Apple fined $2.29 mln over Australian '4G' iPad

Apple has been fined Aus$2.25 million ($2.29 million) for misleading Australian consumers about the local 4G capability of its next-generation iPad, in a case brought by regulators.

The tech giant was also ordered to pay Aus$300,000 in costs by the Federal Court.

Justice Mordy Bromberg found that Apple misled people with claims in its advertising implying that the 'iPad with WiFi + 4G' could connect with fourth generation cellular networks in Australia, when it could not.

The judgement found the company engaged in conduct liable to mislead the public and contravened Australian consumer law.

Apple had offered in March to refund Australian customers who felt they had been misled, and publish a clarification about the popular tablet's capabilities.

The product is now advertised outside North America as 'Wi-Fi + Cellular' -- a change that came into effect on May 12 -- with a clear caveat on its Australian site that 'it is not compatible with current Australian 4G LTE and WiMax networks.'

'Apple does not seek to deny the deliberateness of its conduct and there are no facts before me which seek to excuse or explain the conduct, other than that the conduct occurred at the behest of Apple's parent company,' Bromberg said.

The iPad was the world's best-selling tablet in the first three months of 2012, outgunning its Android-powered rivals, with sales more than doubling from a year earlier to send Apple's profits soaring.



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Dutch court orders Apple to pay Samsung damages over patent

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A Dutch court ordered Apple Inc to pay damages to Samsung Electronics Co Ltd over a patent violation in the Netherlands, the latest twist in the global legal battle waged by the two rival phone and computer makers.

Apple and Samsung have been suing each other in about a dozen countries for the last few years as they compete globally for consumers in the fast-growing markets for smart phones and tablet computers.

The U.S. company has accused Samsung of 'slavishly' copying the iPhone and iPad tablet through products that run on Google's Android software. The Korean firm has counter-sued with claims accusing Apple of infringing its patents.

A court in The Hague ruled Apple had violated a Samsung patent used in some of Apple's phones and tablet computers to connect to the Internet, and said damages should be based on certain iPhone and iPad sales in the Netherlands.

The violation applies to iPhone 3G, 3GS, and 4 and iPad 1 and 2, the court said.

Damages should be based on Dutch sales figures since August 4, 2010, which the court said was the date when Apple could have known it was violating Samsung's patent.

A Samsung spokeswoman said she did not know whether the ruling had any international implications, nor did she know how much money Samsung would ask for.

An Apple spokesman had no immediate comment.

The Dutch court dismissed three other patent infringements claimed by Samsung.

Apple has a complex relationship with Samsung, a conglomerate that makes computer chips, Galaxy smartphones and televisions.

While Samsung's smartphones and tablet computers run on Android and compete with Apple's products, Samsung is also a key components supplier to Apple.

(Reporting by Gilbert Kreijger and Bart Meijer; Editing by David Holmes)

(The photo attached to this story earlier has been removed as it was not related to the Dutch court order)



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Struggling BlackBerry maker begins job cuts

TORONTO (AP) - Struggling BlackBerry maker Research In Motion says it has started laying off employees as part of a restructuring plan aimed at saving about $1 billion this year.

RIM said in May that there would be 'significant layoffs' this year. On Wednesday, the Waterloo, Ontario-based company said it has 'reduced some positions as part of its program and may continue to do so as the company methodically works through a review of the business.'

RIM declined to provide numbers, but will offer an update when it reports earnings June 28. RIM had about 16,500 employees in early May. The company cut 2,000 jobs last July.

The once iconic BlackBerry company is preparing to launch new software later this year, just as Americans are abandoning BlackBerrys for iPhones and Android phones.



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Microsoft's Surface: when the keyboard is key

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - When Microsoft Corp took the wraps off its Surface tablets on Monday in Los Angeles, it was the brightly hued keyboard that stole the show.

The 'Touch Cover' - a protective cover-cum-keyboard - could be a key differentiator for Microsoft as it tries to dent Apple Inc's iPad franchise, analysts said. It also represents the latest turn in an intensifying philosophical debate about how humans can best interact with their machines.

In the early days of the Apple iPad, argument raged about whether the device could succeed without a traditional keyboard--a question the gadget's subsequent popularity seemingly settled. But the iPad's 'virtual' keyboard, which senses the heat of a finger on the glass screen, is considered by most users to be unsuitable for extensive typing.

Before the iPad, the debate centered on whether the free-form stylus was the best tool for telling a computer what to do. Apple's Newton, the original personal digital device, used a stylus, as did previous Microsoft entries in the tablet arena. But stylus solutions have since fallen out of favor.

Recently, the conversation has shifted to contact-less interfaces, including voice-commands, a concept that Apple's own Siri brought to the fore, and gesture-recognition, as demonstrated in gaming by Microsoft's own Kinect.

Researchers are now even experimenting with computers that respond directly to electrical signals from the brain. Eventually one might only need to think of what the computer should do to make it happen.

In the meantime, though, Microsoft is betting that an improved version of the tried-and-true will be enough to make a difference.

ULTRATHIN DESIGN

The Touch Cover technology was developed at Microsoft by a researcher named Stevie Bathiche, according to Panos Panay, leader of the team that created the Microsoft Surface.

Executives showed off two keyboard models on Monday. The Touch Cover features an ultrathin design of 3 millimeters, without mechanical keys. A second, called the Type Cover, is 2 millimeters thicker and includes mechanical keys.

Both operate using the same multi-touch digitizer, which Microsoft said is 10 times faster than any keyboard in use today. The Touch Cover uses pressure-sensitivity to detect when a user is trying to input keystrokes, as opposed to simply resting fingertips on the home row.

'It knows the grams of force coming off my fingertips,' Panay said as he demonstrated the product.

The keyboard clings magnetically to the Surface and can remain attached as a cover. It can be folded back while still connected, and its internal accelerometer turns it off while in the closed or folded-back position.

Rick Sherlund, an analyst with Nomura Securities, said the keyboard could be a critical feature for people who use the tablet not just for reading or viewing or browsing the Web, but for creating spreadsheets or documents or other types of written content.

'Is Microsoft going to beat Apple with a sexier tablet? I don't think so,' Sherlund said. But he added: 'You're going to want a keyboard with anything related to Windows.'

(Editing by Jonathan Weber and Muralikumar Anantharaman)

Microsoft kept PC partners in dark about Surface

SAN FRANCISCO/TAIPEI (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp kept its personal computer partners largely in the dark about its plans to launch a competing tablet computer, with some long-time collaborators learning of the new gadget only days before its unveiling, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The secrecy that shrouded the Surface tablet risks alienating Microsoft's hardware partners, and marks a departure from the software company's tradition of working closely with hardware companies to test and fine-tune every new product.

It also underscores how Microsoft is starting to take pages from Apple Inc's playbook, keeping its cards close to the vest as it works to reinvent its Windows franchise and jump into the hardware business.

The earliest that Microsoft's personal computing partners were told about the tablet was last Friday, just three days before it was shown to the media at an event in Los Angeles, according to sources in the U.S. and Taiwan technology industry who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Windows chief Stephen Sinofsky made a round of telephone calls but gave only the barest details on Friday, neither revealing the name of the gadget nor its specifications, two people close to Microsoft's partners told Reuters.

As such, Microsoft's main partners remained 'in wait-and-see' mode and had to monitor the news for details, one of the sources said.

Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer told reporters the company had informed its largest hardware-manufacturing partners about the tablet. A company spokesman declined to say how much of a heads up the partners were given, or to elaborate further.

Sources at Acer Inc and Asustek Computer Inc, the world's fourth and fifth largest PC makers respectively, said the first they had heard of the new tablets was at Ballmer's news conference on Monday.

'No senior executives heard about the news last week,' said an Acer executive, who added they were still seeking details. 'We're quite surprised.'

Acer shipped nearly 10 percent of PCs in the first quarter of 2012, with Asustek accounting for 6 percent, according to research house IDC.

The Surface marks a major strategic shift for Microsoft, ahead of the expected release of its new Windows 8 operating system by the fourth quarter of this year.

Microsoft is now pitting itself as a direct competitor, breaking with a 37-year old model where it had licensed its software to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) such as Dell Inc or Hewlett-Packard Co, which made the machines.

That some of Microsoft's partners were not told beforehand about the Surface has led to a 'sense of betrayal' in the industry, according to one source.

'This has always been a point of contention between OEMs and Microsoft -- Microsoft getting into the hardware space,' a second source said.

Competing head-on with PC makers may damage a relationship that has long dominated the computer world, where nine out of 10 PCs run on Windows. Analysts pointed to similar concerns in the Android smartphone world surrounding Google Inc's decision to buy Motorola.

'The strategy may affect the willingness of device manufacturers to work so closely with Microsoft, as it will now be viewed as a competitor as well as a partner,' said Andrew Milroy, vice president of ICT Research for Asia-Pacific at Frost & Sullivan in Singapore.

Driving Microsoft's shift, say analysts, is the growing clout of Apple, whose iPad is threatening the market for notebook computers. Notebooks are still largely a Windows business, but its growth is a fraction of the tablet market.

KNEW IN ADVANCE

Microsoft has long worked closely with its partners, who analysts say pay up to 10 percent of their material costs to license the Windows operating system.

HP declined to comment on whether it was given advance notice of the Surface, as did Dell. A Dell spokesman said, 'We remain committed partners to Microsoft. We remain committed to Windows 8, and we will have a Slate product at the time of launch.'

Another Asian PC maker, China's Lenovo Group Ltd, also declined to comment expect to say 'Microsoft has been and will continue to be one of Lenovo's most valued partners.'

Microsoft has not revealed how much it will charge for the two Surface tablets it unveiled on Monday, one running a processor designed by ARM Holdings and one with a chip built by Intel.

While the former would likely compete with the iPad, the latter may compete with the so-called Ultrabook, a generation of lightweight laptops designed by Intel. Ballmer said only that the tablets would be competitive in price with rival products.

'The big question is whether Microsoft puts out some sort of introductory pricing designed to seed the market or insists on making full margin on the device,' said Jan Dawson, chief telecoms analyst at Ovum in New York. 'However, it risks alienating OEMs even further if it prices lower than they are able to.'

While pricing is a sensitive issue, more damaging may be the lack of warning the partners say they had from Microsoft. Ovum's Dawson said Microsoft was giving its OEM partners 'a huge vote of no confidence' and they would 'rightly feel slighted'.

An executive at a Chinese handset maker, who didn't want to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue, said: 'It'll be a good strategy for Microsoft to focus on software development and leave its partners to make the hardware.'

(Additional reporting by Clare Jim in Taipei, Miyoung Kim in Seoul and Bill Rigby in Seattle; Writing by Jeremy Wagstaff in Singapore; Editing by Neil Fullick, Edwin Chan and Tim Dobbyn)



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Ahead of the Bell: Analysts on Microsoft tablet

NEW YORK (AP) - Microsoft Corp. will need to price the new Surface tablet aggressively if it's to have a chance of attracting consumer's eyes away from the iPad, Wall Street analysts said Tuesday.

Late Monday, Microsoft said it would produce and sell its own tablets this fall. It is an unusual but not unheard-of move for Microsoft to make its own hardware. Its usual business model is to license software to other manufacturers, but it has made exceptions before.

Analysts noted that Microsoft's Surface tablets will have some features that set it apart from the iPad, but price would be the most important factor. Microsoft said the Surface tablet that's based on phone-style chips, like the iPad, would be priced like other tablets, which usually start at $400. The Surface tablet that runs on PC-style chips would cost more, in the $800 to $1000 range.

'Though pricing details are unclear, we believe Microsoft will need to significantly undercut the iPad to be competitive,' said Peter Misek of Jefferies & Co.

'We believe consumers will require a healthy discount for Surface versus an iPad, something we believe will prove difficult given the new iPad starts at just $499 and the iPad 2 starts at a price of just $399,' said Brian White of Topeka Capital Markets.

Microsoft risks alienating its hardware partners by making its own tablets, but has little to lose, given that it's so far behind in tablets, analysts said.

'With less than 10 percent combined market share, Microsoft can afford to lose the support of PC manufacturers in this sector,' said Ronan de Renesse at Analysys Mason.

'Microsoft cannot sustain an aggressive device strategy while licensing Windows on tablets. The big question is, if Surface become as successful as the iPad, will Microsoft choose to stop licensing Windows on tablets?' de Renesse asked.

Microsoft shares were up 18 cents, or 0.6 percent, at $30.02 in pre-market trading.



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Microsoft tackles iPad with Surface tablet

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp introduced its own line of tablet computers on Monday at a much-hyped press event in Los Angeles, marking a major strategic shift for the software giant as it struggles to compete with Apple Inc and re-invent its aging Windows franchise.

The new tablet line, named Surface, includes a consumer device aimed directly at the Apple iPad, and another, larger machine designed to compete with lightweight laptops. Both include a keyboard that doubles as a cover, and both will be powered by versions of the new Windows 8 operating system.

The move breaks with Microsoft's operating model of the past 37 years, which has relied on computer manufacturers to make and market machines running Windows. It could throw the world's largest software company into direct competition with its closest hardware partners such as Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Hewlett-Packard Co.

However, the success of Apple in recent years has underscored the benefits of an integrated approach to hardware and software, and Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said on Monday that the company 'didn't want to leave anything uncovered' as it rolled out Windows 8.

The new software is the biggest overhaul of Windows in years, and features a new touch-friendly interface dubbed 'Metro'. It is scheduled to be available for the Christmas shopping season.

The lighter, thinner version of the Surface tablet, built on an Nvidia Corp chip designed by ARM Holdings, will be the first to market at the same time as the general release of Windows 8, and will feature Microsoft's popular Office suite of applications.

It is comparable to Apple's new iPad, heavier but slightly thinner. It has a 10.6 inch screen and comes in 32GB and 64GB memory sizes.

A second, heavier tablet aimed at the new generation of lightweight laptops called 'ultrabooks', running on traditional Intel Corp chips, will come in 64GB and 128GB models. That will be available about three months after the ARM version, Microsoft said.

The company gave no details on pricing, except that they would be competitive with comparable ARM tablets and Intel-powered Ultrabooks. They will be on sale online and in Microsoft's new brick-and-mortar stores in the United States.

Microsoft shares rose 0.8 percent in after-hours trading, making up for a 0.6 percent drop to $29.84 in the regular Nasdaq session.

Industry watchers were generally impressed by the devices' specifications, but doubted they were a sure-fire hit.

'I don't see this as an iPad killer, but it has a lot of potential,' said Sarah Rotman Epps, an analyst at tech research firm Forrester. 'This raises more questions than answers. The story that Microsoft told today was incomplete. They focused on the hardware innovation but didn't talk about the services, the unique Microsoft assets that could make this product amazing.'

Contrary to expectations, Microsoft made no mention of integrating content and features from its top-selling Xbox game console, the Skype video calling service it bought last year, or Barnes & Noble's Nook e-reader, its new partner in the electronic books market.

FOLLOWING APPLE

Sales of tablets are expected to triple in the next two years, topping 180 million a year in 2013, easily outpacing growth in traditional PCs. Apple has sold 67 million iPads in two years since launch.

Apple, which makes both hardware and software for greater control over the performance of the final product, has revolutionized mobile markets with its smooth, seamless phones and tablets. Rival Google Inc may experiment with a similar approach after buying phone maker Motorola Mobility this year.

Making its own hardware for such an important product is a departure for Microsoft, which based its success on licensing its software to other manufacturers, stressing the importance of 'partners' and the Windows 'ecosystem.'

'The question is why is Microsoft doing it?,' said Michael Silver, an analyst at tech research firm Gartner. 'Lack of faith in the OEMs (computer makers)? There's definite risk here as Microsoft increasingly competes with its customers.'

Microsoft stressed that 'OEMs will have cost and feature parity on Windows 8 and Windows RT,' meaning that it would not hold back any features from other hardware makers' Windows tablets.

When it has ventured into hardware, the Redmond, Washington-based company has had a mixed record.

Apart from keyboards and mice, the Xbox game console was its first foray into major manufacturing. That is now a successful business, but only after billions of dollars of investment and overcoming problems with high rates of faulty units - a problem which was nicknamed the 'red ring of death' by gamers.

The company's Microsoft-branded Zune music player, a late rival to Apple's iPod, was not a success and its unpopular Kin phone was taken off the market shortly after introduction.

The company killed off a two-screen, slate-style prototype of a tablet device called Courier later that year, saying the technology might emerge in another form later on.

(Reporting By Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles, Writing by Bill Rigby in Seattle; Editing by Bernard Orr and Richard Pullin)



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Microsoft's 'Surface' tablet aims for productivity

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Microsoft unveiled a new tablet computer, Surface, that attempts to take advantage of one of the few criticisms of Apple's iPad - that it is better for consuming content than creating it.

The software maker said Monday that its device will attach to a removable rubberized keyboard that also acts like a book cover. CEO Steve Ballmer said Surface will be an entertainment device 'without compromising the productivity that PCs are uniquely known for.'

Microsoft Corp.'s broadside against the iPad is a dramatic step to ensure that its Windows software plays a major role in the increasingly important mobile computing market.

'They are saying it's a different world now and are trying to put the sexy back into the Microsoft brand,' said Gartner Inc. analyst Carolina Milanesi.

Microsoft is linking the Surface's debut with the release of its much-anticipated Windows 8 operating system, which has been designed with tablets in mind. The company hasn't specified when Windows 8 will hit the market, but most analysts expect the software to come out in September or October.

One version of the Surface, which won't go on sale until sometime in the fall, is 9.3 millimeters thick and works on the Windows RT operating system which was made for tablets that run on low-power chips designed by British chipmaker ARM Holdings PLC.

It comes with a 0.7-millimeter thick kickstand to hold it upright and a 3-millimeter-thick touch keyboard cover that snaps on using magnets. The device weighs under 1.5 pounds.

The size is similar to the latest iPad, which is 9.4 millimeters thick and weighs 1.3 pounds.

Surface has a screen that measures 10.6 inches diagonally, compared to 9.7 inches for the iPad, but it comes in the 16:9 aspect ratio, which is suited to watching video in the widescreen format. The iPad's screen size ratio is 4:3.

Microsoft said the Surface's price tag will be similar to the iPad, which sells for $499 to $829, depending on the model.

A slightly thicker version - still less than 14 millimeters thick and under 2 pounds - will work on Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 Pro operating system and cost as much as an Ultrabook, the company said. The pro version comes with a stylus that allows users to make handwritten notes on documents such as PDF files. It will be released about three months later.

The touch keyboard resembles the lightweight 'Smart Cover' that Apple Inc. sells for $38, but comes with a full QWERTY keyboard. It is rigidly flat instead of foldable. A slightly thicker keyboard with depressable keys will also be available.

Although the Surface looks like an elegant device, Forrester Research analyst Sarah Rotman Epps criticized Microsoft for not using attention focused on Monday's announcement to highlight some of the reasons that it might be a better option than the iPad. For instance, she thinks Microsoft could have shown how its video calling service, Skype, will work on Surface or how people might be able to use its motion-control sensor, Kinect, on the tablet.

'I am excited about this product, but it felt like Microsoft was pulling punches with this announcement,' Epps said. 'Hardware is only part of the dynamic. They need to explain how Microsoft manufacturing this device will change people's experience with a tablet.'

Microsoft also may be limiting the Surface's impact by limiting the initial sales to its own stores and online channels.

The foray into hardware is unusual for Microsoft, which relies on manufacturers like Hewlett-Packard and Dell, and could cause friction. Ballmer said the company, at times, needs to push hardware makers 'in ways even that the makers of the hardware had yet to envision.'

He said the tablet was as essential to the upcoming Windows 8 operating system as the mouse was for the first version of Windows.

'Much like Windows 1.0 needed the mouse to complete the experience, we wanted to give Windows 8 its own companion hardware innovation,' he said.

The more hands-on approach may upset some manufacturers.

Nomura analyst Rick Sherlund said Microsoft will have to assure longtime manufacturing partners that it is competing fairly with them.

'Microsoft will need to assure them it's a level playing field,' he said. 'I think this sets a high bar for their partners.'

Microsoft has been making software for tablets since 2002, when it shipped the Windows XP Tablet PC Edition. Many big PC makers produced tablets that ran the software, but they were never big sellers. The tablets were based on PC technology, and were heavy, with short battery lives.

Microsoft didn't say how long the Surface would last on battery power.

It won't be the first time Microsoft has ventured into hardware. And the Surface won't be its first computer, in the broad sense. The successful Xbox game console is essentially a PC designed to connect to a TV and play video games.

Microsoft has also made its own music player, the Zune, and a line of phones, the Kin. In both cases, it produced these products after hardware partners had failed to produce competitive products with Microsoft's software.

Both products were failures. The Zune gained favorable reviews when it launched in 2006, but still couldn't hold its own against the iPod, and was discontinued last year. The Kin phones were panned and pulled from shelves within two months of their launch in 2010.

The Xbox, on the other hand, didn't tread on the toes of any Microsoft partners. Launched in 2001, it has made Microsoft a major player in console gaming, alongside Sony and Nintendo. But it was a money-loser for many years, and while it's been profitable more recently, it's only marginally so, especially when compared to Microsoft's lucrative software business.

___

AP Technology Writers Michael Liedtke in San Francisco and Peter Svensson in New York contributed to this report.



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Microsoft unveils 'Surface' tablet in iPad challenge

Software giant Microsoft unveiled its first tablet computer, Surface, in a major hardware launch clearly designed to take on long-term rival Apple's market-ruling iPad.

Chief executive Steve Ballmer described the iPad challenger -- complete with a built-in stand and ultra thin covers-cum-keyboards in a range of colors -- as a tablet that 'works and plays.'

'The Surface is a PC, the Surface is a tablet, and the Surface is something new that we think people will absolutely love,' he said at an hour-long presentation in a Hollywood design studio.

No prices or release dates were given, but the Surface is expected to go on sale in the fall, with retail prices 'competitive with a comparable ARM tablet or Intel Ultrabook-class' computers, Microsoft said.

There were spontaneous bursts of applause and whoops from tech journalists and bloggers as key features of the new tablet, which has a slightly bigger screen than the iPad, but in wide-screen movie-style 16:9 format.

There was also one nerve-jangling moment for Windows Live Division chief Steven Sinofsky, when the first Surface model he was demonstrating failed to respond to a touch command. To his relief, a replacement worked immediately.

'It feels natural in your hands,' he told the invite-only event, shrouded in secrecy reminiscent of Apple icon Steve Jobs, and held in a venue underlining cutting-edge design values, traditionally not Microsoft's strong point.

A version of the Surface tablet running on Windows RT software tailored for ARM mobile device chips will measure 9.3 millimeters thick and weigh 676 grams.

It boasts a 10.6-inch (26.9 centimeter) high-definition screen and will be available with 32 or 64 gigabytes of memory. A model powered by Windows 8 Pro weighs 903 grams and will be available with 64 or 128 gigabytes of memory.

'It's a whole new community of computing devices from Microsoft,' Ballmer said. 'It embodies the notion of hardware and software really pushing each other.'

The Surface features a flip-out rear 'kickstand' to prop it up like a picture frame and can be combined with a 3mm-thick Touch Cover that, when opened, acts as a keypad so tablets could be switched into 'desktop' mode.

There is also a 5 mm-thick Type Cover with moving keys for a more traditional typing feel.

The keypad-cover attaches with a magnetic clasp familiar to iPad users, combining to feel like a book in weight and form, as confirmed when journalists were briefly given a brief chance to hold the device after the presentation.

'We designed this like a book. This spine feels like a book,' Michael Angiulo, vice president for Windows Planning, Hardware & PC Ecosystem told the audience.

Microsoft did not specify when the tablet would be available but it is likely to be timed with the release of Windows 8 software later this year.

'This product marks a crucial pivot in Microsoft's product strategy,' said Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman Epps.

'It puts the focus on the consumer rather than the enterprise,' she continued in a blog post. 'And it lets Microsoft compete with vertically-integrated Apple on more even ground.'

Microsoft, which built its fortune by specializing in software and leaving the job of making computers or other devices to partners, has had mixed results from its hardware ventures.

The Redmond, Washington-based technology colossus has stamped its brand on personal computer keyboards, headsets, speakers, webcams and mouse controllers.

Microsoft has occasionally weighed in with more significant hardware when it appeared that rivals were running away with the market.

The company's most successful effort in devices has been its Xbox gaming console, in contrast to its failed music player known as Zune.

Microsoft this month unveiled a SmartGlass application that developers can use to synch iPads or other tablet computers to Xbox 360 consoles.

Zune handheld digital media players were released in late 2006 in a Microsoft challenge to Apple's culture-changing iPod devices.

Microsoft discontinued Zune hardware last year. But it continues to operate its Zune service offering online music, films and other entertainment content, weaving it into the offerings available on Internet-linked Xbox 360 videogame consoles.



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News Summary: Microsoft unveils 'Surface' tablet

MICROSOFT TABLET: Taking aim at Apple's iPad, Microsoft Corp. unveiled Surface, a tablet computer that comes with a detachable rubberized touch keyboard that also acts like a book cover.

SPEC SHEET: Surface will have a 10.6-inch screen measured diagonally, and come in the widescreen-adapted 16:9 aspect ratio. It's 9.3 millimeters thick and weighs less than 1.5 pounds.

AVAILABILITY, PRICING: Microsoft is linking the Surface's debut to the release of its much-anticipated Windows 8 operating system, due out in September or October. The version that runs on its tablet operating system, Windows RT, will be priced similarly to the iPad.



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List of Microsoft tablet models announced Monday

On Monday, Microsoft Corp. announced the Surface, a tablet computer it believes will compete with Apple Inc.'s dominant iPad. There are two models of the Surface, one with an ARM processor featuring Windows RT, and another with an Intel processor featuring Windows 8 Pro. Two important things Microsoft didn't specify: How long the Surface's battery lasts on a single charge and the prices the tablets will carry when they hit stores this fall.

Here are the specs for both tablets:

-Windows RT version of Surface

Weight: About 1.5 lbs. (676 grams)

Thickness: 9.3 mm

Screen: 10.6 inches (diagonal) with ClearType HD Display

Connections: microSD, USB 2.0, Micro HD Video, 2x2 MIMO antennae (for wireless communications)

Storage options: 32 Gigabytes and 64 Gigabytes

Extras: Runs Office '15' Apps, Touch Cover, Type Cover, VaporMg Case and Stand

- Windows 8 Pro version of Surface

Weight: About 2 lbs. (903 grams)

Thickness: 13.5 mm

Clear: 10.6 inches (diagonal) with ClearType Full HD Display

Connections: microSDXC, USB 3.0, Mini DisplayPort Video, 2x2 MIMO antennae (for wireless communications)

Storage options: 64 GB and 128 GB

Extras: Touch Cover, Type Cover, Pen with Palm Block, VaporMg Case and Stand



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Microsoft unveils 'Surface' tablet computer

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Microsoft has unveiled Surface, a tablet computer to compete with Apple's iPad.

CEO Steve Ballmer was on hand to announce the tablet, calling it part of a 'whole new family of devices' the company is developing.

The 9.3 millimeter thick tablet comes with a kickstand to hold it upright and keyboard that is part of the device's cover. It weighs under 1.5 pounds.

Steven Sinofsky, the president of Microsoft's Windows division, called the device a 'tablet that's a great PC -a PC that's a great tablet.'



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Microsoft teases tablet plans

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp kept quiet on Monday ahead of a mystery announcement amid talk it plans to launch its own tablet computer to rival Apple Inc's massively successful iPad.

The world's largest software maker is on track to launch its touch-friendly Windows 8 operating system this autumn and industry watchers are speculating that Microsoft will make an own-brand tablet to kickstart demand.

Such a device, likely running on chips designed by ARM Holdings Plc, could include all kinds of features from the Microsoft stable, including integration with the top-selling Xbox game console, Skype video calling and the Office suite of applications.

Microsoft has long been expected to integrate the Xbox more tightly with its mainstream software. Earlier this month at the E3 game show, Microsoft announced 'second screen' software called SmartGlass, which will allow users to beam video from a tablet to a television and turn the tablet into a controller showing data on the game or film being screened.

Xbox has been making inroads into the living room recently, away from its hardcore gamer base. Paying subscribers to Xbox Live now get access to streaming content from Netflix, ESPN, HBO, Paramount Pictures, Hulu Plus and others.

Microsoft sent out invitations for the event - to be held at Milk Studios in Hollywood at 3.30pm (22:30 GMT) - to media and analysts last week. Since then, it has declined comment. Communications head Frank Shaw has not gone out of his way to play down talk of a Microsoft tablet, but has not confirmed it either.

Earlier in the day, Barnes & Noble Inc ruled out its involvement in the announcement after speculation it was building a new Nook electronic book reader with Microsoft, two months after their April agreement to work together on e-books.

If Microsoft does launch its own tablet, it would be a departure from its usual focus on software and potentially throw it into direct competition with its closest hardware partners such as Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Hewlett-Packard Co.

It is not the first time such talk has surfaced, as Microsoft looks for a way to make an impact with Windows 8 and put the best product it can in the market to counter Apple's iPad. Sales of tablets are expected to triple in the next two years, topping 180 million a year in 2013, easily outpacing growth in traditional PCs. http://link.reuters.com/myc88s

Apple, which makes both hardware and software for greater control over the performance of the final product, has revolutionized mobile markets with its smooth, seamless phones and tablets. Rival Google Inc may experiment with a similar approach after buying phone maker Motorola Mobility this year.

When it has ventured into hardware, Microsoft has a mixed record.

Apart from keyboards and mice, the Xbox game console was its first foray into major manufacturing. That is now a successful business, but only after billions of dollars of investment and overcoming problems with high rates of faulty units - a problem which was nicknamed the 'red ring of death' by gamers.

The company's Microsoft-branded Zune music player, a late rival to Apple's iPod, was not a success and its unpopular Kin phone was taken off the market shortly after introduction.

Microsoft has tried hard to generate the type of excitement Apple gets for its secretive product launches, but usually disappoints. Talk was rife at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2010 that Microsoft would pre-empt Apple's iPad with a slate of its own devising, but it never materialized.

The company killed off a two-screen, slate-style prototype called Courier later that year, saying the technology might emerge in another form later on.

(Reporting By Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles and Bill Rigby in Seattle)



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Microsoft stirs buzz on possible iPad challenger

Microsoft kept the tech world buzzing Monday ahead of a mysterious announcement which has fueled speculation the software giant may unveil a product to challenge the Apple iPad.

The venue for the invite-only announcement, shrouded in secrecy reminiscent of tech mega rival Apple's media-frenzied unveilings, was disclosed to participants only hours before the event itself.

Journalists -- who last week received an invitation teasingly telling them 'This will be a major Microsoft announcement -- you will not want to miss it' -- were told to turn up at the Milk Studios, in downtown Hollywood.

The Milk Studios website describes it as 'one of the world's premiere photography studios, (which) stands at the crossroads of fashion, photography, art and media' -- although it was unclear what link it has with Microsoft.

The Hollywood location has fueled speculation that the announcement could involve entertainment industry content.

But beyond the venue there were still few concrete details of what was in store at the 3:30 pm. (2230 GMT) event, which has triggered an array of reports, some contradictory.

Last week, the entertainment website The Wrap said it had learned Microsoft would unveil its own branded tablet powered by Windows in a head-on challenge to Apple.

Technology news site TechCrunch said the announcement would not involve a device with the upcoming Microsoft 8 operating system, but a co-branded tablet with Barnes & Noble, the struggling bookseller and maker of the Nook tablet.

The device, according to TechCrunch, could allow consumers to link to the Microsoft Xbox 360 gaming console for streaming movies and other entertainment.

Microsoft in April announced a $300 million investment in a new Barnes & Noble subsidiary which includes the Nook business.

But the business website Benzinga said Barnes & Noble indicated it was not part of the Microsoft announcement.

The brokerage firm Canaccord said 'sources close to the matter' indicate Microsoft would unveil a tablet running the next version of Windows under its own brand, departing from its strategy of partnering with computer makers.

'Microsoft has been working with computer makers in the production of the tablets, looking to win share of the tablet market from the dominant iPad,' the brokerage said in a note to clients.

Some others speculated Microsoft might announce a deal to buy online video service Hulu and weave it into the Xbox Live online entertainment service linked to the Redmond, Washington-based company's leading Xbox 360 videogame consoles.

The fact that the press event will be held at a yet-to-be disclosed venue in Los Angeles hinted heavily that entertainment industry content would be in the spotlight.

'It's in L.A., so they are going to talk about media,' said independent Silicon Valley analyst Rob Enderle.

'It could be about hardware, but after the Kin failure and the Zune failure I can't picture the person at Microsoft who has the balls to pitch a Microsoft tablet.'

Kin was a youth-oriented mobile phone from Microsoft that was pulled from the market after just weeks, while Zune was the longtime Apple rival's now-abandoned MP3 device that unsuccessfully challenged the iPod.

Some analysts were speculating about an early release of Windows RT, the Microsoft operating system to power tablets or other mobile devices running on ARM chips, which allow mobile devices to run more efficiently.

Microsoft earlier this month stepped up its quest to be at the heart of home entertainment by syncing Xbox 360 videogame consoles to smartphones and tablets while adding more blockbuster content.



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Celestica to stop making products for RIM

(Reuters) - Contract electronics manufacturer Celestica Inc said it will stop making products for Research in Motion Ltd, its largest customer, over the next three to six months as the BlackBerry maker shrinks its global supply base.

RIM accounted for 19 percent of Celestica's first-quarter revenue, down 16 percent from a year earlier due mainly to weak demand for BlackBerry products and program transitions at the smartphone company.

Celestica is involved in the production of better-performing RIM products such as the Bold 9900 and Curve 8520 and provides some after-market services from its operations in Mexico, Romania and Malaysia.

Struggling RIM has hired bankers from J.P. Morgan and RBC Capital to help evaluate its strategic optionsz.

Celestica said in April that the volume of business and the locations at which it manufactures products for RIM would likely change.

RIM's other suppliers include Flextronics International Ltd and Jabil Circuit Inc.

Celestica, which also produces servers and other products for branded manufacturers such as IBM Corp and Cisco Systems Inc, said it expects restructuring charges of up to $35 million prior to recoveries.

The company said it continues to expect an adjusted second-quarter profit of 20 cents to 26 cents per share, on revenue of $1.65 billion to $1.75 billion.

Shares of Celestica, which has a market value of C$1.47 billion, closed at C$7.61 on Friday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Bhaswati Mukhopadhyay in Bangalore; Editing by Roshni Menon)



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New Songza iPad app curates music to suit your mood

TORONTO (Reuters) - Need an energizing playlist of songs for your morning workout or perhaps one that will improve your focus at the office later in the day? A new iPad app streams music tailored to your current situation and mood.

Songza, a Internet radio service since 2007, launched its iPad app earlier this month following success with iPhone and web apps. It aims to help people find the perfect playlist for what they're doing at the moment - whether it's unwinding after a hectic week, reading the morning newspaper or hosting a cocktail party.

'We're trying to make the world's greatest collection of amazing playlists and long-form listening experiences', said Elias Roman, co-founder of Songza, a web radio company based out of Long Island City, New York.

The app's core feature is its 'concierge service' that suggests situations or activities in which a user might be involved based on several factors such as day of the week, time of day, the device being used and previous behavior that the app learns over time.

For example, if it's a Saturday morning, Songza might suggest music for cooking breakfast or songs to help the user fall asleep again. If it's a weekday evening, the app might suggest music for working out or commuting home from work.

'We change the situations, filters and playlists based on things we start to learn about you,' said co-founder Peter Asbill.

Upon selecting a situation, the app screens for genre, decade and mood, and for each filter, it provides three different playlists, created and curated by a team of critics, journalists, DJs, musicians and ethnomusicologists.

'The idea is (to) get people to just three playlists really quickly that they're going to love and are going to be perfect for whatever situation they're in and whatever type of music they love,' explained Asbill.

The app, which aims to please many different types of users, includes more than 100,000 playlists, encompassing 18 million songs.

Despite competition from music streaming services such as Pandora, Spotify and iHeartRadio, Roman said Songza has seen its user base grow 50 percent monthly since they introduced the music concierge feature to their iPhone and web apps in March.

Asbill attributes the success to their focus on designing for mobile devices first. Within five days of its June launch, the iPad app was downloaded more than 700,000 times.

Last week, analyst Richard Greenfield of BTIG Research, providers of institutional brokerage and fund services, warned that investors in Internet music company Pandora Media Inc should be wary in the face of Songza's rapid growth.

'In many ways Songza's simplicity and focus on mobile life, reminds us of what drove Instagram's success, as consumer web activity shifts far faster than expected from computers to mobile devices,' Greenfield said in his report.

Greenfield, however, said that one of Pandora's greatest strengths is its first mover advantage - that is, it was the first to build a brand in Internet radio and is also the first to enter the car.

The Songza app is free and available for all iOS devices and on the web in the United States only. The app is available for Android devices but does not yet include the music concierge feature.

(Editing By Bob Tourtellotte and Bill Trott)



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FCC may take up issue of cell phone radiation

CHICAGO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the Federal Communications Commission is asking for a review of the agency's stance on radiofrequency energy emitted from cell phones amid lingering concerns that the devices may cause brain tumors.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski on Friday circulated a proposal to his fellow commissioners calling for a formal inquiry into the mobile phone emissions standards set in 1996.

The proposal would need to be approved by a majority of the FCC's five commissioners before the agency could release it for public comment. If it is approved, the agency would consider changing its testing procedures and seek input on the need to either strengthen or ease the current standards.

The agency would also look into whether emission standards should be different for devices used by children, an FCC spokesman said on Saturday.

The spokesman stressed that the agency continues to believe there is no evidence tying cancer, headaches, dizziness, memory loss or other health problems to mobile phones.

But the inquiry would seek any scientific evidence that could warrant changes to the emissions standards.

The number of mobile phones has risen sharply since the early 1980s, with nearly 5 billion handsets in use today, prompting lengthy debate about their potential link to the main types of brain tumor, glioma and meningioma.

In May 2011 the World Health Organization added cell phone radiation to a list of possible carcinogens, putting it in the same category as lead, chloroform and coffee, and said more study is needed.

Unlike ionizing radiation such as that from gamma rays, radon and X-rays, which can break chemical bonds in the body and are known to cause cancer, radiofrequency devices such as cell phones and microwaves emit radiofrequency energy, a form of non-ionizing radiation.

According to the National Cancer Institute, there is no consistent evidence that non-ionizing radiation increases the risk of cancer.

STUDIES POINT AWAY FROM LINK

What these devices do produce is energy in the form of heat, and the concern is that frequent use of cell phones held up to the ear can change brain cell activity, as some studies have suggested.

What is not yet clear is whether this causes harm, which is why the WHO and other health bodies have called for further study.

But since the WHO's announcement, scientific evidence has increasingly pointed away from a link between mobile phone use and brain tumors, according to a panel of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection.

Last October a study by Danish researchers involving more than 350,000 people concluded that mobile phones do not increase the risk of cancer, concurring with other studies that have reached similar conclusions.

And a study last July looking at children and adolescents aged 7 to 19 concluded that those who used mobile phones were at no greater risk of developing brain cancer than those who did not use the devices.

The FCC in 1996 established a limit on emissions and a safe level of human exposure. Mobile phones are tested and must be within this limit before they are granted FCC approval to be marketed in the United States.

FCC spokeswoman Tammy Sun said that the existing guidelines do not pose any harm or risk to cell phone users, adding that the United States 'has the most conservative emissions standards in the world.'

'Our action today is a routine review of our standards,' Sun said in a statement.

The FCC does not set health policy, relying instead on input from the Food and Drug Administration, Department of Health and Human Services and other agencies.

'We hope and expect that other federal agencies and organizations with whom we work on this issue will participate in the process,' Sun said.

Demand for wireless devices like Apple Inc's iPhone and Google Inc's suite of Android-powered smartphones has surged in recent years, with some consumers opting to forgo landline service altogether.

According to a study by Cisco Systems Inc, the number of mobile devices connected to the Internet is expected to exceed the number of people on Earth in four years' time.

For people who are concerned about the effects of radiofrequency energy from cell phones, the FDA and FCC suggest they have shorter conversations on them and use a hands-free device, which places more distance between the phone and the user's head.

(Reporting By Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago and Jasmin Melvin in Washington; Editing by Xavier Briand)



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Talk of Microsoft tablet resurfaces

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp is gearing up to unveil its own tablet to boost its new Windows 8 operating system and counter Apple Inc's hot-selling iPad, according to media reports on Friday.

Such an effort, which the company has not confirmed, would be a departure from its usual focus on software and potentially throw Microsoft into direct competition with its closest hardware partners such as Samsung Electronics Co Ltd <005930.KS> and Hewlett-Packard Co .

The world's largest software company has invited media to a 'major' announcement in Los Angeles on Monday afternoon, but has not provided any details.

In the absence of information, talk is swirling that Microsoft will introduce its own tablet, according to anonymously sourced reports in the New York Times and the AllThingsD tech blog. Microsoft declined comment on the subject and those reports.

It is not the first time such talk has surfaced, as Microsoft looks for a way to make an impact with its new tablet-friendly Windows 8 operating system and put the best product it can in the market to counter Apple's iPad.

Apple, which makes both hardware and software for greater control over the performance of the final product, has revolutionized mobile markets with its smooth, seamless phones and tablets. Rival Google Inc may experiment with a similar approach after buying phone maker Motorola Mobility this year.

'Anything is possible if they don't feel their partners are doing it right,' said Michael Silver, an analyst at tech research firm Gartner. 'But it's hard to compete with companies that sell your stuff and still have a great relationship with them.'

Other analysts suggested an own-branded tablet may be chiefly aimed at kick-starting the market for Windows tablets working on ARM Holdings Plc microprocessors - a new venture for Microsoft, which has traditionally relied on Intel Corp chips.

Microsoft charges hardware makers $50 or more to incorporate its software in machines and analysts suggest that hardware makers are struggling to produce tablets at a low enough price to challenge the iPad. By making its own tablets, Microsoft would presumably use its software for free, bringing down the overall price.

'It suggests to me that they've struggled to get OEMs (hardware makers) on board to bring the prices down, so they feel they have to subsidize these products to get them out of the door, at least in the first iteration,' said Al Hilwa, an analyst at tech research firm IDC.

Making its own hardware for such an important product would be a departure for Microsoft, which based its success on licensing its software to other manufacturers, stressing the importance of 'partners' and the Windows 'ecosystem.'

When it has ventured into hardware, the Redmond, Washington-based company has a mixed record.

Apart from keyboards and mice, the Xbox game console was its first foray into major manufacturing. That is now a successful business, but only after billions of dollars of investment and overcoming problems with high rates of faulty units - a problem which was nicknamed the 'red ring of death' by gamers.

The company's Microsoft-branded Zune music player, a late rival to Apple's iPod, was not a success and its unpopular Kin phone was taken off the market shortly after introduction.

Microsoft has tried hard to generate the type of excitement Apple gets for its secretive product launches, but usually disappoints. Talk was rife at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2010 that Microsoft would pre-empt Apple's iPad with a slate of its own devising, but it never materialized.

The company killed off a two-screen, slate-style prototype called Courier later that year, saying the technology might emerge in another form later on.

(Reporting By Bill Rigby; editing by Andre Grenon)



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First Apple computer fetches $374,000

A rare surviving first model of the Apple computer -- a stripped down, clunky device that bears no resemblance to today's sleek gadgets -- sold for $374,000 at auction in New York on Friday.

The price was more than double the pre-sale estimate, reflecting a two-way bidding war eventually won by an anonymous telephone bidder, Sotheby's said.

The Apple I computer was created by Apple co-founders Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs and sold in 1976 at the birth of Jobs's career as the world's computer design guru.

The model auctioned in New York is believed to be one of six of the less than 50 surviving that still works.



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FT sees BlackBerry with smaller role in future

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Financial Times, which gets nearly a third of its revenue from digital subscriptions, expects BlackBerry smartphones to become less important for corporate executives as BlackBerry loses market share to devices like Apple Inc's iPhone and Google Inc's Android-based system.

FT.com Managing Director Rob Grimshaw said BlackBerry, made by Research In Motion, is now fourth in terms of priority for developing the FT's applications, even behind Microsoft Corp's Windows 8.

'It's something we keep pushing back,' Grimshaw said at the Reuters Global Media and Technology Summit in New York.

'We'll be doing something, but it's becoming less and less important in our world. They still have a presence in the corporate marketplace but they have lost their dominance.'

The Financial Times, owned by Pearson PLC, has been a leader among newspaper publishers in devising strategies to make money from digital media. It has been charging for access to its website for more than a decade and has applications for the iPhone and Android-based devices.

Last summer FT.com declined to place its app in the Apple iTunes Store and instead developed a Web-based app, in order to sidestep Apple's control of user data and revenue-share terms.

Many content providers are wary of not being in the Apple store since so many consumers own iPads and iPhones.

Grimshaw said FT's absence from the Apple store has not hurt its ability to attract digital readers.

'We've been publishing since 1883. We don't need Apple to tell people we're here,' said Grimshaw.

The FT has 285,000 digital subscribers, nearly half of its total readership. Grimshaw expects the FT will derive 50 percent of its revenue from digital in the next three to four years.

While the FT is in a somewhat unique position with its global reach and business related news, it is closely watched by other newspapers that are considering charging for online content. The industry is facing unprecedented challenges as advertisers choose to spend elsewhere and readers ditch paid print product in favor of free online news.

Newspapers' advertising revenue has dropped more than 50 percent in five years, wiping out more than $20 billion in revenue, Grimshaw noted, citing figures from the Newspaper Association of America.

'What that will result in is a lot of newspapers going under,' he said.

Newspapers' mass distribution had always given it a competitive edge. But the Internet turns that on its head, Grimshaw explained.

'In some ways it didn't matter what you put in the product. People would still buy it. You move online, distribution is not an advantage,' he said.

'The result you see is a massive oversupply of news.'

(Reporting by Jennifer Saba and Yinka Adegoke; Editing by Phil Berlowitz and Richard Chang)



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RIM shares drop after minor board shuffle

TORONTO (Reuters) - Shares of Research In Motion fell more than 4 percent on Thursday morning after the struggling BlackBerry maker named a financier to replace a telecom executive on its board, disappointing investors looking for more sweeping changes.

The company, whose share prices has tumbled alongside its once-dominant share of the smartphone market, also said it had paid its new CEO more than $10 million last fiscal year and gave him hundreds of thousands of stock options to take the top job in January.

It also revealed millions of dollars in payments to former co-CEO Jim Balsillie when he parted ways with RIM.

'There may be some tough questions asked or some shareholder backlash if the change at the top is just this,' said Sameet Kanade, an analyst at Northern Securities, referring to the announcements, made in a filing ahead of RIM's annual meeting next month.

Kanade said the filing suggested the company was making little progress toward the broad changes investors are seeking.

RIM has lost favor as the email-centric BlackBerry falls behind in a fast-changing smartphone market now dominated by Apple Inc's iPhone and devices using Google Inc's Android software.

Still, the nomination of financier Timothy Dattels to the board could indicate RIM is more seriously considering going private, or mulling a leveraged buyout for the company.

Dattels, a senior partner at private equity firm TPG Capital LP, previously served as Goldman Sachs' head of investment banking for Asia excluding Japan.

He replaces Antonio Viana-Baptista, a former Telefonica SA executive who had been a RIM director since September 2009. RIM said Viana-Baptista opted out so he could spend more time in his role as CEO of Credit Suisse in Iberia.

RIM is proposing the re-election of the remainder of its board at an annual meeting on July 10. It said it would look to add one or more new board members in the current fiscal year.

RIM's Nasdaq-listed shares were down 4.2 percent at $10.22 in afternoon trading. The stock has lost more than 70 percent of its value over the past year.

COMPENSATION ISSUES

The company said Thorsten Heins, who was promoted to chief executive earlier this year, received total compensation of $10.2 million in fiscal 2012, which ended late in March. He received an award of 400,000 restricted stock units, which vest over a three-year period, for taking the top job.

'It didn't excite anyone,' Fred Ketchen, director of equity trading at ScotiaMcLeod, said of the filing. 'I think the money aspect is a factor' in the stock decline, he said.

A year ago, RIM narrowly avoided a vote of confidence on its management when an investor withdrew a motion to split the CEO and chairman roles, after the company promised to study the issue. The roles were shared at the time by Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie.

Some watchers were hoping for more agitation this year.

'It would be nice to see an activist make a play but they would have to believe that it could be fixed and they don't,' said Eric Jackson, a fund manager with Ironfire Capital.

The pair stepped down from both roles in January, though Lazaridis remains an influential member of the board, serving as vice-chair. When Heins took over as CEO in January, board member Barbara Stymiest became chairwoman.

Balsillie was paid $4.8 million in relation to his resignation, while Lazaridis was paid more than $850,000, the filing showed. Both had agreed to cut their base salary to $1 in their last days in the top job.

Balsillie's stock options, which he will be able to access quicker since he left the board in March, takes the total value of his entitlements to $7.9 million. Lazaridis would receive entitlements totaling $3.9 million should he leave the board, and would retain an office, company car and driver.

The smartphone maker, headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, has warned it expects to post a shock operating loss in the quarter just ended. Those numbers are due to be released on June 28.

That latest warning follows a stream of lowered earnings forecasts, product delays, writedowns and an embarrassing global network outage that left millions of people without email on their BlackBerry phones for several days.

A string of senior staff have left - including RIM's top salesman and chief lawyer last month - and it has hired bankers for a strategic review that could lead to an overhaul of its business model or less drastic moves such as partnerships and licensing deals. It has not ruled out a sale of the company.

(Additional reporting by Euan Rocha and Jon Cook in Toronto; Editing by Frank McGurty)



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New device powers gadgets through walking

LONDON (Reuters) - British scientists have built a novel device that converts body movement into electricity capable of powering small gadgets such as GPS trackers.

The device, unveiled this week in the July issue of the journal Smart Materials and Structures, is designed to be worn on the knee and harnesses the energy produced by walking.

The journal said it could be used by the military to reduce the number of heavy batteries -- each weighing up to 10 kg (20 lb) -- that soldiers carry on foot patrol.

It was created by researchers at the Universities of Cranfield, Liverpool and Salford, originally with funding from the UK Ministry of Defence. The researchers estimate it could retail for 10 pounds ($16) if produced on an industrial scale.

The 'energy harvester' is based on so-called piezoelectric materials that have long been used in sonar sensors and ultrasound scanners and have become the focus of energy generation research in recent years.

Scientists at Princeton University and the California Institute of Technology used a similar technology two years ago to develop electricity-generating rubber sheets.

The novelty of the British device is the way it uses the body's movements to generate power.

An outer ring that rotates as the knee joint moves is fitted with 72 plectra that in turn move four energy-generating arms called bimorphs attached to an inner hub. The vibration generates the electricity.

Michele Pozzi, who led the development project, said researchers were looking at ways to make the device cheaper and more portable.

'There is an on-going project looking at manufacturing a more compact and truly wearable harvester,' the journal's website quoted Pozzi as saying. 'At the moment we are using precise but cost-effective manufacturing techniques for the plectra and casing and anticipate that remaining parts will be molded industrially, slashing the cost.'

At the moment, the piece can harvest about two milliwatts of power but the researchers believe this could exceed 30 milliwatts with a few enhancements, enough for the latest GPS tracking devices.

The gadget could also have uses in medical monitoring devices, he said.

(Editing by Roger Atwood)



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Time Inc to sell magazine subscriptions on Apple Newsstand

(Reuters) - Time Inc's stable of 20 magazines, including Sports Illustrated and People, are now available for subscription on Apple's Newsstand, the company said on Thursday.

The publishing arm of Time Warner Inc was the last holdout, among large magazine companies, to agree to sell subscriptions through Apple Newsstand.

'It's an important step toward fulfilling our goal of being everywhere consumers want us to be,' Laura Lang, Time Inc CEO said in a statement.

Prior to the announcement, consumers have had to go through each magazine's website to get a digital subscription for the iPad.

Existing print subscribers of Time Inc will be able to access the digital editions at no additional cost.

Single-copy editions have always been available through Apple.

A bone of contention for publishers - since Apple launched the iPad in the spring of 2010 and courted content providers - has been the control of subscriber data and the cut of revenue Apple takes from publications. Typically, Apple takes a 30 percent cut from titles sold through its Newsstand.

Apple has wanted to be the primary contact for magazine subscribers, essentially controlling valuable information like addresses and other demographic details. Magazines, too, are keen on this data, which they use to sell advertising.

Subscribers may choose to share their data with the publisher, a process known in the industry as 'opting in.'

Terms of the deal with Time Inc were not disclosed.

(Reporting by Jennifer Saba. Editing by Bernadette Baum)



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Time launches digital subscriptions for all magazines

US magazine giant Time Inc. announced Thursday it would offer digital subscriptions for all 20 of its consumer magazine titles for iPad on Apple's Newsstand.

The titles includes Time magazine, Sports Illustrated, Money, People, Fortune and others, which will be available for US customers and in some international markets.

Time, a unit of Time Warner, said print subscribers will be able to access the digital editions at no additional cost, and that single issue copies will also be sold.

'We are thrilled to bring our entire US portfolio to Newsstand. It's an important step toward fulfilling our goal of being everywhere consumers want us to be,' said Time Inc. chief executive Laura Lang.

'People love reading our digital magazines already on iPad and we are confident we can deliver an even greater consumer experience on Newsstand with digital subscriptions.'

The move comes amid a growing trend toward digital subscriptions for newspapers and magazines amid declining print readership.



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Apple fails to fend off mobile tracking lawsuit

(Reuters) - Apple Inc must defend against a lawsuit accusing it of letting advertisers secretly track the activity of millions of mobile device users, a federal judge ruled, but Google Inc and several other defendants were dismissed from the case.

Owners of iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches may pursue claims against Apple under two California consumer protection laws, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California, said in a decision late Tuesday. Koh oversees nationwide litigation combining 19 lawsuits.

But the judge threw out claims that Apple violated customers' privacy rights, and also threw out claims under federal laws addressing computer fraud, wiretaps, and records disclosure.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs, Apple and Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Other defendants dismissed from the case include AdMarval Inc, Admob Inc, Flurry Inc and Medialets Inc.

The lawsuit followed an April 2011 presentation from two computer programmers whose research showed that iPhone users' movements were being monitored through their devices.

That provoked a firestorm in which regulators demanded changes, which Apple promised to make. Steve Jobs denied in multiple interviews at the time that the company he co-founded ever tracked or would ever track customer movements.

In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs said Apple designed its devices to let mobile advertising and analytics companies, such as Google and its co-defendants, collect personal data when free apps are downloaded, including from Apple's website.

They said this was done without permission, and inconsistent with Apple's proclaiming in writing that it would take steps to safeguard personal information against misuse.

Among the data gathered were addresses, genders, ages, identifiers assigned to devices, and functions performed on particular apps. Some device owners said that Apple collected data about their precise whereabouts at a given moment.

Judge Koh said the plaintiffs may pursue claims that Apple caused them to overpay for their devices.

She said this was based on the company's statements concerning privacy protection, and the consumption through the defendants' actions of finite bandwidth and storage space.

While Apple claimed that user agreements shielded it from liability, Koh said there was 'some ambiguity' as to whether all the information that was collected was permitted.

But in striking down the privacy claims under California's state constitution, Koh said the supposed invasion in this case was not an 'egregious breach of social norms' and might even be deemed 'routine commercial behavior.'

Koh had dismissed an earlier version of the plaintiffs' lawsuit in September 2011, but gave the plaintiffs a chance to try again. Tuesday's decision is based on an amended complaint.

Apple is based in Cupertino, California, and Google in Mountain View, California.

The case is In re: iPhone Application Litigation, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 11-02250.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Gary Hill)



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Verizon hikes data fees in pricing revamp

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Verizon Wireless is undertaking a massive overhaul of its prices by raising fees for data services like mobile web surfing while offering unlimited calls and texts, as it aims to increase data revenue and protect its older business lines.

The biggest U.S. mobile operator is also letting customers use their data allowance for multiple devices in the hope of enticing them to connect more gadgets, like tablet computers to its network with the new plans as customers will now be able to avoid paying for separate data subscriptions for each device.

While the new plans, available June 28, should boost Verizon Wireless revenue over time, many of its existing customers may be hesitant about adopting the new service plans, analysts said.

'It looks like it's good for people who are real heavy voice and messaging users,' said Pacific Crest analyst Steve Clement. 'For folks who don't care about voice and messaging, I don't think the plans are that good because they force you to pay a bit more for unlimited quantities of something you don't want.'

For a customer with one smartphone who does not currently pay for unlimited calling, they would have to pay $10 a month more under the new plan, for a package with the same amount of data, increasing their fee to $100 a month. But a family with two smartphones that already pays for unlimited phone calls would save $60 a month, bringing their fee down to $150.

While the venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group Plc had signaled for about a year that it would develop shared data plans, it had not given any details of the pricing overhaul until Tuesday.

Sanford C. Bernstein & Co analyst Craig Moffett described the Verizon revamp as 'the most profound change to pricing the telecom industry has seen in 20 years.' Verizon Wireless is the first U.S. carrier to sell data service plans for multiple devices. Analysts expect the entire industry to eventually follow suit.

But, others including consumer advocacy groups said the operator should go back to the drawing board if it is to appeal to consumers.

By including unlimited voice and texts in all plans, Verizon Wireless aims to avoid a revenue fallout as consumers have been moving away from text messaging and phone calls, the most profitable of mobile services.

FBR analyst David Dixon said some customers will be slow to switch to the new service but he expects a revenue increase from the new pricing once consumers add new devices and use more and more mobile data, through services such as video streaming.

'It's clearly a tick upward on data pricing. That's good news for investors. That's where the growth is,' said Dixon, who believes the new plans will have strong appeal to subscribers with family plans at Verizon Wireless.

Investors pushed Verizon shares up 38 cents, or almost 1 percent to close at $42.94 on New York Stock Exchange, its highest level since October 2007.

Analysts expect No 2 U.S. mobile provider AT&T Inc to soon follow Verizon's footsteps with a similar pricing change. AT&T executives have said they would move to shared data plans, but have not disclosed timing. AT&T declined to comment on the Verizon plan.

Bernstein's Moffett sees shared data consolidating market domination among AT&T and Verizon as smaller rivals Sprint Nextel , the No. 3 U.S. mobile provider and T-Mobile USA, a unit of Deutsche Telecom , may not be able to react.

Analysts see the new pricing appealing to family plan subscribers that already pay for multiple devices. It would help particularly in families where data and voice usage varies widely between different family members.

'In a world where incentives for families favor concentrating around a single provider, the biggest providers win,' Moffett said in a research note, adding that 'Sprint doesn't stand a chance.'

Scott Sloat, a spokesman for Sprint, which offers unlimited data usage for a flat fee, said that sharing data across devices 'significantly increases the potential' for upsetting customers with surprise monthly bills due to data overage charges.

FLEXIBILITY, REVENUE GROWTH

Verizon sees the new price structure boosting its revenue as it expects the shared plans to encourage consumers to connect more devices to its network than just smartphones.

Analysts have long called for shared data plans because today most consumers do not choose tablets with cellular connections as they prefer to stick to more limited-range Wi-Fi wireless networks rather than pay a second cellular data fee.

Even though Verizon's new pricing involves a higher fee per gigabyte of data, it hopes that the inclusion of unlimited voice and texting and the shared data will make the plans popular.

'What I'm doing is giving you the flexibility to share the data you've paid for,' Chief Marketing Officer Tami Erwin told Reuters. 'Customers who are using more than one device will very quickly see the value in this.'

Today, for example, many customers have to pay extra for going over their data allowance on their tablet even though they may not have used their full smartphone data allowance. With a shared plan this would not be an issue, Erwin said.

'This is really intended to drive growth. My expectation is it doesn't change our margins,' she said.

NEW FEE STRUCTURE

However, the reaction from customers was mixed on the Verizon Wireless web site. 'I certainly love the idea, but I don't love being limited to unlimited talk/text,' said one person identified as jimmyjohns in the website's chat room for customers. 'Consumers are becoming so data centric, Verizon should offer this with sub-500 minute plans.'

'I don't see how it works well for one person with one smartphone,' said another customer identified as 21stNow.

Forrester Research analyst Charles Golvin said the plans were not simple enough. 'Conceptually its a step in the right direction. However there's still too much complexity,' he said.

A customer with a smartphone and a tablet will have to consider several price elements in the new plan before figuring out that Verizon Wireless will still charge them the same.

The new plan requires a monthly access fee of $40 that includes unlimited calls and texts for a single smartphone, and another fee of $60 for two gigabytes of data, which could be shared with up to 10 devices.

However, each additional device requires another access tariff such as a $10 fee for a tablet or a $20 fee for a laptop.

Forrester's Golvin questioned why the laptop fee was higher than the tablet fee. 'To me there is no logic behind paying twice,' the amount, the analyst said.

Today Verizon customers pay $30 for 2 gigabytes of data and $40 for the cheapest voice plan with 450 minutes of talk time and another $20 for unlimited text messages. But if a customer also wants to connect a tablet computer, today they have to pay another $30 a month for another 2-gigabyte plan, leading to a total bill of $120 per month.

On average Verizon Wireless customers use about 1 to 2 gigabytes of data on their mobile device, according to Erwin, who said that customers' data usage keeps growing. She declined to comment on the trends for voice usage.

Verizon Wireless customers could choose to stick with the existing service plans, but any new customers will be required to sign up for the shared plans from June 28 onward, even if they do not intend to connect a second device.

Free Press, an advocacy group that supports universal access to communications, conceded that some families would save money on the new plans but questioned the standardization of unlimited voice and text services.

'Just when people have started using fewer voice minutes and text messages, Veizon's response is to make them buy unlimited voice and texts,' said Matt Wood, Free Press policy director.

Recon Analytics analyst Roger Entner said the new pricing was a good deal for family plan subscribers or heavy data users.

'This is for the technorati who have multiple devices,' Entner said.

(Reporting by Sinead Carew; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman, Jan Paschal and Sofina Mirza-Reid and David Gregorio)



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