Corporate and legal

The follow-up to the Nexus 7 tablet may get a slew of upgrades but still keep its $199 price tag.

That's the opinion of KGI Securities analyst Mingchi Kuo, who believes that Google may unveil the upgraded tablet at its Google I/O conference next week.

The upgrades include a faster Qualcomm APQ 8064 processor, a 1,920x1,200 7-inch display with narrower bezel, a 5-megapixel camera, wireless charging, and a body that's 7.5mm to 8.5mm thick. It is expected to be lighter. Blog site 9to5Google picked up on the analyst's report.

The analyst also … Read more

Microsoft Windows 8 users will likely get access to all the most popular apps in Apple's iTunes store. But it's doubtful they'll get iTunes anytime soon, according to a recent interview a Microsoft exec gave to CNN Money.

Tami Reller, chief financial officer of Microsoft's Windows division, said that by the holiday season the Microsoft will support the most popular apps in Apple's App Store in its own app store. Microsoft now has more than 60,000 apps available, and users have downloaded about 250 million of them.

But the one app that is likely … Read more

The rumored Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom may be a reality after all.

A Bluetooth special interest group document lists a new Samsung product with the model number SM-C101, which Unwired believes is the Galaxy S4 Zoom, a variant of the company's flagship phone that's supposed to be smaller and comes with a 16-megapixel optical zoom lens.

There has been a heightened focus on camera as a standout feature on smartphones. Nokia has pushed hard with its Lumia 920 and PureView camera technology, which it claims takes superior low-light pictures. HTC opted to forgo the usual megapixel game, instead … Read more

Electronics firm Sharp will be cutting 5,000 jobs as part of its three-year restructuring plan in efforts to survive.

As reported by The Asahi Shimbun, axed employees will mainly come from China and Malaysia. The number of employees at Sharp's main office in Osaka will be reduced by 50 percent. Sharp's director numbers will also be cut from 12 to six, and the firm will employ "significantly fewer advisers" who were once presidents or vice presidents of the electronics firm.

Sharp currently employs 51,000 people worldwide.

The midterm management plan, obtained by the publication, … Read more

Google has some new additions to show off for its Wallet service. A physical card, however, won't be one of them.

The company is expected to update its rewards, offers, and loyalty points program to include a wider number of merchants at Google I/O next week. Google had also planned to introduce a physical credit card linked to Google Wallet, but the company has scrapped those plans, according to AllThingsD.

Google Wallet has been the company's attempt to breach the burgeoning -- but still nascent -- mobile payments business. But the service has seen limited adoption, partly … Read more

Panasonic has posted another hefty annual loss as the consumer electronics giant continues to struggle.

The Japanese company on Friday reported a loss of 754.3 billion yen ($7.42 billion) for fiscal 2013, which ended in March. In fiscal 2012, it posted a loss of 772.2 billion yen. Sales for fiscal 2013 declined 7 percent from the previous year to 7.3 trillion yen ($71.9 billion).

Panasonic had put into place a vast restructuring plan meant to pull the company out of its tailspin, but it conceded today that the results were far below what it was … Read more

Investor Carl Icahn and Southeastern Asset Management have teamed up to offer an alternative to the $24.4 billion buyout deal now before the company's stockholders.

The pair -- two of the computer maker's largest shareholders -- have proposed giving stockholders the option of holding on to their stock in the company and take an additional $12 a share in cash or stock, according to The Wall Street Journal and CNBC.

CNET has contacted Dell for comment and will update this report when we learn more.

The proposal, reportedly made in a letter to Dell's board of … Read more

The latest governmental attack on 3D printed guns came from the U.S. State Department on Thursday.

In a letter sent to Defense Distributed, a nonprofit advocating for the creation of 3D printed firearms, the State Department demanded the removal from a public Web site of a set of 3D files used to print gun components. The State Department said that the online dissemination of the files could violate restrictions on exporting guns covered by International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR)

Defense Distributed founder Cody Wilson said he obeyed the federal directive. It followed the announcement yesterday by California state … Read more

Despite politicians lining up to regulate 3D printed guns, and a new directive from the U.S. State Department arguing that disseminating 3D files for such weapons may violate weapons export rules, some think that it may all be much ado about nothing.

On Thursday, Forbes reported, the State Department demanded that Defense Distributed, a nonprofit dedicated to creating 3D printed guns, take down a set of files that theoretically enable anyone to print their own firearm.

"The government says it wants to review the files for compliance with arms export control laws known as the International Traffic in … Read more