Review: Refined iOS 6 highlighted by stunning Maps overhaul  —  Every iOS release has its marquee feature, and with iOS 6 it's unquestionably Maps.  The app has gotten a in-depth makeover, perhaps the most thorough ever to be applied to one of iOS's built-in applications.

Nokia slams HTC's Windows Phone 8 announcement, calls it a ‘tactical re-branding’  —  HTC has just unveiled two new Windows Phone 8 devices today, making them the signature phones for Microsoft.  We asked Nokia about today's announcements and the company's head of marketing, Chris Weber …

iPhone 5/A6 SunSpider Performance: Faster than Intel's Atom Z2460  —  The first iPhone 5 reviews have lifted, confirming the leaked Geekbench data we saw in our earlier post.  Apple's A6 appears to feature two custom ARM cores running at up to 1GHz.  A new datapoint comes courtesy …

The Lost Chapter  —  2003: Cambridge, Massachusetts  —  In college, my computer's filing system was relatively straightforward: I had a folder for each year of school, and within each of those folders there were additional folders for each course I was taking.

Sir Jonathan Ive and entire Apple design team fly to London to collect prestigious D&AD awards  —  Apple has been named the best brand and the best design studio of the last 50 years at the D&AD Awards, one of the world's most prestigious prizes for advertising and design.

Google Updates Android Maps App as Apple Moves On  —  The fight over mobile maps is on.  —  Google plans to add new features to its Google Maps app for Android phones on Wednesday.  Conveniently, it is the same day that Apple's latest mobile operating system is due to be released …

Introducing Groupon Payments  —  In the past, our merchant partners have often told us that their traditional payment systems are expensive and cumbersome-so we stepped up to the plate and developed our own payments service guaranteed to be the simplest and lowest cost option for Groupon merchants to accept credit cards.

Keynote: Marc Benioff wants to lead a ‘social revolution’ in the enterprise  —  SAN FRANCISCO — “Are you pumped up and ready to go?  We are here to excite you!”  Marc Benioff addressed a screaming crowd at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts this morning, after an opening performance by rapper MC Hammer.

Former TechCrunch Editor Erick Schonfeld To Run DEMO  —  The technology conference wars just got a bit more dramatic.  Former TechCrunch editor Erick Schonfeld is taking over the management of DEMO from VentureBeat editor in chief Matt Marshall, who is returning to the tech blog exclusively …

Mobile Pwn2Own: iPhone 4S hacked by Dutch team  —  Summary: How long would it take a determined attacker to hack into Apple's iPhone 4S from scratch?  A Dutch research team uses the Pwn2Own contest to provide the answer.  —  Ryan Naraine  —  AMSTERDAM — How long would it take a determined attacker …

Sources: Zynga Chief Security Officer Nils Puhlmann Has Resigned From Company  —  We're hearing that Nils Puhlmann, the cloud security expert who has worked as Zynga's Chief Security Officer since 2009, resigned from the company yesterday, according to several sources familiar with the matter.

True to form, Samsung mocks iPhone 5 buyers in latest commercial  —  We caught Samsung preparing its latest salvo against Apple last week, and now the company's next big attack ad is finally here.  Staying true to the theme of its earlier commercials, Samsung's new ad mocks those waiting early …

MakerBot unveils Replicator 2, 2X and launches retail store, we go eyes-on  —  The Replicator may have just been pushed off this writer's Christmas list.  (Note to self: send updated letter to Santa.)  But, this isn't a loss for MakerBot Industries, because it's being replaced by the Replicator 2 …

How Much Tech Can One City Take?  —  Shaken by the latest digital gold rush, San Francisco struggles for its soul.  —  Last year, when Mayor Ed Lee heard that Twitter was planning to move its headquarters out of San Francisco and down to the peninsula, he quickly consulted with his digital experts …

AOL Names Karen Dykstra As Finance Chief  —  AOL Inc. named former hedge-fund executive Karen Dykstra as its chief financial officer, filling a role vacant at the Internet company since June, when the former finance chief was promoted.  —  Ms. Dykstra is a former partner at Plainfield Asset Management LLC …