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Yelp, the local listing service that has long been critical of Google's ways, is understandably disappointed with the FTC's settlement with the search giant. Other than a few minor concessions -- which you can read about here -- the government determined that Google's search practices are legal.

"Today's announcements by the FTC validate a number of the concerns we have raised about Google's dominance in the search market and its anti-competitive behavior," Yelp said in a statement. "The closure of the Commission's investigation into search bias by Google without action, however, … Read more

The U.S. government is opposing Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt's plans to travel to North Korea, Reuters reported today.

According to the report, the U.S. State Department said the timing is not right for Schmidt's humanitarian mission. The trip, first reported by the Associated Press, was planned as a private trip, led by former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. It was expected to take place as early as this month.

In a State Department briefing today, spokesperson Victoria Nuland said, "They are traveling in an unofficial capacity. They are not going to be accompanied by … Read more

Samsung continues to reign over the rest of the mobile-phone industry in the U.S., according to the latest stats from ComScore.

Looking at the three months ending with November, Samsung won 26.9 percent of all mobile subscribers in the U.S., a 1.2 point gain from the prior three-month period. Apple took home second place with 18.5 percent of the market, a gain of 1.4 points.

Samsung continues to wear the crown, but its share hasn't grown much from a year ago. In contrast, Apple has slowly been rising up the ranks. For the … Read more

Google competitors unhappy with the way their search results are displayed on Google search pages will be able to opt out under an agreement announced today by the Federal Trade Commission.

That was perhaps the most significant plank of a multipart agreement announced by the FTC after a lengthy investigation into Google's practices. The agreement will require Google to make minor changes to resolve complaints by competitors and advertisers. It avoided any fines.

At the same time, the FTC voted 5-0 that Google's search results were not biased in favor of its own results in a way that … Read more

With little fanfare, Samsung has revamped the look of its Chromebox budget desktop. Shedding last year's gray-and-black plastic chassis, the 2013 Chromebox now comes in a white, rounded plastic shell.

You won't find any new specs in this new model. The 2013 version has the same 1.9GHz Intel Celeron CPU, 4GB of RAM, and 16GB solid-state hard drive as last year's Chromebox. Its ports remain almost entirely unchanged as well. You still get two DisplayPort outs, a DVI output, and six USB 2.0 ports. The only update is a small door that hides the Chromebox … Read more

T-Mobile USA's retail stores are set to carry the hard-to-find Nexus 4, according to TmoNews.

The Nexus 4, initially sold unlocked as well as with T-Mobile, had been hit with supply issues as consumers gravitated toward this latest marquee smartphone from Google.

The smartphone, made by LG, runs the latest version of Jelly Bean, or Android 4.2. It has proven to be popular with consumers, something LG badly needed to get itself back in the smartphone game. Its own flagship smartphone, the Optimus G, hasn't resonated as well despite carrier support from AT&T and Sprint … Read more

Apple's App Store gets the nod as the best mobile app store, at least in the eyes of research firm ABI.

Ranking app stores for both innovation and implementation, ABI dubbed Apple the overall winner, with Google in second place and Microsoft's Windows Phone app store in third.

Apple soared ahead of the pack in terms of implementation, outshining Google Play and RIM's BlackBerry App World. The App Store was cited for its "effective approach to monetization, large market share over the app industry, and the ability to achieve a large inventory of titles while maintaining … Read more

Google is aiming to harness people's motivation to carry out their New Year's resolutions and then use that to help others achieve their goals. Be it lose weight, make more money, learn a new language, or travel more, users can see what people around the world are striving for on Google's new interactive resolution map.

"Research shows that you're more likely to achieve your resolutions if you write them down and have support," Google's Associate Product Marketing Manager Liz Wessel wrote in a blog post yesterday. "Try sharing your goals with communities … Read more

Google is poised to settle the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's long-running antitrust investigation by agreeing to voluntarily change some of its business practices, Bloomberg reported today.

The FTC has been investigating a wide range of Google's business practices, focusing mostly on the way Google displays search results, which critics say favor the company's own services over those of its competitors. The U.S. trade agency has also been examining Google decisions on technology licensing, which some argue are anti-competitive.

As part of the settlement of the trade agency's 20-month probe, the search giant is agreeing … Read more