Panasonic mulls shrinking HQ workforce: source

TOKYO (Reuters) - Panasonic Corp, which posted a record net loss in the business year just ended, is mulling fresh job losses on top of 17,000 recent lay-offs as the Japanese electronics conglomerate looks to engineer a profit rebound, a source said.Following restructuring at its plants and other facilities, next in line is the company's headquarters, the source with knowledge of the deliberations said. Rather than redundancies, however, staff may be shifted to other units, subsidiaries or affiliates, the source added.The maker of Viera TVs and...

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iPad game lets kids virtually pulverize food to learn about nutrition

An award-winning mobile game called Smash Your Food is making strides among kids by allowing them to virtually smash junk food into oblivion, aiming for both fun and gross-out appeal, all while learning about nutrition.Created by Washington-based nutritionist Marta De Wulf, the game was released in late March as an iPad app and is a winner in US First Lady Michelle Obama's "Apps for Health Kids" Competition, part of her Let's Move! initiative. The app is available in free and paid versions and for the web, and versions for iPhone and iPod Touch...

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Social media reactions to Yahoo! Axis: impressive on the iPad, risky on the desktop

The reaction to Yahoo!’s brand new visually enhanced browser, Axis, has polarized social media users. Many are impressed by the company’s iOS app while others urge users to be wary of the desktop plug-in.On Twitter technology blogs are posting links to their reviews and Tweeps are using their 140 characters to weigh in on the new browser. “Yahoo Axis Shines on iPad, an Afterthought on Desktop” says Mashable. CNET editor Rafe Needlemann says he is surprisingly impressed. He tweets, “Here comes Yahoo’s own Web browser, Axis. Surprising factoid:...

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Untethered iOS 5.1.1 jailbreak for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch now available

iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users running the latest version of Apple’s iOS software now have access to full-featured untethered jailbreak software courtesy of iOS hackers Chronic Dev Team and pod2g. The software needed to perform the jailbreak, Greenpis0n Absinthe 2.0, is now available for download and is compatible with A4-powered devices like the original iPad and the iPhone 4, as well as newer A5-powered devices like the new iPad and iPhone 4S, JailbreakUntethered reports. The updated software allows users to jailbreak their newer A5-powered...

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Facebook launches iPhone camera app

NEW YORK (AP) — Facebook's rocky initial public offering hasn't stopped life at the world's biggest online social network. On Thursday, the company unveiled a camera app for the iPhone.The app can be downloaded from Apple's App Store and works like most other camera applications for smart phones. To take a photo, you tap a camera icon in the upper left corner of your screen, aim and shoot. You can then add filters, crop or tilt your photo, and share it on Facebook.The new app is similar to Instagram, the photo-sharing app Facebook is in the process...

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Samsung Galaxy S3 gets head start on rival iPhone

SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co launches its latest Galaxy S smartphone in Europe on Tuesday, with the third generation model expected to be even more successful than its predecessor, which helped the South Korean company topple Apple Inc as the world's top smartphone maker.The S3, which tracks the user's eye movements to keep the screen from dimming or turning off while in use, hits stores in 28 European and Middle East countries, including Germany and Britain, as Samsung aims to widen the gap with Apple months ahead of its rival's...

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Microsoft appoints first official Iraq distributor

BAGHDAD (AP) — Microsoft Corp. said Monday it has appointed a local company to distribute its products in Iraq, calling the move a sign of progress for the country.Microsoft's manager of Business Development for Emerging Markets, Rajai S. El-Khadem, said the software giant had chosen the Baghdad-based Legend Lands Co. as its Iraqi partner."This is a big step for Microsoft and for Iraq," said El-Khadem. "As of today Microsoft will be officially and locally represented in Iraq ... to provide Microsoft licenses, support and services for our clients...

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Apple CEO Cook gives up $75M in stock dividends

NEW YORK (AP) — Apple CEO Tim Cook is giving up $75 million in dividends on restricted stock that the company is awarding to all of its employees.In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday, Apple Inc. said that Cook requested that his restricted stock units not receive dividends. The dividends that Apple workers are getting amount to $2.65 per quarter for each restricted stock unit held. The shares are not normally eligible to receive dividends, so Apple's decision is a perk for its employees.The decision comes two months...

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Huawei denies getting illegal Chinese subsidies

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Huawei Technologies Co Ltd denied on Tuesday that it benefited from illegal Chinese government subsidies after a media report said the European Union planned to take action against Chinese telecom equipment makers in an anti-dumping case.The Financial Times quoted unidentified EU officials and executives as saying that the commission had been gathering evidence in a case against China-based Huawei and ZTE Corp."Huawei has not received any communication from the European Commission regarding an investigation, but we are aware...

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Foxconn reportedly begins taking orders for the Apple TV

Apple’s Chinese manufacturing partner Foxconn has reportedly begun accepting orders to build an Apple TV set, according to Chinese news website Sina. The publication’s sources claim the long rumored iTV is currently in the “trial production stage,” however more details were not given. Earlier this month Foxconn’s CEO denied that his company would soon begin manufacturing a television for Apple. It has long been rumored that the Cupertino-based company was looking to enter the TV market with an HDTV that will reportedly look much like the company’s...

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Facebook smartphone could come by next year: report

Facebook hopes to release its own smartphone by next year, as the newly public social networking giant looks to boost its revenue in the mobile Internet market, the New York Times reported Monday.The company has hired more than half a dozen software and hardware engineers who have worked on Apple's bestselling iPhone and one engineer who has iPad experience, the paper said, citing employees and other unnamed sources.It has also expanded a group working on a partnership with Taiwan's HTC to create a smartphone codenamed "Buffy" -- a project first...

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Chavez notches up three million Twitter followers

Firebrand Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez now has more than three million followers on Twitter, making him the most popular Latin American politician on the site -- a milestone he celebrated on Monday. "To the three million followers, I sent a special thank you! We will use this platform to pursue our battle of ideas!" Chavez wrote early Monday, shortly after the number of followers topped the three million mark. At midday, the @chavezcandanga account had 3,001,091 followers. Early in the day, state television VTV aired an ad announcing the...

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DVDs and Blu-rays to carry two unskippable government warnings

The FBI Anti-Piracy Warning that is found on all modern DVD and Blu-ray discs is getting an upgrade. The United States government earlier this week announced that it will require two copyright notices on DVD and Blu-ray discs, Ars Technica reported. The first notice will warn potential piracy thieves, while the second one is meant to educate viewers. All six major movie studios have agreed to include the notices, which we will begin seeing on new discs this week. The screens will “come up after the previews, once you hit the main movie/play button...

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Apple reportedly places orders for next-generation iPhone, new 10-inch iPad

The latest rumors out of the Far East indicate that Apple’s next-generation iPhone will launch in the fall, as will a new 10-inch iPad. Apple supplier Pegatron Technology has reportedly landed orders for the Cupertino-based company’s latest handset and according to Taiwan-based supply chain makers, the device is slated for a September launch, Digitimes reported. The publication also claims Pegatron has received orders for a new 10-inch iPad to be released in the fourth quarter of 2012. John Gruber of Daring Fireball has previously called the...

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Mobile usage doubles, now accounts for 10% of worldwide Internet usage

The number of people accessing the Web through mobile devices has doubled since 2010 and now accounts for 10% of worldwide Internet usage. According to numbers compiled by Pingdom, Asia’s mobile usage amounted for 17.84% of the country’s total Internet usage, a 192.5% increase over the past 18 months. Africa’s mobile usage placed the region in second with 14.85%, usage in North America sat at 7.96%, followed by Australia, Europe and South America at 7.55%, 5.13% and 2.86% respectively. Pingdom notes that while worldwide mobile usage may only...

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Google issued first license to test driverless cars

Nevada is the first state to grant Google a U.S. license to test driverless cars. The Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles confirmed on Monday that it had approved the company’s application to test autonomous vehicles on public streets. Google will be required to have at least two people in the vehicle while testing it, however, including one in the driver’s seat. Prior to being approved, the Mountain View-based company had been testing the car on freeways in neighborhoods around Carson City and Las Vegas, according to Fox News. The tests showed...

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iPhone 4S on sale at Target stores

For savvy shoppers who want an iPhone 4S but want to save some cash, Target has a deal for you.The retailer is advertising a limited time offer to slash iPhone prices by $50. That drops the 16GB iPhone 4S to $149.99 while the 8GB iPhone 4 is reduced to $49.99. Both deals are available with the purchase of an iPhone and two-year contract from AT&T, Verizon, or Sprint.The sale is only available at brick and mortar Target stores, with the Target Mobile website still listing the 16GB iPhone 4S at the standard $199. As such, supplies may be limited...

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Judge throws out Proview's iPad suit vs Apple

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A California judge tossed out a lawsuit in which the Chinese firm Proview Electronics Co Ltd accused Apple Inc of tricking them into selling the "iPad" name for less than it might have. Proview, which is also suing Apple in China over alleged illegal use of the iPad name, filed a lawsuit in California superior court in February, saying the U.S. consumer electronics company deceived it by purchasing the rights to the name through a special-purpose vehicle. Last week, judge Mark Pierce dismissed the case, agreeing with...

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Lenovo takes big gamble on mobile market

PC manufacturer Lenovo is set to dive head-first into the mobile market after investing £495 million ($800 million) in a new facility in Wuhan, China. Lenovo is the world's second largest PC manufacturer and now looks ready to take on the lucrative smartphone and tablet sectors.Yang Yuanqing, Lenovo Group chairman and CEO said: "we are accelerating development in smartphones, tablets, and other mobile internet terminal markets."Windows 8 tablet and Intel smartphone?The new base is expected to generate 10,000 job opportunities and will be focussed...

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Google+ rolls out 'Hangouts On Air' worldwide

Google began letting members of its social network worldwide broadcast "hangouts" live to Internet titan's growing online community. Hangouts On Air were introduced last year at Google+ with select high-profile members testing the service that lets as many as ten people at a time take part in virtual roundtable style video chats broadcast for anyone to see. "This small community has grown the feature in lots of creative ways," said Google+ engineering director Chee Chew. "And they've made one thing crystal clear: when groups of passionate individuals...

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New malware exploits flaw in old versions of Office for Mac

Microsoft researchers recently discovered a piece of Mac OS X malware that exploits a three-year-old flaw in old versions of Office for Mac. The threat uses a multi-stage attack, just like a Windows virus would. While Microsoft did fix the problem in 2009, the software giant notes that not every machine is up-to-date. The company’s data indicates, however, that the malware is not widespread. “No operating system that exists outside a laboratory is entirely immune to malware,” Microsoft stated on its blog. “As different operating systems continue...

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Android lost money in 2010

During Google’s ongoing legal dispute with Oracle, the judge presiding over the case revealed the Internet giant’s Android mobile operating system was not profitable in 2010, Reuters reported. Google does not publicly report financial information regarding its Android operating system, however the judge did not disclose specific figures, but instead said it lost money in each quarter of 2010. “That adds up to a big loss for the whole year,” he said. Oracle argued that Google should not be able to deduct certain Android expenses for the purposes...

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New iPhone to feature 4-inch display, metal case, smaller dock connector, fall release

Apple’s new iPhone, which is currently rumored to launch in September or October, is reportedly going to be the first iPhone to have a larger display. Multiple reports have suggested that the new iPhone will feature a 4-inch screen, and iLounge’s Jeremy Horowitz is throwing his weight behind it as well. Additionally, he’s reporting that the device will be taller and 20% thinner than the current iPhone 4S. The back of the device will have a metal panel according to the report, though it won’t cover the entire back of the phone. This seems a little...

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Samsung’s Galaxy S III unveiling happens today; here’s how to watch it live

Samsung is hosting a press conference on Thursday during which it will unveil the next installment in one of the most successful smartphone franchises of all time. The Galaxy S III is expected to be a technological marvel, packing a gigantic high-definition Super AMOLED display, a quad-core Exynos processor, 4G LTE, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and more into an ultra-thin ceramic case. Samsung has gone to great lengths to keep its new flagship phone under wraps, but an inevitable series of leaks paints what is likely a complete picture of the...

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Apple faces investigation over UK iPad 4G claims

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is turning its beady eye on Apple after the company failed to remove references to the iPad 4G on its UK website. The problem arises because the new iPad 3 does offer 4G connectivity, but not here in ye olde Britain where we languish on 3G networks. Despite the promise of 4G being around the corner (if Everything Everywhere, Vodafone and co can ever manage to play nice), we'll be running on a whole different frequency to the networks abroad so the current iPad won't be able to connect to them. Up the...

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Google vs Oracle: Verdict coming in Android 'copying' case

A crucial verdict in the courtroom battle between Google and software developer Oracle is imminent after a jury retired to consider the case.Oracle alleges that Google unlawfully copied elements of its Java software, when it developed the Android mobile operating system, rather than pay a license fee.Google admits it did utilise the Java API under the "fair use" policy, but then created its own software rather than "copy" the Java within Android.If the jury decides Google is at fault, it may end up costing the search giant billions in compensation...

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Microsoft counts on allies in mistimed tablet market

Microsoft is counting on friends to make it a hit later this year when it crashes a tablet computer party at which Apple has been the star ever since the launch of the iPad. The US software colossus turned a draining patent lawsuit with Barnes & Noble into a mutually beneficial alliance that could make Nook digital books a cornerstone of a content "ecosystem" vital to selling Windows 8 tablets. Microsoft said Monday that it will make a $300 million investment in a new Barnes & Noble subsidiary focusing on the bookseller's digital reading...

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