. The Justice Department had accused Apple and five publishers in April of illegally colluding on prices as part of an effort to fight internet retailer Amazon.com Inc's dominance of e-books. ...

18 Animated GIFs From MTV's Video Music Awards

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 04:03 PM PDT

Rihanna + Katy = BFF

Galaxy S III sales top 20 million in just 100 days

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 03:55 PM PDT

Wondering if Samsung (005930) can really live up to the hype and repeat the success of the Galaxy S II with its latest flagship smartphone? The South Korea-based consumer electronics giant on Thursday announced that sales of the Galaxy S III smartphone topped 20 million in just 100 days, crushing the pace it set with its previous-generation flagship series — the Galaxy S II took about 10 months for sales to reach 20 million units. Samsung also released regional sales figures, stating that it has sold 4 million Galaxy S III handsets in North America so far, 6 million in Europe, 4.5 million in Asia and 2.5 million in Korea. Samsung's press release follows below. Samsung GALAXY S III Reaches

Amazon FreeTime Gives Parents More Control Over What Kids Watch

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 03:40 PM PDT

Along with its new line of Kindle tablets, Amazon unveiled a feature called FreeTime that "reinvents parental controls" at a press event on Thursday.

New iPods may be announced with iPhone 5 on September 12th

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 03:20 PM PDT

Although Apple's (AAPL) September 12th invite graphic suggests the event will be all about the iPhone 5, 9to5Mac reports that new iPods could debut as well. According to the site, Apple might give two of its iPod lineups a refresh — specifically the iPod nano and iPod shuffle. 9to5Mac also speculates that it's possible a refreshed iPod touch might make an appearance next Wednesday, too. New iPods aren't a stretch considering how Apple traditionally launches them towards the end of summer. Japanese blog Macotara.jp, which has been a reliable source for Apple leaks in the past, believes the new iPod nano will sport an elongated design similar to the fifth-generation iPod nano and will come with a touchscreen, Wi-Fi and a iOS

'X-Ray' and other features for new Amazon gadgets

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 03:20 PM PDT

Amazon.com Inc. unveiled a slew of new Kindle Fire devices and an e-reader called Paperwhite on Thursday at an event in Santa Monica, Calif. The new gadgets range from $119 to $499. It's Amazon's latest effort to compete with Apple's iPad, the No. 1 tablet. Here's a look at some of the interesting new features for the gadgets:

Audience says Apple may not use its tech in new iPhones

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 03:19 PM PDT

(Reuters) - Audience Inc, which makes chips used in Apple Inc's iPhones, said its top customer is unlikely to use its technology for the latest iPhone, sending Audience shares down 58 percent in extended trading. Audience's chips improve the voice quality in mobile devices by filtering out background noise, and the company supplies these to Apple's contract manufacturers like Foxconn International Holdings Ltd and Protek Ltd. The company also sells processors and licenses its processor intellectual property to Apple and some of its units. ...

Amazon refreshes Kindles, including cheaper Fire

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 03:18 PM PDT

Amazon.com Inc. refreshed its Kindle line of gadgets on Thursday. It updated its Kindle Fire tablet computer and announced new stand-alone e-reader models.

Staples to carry new Kindle Fire models as early as this month

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 03:14 PM PDT

(Reuters) - No. 1 U.S. office supply chain Staples Inc said its U.S. stores will carry some of the larger, faster, aggressively priced Kindle Fire tablets that Amazon.com Inc unveiled on Thursday, starting as early as later this month. While the 7-inch updated Kindle Fire tablet and the 7-inch Kindle Fire HD version with 16GB of storage will be in Staples stores in September, Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Fire HD with 32GB of storage will be available later in October. ...