TECHNOLOGY

Apple Inc is hiring Dixons chief executive John Browett, who drove a recent turnaround at the UK electricals retailer, to lead the iPad maker's retail expansion.

AT&T confirmed Monday the availability of the most-anticipated Samsung Galaxy Note from Feb. 19 for $299.99 with a two-year contract. With a huge 5.3-inch display, the Galaxy Note is considered to be neither a phone nor a tablet but a happy combination of both.

Nokia Siemens Networks, the world's second-largest maker of mobile phone network equipment, is talking to labor unions in its home countries Germany and Finland about cutting more than 4,000 jobs, part of a company-wide shakeup.

Nokia Siemens Networks, the world's second-largest maker of mobile phone network equipment, said it will cut about 2,900 of a total 9,100 jobs in Germany, with most to go by the end of this year.

Adding to the rumor mill surrounding Apple's future products, a recent report suggested that Apple's next generation iPhone would feature near field communication, or NFC technology.

Logitech's video conferencing unit LifeSize expects new products and a bigger sales team to boost revenue growth starting this quarter, after it reported only a 6 percent rise for October-to-December.

Samsung Electronics lost a bid to overturn a ruling barring its local unit from selling its Galaxy 10.1 tablets in Germany, handing a symbolic legal victory to Apple Inc in efforts to keep its lead spot in the tablet computer market.

Logitech, the world's largest computer mouse maker, cut its full-year outlook for the third time after third quarter sales and profit were hit by euro weakness and as computer systems become less dependent on peripheral components.

Europe's second-biggest electrical goods retailer Dixons Retail said on Tuesday that its chief executive was leaving the company to join the world's most valuable technology corporation, Apple, as senior vice president of retail.

Samsung's eagerly awaited Galaxy Note will be available at AT&T on Feb. 19 for $300 with a two-year contract.

Mexicans have been overcharged $13.4 billion a year for phone and internet services as the industry dominated by billionaire Carlos Slim gouges customers and keeps the economy from growing, a study released on Monday said.

According to the latest report, based on a source that is closely linked to one of the largest manufacturers of Apple accessories, there have been interesting discoveries regarding the upcoming iPad 3. In particular, the source said that the external shape of both the iPad 2 and the new iPad 3 will almost be identical.

The iPhone 5 is likely to have the feature of Near Field Communications (NFC), according to the latest report.

A California judge has dismissed a fraud claim brought by Oracle Corp against Hewlett-Packard Co in the bitter legal battle between the two companies over the Itanium platform.

ASUS unveiled its new Transformer Prime HD TF700Tat CES 2012, boasting an ultra high resolution screen that is set to rival some laptops, but Transformer Prime enthusiasts need to hold tight as the tablet won't be released until June.

Libya will do all it can to protect its 75 percent stake in Zamtel, the fixed-line telecoms firm in Zambia, whose government announced plans last week to seize Libya's stake in the firm, Libyan Foreign Minister Ashour bin Khayyal said Monday.

SOPA is gone for now (until someone re-introduces it), but ACTA and OPEN are two other anti-piracy measures written in the spirit of SOPA. ACTA isn't a proposed U.S. law, however. It's an international treaty already signed by several countries including the U.S. OPEN, on the other hand, picks up right where SOPA took off.

Ever since the Amazon Kindle Fire raised the bar for (comparatively) low-priced tablets in late 2011, many people have been waiting for more/better options in the sub-$300 range. Now comes the IdolPAd from Idolian, a $99 Android 2.3 tablet that seems nearly too good to be true.

Google News now provides quotes by individuals as part of its search function in a new feature that can be seen as either annoying or useful.

Microsoft has quashed the hopes of Xbox enthusiasts by announcing that the highly anticipated Xbox 720 will not be released in 2012, but not all fans are convinced as the Xbox rumor mill continues to turn.

Why the White House's attempts to hear from Americans is a magnet for marijuana legalization advocates.

The PlayStation Vita--the latest handheld gaming system from Sony--will soon reach North America, and rabid gamers are geeking out while waiting for the release date, Feb. 22, unless they've pre-ordered the first edition bundle pack. The PS Vita will have a base price of $249.99 or a bundle pack with games for $349.99.

Philips swung to a fourth-quarter net loss as government cuts ate into its healthcare equipment business and a slowdown in European construction activity and consumer spending hit its lighting operations.

The Motorola Droid Razr Maxx, which was showcased at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and made available through Verizon Wireless last week, is expected to see stiff competition from the HTC Rezound.

The Original iPhone Film Festival (OIFF), which set out to find the best films shot using an iPhone, and took all of 2011 to do so, has announced its winning selections across four categories.

While version 1.0.6 of Corona is apparently in the process of being pushed to Cydia, an updated version of Redsn0w (0.9.10b5) for both Mac OS X and Windows has just been released to fix the randomly occurring DRM bug on iBooks.

Sony has unveiled three new Cyber Shot camera models— the WX50, WX70 and TX200V - all featuring 5x zoom lenses and Exmor RTM CMOS sensors.

Movie fans don't need to wait until the red carpet is rolled out to get in on the excitement of this year's Academy Awards.

SAP, the world's largest maker of business software, may license its HANA offering to main rival Oracle in the future, its co-chief executive told a German newspaper.