Galaxy S 4 Is a Good, but Not a Great, Step Up  —  Samsung has been on a roll.  The success of its many models of smartphones, aided by massive marketing campaigns, has made it by far the leading maker of devices running on Google's Android operating system and the chief rival to Apple in smartphones.

Here Comes Amazon's Kindle TV Set-Top Box  —  Amazon (AMZN) is making e-readers, tablets and will likely soon introduce a smartphone.  As it works to build all types of connected devices, that leaves a natural next step: a television set-top box.  The e-commerce giant is planning to introduce …

Microsoft to unveil next Xbox at event on May 21st at its Redmond campus  —  We've just received an invite from Microsoft to an event on May 21st where it will show off the next version of its Xbox console and media box.  The next version of the company's media play has been expected for a while …

MetroPCS shareholders approve merger with T-Mobile USA  —  (Reuters) - MetroPCS Communications Inc (PCS.N) shareholders voted Wednesday to approve a merger with No. 4 U.S. wireless service provider T-Mobile USA, after T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom AG (DTEGn.DE) sweetened its terms under pressure from activist shareholders.

Analysis: Sleeping ad giant Amazon finally stirs  —  (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc is known in the advertising industry as the “sleeping giant” because the world's largest Internet retailer harbors a trove of consumer-spending data that many marketers have called an unrealized opportunity.

WWDC 2013 Tickets On Sale April 25 At 10AM PT, Runs June 10-14  —  Apple has just released the official announcement for its 2013 Worldwide Developers Conference.  Every year, it releases tickets for the developer-focused event at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, and every year, they sell out faster than the year before.

Tim Cook is auctioning off a coffee and chat with him at Apple HQ for charity, estimated value is $50k  —  According to a Charitybuzz release today, Apple CEO Tim Cook is holding a charity auction (the listing says 'donated by Tim Cook') for coffee and a chat with him at the company's headquarters.

A Flawed Bidding Process Leaves Dell at a Loss  —  The private equity firm Blackstone Group has exited the stage for Dell, abruptly bringing down the curtain on a budding takeover contest.  It has the elements of a farce, and Dell's board has no one to blame but itself.

Nintendo makes second consecutive annual loss as Wii U misses expectations  —  Nintendo made a loss in 2012 for the second consecutive year as its new Wii U console failed to spark excitement among consumers.  The company's operating loss was 36.4 billion yen ($366 million) for the 2012 fiscal year …

Apple's Solid-After-All Quarter In Charts  —  Apple is still growing, but slower than before.  And it's not as profitable as it was a year ago — a rare reversal.  But it's still solid.  —  Apple reported March quarter earnings this afternoon.  Expectations were muted, and Apple beat them, with particularly strong iPad shipments.

Twitter Now Has a Two-Step Solution  —  Twitter has a working two-step security solution undergoing internal testing before incrementally rolling it out to users, something it hopes to begin doing shortly, Wired has learned.  —  Such a system will drastically reduce the risk of Twitter users having …

U.S. gives big, secret push to Internet surveillance  —  Justice Department agreed to issue “2511 letters” immunizing AT&T and other companies participating in a cybersecurity program from criminal prosecution under the Wiretap Act, according to new documents obtained by the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

Nokia Puts WhatsApp Hard Key On $72 Asha 210 For Asia, Africa; Qwerty S40 Handset Gets Facebook Button In Europe, Latam  —  Nokia has announced another handset in its Series 40-based Asha portfolio of low end mobiles which compete with the budget end of Android and cheap BlackBerrys.

Apple celebrates a decade of iTunes with in-app microsite  —  Apple is marking the 10th anniversary of iTunes with a special microsite which, in a rather nice touch, opens in iTunes itself.  While the anniversary is on Sunday, the site is already live in the US and UK, though not apparently in all countries ...

Council approves iProvo sale to Google  —  Technology » But Provo reveals it will have to pay $1.7M to complete the deal.  —  | The Salt Lake Tribune  —  The Provo Municipal Council voted Tuesday to approve the sale of its financially-troubled iProvo fiber-optic Internet to Google, paving the way for it to become Google Fiber.

Microsoft puts in new tile-based ad format in Outlook.com  —  While we are still waiting for the promised Skype integration for Outlook.com, Microsoft's advertising division has just launched a new ad format for the web email service that has a tile-like interface.  In fact, Microsoft calls the new format versaTiles.

Tumblr iOS app updated with Twitter and Facebook sharing, read-it-later support  —  Hot on the heels of its first Windows Phone app, Tumblr has updated its iOS application with a number of new social and usability features.  Recognizing that users like to expand their posts beyond Tumblr …