Rumours: Facebook Inc in talks to buy WhatsApp

Facebook Inc(NASDAQ:FB ) is in talks to acquire cross-platform mobile chat program, WhatsApp, TechCrunch reported citing sources.

WhatsApp was founded in 2009 and it provides the smartphone application across all operating systems such as Android, Blackberry, iOS and Windows. It works on phones that support text messages, transfer of images, audio and video messages. According to reports the application has about 100 million daily users, presence in about 250 countries on a variety of platforms.

The report in TechCrunch did not have any details about the likely size of the deal nor how far the talks had progressed between the two companies.

Last year in October WhatsApp had said in a blog post that it was transmitting 1 billion messages daily.

"Just how much is 1 billion messages? That is 41,666,667 messages an hour, 694,444 messages a minute, and 11,574 messages a second," it said.

It added that it was a "small step closer towards our goal: providing a great mobile messaging system for a global market, regardless of your handset."

For Facebook it’s a strategic acquisition since the social networking site is being accessed across platforms and having a platform-agnostic application would be a definite help specially as the company is getting aggressive on monetising its mobile subscriber base.

CNET, which followed up the story, said that WhatsApp's messenger application had come in for criticism "recently from security and mobile researchers who alleged security risks based on its authentication process."

The authentication process was pronounced to be a security nightmare by bloggers, who said that the application leaked data when the information collected for authentication purposes was sent to servers

Facebook Rollout of Mobile Photo Sync Background Uploads

Facebook Inc(NASDAQ:FB) is trying to re-establish itself as a storage locker. They can save images you don’t publish and the Photo Sync background uploads feature has already been rolled out to users on 30th November after it has been tested on Android for quite some time. If it can tackle upload friction, they will get loads of photos and will also pull in lots of juicy photo metadata to aid its ads business.

Users can activate the feature via a “Sync” button below the photos in their primary Facebook for iOS or Android app. Once turned on, it will automatically upload all images you take to a private folder. The Photos section can be selected from the navigation menu on the app and then the Synced section can be accessed or it can be done from the Synced From Phone section at the top of your photos on desktop to select which photos to share with friends. Currently, 2GB of photos can be stored free of cost.

When people use a 3G or 4G network, photos synced will be smaller in size, about 100K each and bigger versions will be available on Wi-Fi. There is an option in the Sync settings to deactivate cellular uploads so that you don’t use up your data plan or turn it off completely. When the battery of your device is low, there will be no sync-ing from Facebook.

The real issue when it comes to sharing mobile photos was the upload process where many seconds would be wasted in looking at the progress bar. People will be more open to share a number of photos now that the problem has been dealt with. Facebook will also access your geo-location data from your photos. This data will help them to show more relevant ads to you in your news feed.

But on the back-end, Facebook gets to chow down on a ton of extra data. Just because you don’t share them doesn’t mean Facebook doesn’t suck in the geo-location data from your photos that can help it refine your news feed and show you more relevant ads for nearby businesses.

Just imagine – Facebook detects a Coca-Cola beverage in your hand, and Pepsi tried to make sure you buy their product instead via ads in your feed.

November, a good month for Facebook and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

On the first day of trading in November Facebook‘s stock shot up from $21.08 a share to $28 a share at the end of the day Friday, which is its highest price since July. Zuckerberg, who owns about 504 million shares of Facebook stock, has therefore gained about $3.48 billion. Zuckerberg’s shares were worth $19.1 billion when Facebook first went public at $38 a share in May.

November has been one of the best months yet for the stock. This can be attributed to a strong earnings report in late October, which showed that Facebook has been making progress in monetizing mobile. Also, the second and largest lockup period for stocks held by employees finally expired in the middle of November, which was something investors had been concerned about for months and which appears to have held down the stock price.

As of Friday, Zuckerberg’s net worth was $14.1 billion and will probably grow more as Facebook continues to meet with success.

Text Message’s 20th Anniversary Sees Users Turning to Facebook

By Amy Thomson

Text messages turn 20 today and their use may rise 40 percent by 2016, even as mobile-phone owners increasingly rely on Facebook Inc. (FB) and WhatsApp to communicate.

The first SMS, or short message service, text was sent over Vodafone Group Plc (VOD)’s network on Dec. 3, 1992 with the message “Merry Christmas.” By 2016, users may send 9.4 trillion texts, generating $127 billion in revenue, up from 6.7 trillion forecast for this year, according to researcher Informa Plc.

SMS became a key source of income for carriers worldwide, initially costing users a few cents per text and eventually becoming wrapped into unlimited voice and data plans. As more customers have switched to smartphones, with better access to the Internet and more applications, people are increasingly using chat features on Facebook and other websites.

“The concern for mobile operators is that the malaise that SMS faces in countries such as the Netherlands, Spain, China, South Korea and the Philippines, where SMS traffic and revenues are in decline, will inevitably spread, as the penetration of smartphones and mobile broadband grows,” Informa said in a note.

Growth will come via emerging markets in Africa, Asia and Latin America where fewer users have smartphones and they rely on SMS for communication as well as services such as mobile banking, Informa said.

21.5 inch iMac available today

Apple Inc, much to the celebration of fanboys and holiday shoppers everywhere, has officially begun selling the 21.5-inch iMac today, both online and in its trademark stores and select retail partners. The company originally announced the sale date
on its website on Tuesday
, while mentioning that the "27-inch iMac will be available for order through the Apple Online Store and will begin shipping in December."

Interestingly, the Cupertino-based tech giant's online store did originally mention that the 27-inch iMac, which costs an average of $500 more than its smaller counterpart, would be available to ship in "2-3 weeks." As this time has already slipped one week later, to "3-4 weeks."

A quick check of the Apple Store confirms that this is the case, which may leave some holiday shoppers out in the cold, so to speak, for Christmas morning.

Facebook Inc To Hit $10 Billion In Revenue By launching "want" button

Facebook Inc will launch a “want” button in 2013 to further their commercial ambitions according to a new report from Piper Jaffray. The move could bring the company $10 billion in revenues by 2015. The report places a twelve month price target of $38 on the company’s stock.

With Facebook Inc shares currently trading at just over $26, that price target means just under 50% return in twelve months, nice work if you can get it. Facebook shares debuted  in May, and were priced at $38.

That, of course, assumes the company will reach the price target assigned by Gene Munster, the Piper Jaffray analyst who authored the report. According to Munster, Facebook Inc will manage to boost its revenue by taking a chunk of online commerce.

The want button, which will allow users to directly pick out products that they are likely to buy. The move, according to the report, would boost advertiser spending on the social network, improving the quality of the advertising and the amount of advertisers seeking to use the platform.

The report cites a figure from Google Inc in order to estimate Facebook’s likely revenue from an increase in commercial prominence. In 2011, Google Inc said it impacted $80 billion worth of purchases with its online platform.

According to the report that number should be doubled to take into account the company’s worldwide impact. Google Inc revenue was $38 billion in 2011. That corresponds to a25% from the company’s assumed commercial impact of $160 billion.

Facebook Inc, according to the analysis, could take a 25% share in that market by 2015. $10 billion in commerce related revenue by 2015 would correspond to the dreams of many Facebook Inc investors.

The company has a substantial opportunity for growth in the commercial sector in the opinion of the Piper Jaffray, and the contribution of that sector will begin as early as next year.

Supplementing and complementing the want button and other commerce driven initiatives is the new partnership the firm has forged with Datalogix, an online information gathering service. The partnership will allow Facebook to track the effectiveness of advertising methods in generating offline trade.

The ability to present possible advertisers with data on offline purchases made by customers will help Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) seal those partnerships, particularly in dealing with purchases consumers are unwilling to complete online.

In the smartphone sector, many customers prefer to enter stores in order to get their hands on the product they are considering buying. Facebook now has a way to more effectively track these purchases and relate them to the social network’s influence.

According to the company, Samsung spent $10 million advertising its latest premium smart phone, the Galaxy S III. That investment generated $129 million in related sales. If the firm manages to collect data more efficiently than Google Inc, its major competitor, it will begin to steal advertising revenues away from the company.

Facebook Inc has an interesting but tough year ahead. The company needs to substantially boost revenue in order to meet the expectations of the market. If it does not, it could face a quick and harsh backlash from investors and advertisers alike.

Facebook can bring out 'Dark traits' in you

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) can bring out the dark traits in you, according to new studies from Lund and Gothenburg University in Sweden. Professor of Cognitive psychology at Lund University and co-founder to the study, Sverker Sikström, says competition for social status on Facebook (FB) has caused these dark traits.

Professor Sverker Sikström said that when people try to attract friends, they write theirselves better and then they suffer that Machiavellianism, these traits and narcissism. The researchers found that some users on the social network are developing interpersonally aversive personality traits, named as ‘The Dark Triad’ which is a group of three personality traits including narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy.

It is time to think about what we write on Facebook and perhaps be more moderate and humble in our expressions, professor said.

Krista K

Upcoming pop singer and Miss Philippines International 2010 talks to MSN Malaysia about her love for music and dance

Krista Kleiner is 23 year old upcoming pop singer with newly released debut single "Feels So Good." Krista kicked started her career in TV hosting, ventured into acting, singing, dancing and ended up taking home the Miss Philippines International 2010 title she competed for that year.

How did Miss Philippines International 2010 turn into upcoming pop singer-songwriter? After getting through auditions, Krista embarked on a worldwide tour with Julio Iglesias as his guest star; it was during this time that she realised that she wanted to pursue singing and performing full time.

"The tour was amazing...I got to see how he did it, got a lot of advice from him and he really encouraged me to go for it...he's so smart, he was able to really give me advice that made me decide this was something I wanted to pursue."

English (which included some poetry) may have been Krista's best subject in school but prior to her upcoming album, "Krista K," she has had no writing experience. Krista, however, has been very hands on with her music, "I didn't want a label or someone else to decide the type of music that I did, or dictate, so I went the independent route; I picked all the music myself, I wrote all the music, I didn't want to just buy the music from someone, I wanted it to be very personal which is why I pushed myself to write although I've never wrote before

Acer Unveils Windows 8 Devices

Acer Malaysia unveiled a range of Windows 8 devices yesterday, led by the highly anticipated Acer Aspire S7, together with the ICONIA W Series tablets and Aspire U Series All-in-One (AIO).

The 11.6-inch Acer ICONIA Tab W700 cradle combo is the only Intel Core tablet in the market, putting incredible power, true full HD instant productivity at users’ fingertips. The 10-point touch control, ultra-responsive and powerful tablet is flexible thanks to the multi-position dock that allows it to be positioned perfectly for landscape or portrait mode for easy browsing, sharing, control and keyboard productivitiy.

The 27-inch new Acer Aspire 7600U All-in-One (AIO) is of minimalist design running on Windows 8 and is powered by the 3^rd generation Intel Core processor. The 1920x1080 screen supports up to 10-point simultaneous touch which enables multiple users at one-go. It can be viewed at an angle from 0-90 degrees and swivels at four sides when it is flat on the table.

Apple Inc initiate 2.5 Billion Dividend Today

By Aman Jain

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shareholders will be receiving the second installment of the mega-rich company’s dividend program today, reports Apple Insider. The iPhone maker, which has 935 million outstanding share, will distribute a dividend of $2.65 per share to its shareholders, making the total payout around $2.5 billion.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) last paid a regular cash dividend in 1995, and today will be the second time in the last 17 years that the company will pay excesses to its shareholders. The iPhone maker has billions of cash in reserves and liquid assets; they carry no debt. One of the most lucrative companies in the world, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), in its most recent
earnings report, in October, showed that $121.4 billion in cash.

The Cupertino based firm announced its dividend program in March, which includes a regular quarterly dividend of $2.65 per share and a $10 billion share repurchase program, beginning on September 30, 2012. The dividend and repurchase programs are scheduled to take place over the next three years.

The company will be paying new quarterly dividends about a month and a half after the end of each subsequent quarter. A similar dividend will be paid to holders of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s restricted shares, although Cook refused to collect dividend payments for the 1.125 million shares of restricted stock he has been granted, which would otherwise be worth over $75 million.

Hinting on the dividend program, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO Tim Cook told in February, “we used some of our cash to make great investments in our business through increased research and development, acquisitions, new retail store openings, strategic prepayments and capital expenditures in our supply chain, and building out our infrastructure. You’ll see more of all of these in the future”.

“Even with these investments,” he added, “we can maintain a war chest for strategic opportunities and have plenty of cash to run our business. So we are going to initiate a dividend and share repurchase program”.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock reached an all time high of $705.07 per share when iPhone5 became commercially available, but has been declining since then. The iPhone makers $2.5 billion in quarterly dividend payments makes it one of the highest dividend payers in the U.S.

US to be the World biggest oil producer

The US will overtake Saudi Arabia as the world's biggest oil producer "by around 2020", an International Energy Agency (IEA) report has said.

The IEA said the reason for this was the big growth and development in the US of extracting oil from shale rock.
This has enabled the US to gain significantly more extractable oil resources.

As a result, the IEA predicts the US will become "all but self-sufficient" in its energy needs by around 2035.
The US shale oil industry has grown significantly in recent years.
It extracts oil from the ground using a method called fracking - pumping down a mixture of sand, water and chemicals at high pressure.

The industry says the method is safe, but critics say it could cause earthquakes and pollute water sources.

The IEA predicts that the US will be producing 11.1 million barrels per day by 2020, compared with 10.6 million from Saudi Arabia.

Is Qualcomm the New Intel?

By Evan Niu, CFA

In case you haven't noticed by now, smartphones are kind of popular right now. Wait, scratch that. Smartphone growth is exploding. Meanwhile, the PC market has become mature and somewhat saturated and simply isn't the poster child of growth that it used to be.

As the dominant supplier of PC chips, Intel (Nasdaq: INTC ) got rich providing processors during the rise of the PC. As the dominant supplier of smartphone chips and technology, Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM ) is getting rich providing the chips and IP during the rise of the smartphone. In many ways, these two heavyweights embody the growth prospects in the markets they dominate.

Pass the crown
This storyline has now culminated in the fact that Qualcomm has just now overtaken Intel in market cap for the first time ever, driven by its strong earnings report last night.

That's a major milestone that symbolizes where consumer demand is shifting. Qualcomm is now the largest semiconductor company in the world by market cap. We can even add in estimates on each of these markets for the third quarter to really drive the point home.

The shift in spending to smartphones isn't exactly a zero-sum game, though, since computers and smartphones are highly complementary. One big difference is that smartphones have shorter upgrade cycles, with consumers typically getting new phones every two years when their service contracts are up. PCs typically last a bit longer before consumers feel the itch to upgrade.

That's also not to say that Intel isn't benefiting at all from smartphone adoption, since smartphones tap into cloud infrastructure, and data center growth benefits Intel. However, there's less upside there for Intel, as its data center segment comprised just 20% of sales last quarter, vastly overshadowed by the 64% of sales that the PC client business brings in.

A tale of three markets
The chip giants are going to increasingly cross swords in the future. Intel continues to try to work its way into smartphones with its mobile Atom processor. It's partnered with Google (Nasdaq: GOOG ) to optimize Android for its chips, even as many popular Android devices run Qualcomm Snapdragon processors. In the market for smartphone processors, Qualcomm boasts a 48% revenue share, while Intel has just a 0.2% unit share.

As much as Intel is trying to crack into smartphones, Qualcomm is also now set to crack into PCs. With Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT ) decision to support ARM-based (Nasdaq: ARMH ) architecture in Windows RT, Qualcomm has an opening to power some of the next generation of Windows tablets and convertibles. The company has less of a presence in tablets, with NVIDIA (Nasdaq: NVDA ) showing particular strength in that form factor, but Windows RT represents a lot of key opportunities for Qualcomm.

Microsoft is also an important partner on the smartphone side, since its Windows Phone platform runs exclusively on Snapdragon chips. Intel and NVIDIA can't get in there, although that's currently not a high-volume platform.

Intel has a much stronger position in the cellular baseband modem market than in mobile applications processors. Intel completed its acquisition of Infineon's wireless unit early last year, in order to bolster its cellular offerings. Intel now ranks as the No. 3 player in the baseband market, grabbing 12% revenue share in the second quarter, according to estimates by Strategy Analytics.

As top dog, Qualcomm took home a 50% slice. Intel's figures were boosted by 2G and 3G shipments, while Qualcomm benefited from 3G and 4G basebands. NVIDIA also wants in on basebands, acquiring Icera last year, and plans to integrate cellular connectivity into its chips just like Qualcomm.

Between mobile processors, PC processors, and cellular baseband modems, Qualcomm and Intel will continue to find themselves competing for key design wins.

The new Intel
The PC's growth days are now in the rearview mirror. The smartphone's growth days are just now beginning, and Qualcomm dominates two out of the three aforementioned markets where it will see increasing competition from Intel and NVIDIA.

Qualcomm is the Intel of the smartphone era.

When it comes to dominating markets, it doesn't get much better than Intel's position in the PC microprocessor arena. However, that market is maturing, and Intel finds itself in a precarious situation longer term if it doesn't find new avenues for growth. In this premium research report on Intel, our analyst runs through all of the key topics investors should understand about the chip giant. Better yet, you'll continue to receive updates as news develops for an entire year.

Rumor: Office For Android And iOS On The Way

Microsoft Corporation is supposed to release Office app for Android, iPhone and iPad sometime in early 2013, according to the reports of The Verge. The software, Dubbed Office Mobile is expected to take the form of free apps that will allow users to view Office documents. Users will need an account with Microsoft, like apps such as SkyDrive and OneNote.

It is being speculated that in order to have the capability of editing documents, users would need an Office 365 subscription. Users will be able to purchase one through the applications itself, or enter a code, a move that must allow larger organizations to set up their workforces. Options for editing may be relatively restricted, not projected to replace the desktop Office versions.

The push toward subscriptions fits in with Microsoft’s strategy for Office. The centerpiece of the New Office is the move to subscription packages and pricing. There will be payment versions of Office for small businesses and home users that would offer a year of Office usage on five PCs and Macs in total.

Sources reveal that Office Mobile for iOS may be launched first in late February or early March. The Android version is predicted to be launched sometime in May. Microsoft has denied commenting on the matter, but it has said that the Office will work on iOS, Android and Windows Phone. There was no divulgence regarding the date when the Windows Phone apps may release.

Office is a part of the Business Division that is the biggest producer of Microsoft’s revenue. Having Office available on Android and iOS devices will undoubtedly help in increasing revenue of Microsoft. It will also help in making sure that users continue using Office instead of Google Apps or Google Docs. That is more crucial than the comparatively small incremental market share that Microsoft may gain by not releasing a version of Office for Android or iOS.

Windows Live Messenger will end soon?

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is reportedly preparing to replace its Windows Live Messenger client with Voice over IP (VoIP) and chat service Skype. According to sources close to The Verge, the company’s Windows Live Messenger will be moved into Skype and then killed as a separate service in the coming months. If the rumor holds true, this news is expected to be declared soon, perhaps even as quickly as this week.

The software giant has not yet commented on the rumors. It seems possible that Microsoft will replace Windows Live Messenger with Skype, particularly when taking into account the release of Skype 6.0 for Windows and Mac OS X last month, which enables users of services such as Hotmail, Outlook.com and Windows Live Messenger to be in touch with other subscribers of those services all in one place.

Microsoft's Windows 8 'strong'

Microsoft (MSFT) launched Windows 8 with much fanfare. Estimated to be at a $1.5 billion budget, Microsoft wants consumers to look at the company in a fresh new face. Creating a new branding message against an established reputation is a challenge, but it is not impossible. Leading the fresh new marketing messages are a number of updates: the Surface tablet release, Windows Phone 8, music and movie services, software updates for the Xbox, and an upgrade to Skype.

Reinvigorating the growth of a company is possible. Starbucks (SBUX) found itself drifting, before its founder returned to bring new, original ideas that made the company what it is today. Microsoft’s rebirth is more complex. Despite a pricing strategy that may hurt initial sales for Surface RT, Microsoft built RT without partnering with hardware makers. Microsoft chose instead to use Qualcomm (QCOM), NVIDIA (NVDA), and ARM Holdings (ARMH) to supply parts for RT.

Building on its aggressive marketing strategy, Microsoft lowered developer registrations for 8 days, from $99 USD to $8, to grow its developer base. At its Build 2012 conference, Microsoft will be giving away a Nokia (NOK) Lumia 920, a Surface RT, and 100 GB of SkyDrive storage. The conference is being held in Belfast, Ireland on November 12 -16.

Windows 8 Sales Strong

Critics pointed to Windows 8 being far too different for consumers to embrace, but a 3 minute video shows how easy it is to use. Still, there is clearly a benefit in using a touch-enabled device to greater ease of use. Over the weekend, Microsoft sold 4 million upgrade copies of Windows 8. This would add between $60 and $160 million in revenue for Microsoft alone.

16GB iPad Mini is Top Choice, Survey Says

By DAVID WOODBURN

Apple Inc . (NASDAQ:AAPL) launched its new iPad Mini this past weekend, and it appears that the entry-level model was the one that sold the best - to the point that the majority of retail stores had run out of the 16-gigabyte model that has a retail price of $329 - about $130 more than the entry level Nexus 7 from Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Kindle Fire by Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN).

Topeka Capital Markets, one of the top firms tracking all things Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), took a survey of retail stores to gauge the business in terms of iPad Mini sales. And in the results of the survey, Topeka found that 60 percent of all U.S. retail stores ran out of iPad Mini devices, and specifically every retail store ran out of the 16GB model. Also, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) retail stores saw 90 percent of the 32GB models in black and slate were sold, while 76 percent of white and silver models were off the shelves.

Of the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) retailers that had inventory left (about 40 percent), less than 15 percent had sold out of any of the high-end 64GB models, with 14 percent selling out of the 64 in black and slate, with 10 percent sold out of white and silver. And Topeka analyst Brian White noted in the exit survey that nearly half of those who bought an iPad Mini had never owned a tablet computer before, which he says indicates that the device may be a good opportunity for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to reach out to a new market of customers. This survey, however, does not indicate numbers of iPad Minis that were sold, nor how many remained in stock as of Sunday night.

Apple Will Give Google The OK For Google Maps For iOS

By Anna Peel

There was a recent cause of concern over a report from The Guardian that indicated Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) may have a hard time approving Google Maps for iOS.

The report read, “Sources at Google, familiar with its mapping plans say they are ‘not optimistic’ that Apple will ever approve a dedicated Google Maps iOS app. Though the app is reportedly in development and should be ready to ship by the end of the year, the sources say their plans are only proceeding in ‘the unlikely event’ that Apple will choose to approve the app.”

Last summer, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) ditched Google Maps in favor of their own iOS maps program, but that turned out to be quite a disaster.

IntoMobile responded to the rumor, “This screams of shadiness on Apple’s part, if the report is true.”  

Business Insider had similar feelings, “It might be a long time before we see a native Google Maps app on iOS.”

The Guardian’s report proved false. It does make a  little sense that Google fans are concerned over the report, especially considering that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has some ever-changing requirements regarding their apps. It’s not uncommon for Apple to remove an app that’s been in their store for several years for arbitrary reasons .

Facebook Employees, Including Sheryl Sandberg, Dump FB Shares

By Vikas Shukla

As soon as “lock up” period expired, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) top management, including COO Sheryl Sandberg, have started dumping the company shares. It resulted into a 3 percent decline in

Facebook share prices, the biggest drop in the last two months. According to an SEC filing, Sandberg sold approximately 353,000 Facebook shares on Wednesday for about $7.44 million. Sheryl Sandberg still owns about 20 million vested Facebook shares, some of them held in her trust.

General counsel Theodore Ullyot, who once worked for AOL, Inc. (NYSE:AOL), sold 149,000 shares on Wednesday and Thursday for $3.13 million. Chief Accounting Officer David Spillane sold 256,000 shares, collecting $5.4 million. Now he holds just 160,479 shares.

It’s the first time that the senior management is selling Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) shares after its disastrous IPO in May.

Disney to launch a sequel to Star Wars 7th franchise

Disney announced today it will buy Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion in cash and stock.
George Lucas, the creator of the Star Wars franchise and CEO of Lucasfilm, owns 100% of the company.

Even better: A new Star Wars movie, Episode VII, will debut in 2015. More Star Wars feature films are planned after that.

Here's the full press release:

BURBANK, Calif. & SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Continuing its strategy of delivering exceptional creative content to audiences around the world, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) has agreed to acquire Lucasfilm Ltd. in a stock and cash transaction. Lucasfilm is 100% owned by Lucasfilm Chairman and Founder, George Lucas.

Under the terms of the agreement and based on the closing price of Disney stock on October 26, 2012, the transaction value is $4.05 billion, with Disney paying approximately half of the consideration in cash and issuing approximately 40 million shares at closing. The final consideration will be subject to customary post-closing balance sheet adjustments.

“Lucasfilm reflects the extraordinary passion, vision, and storytelling of its founder, George Lucas,” said Robert A. Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company. “This transaction combines a world-class portfolio of content including

Star Wars, one of the greatest family entertainment franchises of all time, with Disney’s unique and unparalleled creativity across multiple platforms, businesses, and markets to generate sustained growth and drive significant long-term value.”

“For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next,” said George Lucas, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lucasfilm. “It’s now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers. I’ve always believed that

Star Wars could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime. I’m confident that with Lucasfilm under the leadership of

Kathleen Kennedy, and having a new home within the Disney organization, Star Wars will certainly live on and flourish for many generations to come. Disney’s reach and experience give Lucasfilm the opportunity to blaze new trails in film, television, interactive media, theme parks, live entertainment, and consumer products.”

Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of Lucasfilm, a leader in entertainment, innovation and technology, including its massively popular and “evergreen”

Star Wars franchise and its operating businesses in live action film production, consumer products, animation, visual effects, and audio post production. Disney will also acquire the substantial portfolio of cutting-edge entertainment technologies that have kept audiences enthralled for many years. Lucasfilm, headquartered in San Francisco, operates under the names Lucasfilm Ltd., LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic, and Skywalker Sound, and the present intent is for Lucasfilm employees to remain in their current locations.

Kathleen Kennedy, current Co-Chairman of Lucasfilm, will become President of Lucasfilm, reporting to Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn. Additionally she will serve as the brand manager for

Star Wars, working directly with Disney’s global lines of business to build, further integrate, and maximize the value of this global franchise. Ms. Kennedy will serve as executive producer on new

Star Wars feature films, with George Lucas serving as creative consultant.

Star Wars Episode 7 is targeted for release in 2015, with more feature films expected to continue the

Star Wars saga and grow the franchise well into the future.

The acquisition combines two highly compatible family entertainment brands, and strengthens the long-standing beneficial relationship between them that already includes successful integration of Star Wars content into Disney theme parks in Anaheim, Orlando, Paris and Tokyo.

Driven by a tremendously talented creative team, Lucasfilm’s legendary Star Wars franchise has flourished for more than 35 years, and offers a virtually limitless universe of characters and stories to drive continued feature film releases and franchise growth over the long term.

Star Wars resonates with consumers around the world and creates extensive opportunities for Disney to deliver the content across its diverse portfolio of businesses including movies, television, consumer products, games and theme parks.

Star Wars feature films have earned a total of $4.4 billion in global box to date, and continued global demand has made

Star Wars one of the world’s top product brands, and Lucasfilm a leading product licensor in the United States in 2011. The franchise provides a sustainable source of high quality, branded content with global appeal and is well suited for new business models including digital platforms, putting the acquisition in strong alignment with Disney’s strategic priorities for continued long-term growth.

The Lucasfilm acquisition follows Disney’s very successful acquisitions of Pixar and Marvel, which demonstrated the company’s unique ability to fully develop and expand the financial potential of high quality creative content with compelling characters and storytelling through the application of innovative technology
and multiplatform distribution on a truly global basis to create maximum value. Adding Lucasfilm to Disney’s portfolio of world class brands significantly enhances the company’s ability to serve consumers with a broad variety of the world’s highest-quality content and to create additional long-term value for our shareholders.

The Boards of Directors of Disney and Lucasfilm have approved the transaction, which is subject to clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, certain non-United States merger control regulations, and other customary closing conditions. The agreement has been approved by the sole shareholder of Lucasfilm.

Microsoft scrambled W8 around the World

Windows 8 has officially launched and with it Microsoft’s grand plan to create a unified ecosystem across PCs, tablets and phones. It’s a huge bet for the software maker as it enters the tablet market and hopes to buck up sales of its phones.

The company has spent more than $1 billion on marketing its new flagship software, and related devices, but there are so many components to all of their products, including new additions like Windows Store, SmartGlass, their cross platform app and the launch of the all-in-one Xbox Music, that it can get confusing.

Windows 8 is Microsoft’s big attempt to tie together all of the disparate parts of its business into a unified ecosystem for users. One big addition is the Windows Store, a place where you can buy apps and programs for its devices.

Two of the most interesting additions are add-ons. Xbox Music, which is the company’s new music service, allows subscription, streaming or downloading to buy music. There is also Smartglass, which is an app that will interface with your Xbox and enable control of the system’s entertainment options, as well as adding a second screen experience to games. The neatest thing is that it’s cross platform and will be available for Android and IOs as well as Windows 8 devices. It’s an interesting strategy, showing that Microsoft is attempting a slightly more open approach than its competitors.

Times Square becomes Tiles Square

Everything Luxurious!

iPad 2: Gold History Edition
Price: $8.1 million

Created by luxury gadget guru Stuart Hughes, this iPad 2 is packed with gold and studded with flawless diamonds. The real kicker, though, is found in its frame. Made from incredibly rare Ammolite rock, it contains splinters and shavings from -- wait for it -- a Tyrannosaurus Rex thigh bone dating back 65 million years. Somehow, even that awesome fossil doesn't do much to justify its ludicrous price.

Mario Pendant
So Icy Jewelry Mario Pendant
Price: $2,600

The most famous mascot in gaming is no stranger to the collectible circuit, but this pendant goes above and beyond the typical plastic Mario doo-dads. Comprised of 10K solid yellow gold and encrusted with diamonds, the 4.25 carat item might be the fanciest plumber ever.

Gem-encrusted Xbox 360
Price: $11,000

Tomb Raider star Lara Croft is already quite a looker, but she's never looked as downright shiny as she does on this gem-encrusted Xbox 360. Over 40,000 Swarovski crystals make up Lara's likeness, turning this gaudy console into a pretty cool work of art, too.

Gold Game Boy
Swiss Supply Gold Game Boy
Price: $29,500

If your tastes run old-school -- and you've got a few extra thousand burning a hole in your pocket -- check out this insane Game Boy. Made of solid 18K yellow gold with a few Pave diamonds thrown in to add some bling, it will set you back a mere $29,500. Fanciest...game of Tetris...ever.

PS3 Supreme
Stuart Hughes PS3 Supreme
Price: $320,000

When the PS3 was first released, it cost a good $600, making it the most expensive of the three next-gen consoles. That's a steal compared to this exorbitant system. It's made of gold, naturally, and 58 individually set flawless diamonds line the disc loading area. Hope those don't scratch your Blu-rays.

Apple Inc. Exec Schiller Explains Why iPad Mini Is So Pricey

By Anna Peel

When Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) announced their iPad Mini on Tuesday morning, critics balked at the starting price for $329.

It was originally predicted that the highly-anticipated iPad Mini would start at $299, a price that would make them more competitive with lower-priced Android tablets from Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS).

Phil Schiller, a top executive for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), recently shared his thoughts with Reuters on why the iPad Mini was priced a little higher than expected. He said, “The iPad is far and away the most successful product in its category. The most affordable product we’ve made so far was $399, and people were choosing that over those other devices. And now you can get a device that’s even more affordable, at $329, in this great new form, and I think a lot of customers are going to be very excited about that.”

Schiller reminds us that the iPad Mini features a 7.9 inch display with a 4:3 aspect ratio, which is proportionally larger than

Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s Nexus tablet, which features a 7 inch display and 16:9 aspect ratio.  He also said, “Others have tried to make tablets smaller than the iPad, and they’ve failed miserably. These are not great experiences.”

There is little doubt that the iPad Mini will sell and despite the higher-than-expected starting price, it wouldn’t be surprising if the smaller iPad outsold competition. One

analyst for FBN Securities even stated, “In spite of concerns about the price … we would be buyers of the stock even in front of earnings this Thursday, as we do believe that customers will pay a premium for an Apple tablet.”

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) also introduced a fourth generation 10-inch iPad, 13 inch MacBook Pro, and new iMac.

The iPad Mini will be available for pre-order on October 26. Wi-Fi models will hit retail stores on November 2 and Wi-Fi/Cellular models hit stores in mid-November.

It looks like it’s going to be a bright holiday season for Apple Inc.

Apple Inc To Phase Out iPad 2 After Launching its iPad Mini?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) launched its iPad 2 earlier in 2011. The iPad 2 was thinner with faster a processor and had better graphics than the first-generation iPad . According to an analyst at Evercore Partners, Rob Cihra, Apple will phase out its iPad 2 after introducing its iPad mini.

This may sound crazy, however, Cihra stated in a research note issued to investors this week that the move will streamline Apple’s (AAPL) product line. He added that the company will take this step because it wants clearer product tiers. He thinks that after the launch of iPad mini, the company will only be selling two models of  the iPad, the new 7.8-inch iPad mini and the regular 10-inch third-generation iPad. It is largely expected that Apple will launch the iPad mini in its event which is going to be held on October 23.

Cihra also predicted that Apple will sell approximately 7 million iPad minis during the last quarter of this year. Apple is soon going to unveil its profit for the third quarter and Cihra forecasted that Apple will post revenue of $36.5 billion.

Google Inc Misses Q3 Earnings on Accidental Release: Revised

By JAKE MANN

Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)‘s shares are down close to 9% after the tech giant mistakenly released it’s third quarter earnings around lunchtime. The company missed the Street’s estimates quite significantly, as analysts were expecting it to reach EPS of $10.65 a share; Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) reached just $9.03 a share. The miss of more than 15% comes after Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) beat earnings estimates in Q1 and Q2 by an average margin of 2.3%.

The company, which has been in patent litigation with Vringo, Inc. (NYSEAMEX:VRNG) this week, realized a big loss from Motorola Mobility, which was acquired earlier this year. The segment generated an adjusted loss of over $151 million for Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG).

Due to the miss, Google’s Q3 EPS is down more than 7% year-over-year. The company’s stock currently trades at a modest PEG of 1.33 and a trailing P/E of 22.4X. Google’s five-year historical average earnings multiple is nearly 25% higher at 30.0X, and the Internet content and information industry’s average P/E is just over 28.0X. Check out our comprehensive database to see which hedge funds are holding Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG).

In light of the Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) fallout, Motorola Solutions Inc (NYSE:

MSI) is down slightly on the day. Motorola Solutions trades at a PEG ratio of 1.52, and analysts earnings growth of 16.3% a year over the next half-decade. This valuation is above Cisco (1.45), but below peers like Harris Corp. (3.01) and Trimble Navigation Limited (1.57). The company sports a trailing P/E of 24.8X, which is sightly above the communication equipment industry’s average. Motorola is expected to report its own Q3 earnings on October 24th, where analysts are forecasting EPS of 73 cents a share, which would mark a 12.3% increase YOY.

Apple Inc. Cutting Chip Relationship with Samsung

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has made it clear that it does not like Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), and by extension has developed a certain level of antipathy for Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., due to its tremendous success with its handsets that are running the Android operating system created by Google Inc. (GOOG).

But while rivalry has grown – especially in courtrooms around the world, where Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) continually charges that Samsung violated patents in order to make its highly successful Galaxy line of phones, what was a longtime alliance has now frayed to the point that Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Samsung may not be working together at all much longer.

A report in the Korea Times, from an unnamed source within Samsung, is indicating that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has reduced its relationship with Samsung’s components arm down to just making the chips for its mobile devices. As the source said, “There are three types of chip clients. Some want us to handle everything from chip design, architecture and manufacturing. Some want us to just design and manufacture. Some wants us to just make the chips. Apple is now the third type.”

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), for the first time, designed its own A6 processor and instead used Samsung to manufacture the chip. Samsung had been a vital partner not just in the making, but also design and architecture of past chips for Apple Inc. (AAPL) devices. Apparently this will be the start of a new non-relationship between the now-heated rivals, as Apple has recently hired away former Samsung chip architect Jim Mergard, who had worked at Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) for 16 years prior to joining Samsung. It’s likely that Mergard is or will be overseeing the development and design of an A7 processor for future mobile devices.

But there is a companion report that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) might be looking to get its future chips built by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which would be a further departure from Samsung. The company may be able to produce quad-core processors for Apple devices by the first part of 2013.

Facebook Now Allow Emoticons In Comment

Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) has some good news for their users. Facebook comments now supports emoticons which can be inserted using the proper symbols.

These emoticons do not work in status updates or other type of posts but they do work under comments. There are a number of symbols that the user can use to insert various emoticons and animal images. For example, type (y) to insert a thumbs-up symbol, type :) to insert a smiling emoticon, :( adds sad emoticon, etc.

These emoticons were already available in Facebook chat and messages but now this feature has been recently added to comments too. No doubt we can now expect to start seeing these images often.

Apple Inc iPad mini gets exposed.

Apple most awaited device still to be revealed this year, the iPad Mini as seemingly been exposed in whole for the first time in the top set of pictures yet revealed on the internet.

Sonny Dickson, fan site 9to5mac.com expert, revealed the images on his Twitter feed on Tuesday, increasing the level of adrenaline among Apple Inc (AAPL) fans.

The pictures show a product which is considerably smaller than the prevailing iPad. As per reported by rumors, it possesses a 7.85in liquid crystal display, becoming a threat for Google’s (GOOG) Nexus 7 and Amazon’s (AMZN) Kindle Fire.

Those pictures also displayed that the iPad Mini makes use of the debated new connector launched with the iPhone5, which has turned all equipment launched to previous Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) devices outdated at once.

Also news came this week that Apple Inc (AAPL) had ordered suppliers in China to make 10million of the new smaller tablet computers, which shows high reliance in their device even having cutthroat rivalry.

Insiders stated that the iPad Mini would be launched on October 17, a few days from the launches of Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Microsoft’s Surface tablets, and would be available for sale from 2ndNovember.

Up till now, Apple (AAPL) has not formally confirmed any of the news/rumors of leaks regarding a smaller iPad.

Apple’s 9-inch Tablet device rules the tablet market, but smaller, less expensive tablets have been consuming the iPad’s fame.

The iPad mini is predicted to go on sale all over the world on November 2nd, as per reported by online rumors. Fortune stated that Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) would send out invitations for the launching event on October 10, collecting tech journalists and shareholders together to launch the device.

Toyota to recall 7.4 million cars

Toyota is the world's biggest-selling car company

Toyota is voluntarily recalling more than seven million vehicles worldwide, including some Yaris, Corolla and Camry models, over faulty window switches.
It affects 1.39 million cars in Europe - 138,000 in the UK - 2.47 million in the US and 1.4 million in China.

It is the biggest single recall since Ford called back eight million vehicles in 1996.
Toyota said there had been no reports of accidents, injuries or deaths as a result of the window problem.

Toyota is also recalling 459,000 vehicles in Japan, 650,000 in Australia and Asia, as well as hundreds of thousands from across the Middle East, and from within Canada and its other, smaller markets around the world.

The number of vehicles being recalled is roughly the same as its sales for the whole of its last financial year. The carmaker did not say how much the recall would cost.

The range of Toyota cars affected worldwide include certain models of the Yaris, Vios, Corolla, Matrix, Auris, Camry, RAV4, Highlander, Tundra, Sequoia, xB and xD produced between 2005 and 2010.
In the UK, the models affected are the RAV4, Yaris, Auris and Corolla.

It will be contacting drivers with the affected models over the coming weeks and asking them to bring their car in for checks to see if there is a fault.
Toyota said fixing the switch should take about 40 minutes.

Previous problems

Toyota's reputation was damaged in 2009 by a recall that ended up involving 12 million vehicles, fines from US regulators and an eventual apology from the company's head.

The recall followed problems with accelerator pedals in vehicles, with worries that they could get jammed under floor mats.

Toyota has since overcome massive production problems resulting from the disruption caused by tsunami in early 2011, and has returned to its position as the world's biggest selling car firm.
However, it has recently seen sales in China plummet as a result of Japan's territorial dispute with China.

Latest sales figures released earlier this week show Japanese carmakers' sales to China fell sharply last month, with Toyota's dropping by almost 50%.
BBC © 2012

the next Nexus Phone from LG?

Posted by Charles Stanton on October 9,

Sources say that Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) will be teaming up with appliance-maker LG for the new Nexus phone. This phone is said to be modeled along the lines of LG’s Optimus G. However, apart from the rumor, there is no further information about the smartphone apart from the fact that it will be a quad-core phone which will be available to the U.S market, for a change. The new phone has not been given a name yet.

However, sources also confirm that the building of a Nexus phone has not been made exclusive to LG. other companies are also making Nexus phones, because the Nexus device has gained a lot of popularity amongst phone-makers. From Samsung, came the Galaxy Nexus as well as the Nexus S, from HTC came the Nexus One, and Asus produced the Nexus 7 Tablet. The Nexus phones, therefore, are quite popular, and they have been popular in the market as well.

Despite a number of quad-core one phones being shipped in 2012, the reason why many of them failed to make a mark in the U.S market was because of the fact that they used the Tegra 3 chip by Nvidia. However, these models do not possess an integration modem for the 4G LTE. U.S carriers naturally, did not want the phones because they wanted dual-core processors. Such facilities are available in phones like   the HTC One X, the Samsung Galaxy S III as well as the HTC Evo 4G LTE. These phones enable dual processors, which in turn, lets the 4G LTE run.

The new phone coming up between LG and Google might be inspired by the Optimus G, but it will have to undergo some changes in order to accommodate the Nexus program into it. There will have to be certain changes in the hardware of the phone. According to the Nexus program, in order to build the smartphone, the Android stock version will have to be shipped to the hardware. The program also demands that the hardware be able to support the Nexus games, and that Google Wallet be able to work properly. The phone should be able to accommodate NFC or Near Field Communication.

Google Expanding its Supremacy

By Matt Anderson

Search engine giant Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) has started its effort to become a central hub for products and services over the Internet. The ongoing efforts have finally resulted in some positivity as recent reports have suggested that Google TV is going to be a one stop shop for Google Play. Google TV will include all the services from Google Play including all the TV shows, Music and Movies.

The king of the internet launched Google TV way back in 2010, but at that time it was developed with the assistance of Intel, Sony and Logitech. But from today, Google has reportedly decided to bring out the content on its TV platform for the future.

The new decision is expected to be a hit among the masses as they will be able to buy their favorite content straight from Google Play from their TV. For existing users, their content will be directly imported to the TV once they have signed in through their account. Through the TV, you will be able to discover titles as well, whilst the TV & Movies app will recommend shows and movies. In addition, Netflix, Amazon and other apps will also be available along with Google Play itself.

Earlier, it was reported that Google TV would be launched outside the United States in June. According to the report, Google TV’s arrival in the UK was reported along with Sony’s NSZ-GS7 Internet player and NSZ-GP9 Blu-ray player. The services were launched in countries like Canada, Australia, France, Germany and Holland. The services were initiated in South American countries like Brazil and Mexico as well.

Google Inc. (GOOG)’s TV will get all the latest updates from Google Play. The new step will add face value along with stiff competition to other TV services, thus increasing Google’s supremacy over the internet.

Facebook might Be Ruined By Zynga’s Collapse?

By Paul Shea

Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) relied on Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) for 14% of its revenue in the 2011 fiscal year. Today’s crash in Zynga stock, and the resultant pessimistic view of the company’s prospects, means Facebook’s take from the company will surely fall this time around.

Facebook is not completely reliant on Zynga, but investor confidence may suffer, if that revenue slows, or reverses growth in recent years. In recent days we’ve already argued that if Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) is to thrive as a company, it should wean itself off of Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB).

Aside from Zynga, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) appears to be performing well these days. The company marked it’s one billion user mark yesterday, and investors have been somewhat swayed by the company’s recent assertions that monetization is a top priority.

Several reports released in recent days, have taken on board recent clarifications of Facebook’s monetization strategy, and others have examined the link between Facebook and Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA).

A report from Bank of America Corp. (NASDAQ:BAC) argues that the fall off in revenue from Zynga might affect Facebook in more ways than one. The analysts suggest that the reduction in gaming by Facebook users reflects the fluidity of social network use.

This, according to the report, means that Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) might be at risk from greater volatility in results going forward. That could make the company’s stock more volatile from quarter to quarter, than had previously been anticipated, according to the analysts.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS) puts a twelve month price target of $37 on Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) stock. The report sees a worst case scenario, in which Facebook reports earnings that are $10 to $15 million below Wall Street’s expectations, as a result of the reduction in revenue from Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA).

Goldman does not mention the structural information about the social market in the way that Bank of America’s analysts do. Greater volatility across all social markets may be a to far of a reach, on the part of BAC.

It is difficult to tell at this stage whether the contraction that has affected Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) is specific to the company, to the gaming sector, or to the entire social networking space. It is too early to pin down any single cause for the company’s misfortune.

There are trends working in Facebook’s favor. Investors have willingly taken on board the company’s clarification of its monetization strategy. New revenue streams are the most important thing to investors in the company. It is now clear that simple visual ads will not bring the revenue growth they crave.

Jeffries lists the company, as a buy with a twelve month price target of $30. The report lauds the newly developed Facebook Exchange. According to the analysis, the new product has a much lower cost per action than other exchanges.

The firm is highly positive about the growth potential of Facebook Exchange, and thinks the product could scale much more quickly than any competing advertising exchanges. The exchange is just one of ten monetization trends Jeffries is now tracking at Facebook.

The others include the Mobile Ad Network, Facebook Gifts, Sponsored Search, and the newly launched Promoted Posts feature. The firm is confident that Facebook will be able to scale at least some of these services.

The equation that needs to be solved by investors, is whether or not Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) homegrown revenue channels will scale faster than the projected revenue of Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) was supposed to.

Facebook is finally facing an investing public at least somewhat excited in its growth potential. The company can certainly thrive, if revenue from Zynga collapses, but volatility in the short to medium term may increase, as results come in lower, and potential growth is rechecked

Apple's dividend still remain attractive

In August, Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) Board of Directors shared the company’s enormous wealth with investors, paying a dividend of $2.65 per share, its first such payment in 17 years. Owners of Technology Select Sector SPDR (NYSEARCA:XLK), will be getting their cut.

When the dividend was paid on August 13, more than 20 percent of the fund’s assets were allocated to Apple. As a result, Technology Select Sector SPDR received a payout of $8.4 million that will ultimately be distributed to shareholders.

"Nationalism will emerge. Healthier countries will not see fit to spend their hard earned money to bail out their less responsible neighbors."

With 331.9 million shares outstanding that doesn’t amount to a huge payout for fund investors, but it will boost each quarterly distribution received from the fund by about $.02 per share assuming it maintains its current allocations. Apple remains the most highly valued technology company in the world, which makes an allocation change improbable.

Apple’s decision to initiate a payout reflects the growing maturity of the entire technology industry. After more than two years of steady quarterly growth in earnings throughout the sector, tech executives are acknowledging that dividends are becoming the best way to create shareholder value, prompting many to push dividend payouts to record heights. This trend is also a clear indication that they expect the sector’s explosive growth is leveling out.

That’s not necessarily a bad sign. Increased payouts underscore management’s confidence that earnings can be maintained at current levels; the market brings swift and harsh punishment when payouts are cut. Income investors typically haven’t considered the technology sector as a hunting ground for high dividends, but that mindset is changing.

Technology is the most cash-rich and least indebted sector in the S&P 500. Tech companies now hold 30 percent of all cash among non-financial balance sheets in the S&P 500 ($360 billion out of $1.1 trillion).

Moreover, instituting a healthy dividend doesn’t necessarily signal the death knell of a company’s high future growth. In the case of most technology companies, it simply means that executives aren’t quite sure which emerging technologies are the most promising to pursue

With companies such as Growth pick Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) still investing heavily in research and development, the next breakthrough won’t be far off.

For now, investors should be content to collect their growing dividend checks and rely on sales to emerging markets to drive organic growth. With the iPhone 5 now released—preorders were slated to start September 14—we could even see Apple’s first dividend increase not too far down the road. Offering a growing payout with Apple’s initiation of a dividend, Technology Select Sector SPDR remains a top ETF to own.

iPhone 5 Subsidy Will Not Be Granted To China Mobile

By Nicholas Maithya

Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) analysts have revealed that, the Chinese government won’t be approving  China Mobile Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE:CHL)’s pursuit for an Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone 5 subsidy. The government’s disapproval of the proposed subsidy on Apple’s newest iPhone is because it believes that such a deal would be a huge burden to the government.

China Mobile had earlier indicated that it would extend the level of subsidy on handsets to 26 billion yuan, or $4.1 billion, from an initial Y21 billion. As of June 30th, the total subsidies on handsets for the network totaled 12 billion yuan. Chinese carriers are believed to incur some of the costs, in a bid toward fostering the number of contracts with smartphone users, which is then recouped over time.

China Mobile Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE:CHL) had hoped to get some love from the government, which could have resulted in a massive number of contracts for the new iPhone 5, but this seems unlikely for now. Consequently, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) may have to find other means of selling its device to China Mobile customers, the world’s largest carrier, with approximately 700 million subscribers.

Deutsche Bank analysts are quoted saying, “we believe that the stars are not aligned for a China Mobile licensing of the iPhone 5,” and added, “the government is not supportive”. The Chinese telecommunications giant is partly owned by the state government, and is at some length considered a monopoly, as it commands nearly three-quarters of business in the country.

The other two rivals, China Unicom (Hong Kong) Limited (ADR) (NYSE:CHU) and China Telecom, have already received approvals for subsidies on the new iPhone, and hold a significant number of subscribers altogether. Nonetheless, following the recent disclosure of the making of iPhone 5, it is clearly evident that Apple could still improvise the new device to run the 3G network for China Mobile customers, who currently are using the iPhone 4S on a 2G network.

China Mobile’s 3G network operates with a homegrown technical standard, which is not supported by the iPhone, but analysts believe that the new iPhone device could still be improvised to run on the network. The analysts are also of the opinion that a deal between the two companies is not likely to happen any time soon, while the Chinese telecommunication giant hinted that iPhone 5 is likely to debut in its network no earlier than January of next year.

On the other hand, China Unicom (Hong Kong) Limited (ADR) (NYSE:CHU) has revealed that it is likely to sell Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s new iPhone device to its customers before the end of the year, with China Telecom optimistic of following up shortly. The new iPhone 5 recently cleared the first legal hurdle in china, after it received the mandatory regulatory certification in the country.

Nonetheless, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) could still sell the new iPhone 5 to China Mobile Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE:CHL) customers before the end of this year, through its online stores and brick and mortar shops. However, these would be unlocked devices, at the respective price tags.

The Next Web notes, “Apple could theoretically tweak the new iPhone to support China Mobile’s TD-SCDMA network and sell units to the carrier’s customers, from its Apple Stores at full price”.

Furthermore, there are millions of customers who would be willing to purchase an unlocked iPhone 5 to use in China Mobile’s network, although, in the long run, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) would still need to sign on with China Mobile for a subsidized deal on Apple’s latest iPhone device, in order to, fully saturate the market.

Why Apple shut down it's Ping and whats next?

Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) officially shut down its music-centric social network on September 30th, a date that will live in infamy for only the most dedicated fanboys. The network, called Ping, was originally announced in the fall of 2010 by an always-inspiring Steve Jobs. In his announcement speech, Jobs described Ping as “a social network for music, sort of like Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) and Twitter meet iTunes.” In a format originally made popular by MySpace and perfected by, well, Mark Zuckerberg’s brainchild, Ping allowed law-abiding music lovers to follow their favorite artists and friends within the framework of iTunes itself.

From Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s standpoint, the primary purpose of Ping was to promote content discovery. Despite most in the blogosphere branding the network a “fail” and “a rare blemish” for the company, the original premise of Ping was quite masterful. Upon its launch, Ping was available to the majority of iTunes users, which numbered in the 160 million range at that point. While most think that
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)‘s Google+ coined the term “circles” as groups that social media friends could be organized into, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s platform actually introduced a similar concept with the release of Ping.

Within Ping’s circles, users could create a fully integrated music sharing environment, where they and their friends could perform a number of tasks including: (1) listen to friends’ playlists or song previews if the tracks weren’t purchased, (2) discover music others are downloading, (3) customized song and album charts based on popularity amongst friends, (4) track and order concert tickets, and of course (5) it was available on iPhone and iPod Touch.

At first glance, there doesn’t seem to be any striking flaws associated with Ping, until one considers it’s social media connectivity, or lack thereof. In the same way that Spotify is connected through Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) (as discussed here), Jobs’s original plan was to integrate Ping with the world’s largest social network. While this seems like a no-brainer, a partnership between the two failed to materialize, as Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s late CEO simply cited that Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) wouldn’t budge on “onerous terms that we [Apple] could not agree to.”

Though Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) did not regularly discuss Ping’s user data, it did report having 1 million subscribers within the first 48 hours of launch, and by the start of this year, over 200 million iTunes users had access to the platform. Determining what percentage of iTunes used actually employed Ping on a regular basis is impossible to determine, but the overall breadth of its network compared favorably to peers like

Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P) at 150 million users, Spotify at 20 million, and Last.fm at 40 million.

Understandably, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) fanboys and trolls alike may wonder what reasoning the company would have to shut Ping down. Tim Cook may have shed some light on the decision last month when he shared that they “tried Ping and the customer voted, and we [Apple] said, this isn’t something I want to put a lot of energy into,” also stating that “some customers love it, but there’s not a huge number that do.” Most likely, Apple now understands that the majority of their iTunes users are already using Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) and Twitter, and realized that these third-party networks can promote content discovery for the company, making Ping superfluous. With networks of 1 billion and 500 million respectively, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) and Twitter are best if they’re utilized by Apple instead of ignored.

While the iOS’s newest iteration includes deeper social media integration within iTunes and the App Store, there may be more significant developments on the horizon. As the Wall Street originally reported last month, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) is rumored to be working on a streaming music service a la Spotify and Pandora. Early speculation is that the service will be more similar to the latter, offering free streaming radio channels and paid advertisements. If the rumors are true, this may be the primary reasoning behind Apple’s decision to shut down Ping. As Cook said above, the company doesn’t want to put energy into a flawed platform, so it’s possible that they are focusing on another way to stimulate content discovery.

With the global music streaming industry expected to generate $1.1 billion in revenues this year – up 40% from last year – it is understandable why Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) is looking to make a play. Ditching social media for streaming music will likely prove easier to monetize, as Cook and Co. are busy working on contractual agreements with the industry’s biggest record labels.

It’s worth noting that since rumors of an Apple streaming music service surfaced in early September, shares of Pandora have fallen 16.2%. With three iTunes users for every two Pandora subscribers, it’s easy to see why investors have been skittish. Any industry that Apple Inc typically moves into – with the exception of social media ironically – tends to shift around the competitive landscape. Throw in the fact that deep Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) and Twitter integration are all but a certainty for such a service, and one can see the warning signs for Pandora quite clearly. Spotify, with it’s current linkup via Facebook Connect, looks to be in a better position to compete with Apple in this arena.

In 2011, Pandora reported $274 million in total revenues, and we estimate that Spotify can make close to $300 million by the end of this year in subscription revenue alone, though it’s hard to estimate exactly what an Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) streaming service would make without royalty specifics. The company’s iTunes platform is expected to make close to $8 billion by the end of 2012, though it does cost an approximated $1.3 billion a year to run. Perhaps a streaming service will do what Ping could not do for Apple – allow it to have its cake and eat it too. In short, by monetizing a content discovery service.

Breakdown of Facebook Inc 1B Users, Whats Next?

The world’s largest social media site now officially has 1 billion monthly active users. Yes, one billion. The company had earlier projected reaching this mark by the end of 2012. Now, one out of every seven humans has a Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) account. The company’s founder, chairman, and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg said in a personal letter:

“This morning, there are more than one billion people using Facebook actively each month. If you’re reading this: thank you for giving me and my little team the honor of serving you. Helping a billion people connect is amazing, humbling, and by far the thing I am most proud of in my life. I am committed to working every day to make Facebook better for you, and hopefully together one day we will be able to connect the rest of the world too.”

Along with his statement, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) issued a fact sheet which says that the site reached the milestone on September 14 at 12:45 PM PST. Since its inception, Facebook has seen 140.3 billion friend connections, 1.13 trillion Likes, 17 billion location-tagged posts, and more than 62.6 million songs that have been played 22 billion times. That’s not all, 219 billion photos have been uploaded on the site so far.

Earlier, the company had announced plans to have 955 million active users as of June 30. Of them, 543 million logged in to the site via mobile. Of course, Facebook passed the 1 billion mark a while ago, but the latest announcement is believed to be based on the number of genuine accounts that are being actively used. Well, who is an active user anyway? The company considers any Facebook account active if the user logs in to the account though Web or mobile, or shares something with their friends via a third-party Website that has Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) plug-in.

Half of Global Internet Users are on FB Monthly. At 1b users, 45% of global Internet users and 15% of the world’s population are active on FB monthly, per data from IDC.

The figure accounts for fake and bogus accounts (according to a Topeka report today), which is estimated to be 8.7 percent of the total Facebook users. That would equal approximately 87 million accounts. The 1 billion figure of “active monthly users” is a great mark, because there are millions of users who open their accounts but never come back.

Facebook also noted that the top five countries where users connected at the time were Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico, and the U.S. The inclusion of the U.S. to this list was surprising to us and partially refutes a bear thesis that growth has reached a saturation point in the mature markets. The 1b user mark is also significant in that Facebook is reporting this figure even while cleaning up the user base for fake or duplicate accounts.

According to TheNextWeb, there are 600 million active users, who access the site through a mobile device, and a large portion of them access the social network only from mobile. It poses some challenges for the company, because Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is still not able to fully monetize the mobile network.

Despite the growing user base of Mark Zuckerberg’s baby, the company’s stocks have plummeted since its IPO in May 2012.

Google add Chrome Benefits for App Subscribers

By DAVID WOODBURN

Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)
has had some good response from enterprises and others with its pay Google Apps service. However, the company is unveiling some new benefits for those Apps subscribers who generally use the Chrome browser. Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) just announced in a recent blog post that it will now provide both phone and e-mail support to paying Google Inc. (GOOG) customers who use Google Apps through the Chrome browser. This may be part of encouraging users to move more into a proprietary ecosystem.

“The Chrome browser helps businesses get onto the web securely and quickly – and today, we’re adding phone and email support for Chrome for Google Apps customers,” wrote Google’s Fred Beckebanze in the Google Enterprise blog Tuesday. “Moving forward, Google Apps for Business, Education and Government customers may contact Google via phone or email to receive support on Chrome installation, functionality, security, browser policy settings and Google Apps interoperability for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.”

The Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Apps for Business accounts start a $5 a month or $50 a year, and the phone and e-mail support is not available to anyone using the free Google Apps services. Those who use Google Apps through Chrome will have access to features like offline document editing, receiving notices on the desktop and access to apps on the homescreen. However, Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) announced that those who use Internet Explorer 8 by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) will not be allowed to access Google Apps after November 14, due to Microsoft’s announced release of IE10 in late October.

“As we announced last year, we support the latest version of Google Chrome (which automatically updates whenever it detects that a new version of the browser is available) as well as the current and prior major release of Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari on a rolling basis,” Google officials said in a blog post. “Each time a new version of one of these browsers is released, we begin supporting the update and stop supporting the third-oldest version.”

Would Warren Buffett take A piece of Apple Inc. Byte?

There was a time when Warren Buffett said, “Technology is just something we don’t understand, so we don’t invest in it”. This time was 1998. Fast forward 13 years later, and Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A) (NYSE:BRK.B) reveals a 5.5 percent stake in International Business Machines, which was expanded according to the last 13f SEC filing of Q2 2012. IBM is not the only tech company that Buffett has owned, one other is Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), the stake was sold in last quarter.

Whitney Tilson of T2 partners likes to draw an analogy between Warren Buffet and Steve Jobs of Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL). We are more interested in the chances of taking this ‘relationship’ a step further. Is Buffett going to own Apple stock in the near future? Does the company meet Buffett’s high standard, or is it still too far behind and too risky. Till a few months ago, Buffett did not like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), at least not enough to buy it.

But what changed for technology stocks, so that BRK started buying them. It is likely that Buffett and Charlie Munger (VC of Berkshire) have expanded their horizons, and now understand how these tech companies work, but what is more plausible is that the attraction lies within the company.

Buffett likes solid brands with a defined structure, take the example of  The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) and The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG). Intel and IBM are not much different in that respect, they don’t act like your everyday tech giants, by relying heavily on a single product.

Both companies make products whose demand is likely to sustain over the long run, and is less dependent on ambiguous metrics, like public sentiment and the number of hits. Stocks like Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) are too intensely invested in public sentiment and reliance on advertising and search engines. Do similar headwinds affect Apple? Not really, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has a line of strong products. It has iPhone, iPad, iPod, and Macs. The recent showdown of Apple vs Samsung has made it evident that the supremacy of Apple, whether in its iOS or design, is undefeated.

When Buffett talks about his favorites, like The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO), he says things like, “If you gave me $100 billion and said, ‘Take away the soft-drink leadership of Coca-Cola in the world,’ I’d give it back to you and say it can’t be done.” Drawing on the same argument, Apple, which is the largest company by market cap, has no competition that it has not managed to defeat yet. Buffett would probably agree that Steve Jobs’ empire has flourished by far more than anyone imagined, even after his demise, and is quite singular in its stardom.

Berkshire is profitable and Buffett has the extra cash , plus Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is not exactly an expensive buy, and the dividend yield is an added plus. Among all these good signs, what is stopping Buffett from buying it? Buffett already owns two of the top three global brands, KO and IBM, Apple holds the second spot, and Buffett likes a well-branded company. But brand perception is not everything. 

We just witnessed how Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) went above 700 and then dove below 670 in a matter of days. The company is still too vulnerable and hits lows and highs frequently, and we know when Buffett owns a stock, he likes to stick to it indefinitely, “Our favorite holding period,”  says Buffett, “is forever.” So no Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) for Buffett anytime soon.

Apple seek SoC Modelling Architect / Lead

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has reportedly posted a job ad for an ‘SoC Modelling Architect / Lead’, which probably provided many an insight into what the Cupertino giant may have planned for the future. The job post demanded a “unique and highly visible role” where the winning applicant will be placed at the center of a chip design effort interfacing with all disciplines.

Apple Inc. is looking for a candidate with as low as 10 years of SoC (System-on-a-Chip) design and micro-architecture experience, with key job on performance modeling, and with expertise in SoC level performance models such as CPUs, GPUs, memory systems, and power modeling. So, a question arises that where Apple Inc. (AAPL) wants to go with this?

The most important is that Apple is seeking somebody to look after its A5 and A6 processor designs, and bring such advancements to take these into the future. Several devices including the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch use these processors, and these devices are now large cash contributors for the Cupertino giant, accounting for billions of dollars every quarter.

Zuckerberg announced 1billion user on Facebook

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Yes, it's finally happened: Facebook has exceeded one billion users.

Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg announced Thursday that his social media site had reached the major milestone.

"This morning, there are more than one billion people using Facebook actively each month," he said. "Helping a billion people connect is amazing, humbling and by far the thing I am most proud of in my life."

Facebook Inc ( FB) stock edged up 1.6% in premarket trading.

Topping the 1 billion mark means that Facebook now reaches one out of every 7 people on the planet.

The ubiquitous social media giant that was famously created in a Harvard dorm room hasn't had much trouble attracting new members. While its growth in North America and Europe has leveled off, Facebook continues sucking in new users throughout Asia and the developing world. It has a presence in more than 200 sovereign territories, according to stats tracked by All Facebook, which draws on data Facebook provides to advertisers, and an empire that stretches from a mere 20 users in Vatican City to more than 166 million in the United States.

It took Facebook six years to hit the 500 million user mark and barely two to double it. Facebook's total membership grew nearly 30% over the past year, but in hot regions like Brazil, its membership doubled. (Sorry, Orkut.).

Less than 20% of Facebook's users live in the U.S. and Canada, but those users account for 48% of the $992 million in advertising revenue that Facebook took in last quarter. Facebook makes an average of $3.20 each quarter in revenue off its North American users, versus just 55 cents from those in Asia.

Increasing those figures is one of Facebook's top corporate priorities. Investors remain leery of Facebook, whose shares have fallen more than 40% since the company's rocky public debut in May.

The company is also scrambling to increase its foothold in the mobile world, the next big battleground for social networks. By the end of this year, there will be more mobile devices on Earth than people, according to forecasts from Cisco ( CSCO, Fortune 500).

Half of Facebook's users access the site at least once a month through mobile devices, and a whopping 102 million users -- more than 10% of the site's membership -- only use Facebook's mobile site.

Apple CEO offer 2million to its SVP

An interesting story regarding the corporate sector at Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was recently revealed in a special report in Bloomberg Businessweek.

Earlier this summer, it was reported that tech Senior Vice President, Bob Mansfield wanted to retire. Three people that worked under Mansfield, who were not at all pleased about the pending replacement Dan Riccio, sent complaints to CEO Tim Cook. They thought that Riccio wasn’t ready to take over the vice president position and so Tim Cook talked Mansfield into staying. It’s reported that he offered him an impressive amount of $2M a month. In August, it was announced that Mansfield decided to stay with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in order to help them create future products.

It’s true that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will never be the same without Steve Jobs, but Tim Cook proves that the company can survive without the legend. It’s been a year since Jobs passed away and a lot has changed. The company has become more valuable this past year, with Cook at the helm.

The company just released the iPhone 5, and although it’s proven to be a huge success, it still had a few glitches, namely the maps application. Despite all of that, Apple’s sixth generation smartphone is still a big success and will continue to sell.

Next week, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is expected to introduce the iPad Mini, a smaller version of their popular tablet computer that was designed to compete directly with the likes of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)’s Kindle Fire HD and Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS)’s Nook Tablet. The iPad Mini reportedly features a 7.85 inch screen, retina display, and 3G connectivity.

Apple has begin manufacturing iPad Mini

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s new product launch date is near and there are no rumors; that’s next to impossible. So according to the already heated up rumors, production has already started on the unannounced tablet although there is no official confirmation to it.

The Wall street journal quoted the people familiar with the matter saying that mass production has already been started in Apple’s Asian component suppliers who make the iPad mini’s parts.

Sources quoted that the iPad’s smaller version will come with a resolution lower than Apple’s third generation iPad (may be sacrificing retina display in contradiction to earlier rumors) bearing a 7.85 display. The new device is hugely anticipated to ditch older 30-pin connector on current iPad and is predicted to bear a lightning connector following the steps of iPhone5.

It is highly probable that new iPad will resemble a lot with large iPod touch, only to be different in terms of operating system matching the standard iPad.

It may not be too long to wait for the real product as sources have come to know that invitations will be sent to media on October 10th and actual event is expected to take place on October 17th and that whatever the product name, it is likely to hit the stores on Friday October 26th, a week later than the announcement date.

After experiencing the supply shortages for its latest iPhone5, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is more likely to given go-ahead signal to its suppliers to start making the so called”iPad Mini” in order to save the company from further embarrassment at global stage.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) has already faced criticism for its shortage of supply but more embarrassing is its introduction of beleaguered maps. Apple’s Maps is so intelligent being dubbed as iMap by few, that it can swing 2.7 KM long Golden Gate Bridge in Gibraltar within no time.

But beside all the criticism of maps, the application still have a feature which beats Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), and that is its less consumption of data. It consumed 20% of the data as compared to Google Maps in a series of analysis test performed by Onavo. Test results show that Google Maps, on average, used 1.3 Mb data whereas Apple Maps downloaded only 271 Kb.

Users normally refer to maps when they are out and about, using 3G or 4G networks usually eating up users’ data plan but it is not considered a problem on Wi-Fi connections.

But this comes into play only when data can deliver reliability in which Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Maps lack.

Apple Inc. Maps take on Google Inc Maps in China

The only place where Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Maps seems to be successful is in China; in fact some people say it is superior to Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) Maps.

While local mapping service providers may be doing a better job than Apple, so far as the Cupertino company is concerned, it is Google that it has to surpass.

The Internet search giant has been having a tough time in China, here is has been continuously sparring with the government there for access to data.

China does not easily allow foreign companies to take photographs or undertaking extensive imaging of its country on grounds of security and this has been a sore point with Google.

The data for Apple Maps has been provided by a local Chinese company, where such services are licensed by the government.

Google has strained relations with the Chinese government ever since it objected to the censorship there and tried moving its services to Hong Kong and asked Chinese users to visit it there.

China blocked the company's services from being accessed and Google returned to China. However it is an uneasy relationship between them.

Apple has gone about working with the Chinese government in a better way. It has co-operated with the authorities and has been law-abiding and used local companies for assistance. More important, it has provided jobs and modern technologies.

The iPhone maker has made its foray into China with one eye to the potential that the market represents. China is the world’s largest and fastest growing mobile phone market. By February 2012, there were one billion mobile phones in China, up from 500 million five years earlier.

More Chinese are buying new cars and with that will come demand for more mapping applications.

Gisele Bundchen into bad girl mode

Gisele Bündchen posted a new snapshot of herself to Facebook on Monday, and let's just say you'll need to do a double take! The supermodel sported sleeve tattoos on her arms, dark bangs with a blond ponytail, and very motorcycle-chic attire.

Google newest acquisition, Viewdle

Google Inc. (GOOG) is close to buying facial-recognition software maker Viewdle for about $45 million, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Viewdle’s 36 employees, mostly based in the Ukraine, will join Google, said the people, who asked not to be named because the deal has yet to be made public. Google will announce the acquisition as early as tomorrow, they said.

Founded in 2007, Viewdle is backed by Best Buy Co., Research In Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerry Partners Fund and Qualcomm Inc.’s venture arm. The company’s software allows smartphone manufacturers to embed facial-recognition technology into their handsets.

Katelin Todhunter-Gerberg, a spokeswoman for Mountain View, California-based Google, declined to comment. Google’s acquisition of Viewdle was reported earlier by Forbes.