Huawei unveils two new quad-core Android phablets

Huawei (002502) on Monday took the wraps off its colossal Ascend Mate and Ascend D2 smartphones at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Ascend Mate is the larger of the two and is equipped with a 6.1-inch 720p display, a 1.5GHz in-house quad-core processor, an 8-megapixel rear camera and a massive 4,050 mAh battery. The smaller Ascend D2 features a 5-inch 1080p display with a class...

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Diminishing Returns: The Cold, Hard Truth for CES Smartphones

Sony has a new flagship phone at CES called the Xperia Z, and it is pretty decent. The company has another one, called the Xperia ZL, that’s also fairly nice. They’re both roughly as okay as the flagship Ascend D2 phone that Huawei was showing off in another part of the room.If my descriptors seem lacking, that’s intentional. The truth is that none of these phones seem markedly better than last year’s...

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Iranian Bank Hackers, the Fate of the Dreamliner, and a Poetic Inauguration

Behind the New York Times pay wall, you only get 10 free clicks a month. For those worried about hitting their limit, we're taking a look through the paper each morning to find the stories that can make your clicks count.RELATED: Wheelchairs, Miguel Cabrera, and 'Impressionism and Fashion'Top Stories: Recent online attacks on U.S. banks, which were responsible for "transforming the online equivalent...

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Merry Christmas, America-Haters?

When TNT was preparing its annual special "Christmas in Washington" with the president of the United States, you'd think the last star musician they would consider to join the official caroling would be Psy, the South Korean rapper. What on Earth is Christmasy about this man's invisible-horse-riding dance to his dorky disco-rap hit "Gangnam Style"? It's not exactly the natural flip-side to "O Holy...

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Merry Christmas, America-Haters?

When TNT was preparing its annual special "Christmas in Washington" with the president of the United States, you'd think the last star musician they would consider to join the official caroling would be Psy, the South Korean rapper. What on Earth is Christmasy about this man's invisible-horse-riding dance to his dorky disco-rap hit "Gangnam Style"? It's not exactly the natural flip-side to "O Holy...

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Why does Google build apps for its rival Apple's iPhone?

Why help a key competitor? Two words: Advertising and dataThere isn't any other way to say it: Apple and Google really don't like each other. Apple CEO Steve Jobs vowed to destroy the Google geniuses behind the Android operating system for allegedly stealing the basic mechanics of the iPhone. Apple and Google-partner Samsung are constantly at one another's throats over patents. And most recently new...

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Samsung Smart TVs: The next frontier for data theft and hacking [video]

Smart TVs, particularly Samsung’s (005930) last few generations of flat screens, can be hacked to give attackers remote access according to a security startup called ReVuln. The company says it discovered a “zero-day exploit” that hackers could potentially use to perform malicious activities that range from stealing accounts linked through apps to using built-in webcams and microphones to spy on...

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Huge Wave of Google App Updates Hits iOS, Android

Google just brought iPhone and Android phone users a holiday gift. Google Maps has returned to the iPhone, this time in the form of its own separate app, while Google Currents -- the company's Flipboard-style online magazine app for Android -- received a substantial update as well.Besides the two big updates, about a half-dozen other apps for Android and Google TV received bug fixes and new features,...

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Valve Confirms New Game Console on Its Way

In an interview with Kotaku's Jason Schreier at the Spike TV Video Game Awards, Valve co-founder Gabe Newell confirmed that a "living-room-friendly PC package," designed to "compete with next-gen consoles from companies like Microsoft and Sony," will be available for purchase starting next year.What makes a PC a PCMost of the machines Newell described, which he expected "companies" would "start selling"...

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UPDATE 1-Soccer-Wiesinger and Reutershahn take over at Nuremberg

* Bundesliga strugglers act quickly to replace Hecking* Wiesinger will have final say on team matters (Adds quotes, detail)BERLIN, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Michael Wiesinger and Armin Reutershahn were appointed joint coaches of struggling Nuremberg on Monday following Dieter Hecking's decision to take over at Bundesliga rivals VfL Wolfsburg at the weekend.Wiesinger, 39, who has recently been working with...

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Soccer-Jeunechamp appeals against ban for hitting reporter

Montpellier defender Cyril Jeunechamp is appealing against a one-year ban for hitting a reporter after a Ligue 1 game last month, the French club said on Monday."Cyril Jeunechamp has decided to appeal his one-year ban," Montpellier said in a statement on their website (www.mhscfoot.com)The French Football League said after a meeting of its disciplinary committee this month that the sanction would...

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Soccer-Radnicki officials arrested in corruption raid - police

Two senior officials at Serbian first division club Radnicki 1923 Kragujevac and a soccer agent were arrested on Monday on suspicion of fraud and abuse of power, the Serbian Interior Ministry (MUP) said."FC Radnicki vice-president Nebojsa Vasiljevic and general secretary Darko Stojanovic as well as Zoran Pavlovic, a soccer agent with a FIFA licence, have been arrested on suspicion of illegal dealings...

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Soccer-Zambia retain faith in winning squad

All but two of the squad who took Zambia to the last African Nations Cup title have been retained by coach Herve Renard for their defence in South Africa next month.Renard named a provisional list of 26 players on Monday for the tournament, keeping faith in the rump of the squad who won a first continental championship for Zambia.The only players left out are defender Nyambe Mulenga, who has lost...

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Soccer-Israeli championship preliminary round results and standings

Dec 24 (Infostrada Sports) - Results and standings from the Israeli championship Preliminary round matches on MondayMonday, December 24Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona 0 Maccabi Haifa 0Sunday, December 23Hapoel Beer Sheva 0 Beitar Jerusalem 0Saturday, December 22Ashdod 1 Bnei Sakhnin 2Hapoel Akko 0 Ironi Nir Ramat HaSharon 2Hapoel Haifa 2 Hapoel Tel Aviv 2Hapoel Ramat Gan 1 Bnei Yehuda 0Maccabi Tel Aviv...

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Internet ayatollah: Iran's supreme leader "likes" Facebook

 Facebook - banned in Iran due to its use by activists to rally government opponents in 2009 - has an unlikely new member: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.Launched a few days ago, the Facebook page "Khamenei.ir" displays photographs of the 73-year-old cleric alongside speeches and pronouncements by the man who wields ultimate power in the Islamic Republic.While there are several other Facebook...

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Shine America, Jack Black's Electric Dynamite Producing Comedy Series for Yahoo

 Shine America and Jack Black's Electric Dynamite Productions have partnered to produce "Ghost Ghirls," a new comedy series that will debut in the Spring on Yahoo! Screen, the web giant's video portal.Jeremy Konner, Amanda Lund and Maria Blasucci created the show, which stars Lund and Blasucci as a pair of hapless investigators on the hunt for paranormal activity. It has begun production on a...

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Twitter and Nielsen pair up to publish new "social TV" ratings

 Nielsen Holdings NV, the television viewership measurement company, said on Monday it will partner with Twitter to publish a new set of ratings that measure chatter on Twitter about TV programming.The new measurement, dubbed the "Nielsen Twitter TV Rating," seeks to tap into the stream of viewer commentary and armchair musings generated on "second screens" - the smartphones and tablets perched...

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Florida man sentenced to 10 years in "hackerazzi" case

A Florida man who pleaded guilty to hacking into the email accounts of celebrities to gain access to nude photos and private information was sentenced to 10 years in prison by a federal judge in Los Angeles on Monday.Former office clerk Christopher Chaney, 36, said before the trial that he hacked into the accounts of film star Scarlett Johansson and other celebrities because he was addicted to spying...

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