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US Uncut, an organization that fights companies that try to avoid taxes, is planning to target Apple retail stores on June 4, protesting the company's support of the Win America Campaign.

The group seeks to have Apple leave the WAC, which it claims is lobbying Congress for what would end up being a $4 billion tax cut for the company, as well as to cease other lobbying activities relating to "tax loopholes."

"Apple plays huge games with their taxes. By disguising profits in the U.S. as foreign earnings in low-tax countries, Apple dodges billions of … Read more

Tesla Motors and Electric Power Research Institute join U.S. Department of Energy, automaker research teams and energy companies to accelerate the development of new energy-efficient technologies for cars and light trucks and the infrastructure needed to support them.

According to the DOE, the collaborative effort formerly known as FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership, is now U.S. DRIVE--Driving Research and Innovation for Vehicle efficiency and Energy sustainability. The goal is to beef up research and development of not only new vehicle technologies, but to also work on a broad range of energy infrastructure technologies.

"Government-industry partnerships like U.… Read more

Toys "R" Us announced today that it plans to cover 70 percent of the roof of its distribution center, located in the leafy suburb of Flanders, N.J., with a solar installation.

The 5.38-megawatt solar project is a massive undertaking for a rooftop installation. Toys "R" Us claims this will be the largest rooftop solar installation in North America.

The Flanders distribution center is the largest distribution facility in the U.S. for the toy and electronics retailer. Toys "R" Us estimates that the roof spans about 32 acres. More than 869,294 square feet (almost 20 acres) of that roof will be covered in solar panels, according to the company.… Read more

LG should be the next company to enter the dual-screen smartphone fray with its Android 2.2-powered Genesis. Uncovered by AndroidCentral, the LG Genesis features a very familiar enV design with its two touch displays (3.5-inch external, 3.2-inch internal).

On the hardware front, the handset offers a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, a 5-megapixel camera, and a five-row QWERTY keyboard. Additionally, the Genesis has 430MB of internal memory, an 8GB microSD card, and support for Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n), GPS, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, and DLNA media sharing.

AndroidCentral's findings indicate that U.S. Cellular will offer the smartphone for an expected $249.99 price tag with the requisite two-year commitment and $449.99 outright. As of this time, neither the LG nor the carrier have formally announced the phone or its release date.

I'll admit that I'm growing a little bit leery of the dual-screen Android phones and tablets hitting the market. Android developers already have their hands full dealing with the various platform versions and I foresee that the secondary displays will only add to the equation.

Already, we have the Samsung Continuum and Kyocera Echo on sale with Sony's tablet arriving later this year. Until one of these handsets really takes off, developers will sit on the sidelines, fearful of wasting time and effort on a one-trick pony. … Read more

The LG P430 and P530 are 14- and 15.6-inch laptops, respectively, with something that we hope becomes a trend: smaller screen bezels that reduce the effective size of the chassis. The P430, in particular, promises a "14-inch screen in a 13.3-inch body," with an upper lid design that looks like a return to the thin-bezel laptops that used to exist not so long ago. (We actually already admitted to pining for small bezels...guess we're not alone.)

As far as we can tell, there's not much differentiating the Blade series from similar laptop designs by Samsung, Sony, Acer, and others, but a metallic 13-inch laptop with a slightly bigger screen? Sure, who wouldn't go for that? A second-gen Intel Core i3/i5/i7 CPU and optional Nvidia GeForce GT 520M graphics sound like a solid package.

Of course, there's a catch: these laptops will be available starting in May in Europe, the Middle East, South America, and Asia...but not in North America. LG, may we humbly suggest an addendum?… Read more

Apple sues Samsung, Samsung sues Apple, the Army uses Android in the battle field, and we get a tour of the latest round of Android Tablets. Join Justin Eckhouse and guest hosts Eric Franklin and JT Tabencki as they dive into the world of Android.

News Stories

Apple sues Samsung for ‘copying’ smartphones, tablets http://news.cnet.com/8301-27076_3-20055033-248.html

Samsung countersues Apple over iPhone, iPad http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/22/us-samsung-apple-idUSTRE73L0DG20110422

Android phones record user-locations … Read more

Can you tell Brian Tong is back on the show? Actually, we're legitimately wondering whether a home-brew electroshock like battery licking could produce video game skill improvements like DARPA is seeing with their electroshock research. No, really. Also, Google shuts down Google Video, President Obama wants a universal login that's not Facebook Connect, and Match.com just got a whole lot more trustworthy. --Molly

Toys "R" Us store began selling the iPad 2 today, but only select stores have them.

The iPad 2 has been chronically selling out at stores everywhere so news that a new outlet will have the iPad 2 can potentially send shoppers scurrying to that location.

But don't expect to waltz into a Toys "R" Us today and get one. In the Los Angeles area, only select Toys "R" Us stores got a shipment of iPad 2s.

And a store in Tustin, Calif.--a Los Angeles suburb--had already sold out of the iPad … Read more

Does it have Samsung's signature high-polish glossy body? Of course! But the Samsung Gem, an Android 2.2 Froyo smartphone for U.S. Cellular, also has some style all its own. With its swooping lines and repeated pentagonal, superhero-esque accent, it doesn't look like just any other Android phone.

We're pleased that Samsung left its custom TouchWiz interface off this model, giving us the default (some would call it "pure") Android experience.

The specs are typical for a … Read more