chief executive

Nokia is the global cell-phone leader, with sales of 329 million units in 2009. Yet when it comes to feature-packed smartphones in some markets, including the U.S., analysts say Nokia is under threat from rivals Apple, Research In Motion, and Google.

by Sara Firisen

A global Internet oversight agency is reopening discussions about whether to create a ".xxx" domain name as an online red-light district where porn sites can set up shop away from the wandering eyes of children and teenagers.

Parents would be able to use the system to help block access to porn sites, though because its use would be voluntary, the ".xxx" suffix wouldn't keep such content entirely away from minors. Religious and other anti-porn groups worry that ".xxx" would legitimize porn sites, and the proposal has already been rejected three times since 2000.

Apple is showing its true mobile colors. The company is on the lookout for an engineer who can help get its mobile-phone software onto additional devices.

On Feb. 15, Apple posted an ad on its Web site for an engineering manager "to lead a team focused on bring-up of iPhone OS [operating system] on new platforms." Days later, Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook called the company "a mobile device company," echoing remarks by Chief Executive Steve Jobs, who in January said "Apple is the largest mobile device company in the world."

The new year began harshly for Adobe Systems. Shares of the maker of Photoshop, Flash, and other widely used software have dropped almost 8 percent in 2010, after big gains last year, amid speculation that Adobe's Flash Web-video software will be eclipsed by a competing technology backed by Apple and Google.

Nokia Corp. may be the world's top cell phone maker, but it's no longer a trendsetter, as a host of inventive and alluring technologies from North America is shifting the center of gravity in the cellular universe away from Europe.

Despite efforts to boost its position in the U.S., Nokia is struggling to compete with Cupertino, California-based Apple Inc. -- maker of the iPhone -- and Canadian smartphone maker Research in Motion, which makes the BlackBerry.

Google Inc. reeled in more Internet advertising during the holiday shopping season and approached $2 billion in quarterly profit for the first time, providing the strongest sign yet that the online search leader has shaken off the recession's doldrums.

The fourth-quarter earnings announced Thursday topped analyst estimates, but revenue only matched forecasts.

Whatever might be said of its methods and accuracy, there is little question that the Greenpeace "Guide to Greener Electronics" has become an important fixture on the consumer electronics scene.

In August 2006, Greenpeace took its first stab at ranking the green bona fides of 14 makers of consumer electronics. In a nutshell, the appraisals hinged on the elimination of certain hazardous chemicals and a willingness to take responsibility for products across their life cycles, through take-back programs, recycling and other efforts.

Qualcomm was the chipmaker of choice for some of the highest-profile tech gadgets unveiled the week of the Consumer Electronics Show -- in Las Vegas and elsewhere. Not only do Qualcomm chips run the Google Nexus One smartphone introduced in Mountain View, Calif., on Jan. 5, but they're also under the hood of computers shown off at CES by Hewlett-Packard. HP and Lenovo are working on smartbooks, scaled-down personal computers, based on Qualcomm's Snapdragon processor.

Tech executive Parikshit Arora had an unconventional response the morning he discovered that his office computer was no longer working. Rather than fixing it himself or calling in help from the information technology department, he discarded the device. "It wasn't booting up," says Arora, vice-president for technology at iQor, a company that handles call-center work for clients. "I didn't even care to find out why. I threw it away and got another one."