Industry insiders are accusing Apple of manipulating the price of NAND flash memory chips used in its popular iPhone and iPod products, according to a report in The Korea Times on Monday.

Citing unnamed sources, the article says Apple asks manufacturers to produce more chips than it eventually buys from Samsung Electronics and Hynix Semiconductor. The sources said Apple waits for the price of the chips to fall before making its purchase.

(Credit: Apple)

The practice of not buying all of the product originally ordered, semiconductor analyst Jim Handy told CNET, is 'not uncommon in the industry.'

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--The U.S.'s energy objectives are closely intertwined with--and in many cases, rely upon--the country's broadband infrastructure, government officials and smart-grid company executives said.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Monday held a 'field hearing' at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the role of communications in energy and environment, an information-gathering session to help set a national broadband strategy.

Congressman Ed Markey speaking during the FCC's hearing on broadband with FCC chairman Julius Genachowski seated.

(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET)

The entire notion of the smart grid supposes connectivity at different points of the grid. Adding digital technologies to the existing system will allow energy to be used more efficiently, increase reliability, and let grid operators use more solar and wind power, say smart-grid advocates.

Planning on being away from a wall outlet with your MacBook for a long time? QuickerTek has released a pair of solar chargers for your laptop, letting you carry a power outlet around with you...at a fairly steep price.

The whimsically named Apple Juicz comes in two models, which generate 27 watts and 55 watts respectively. Lay it out in bright sunlight, stake it through the included corner grommets if it's windy, and plug the MagSafe connector to your MacBook. You'll be fully charged in six to twelve hours, depending upon which Juicz and MacBook you haveв”and, of course, whether you're using your MacBook at the same time.

Holiday shoppers in the United States spent some $595 million online on Black Friday, up 11 percent from last year, with Amazon.com and Walmart.com the most visited sites, according to analytics firm comScore.

Visits to Amazon.com (AMZN.O) rose 28 percent, followed by the online unit of Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N), which grew 22 percent. The two companies have already engaged in a heated battle for market share this holiday, with each lowering prices on select merchandise.

Michael Jackson's death thrust the singer to the top of yahoo.com Internet searches in 2009, putting an end to Britney Spears' four-year reign and helping bump the President Barack Obama from the top 10 list.

Although the year was dominated by recession, the most clicks still went to what distracts web surfers. NASCAR, actress Megan Fox, reality star Kim Kardashian, and the film "Twilight" replaced four actresses on last year's top list.

Nokia Corp., the world's biggest mobile phone maker, said Tuesday it has filed suits against several leading liquid crystal display makers — including Philips, Toshiba, Sharp and Samsung — for alleged price fixing.

Nokia spokesman Mark Durrant said the suits — filed last month in the United States and Britain — came amid international criminal investigations in the U.S., the European Union 'and elsewhere.'

The companies, or their subsidiaries, named in the suits are AU Optronics Corp., Hitachi Ltd., LG Electronics Inc., Philips Electronics NV., Samsung Electronics Co., Seiko Epson Corp., Sharp Corp. and Toshiba Corp., Durrant said.

Thanksgiving week sales of Nintendo's Wii plummeted in the US despite a $50 price cut designed to reinvigorate the kinetically renowned console. In a press statement, the company revealed it sold about 550,000 units of the console during the holiday week, or nearly a third fewer than the nearly 800,000 units sold during the same timeframe last year.

That sounds bad for Nintendo, and in a sense it is, especially given sales figures loosed from Sony and Microsoft indicating both systems performed well during the crucial inaugural holiday sales period. That rules out the economy as a major mitigating factor and starts pointing to less appetizing explanations, like demographic saturation, or worse--dissatisfaction with a relentless deluge of mediocre software.

Microsoft has launched a microblog-style service in China based on Windows Live Messenger, expanding the social-networking functions linked to the chat software in a country where it is a hit.

The new service, which is called MSN Juku and is now in beta, lets users post 140-character messages to an update screen that slowly scrolls old messages to the right. The service automatically links users with people on their Live Messenger contact lists, whose updates also appear on the scrolling timeline. Posts are also stacked top-to-bottom and display only their first few words when they appear close together. Pointing the mouse at a condensed message shows its full version.

MISSION VIEJO, Calif.--On my way to last month's Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles, I took a small detour to Orange County to check out the recently opened Microsoft Store there.

Although I had heard plenty about Microsoft's nascent retail effort, I wanted to get a firsthand look.

At a glance, it's easy to understand why the store draws so many comparisons to Apple's stores. The outside of the store features an expansive glass window with a stylized Microsoft logo at the top. Inside, products are sorted into themed sections, with a help desk and theater in the rear, and all around are T-shirted enthusiasts ready to answer any and all questions.

From that standpoint, it's nearly a carbon copy. But even as it mimics much of the Apple approach, Microsoft finds ways to customize its message to its different role in the world. When it comes to laptops, for example, Microsoft is eager to lay out dozens of choices to highlight the variety of prices, sizes, and options available to those buying Windows.

Top mobile phone maker Nokia said on Tuesday it filed suits in Britain and the United States last week alleging a number of leading technology firms operate cartels for mobile phone and monitor displays.

Nokia said the suits followed government investigations in the United States, Europe and elsewhere, and other civil suits already filed in the United States. A spokesman declined to say how much the firm was seeking in damages.

Nokia said companies named in the suits included AU Optronics, Hitachi, LG, Philips, Samsung, Seiko Epson, Sharp and Toshiba.