From CNET News.com: Just a day after Sprint upped its bid to acquire Clearwire, the latter's board has said that it's the right deal for the company.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Clearwire's board announced that it has approved the new deal with Sprint. The board has also asked shareholders to vote in favor of the acquisition when they meet to place their ballots on May 31.

Sprint made a surprising announcement on Tuesday, saying that it would up its initial offer to buy the remaining 50 percent of Clearwire that it doesn't own from $2.97 per share to $3.40. The deal is 10 cents higher than the $3.30-per-share unsolicited offer made by Dish.

It's no surprise that Clearwire's board approved the deal: it also thought that the $2.97-per-share offer was one that its shareholders should approve. Dish, though, has yet to respond to the new offer, which could throw a wrench in the plans.

That said, Sprint has no plans to get into a bidding war. Speaking to CNET on Tuesday, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse said that the latest bid is his company's "best and final" offer.

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From DailyTech: Sources indicate that Sony Corporation is currently considering a proposal from one of its top shareholders, Third Point LLC, to spin off its movie and music businesses. Reuters reports that hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb’s hedge fund, which owns 6% of Sony’s stock worth roughly $1.1 billion, called on Sony to spinoff its profitable entertainment arm amid a decline in some other segments.

News of the potential spinoff sent shares of the company up 9% with shares trading at $22.87 yesterday afternoon.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Sony has announced that it plans to discuss the proposal with its board.

"The proposal from Third Point, Dan Loeb is something that we should discuss thoroughly at a board meeting and then we'll decide Sony's stance," Chief Executive Kazuo Hirai said in a briefing Wednesday to lay out his strategic vision for the company. "Therefore, we are now going to start the discussion and we are still at the starting stage."

Hirai didn't offer any timeframe for the discussions.

Loeb believes that taking up to 20% of Sony's Entertainment Division public would help generate capital needed to overhaul Sony's ailing electronics business. Sony performed something very similar in 2007 when its banking and insurance unit made an IPO.

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From DailyTech: Rosewill announced that it is adding three new members to its line of powerline networking adapters.

The three new members are the RPLC-201KIT, RPLC-201PKIT and RPLC-200PKIT AV+ Premium. The line is being expanded thanks to the success of the RPLC-200KIT and RPLC-500KIT adapters.

The RPLC-201KIT is a 200Mbps Powerline AV mini Wall-Plug Adapter with HomePlug AV technology, a 10/100Mbps Ethernet port, 128-bit AES encryption, a range of 984 feet over the power line, expandability of up to 8 units and HD video/online gaming compatibility. Its power consumption is <2.5W Operation, 1.21W Idle, 0.48W Standby (30 mins without data transmit detection) and dimensions are 2.72 x 2.28 x 1.22in.

The RPLC-201PKIT has the same features as the RPLC-201KIT, with the exception of power consumption (<2.7W Operation, 1.6W Idle, 0.34W Standby -- 30 mins without data transmit detection) and dimensions (4.61 x 2.36 x 2.09in).

The RPLC-200PKIT AV+ Premium has all the same features as the RPLC-201PKIT, with the exception of a speed of up to 500Mbps.

"The RPLC powerline adapters’ push button setup will secure your extended network and have it up and running within seconds with a simple push of a button on each pair," said Rosewill. "The mini size of the RPLC-201KIT is designed to save room for your limited power outlets and the pass-through feature of the RPLC-201PKIT and RPLC-200PKIT provides a one for one offer where it will take one power outlet and give one back."

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From X-bit Labs: Imec, GlobalFoundries and Qualcomm announced on Tuesday that they have expanded joint development efforts to advance STT-MRAM [spin-transfer torque magnetoresistive random access memory] technology. The collaboration seems to be important as it not only demonstrates Qualcomm’s interest towards STT-MRAM, but also brings together a leading fabless chip designer and a leading contract chipmaker.

"We are elated to intensify our collaboration with GlobalFoundries and the other program members on advanced memory technologies—a true testament to the value we offer our industrial partners," stated Luc Van den hove, president and CEO at imec.

The first IC manufacturer to join imec's R&D program on emerging memory technologies, GlobalFoundries completes the value chain of imec's research platform, which fuels industry collaboration from technology up to the system level. GlobalFoundries is joining a team with Qualcomm and several worldwide equipment suppliers providing the complete infrastructure necessary for R&D on STT-MRAM.

"Our unique research environment harnesses the collective expertise and knowledge of the entire value chain, bringing together foundries, IDMs, fabless and fablite companies, packaging and assembly companies, and equipment and material suppliers to drive innovation and the development of new, competitive products,” added Mr. Van den hove.

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From X-bit Labs: Even though neither Microsoft Corp. nor Sony Corp. officially revealed launch dates for their next-generation video game systems in different parts of the world, the launch date of Battlefield 4 game by EA/DICE, one of the most anticipated title of this Fall, potentially reveals the latest launch date for Microsoft Xbox One and Sony PlayStation 4.

Powered by the next-generation Frostbit 3 engine, Battlefield 4 will be available October 29 for the Xbox 360 game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system and PC. Battlefield 4 will also be available for the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4. While it is not explicitly stated that the BF4 will be available on next-gen consoles on October 29, 2013, it is strange to launch a title that takes advantage of next-generation consoles without availability of the latter. Moreover, unofficial information states that Microsoft is going to start selling Xbox One in October.

Keeping in mind that sales of video games tend to be highest on the first date of availability, the Battlefield 4 launch date may reflect the fact that Microsoft Xbox One and Sony PlayStation 4 will be available in all major regions for the game, including the European Union and the United States.

Battlefield 4 delivers a genre-defining all-out war experience brought to life with unmatched visual and audio fidelity, superior character animations and dynamic destruction that ensures no two matches are alike.

Players that pre-order Battlefield 4 will receive the Battlefield 4 China Rising premium digital expansion pack at no additional cost. In this sprawling expansion, players fight for dominance across the vast and majestic Chinese mainland in four massive multiplayer maps, using all-new vehicles and high-tech military equipment. Separately, players that pre-order the Battlefield 4 Digital Deluxe exclusively on Origin will receive the base game, bonus in-game digital items, the Battlefield 4 China Rising digital expansion pack and access to the exclusive Battlefield 4 multiplayer beta.

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From CNET News.com: Google plans to shut down Google Checkout, its service for online payment processing, in six months, the company announced in a blog post Monday.

Even though Checkout was replaced by Wallet in 2011, it still has been an option for those merchants who are adamant about using the old service in their operations. But on November 20, that will come to an end. Google said by that time merchants who use Checkout will have two options: (1) move to another service, such as Google partners Braintree, Shopify, or Freshbooks, if they don't have their own payment processing, or (2) apply for Google Wallet Instant Buy if they do have payment processing.

"Today, we're letting Web merchants know that in six months, Google Checkout will be retired as we transition to Google Wallet -- a platform that enables merchants to meet the demands of a multiscreen world where consumers shop in stores, at their desks, and on their mobile devices," the company said in the blog post.

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From DailyTech: When it comes to processors for smartphones and tablet computers, companies like Qualcomm and Samsung have come a long way over the last several years. Processors from both manufacturers have turned up in a wide range of devices, with Samsung powering its own smartphones and those from Apple.

Two of the biggest companies in the microprocessor world are Intel and AMD. While Intel has continued to have success in the mobile processor market, even though its processors aren't as power efficient as offerings from other companies in the smartphone and tablet world, AMD has seen its market share continue to decline.

A new report his week from IC Insights takes a look at the overall microprocessor market for 2012. A significant downturn in the notebook and desktop computer market combined with a significant increase in sales for tablet and smartphone devices saw AMD plummet from second place to fourth place in 2012.

Intel still held the top spot with 65.3% of the overall microprocessor market.

Qualcomm now occupies the second place spot with 9.4% of the market courtesy of its ARM mobile processors for smartphones and tablets. Samsung came in the third spot with 8.2% market share thanks to a huge number of processors in production for Apple devices. AMD was in fourth place with only 6.4% market. Freescale was far behind with 1.9% of the market followed by NVIDIA with 1.4% market.

The overall microprocessor market for 2012 was worth $56.5 billion. The downturn in the personal computer market did see sales growth slow to 2% for the year after growing by 19% in 2011. The forecast is predicting microprocessor sells will increase by 10% for 2013 to $62 billion.

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From DailyTech: The fall of LightSquared and hedge fund manager Phillip Falcone was well documented. For a time it looked like the service provider would become a key partner to Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) with its ambitious satellite LTE scheme.

Then came the news that the satellite transmissions would interfere with roughly 75 percent of global positioning service (GPS) receivers -- a debacle that caused the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to reject LightSquared's bid in the eleventh hour, despite giving a conditional approval that critics say was bred from Mr. Falcone's close relationship with the Obama administration. In the aftermath of the FCC rejection, Sprint dumped LightSquared, LightSquared went bankrupt, and Mr. Falcone was accused of defrauding investors.

But the company still holds valuable spectrum, and in the midst of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy it reportedly has received a major bid for that spectrum that could help Mr. Falcone trim his losses and pay of debt, relieving bitter shareholders.

The bid for spectrum was first reported by Bloomberg and is reportedly the work of DISH Network Corp. (DISH) CEO, chairman, and founder Charlie Ergen.

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