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Technology

Japan Orders Apple to Explain iPod Problem

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 06:43:09 EDT

Japan wants Apple to explain why some of its iPod Nano music players overheat, after some cases have resulted in users suffering minor burns.

Snafus Plague New Zealand iPhone Debut

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:15:35 EDT

Hundreds of customers in New Zealand hoping to buy Apple's new iPhone 4 were turned away Friday, in what one frustrated would-be buyer called a "nightmare" for customers.

Australia Expands Fiber Internet Network

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 04:38:43 EDT

Australian PM Julia Gillard unveiled an expanded plan for a national high-speed fiber Internet network that will reach 93% of homes and businesses.

Tokyo Defends Search Deal

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 21:22:08 EDT

Japan's antitrust regulator defended its decision to greenlight a new Internet search agreement between Google and Yahoo Japan, a move that drew criticism from Microsoft and surprised antitrust experts.

Can Free Games Make More Money?

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:15:55 EDT

More videogame companies, angling for larger audiences for big-budget online games, are making their products free to play in the hopes they can make more money by charging players for virtual goods.

Mobile-TV Push Gets Fuzzy Reception

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:18:31 EDT

Chip maker Qualcomm last week signaled it may give up a costly six-year quest to bring broadcast TV to mobile phones and other devices in the U.S. But other entrepreneurs remain undaunted.

RadioShack Net Rises

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 07:53:03 EDT

RadioShack's profit climbed 8.6% as the electronics retailer continued to rope in wireless-device consumers.

SK Telecom Gains From Smartphone Boom

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:53:34 EDT

The increasing popularity of smartphones has helped Korea's SK Telecom post a 17% increase in its second-quarter net profit.

Intel Wins Ruling in Antitrust Class-Action Case

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 01:55:59 EDT

Intel won a key ruling in a suit against the company on behalf of computer buyers, which found no evidence that consumers have been hurt by the company's discounting practices in the market for computer chips.

Microsoft Pursues iPad Rivals

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:21:34 EDT

CEO Steve Ballmer said Microsoft needs to do better in the market for tablet computers that Apple has found success in with the iPad.

Panasonic To Buy Out Two Units

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 22:52:56 EDT

Panasonic said it will spend up to $9.4 billion to buy all remaining shares in Sanyo Electric and Panasonic Electric Works.

Alliance Aims for Apps Market

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:26:10 EDT

A global alliance of telecom operators said it will establish a corporate entity as part of its plans to set up an open platform for mobile applications.

Best Buy to Offer 4G Laptop Cards

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:59:30 EDT

Best Buy plans to use Clearwire's higher speed network to power its recently launched Best Buy Connect mobile broadband service, as the consumer-electronics retailer wades further into its wireless industry.

IAC Revenue Jumps

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 09:16:33 EDT

IAC/Interactive's profit dropped due to a year-earlier gain but revenue rose 18%, helped by growth its search and Match online dating businesses.

Contracts and Cost Cutting Boost BT

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 06:35:33 EDT

BT reiterated that it is in talks with the U.K. government over plans to slash public spending as it kept its outlook and posted solid results underpinned by contract wins and further cost cutting.

Sharp Swings Back to Profit

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 03:38:05 EDT

Sharp swung back to a net profit in the fiscal first quarter, benefiting from renewed consumer appetite for products like high-end TVs as the global economy picks up.

Yen Pulls Nintendo to a Loss

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:54:09 EDT

Nintendo reported its first quarterly loss in more than two years, as Japan's strong currency and a lack of major new products further pinched the videogame maker.

Cuomo Probing MetLife, Prudential Financial

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:46:52 EDT

Cuomo launched a fraud investigation into the life-insurance industry for practices that allegedly denied families of deceased military personnel and others from collecting cash from their policies.

DirecTV Plays Offense With NFL Ads

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:06:43 EDT

DirecTV is launching its biggest advertising campaign yet for its marquee property, NFL Sunday Ticket, as it faces mounting pressure from pay-television competitors increasingly offering rival NFL packages.

Intel Nears Chip Pacts

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:41:31 EDT

Intel is in advanced talks to acquire Infineon's wireless chip unit, whose products include cellular baseband chips used by Apple and other cellphone makers.

The Web's New Gold Mine: Your Secrets

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 17:20:51 EDT

A Wall Street Journal investigation finds that one of the fastest growing businesses on the Internet is the business of spying on American consumers. First in a series.

Panasonic to Buy Up Two Units

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 10:14:29 EDT

To bolster its green energy business, Panasonic plans to spend at least $8.4 billion to buy out the remaining shares of majority-owned subsidiaries Sanyo Electric and Panasonic Electric Works said.

Nokia Siemens in Deal Talks

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:39:03 EDT

Nokia Siemens Networks is talking to several buyout firms about a potential cash infusion of at least $1 billion in exchange for a minority stake.

Telefónica Gets Control of Vivo

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:09:44 EDT

Spain's Telefónica agreed to pay $9.75 billion to win full control of Vivo, a Brazilian wireless joint venture it had with Portugal Telecom.

Global Cellphone Shipments Rise

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 06:55:26 EDT

Global shipments of mobile phones continued to grow in the second quarter, but vendors' profit margins could be threatened by high-end price pressure.

Real-World iPhone 4 Test

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 09:39:05 EDT

The iPhone 4 did better than the 3GS in decent coverage, but still isn't a good bet for those in weak-coverage areas, writes Walt Mossberg.

Latin America Lifts Telefónica

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 22:19:09 EDT

Telefónica said net profit rose 16% as revenue growth in its Latin American business compensated for a weaker Spanish market.

Nvidia Warns of Sales Shortfall

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 19:12:42 EDT

Nvidia lowered its second-quarter revenue estimates, amid weak consumer spending that weighed on sales of its flagship graphics processing chips.

Adobe to Launch Tender Offer for Day Software

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:01:32 EDT

Adobe Systemshas signed a definitive agreement to launch a public tender offer to acquire all of Day Software's shares for about $240 million.

Fresh Kodak Concerns Surface

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 19:21:48 EDT

Struggling Kodak said its movie-film business is shrinking faster than expected, raising fresh concerns about the viability of the iconic company's turnaround.

Sprint Scrambles as 4G Race Tightens

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 21:09:39 EDT

Sprint Nextel's loss widened as overall subscribership fell and the company booked a $302 million tax-related charge.

Comcast's Profit Slips

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 11:23:11 EDT

Comcast posted solid revenue gains for the second quarter, but its earnings fell 8.6% on costs tied to its deal for a majority stake in NBC Universal.

Will Yahoo China Find a Search Suitor?

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:35:59 EDT

After Yahoo Japan's search deal with Google, the fate of Yahoo China is more unclear than ever.

Google Develops Facebook Rival

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:56:42 EDT

Google is in talks with several makers of popular online games as it seeks to develop a broader social-networking service that could compete with Facebook.

Sony Swings to Profit

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:43:43 EDT

Sony swung to a net profit in the April-June quarter, and raised its earnings forecasts despite the yen's strength that could undermine its competitiveness overseas.

Droid Sales Drive Motorola

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 23:43:32 EDT

Motorola reported higher profit and stabilized its long revenue decline, as the company's wager on smart-phones running Google's software began to pay off.

HCL Technologies Profit Up 3.6%

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 06:40:23 EDT

Indian software exporter HCL Technologies posted a better-than-expected increase in profit for the lateset quarter, on a rise in outsourcing orders.

Akamai Hires Former Publicis Executive

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:36:33 EDT

Akamai Technologies named David Kenny as its president, aiming to drive the growth of its early-stage media, cloud-computing and advertising businesses.

Kindle to Go 'Mass Market'

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 10:44:35 EDT

Amazon.com plans to release a cheaper Kindle e-reader next month, said CEO Jeff Bezos, laying out a strategy to go "mass market" with an inexpensive gadget designed to do just one thing: sell digital books from Amazon.

Motorola's Hopes Ride on the Droid

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 09:02:03 EDT

To get its stock back to 2007 levels, Motorola needs its Droid smartphone to ride to the rescue.

GameStop to Acquire Online Distributor

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 20:39:39 EDT

GameStop agreed to acquire online-games distributor Kongregate as part of the retailer's push to become a bigger participant in digital games.

Intel Advances Silicon-Based Laser

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 22:32:58 EDT

Intel said it has fashioned a communications device from silicon-based lasers that operates at an extremely high speed—a step that could change the way computers are designed.

Qualcomm in India Broadband Venture

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 08:12:42 EDT

Qualcomm is forming a joint venture with India's Global Holding and Tulip Telecom to build a network for offering wireless broadband services.

Tech Firms Lobby EU on Privacy

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:27:05 EDT

Microsoft, Google and other U.S. tech giants are pushing to streamline Europe's privacy rules in order to offer more remote computing and data-storage services. Some European governments are resisting.

Sanyo Returns to Profit

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:37:01 EDT

Sanyo said it returned to profit for the fiscal first quarter as its mainstay solar battery operations and cost-cutting are benefitting the bottom line.

Alcatel-Lucent Sticks to Forecast

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 04:27:09 EDT

Telecommunications-equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent reported a second-quarter net loss on Friday, but confirmed its full-year forecast.

Russia's DST Plans IPO

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:40:47 EDT

Russian Internet firm Digital Sky Technologies has hired investment banks to organize an initial public offering in 2011, a person familiar with the plans said.

Justice Department Sues Oracle

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 21:36:27 EDT

The U.S. Justice Department accused Oracle of defrauding the federal government on a software contract that involved more than $1 billion in sales.

Google Says China Remains Murky

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:37:43 EDT

Google CEO Schmidt said the company doesn't know if what now seems to have been a minor disruption of its availability in China was evidence of Beijing's power.

Essar, Vodafone Mull Joint-Venture IPO

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 08:41:24 EDT

The chief executive of Essar said the Indian conglomerate is in early talks with Vodafone Group about an initial public offering for their joint venture, Vodafone Essar.

Affordable 3-D Arrives

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:26:39 EDT

As 3-D software costs have dropped, more small consumer-product companies are finding it cost-effective to purchase sophisticated modeling tools.

Samsung's Results Jump

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 06:19:50 EDT

Samsung Electronics reported a record profit, but executives said that may have been the peak for the year as pricing pressures are likely to overwhelm sales growth in the second half.

Using the iPhone as a Remote Control

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 22:20:04 EDT

The L5 Remote and the FLPR allow you to control a host of electronic devices with your iPhone or iPad. But they each have quirks.

Hong Kong Privacy Chief Pushes for Regulation

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 03:44:54 EDT

Hong Kong's privacy commissioner recommended legislation to regulate service monopolies such as Octopus, after the operator admitted to selling personal data.

NEC Net Loss Widens

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:50:03 EDT

NEC said its net loss for the April-June quarter widened from the year-earlier period, partly due to special losses incurred by reorganizing its semiconductor operations.

Chip Demand Lifts Infineon Net

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 10:25:35 EDT

Semiconductor maker Infineon Said it swung to a profit due to growing demand for its logic chips, and raised its full-year guidance for the third time this fiscal year partly due to a stronger dollar.

France Télécom Calms Investor Fears

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 05:07:00 EDT

France Télécom said it will keep its current dividend over the next three years, calming investor concern that it might replace part of its cash dividend with a share buyback.

Goldman Bans Swearing in Emails

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 10:47:29 EDT

Goldman Sachs is telling employees that they will no longer be able to get away with profanity in emails.

Google: Service in China Operating Normally

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:06:06 EDT

Google said its Internet services in China are functioning properly after a minor overnight disruption.

PartyGaming, Bwin Merge

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 21:51:07 EDT

PartyGaming plans to merge with Austrian sports-book operator Bwin Interactive Entertainment, creating the world's largest listed online-gambling business.