Japan's biggest mobile operator said Monday it will launch a translation service that lets people chat over the telephone in several different languages.
The application for NTT DoCoMo subscribers will give two-way voice and text readouts of conversations between Japanese speakers and those talking in English, Chinese or Korean with a several-second delay, the firm said.
Full Story
Twitter, a day after saying it blocked a neo-Nazi account in Germany in a global first, made another major concession Friday by agreeing to remove anti-Semitic posts in France, a lawyer said.
The company did not immediately confirm the move, but the lawyer for a French Jewish student union said that after it threatened legal action, Twitter agreed to take down many of the offending tweets that have recently flooded the site.
Full Story
A temple in southern Taiwan is to launch a smartphone app that allows the faithful to seek advice from the heavens while on the move, reports said Saturday.
"With the increasing popularity of smartphones, we will launch our own divination app next year," said Hung Yang-chen, website designer for Jhen Hai Temple in Pingtung county, according to Central News Agency.
Full Story
Apple on Saturday opened its biggest Asian store yet in Beijing, with hordes of shoppers descending on the three-floor complex that highlights the growing importance of China to the U.S. tech giant.
The shop, on the major shopping street of Wangfujing in the heart of the capital, covers an area of 2,300 square meters (24,750 square feet), according to Chinese media reports.
Full Story
Telecommunications Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui signed Friday a memorandum of understanding with Vice President of Intel Corporation for Sales and Marketing Group and general manager of Intel "World Ahead" John Davies to provide Lebanese students with 3G-equipped tablet computers, a press release said Friday.
During a ceremony, Sehnaoui described the project as a “national initiative to set grounds for a new system that helps find educational solutions and launch new job opportunities. It opens new horizons for the Lebanese youth and students.”
Full Story
Google is dangling a low-priced laptop computer in front of consumers as rivals Microsoft and Apple prepare to release their latest gadgets.
The lightweight computer unveiled Thursday will sell for $249 and is being made in a partnership with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., which also makes smartphones and tablet computers that run on Google's Android software.
Full Story
Myanmar has given approval for the introduction of Visa and other foreign credit cards, whose absence has been a long-standing headache for visitors to the former pariah state.
Visa, MasterCard, China UnionPay and Japan Credit Bureau have been granted permission by the finance ministry to enter the long-closed country, the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper announced on Friday.
Full Story
Britain launched a new spy recruitment drive on Thursday aimed at "Xbox generation" youngsters without a university education but with social media and computer game skills to counter the threat of cyber attack.
Foreign Secretary William Hague launched the apprenticeship scheme in a speech at Bletchley Park in southern England, where Nazi Germany's Enigma codes were broken in World War II.
Full Story
The BBC said Thursday its services in the Middle East and Europe were being deliberately jammed, along with those of other broadcasters -- with the interference coming from Syria.
The jamming of Eutelsat satellites affected BBC television and radio services in English and Arabic, the British Broadcasting Corporation said.
Full Story
Nokia Corp. is expected to unveil more bad news when it reports its third-quarter results as the struggling cellphone maker faces increasing competition from rivals during its transition to using Microsoft's software in its devices.
Analysts say sales and profits will plunge, with a further drop in market share for the former industry leader that lost its top position to Samsung earlier this year. Strategy Analytics expects Nokia to sell 8 million smartphones in the quarter compared with Samsung's 55 million and Apple Inc.'s 27 million iPhones.
Full Story


