Google to bid for wireless spectrum
FCC planning sale of radio frequencies that could be used to deliver the next generation of Internet and mobile phone services to consumers.

Facebook retreats on online tracking
Faced with its second mass protest by members in its short life span, Facebook is reining in some aspects of a controversial new advertising program.

Ed Zander steps down as chief executive of Motorola
Zander will be succeeded by Greg Brown, the company's chief operating officer.

High-tech gifts for someone who has everything, without going broke
Here are five options that should please even the most exigent techie on your list at a cost of under $1,000.

Luxury goods are forecast to join rise in online shopping
U.S. Internet retail sales excluding travel will jump 19 percent during November and December, to $31 billion and will account for about a quarter of the yearly total, according to eMarketer.

Electronic offerings for the holiday season
While the latest wave of consumer electronics lacks a paradigm-shifting new device, there is a wide range of thinner, lighter, bigger and costlier variations on familiar audio and video themes.

Going upscale

Several factors are helping to fuel the increase in online commerce, especially in luxury items. One is the jump in the number of American Internet users who have incomes of more than $100,000 a year. There are 44 million who fit that description today, a figure that will climb to 57 million by 2011, according to a recent report by eMarketer.

Crystal clear

Philips, the electronics maker, and Swarovski, the crystal specialist, have created the Active Crystals line of electronics accessories. A heart-shaped silver locket encrusted with cut glass crystals, above, doubles as a one-gigabyte USB memory stick holding 250 songs or 1,000 photos. Also available is a USB stick, below, in a crystal-encrusted gym lock. Either costs €148, or $222, at Swarovski outlets. The companies also offer a line of crystal audio earphones that work with most standard MP3 players for €69 to €129.

For toddlers, toy of choice is tech device
Laptops, digital cameras and MP3 music players are among the hottest gift items this year. For preschoolers.

EU regulator moves ahead with mobile TV standard
Despite opposition, the bloc's top telecom regulator said approving a single standard would open up a market worth as much as €20 billion.