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Wednesday, July 25, 2012 8:30 PM PDT

Today's Reuters Technology News Headlines - Yahoo! News: Logitech posts wider Q1 loss as weak demand bites Apple's invincibility fades on Iphone miss, global woes Zynga takes axe to outlook, spooks Facebook investors Apple says Samsung patent royalty demands unfair Zynga slashes outlook, denting its stock and Facebook's New York Times drops BlackBerry app Google, eBay, Amazon, Facebook back new lobbying group Amazon courts software developers for apps and games New data pricing from Verizon, AT&T may complicate family life Apple releases "Mountain Lion" Mac software EU regulators seek global concessions from Google Apple blames rare miss on new iPhone anticipation, economy In power, Egypt's Brotherhood seeks balance on Islamic law Apple's rivals swoop as iPhone China sales flag Canon cuts profit outlook, signals euro pain for Japan Inc Logitech posts wider Q1 loss as weak demand bites Wed,25 Jul 2012 07:55 PM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - Logitech, the world's biggest computer mouse maker, fell to a deeper first-quarter net loss, missing analyst forecasts, as the company struggles with weak demand amid worries about the global economy. The Swiss-listed firm said it booked a first-quarter net loss of $52 million, or 32 cents per share, wider than a year-earlier net loss of $30 million, or 17 cents per share. The company was expected to post a first-quarter loss of $24.7 million, or 14 cents a share, according to a Reuters Poll. Quarterly sales were $469 million, down 2 percent from $480 million a year ago. ... Full Story Top Apple's invincibility fades on Iphone miss, global woes Wed,25 Jul 2012 07:42 PM PDT Reuters - SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc's biggest success has become its biggest risk factor. The iPhone revolutionized the smartphone industry, driving Apple's expansion into Europe and China and, after just half a decade, yields about half its annual $100 billion revenue haul. But the world's most valuable technology company -- which throughout the global recession near-unfailingly smashed Wall Street forecasts -- is beginning to lose its aura of invincibility. The company has missed Wall Street targets twice in under a year. ... Full Story Top Zynga takes axe to outlook, spooks Facebook investors Wed,25 Jul 2012 06:52 PM PDT Reuters - SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Game provider Zynga Inc slashed its 2012 outlook and quarterly results badly missed Wall Street targets, sending its stock plunging 35 percent and casting a chill over Facebook Inc on the eve of the social network's inaugural results. Investors now fear a larger-than-expected hit to Facebook's earnings, which relies on the "FarmVille" creators for about 15 percent of its revenue. Shares in the No. 1 social network, which has yet to regain investor confidence since its botched May IPO, slid more than 7 percent to a new low of $27 in after-hours trading. ... Full Story Top Apple says Samsung patent royalty demands unfair Wed,25 Jul 2012 06:50 PM PDT Reuters - SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc said Samsung Electronics Co Ltd is demanding from the iPhone maker a far higher patent royalty than Apple pays to other companies, at a rate the South Korean company has never sought from any other licensee. The information was contained in portions of an Apple legal brief freshly unsealed in U.S. court on Wednesday, and provides more detail about each side's negotiating position in the run-up to a high stakes trial set to begin next week. In a separate filing, Samsung contended that its royalty demands are consistent with industry norms. ... Full Story Top Zynga slashes outlook, denting its stock and Facebook's Wed,25 Jul 2012 03:08 PM PDT Reuters - SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Zynga Inc, the social gaming company, slashed its 2012 earnings outlook after its second-quarter results badly missed Wall Street's targets, sending its stock plunging more than 40 percent to a record low. The miss by the creator of the "Farmville and "Hidden Chronicles" games also dragged down shares of Facebook Inc. Facebook, which relies on the game publisher for some 15 percent of its revenue, is to release its inaugural results as a public company on Thursday. ... Full Story Top New York Times drops BlackBerry app Wed,25 Jul 2012 01:49 PM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - BlackBerry users can no longer use the official New York Times app to read news stories over their devices, in a fresh blow to Research In Motion, the maker of the smartphone once considered an essential tool for business professionals. New York Times Co, which publishes the prestigious newspaper, said it stopped supporting its applications for BlackBerry and the Palm Pre as of Monday, meaning the apps will no longer download news stories. ... Full Story Top Google, eBay, Amazon, Facebook back new lobbying group Wed,25 Jul 2012 12:18 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Google Inc, Amazon.com Inc, eBay Inc, Facebook Inc and other big Internet companies are starting a trade association to handle political and regulatory issues in Washington, a person close to the group said on Wednesday. The Internet Association, which will open its doors in September, will act as a unified voice for major Internet companies, said President Michael Beckerman, a former advisor to the chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives' Energy and Commerce Committee. ... Full Story Top Amazon courts software developers for apps and games Wed,25 Jul 2012 12:01 PM PDT Reuters - SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc has focused single-mindedly on consumers for much of its existence. Now it has a new obsession: developers. The world's largest Internet retailer is ratcheting up its courtship of apps software developers as it pits its Kindle Fire -- and potentially other mobile gadgets -- against Apple Inc and Google Inc. Games and apps are key to that effort, so Amazon is plowing a lot of resources into wooing this increasingly important community. Amazon sees the Fire as a way to spur sales of its trove of online content -- from books to TV shows to music. ... Full Story Top New data pricing from Verizon, AT&T may complicate family life Wed,25 Jul 2012 11:47 AM PDT Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - Arguments around U.S. family dinner tables may soon go from who talked too much on the phone this month to who used up the family's Internet service. Thanks to new metered pricing plans for Internet access unveiled by top U.S. cellular providers Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc families will be able to share a single data allowance for multiple devices. A drawback is the higher price of data in these plans. The companies say the new plans are designed to help consumers save money and simplify their lives. ... Full Story Top Apple releases "Mountain Lion" Mac software Wed,25 Jul 2012 11:34 AM PDT Reuters - SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc released the latest version of the operating software for its MacIntosh computers on Wednesday, touting new features such as better integration with the "iCloud" Internet storage service and gaming. The "Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion" was released a day after Apple reported disappointing results that hammered its shares. Mountain Lion, first unveiled in June during Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference, is available as an upgrade from the previous two operating systems -- Lion and Snow Leopard -- for $19.99. ... Full Story Top EU regulators seek global concessions from Google Wed,25 Jul 2012 11:16 AM PDT Reuters - BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU regulators are seeking concessions from Google which could be applied worldwide to resolve concerns about its business practices, the EU's antitrust chief said on Wednesday, raising the stakes in forthcoming settlement talks. Google, whose search engine is used for around four-fifths of Internet searches in Europe, has been accused by rivals of abusing its dominant market position, and the European Commission said in May it was concerned about its alleged anti-competitive behavior. ... Full Story Top Apple blames rare miss on new iPhone anticipation, economy Wed,25 Jul 2012 08:32 AM PDT Reuters - SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc results fell short of Wall Street's lofty expectations as a sagging European economy and a pause in iPhone sales ahead of a new version saw revenues slip from the previous quarter. Shares fell more than 5 percent to $570.81 in late trade after the world's most valuable technology company - which beats expectations with near regularity - reported its second quarterly miss in less than a year. Apple's suppliers also felt the pain. Shares of LG Display, Toshiba and Hon Hai sank between 5 and 7 percent. ... Full Story Top In power, Egypt's Brotherhood seeks balance on Islamic law Wed,25 Jul 2012 06:08 AM PDT Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - In decades of furtive meetings in tea houses, mosques and universities, members of Egypt's underground Muslim Brotherhood spoke ardently of a country governed by Islamic law. Now that their debates take place in parliament and the presidential palace, they must decide how far to go in bringing it about. Elections held since the fall of Hosni Mubarak have turned the once-banned Brotherhood and its allies into the dominant political force in the Arab world's most populous country. ... Full Story Top Apple's rivals swoop as iPhone China sales flag Wed,25 Jul 2012 02:47 AM PDT Reuters - HONG KONG/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Apple Inc's disappointing China sales suggest that its customers will not always wait for the next iPhone when rivals such as Samsung have plenty of flashy new models available now, analysts and resellers said on Wednesday. China is Apple's second-largest market, and its rabid fans have been known to seek out smugglers just to get their hands on the latest gadgets before they officially go on sale in Beijing and Shanghai stores. ... Full Story Top Canon cuts profit outlook, signals euro pain for Japan Inc Wed,25 Jul 2012 02:16 AM PDT Reuters - TOKYO (Reuters) - Canon Inc trimmed its full-year operating profit outlook, buffeted by a euro zone crisis that has sent the yen surging and sapped demand from a key overseas market, boding ill for earnings prospects in Japan's export sector. Canon, long one of Japan's most profitable technology companies with its aggressive cost-cutting, is also among the first major Japanese companies to report quarterly earnings and is under scrutiny for early signs of how the euro zone's woes could reach Japanese shores. ... Full Story Top

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