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Apple has announced that their popular App Store has reached 50 billion downloads since launch in 2008.

The company had started a "50 Billion App Countdown" promotion two weeks ago, and the winner of the promotion (the 50 billionth download) will get a $10,000 gift card valid at the App Store, Mac App Store, or towards any iTunes Store content.

The fifty downloaders after the 50th billionth will each receive $500 gift cards, as well.

Apple is now seeing 50 million downloads per day, and the number continues to grow. There are just over 850,000 apps in the store.

The company saw 40 billion downloads earlier this year, 30 billion in June of 2012, and 10 million in December 2010.

As expected, Google's popular "Google Now" voice search service is headed to your PC, via Chrome or the ChromeOS operating system.

Google search boss Amit Singhal said the voice search tech would be available this week on your computer via the Chrome browser, along with new cards including movie times and reviews, TV shows, video games and public transit commute times.

A "card" is really a tab of information that comes in response to a recent search. Additionally, cards sync to your Gmail and calendar and previous searches and can remind you of upcoming flights, upcoming games from your favorite sports team, and appointments.

On the desktop, you just have to say "Google" to activate the voice search, and then ask away.

"This experience is rapidly developing and will take some time before it becomes the dominant search experience. There are several complex problems to solve, but our investment and commitment to getting there sooner rather than later are immense," Singhal concluded (via BI).

Google used their I/O conference today to unveil their oft-rumored unlimited streaming music subscription service, dubbed "Google Play Music All Access," or just "All Access" for short.

The service will rival Spotify, Rdio and others, and should prove to be major competition given Google's deep integration in Android and its hundreds of millions of users.

At $9.99 per month, the service will offer unlimited streaming music from the major record labels (UMG, Warner and Sony) and indie labels and be available on mobile devices as well as the standard desktop option. Clear market leader Spotify costs the same amount but there is a free option that is not unlimited and does not include mobile access.

One great deal from Google, is if you sign up before June 30th, the premium service is just $7.99 per month.

Google is making it possible for U.S. users over the age of 18 to send money as an attachment in Gmail with Google Wallet integration.

It's free to send money if your bank account is linked to Google Wallet or using your Google Wallet Balance, but low fees do apple for a linked credit or debit card (flat fee of 2.9% per transaction), while receiving funds is always free.

To send money in Gmail, hover over the attachment paperclip, click the $ icon to attach money to your message, enter the amount you wish to send, and press send.

The option is rolling out to U.S. users over the age of 18 over the coming months, so keep an eye out for it. Sending money through Gmail is limited to a Desktop for the time being, though you can quite easily use Google Wallet to send and receive money through mobile.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in the UK is set to grill Google on its tax affairs in the region on Thursday, for the second time.

Between 2006 and 2011, Google reportedly generated more than $18 billion in revenue from UK sales, but paid just $16 million in taxes. Matt Brittin, a former head of Google in the UK, told the PAC in November 2012 that Google was not taxes on the profits of its advertising business in the UK, because the sales were made from the Republic of Ireland.

Since then, it had emerged that Google's own website described its London offices as a base for a sales team, and even advertised dozens of sales vacancies based in London.

"When Google appeared before the Committee last year we were told they were not selling in the UK. There appears to be a clear discrepancy between that and the evidence that has now been uncovered by Reuters," said Committee chairwoman, Margaret Hodge.

"This hearing is their chance to explain themselves."

Due to a stagnating economic recovery and a growing national debt in the UK, questions have been asked about potential tax avoidance by major corporations in the UK. Google joins Amazon, Microsoft, Apple and Starbucks in the firing line of British politicians.

A report suggests that Microsoft is planning to phase out its Microsoft Points system, used to purchase content across several of its services.

The Verge is citing sources close to Microsoft in reporting that the Redmond giant will get rid of the Points system and allow customers to purchase content using real-world currency transactions (credit card, debit card etc.) and also will adopt an iTunes-like gift card.

The Points system has been in place as a means to sell content through Xbox LIVE, where 400 Microsoft Points can be purchased for $5. The system has been criticised often in the past for multiple reasons, but primarily because it can be a hassle for users who often would find themselves needing to buy more Points than necessary in order to make a transaction.

Reports last year suggested Microsoft would have made the change by the end of 2012, which will also apply to the Windows Store and the Windows Phone Store. Microsoft is likely to announce the change at E3 next month.

Gran Turismo 6 has been unveiled, and will be available this holiday season on the PlayStation 3 console.

Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi made the announcement today at a Silverstone event held to celebrate 15 years of the series. The iconic franchise has reached a whopping 70 million sales since it first captured gamers attention in the 1990s.

Features revealed today include stunning new tracks and cars and an overhauled user interface. There's also a new engine, which will improve game operation.

All of the cars and tracks from Gran Turismo 5 - which has sold 10 million copies - will be present in GT6, but the car lineup will expand to over 1,200. There will be a total of 33 locations (71 different layouts) available, including the UK's famous Silverstone Circuit.

"It is amazing to think that it is 15 years since we first released Gran Turismo," said Kazunori Yamauchi, during the announcement at Silverstone Circuit.

"Things have changed a lot since then and now Gran Turismo 6 is a further evolution of my dream. We're pleased to deliver GT 6 to PlayStation 3 as we have a very loyal community on that platform. However, we have refactored the game to make it very flexible and expandable, with a view to making many future developments.

Swedish prosecutors are going after the Pirate Bay again, this time telling a court that the .SE domain names used to access the site should be revoked.

Specifically, the prosecutors are looking to Sweden's Internet Infrastructure Foundation - which handles .SE domain name registrations - to "de-register" the domains, thepiratebay.se and piratebay.se.

"They have been used as a means to commit crime," prosecutor Fredrik Ingblad said on Wednesday, according to the Reuters news agency.

"There is a significant criminal copyright infringement which causes a great deal of damage to many."

The Internet Infrastructure Foundation does not seem enthusiastic to follow through on the requests, pointing out that people would still be able to block the controversial website.

"People who want to use the site would get to it anyway," Maria Ekelund, a spokeswoman for the Foundation, said.

The Pirate Bay is currently run by an unknown group.

Google has given Samsung's Galaxy S4 the Nexus treatment, showing it off at the Google I/O 2013 conference.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 variant runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and will be available contract-free for $649 supporting T-Mobile and AT&T's LTE networks. It will join the rest of Google's Nexus line-up on Google Play from June 26.

"We've worked closely with Samsung to create a special Samsung Galaxy S4 exclusively for Google Play," Google said.

"It brings together cutting edge hardware from Samsung with Google's latest software and services -- including the user experience that ships with our popular Nexus devices."

The device is largely the same in terms of specs, except for running the stock Android OS, the lack of a provider lock and an unlocked bootloader. Google has also promised prompt Android updates.

Google revealed at the I/O 2013 conference that there has been more than 900 million Android devices activated so far.

With such an astonishing figure, it's not difficult to understand why Google Play has just passed 48 billion apps delivered. At time of typing, Apple's App Store is approaching 50,000,000,000 apps delivered since it was launched (about 3 million to go at the moment).

With so many Android devices on the market, Google Play is more or less guaranteed to chase down and surpass Apple's app tally very soon. This month alone, more than 2.5 billion apps have been delivered from the Google Play store to Android devices.

Such colossal numbers really underline the rapid growth of smartphones and tablet PCs over recent years. Google only purchased Android in 2005, with the first major commercial Android device released in late 2008.

Samsung has confirmed that it has sold more than 6 million Galaxy S4 smartphones since the handset launched on April 26.

"As of the end of April, we supplied four million Galaxy S4 handsets to telecommunication operators around the world," an executive at the company said on Friday, according to South Korean site, The Chosunilbo.

"As of Friday, we have sold more than 6 million units, and we predict that we could break the 10-million mark by as early as the end of this month."

The figures make the S4 easily Samsung's fastest selling smartphone yet. It took 85 days for the S1 to hit a 3 million milestone, then 55 days for the S2 and just 21 days for the S3.

Skype has announced that a preview version of its app is now available for BlackBeery Z10 users.

The app has previously been made available for BlackBerry Q10 users, but now with the rollout of BlackBerry 10.1, Skype is making the preview app available for BlackBerry Z10 users who update the operating system to the latest version.

"When you download the Skype app, you can try all of Skype's popular features, and also see how seamlessly the Skype app integrates with the phone book and the BlackBerry Hub," Skype's blog announcement reads.

"Remember this release is still in preview version. We will continue working with BlackBerry over the next months to refine the performance of the Skype app. So keep an eye for any new Skype updates on BlackBerry World for your device."

Get it from BlackBerry World.

Sony is insisting that its entertainment division is not for sale, responding to calls from a Hudge Fund for an IPO of is entertainment unit.

The rumors of such a move pushed Sony shares upward on Tuesday, but a Sony spokesman said in a statement that Sony's entertainment business is vital to its growth strategy and is absolutely "not for sale."

Sony is being urged to hear Third Point's proposal for an IPO, as the iconic Japanese firm is crawling its way back to profitability after major revamps over recent years.

Third Point, managed by billionaire Daniel Loeb, has accumulated about 6 percent of Sony's shares, worth about $1.1 billion, making it the largest stakeholder.

In a letter to Kazou Hirai, Sony chief executive, Loeb said his fund would be willing to put up an additional ~$2 billion (200 billion YEN) to support an IPO of up to a fifth of Sony's entertainment arm.

"The entertainment businesses are important contributors to Sony's growth and are not for sale," Sony said in response to Loeb's proposal. "We look forward to continuing constructive dialogue with our shareholders as we pursue our strategy."

According to Sandvine, the broadband servicing company that tracks traffic, Netflix continues to account for one third of U.S. Internet traffic, and nobody else is even close.

Netflix's share of "prime-time downstream traffic delivered over 'fixed networks'" was 32.5 percent in the most recent report, down marginally from 33 percent in November.

Amazon dropped from 1.75 percent to 1.31 percent and HBO dropped from 0.5 percent to just 0.34 percent. Hulu saw growth, from 1.1 percent to 2.41 percent.

While Netflix is dominant over home networks and Wi-Fi, on mobile devices YouTube remains king. If you are watching a video on your phone, there is a pretty good chance it's on YouTube, says Sandvine.

According to The Verge, Google has taken the next step in their plans to launch a subscription streaming music service.

The report says the search giant has signed licensing deals with UMG and Sony Music, the two largest of the Big 4 record labels. The company is said to have signed a similar deal with Warner Music earlier in the year.

Google is expected to unveil the streaming service at this week's I/O conference, and the service will compete with Spotify, Rdio and others.

If accurate, Google will be the first of the tech titans to get in on the unlimited streaming subscription services market. Amazon and Apple are also said to be exploring options.