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Tencent Holdings' WeChat mobile messaging service, which is akin to WhatsApp, stands to gain more users as China makes it more and more risky to vent opinions online Long a hotbed for censorship, China has been turning up the heat even further on netizens believed to be spreading "rumors." China's Supreme Court recently ruled that jail was in the c...

Mobile apps have enjoyed phenomenal and increasing popularity in recent years, but what we've seen so far is just the beginning, according to a new Gartner report Specifically, mobile app stores will see annual downloads reach 102 billion in 2013, the research firm reported on Thursday, up from 64 billion in 2012. Total revenue in 2013, meanwhile, ...

There's always been a dichotomy between the promise of CRM and the reality of CRM. The promise is something like this: CRM can become the nucleus of your business, unifying sales, marketing and support around a shared set of data about your customers. Not only will it make your relationships with your customers better; it will make relationships among people in your company who connect with customers better...

Google Keep is available for free in the Google Play store.Some years ago I decided to eschew paper. It was part of an effort, with which I was obsessed at the time, to become more nomadic.

Fall is just around the corner in the Northern Hemisphere, and at least for those of us in some locales, outdoor activities can now ramp up with the milder temperatures This week's All Things Appy takes a look at the top five free Chrome apps in the weather department....

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration this week petitioned the Federal Communications Commission to require wireless carriers to unlock mobile phones, tablets and other devices upon request of the customer This rule change would benefit the public in several ways, argued the NTIA, an executive branch agency that advises the...

HP on Thursday announced the first computer with integrated 3D motion-control technology from Leap Motion: the HP Envy 17 Leap Motion Special Edition Priced starting at US$1,050, the 17.3-inch device will be available for preorder in the United States starting Oct. 16....

BlackBerry is preparing to lay off 40 percent of its workforce in an effort to slash costs, according to a Wednesday report in The Wall Street Journal. The news came on the same day that BlackBerry launched its Z30 smartphone, a 5-inch, all-touch smartphone that the company said is its biggest, fastest and most advanced smartphone to date. BlackBe...

In a loud declaration of, "Because we can!" plans have been hatched to build a skyscraper in South Korea that will be able to turn invisible The skyscraper's invisibility function will work by having cameras on the tower take pictures of the sky behind it. Those images will then be transmitted to the front of the building, thereby fooling the eyes ...

Google on Wednesday launched Calico, a company that will focus on health and well-being, with a particular emphasis on aging and associated diseases At the helm of this new endeavor will sit founding investor Arthur Levinson, chairman and former CEO of Genentech, chairman of Apple, director of Hoffmann-La Roche and now Calico's CEO.

Last week, I met with Aio Wireless, a subsidiary of AT&T. As an industry analyst for almost 30 years, I have met with my share of companies -- new and old, growing and struggling. They all want to put on a good front so I'll say nice things about them. Each has its own special set of opportunities and challenges, and that's the case with Aio Wireless. However, Aio seems to have four key strengths. ...

I read the accounts of Twitter's S-1 announcement in The New York Times last week, and there were a few representative tweets in the article. My favorite was, "This is Peak Twitter," implying it was time to sell -- but that overlooks the inconvenient idea that except for the secondary markets, there isn't anything to sell yet or a place for most ...

The Cyanogen free and open source Android firmware project on Wednesday announced that it had received US$7 million in a Series A round of funding in April The investment came from Benchmark Capital and Redpoint Ventures....

If you're noticing that your Windows laptop runs slower and crankier the older it gets -- I'm talking about your laptop here, not you or me -- it's probably because it needs a bit of maintenance. Some tender loving care will take care of most old-laptop lethargy in much the same way a routine service visit can extend the life of your car and let i...

Microsoft revealed Tuesday it was investigating a previously unknown security flaw affecting all versions of its Web browser, Internet Explorer Hackers have attempted to exploit the vulnerability in targeted attacks on users of versions 8 and 9 of the browser, the company reported in a security advisory....

Bicycles have seen much in the way of technological advancement in the past 150 years, and that was widely apparent on the show floor at the annual Interbike trade show in Las Vegas this week The modern face of cycling was clearly visible in the electric-assist motors that make bicycles an optimal alternative vehicle for commuting, the space-age ca...

Adobe will pair hardware devices with its creative software suite next year when it launches a cloud pen and a digital ruler that work with tablets. The company plans to release its Mighty digital pen, a thin-tipped stylus designed to help digital artists have more control over their creativity while drawing on a tablet screen. The pressure-sensi...

Nokia has tweeted that it's doing something having to do with innovation on Oct. 22, but it won't say what or where. However, there's heavy speculation that the company set that date to unveil its much-delayed Lumia 1520 phablet The phablet is rumored to have a 6-inch 1920 x 1080 pixel HD screen....

Syrian rebels have taken to using an iPad app to help guide mortar fire Rebels were photographed using an iPad reportedly equipped with the iHandy Level Free app, deployed as a method for ensuring that the mortar tube is level....

Ambitious plans to improve federal information technology systems could easily founder on the shoals of deficient networks. Government agencies currently are striving to meet the challenges associated with initiatives in five major areas: cloud technology; Big Data management; cybersecurity requirements; data center consolidation; and, increasingly, mobile IT...