Google fined $25,000 for street data collection

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Google Inc faces a $25,000 fine for impeding a U.S. investigation into the Web search leader's data collection for its Street View project, which allows users to see street level images when they map a location.

The Federal Communications Commission said the company had collected personal information without permission, and cited evidence that Google had "deliberately" refused to cooperate with the agency.

"Google refused to identify any employees or produce any e-mails. The company could not supply compliant declarations without identifying employees it preferred not to identify," according to an FCC order dated April 13.

"Misconduct of this nature threatens to compromise the commission's ability to effectively investigate possible violations of the Communications Act and the commission's rules."

Google could not be reached for comment.

Between May 2007 and May 2010, Google collected data from wifi networks throughout the United States and throughout the world as part of the Street View project, which gives users of Google Map and Google Earth the ability to view street level images of structures and land adjacent to roads and highways.

However, Google collected passwords, Internet usage history and other highly sensitive personal data that was not needed for its location database project, the FCC said.

Google publicly acknowledged in May 2010 that it had collected the so-called payload data, leading to an FCC investigation on whether it had violated the Communications Act.

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Sony straps on Internet-linked wristwatch

Sony on Thursday released an Internet-linked wristwatch powered by Google-backed Android software.

SmartWatch gets online by connecting wirelessly to a wearer's Android smartphone using Bluetooth technology, according to Sony.

The high-tech timepiece reminiscent of one worn by classic comic strip detective Dick Tracy was priced at $150, available online and at Sony stores.

"SmartWatch provides access to live content and entertainment on the go," said Sony Mobile Communications customer unit president Paul Hamnett, who billed it as the first in a series of gadgets to "expand the smartphone's reach."

SmartWatch can switch from displaying time to acting as a touchscreen interface for smartphone information.

Vibrations or alerts flashed on the 1.3-inch (3.3-centimeter) screen can signal incoming calls and wearers can glance at their wrists to peruse email or text messages as well as Facebook or Twitter updates by friends.

Mini-applications tailored to add features to SmartWatch devices were available at the Google Play online shop, according to Sony.
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NEW YORK (AP) — Barnes & Noble Inc. on Thursday said it's tackling one of the shortcomings of black-and-white e-readers with a screen that lights up so it can be read in the dark.

E-readers with black-and-white screens, made by Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Sony and others, are easily readable in bright light but don't come with their own light sources and can't be read in darkness. The ones with color screens, such as the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet, do have their own light sources but are barely legible in sunlight.

The new "Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight" has a standard black-and-white screen, but an array of light-emitting diodes inside the frame spreads a glow over the page with the help of an invisible light-guiding layer.

The ability to read books in bed without disturbing a partner by turning on a bedside lamp has been a top request from customers, said Jamie Ianonne, the head of Barnes & Noble's digital division.

The model will be in stores early next month and cost $139, The New York-based chain said.

The cheapest Nook with a color screen costs $169. Barnes & Noble is keeping its non-lit black-and-white Nook in the lineup at $99.

Black-and-white e-readers can't be lit the same way color screens are. Color screens are translucent and require a "backlight" shining through them to look clear and legible. Black-and-white screens, on the other hand, are more like paper. They aren't translucent, so any lighting has to come from above.

Sony Corp., which pioneered the black-and-white e-reader, introduced a model with a built-in light in 2008, but the lighting was poor. The model's screen was much brighter on the edges. The light-guiding layer also made the screen less clear in all types of light. The model was soon retired.

Barnes & Noble developed its own technology to deal with the problem, and has filed for patents to protect it. The lighting is even over most of the page, but noticeably brighter along the top of the page where the LEDs are housed.

The light will sap some of the battery power. With no lighting, the reader will last for two months of 30 minutes of reading per day. With the light in use, it will last a bit more than a month, Ianonne said.
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Samsung to showcase flagship OLED HDTV at IFA in August

Samsung confirmed on Friday that its 55-inch OLED HDTV will be shown at Berlin’s IFA trade show in late August, according to a report from SlashGear. At the event, the manufacturer will announce the TV’s official launch details alongside a new, premium range of HDTVs. Samsung describes the new televisions as even “more premium” than its OLED models, although that may be in terms of functionality rather than design or display technology. Samsung unveiled its OLED TV at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, however details remain scarce. Both television sets will reportedly support the newest iteration of Samsung AllShare, which will add a 5GB cloud account to its local DLNA-based service, along with a remote login system, in the latter part of 2012. Using a single account login, the feature will allow users to remotely access any of their Samsung devices located anywhere in the world.
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Google stock drops 4 percent as advertisement rates fall again

(Reuters) - Google Inc shares tumbled 4 percent on Friday as Wall Street ignored the Internet search giant's plans to split its stock and focused on a decline in advertising rates and other worrisome business trends.

Google's search advertising rates declined more sharply than expected during the first quarter and the company increased payouts to partners.

This deepened concerns about Google's growth prospects among investors already nervous about its planned $12.5 billion acquisition of smartphone maker Motorola Mobility Inc.

First-quarter profit beat Wall Street expectations, but analysts noted that Google was helped by a lower tax rate.

More than three times the average volume of Google shares traded hands on Friday, as Google's stock finished the regular session down 4 percent at $624.60.

Google's plans to split its stock and to create a special class of non-voting shares drew some criticism from corporate governance advocates. But given that the move merely perpetuated a two-tier system that has long given Google's founders majority control of the company, investors seemed to shrug off the news.

"It's not inconsistent with how Google been run in the past," said ITG Investment Research analyst Steve Weinstein. "You, as a public investor, are just along for the ride."

The world's top Web search engine attributed the 12 percent drop in its cost per click (CPC) for the first quarter to a shift to cheaper mobile advertising rates among other factors.

Google's explanation for the declining CPC on a conference call with analysts offered clarity, but may not convince bearish investors, BMO Capital Market analyst Daniel Salmon wrote in a research note.

"Mobile is increasingly an area of concern. Google has roughly 90 percent share of mobile search, but this revenue must be shared with OEM handset manufacturers and carriers," said Benchmark analyst Clayton Moran.

The fall in ad rates follows an 8 percent decline in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Barclays analyst Anthony DiClemente, however, said he was less concerned by this decline than others as cost-per-clicks was only part of Google's revenue growth prospects.

"(We) are of the belief that CPCs will improve over time as Google's core search business will monetize well on mobile devices," he said in a note.

Analysts also said the lack of visibility around Google's plans for the recently acquired Motorola Mobility Holdings may pressure shares in the near term.

"These results bode well and keep us positive on Google long-term, all the while recognizing that the lack of clarity around MMI is likely to remain an overhang on the stock short-term," Jefferies & Co analysts, led by Youssef Squali, said in a note to clients.

Shares of the company fell to $623.54 in early morning trade on the Nasdaq. They were trading down 3 percent at $631 later in the morning.

The stock, which fell 9 percent after Google's fourth-quarter results on Jan 19, has risen 2 percent since then.

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Apple rejects e-book pricing collusion charge: WSJ

(Reuters) - Apple has rejected the U.S. Justice Department's allegations that it colluded with publishers over electronic book pricing, calling the charges "simply not true", the Wall Street Journal reported.

"The launch of the iBookstore in 2010 fostered innovation and competition, breaking Amazon's monopolistic grip on the publishing industry," Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris told the Journal.

The U.S. government had sued Apple and five publishers, saying they conspired to fix the prices of electronic books, and reached a settlement with three of the publishers that could lead to cheaper e-books for consumers.

Kerris defended the current pricing structure as parallel to Apple's mobile software store.

"Just as we have allowed developers to set prices on the App Store, publishers set prices on the iBookstore," she told the newspaper.

Apple could not immediately be reached for comment.

(Reporting by Sakthi Prasad; Editing by Ron Popeski)

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