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AP Technology NewsBrief at 3:49 p.m. EST
[February 25, 2013]

AP Technology NewsBrief at 3:49 p.m. EST


(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) HP sells webOS operating system to LG ElectronicsPALO ALTO, Calif. (AP) _ Hewlett-Packard says it is selling its webOS operating system technology to South Korea's LG Electronics Inc. for an undisclosed sum. Hewlett Packard Co. and LG said on Monday that LG will use webOS to support its "smart TV" technology. Like smartphones, smart TVs are web-connected and allow for more interaction between the device and its user. LG and rival Samsung Electronics showed off smart TV models earlier this year ahead of the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.



Mid-2013 expansion for Internet names targetedNEW YORK (AP) _ Hundreds of Internet address suffixes to rival ".com" should be available for people and businesses to use by the end of the year, the head of an Internet oversight agency said Monday. The initial ones, expected in mid-2013, will likely be in Chinese and other languages besides English, said Fadi Chehade, CEO of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.

Tech leaders plan virtual push on immigrationWASHINGTON (AP) _ High-tech leaders including the former heads of AOL and Mozilla are organizing a "virtual march for immigration reform" aimed at pressuring lawmakers to enact sweeping changes to the nation's immigration laws. The effort unveiled Monday is particularly focused on making it easier for the U.S. to attract highly educated immigrants and those aiming to work in high-tech fields.


Facebook agrees to remove some Newtown pagesHARTFORD, Conn. (AP) _ Facebook has agreed to remove some so-called tribute pages related to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting over concerns they're being used to exploit the tragedy, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Monday. Echoing complaints already brought by some Sandy Hook families, Blumenthal and fellow Connecticut Democrats U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy and U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty requested the removal of offending pages in a letter to Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg Monday morning.

Harder and harder to measure TV viewershipNEW YORK (AP) _ Every Tuesday, the Nielsen company publishes a popularity ranking of broadcast television programs that has served as the industry's report card dating back to when most people had only three networks to choose from. And every week, that list gets less and less meaningful.

Telecom CEOs: US regulators better than EuropeBARCELONA, Spain (AP) _ The CEOs of AT&T, Vodafone and Telefonica _ three of the world's largest cellphone companies _ had some rare words of praise for U.S. regulators Monday, saying they're doing better than their European counterparts in promoting faster wireless data networks. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson told an audience at Mobile World Congress, the world's largest cellphone trade show, that the U.S. government's practice of selling phone companies large swathes of space of the airwaves for perpetual use was helping encourage companies, including AT&T, to build out large networks using the latest "LTE" technology.

HP to make $169 Android tablet, eschewing WindowsBARCELONA, Spain (AP) _ Hewlett-Packard Co. is making a tablet computer that uses Google's Android operating system, steering clear of Microsoft's latest tablet-oriented version of Windows, the company said Sunday. The HP Slate 7 will have a 7-inch screen, making it similar in size to the Amazon Kindle Fire. It will cost $169 when it goes on sale in April in the U.S.

Huawei reveals 'fastest smartphone in the world'BARCELONA, Spain (AP) _ Huawei, a Chinese company that recently became the world's third-largest maker of smartphones, calls its new flagship product "the fastest smartphone in the world" and wants to use it to expand global awareness of its brand. Parts of the presentation of the phone at a press conference Sunday in Barcelona, Spain, suggest that the company has some way to go in polishing its pitch for a global audience.

LG aims to raise smartphone sales by 52 percentSEOUL, South Korea (AP) _ LG Electronics Inc. is aiming to raise its smartphone sales by more than half this year as it makes a shift from basic phones to high-end devices after lagging competitors for several years. The South Korean company aims to sell more than 40 million smartphones in 2013, it said in a statement on Monday. LG shipped 26.3 million smartphones in 2012, fewer than HTC Corp. and Research In Motion Ltd. which each shipped more than 32 million smartphones.

AT&T snags OnStar wireless contract from VerizonBARCELONA, Spain (AP) _ AT&T Inc. is scoring a win over rival Verizon Wireless as it takes over the contract to supply wireless connections to cars with General Motors' OnStar service. Verizon Wireless and its predecessor companies have supplied the network for OnStar since the service launched in the 1990s, but AT&T will take over with the 2015 model year, AT&T and GM said Monday.

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