New details revealed on Apple's upcoming cloud music service

Several new details have emerged on Apple’s upcoming “iCloud” music service, including the ability to automatically add music to the cloud by scanning a library, according to a report by Businessweek.

One of the biggest problems with Amazon and Google’s recently released cloud music players is the need to upload music into a digital locker. Apple will eliminate this need, at least partially. The iCloud service will scan a customer’s music library in iTunes and … Continue Reading

World's first commercial quantum computer sold to Lockheed Martin

The world’s first commercially available quantum computer, which uses principles of quantum mechanics rather than classical mechanics, was sold to aerospace, defense and security company Lockheed Martin.

Unlike computers based on transistors, quantum computers rely on principles of quantum mechanics to conduct operations. The computers take advantage of properties like entanglement — when two particles have the same properties and behave identically while being separate — and storing data with “qubits,” or quantum bits. Typical … Continue Reading

Nissan takes a crack at Volt hybrid electric car

Nissan has taken a potshot at General Motors by mocking its plug-in electric hybrid Chevy Volt in an ad for its pure plug-in electric car, the Nissan Leaf.

The ad mocks cars that use internal combustion engines and gasoline by showing a world where any electronic gadget is powered by gasoline and an internal combustion engine. The results are comically outlandish — the commercial even features an iPod-esque music device powered by an internal combustion … Continue Reading

PlayStation Network back online in Asia tomorrow

After a staggeringly long down time, gamers in Asia will finally be able to access Sony’s PlayStation Network again, according to CNET. Starting tomorrow, users in Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand, along with other countries, will be able to use the PSN and Sony’s Qriocity services again.

The PlayStation Network, which lets gamers play simultaneously around the world, has been down since April’s worldwide network attack by hackers. Gamers in the U.S. and Europe were let … Continue Reading

Top 8 ways to annoy a tech blogger

You may think that a tech blogger’s life is a glamorous whirl of free lunches, great gadgets and being bought drinks at conferences. If so then you are probably following the wrong bloggers. In fact, it’s more like a long round of typing, getting annoyed with PRs and founders and then some more (louder) typing.

The methods of annoying a tech blogger are myriad. So following the phenomenal success of “How to pitch to tech … Continue Reading

Microsoft may be making 5x as much from Android as from Windows Phone

About a year ago, Microsoft formed a patent agreement with HTC that entitled it to royalties for all HTC Android phones. Now, it appears that deal is paying off big for Microsoft.

The software giant has made five times as much from HTC’s Android phones as it has from its newly launched Windows Phones, according to calculations by Asymco’s Horace Dediu.

Dediu relied on numbers from Citi analyst Walter Pritchard, who stated that Microsoft gets … Continue Reading

AOL relaunches AOL TV with help from i.TV

AOL on Thursday announced it is relaunching its AOL TV television site by teaming up with i.TV and integrating content from now-closed TV Squad. The revamped site went live this morning.

The new site is designed to be a TV fan’s companion and features interactive TV listings that offer social check-ins, DVR programming, calendar views, and personalized channel lists. There is also news, video recaps, interviews, and behind-the-scenes content.

The re-launch also highlights AOL TV’s … Continue Reading

Asus to show off phone-docking tablet next week?

Who says tablets are getting boring? Asus may be gearing up to unveil a slate at Computex next week that can dock with (and potentially be powered by) an Android phone, Engadget reports.

The unholy tablet/smartphone union could resemble Motorola’s Atrix 4G laptop dock, which transforms that smartphone into an ultraportable notebook. It could be an interesting way for Asus to differentiate the tablet from the plethora of identical-looking Android slates.

Hints of the tablet … Continue Reading

Intel to steer its center of gravity into low-power microprocessors (exclusive)

Sean Maloney, Intel‘s newly appointed president of Intel China, plans to deliver a keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taiwan next week where he will unveil a heavy-duty effort to steer Intel into the production of low-power microprocessors.

Maloney is expected to say that Intel will accelerate its efforts to make chips that are more appropriate for tablet computers, smartphones, laptops, and low-power desktops. Intel has been doing that for some time. But … Continue Reading

Citigroup: Microsoft not too late with tablets

Microsoft’s decision to base its tablets on the upcoming Windows 8 instead of a leaner mobile OS may seem downright insane, but Citigroup still has some faith in the company.

Citigroup believes that Microsoft may not be too late to jump into the tablet fray, and that it has a chance to snag some tablet market share starting in 2013, Reuters reports.

Citigroup’s findings don’t appear to be based on much insider knowledge, and it … Continue Reading

Introducing our first wave of MobileBeat 2011 speakers

Preparations for our fourth annual MobileBeat conference are speeding along. Today, we’re announcing our first round of speakers for the event: Mihir Shah, president and CEO of the app monetization and distribution service Tapjoy; Jason Spero, director of mobile at Google; and Matt Murphy, partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers.

MobileBeat 2011 is taking place on July 12 – 13 at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. We’re convening the brightest … Continue Reading

Attention, shoppers: Men outspend women 9 to 1 on mobile virtual goods

Given the stereotype of how much women love shopping, you’d expect them to be the biggest spenders online. And women are indeed fueling purchases at sites such as Gilt Groupe. But when it comes to purchases of virtual goods in mobile social games, men outspend women by 9 to 1, according to a survey by MocoSpace.

The data comes from a study of 1,500 social gamers on Boston-based MocoSpace‘s mobile entertainment platform. The company analyzed … Continue Reading

Pocket Gems says mobile-focused game companies will win

Sometimes, youth and inexperience can be a great advantage. Pocket Gems is a new breed of game company that was born in the era of free-to-play games on smartphones. And that’s why Daniel Terry, chief executive of the young San Francisco company, thinks it can be a winner.

Older game companies are bigger and more experienced at making mobile games. But Terry said in an interview that Pocket Gems was born at the right time … Continue Reading

PayPal slaps Google with lawsuit over mobile secrets

Online financial transaction service PayPal filed a California state lawsuit yesterday against Google claiming the search giant stole trade secrets from its mobile-payment business.

The suit claims former PayPal and current Google executive Stephanie Tilenius violated contractual obligations by recruiting former PayPal employee Osama Bedier, who is now leading Google’s efforts to bring point of sale technologies and services to retailers on its behalf, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The lawsuit comes just as … Continue Reading

Reply.com acquires MerchantCircle for $60 million

Reply.com on Thursday announced it had acquired fellow Bay Area firm MerchantCircle for $60 million cash and stock. The deal is expected to go through in Q3 of this year.

The deal makes good sense, as MerchantCircle acts as a business directory for more than a million small businesses and Reply.com is an ad firm that targets advertising for local businesses. MercantCircle’s incredible network will give Reply a huge roster of businesses to which they … Continue Reading

Does Gmail’s People Widget spell trouble for email startups?

Google announced a new feature for Gmail today called the People Widget, which includes social details about whoever you’re corresponding with right alongside your emails.

If the concept sounds familiar, that’s probably because startups like Xobni and Rapportive have tried to do something similar. Even Microsoft launched a service in this vein for its Outlook email program, called the Outlook Social Connector, so it seems like this idea is spreading. And unlike most social email … Continue Reading

Facebook: Man suing Zuckerberg for partial ownership is a fraud

Facebook and CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday filed a scathing response to Paul Ceglia’s lawsuit that alleges he owns half of Facebook. The company said Ceglia has a history as a scam artist and his lawsuit is a fraud.

In April, Ceglia claimed to have a contract with Zuckerberg that entitled him to half of Facebook’s holdings. Ceglia also said he has emails that prove Zuckerberg misled him about the success of Facebook with Harvard … Continue Reading

Zozi lands $7M more for 100% guaranteed adventure deals

Zozi, a company that offers discounts to consumers on unique adventure and travel experiences, today announced it has secured a second round of funding for $7 million. The funding will be used to expand deals into new cities as well as hire additional employees.

The company might be viewed as just another daily deals site. That’s especially true since its website mirrors many of the traditional features found on these types of sites, including a … Continue Reading

Microsoft to show off Windows tablet software next week

Microsoft plans to preview new Windows-based tablet software at next week’s All Things Digital D9 conference, according to a report by Bloomberg.

Windows President Steven Sinofsky is scheduled to speak at the D9 conference and let loose all the details. The software will work for touch-screen devices running hardware with Nvidia’s Tegra chip that is intended for tablets. The dual-core chips are a smart choice for mobile devices because they offer a good mix of … Continue Reading