TECHNOLOGY

The CrunchPad Tablet PC has “self destructed” and is now “in the DeadPool” just weeks before its public launch, according to TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington. TechCrunch's partner in making the CrunchPad, Singapore-based FusionGarage, broke off plans ahead of the set Nov. 20 launch, Arrington said in a posting titled “The End of the CrunchPad” on his site Monday.

Amazon.com said on Monday that its Kindle electronic book reader posted its best sales yet in the month of November, as rivals struggle with fulfilling their customer orders.

Nokia plans to install Linux software on just one new smartphone next year, a source told Reuters on Monday, dampening prospects of a quick makeover of the Finnish group's struggling product line-up.

Nokia plans to install Linux software on just one new smartphone next year, a source told Reuters on Monday, dampening prospects of a quick makeover of the Finnish group's struggling product line-up.

A French court fined eBay Inc 1.7 million euros ($2.6 million) for violating a 2008 injunction that prevents French users of the online auction site from buying or selling LVMH perfumes and cosmetics on any eBay website.

Global semiconductor sales rose 5.1 percent in October sequentially, spurred by strength across all regions as electronic equipment manufacturers boost production for the holiday season, the Semiconductor Industry Association said.

Nokia Oyj plans to install Linux software on just one new smartphone next year, a source told Reuters on Monday, dampening prospects of a quick makeover of the Finnish group's struggling product line-up.

The world's top cellphone maker, Nokia, plans to install Linux software on just one new smartphone next year, a source with direct knowledge of Nokia's product roadmap told Reuters.

Samsung Electronics, the world's No. 2 mobile phone maker, gave an upbeat forecast for 2009 mobile phone sales due to sharp growth in touchscreen models, but surging sales may not guarantee higher margins.

Holiday shopping online hit a record for Black Friday, several days before the retail industry-coined Cyber Monday gets underway, as more consumers said they used the web to seek deals.

Barnes & Noble Inc said on Sunday it would delay shipments of its newly launched Nook electronic reader to stores as the company strives to deliver preordered devices to consumers before the holidays.

Holiday shoppers in the United States spent some $595 million online on Black Friday, up 11 percent from last year, with Amazon.com and Walmart.com the most visited sites, according to analytics firm comScore.

Ailing telecom equipment maker Nokia Siemens Networks has changed its business focus to increasing its market share, the new chief executive of the venture was quoted as saying on Sunday.

News Corp's satellite pay-TV unit Sky Italia sees enormous scope to grow its business and rejected talk of a war with its main rival, its chief executive said in a newspaper interview on Sunday.

Ailing telecom equipment maker Nokia Siemens Networks has changed its business focus to increasing its market share, the new chief executive of the venture was quoted as saying on Sunday.

IBM , the world's biggest technology services company, is expected to announce this week the acquisition of database security start-up Guardium for $225 million, Israeli financial newspaper TheMarker reported.

Black Friday sales rose just 0.5 percent to $10.66 billion after rising 3 percent in 2008, ShopperTrak said on Saturday, a rise that may disappoint investors who had expected retailers to see a bigger boost this year.

Nokia needs to speedily boost its offering of mobile internet solutions, marketing head Anssi Vanjoki told a German magazine and did not rule out a sale of its core handset manufacturing business in the long term.

European Union members want to create a joint project on the digitization of books, French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand said, challenging Google's plan to create a massive digital library.

Apple's iPhone will be released for the first time in South Korea this Saturday and is available from KT Corporation, the country's second largest mobile carrier. The iPhone will be offered in three different models, with a price range of $342 to free, depending on the service plan chosen.

The growing influence of the Web to distribute news, video and other content, combined with the lingering economic malaise, have left many media executives and investors uncertain about where to make their next bets.

Space shuttle Atlantis and its crew of seven returned Friday, concluding an 11-day mission to deliver cargo to the International Space Station, bringing astronaut Nicole Stott back to Earth after spending 91 days in space. The shuttle touched down as scheduled at 9:44 a.m. EST under cloudless skies, guided by the commander, Col. Charles O. Hobaugh of the Marines, and the pilot, Capt. Barry E. Wilmore of the Navy.

Activision Blizzard Inc said on Friday its Call of Duty video game franchise pushed past the $3 billion mark in global retail sales.

In hit TV crime drama show C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation, and its two spin-offs, the criminologists use the latest technology to solve grisly murders and other crimes.

A second of Sony Ericsson's new smartphones, key to its strategy for returning to profit next year, has been hit by software problems in Britain ahead of a critical sales period.

U.S. congress has begun investigating climate scientists whose emails and documents were hacked into to see if their global warming theories have misrepresented the truth behind the cause of climate change.

Taiwan's Acer Inc, the world's No.2 PC maker, said Microsoft Corp's Windows 7 operating system launch last month has been positive for year-end PC sales, though the gains were within expectations.

Black Friday is still a day away, but it's already getting bargain buyers excited. Best Buy is offering a Hewlett-Packard laptop for a super low $197. Best Buy says this is the first-ever, value priced HP laptop it's ever offered.

The initial site that posted an offensive image of Michelle Obama as a chimpanzee has removed it and posted an apology, while another site, FlyLifeStyle, still has it up. Google, meanwhile, has refused to remove the offensive image from its image search engine under the search term Michelle Obama, despite complaints that it is racist.