Apple: iPad Battery Nothing to Get Charged Up About  —  While the new iPad has come under some criticism for the way it handles battery charging, Apple says the device operates in the same manner as past iOS devices.  —  The source of the confusion stems from how Apple manages the charging process …

Google Drive: Finally coming this April  —  Google's online storage service, rumored to be called GDrive is like the wolf in the fable, The Boy Who Cried Wolf.  Well, after long history of false alarms, the storage drive might just see the day in early April, according to my well placed sources familiar with company's plans.

Comcast XFINITY TV, HBO GO and MLB.TV now available on Xbox LIVE  —  Today three major entertainment apps are now available for Xbox LIVE Gold members - Comcast XFINITY TV, HBO GO and MLB.TV, all with Kinect integration.  Here are the highlights.  —  Comcast launched the XFINITY TV …

Google to launch third-party commenting platform to rival Facebook  —  Google is about to launch a new commenting system that will tie into the search giant's Google+ platform, web services and web search, a source close to the product's development confirmed with The Next Web

At Y Combinator's Biggest Demo Day Yet, Mobile Is Taking Over  —  There are plenty of observations to be made about Y Combinator's Demo Day.  It's the biggest ever, with 66 companies in this Winter class.  It's more diverse than past years, with many companies being led by women and people of color.

Nano-SIM war: here's what Apple and Nokia want to put in your next phone  —  Last week, Apple and Nokia got into a very public dust-up over the future of the SIM card — a staple in phones all around the world — thanks to a Financial Times article pointing out that the two had filed competing proposals …

Feds to carriers: Let's share the airwaves  —  Updated.  Federal spectrum managers on Tuesday recommended that a huge chunk of spectrum used by the 20 government agencies be made available to commercial mobile operations - a move that is sure to please carriers claiming to be strapped for airwaves.

The President now pinning on Pinterest  —  Hello, Pinterest?  The President is calling.  —  Taking inspiration from the legions of web denizens (and potential voters) already hip to the pinning craze, U.S. President Barack Obama is now sharing his collection of favorite politically themed things and family recipes on Pinterest.

What's Ahead: A Sneak Peek  —  The momentum continues for Kinect for Windows.  I am pleased to announce that we will be launching Kinect for Windows in nineteen more countries in the coming months.  We will have availability in Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan in late May.

Microsoft's secret weapon against Google Maps — open source  —  One of the many areas where Google is far ahead of Microsoft is mapping, with Google Maps by far the dominant map service on the Internet.  Microsoft is employing an under-the-radar approach to fighting back …

‘Harry Potter’ ebooks finally available for all major e-readers at Pottermore.com  —  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final novel in a fantasy book series that you may have heard of, was released almost five years ago.  However, digitally-inclined readers haven't been able to purchase Harry Potter ebooks — until today.

iPhone with LTE could be offered by Sprint, CFO says  —  The Dow Jones reports that Sprint CFO Joe Euteneuer said today at an investor conference that the company is free to offer a potential future Apple iPhone using 4G LTE, though he didn't say explicitly whether Apple had such an iPhone planned.

Amazon's Kindle Touch comes to Europe, but no Fire news  —  Amazon is launching a touchscreen version of its Kindle e-reader in the UK, Germany, France, Spain and Italy.  —  The Kindle Touch will be available for delivery from 27 April, five months after it went on sale in the US.

AT&T launching ‘Plus’ loyalty program: discounts, dedicated support, and coffee  —  AT&T is introducing a new loyalty program called AT&T Plus, with the hope of keeping its most important customers loyal by showering them with special offers and preferential service.

Not So Hot: New iPad Heat Levels Comparable to Android Tablets  —  PCWorld Labs tests show heat dissipation is a universal tablet problem.  —  So much for “heatgate.”  We've all seen the reports this week indicating that the new iPad runs hotter than its predecessor, the iPad 2.

Square adds encryption to its Square reader  —  The old (unopened) reader is on the left; the new reader is on the right, with encryption and a battery.  —  Square has added encryption technology to its Square reader.  —  Competitor VeriFone tried to drum up sentiment against Square …

Looking for Work?  Facebook Wants Salesmen, Google Wants Product People.  —  Neither Facebook or Google are in the habit of laying out their corporate road maps for outsiders.  But you can get a decent sense of what they're planning by looking at their job postings, which they helpfully post on LinkedIn.

Groupon Is Hiring An Army Of Engineers In Silicon Valley  —  Groupon, which already has about 200 engineers working out of its Palo Alto office, is looking to hire as many as 100 more, boosting the Chicago-based company's headcount out West, the company tells us.

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen victim of identity theft  —  Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has become the subject of identity theft, with a an AWOL U.S. soldier in Pittsburgh charged with changing the address on a Seattle bank account owned by Allen and attempting to redirect funds to a personal account.

First Look: OnTheAir's Video Call-In Show Platform Makes Hangouts and Ustream Seem Static  —  Google Hangouts only allows ten viewers to participate and Ustream allows zero, but with OnTheAir, anyone watching a live stream can video chat with the host in front of the audience.

Mozilla launches multiplayer browser adventure to showcase HTML5 gaming  —  Mozilla has teamed up with Web design studio Little Workshop to develop a Web-based multiplayer adventure game called BrowserQuest.  The game is built with standards-based Web technologies and is designed to be played within a Web browser.

House passes JOBS Act, sends bill to Obama  —  The House overwhelmingly approved a measure Tuesday designed to make it easier for growing companies to attract investors and comply with securities laws.  The bipartisan measure, strongly backed by both parties and the White House, passed 380 to 41.