MICROSOFT

Applications such as textPlus and Kik could eventually end carriers' reliance on revenue from traditional text messaging.

FBR Capital Markets has lowered its profit estimates of Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT), citing lower PC shipments.

Microsoft's Xbox 720 and Sony's PlayStation 4 are the two gaming consoles that have been heavily discussed on the Internet over the last few months.

Microsoft Corp is starting the new year much as it did the one just ended - grappling with weak computer sales tearing a hole in its core Windows business, while it gropes its way slowly into the faster-growing mobile phone and tablet markets.

Microsoft has announced that all Windows 8 ARM PCs, tablets and other devices will be locked to the original operating system.

Arfa Karim Randhawa, who at 9 years old became the world's youngest Microsoft Certified Professional, has died on Saturday at the age of 16, according to reports from Pakistan's The Express Tribune. She suffered an epileptic seizure and cardiac arrest and was hospitalized for nearly a month before dying.

Now that 153,000 people have exhausted themselves at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, an American visitor can't help thinking that the future of electronics is in Asia, not California's Silicon Valley or Texas.

From the world's first eye-controlled laptop personal computer to a pet-tracking application to a glass-encased ultrathin notebook PC, 2012's Consumer Electronics Show produced more than a few gems to point the way forward in technology.

How do they compare?

A roundup of the major unveilings that happened this year.

Nokia Lumia 900, which is expected to be the breakthrough device for the Microsoft Windows Phone platform, will arrive earlier than anticipated.

U.S. stock investors will return to a tug-of-war between signs of domestic strength and overseas concerns next week as a batch of critical earnings reports look to add credence to the idea the economy is improving, while credit-rating downgrades in Europe will keep that region's difficulties in view.

Verizon Communications Inc is pushing hard to move its FiOS TV service beyond the set-top box and onto the latest gadgets - from TVs and tablets to gaming consoles - to fend off competition from online video services such as Netflix Inc, Amazon Inc and Apple's Inc iTunes.

This year's Consumer Electronics Show turned out to be the largest on record, despite a slow economy and what many industry pundits agree is a dearth of genuine scene-stealers.

Foxconn, the top technology independent contractor in the world, has settled a dispute with a multitude of employees, who threatened with mass suicide to protest low pay and dismal working conditions at its Wuhan factory in China.

Steve Jobs' influence over the people has not waned even though he passed away four months back. Besides biography, documentaries, action figures and TV specials, the people have found another way to immortalize the person who has changed the way they interact with technology - publisher Bluewater Productions released a Jobs-themed comic book on Wednesday.

BlueStacks would be the armor Microsoft would be looking at as it is gearing up to launch its Windows 8 operating system, which is expected to work on both PCs and tablets with the tablet version termed as Metro.

Internet giants including Google and Facebook are embroiled in a growing battle in India over offensive content with a High Court judge warning websites.

CES 2012 Highlights: Smartphones, Tablets and Other Great Gadgets [PHOTOS]

This year's Consumer Electronics Show turned out to be the largest on record, despite a slow economy and what many industry pundits agree is a dearth of genuine scene-stealers.

Apple doesn't even go to Macworld anymore, so it's no surprise they didn't attend the Consumer Electronics Show this year. So, there was no iPhone 5 or iPad 3 to be found, but pretty much every other smartphone maker in the world was there.