For the past year, it seems that the Android versus iPhone battle has turned into a Samsung versus Apple battle instead. The old giants of the smartphone industry such as HTC, LG, Sony and more seem to have lost the Android battle to Samsung’s Galaxy line. However, the balance of power just might tip a little with HTC’s new flagship, the One. More »Layman’s Review: Is the HTC One as good as advertised?
By Alina Selyukh and Liana B. Baker WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dish Network Corp is ramping up its Washington-centric campaign to thwart Japanese firm SoftBank Corp's bid for Sprint Nextel Corp, hoping to convince lawmakers and government reviewers that it poses national security risks. On Wednesday, Dish ads appeared in Washington publications the Washington Post, Politico, The Hill, Roll Call and the National Journal as well as online news sites, including Reuters.com. ... More »Dish on national security PR offensive against SoftBank
By Lee Chyen Yee and Umesh Desai HONG KONG (Reuters) - Lenovo Group Ltd's bold acquisitions in its flagship PC business, a foray into mobile gadgets, and a relatively light debt load are setting it apart from PC rivals as industry shipments take their steepest fall in decades. Lenovo, a sliver away from unseating Hewlett-Packard Co as the world's top PC maker by shipments, posted on Thursday an estimate-beating 90 percent rise in quarterly profit, its fastest in seven quarters. ... More »China's Lenovo buys and diversifies to outshine PC rivals
By Poornima Gupta SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co raised its 2013 earnings outlook after quarterly results beat low expectations, as CEO Meg Whitman's turnaround plan helped offset shrinking personal computer sales with enterprise computing services. While fiscal second-quarter profit plummeted 32 percent, Wall Street had braced for worse. HP shares gained 14 percent after the company projected full-year earnings per share of $3.50 to $3.60, raising the lower end by 10 cents, and fiscal third-quarter profit that topped analyst estimates. ... More »HP raises 2013 outlook as Whitman's plan takes hold
Internet mogul Kim Dotcom said Thursday he was considering taking legal action against tech giants such as Twitter, Google and Facebook for infringing copyright on a security measure he invented. More »Kim Dotcom mulls suing tech giants for 'copyright breach'
Twitter said Wednesday it was stepping up security measures for the popular messaging service following a series of high-profile breaches by hackers hitting media organizations and others. More »Twitter tightens security after high-profile breaches
By Carmel Crimmins and Padraic Halpin DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland's finance minister said the country would not be the "whipping boy" for what he called a flawed U.S. Senate report that said Irish loopholes helped technology giant Apple shrink its tax bill. Ireland has been forced to defend its corporate tax rate after the Senate said on Monday that Apple paid little or no tax on tens of billions of dollars in profits channeled through Irish subsidiaries and that it had negotiated a special corporate tax rate of less than 2 percent. ... More »Ireland says will not be U.S. 'whipping boy' on tax
Just 25 examples of the gold-plated, leather-bound P’9981 Gold smartphone will ever be created, and each one carries a solid gold plaque on its rear, engraved with its serial number and its all-important 2AA prefix code. This code forms part of the handset’s PIN and informs other BlackBerry users that they are communicating with a P’9981 owner. More »Latest Porsche-designed BlackBerry comes in very limited edition
Samsung could be following Apple’s lead and testing biometric technology for future handsets. More »Is Samsung developing smartphone fingerprint scanners?
Facebook on Wednesday became a full member of the Global Network Initiative, a non-governmental organization promoting Internet freedom and privacy rights. More »Facebook joins Web freedom group
Samsung's new flagship device, currently rolling out around the world, has stolen the title of best smartphone from LG’s Optimus G in Consumer Reports's latest round of testing. More »Consumer Reports proclaims Samsung Galaxy SIV the best smartphone
By John O'Donnell and Martin Santa BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europe edged closer to lifting banking secrecy on Wednesday after Austria said it was ready to share data on foreign depositors but Vienna's support could fade should efforts to strike a similar deal with Switzerland fail. Austria's dropping of objections allowed EU leaders to commit to an exchange of bank information between countries by the end of the year, as cash-strapped states seek to stop tax evasion and close loopholes highlighted by Apple Inc's use of a base in Ireland. ... More »Europe targets Switzerland in fight against bank secrecy
iPad users around the world have been racing through London's streets and taking down evil gangs with the popular free app "Fast & Furious 6: The Game," based on the "Fast and Furious" movie franchise. Details of this and other top free iPad applications by country for the week, by number of downloads, recorded on May 22, can be found below. More »Top iPad apps: 'Fast & Furious 6: The Game'
By Luke Baker BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Britain, France and Germany called for stricter rules to stop companies such as Google, Apple and Amazon aggressively avoiding taxes in austerity bitten Europe, while acknowledging they had done nothing unlawful. At a summit to discuss energy and tax policy, the leaders of the three largest EU countries took the opportunity at news conferences to lament the impact of corporate tax avoidance, following several cases involving U.S. firms. ... More »EU leaders talk tough on tackling Amazon, Google over taxes
By Jim Finkle (Reuters) - Cybersecurity researcher HD Moore discovered he could use the Internet to access the controls of some 30 pipeline sensors around the country that were not password protected. A hacking expert who helps companies uncover network vulnerabilities, Moore said he found the sensors last month while analyzing information in huge, publicly available databases of Internet-connected devices. "We know that systems are exposed and vulnerable. ... More »'Irrational' hackers are growing U.S. security fear
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German software company SAP is looking to recruit people with autism as programmers and product testers, drawing on skills that can include a close attention to detail and an ability to solve complex problems. SAP has asked start-up Danish recruitment company Specialisterne to help it find, train and manage employees diagnosed with the disability. "They bring a special set of skills to the table, which fits with SAP," said a spokesman for the company, which has already hired people with autism in India and Ireland. ... More »SAP looks to recruit people with autism as programmers
By Kate Holton and Nate Raymond LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - British publisher Pearson's Penguin unit said on Wednesday it would pay $75 million in damages plus costs to U.S. states and consumers as part of an agreement over alleged price-fixing in the e-book market. Pearson, which will take an extra provision on its accounts this year after setting aside $40 million in 2012, had already reached an agreement with the U.S. Justice Department in the e-book pricing case. ... More »Pearson agrees $75 million settlement in U.S. e-books case
(Reuters) - Video game maker Atari Inc is seeking court approval for the sale of all its assets as it works its way out of bankruptcy protection. The company said on Tuesday it tried looking for a buyer with the help of its investment banker Perella Weinberg Partners, but was unable to find a "stalking horse," or initial bidder, acceptable to it. Atari has set a minimum bid of $15 million for the Atari brand. The company received a $5 million debtor-in-possession financing from Alden Global Value Recovery Master Fund LP. ... More »Video game maker Atari seeks court approval for sale of assets
MOSCOW/CAIRO (Reuters) - Russia-focused telecoms firm Vimpelcom's talks to sell a controlling stake in its Algerian mobile business Djezzy to Algeria are at a delicate stage but have not failed, a source with knowledge of the discussions said on Wednesday. Algeria wants to nationalize Djezzy and has pushed Vimpelcom into discussing a sale of a 51 percent stake. A report by Dow Jones earlier said that talks had ended in failure, citing two officials close to the matter. The source told Reuters that there might be further clarity on the issue in coming days. Vimpelcom declined comment. ... More »Talks over Vimpelcom's Djezzy at delicate stage: source
By Tim Kelly TOKYO (Reuters) - Few foreign activist investors have made much headway in forcing change in Japan, where a conservative corporate culture favors long-standing ties with banks, business partners and workers rather than shareholders seeking value. Struggling electronics giant Sony Corp, though, with more foreign and fewer bank shareholders, may prove something of an exception. That's the hope, at least, of Californian billionaire Daniel Loeb, whose Third Point hedge fund has built up a more than 6 percent stake in Sony, making it the group's biggest stockholder. ... More »Entertaining change: Sony to look at activist's spin-off idea