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AP Technology NewsBrief at 1:21 p.m. EDT(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Amazon unveils $199 Kindle Fire tabletNEW YORK (AP) _ Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on Wednesday showed off the Kindle Fire, a $199 tablet computer, challenging Apple's iPad by extending its Kindle brand into the world of full-color, multipurpose devices. Bezos also took the opportunity at a New York press event to introduce a new line of Kindle e-readers with black-and-white screens and lower prices, further pressuring competitors like Barnes & Noble Inc. that are trying to break Amazon.com Inc.'s dominance in electronic book sales. Groupon newest deal to reward customer loyaltySAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Groupon has come up with another way for bargain hunters to save money as the online coupon distributor prepares to raise money from wary investors. The additional savings will be offered through a customer loyalty program that Groupon plans to unveil Wednesday. RIM shares rise on Icahn stake speculationLOS ANGELES (AP) _ Shares of BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd. surged Tuesday amid speculation that billionaire investor Carl Icahn has taken a stake in the company. Rumors that the activist investor was buying into the troubled smartphone maker caused shares to spike around 10:22 a.m. Eastern time. Apple sends out invite for iPhone eventNEW YORK (AP) _ Apple is inviting journalists to its Cupertino, Calif. headquarters next week for an iPhone-related event on Oct. 4. The invitation Apple Inc. sent on Tuesday does not go into details. It says "let's talk iPhone," suggesting that the usually secretive company is likely to unveil the next iteration of its popular smartphones. Microsoft, Samsung expand smartphone partnershipNEW YORK (AP) _ Microsoft and Samsung Electronics have agreed to cross-license each other's patent portfolios, with Microsoft getting royalties for the mobile phones and tablets Samsung sells that run the Android operating system. Microsoft Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday that they also will work together to develop and market Microsoft's Windows Phone software. The deal, which is likely to help Microsoft gain more exposure for the Windows Phone, comes a year and a half after the company signed a similar deal with HTC, which was also reached without filing lawsuits. Google to finance home solar systemsNEW YORK (AP) _ Google wants to buy solar panels for your house. The search giant announced Tuesday that it will provide $75 million to build 3,000 residential solar electricity systems across the country. Google will own the panels, and get paid over time by customers who purchase the electricity the panels produce. New Sprint does push-to-talk without NextelNEW YORK (AP) _ Sprint Nextel Corp. will start shutting down the Nextel part of its network in little more than a year. So what are the folks who use Nextel's walkie-talkie-like push-to-talk function going to do? Sprint says it has the solution in the shape of phones that replicate push-to-talk, but operate on the Sprint network. On Tuesday, the company announced that the first one goes on sale next week: the $70 Kyocera DuraMax, a shock- and water-resistant model designed for the construction workers and other outdoorsy types who use Nextel phones. NASA: Satellite fell in south Pacific, not CanadaWASHINGTON (AP) _ That dead NASA satellite fell into what might be the ideal spot _ part of the southern Pacific Ocean about as far from large land masses as you can get, U.S. space officials said Tuesday. New U.S. Air Force calculations put the 6-ton satellite's death plunge early Saturday thousands of miles from northwestern North America, where there were reports of sightings. Instead, it plunged into areas where remote islands dot a vast ocean. Syria wages cyber warfare as websites hackedBEIRUT (AP) _ While Syrian protesters and security forces are engaged in a war of attrition on the ground, a different kind of battle is emerging online. Pro- and anti-government activists in Syria are increasingly turning to the Internet, hacking and defacing websites in an attempt to win a public relations victory. Hackers hijack Twitter accounts of Chavez criticsCARACAS, Venezuela (AP) _ Over months, Venezuelan TV soap opera writer Leonardo Padron built a Twitter following of about 250,000 people by posting more than a dozen messages a day, many of them skewering President Hugo Chavez. On Aug. 29, Padron issued a typical shot: "Chavez knows of the immense death toll that there is in this country, so why such indifference to the subject of insecurity?" (c) 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |