Facebook adds 84 million more shares to IPO

According to a report from The Associated Press, Facebook has announced yet another update to its initial public offering that is expected to be launched this Friday, May 18. This time, Facebook revealed that it has added an extra 84 million shares into its stock pool, all of which will be coming from early investors and internal people from the company.

Facebook plans to offer each share at somewhere between $34-$38, possibly raising a much-higher-than-expected $16 billion.

HTC One X and EVO 4G LTE shipments delayed as U.S. Customs investigates possible patent infringement

According to The Verge, United States Customs officials have delayed the shipments of HTC's new One X and EVO 4G LTE smartphones into the U.S. as they investigate possible patent infringements on the devices. The patents in question are supposedly the same ones that were involved in a lawsuit Apple won last December. The ruling from the court said that HTC would have to stop importing all affected devices into the U.S. by April.

We've learned today that the One X and Evo 4G LTE are indefinitely delayed at Customs as the agency investigates patent issues with Apple, and sources have further confirmed that some shipments are indeed being held back. The One X is also currently out of stock at AT&T's online store and at most AT&T retail stores we've called — and few had any information on when more units would arrive.

HTC released the following statement:

The US availability of the HTC One X and HTC EVO 4G LTE has been delayed due to a standard U.S. Customs review of shipments that is required after an ITC exclusion order. We believe we are in compliance with the ruling and HTC is working closely with Customs to secure approval. The HTC One X and HTC Evo 4G LTE have been received enthusiastically by customers and we appreciate their patience as we work to get these products into their hands as soon as possible.

Verizon CFO says unlimited data plans to be axed, but many questions still in the air

According to Fierce Wireless, Verizon Communications CFO Fran Shammo spoke at a JP Morgan conference, announcing the company's plans to axe the unlimited data plan option for customers. Last year, Verizon introduced tiered data plan options for new customers, but existing customers had the option of being grandfathered in and keep their unlimited data plan at $30/month.

Shammo says that Verizon Wireless customers still on 3G devices will need to switch to a tiered data plan option once they upgrade their line to a 4G LTE device. Those who remain on their 3G device will continue to use unlimited data (for the time being at least).

The questions arise, however, when talking about Verizon's plans to introduce family data plans this summer. The company is reportedly planning to force users hoping to use a family data plan to upgrade their devices to all 4G LTE, thus forcing the move to tiered data plans. It's unclear when this would happen, and whether Verizon will truly force users to switch plans.

As these 3G unlimited data plan customers migrate to 4G LTE, they will have to purchase the company's data-share plan (which Verizon plans to launch in mid-summer) and move off the $30 per month unlimited data plan. "Everyone will be on data share," Shammo said.

Google introduces “Knowledge Graph”

Today, Google introduced a new feature to its search engine that is dubbed "Knowledge Graph." The technology takes user input as a whole, rather than separate words and strings like it has been in the past. Knowledge Graph will allow users to narrow their search results down to exactly what they're looking for, get a summary of information on the right-hand side of the page, and pick out small details related to search queries.

The Knowledge Graph enables you to search for things, people or places that Google knows about—landmarks, celebrities, cities, sports teams, buildings, geographical features, movies, celestial objects, works of art and more—and instantly get information that’s relevant to your query. This is a critical first step towards building the next generation of search, which taps into the collective intelligence of the web and understands the world a bit more like people do.

Google has already begun rolling out Knowledge Graph to users, and it will soon be available on mobile devices as well.

Apple releases update to OS X Mountain Lion Developer Preview 3

Apple has just released an update to developers running on OS X Mountain Lion Developer Preview 3, bringing the build number of the upcoming OS to 12A206j. The update has been released via the Mac App Store and weighs in at about 1.60 GB. Apple is noting in developer release notes that this build is not compatible with "MacBookPro3,1" models (mid and late 2007 computers), but this issue will be corrected in the future.

At this time, it's unclear what changes are included in this most recent seed. Apple is expected to give a full preview of OS X Mountain Lion at its Worldwide Developers Conference next month. A public release is scheduled for "late summer."

New Google Chrome Stable release adds tab syncing across devices

Today, Google released the first Stable version of Chrome 19 to the public, adding tab syncing across multiple devices when users are signed into Chrome with a Gmail account. When a user is signed in, all their open tabs appear under a new menu on the "New Tab" page in Chrome called "Other Devices."

The Stable version update will be rolled out to existing Chrome users over the coming days.

Facebook acquires photo sharing app Lightbox

Popular Android photo sharing service Lightbox announced today that it has been acquired by Facebook. The company's team of seven (7) will be joining Facebook, while the service itself will be functioning until June 15. Users have until that date to download their photos from Lightbox. The Android app has already been removed from Google Play, and new user sign ups aren't being accepted at this point.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed to the public.

T-Mobile CEO announces further “structure” changes, layoffs this week

The Verge has posted a memo sent out by T-Mobile USA CEO Philipp Humm to company employees. Humm says that T-Mobile has begun taking the "second essential step" in its complete restructuring plan, which involves thousands of employee layoffs. The CEO says that the layoffs will happen sometime this week, but didn't go into detail on that topic.

The memo, in its entirety, is below:

Dear colleagues,

Since the beginning of the year, T-Mobile has stressed that 2012 is a rebuilding year for the company. A vital step in that process was announced in March with the consolidation of our call centers. This week, T-Mobile is taking the second essential step. We are announcing a new structure that further aligns our costs with our revenue realities, enables teams who support our field organization to act and react with greater speed and effectiveness to customer and market opportunities, and better positions us to return to growth.

The new organization required difficult decisions that will impact some of our employees. This week, news will be shared personally with employees and teams who are directly affected by the restructuring. Changes will include some position eliminations and changes to individual roles and responsibilities. It is important to emphasize these impacts to employees result from business decisions. We have tremendous employees here at T-Mobile and we truly wish we could retain all our talent, but our business realities require hard choices. For affected team members, we are providing generous transition support including severance, assistance with COBRA continuation coverage, and outplacement services. As mentioned in the March announcement, customer service representatives in the remaining 17 call centers, technicians in engineering, and frontline employees in our T-Mobile corporate-owned stores will not be affected.

Our rebuilt structure enables T-Mobile to realize significant savings, allowing us to invest in future growth — in particular modernizing our network to LTE, repositioning the T-Mobile brand, and aggressively pursuing the B2B segment where we plan to add 1,000 positions over the next few years. We gain the agility to put resources where the current opportunities are, grow in areas where potential is greatest, and act on emerging opportunities quickly and rationally.

The restructuring provides a sustainable organizational model, centered on our T-Mobile Values, with the following attributes:

A greater focus on driving Customer Delight by reducing the layers between working teams and executive leadership, and shifting and consolidating groups in the field sales regions and the FSC to minimize redundant work — resulting in more effective coordination and communication.

A renewed emphasis on Best Place to Perform and Grow:
Enhanced people manager spans of control (number of direct reports), enabling faster decisions, more ability to execute, and more empowerment of employees at all levels.
Evolution of our leadership model from player-coach, where more time is spent on daily tasks than on planning and guiding, to leader-coach, where time is focused more strategically on coaching, developing, delegating, and motivating.

We approached the restructuring process and decisions with care, rigor and cross-functional alignment. A team comprised of top leaders, with support from industry-leading subject matter experts, worked closely together over the past few months to develop an effective and sustainable structure. We strongly believe the organizational principles we applied are lasting ones. More details on the new organizational structure will be shared in department and team communications this week and more broadly after that.

I want to assure you we will move through the communications this week very thoughtfully, but also as quickly as we can while preserving the quality of the conversations that need to happen. As always, our T-Mobile Values will guide our actions.

Thank you for your patience as we work through what will be a difficult week. Thank you for your continued commitment.

With sincere appreciation,

Philipp Humm
CEO & President
T-Mobile USA

Facebook increases photo sizes on mobile devices

Facebook announced today that it has begun rolling out an update to its mobile interface on iOS, Android, and m.facebook.com that increases the size of pictures by three times (3x).

Starting today, we’re rolling out an improved design for posts in news feed on your mobile phone. Now photos are up to 3x larger, and all posts will fill your mobile screen from edge to edge. The new design will be available on iOS, Android and m.facebook.com. Check out some before/after screenshots below.

Best Buy founder resigns from company Board

Earlier today, Best Buy released the results of an internal investigation it conducted on company founder and Chairman of the Board Richard Schulze. The investigation found that Schulze was aware now former Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn had an inappropriate relationship with an employee of the company, but failed to report it. Schulze resigned shortly after the details of the investigation were released.

Schulze released the following statement:

"In December, when the conduct of our then-CEO was brought to my attention, I confronted him with the allegations (which he denied), told him his conduct was totally unacceptable and contrary to Best Buy's policies and everything I, and the Company, stand for. I understand and accept the findings of the Audit Committee."

Investigation details:

Key findings of the investigation include:

• The CEO violated Company policy by engaging in an extremely close personal relationship with a female employee that negatively impacted the work environment.
• The CEO's relationship with the female employee demonstrated extremely poor judgment and a lack of professionalism, but the inquiry revealed no misuse of Company resources. The inquiry also revealed no misuse of aircraft.
• In addition, as part of the investigation, it was determined that the Chairman of the Board of Directors acted inappropriately when he failed to bring the matter to the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors in December 2011, when the allegations were first raised with him.

The Best Buy Board of Directors has elected Hatim Tyabji to replace Schulze.

Report: Google developing Chrome Web Browser for iOS

According to a report from Business Insider (based on a research note from Macquarie analyst Ben Schacter), Google is currently developing a Chrome Web Browser app for use on iOS devices. In fact, the app may already be submitted to Apple for review and could debut in the App Store as soon as the end of this quarter. No specific details about the app were given, however.

While third-party web browsers already exist on the App Store (an example include Opera), a majority of iOS users still use Safari because of the amount of system-level integration the app brings.

Facebook readjusts IPO with $34-$38 share pricing; confirms delay in Instagram acquisition

Earlier today, the SEC released Facebook's seventh (7) amendment to its initial public offering filing. In the new filing, Facebook readjusted the projected share price from the previous $28-$35 to $34-$38, bringing the company's valuation well above the prior projected value of $100 billion. In addition, Facebook has upped the amount of shares it will be trading to 337 million.

In addition, Facebook has confirmed previous rumors that its $1 billion acquisition of Instagram has been delayed. The social network was planning to complete the deal sometime in the second quarter of this year, but the new documents point to the deal closing sometime in 2012.

Facebook's stock will appear on the NASDAQ under the ticker "FB." The company's IPO is expected to launch this Friday, May 18, 2012.

Scott Thompson steps down as CEO of Yahoo amidst resume controversy

Yahoo has just announced that it will be naming Ross Levinsohn as interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company following word earlier this morning that Scott Thompson had stepped down from the position. Thompson was accused earlier this month of lying on his resume when he was hired as Yahoo CEO in January of this year. In addition, Yahoo has named Fred Amoroso as Chairman of the Board of Directors, replacing Roy Bostock.

As a part of the settlement agreement, Third Point, which owns an aggregate of 70,545,400 shares, or 5.8% of Yahoo! common stock, has agreed to withdraw its previous Board nominations for consideration at the annual meeting and vote its shares in support of Yahoo!'s nominees. Yahoo!'s slate of director nominees for election or re-election at the 2012 annual meeting of stockholders will now include Fred Amoroso, John Hayes, Peter Liguori, Thomas McInerney, Maynard Webb, Sue James, David Kenny, Brad Smith, Daniel S. Loeb, Harry J. Wilson and Michael J. Wolf.

As interim CEO, Mr. Levinsohn will manage the Company's day-to-day operations with assistance from Yahoo!'s existing senior leadership team.

Google celebrates Mother’s Day with a Doodle

To celebrate Mother's Day, Google has placed a heart-warming animated Doodle on its homepage. The Doodle portrays the mom character as a "g" and her two children as two "o's" as a spin-off of the regular Google logo. The "o's" are animated and walk over to hug the "g" and the rest of the Google logo fades in.

HP looking to get back into tablet market with Windows 8

According to a report from The Bangkok Post, Hewlett-Packard (HP) CEO Meg Whitman confirmed at the Global Influencer Summit that the company will be re-entering the tablet market with a Windows 8 device sometime in the future. This comes after HP abruptly discontinued its TouchPad tablet last year following poor sales. The tablet ran on webOS, which HP acquired from Palm in the prior year.

Not much else is known about the Windows 8 tablet from HP, other than that it is in existence. Windows 8 is expected to be released to consumers sometime in the fall of this year.

Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram may be delayed due to FTC probe

According to a report from The Financial Times, the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has launched a probe into the deal that would bring popular photo upload and edit service Instagram under Facebook control. The acquisition, which was first announced last month and worth about $1 billion, could be delayed as a result. The deal was initially expected to be closed by the end of the second quarter of this year.

It's unclear at this time exactly what the FTC is investigating, but the report notes that information has been taken from both parties.

Facebook rolling out file uploads to all Groups

According to Mashable, Facebook has begun rolling out the ability to upload files in Groups. The feature, which is somewhat a competitor to Dropbox, allows users to upload files smaller than 25 MB, but no music files or executable (.exe) files are allowed. Most other files types will be allowed, however.

To prevent the spread of malicious, inappropriate or copyrighted files, “users can report files the same way they can with other content across the site,” a Facebook spokesperson said. Whether a group that wants to share such things will willingly turn itself in remains to be seen.

It's unclear when all Facebook Groups will receive this feature, but the social network says that it should be "soon."

Foxconn chairman confirms preparations for Apple television set

According to a report from China Daily, Foxconn chairman Terry Gou addressed Apple's long-rumored high-definition television set at a press conference in Shanghai yesterday. Gou apparently confirmed that Foxconn has already begun making preparations for the product, which includes a partnership with Sharp for LCD displays. Actual production of the "iTV" has not begun, however.

Gou said Foxconn is making preparations for iTV, Apple Inc's rumored upcoming high-definition television, although development or manufacturing has yet to begin.

iTV reportedly features an aluminum construction, Siri, and FaceTime video calling

Foxconn's recent 50-50 joint venture factory with Sharp in Japan is one of the preparations made for the new device, Gou added.

Report: Apple to drop Google Maps for in-house service in iOS 6

According to a report from AllThingsD, Apple will be dropping the Google Maps app that comes built-in on iOS devices in favor of its own in-house mapping software solution. Google Maps has been powering the Maps app on iOS since day one, but recent tension between the two companies has likely caused the change. In addition, Apple has recently purchased three mapping companies: Placebase, Poly9, and C3 Technologies.

We’ve independently confirmed that this is indeed the case. Sources describe the new Maps app as a forthcoming tent-pole feature of iOS that will, in the words of one, “blow your head off.” I’m not quite sure what that means, and the source in question declined to elaborate, but it’s likely a reference to the photorealistic 3-D mapping tech Apple acquired when it purchased C3 Technologies.

Notes and Reminders coming to iCloud.com soon?

iOS hacker Steve Stroughton-Smith posted a picture to his Twitter account earlier this afternoon that gives evidence Apple is testing both the Notes and Reminders app for iCloud.com. The current iCloud.com includes email, calendar, contacts, Find My iPhone, and iWork integration (and icons for each service). This screenshot, however, adds in two new icons: Notes and Reminders, both of which are currently available on iOS devices and will be coming to Macs this summer with OS X Mountain Lion.

The leak comes via http://beta.icloud.com, which Apple appears to be using for the test. The link doesn't always work, and will sometimes redirect to Apple's iCloud information page.

It's possible that these announcements will be coming at next month's Worldwide Developers Conference.