Samsung Electronics May Raise Investment Budget to $25.5 Billion Next Year

Samsung Electronics Co. may invest 30 trillion won ($26 billion) next year, the company said in an email, confirming a comment by Chief Executive Officer Choi Gee Sung reported by the Korea Economic Daily today.

Former HP boss may move to Oracle: report (AFP)

AFP - Former Hewlett-Packard chief executive Mark Hurd, who resigned last month following a sex scandal, is in talks to join US software giant Oracle, the Wall Street Journal said on its website Sunday.

1 'censored' bar won't stop online prostitution (AP)

AP - Craiglist's "adult services" section has been shut down in the U.S., but prostitution on the Internet is alive and well — even, quite possibly, on Craigslist.

Cuban blogger Sanchez calls media prize a 'shield' (AFP)

AFP - Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez said winning the media watchdog IPI prize of World Press Freedom Hero is a "protective shield" that will help her break "the wall of censorship," she told AFP Sunday.

Taiwan's HTC: iPhone's `quiet' challenger (AP)

AP - East Asia is the world's electronics factory, yet unless they are Japanese, producers are largely anonymous. Now HTC Corp., a Taiwanese maker of smart phones, is moving out of the shadows and trying to establish its own brand name as it competes with Apple's iPhone.

Should You Search Social Media Sites for Job Candidate Information? (Mashable)

Mashable - This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.

"iCulture" Gives Apple a Tactical Advantage (PC World)

PC World - Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled an updated line of iPods this week, including the updated iPod Touch 4 which is essentially an iPhone 4 without the phone function. The range of gadgets available from Apple offer a degree of consistency that gives it a tactical advantage over competing smartphones and tablets.

Samsung Electronics Considers More Record Spending In '11

Electronics disposal service looks to make city greener

More than a truckload's worth of old and non-functional electronics were recycled Aug. 4 in the city hall parking lot. Allen residents helped make the city a little greener this month at the city's quarterly electronic waste collection in the city hall parking lot Aug. 4.

iPhone 4 sales in S.Korea start this week (AFP)

AFP - South Korean telecom operator KT Corp said on Sunday it planned to begin selling Apple's iPhone 4 this week amid growing competition to expand in the potentially lucrative smartphone market.

Disposing office electronics safely

Electronics contain toxic poisons such as lead, mercury and cadmium which, if they are just tossed into a landfill, will eventually leak out and pollute the soil and water.

LG Electronics Aims to Increase LCD Television Sales by 40 Percent in 2011

LG Electronics Inc. , the world’s second-biggest maker of liquid-crystal-display televisions, plans to increase LCD TV sales by about 40 percent next year, as lower prices boost demand.

The iWatch Is Real: It's the New iPod Nano [PIC] (Mashable)

Mashable - Apple makes computers, tablets, phones, portable media players, TV set-top-boxes, displays and a dozen other things, but to date, it hasn't made a wristwatch. Oh, wait, actually, it has! It's called "the new iPod nano."

Aiptek I2 Shoots 3D Video on a Budget (PC World)

PC World - Aiptek has introduced the i2, a pocket-sized twin lens camcorder that can record 3D video, at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin.

Texas opens inquiry into Google search rankings (AP)

AP - Google Inc.'s methods for recommending websites are being reviewed by Texas' attorney general in an investigation spurred by complaints that the company has abused its power as the Internet's dominant search engine.

Disk Storage Still Bouncing Back, IDC Says (PC World)

PC World - The market for enterprise disk storage systems grew strongly in the second quarter, continuing to recover from a slump brought on by the economic slowdown of 2008 and 2009, research company IDC said on Friday.

Google plans to sell music online (Investor's Business Daily)

Investor's Business Daily - The search giant is in talks with music labels on plans for a download store and a digital song locker that would let its mobile phone users play songs wherever they are. Google (NMS:GOOG) hopes to launch the service by Christmas, according to sources. Google is trying to compete with Apple, which dominates via its iTunes Music Stores, accounting for 70% of all U.S. digital music sales. It rose 1.5% to 470.30.

Apple Browsing Share Tops Linux, Android Steals Share Everywhere (PC World)

PC World - More people browsed the Internet last month with a device running Apple's mobile operating system, iOS, than used Linux to do so. That's a first for Apple, according to NetMarketShare, a firm that produces metrics on the market share of browsers, operating systems and search engines.

Facebook Glitch Let Spammer Post to Walls (PC World)

PC World - A clever spammer found a glitch in Facebook's photo upload system and used it to post thousands of unwanted Wall messages this week.

WordPress upgrades free app for blogging on the go (Appolicious)

Appolicious - The free WordPress for Android app was upgraded thanks to feedback from faithful users. Updates include fixes to numerous, annoying bugs like unexpected app crashes, log-in issues and more.Most notable in the recent upgrade is a new comment feature, which displays comments in real time as comments arrive in your Droid notification bar.

Review: mTrip iPhone app uses augmented reality (AP)

AP - The new iPhone application mTrip is a travel guide and then some: It uses the latest in smart phone technology to make it easier to stay on track in a foreign locale.

Add hip-hop to 'Rock Band' thanks to Snoop Dogg (AP)

AP - Rap and rock will collide once again — this time in a video game.

Maplin Electronics may change hands for £400m

Maplin Electronics, the high-street electrical goods retailer, could be about to change hands for an estimated £400m.

Take-Two posts profit, raises outlook (Reuters)

Reuters - Video game maker Take-Two Interactive Inc on Thursday smashed Wall Street expectations for its fiscal third quarter and raised its forecast for the current fourth quarter, citing strong sales for its "Red Dead Redemption" title.

Take-Two posts 3Q profit, revenue soars (AP)

AP - Video game publisher Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. posted better-than-expected results for its fiscal third quarter Thursday, reversing a loss as revenue more than tripled thanks to largely to strong sales of "Red Dead Redemption."

China Electronics Expands to Henan Province With Four New Stores in Mideast PRC Rural Markets

China Electronics Holdings, Inc. , one of rural China's major U.S.-listed retailers of household appliances and consumer electronics, announced that it opened four new stores in its core rural markets and is operating outlets in neighboring Henan Province. Â "These direct stores in Gushi have expanded China Electronics for the first time outside of our home market of Anhui Province," said China ...

Sony Shows Prototypes of a Planned 3-D VAIO Laptop (NewsFactor)

NewsFactor - A laptop computer with 3-D video and games. Sony, hoping that could be the Next Big Thing, showed prototypes Wednesday of an upcoming VAIO 3-D laptop at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin, Germany, and announced plans to launch a 3-D TV channel.

Methode Electronics posts 1Q profit

Methode Electronics Inc. posted a $4.1 million profit for the first quarter Thursday, boosted by a nearly 10 percent jump in revenue.

LG Electronics to invest $70 million in Poland

Korean electronics conglomerate LG Electronics has said it will invest $70 million in Poland by 2015 as part of a strategy to develop the country as a bridgehead into the European home appliance market.

Gameworld: Tween players impacting online game development (Reuters)

Reuters - A booming market of tweens is changing the landscape of online games.

LG Electronics to unveil smart TV in Germany

LG Electronics Inc. will this week unveil a smart TV at a global electronic goods fair in Germany, to join the television industry's rush to introduce online applications to the living room.

Summary Box: Vivendi raises outlook despite 2Q dip (AP)

AP - RESULTS: French media company Vivendi SA said second-quarter profit fell 3.5 percent due to fewer music releases from artists like Eminem and Lady Gaga. But it raised its full-year outlook as it expects strong results from video games and mobile services in emerging markets.

PlayStation 3 Will Be Ready for 3D by October (PC World)

PC World - PlayStation 3 owners will finally be able to watch movies in 3D by October, Sony CEO Howard Stringer promised during his speech Wednesday at the Internationale Funkaustellung (IFA) trade show in Berlin.

iOS 4.1's Game Center to hit iPhone next week (Macworld.com)

Macworld.com - On Wednesday, Apple announced that multiplayer games on your iPhone and iPod touch will never be the same. At a press event, Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the companyâs highly-anticipated Game Center. As part of the iOS 4.1 update, Game Center will be available as a free download next week.

Sony Unveils Cloud-Based Qriocity Music Service for PS3, HDTVs (PC Magazine)

PC Magazine - Sony on Wednesday announced an unlimited, cloud-based music service that will initially be accessible via PlayStation gaming consoles and other Web-connected devices.

Microsoft's Xbox 360 D-Pad Update: Something Old, Something New (PC World)

PC World - For gamers who've griped about the Xbox 360's leveled down d-pad, Microsoft's telling old-school controller fans 'have it your way'. In fact: Have it both ways.

New `Metroid' game strong on plot, short on action (AP)

AP - Followers of the "Metroid" game series from Nintendo are bound to covet the latest offering, "Metroid: Other M," while those new to the series will likely find it a bit stale.

Report: Sony to Unveil Music, Video Subscription Service (PC Magazine)

PC Magazine - Sony is reportedly prepping a music and video subscription service that would initially provide access to content through its PlayStation gaming consoles.

Vivendi raises outlook despite dip in net profit (AP)

AP - French media company Vivendi SA said Wednesday that net income fell 3.5 percent in the second quarter due to fewer music releases from artists like Eminem and Lady Gaga, but it raised its full-year outlook as it expects strong results from video games and mobile services in emerging markets.

Madden NFL Makes Its Debut on Facebook (Mashable)

Mashable - Electronic Arts' wildly successful Madden NFL franchise has made the leap from the Xbox to Facebook.

Electronic Arts brings 'Madden' to Facebook (AP)

AP - Electronic Arts is bringing its popular "Madden" football game to Facebook. "Madden NFL Superstars" launches as a free application Tuesday.

Microsoft hiking Xbox Live subscription prices (AP)

AP - Microsoft is raising subscription prices for its popular Xbox Live Gold online gaming service in the U.S. and three other countries.

Microsoft Unveils New Xbox 360 Wireless Controller (PC Magazine)

PC Magazine - Microsoft on Tuesday unveiled a new wireless Xbox 360 controller, which features a new D-pad that transforms from a plus to a disc.

Microsoft: Xbox 360 S The Best Box We've Ever Built (PC World)

PC World - It's smaller, shinier, and back in black: Microsoft's new Xbox 360 took many by surprise at E3 this June, though some of us had speculated for months that a 'slim' model was in the works.

Microsoft Increasing Price of Xbox Live Gold Membership (PC Magazine)

PC Magazine - Microsoft on Monday announced a price increase for Xbox Live Gold members in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and the U.K., effective November 1.

Microsoft raises price of admission to Xbox Live (AFP)

AFP - Microsoft on Monday announced it is raising the price of admission to its Xbox Live online community where people can play videogames or watch movies using Xbox 360 consoles.

Able to unplug from work while you’re on vacation? (Ben Patterson)

Ben Patterson - Fighting the urge to check your work e-mail while you’re on holiday doesn’t exactly qualify as the worst problem in the world; after all, it’s pretty nice to have a job at all in this tough economy, right? Then again, the pressure to hang onto a job seems to be driving more and more connected workers to stay plugged in even while they’re trying to tune out.

Mobile users still wary of being found, survey says (Ben Patterson)

Ben Patterson - Feel the need to "check in" on Foursquare or Facebook every time you saunter into a restaurant, browse the goods at your neighborhood grocery store, or cram into a rock concert? Well, if you, you’re still in the minority — and you’re also probably a guy below 40 — according to the latest research.