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Dell prepares Windows tablet in mobile push

Dell Inc. showed off a tablet device for business users that runs Microsoft’s Windows software, as the personal computer company continues to push aggressively into the mobile market.

Though many analysts believe the current version of Windows is not a good fit for touchscreen tablets, Dell said its commercial customers are looking for the familiarity and security of the Microsoft environment in a more portable package. Get the full story »

FCC to use rural phone subsidies for broadband

Government regulators are planning to overhaul the $8 billion federal program that subsidizes telephone service in poor and rural areas to pay for high-speed Internet connections.

The Federal Communications Commission voted 5-0 Tuesday to begin drafting a blueprint to bring the federal program, the Universal Service Fund, into the digital age. Get the full story »

NASA unlikely to report defects in Toyotas

An investigation into sudden acceleration in Toyota and Lexus vehicles by the nation’s space agency is expected to report Tuesday that no significant electronic defects have been found, though the issue requires continued monitoring, according to automotive electronics and safety experts.

The NASA report was commissioned by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration after thousands of owners complained that their Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles accelerated unexpectedly, causing dozens of deaths.

The study was launched in March in the wake of three congressional investigations. It is scheduled to be made public at a press conference in Washington.

Argonne upgrades to super supercomputer

Argonne National Laboratory will be using a new IBM supercomputer that can run 10 quadrillion calculations per second. Yes, quadrillion.

By way of comparison, IBM said that if every man, woman and child in the U.S. performed one calculation each second, they would need almost one year to run as many calculations as the new “Mira” computer can do in one second. Get the full story »

Deal site Bling Nation launches in Chicago

A Palo Alto, Calif.-based startup called Bling Nation has launched a new “social rewards” program in Chicago as part of a national rollout, using Facebook as a way for consumers to share deals at local businesses with their friends.

In Chicago, Bling Nation has deals with merchants such as Deleece Restaurant, Noble Tree Café and White Glove Car Wash. The company said any local business can participate in its FanConnect program. The program uses a dedicated Facebook application that keeps users updated on local deals. A person that redeems a deal receives rewards that he or she can use for future purchases, and earning these rewards automatically shares special offers with the person’s friends via his or her Facebook wall. Get the full story »

Price keeps plasma TVs on consumers’ radar

Most TV manufacturers may have given up on plasma technology, but the public has not.

Shipments of plasma sets jumped nearly 30% worldwide last year, to 19.1 million from 14.8 million the year before, according to research firm DisplaySearch.

The reason: price.

Plasma sets are “the most affordable large flat-panel TVs for many consumers,” said DisplaySearch in releasing its survey Thursday.

New report estimates Groupon’s worth at $6 billion

From TechCrunch | SharesPost, a marketplace for private stock sales, released a report Thursday stating that Chicago-based daily deal site Groupon is worth about $6 billion (between $5.95 billion and $6.07 billion, to be exact).

Ahead of iPhone, Verizon says it may slow data

The Verizon version of the Apple iPhone is displayed on Jan. 11, 2011. (Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images)

On the day the iPhone went on sale for Verizon Wireless customers, the carrier delivered a warning to its heaviest data users: Verizon reserves the right to slow down your access speed.

For the subscribers that fall within the top 5 percent of the network’s data users, Verizon said it may reduce their download speeds for the current and subsequent billing cycles, according to a memo on the carrier’s website. The company said the slow-down would most likely be periodic and during peak hours.

“Our proactive management of the Verizon Wireless network is designed to ensure that the remaining 95% of data customers aren’t negatively affected by the inordinate data consumption of just a few users,“ the memo said. Get the full story »

Motorola Mobility shares rise on AT&T pledge

Motorola Mobility shares rose 5 percent after AT&T Inc. said Motorola’s next product would be its flagship phone as the pair look to compete against the new Apple Inc. iPhone at Verizon Wireless.

AT&T, which first showed off the Motorola Atrix phone January 5, has given up its more than three years of exclusive rights to sell the iPhone. Motorola has been seeking new partners since Verizon, its biggest customer, has selling the phone.

The pairing of Motorola and AT&T was not a surprise for analysts. But after shaving as much as 20 percent off Motorola shares in the days after its earnings report last week, investors showed some relief when AT&T said in a Wall Street Journal story that it would push the phone heavily . Get the full story »

Unreleased Apple iPad seen at News Corp. event

Spotted at Rupert Murdoch’s splashy digital newspaper launch on Wednesday: a prototype of Apple’s newest iPad.

A Reuters eyewitness saw what appeared to be a working model of the next iPad with a front-facing camera at the top edge of the glass screen at a press conference to mark the debut of News Corp’s Daily online paper in New York on Wednesday.

A source with knowledge of the device confirmed its existence, adding that the final release model could have other features. News Corp and Apple declined to comment. Get the full story »

Google rolls out web app store at Honeycomb intro

Google Inc. on Wednesday unveiled a Android Market web store that lets consumers download applications through their Internet browser, a move that ratchets up the company’s rivalry with Apple Inc.’s popular App Store.

Users previously could access the more than 100,000 apps at Google’s Android Market only from their mobile devices. Get the full story »

News Corp launches iPad newspaper at 14 cents/day

News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch, among the most ardent defenders of the traditional press, launched the first ever newspaper created solely for tablet devices like the iPad.

Murdoch, along with Apple executive Eddy Cue, introduced the Daily during a Wednesday event at the Solomon Guggenheim Museum in Manhattan. Get the full story »

Apple blocks Sony Reader app from iPhone

Apple Inc has blocked rival Sony Corp’s electronic book application from the iPhone because it would have circumvented Apple’s system for buying content.

The scrap is the latest in Apple’s long history of tense relations with media companies. They have clashed for years over pricing and how music, movies and books are sold on Apple’s mobile devices, the iPod, iPhone and iPad. Get the full story »

GM’s next Volt challenge: cut the price

The Volt has won nearly every major award offered and stirred up tons of interest, but one criticism persists: It’s too expensive.

The next-generation Volt will almost certainly cost less than the $41,000 list, GM spokesman Rob Peterson said. And the  changes that make it cheaper should make it better, too. Get the full story »

Facebook expands its Groupon-like service

From The New York Times DealBook | Facebook is introducing its discount shopping service to five European countries and Canada as part of its push to help brands communicate with its users.