Sony is to shutter its ebook Reader Store in Europe and Australia following a similar pullout in North America, the company has said, as the once-mighty electronics giant pulls in its horns.

The move comes on the heels of the sale of its struggling PC business and as Sony looks to plug gaping holes in its balance sheet.

One of Japan's most popular cartoon creations, Doraemon, a robot cat from the future with a magic pocket and a portal to anywhere, is to make his debut on U.S. TV this year, officials said Friday.

TV Asahi, which partially owns the rights to the character, has reached an agreement with Disney to air a version dubbed into English, said a spokeswoman with the Japanese broadcaster.

Apple plans to release its new iPhone in August, a month earlier than expected, after sales were hit by new big-screen models from its rivals, a major Taiwanese newspaper reported Friday, citing supply chain sources.

The Economic Daily News quoted unnamed sources as saying Apple had acquired parts from various Taiwanese suppliers such as wafer maker Visual Photonics Epitaxy Co and Largan Precision, a leading maker of lenses used in mobile phones, for the handset expected to be called iPhone 6.

Apple is eyeing a $3.2 billion acquisition of Beats Electronics, a California firm founded by rapper Dr. Dre and which makes products including headphones, news reports said Thursday.

A deal could be reached as early as next week, but the talks could also drag on, the New York Times said.

Nintendo isn't allowing gamers to play as gay in an upcoming life simulator game.

The publisher of such gaming franchises as "The Legend of Zelda" and "Mario Bros." said Tuesday it wouldn't bow to pressure to allow players to engage in romantic activities with characters of the same sex in English editions of "Tomodachi Life." This follows a social media campaign launched by fans last month seeking virtual equality for the game's characters, which are modeled after real people.

Watson is going to college.

Students at seven of the country's top computer science universities will get a chance to try out IBM's famous cognitive computing system as part of new classes set for next fall.

Facebook wants to increase its advertising and get more clicks on all kinds of ads. It believes tapping into the lucrative small business market will help it achieve those goals.

Sheryl Sandberg, the social media company's operating chief and "Lean In" author, says the key is showing business owners how to find new customers by creating Facebook pages and by buying ads that appear on individual Facebook users' pages. The company plans a campaign called Facebook Fit with workshops in five cities to show small business owners the nuts and bolts of using Facebook as a marketing tool.

Google's drive to put the future of personal computing firmly in the Internet "cloud" got a boost on Tuesday from chip titan Intel and hardware giants including Lenovo.

The leading computer maker joined Acer, Dell, Toshiba, Hewlett-Packard, Asus, and LG Electronics to introduce an array of new Chromebooks, many powered by newer-generation Intel chips that promise improved performance and battery life.

Pakistan's parliament on Tuesday voted unanimously to lift a ban on YouTube, in a non-binding resolution that was nonetheless welcomed by free speech campaigners as an important symbolic move.

The video-sharing website has been blocked in Pakistan since September 2012 over its hosting of the "Innocence of Muslims" movie that sparked furious protests around the world. 

Amazon rolled out a new feature Monday allowing Twitter users to select items for purchase on the online retail site without leaving the messaging platform.

The new feature called #AmazonCart allows people to link their Twitter and Amazon accounts for in-app purchases.