The Digital Home

Amazon is nearing the launch of a 9-inch Kindle Fire, Pacific Crest analyst Chad Bartley says.

Bartley told investors in a research note this week that the 9-inch Kindle Fire could launch by the middle of the year. He didn't provide further details on the tablet, but did say that the 9-inch model should increase Kindle Fire sales this year from an expected 12.7 million units to 14.9 million.

Bartley wrote that his prediction is based on his own recent checks with Amazon component suppliers. While such checks can be helpful in getting a sense of a more

Yahoo is still working hard to turn some or all of its Asian assets into cash.

According to Reuters, Yahoo is currently considering a complex deal in which it would sell back slightly more than half of its stake in China's Alibaba Group--specifically, shares equivalent to about 25 percent of Alibaba. Yahoo acquired a 40 percent stake in Alibaba in 2005 for $1 billion, and could stand to make more than $8 billion in the deal.

Of course, nothing is ever simple with Yahoo, and the deal it's putting together with Alibaba is no exception. Yahoo would only more

If you could save over $1,300 on your annual car insurance by letting your provider track your driving, would you?

That's the question U.K. drivers are mulling this morning, as the country's Automobile Association (AA) is set to launch a new insurance policy that would place a "black box" into a car, allowing the organization to make sure its insured drivers are behaving on the road.

According to the BBC, which first reported on the move, the technology will monitor speed, braking severity, and the roads drivers are on. The information collected from the black box more

Is the Amazon Kindle an iPad competitor? A new commercial makes Amazon's opinion clear.

Amazon tries to show the advantages its devices have over Apple's iPad. The commercial's setting--outdoors on a sunny day at a beautiful resort--helps illustrate the company's point that its Kindle e-reader lacks the screen glare found in Apple's iPad 2 in a similar setting. And when asked about the price of owning not one or two, but three Kindles, the woman who owns them in the ad says that "together, they're still less than that."

Amazon's Kindle Fire, which more

Google could open a new retail store at its European headquarters.

In November, the search giant filed a plan to open a retail store at its headquarters in Dublin's Montevetro office block, according to Bloomberg, which discovered the document on the Dublin City Web site. Based on the plans, it appears Google is considering opening a store that would span about 1,300 square feet.

The plans were approved by the Dublin City Council on January 23.

Google opened its first brick-and-mortar store last year in London. The store was a 285-square-foot "shop within a shop" where people could more

Some of the Internet's most prominent companies are arguing a case in East Texas, claiming they don't violate patents related to the "Interactive Web."

Lawyers for Yahoo, Amazon, and YouTube, among other online giants, have descended on Tyler, Texas, to defend themselves against patent-infringement claims brought against them by a small firm, called Eolas Technologies.

Wired was first to report on the lawsuits.

Eolas has used its many patents to sue companies over the years. The company's best-known suit was against Microsoft, when it argued that the software giant's Internet Explorer used plug-ins and applets that more

Eastman Kodak stunned the world today, announcing that it has put an end to its camera business.

By the end of June, Kodak expects to phase out its digital cameras, pocket video cameras, and digital picture frames, the company announced today. The company plans to focus heavily on its current brand licensing and on attracting companies that might need some of its patents. Kodak will still offer its online Kodak Gallery service and retail-based photo printing. Its inkjet printers will also remain on store shelves.

"For some time, Kodak's strategy has been to improve margins in the capture device more

Another day, another German court ruling over whether Samsung can sell a device within the country's borders.

Earlier today, a court in Dusseldorf ruled that Samsung could sell its Galaxy Tab 10.1N in Germany, rebuffing calls by Apple to ban the device from sale because of patent infringement. The court told the companies, according to Reuters, which was in attendance at the hearing, that there were "clear differences" between the Galaxy Tab 10.1N and the iPad.

The Galaxy Tab 10.1N should be not be confused with the Galaxy Tab 10.1. The "N" model is a more

Facebook is under fire for having an all-male board of directors.

The California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) sent a letter to Facebook yesterday complaining that the world's largest social network doesn't have women on its board. The organization also criticized Facebook for having a small board.

"We are disappointed that the Facebook board will not have any women members," CalSTRS corporate governance director Anne Sheehan wrote to Facebook, according to Reuters, which obtained a copy of the letter. "We believe that investors and the company would benefit from a larger, more diverse board."

CalSTRS is the second-largest more