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Latest by Geoff Duncan

Acer Finally Hit by Sony Battery Recall

The saga of faulty Sony notebook computer batteries lingers on: Acer is recalling 27,000 Sony-made notebook computer batteries.

NEC Widens AccuSync LCD Display Line

NEC has rolled out three new widescreen desktop LCD displays, featuring auto-adjusting controls and attractive pricing.

Sony Introduces New High-Def HandyCams

Sony has taken the warps off three new high-definition HanydCams, including the world's smallest AVCHD camcorder that records only to Memory Stick Pro.

Nokia: Over 100 Mln S60 Devices Shipped

Nokia has announced that more than 100 million S60-based smartphones and devices have shipped worldwide.

OnStar Partners with MapQuest

OnStar has announced a partnership with MapQuest which enable OnStar users to load destinations from the MapQuest site into their OnStar-equipped vehicles.

Amiga Says New Hardware On The Way

In a surprising announcement, Amiga Inc., says its working with ACK Software Controls to offer two new PowerPC-based Amiga systems.

Vonage Wins Reprieve

VoIP provider Vonage has won a permanent stay in its dispute with Verizon, letting the company sign up new users while it appeals its patent infringement defeat.

Former Apple Execs Charged in Options Probe

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged two former Apple executives with fraud in the company's stock option backdating scandal...and settled with one immediately.

Dell Offers SanDisk SSDs in Notebooks

Dell has announced its offering 32 GB SanDisk solid-state drives as an option on its ultraportable Latitude D420 and semi-rugged Latitude D620 ATG notebooks.

Onkyo Ramps Up Home Theater Offerings

Onkyo has unveiled a broad range of home theater systems, including seven new AV receivers and three home-theater-in-a-box systems...including one with HDMI switching.

F.E.A.R. Comes to PlayStation 3

Sierra Entertainment has shipped its first F.E.A.R title for the PlayStation 3, bringing it's first person-shooter/horror franchise to Sony's new console.

MySpace: Hablamos Español

Social networking giant MySpace has launched beta versions of Spanish language sites aimed at both U.S.-based Hispanics and Latin American users.

Google Tops Brand Value Rankings

According to UK research firm Millward Brown, Google has unseated Microsoft as the world's top-ranked brand.

Yahoo and Gracenote Launch Lyrics Service

Yahoo and Gracenote have announced a new service which will let Yahoo Music customers legally search and view lyrics from hundreds of thousands of songs.

Best Buy Tunes into HD Radio

HD Radio may just have hit the mainstream: leading electronics retailer Best Buy has announced plans to carry HD Radio products at its stores throughout the United States.

Yamaha Upscales with RX-V861 AV Receiver

Yamaha's forthcoming RX-V861 AV receiver offers 7.1 sound, HDMI connectivity, and upscales and de-interlaces video content to 1080i - all for around $1,000.

Hitachi Slims Down Ultrastar Hard Drives

Hitachi has announced its first 2.5-inch enterprise-class hard drive, offering low power consumption, 10,000 rpm, and capacities up to 147 GB.

Fon Partners with Time Warner Cable

Wi-Fi hotspot operator Fon has made its first major deal in the U.S. market, teaming up with Time Warner cable to offer subscribers global Wi-Fi Internet access.

Global Mobile Phone Sales Growth Slows

A new report from Strategy Analytics puts the annual global growth rate in mobile phone sales below 20 percent - and Motorola took the hit.

Motorola Buys Video Tech Company Terayon

Motorola has announced it will spend $140 million to acquire video technology company Terayon to boost its video capabilities.

Blu-ray Discs Outsell HD DVD During Q1 2007

According to Home Media Magazine, 70 percent of the high-definition discs purchased during the first quarter of 2007 were Blu-ray, leaving HD DVD in the dust.

RIM Embraces Windows Mobile 6

Ever wish your Treo was a BlackBerry? Research in Motion has announced it is developing a BlackBerry application suite for phones running Windows Mobile 6.

Napster, Circuit City Team on Music Service

Electronics retailer Circuit City has announced plans to launch a new digital music service powered by Napster.

Dell Brings Windows XP Back to the Future

Responding to customer demands, computer maker Dell has announced it's bringing Windows XP back as a option on selected desktop and notebook models.

RIM Reveals Cause of BlackBerry Outage

Research in Motion says this week's BlackBerry service outage was caused by a "compounding series of interaction errors" introduced by a new storage feature.

Dell Gives XPS M2010 Blu-ray

Dell has added a slot-loading Blu-ray drive as an option on its stylish - and mammoth - XPS M2010 notebook.

HP Dominates Q1 Worldwide PC Shipments

New market data from Gartner finds Hewlett-Packard has opened a big lead on Dell in worldwide PC shipments, but in the U.S. Dell still barely holds the top spot.

Old Controllers Rumble With PS3 Update

Sony's PlayStation 3 system software 1.7 lets dual shock controllers for PSOne and PS2 systems rumble with the PS3 and (maybe) share games and data with PSPs.

Search Rankings Show Microsoft Growth

New search engine rankings from comScore show Microsoft's search offerings showed the most growth between February and March, while Yahoo's stumbled.

Wife of Jailed Chinese Dissident Sues Yahoo

Yu Ling, the wife of jailed Chinese dissident Wang Xiazoning, has filed suit against Yahoo for releasing information about her husband's online activities to Chinese authorities.

MySpace to Let Users Rate and Rank News

MySpace is entering the news business, launching a new service which lets members rate and comment on news stories from a variety of sources.

Microsoft Settles With Iowa for $180 Mln

A judge has approved Microsoft's $180 million antitrust settlement with the state of Iowa, clearing the way for consumer rebates.

Hop-On Nabs Motorola, Offers Charger Patent

Hop-on is on a self-declared roll, licensing its MP3 and flip-phone patents to Motorola and kindly offering to let the entire industry license its patent for a universal charger.

UK Film Board Asks Why Video Gamers Play

A survey commissioned by the British Board of Film Classification asked why people play video games. One answer: escape from everyday life and a sense of active achievement.

Sierra Takes a Swing at Miniature Golf

Sierra Online's new 3 Ultra Minigolf Adventures lets players putter away their time on Windows PCs and Xbox Live Arcade.

Few Contribute to User-Generated Content

The Internet industry might be all a-twitter about user-generated media, but Hitwise analyst Bill Tancer finds remarkably few people actually contribute.

Wired Broadband Access May Be Peaking

A new market analysis from Ipsos Insight forecasts growth in wired broadband may be peaking, while wireless Internet access may be poised for explosive growth.

BlackBerry Outage Creates Messaging Mess

RIM's BlackBerry wireless email service broke down Tuesday night; service has been restored to most North American customers, but messages may be delayed until the backlog clears.