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There's no question that Micron has shifted its focus away from PCs in favor of producing components, shipping everything from SSDs to CMOS sensors in recent years, but the semiconductor manufacturer just took a $2.5 billion step even closer to bridging its gap between other companies in the same market, including Samsung, the chip producer's top competitor. Under the deal, Elpida Memory, which is headquartered in Tokyo, will fall within the Idaho-based conglomerate's growing umbrella, netting Micron a 50-percent boost in production capability. That increase did come at great expense, however -- the transaction included $750 million in cash and $1.75 billion in future installments (1,750 easy payments of one million dollars?), which are set to continue through 2019. The acquisition was also paired with a 24-percent stake in Rexchip Electronics for an additional $334 million, which will complement Elpida's investment, yielding a total 89-percent stake for Micron. While the amount does seem quite significant, investors appear to be on board, with Micron's stock ($MU) currently up more than 4 percent since this morning. Both deals will reportedly close within the next year.

Maybe papercuts aren't a part of the creator's master plan, after all -- not at the Hotel Indigo's Newcastle location, at least, which is ditching the standard hardcover bible in favor of a Kindle edition. The hotel's GM says the move, which brings Amazon's e-reader to its 148 rooms, is keeping with the city's rich publishing history. The device will come pre-loaded with the bible, with other religious texts available for the download. Customers can also download non-religious texts, which will be added to their bill. The move is currently being assessed under a trial basis, which will be revisited on July 16th. No word on whether the promotion will be expanded to other hotels in the chain.

If you saw Microsoft unveil Windows Phone 8 and were disappointed that it only had a handful of conspicuous new features to show, such as that new Start screen and NFC support, don't worry: that's just the tip of the iceberg. Senior product manager Greg Sullivan (not pictured here) tells Pocket-lint that much of the information provided so far had to be revealed early to please developers and IT managers, many of whom can't wait until the last minute. Unlike a certain rival in Cupertino, Microsoft has a range of partners to work with and can't just be ready to go "hours after" the OS is announced, like those that control both the hardware and the software. That split is good news to us, as it sounds like there's a raft of public-facing Windows Phone 8 features waiting to surface between now and the end of the year -- whatever impressions we had in June may have been conservative.

Back in March at CeBIT, Acer unveiled a slew of new laptops, among which the Aspire Timeline Ultra M3 Ultrabook was easily the most celebrated. But while slim designs and instant-on technology are shoe-ins for media attention, slightly thicker machines with revved-up internals and discrete graphics are champions of the "don't judge a book by its cover" philosophy. And besides, not everyone is willing to part with a DVD drive, much less spend $1,000-plus on their next PC.

Hence Acer's Aspire V3, which is available in sizes ranging from 14 to 17.3 inches (for the purposes of this review, we took a look at the middleweight 15.6-inch version). While it weighs a hefty 5.8 pounds and looks positively bloated next to 0.8-inch-thick laptops such as the M3, the V3 packs serious power in the form of NVIDIA Kepler graphics and a Core i7 Ivy Bridge CPU. And unlike many Ultrabooks trickling their way into the market, this guy is priced to compete, making it a viable choice for the back-to-school season. But is it the best mainstream notebook $850 can buy? Let's see.

Acer Aspire V3 review

Select PowerShot S100 cameras are encountering a lens error, Canon confirmed on its Product Advisories page. An undisclosed number of the high-end point-and-shoots have had issues with a "disconnected part inside the camera," which causes the optic to malfunction. Canon suggests that the issue may be connected with exposure to heat or humidity, but regardless of the cause, the company is offering free repairs, even for out-of-warranty cameras -- assuming the issue is caused by this specific part. Qualifying S100s should have a serial number that begins with any number ranging from 29 though 41 (29xxxxxxxxxx, for example), and this specific offer only covers residents of the US and Puerto Rico, though owners in other countries should be able to reach out to their local support centers for assistance. You'll find the full advisory at the source link below.

Who knew that a company which makes a lot of money on the web would be keen to pitch the web as important to the US economy? Google thinks it's as natural as breathing, as it just took significant credit for fueling real-world shopping. About 97 percent of Americans reportedly searched online for a local business -- it's safe to say Google was involved in a lot of those hunts -- and spent an average of nearly $2,000 per person at brick-and-mortar stores last year. The search giant extrapolates to argue that the web pumped about $500 billion into the US economy, even while excluding internet-only sales. That's certainly a staggering number that shows how much of a cornerstone the internet has become for American business, although it comes across as slightly insecure: a company that's reportedly under tight scrutiny from regulators might be eager to show just how much good it's doing for the public in tough economic times.

HTC has been fighting to get a better relationship with US carriers lately, and it may have just chosen a clever (if roundabout) approach: hire one of their executives. As of today, AT&T's former phone portfolio VP Mike Woodward is now HTC's president of its North American division, reporting directly to worldwide sales head Jason Mackenzie. The new position won't necessarily get him any privileged access, but it certainly gives HTC someone who's well versed in what carriers want out of a device launch. We'll have to wait awhile to see what Woodward's strategy will be; suffice it to say that the company wants more One X-level anticipation and fewer of those bumpy, Inspire 4G-like releases.

Microsoft has already detailed the Windows 8 upgrade route for those buying a new computer, and it's now finally confirmed what everyone else will be paying when they upgrade their existing PC. Those running Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 will able to download a Windows 8 Pro upgrade for just $39.99. That's a far cry from the company's earlier upgrade prices, which as recently as Windows 7 ran $50 and $99 for Home Premium and Pro upgrades, respectively. You will have to pay a bit more if you want packaged DVD version of the upgrade, though, with it running $69.99 at retail -- it also sounds like both of those prices will be going up when the promotion ends on January 31st of next year. Not surprisingly, the upgrade process will vary depending on the OS you're currently using. Those making the jump all the way from Windows XP will only able to bring their personal files with them, while those on Vista will be able to bring their personal files and Windows settings, but no applications. And, if you're wondering about Media Center, it will be available as a free option once the upgrade is finished.

At this past year's CES, we were inundated by tablet after tablet after, well, tablet. Some were big, some were small, and some were just right. A few, though, kind of faded into the wallpaper and didn't return. Such was a little prototype NVIDIA brought by for us to play with, a 7-inch tablet from ASUS with Tegra 3 power and an amazing price tag -- just $250. We got our hands on it briefly (as seen in the video below) and it was impressive, but it was never to be seen again.

One month later, Google's Director of Android Partner Engineering Patrick Brady joined Matias Duarte in Taipei to meet with ASUS and to launch the project that would become Google's first Nexus tablet, the 7-inch, Tegra 3-powered Nexus 7 that is shipping soon for an even more amazing $199. Coincidence? Join us for a discussion with Patrick about how Google's mighty little tablet came to be.

Google knows that there's a looming EU antitrust lawsuit if it doesn't volunteer some kind of change to its search practices, so it's not entirely surprising that chairman Eric Schmidt has sent a letter offering a settlement to the European Commission's competition chief Joaquin Almunia. The details of just what that potential truce entails are under wraps, although Almunia has long broadcast his concerns that Google might be unfairly favoring its own services above those of others -- he'd be most happy if the results were more organic. It's hard to say whether or not Google is prepared to follow along, but a peace gesture is a sharp break from the company's previously firm view that there's no need to change. We wouldn't be surprised if the EU's recent success in fining Microsoft has left Google hesitant to take its chances in court.

Ever since Rakuten revealed its intentions to scoop up Kobo, the e-reader maker was clearly destined to hit the Japanese market. As noted a week or so back, the company's eReader Touch will be arriving the Land of the Rising Sun in July -- July 19th, to be exact. And, starting today, customers in that country can pre-order the reader for ¥7,980 (or $100 USD). Kobo's promised a "fully localized" experience on the reader, including local currency, content and a "robust" offering of Japanese books in time for launch.

Ready for some hardcore smartphone market share numbers? ComScore's got 'em for the three-month period ending in May 2012, and you probably won't be terribly surprised by the outcome. First, let's tackle smartphone platforms: Apple and Google posted minor increase month-over-month at 0.5 and 0.1 percent, respectively (1.7 and 0.8 over a three-month span). Microsoft (consisting of Windows Phone and Windows Mobile) didn't budge between April and May, though it nudged up a tenth of a percentage point since February. RIM dropped 0.2 percent over one month, but it already experienced a much more painful sting -- 2.0 percent -- during the three-month period. Symbian also went through similar concerns, going down 0.2 percent month-over-month and 0.4 percent since February.

As for specific manufacturers, Apple once again comes out on top, adding 1.5 percent to its customer base over the last three months for a total of 15 percent share. Samsung, still leading the pack in total market share at 25.7 percent, only grew by 0.1. Given the OEM's success in deploying the Galaxy S III to every major US carrier, we suspect that number will spurt up even higher over the next quarter. Among the companies losing share: LG, Motorola and HTC, losing 0.3, 0.8 and 0.2 percent, respectively.

Denmark's AiAiAi has developed a reputation for targeting its headphones at specific listeners. This time, it's aiming at someone we know all too well: the urban dweller who goes through replacement headphones like so much meat through a grinder. The Capital over-ears' bolstered fiberglass shell is designed to be rain- and snow-resistant, not to mention take the casual knocks that might beat up other headphone pairs. The foldable set likewise gives us every excuse to keep it on our heads, both through a light and reputedly comfortable brace as well as an in-line mic and remote to take that iPhone call through the Capital's 40mm drivers. At $125, the pair isn't the lowest-cost entry into the headphone world, but if it spares us from having to dive for cover when the weather turns foul, it could well be a bargain. You can get a sense of AiAiAi's impetus for yourself in a video after the break.

We're fans of the Nexus 7. Nokia, however, isn't quite so keen. It claims to The Inquirer that the ASUS and Google joint project is using Nokia WiFi patents without a license. The two companies never even asked, Nokia argues. As it's a question of standards-based patents, it's more likely that Nokia will simply cough politely and ask for a royalty rather than launch into yet another legal battle -- still, it's not exactly a minor accusation. We've reached out to both ASUS and Google for comment, but we can't imagine that either will be happy with the potential hit to their respective bottom lines. Sending a slice of what's left to Finland could be more than a bit painful when that $199 Jelly Bean tablet is already operating on virtually non-existent margins.

"Made in America." For some reason, my parents -- and the parents of many of my peers -- take great pride in seeing that phrase. I've seen people buy inferior products just because the label on the back proclaimed that it was thrown together in one of our 50 great states instead of across some imaginary line in "another country." Part of me wonders if people actually check to see if said claims are legitimate. As a business graduate, I fully understand the importance of producing goods within one's borders. There's a delicate balance that needs to be struck between imports and exports, and a huge part of a nation's economic growth hinges on how well that balance is executed.

I suspect the generation before mine remembers a very different America than the one I've grown up in -- one where smokestacks outnumbered high-rise buildings, and one where jobs requiring steel-toe shoes were more lauded than those requiring a fancy degree and "knowing the right guy." Manufacturing was the backbone of America through some really, really trying times, and there's some sense of national pride that comes along with images of swinging hammers and climbing ladders. "We built this country," as they say.

Did you know you can get a little squirt of Jelly Bean flavor in your Ice Cream Sandwich right now? It's nothing mega -- just a non-root APK for Google Sound Search, the new in-house rival to Shazam and SoundHound, courtesy of user "asdfzz" over at XDA. The widget, which is also known as "Google Ears," currently works in a similar way to third-party apps, analyzing a track via remote servers and bringing up the result within Google Play, but in the future -- according to Mobile Phones Fan -- it could achieve faster speeds and better integration with other Google services by running natively within the OS. Of course, if you're up for flashing a whole ROM, then Jelly Bean can already be had in its entirety.