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| Microsoft's Xbox One console to go on sale in China in September Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 05:58 PM PDT  By Malathi Nayak SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp will begin selling its Xbox One video game console in China in September through its partnership with Chinese Internet TV company BesTV New Media Co, the company said on Tuesday. The partners will also kickstart a program to help developers create, publish and sell Xbox One games in China and other markets where the console is sold, Microsoft said in a statement. In September last year, Microsoft and BesTV, a subsidiary of Shanghai Media Group, formed a joint venture and invested $237 million in "family games and related services." Last week, Shanghai's government said console makers such as Microsoft, Sony Corp and Nintendo Co will be able to manufacture and sell consoles in China through "foreign-invested enterprises" in Shanghai's free trade zone. Full Story | Top |
| Twitter disappoints again on user growth and views; shares drop Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 05:05 PM PDT  By Gerry Shih SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Twitter Inc reported lackluster user and usage growth for the second consecutive quarter on Tuesday, deepening investor concerns about its struggle to gain a mass following. Twitter's stock fell more than 10 percent after hours to $38.05, below its post-initial public offering low of $38.80 on November 25. Perhaps most worrying, the San Francisco-based company said its 255 million monthly users, on average, appeared to check the service less frequently than a year ago. The results revealed slowing momentum at a company that exuberant investors just six months ago had argued could one day match Facebook Inc's scale. Full Story | Top |
| EBay beefs up U.S. war chest in pursuit of growth Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 04:49 PM PDT  By Deepa Seetharaman SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - EBay Inc is preparing to bring a major portion of its foreign earnings back into the United States, hoping to bankroll acquisitions and drive an expansion into mobile payments and other high-growth areas as its core business matures. Ebay, which on Tuesday forecast lower-than-expected earnings this quarter, also plans to ramp up its marketing spending on PayPal, which is an Internet leader but faces stiff competition in the fledgling smartphone payments market. The move will allow eBay to boost its available U.S. cash by about $6 billion, when needed. "If you look at our last 15 acquisitions, my guess is 10 have been inside the U.S., maybe 11," Chief Executive John Donahoe said in an interview. Full Story | Top |
| Chipmaker RF Micro says rise in smartphone sales to fuel growth Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 03:45 PM PDT RF Micro Devices Inc, a maker of chips that connect mobile devices to networks, forecast quarterly revenue above analysts' estimates and said it expected rising smartphone sales to fuel growth in the second half of the year. Shares of RF Micro, whose customers include Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co, rose about 7.5 percent in extended trading after the chipmaker also posted a better-than-expected profit for the fourth quarter. "In terms of timing, we are beginning to support the volume ramps of many of this year's most popular devices and we expect this to accelerate into the September quarter," RF Micro Chief Executive Robert Bruggeworth said on a post-earnings call. RF Micro is also positioned to benefit from the "Internet of Things", Bruggeworth said, referring to machine-to-machine connectivity that allows devices on both wired and wireless networks to interact. Full Story | Top |
| Ebay says foreign cash needed for U.S. growth, buybacks Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 03:19 PM PDT SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - EBay Inc said on Tuesday that access to foreign earnings will allow the e-commerce giant to take advantage of growing opportunities in the U.S. market while also completing $5 billion in share buybacks. The company, which also reported better-than-expected earnings, will take a $3 billion non-tax charge to repatriate foreign earnings. This will result in an additional $6 billion to eBay's U.S. cash pile. (Reporting by Deepa Seetharaman; Editing by Bernard Orr) Full Story | Top |
| Apple, Samsung make final pitches to U.S. jury in patent trial Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 03:10 PM PDT  By Dan Levine SAN JOSE, California (Reuters) - Apple has vastly exaggerated the importance of its patented iPhone features, a Samsung attorney said on Tuesday as the two companies delivered closing arguments to jurors after a month-long trial over mobile technology. Apple, however, argued that the South Korean company could not have competed in the smartphone market without unfairly copying its flagship product. The two tech leaders also sparred over how Google's work on the software used in Samsung phones affects Apple's patent claims. Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd have been litigating around the world for three years. Full Story | Top |
| Spotify strikes marketing partnership with Sprint Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 12:33 PM PDT  By Marina Lopes NEW YORK (Reuters) - Spotify announced on Tuesday its first partnership with a mobile carrier in an effort to boost subscriptions and get more people to listen to its online streaming music service. The deal with Sprint means that starting on May 2, Sprint's customers will receive a free trial of Spotify. "This is this is the biggest deal we've ever made," said Daniel Ek, chief executive of Spotify, referring to the number of consumers the partnership will reach and the level of marketing dollars put behind the partnership. The company offers to listeners a premium subscription service without ads for $9.99 per month. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. justices weigh limits to police cellphone searches Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 12:19 PM PDT  By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday appeared to seek a compromise over whether police officers need warrants to search cellphones when a suspect is arrested. In two hours of oral arguments, the justices appeared sympathetic to the need of police officers to quickly search phones but also were wary of privacy concerns raised by the amount of personal data now kept on mobile devices. The result could be a ruling that says police need a warrant in some circumstances but not in others. "People carry their entire lives on cellphones," Justice Elena Kagan said. Full Story | Top |
| European Union moves to end smartphone patent wars Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 11:11 AM PDT  By John O'Donnell BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union's antitrust enforcer has told two top smartphone makers to stop filing aggressive patent lawsuits against rivals such as Apple, aiming to end a patent war and open the market to freer competition. The European Commission reprimanded Motorola Mobility on Tuesday for taking such action against Apple, hoping the ruling will halt a rising tide of legal disputes among rivals vying for profit in the global smartphone market. Full Story | Top |
| White House wades cautiously into effort to protect online privacy Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 10:38 AM PDT  By Roberta Rampton and Alexei Oreskovic WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The White House will lay out ideas this week for protecting U.S. consumers' privacy in an era in which the ubiquitous use of computers and mobile phones provides a constant data feed on individuals. But after a 90-day review of "big data," the White House is expected to suggest ways to encourage companies to protect privacy and identify areas for further study, rather than calling for a legislative overhaul. The Obama administration is treading carefully to avoid further antagonizing major technology companies and international allies angered by the government's data surveillance programs. The review was led by John Podesta, senior counselor to President Barack Obama, who previously worked on tech privacy issues as a Capitol Hill staffer and as an aide to President Bill Clinton. Full Story | Top |
| Nokia names leader of networks business turnaround as CEO Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 08:40 AM PDT  By Sakari Suoninen and Jussi Rosendahl HELSINKI (Reuters) - Nokia named the man who led a turnaround at its main telecoms network business as its new chief executive on Tuesday, boosting investors' confidence in the future of the company following the sale of its once-dominant handset arm. The Finnish company, which completed the 5.6 billion euro ($7.8 billion) deal to sell its mobile handset business to Microsoft on Friday, said Rajeev Suri would become CEO on May 1, replacing Microsoft-bound Stephen Elop. "Mr. Suri has done a very commendable job in turning around NSN, in our view. Suri, a 46-year-old Indian national, was widely expected to lead the company after the sale of the handset business. Full Story | Top |
| Sprint's subscriber losses fall as fewer defect, tablet sales rise Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 07:27 AM PDT  Sprint Corp, the No. 3 U.S. mobile provider on Tuesday reported fewer subscribers leaving than expected and strong tablet additions, as the company undergoes a massive network overhaul in a highly competitive market. "Network is obviously a crucial foundation for being competitive," Sprint's chief executive, Dan Hesse told analysts in a post-earnings call. The company, 80 percent owned by Japan's SoftBank Corp, said it lost 231,000 net postpaid subscribers in the first quarter, compared with Wall Street estimates of 244,000 losses. Full Story | Top |
| Nokia says has won several contracts in Europe Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 05:28 AM PDT  HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finnish telecoms equipment maker Nokia has won several contracts in Europe which have not been announced yet and will be booked later this year, its incoming chief executive said on Tuesday. "Europe and Latin America remain particularly challenging, although we have a number of unannounced contract wins in Europe that should stabilize our sales in Europe this year," CEO Rajeev Suri said in a conference call with investors. (Reporting by Sakari Suoninen; Editing by Jussi Rosendahl) Full Story | Top |
| Last Nokia phones sell sluggishly as loss widens Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 05:06 AM PDT  Nokia said on Tuesday its phone sales fell 30 percent in the last quarter they belonged to the previous world-market leader and the unit's loss widened. Nokia's discontinued operations - the phone unit - posted a drop in first-quarter sales to 1.9 billion euros ($2.6 billion)from 2.8 billion in the same quarter a year earlier. Microsoft bought Nokia's phone unit for 5.6 billion euros in a deal that closed on Friday. Full Story | Top |
| LG Electronics says higher TV marketing could blunt Q2 earnings Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 04:17 AM PDT  By Se Young Lee SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's LG Electronics Inc said on Tuesday increased marketing spending on new products could pull down earnings in its mainstay television business, making it difficult for second-quarter profit to match the first. The world's second-largest TV maker after compatriot Samsung Electronics Co Ltd beat analyst estimates with a 44 percent rise in first-quarter operating profit, attributing the gain to lower TV panel and marketing costs during a seasonally weak period for consumer electronics. Full Story | Top |
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