Corporate and legal

For those who worry that even 24 hours without the ability to download 3D-printed gun blueprints is too much, fret no more: The Pirate Bay is on the case.

On Thursday, the U.S. State Department successfully demanded the removal of a set of 3D-printed firearm files from Defcad, a file-sharing site run by Defense Distributed, the group at the center of the 3D-printed gun controversy.

The founder of Defense Distributed, Cody Wilson, told CNET on Thursday that he had been expecting the State Department's action, though he felt that the International Traffic in Arms Regulations permitted Defcad to … Read more

When Verizon Wireless and HTC wanted to promote the launch of their last holiday flagship phone, the Droid DNA, they held a big, splashy event in Manhattan.

For the debut of the Nokia Lumia 928 on Friday, Verizon fired off a tweet.

The distinct lack of fanfare today is a subtle indication of where Verizon thinks the Lumia 928 belongs in its lineup. While Nokia calls it its flagship phone for Verizon, Verizon certainly doesn't think the Lumia 928 is its flagship phone.

Nokia finally getting its higher-end phone at Verizon is a victory for the Finnish handset vendor … Read more

The Indian government is launching a investigation over Huawei and ZTE equipment, following increased scrutiny on China's alleged involvement in cyberspying.

Sina Tech reported this on Thursday, citing an official from India's Department of Telecommunications. The official said the ministry knows about the concerns of Indian intelligence agencies and os expediting the developing of systems for testing the networking equipment of foreign manufacturers, which could also include the likes of Cisco Systems and Alcatel.

A lab reportedly will be set up in Bangalore, where the gear will be tested.

Read more of "Huawei, ZTE under probe by Indian government&… Read more

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