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IDC has released some shocking figures for the PC industry.

According to the research firm, PC shipments fell 14 percent in the Q1, the biggest drop on record.

Global units shipped fell to 76.3 million, almost double the drop IDC was expecting.

For the most part, consumers completely ignored Windows 8, instead opting for smartphones and tablets. Enterprise customers chose to stick with Microsoft's Windows 7 instead of updating, as well. The new user interface of Windows 8 was "disorienting" for users, says IDC, and touch-enabled PCs are still out of favorable price ranges.

The last time the PC market saw a decline this large was the Q3 2001, following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

HP remained the top PC maker with 16 percent market share, followed closely by Lenovo at 15 percent. Dell remained in third at 12 percent.

Lenovo, however, was the only company to not see a decline in shipments year-over-year. HP saw a decline of 24 percent, Dell saw shipments decline 11 percent, but Lenovo actually saw growth, most notably in the U.S.

Hon Hai Precision Industry, the parent of Foxconn, reported earnings this week, and they were not pretty.

The company, which is Apple's main manufacturer, saw a 19 percent dip in revenue for the Q1 thanks to weaker demand for the iPhone.

Total revenue for the quarter was $26.96 billion, down from $33 billion in the Q4 2012 and $33.5 billion for the Q1 2012.

"A quarterly decline was expected, but not a yearly decline," added KGI Securities analyst Ming-chi Kuo. "This shows that Hon Hai's revenue depends too much on Apple, and iPhone orders corrected more than expected."

Hon Hai makes 65 percent of its revenue from assembling iPhones (and iPads and iPod Touches) and other work for Apple.

T-Mobile USA has announced a new trade-in program for iPhones that will allow users to buy new devices at a discount.

The iPhone 5 (and 4/4S) go on sale via T-Mobile on Friday and the trade-in program is available until mid-June.

Thanks to the company's new "Uncarrier" plans, the iPhone 5 will sell with two options. You can purchase the device at full price at time of purchase, or purchase it for $99 upfront and pay out $20 a month for 24 months, for a total of $579 over two years. If you want an iPhone 4 or 4S, the installment plan cost is just $15 or $70 down with a $15 or $20 monthly charge, respectively.

If you trade in an iPhone 4 or 4S (from any carrier), the iPhone 5 will be free upfront, with the first 6 months of financing free, as well.

Google has announced that its Google Play Music service has been expanded to seven new nations.

The new countries are Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Ireland, and Portugal.

Google Play Music is notable as it allows users to save up to 20,000 song for free in the cloud and then stream it from anywhere they are logged in, including Android devices. You can also purchase over 13 million tracks.

The service debuted in the U.S. in late 2011 and was later made available in France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the UK.

Google is expected to eventually include a streaming service similar to Spotify in its offering.

Wal-Mart has announced today that they have reset all Vudu customer passwords after data was stolen during an office robbery last month.

Reads the email: "On March 24, 2013, there was a break in at the VUDU office and a number of items were stolen, including hard drives. These hard drives contained customer data including names, email addresses, mailing addresses, account activity, dates of birth, and encrypted passwords, but NO full credit card numbers. We are proactively retiring and resetting all passwords and notifying all customers. As another level of protection for customers we are also providing AllClear ID identity protection services. We reported the theft to law enforcement immediately, and are cooperating fully with their investigation."

Being that the break-in was on the 24th, it's unclear why Wal-Mart took so long to perform the reset and tell customers.

As with all hacks and data thefts, Vudu encourages customers to change their passwords on other sites if they use the same username and to be mindful of phishing emails.

Vudu is a download and streaming video service available on hundreds on devices.

Earlier this week we reported that popular mobile messaging app WhatsApp was rumored to be in negotiations with Google over a buyout, one that could cost the search giant up to $1 billion.

Today, Neeraj Arora, WhatsApp's business development head, has denied the report.

Last year, a similar rumor hit, with Facebook as the potential buyer. At the time, the company denied the rumor, as well, saying it was "not factually accurate."

WhatsApp remains the leader in the market, but rivals like LINE are quickly joining them, including newer features and poaching customers. WhatsApp costs $0.99 for one year of service and is available on Android and iOS and Windows Phone as a cross-platform messaging service. The service processes billions of apps per day and is always a top 5 paid app in all 100 countries it is available in.

Microsoft has said today that its Surface Pro tablet "meet or exceeds" warranty laws in China, denying Chinese reports that the coverage did not meet requirements.

The Pro and its components are covered by a 24-month warranty, which is consistent with Chinese law, says Ogilvy Public Relations, part of Microsoft's PR team.

Chinese media had reported that the company only offered a one-year warranty on the device, not meeting requirements. The company recently began selling the Surface Pro in China after selling the Surface RT for months.

"We stand behind our products with a manufacturer's warranty, which is additional to our commitment to honor any statutory obligation as either a manufacturer or retailer, to repair or replace a faulty product," Microsoft said in the statement.

According to sources, Microsoft will soon be updating Windows Phone 8 to support 1080p resolutions.

An update "before the end of the year" will allow manufacturers to build 5-inch (or larger) phones with 1080p displays, on par with rival operating systems. WP8 currently supports up to 720p resolution.

The update will be "General Distribution Release (GDR3) for Windows Phone," and will likely be in place before the holiday season, allowing OEMs to build devices in time for their busy season.

Additionally, the GDR3 update will add support for more Qualcomm processors, including quad-core.

Microsoft will use an AMD processor in its upcoming Xbox console, say sources, allowing the company to keep costs lower and giving developers an easier way to create games.

The Wii U and the upcoming PlayStation 4 both use AMD chips.

Reports claim the "Xbox will use an AMD system-on-a-chip that combines powerful "Jaguar" central processing units with graphics chips," moving away from IBM's PowerPC tech seen in the Xbox 360. This will make Xbox 360 games incompatible, however.

Next-gen consoles will greatly benefit by moving to the x86 platform, as developers have been actively building games for PCs and will find it easier to port such games between platforms.

"We'll probably see many more titles because the console makers are saying the publishers are back in the driver's seat," said Richard Doherty, president of technology consulting firm Envisioneering Group. "Developers won't have to reinvent various features, such as smoke, shading and reflections for each machine and can essentially create once and port once, and be done."

Earlier today, a pre-release beta version of the upcoming Facebook Home made its way to the Net.

The software officially launches on April 12th with the release of the HTC First, and will be compatible with five other devices, as well. This version seems to have had no issues being installed on Google's Nexus 4 and Nexus 7, however.

"Chat Heads" was not working, and there was a 720p resolution restriction, but other than that the software seemed to be running decently.

By this afternoon, however, Facebook had stopped the party, shutting off apps access to their servers. If you are really interested in the interface, Friday is not too far away.

Read more about the software here: Facebook and HTC unveil "Facebook Home" for the HTC First

Support for Microsoft Windows 7 RTM (without Service Pack 1) will end tomorrow, so it is certainly time to upgrade if you have not yet.

End of support means no more updates or security fixes for your operating system, leaving it more vulnerable to attack.

Says Microsoft: "Every Windows product has a lifecycle. The lifecycle begins when a product is released and ends when it's no longer supported or sold. Knowing key dates in this lifecycle helps you make informed decisions about when to upgrade or make other changes to your software."

Windows 7 with SP1 loses support in February 2015, but you can pay for extended support (including security fixes) until 2020.

Get Windows 7 SP1 here: Microsoft

HTC reported their quarterly earnings this morning, disappointing investors with their lowest profit, ever.

Profits for the quarter were just $2.85 million, compared to $33 million last quarter and $345 million during the Q1 in 2012.

Revenue fell to $1.4 billion, down from $2 billion last quarter.

The news comes at a terrible time for HTC, which just had to delay their flagship device, the One. A shortage of ultrapixel cameras means the One has only been launched in three markets so far, compared to the 80 HTC wanted to have it in by the end of March. The company will now have to compete directly with Samsung's Galaxy S4 when it launches at the end of April in 155 nations.

HTC recently unveiled its First phone, the first device to include Facebook Home, a new user interface that tightly integrates Facebook and Instagram features.

According to multiple sources, Microsoft will hold their long-awaited Xbox event on May 21st.

It appears the company had been planning a late April launch event, but instead had to delay.

During the event, Microsoft will provide the first real concrete details of the Xbox Next (codename Durango) and the company's ongoing plans for Xbox in 2013.

The console will have a full unveiling at this year's E3 event in June, with a holiday season release planned.

Sources say the new Xbox software will be based on Windows 8, allowing for better connectivity with Windows Phones, Windows PCs, Surface tablets and more.

Sony has announced today the release date and prices for its high-end 4K televisions first unveiled at CES this year.

The Bravia XBR-55X900A (55-inch) and XBR-65X900A (65-inch) will cost $5000 and $7000, and will be made available to consumers of April 21st.

Each of the sets have passive 3D, edge-lit displays and built-in Wi-Fi, which are higher-end specs but also helped Sony keep the prices down to a point where consumers may potentially be willing to invest.

"These new models will be arriving in homes just before the summer and are sure to bring the enhanced viewing experience of 4K TV to a whole new audience," said Mike Lucas, senior vice president, Sony Electronics Home Division. "Our TVs deliver a vibrant and natural picture that is four-times clearer than high definition. As for content, these new sets enhance all of the video people are watching today, and this summer our 4K media player, followed in fall by the video distribution service will demonstrate how Sony continues to lead in bringing the 4K entertainment experience to viewers."

According to a report from suppliers, the recent increase in DDR3 memory prices has led video card vendors to raise prices across the board.

The retail prices have (or will) jump 10 to 15 percent, a significant increase for the end user.

Reports say only DDR3 is affected, so high end cards with DDR5 will not be included. Many budget cards still use the lower-end memory, however.

Perhaps worse is the notion that the prices will not drop back to previous norms in the next six months, unless manufacturers offer promotions, says the report.