US-TECH Summary
Barnes & Noble says Nook shipments will be delayed
SAN FRANCISCO - Barnes & Noble Inc <BKS.N> said on Friday it had sold out of its first allotment of newly launched Nook electronic readers due to high demand and new shipments will not arrive in time for the holidays. "While we increased production based on the high consumer interest, we've sold out of our initial Nook allotment available for delivery before the holidays," the bookseller said in a statement.
Gameloft says it, others reining in Android plans
BARCELONA - French mobile phone games company Gameloft <GLFT.PA> said it and other software developers were cutting back investment in developing games and other applications for Google's <GOOG.O> Android platform. Android has won attention in the mobile industry lately, with Motorola <MOT.N> and Sony Ericsson <6758.T> <ERICb.ST> choosing it for their new top models.
Google says PC will start in seven seconds or less
MOUNTAIN VIEW, California - New Google Inc <GOOG.O> software will start up a computer as fast as a television can be turned on, the search company said on Thursday as it showed off its Chrome operating system designed for PCs that do their work on the Web. Google gave the first public look at its Chrome OS four months after declaring its intention of developing the PC's main software, a move that pits it directly against Microsoft Corp <MSFT.O> and Apple Inc <AAPL.O>.
Smartphone growth to continue strong in 2010
BARCELONA - The wireless chip industry expects smartphone market surge to continue, with British microchip designer ARM <ARM.L> saying growth would likely even accelerate further next year. The smartphone market slowed drastically in the September quarter, but chip makers -- whose products are sold weeks, if not months, before phones are sold to consumers -- said they were seeing strong market growth, indicating third quarter slowdown was temporary.
Sony to launch online entertainment service in 2010
TOKYO - Sony Corp said on Friday that its planned entertainment content distribution service for network-compatible TVs and other devices will be launched next year. Sony plans to launch a new online service to distribute movies, music, books and other content to network-capable TVs, Blu-ray players, ebooks and others in a bid to add value to its hardware.
Chinese cyber-spying seen growing against U.S.
WASHINGTON - China's government appears increasingly to be piercing U.S. government and defense industry computer networks to gather useful data for its military, a congressional advisory panel said on Thursday. "A large body of both circumstantial and forensic evidence strongly indicates Chinese state involvement in such activities," the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission said in its 2009 report to Congress.
AOL shows worst not over for media job cuts
LOS ANGELES - If AOL's announcement on Thursday of another 2,500 job cuts is anything to go by, the painful layoffs that have ravaged the media industry over the past year are nowhere near over. Even though U.S. media conglomerates have largely reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings and their CEOs are touting a long-awaited uptick in advertising spending, analysts and recruiters warn that more cost cuts lie ahead.
Wikipedia, iPhone among decade's top 10 Internet moments
NEW YORK - The launch of Wikipedia, emergence of the iPhone and the election of U.S. President Barack Obama were among the 10 most influential moments on the Internet in the past decade, according to the annual Webby awards. Other events singled out by the New York-based International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, which has presented the annual Webby awards since 1996, were the Iranian election in 2009 when protests demonstrated the power of Twitter and other social network in reshaping democracy.
Microsoft says Windows 7 sales strong
LOS ANGELES - Microsoft Corp <MSFT.O> Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said on Thursday sales of Windows 7 were running at twice the level of any previous version of its operating system. Windows 7, launched a month ago, has "already sold twice as many units" than any previous version in a comparable time, said Ballmer at the software company's annual meeting in Bellevue, Washington, which was broadcast on the Internet.
Sony says e-readers in demand, shipments delayed
SAN FRANCISCO - Sony Corp said on Wednesday that early demand for its latest electronic reader was higher than expected in advance of the holidays and shipment delays could result. A Sony spokesman said the $399 e-book reader, called the Daily Edition and geared to newspaper viewing, would be sold on a "first come, first serve basis."