Microsoft and Yahoo are close to a long-discussed search and online advertising deal, which could be announced in the next week, according to another source familiar with the matter who is not associated with Icahn. The news was first reported by the AllThingsDigital blog, which said a deal would involve Microsoft paying Yahoo several billion dollars upfront to take over its search advertising business and guarantee certain payments back to Yahoo. The two companies have talked about cooperating for months, after Microsoft’s bid to buy Yahoo was rebuffed last year and Yahoo’s attempt to seal a search advertising deal with Google Inc fell apart under regulatory scrutiny. Yahoo Chief Executive Carol Bartz said in May that any deal to spin off or combine its search assets will require a partner with “boatloads of money.” She said at the time that Yahoo was talking “a little bit” with Microsoft, but gave no details. Bartz is currently out of the office for two weeks, following knee replacement surgery, according to an email that she sent to her employees earlier this month. Icahn, whose firm had a 5.4 percent stake in Yahoo as of March 31, said he remains a “strong supporter” of Bartz, who took the reins in January from Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang. Bartz has made a number of changes since joining Yahoo, including shutting down underperforming websites and laying off 5 percent of the Sunnyvale, California company’s staff. But many investors continue to see a deal with Microsoft as Yahoo’s best option, saying it will cut costs and create an online entity big enough to better compete with Google, the top search company in the United States.

The latest discussions involve a partnership in which Microsoft would handle search capabilities for Yahoo, while Yahoo could potentially handle online advertising for the two online sites. According to Kara Swisher, co-executive editor of AllThingsDigital, a group of high-powered Microsoft online executives flew to Silicon Valley on Thursday to iron out remaining issues related to technology deployment. They included Senior Vice President of Online Audience Business Group Yusuf Mehdi, search head Satya Nadella, top digital executive Qi Lu. Representatives for Microsoft and Yahoo declined to comment. Yahoo is scheduled to report quarterly results next Tuesday, and Microsoft on Thursday. Microsoft withdrew its $47.5 billion offer to buy Yahoo in May 2008 after Yahoo’s board said the price was too low. The software giant then offered to buy Yahoo’s search advertising assets for $1 billion upfront, and guarantee $2.3 billion in annual revenue for five years, in a proposal backed by Icahn. Google is the dominant player in the search market, with a 65 percent market share in June, according to comScore. Yahoo was second with 19.6 percent, while Microsoft was third with 8.4 percent. While Microsoft’s share remains small, its new search engine Bing has won positive early reviews.

The stakes are especially high this summer season when big budget movies like “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” which opened on Wednesday, play to a core audience of young, plugged-in moviegoers. Box office watchers say Twitter, a micro-blogging service that allows anyone to post on-the-fly wisecracks for all the world to see, is the latest weapon in an arsenal of cell phones and computers that audiences use to critique films quickly, often when they are still sitting in theaters. Such word-of-mouth publicity from fan to fan can boost, or bomb, ticket sales. “Has everything speeded up? The answer is yes,” said Adam Fogelson, Universal’s president of marketing and distribution. “Depending on how big your opening day audience is, word-of-mouth starts playing a factor immediately,” he said. Film marketers look at weekly declines in ticket sales to judge fan buzz. In recent years those “drops” have widened significantly as communication has speeded up thanks to the Internet and more recently social networking services like Twitter and Facebook. This summer, which is the most lucrative movie season and can make up as much as 40 percent of annual box office, ticket revenues for new films have dropped 51 percent, on average, from week No. 1 to week No. 2, a figure matched only in 2007, according to tracking firm Box Office Mojo. “If people don’t like the movie now on Friday it can die by Saturday,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of tracking firm Hollywood.com Box Office.

Last Friday, actor Sacha Baron Cohen’s gay-themed comedy “Bruno,” which was distributed by Universal Pictures, made an impressive one-day debut of $14.4 million at U.S. and Canadian box offices, but the next day it suffered a large single-day drop, falling 39 percent to $8.8 million. Media reports speculated that “Bruno” suffered from the “Twitter effect,” meaning audiences reacted quickly online to raunchy scenes of sex and nudity, scaring people away. Soon after the movie’s opening, Twitter was awash with comments such as this from user Cathy Zhang: “Some scenes from Bruno I’ll never erase from my mind.” On the flip side, many Twitter commentators raved about “Bruno.” Universal’s Fogelson said even Twitter comments that seem critical can be good publicity because they show people are passionate about the movie and can spark discussion that increases attendance. He attributed “Bruno’s” lopsided opening day not to negative fan buzz, but to an unusually large crowd of Cohen’s fans rushing to see the film on its first day. Hollywood has a long history of both embracing and spurning new technology. In the case of Twitter, it is giving an early embrace. Sony Pictures, for instance, has been notably aggressive, creating Twitter pages for upcoming movies “District 9,” “Julie & Julia” and “The Ugly Truth.” Using Twitter, actor Ashton Kutcher has raised his profile and that of his production company among the most tech-savvy, and he is not alone. Filmmakers and actors often “tweet” from the set with the blessing of publicists looking to create interest in a film. “As much as it seems chaotic, it’s not. It’s just extremely quick and real-time,” said online marketing consultant Gordon Paddison.

“We’re returning to an all-time favorite to re-create the original experience,” said Skott Ahn, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “Over 21 million Chocolate handsets have been sold across 54 countries to date and we believe the next generation Chocolate will have a tremendous impact on the market, extending the growth that LG experienced during the first half of this year.”

LG’s new Chocolate phone is the fourth model in the LG Black Label Series. The original Chocolate debuted globally in May 2006 and went on to become the most popular phone in the company’s history. The same year, this mobile phone was recognized internationally for its design innovation by winning the prestigious Red Dot Design and the iF Design awards. Other Black Label Series handsets include LG Shine with its revolutionary full-metal body and LG Secret, an elegant carbon fiber and tempered glass classic.

The handset will feature -

• a 4-inch scratch-resistant multi-touch enabled display that will sport an 800 x 345 pixel resolution and a 21:9 aspect ratio
• 3G with HSDPA, EDGE/GPRS
• Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth with A2DP
• A-GPS
• 3.5mm earphone socket

There don’t seem to be any available images of the handset itself, but check out the hot teaser video making the rounds.

The handset will be using a variation of LG’s proprietary new S-Class UI. There’s no word on the camera’s resolution yet but hopefully we’ll see more of the specs getting confirmed in the coming month as the new LG Chocolate phone is expected to be unveiled in August. Stay tuned.

“People often complaint about the overheated laptop and discomfort caused by it. Logitech has introduced this new Cooling Pad to cater to the needs of all these notebook users. Logitech Cooling Pad N100 with slotted surface and virtually silent airflow protects you and your notebook from the difficulties and discomforts caused by the over heated notebook,” said Mr. Subrotah Biswas, Country Manager, India & SAARC, Logitech.

While using a laptop on the couch or bed or at a desk, the Logitech Cooling Pad N100 improves airflow around the laptop. To help protect users from the heat the Cooling Pad N100 features a slotted surface, which allows the USB-powered fan to distribute air quietly and evenly.

To create a steady, unobstructed airflow, the Cooling Pad N100 uses rear air intake, unlike other cooling pads, which generate airflow from angles that are easily blocked by the laptop itself or loose articles of clothing. Plus, the enclosed, durable construction protects the internal fan from dust and damage.

The Cooling Pad N100 includes a low power-consumption USB cable that connects to a computer with minimal impact on the notebook’s battery – while still delivering enough power to improve airflow around the laptop.

The Logitech Cooling Pad N100 is priced at Rs. 1995 and enjoys a replacement warranty of three years.

The phone features an MP3 player, FM recording, gigital camera, expandable memory and one touch torch. The customizable home screen gives the users the freedom to add or change the menus on the home screen as per need and convenience. The Spice C-5300 also features a mobile tracker .

The Spice C-5300 comes with a Free USB card reader and is available for Rs. 3549.

David Sifry, the chief executive of Offbeat Guides, which provides personalized on-line guides for 30,000 destinations, said Google Apps allow him to travel without a computer because he can access all of his applications on-line. Also, with operating system-based applications most companies would have to maintain, update, install, costing time and money, he said. In contrast, Offbeat Guides contractors around the world collaborate online with the main office, Sifry said. “The fact that I don’t have to worry about doing technical support on their computers and software helps an extraordinary amount,” he said. “Whenever Google does a bug fix it works on all of their systems, without us having to spend any effort.” Analysts estimate about 2 percent of PC users will try out the Chrome OS in its first year. Google has said it will first try to persuade the likes of Hewlett-Packard and Acer to offer its operating system in low-cost netbooks that work mostly off the Web, allowing existing individual users to switch painlessly. But analysts are uncertain if Google’s Chrome can gain rapid traction among corporations, law firms and other businesses because of the sheer cost of switching. James Siminoff, chief executive of PhoneTag – which faces direct competition from Google for software that transcribes phone messages – uses both Google and Microsoft and similarly lets his employees use any application they want. But he concedes that some Microsoft applications remain indispensable. Both Siminoff and Sifry say they need at least a few copies of Microsoft’s Excel spreadsheet software so they can exchange data with lawyers and accountants. Chad Wilbur, a senior Quist Valuation financial analyst, said Excel enjoys “mindshare” among long-standing users. “It’s beat into you from the time you learn on a computer. All our client documents arrive in Excel format. There are no comparable products,” he said. But Tzuo argues that will change. “Sure, there are certain functions that are still only in Excel,” he said, noting his finance department uses it for complex spreadsheets spanning multiple files. But every day that passes, the number of things that Excel does, that Google Spreadsheet doesn’t, gets smaller and smaller.”

“Whether using it at the beach or in a dusty construction site, the Nokia 3720 classic has been specifically engineered to withstand the splashes, bumps and drops that come with the terrain,” said Markku Suomi, vice president, Connect devices. “While the Nokia 3720 classic is tough on the outside, it is equally functional on the inside – a perfect choice for people who want a long-lasting and reliable mobile phone for any environment.”

The Nokia 3720 classic, a Symbian S40 handset features a sealed, leak-proof design and durable materials in a range of colors. The battery cover, which protects both the battery and the internal circuitry of the device, is locked with a screw, making for worry-free usage in wet, dusty or muddy environments. Other features include -

• 2.2-inch TFT LCD with a 240 x 320 pixel resolution
• LED Flashlight
• MicroSD card support
• Nokia Maps
• GPRS/EDGE
• Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, USB 2.0 (micro)
• 2 megapixel camera with an LED flash
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• 2.5mm handsfree socket

The Nokia 3720 is expected to retail for approximately Rs. 8,520 (EUR 125) before subsidies or taxes. If it launches here now, it’ll have Samsung’s B1200 to contend with but I’m sure we’ll agree that this is the perfect season for it.

“The company will invest Rs.1,000 crore to expand its cell sites to 2,400 by 2010 and presence to 1,200 towns in the state. By 2011 the number of cell sites will be 4,000 and the presence will be in 3,300 towns,” Himanshu Kapania, director (operations) of Idea, told reporters while launching the company’s services here Thursday.

Idea, which launched services in Tamil Nadu last month, now has has 1,700 cell sites in 600 towns in the state and has enrolled over 100,000 subscribers so far.

Citing Idea’s successful penetration into the telecom market in the state, Kapania said: “It only shows that subscribers are not satisfied with the existing service providers. The call drop numbers are huge. We hope to garner subscribers with our service quality.”

Idea will also set up a 2,086-km optical fibre network.

He added that 12 million of its total 43 million subscribers are in Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.

In Tamil Nadu the company will open 60 outlets to roll out its services.

Idea will will invest around Rs.7,500 crore this year to expand its services into new areas, Kapania added.

The Spinpoint N3U stores up to 125 Gigabytes per platter for a total 250GB data storage capacity.

Samsung’s N3U drive, however, uses a native USB interface and as such does not require this bridge board.

“The new high-capacity 1.8″ 250GB drive enhances Samsung’s product offerings and is ideal for consumers who require a small form factor, high capacity data storage,” said Choel-Hee Lee, vice president of marketing Storage System Division, Samsung Electronics. “It is easy to carry around and it is designed to withstand a free fall drop of up to 50 centimeters and be resistant to a maximum shock incident of up to 1500G.”

As a native USB interface device, the Spinpoint N3U eliminates possible points of failure due to loose cable connections and optimizes performance by eliminating the interrupt service time for the bridge board to convert PATA to USB signals. The N3U 1.8″ drive also consumes about 40 percent less power than a 2.5″ hard drive of an equivalent capacity.

The Spinpoint N3U comes in 120-, 160-, 200- and 250-GB capacities, the disk rotation speed is 3600rpm, and it supports a USB 2.0 interface. The drives are equipped with an 8MB cache memory. Initial shipments to OEMs are scheduled from mid-July with a MSRP at $199.00.

It seems like Sony Ericsson has also customized the user interface, the same reports are stating. A few of the features that have also come to light include GPS and 3G capabilities. Still no word on pricing or availability and of course we’ll have to wait for an official press release to figure out what the actual specs are so stay tuned.