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While most of the media seems to agree that the Microsoft Surface tablet is a potential game-changer, one company sees it as a marketing ploy.

Acer founder Stan Shih says the device was unveiled to push device makers to bring out Windows 8 tablets, and that Microsoft will eventually withdraw itself from the market once that is done.

The software giant does not even have a "real intention to sell own-brand tablet PCs," says Shih. "Once the purpose is realized, Microsoft will not offer more models."

Shih believes that the Surface is a way to "encourage" third-party device makers to bring out similar tablets. Microsoft makes much higher profit margins by licensing software and therefore does not need to sell hardware, says the founder.

The Acer boss concluded: "Vendors adopting Windows 8 should interpret Microsoft's intentions positively, as they will benefit from Microsoft's marketing."

Although no one even knew they sold tablets, LG has announced they are pulling out of the market.

LG, the world's fourth biggest phone maker, says they will move their focus to smaller devices like smartphones, rather than competing with the iPad.

"We've decided to put all new tablet development on the back burner for the time being in order to focus on smartphones," says Ken Hong, a spokesman for LG.

Most recently, LG introduced its second tablet, the Optimus Pad LTE, to little fanfare.

Japanese legislators are looking to pass a new law that would make piracy a criminal offense with potential jail time.

Anyone convicted of making unauthorized copies of movies, games or other content or downloading the content could face two years in prison or a two million yen (about $25,400) fine.

More importantly, the law would affect anyone making copies of their own DVDs/Blu-rays to their hard drives or making copies to portable devices.

The new law is on the floor of the Upper House, being debated.

"Allowing illegal downloads to exist as they do now will harm the growth of the Internet," argued Lower House member Hakubun Shimomura, a strong supporter.

Member Takeshi Miyamoto took the opposite side: "The illegal flow of material is a problem, but rather than strengthening the penalties, we should bolster the deletion of illegally uploaded content."

During its announced developers conference today, Microsoft unveiled its Windows Phone 8 smartphone platform.

Codenamed 'Apollo,' the OS will not be available to any current Windows Phone user, which should anger the small but growing population of its users. This includes the Nokia Lumia 900, the flagship device recently launched on AT&T and around the world.

Amongst the new features are enhanced gaming functionality, a digital wallet and improved multitasking.

Most importantly, the phones have moved forward technologically. There is new support for multi-core processors (like dual-core and quad-core) and resolutions up to 1280x720. All Windows Phone 8 devices will have included microSD slots, allowing for extra storage space.

Like rival operating systems, Apollo will soon have its own "digital wallet," giving WP users the ability to make payments right from their phone with connected credit/debit cards and other options. All WP8 phones will come equipped with NFC to take advantage of the wallet when the details have been worked out with the carriers.

According to a new report out of Asia.

The Galaxy Note was undoubtedly one of the surprise hits of 2011, and it appears Samsung is working on a sequel.

If the reports are accurate, the Galaxy Note II will debut in October, around the same time Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 5.

The device will feature ultra-thin "unbreakable plane display (UBP)," which is "a precursor to flexible display technology, and leaves room for a thinner design without sacrificing internal hardware," reveals Verge.

Furthermore, the phone will run on a quad-core processor and have a 12MP camera, making it an elite device.

Finally, the sources claim the device will have an even large screen than its predecessor, which has the largest screen of current devices, at 5.3-inches.

The struggling Japanese TV maker has unveiled the world's biggest commercial LED TV.

The 90-inch Aquos LED TV is a full four feet tall, 8 feet diagonally and 6 feet wide with a depth of 5 inches. The TV is a very hefty 141 pounds, as can be expected.

Beyond its size, the TV features Sharp's own SmartCentral service, which has apps for Netflix, YouTube, Hulu Plus and other content providers. Being 3D ready, Sharp is throwing in 2 pairs of glasses, as well.

Sharp will sell the massive television at a massive price tag, $11,000.

As expected, Nokia has launched the 808 Pureview for the United States.

The device is notable because it runs Nokia's discontinued Symbian operating system and also includes a 41MP camera sensor. The average smartphone in the U.S. has an 8MP sensor.

Nokia has made the product page available for the U.S.. The phone will eventually sell through Amazon for $699, unlocked for GSM carriers.

The device will work on T-Mobile and AT&T's 3G radio bands.

Pre-orders begin this week but there is no word yet on actual release.

The unlimited music streaming service Spotify will offer a free radio service to iPad and iPhone users in the U.S.

Spotify's move will put it into even tighter competition with Pandora, Slacker and others.

Until today, the mobile access cost $10 per month, but the new free subscription adds audio ads. The ads will entice users to pay for the subscription service, which will strip all ads and still offer unlimited music on mobiles.

"We found those that use radio are really some of the most highly engaged users of Spotify," said Charlie Hellman, Spotify's vice president of product. "They stay longer and are more likely to upgrade."

Spotify has 3 million paying subscribers, and just over 10 million active users.

Microsoft has used their impromptu 'mystery' event to unveil the rumored 'Surface' Windows RT tablet.

So far, from the specs revealed we can see that the device is a 16:9 display, 10.6-inch screen, the edges are beveled at 22 degrees, and is just 9.3mm thick. The display has Gorilla Glass 2 and you can connect to "the strongest Wi-Fi connection ever."

The case is built of magnesium, and the "liquid metal is formed into an ultra rigid and light frame" while weighing just 1.5 lbs.

Additionally, the device has access to all Windows apps for music, movies and more, and all games from the Windows Store. Full Microsoft Office is installed, as well.

Surface will be a line of products including a Windows RT version and a Windows 8 Pro model. The RT model is powered by a Tegra 3 processor and the Pro is powered by an Intel i5.

The Surface has two digitizers, one for touch, one for digital ink, and 600 DPI, allowing for full editing using a stylus.

There was no word on price except to say it will be "competitive" with other ARM-based tablets. This means $500 or more.

More notably, is the case, which doubles as a kickstand and a full multi-touch keyboard. Check the pictures for the awesome look of the new case:

Although it is a relatively well known fact, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster conducted a recent survey to see what mobile operating system is most popular with developers.

After surveying 100 developers at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), the consensus was that iOS was the most preferable.

"iOS was the clear favorite in two categories: ease of development and future revenue growth," said Munster. "Among the 55 developers who work with both operating systems, 84% said iOS was best for ease of development, with Android at 5%, Windows at 2% and 9% unsure."

While all the devs at the event (unsurprisingly) coded for Apple, 55 percent also coded apps for Android, with 14 percent coding for Windows and another 9 percent writing BlackBerry software.

Facebook has announced its acquisition of Face.com.

Face.com is an Israeli-based facial recognition technology company, and will likely be quickly integrated into the social networking giant.

The companies did not disclose the final price of the deal, but nearly all sources place the acquisition price at $100 million.

It is unclear how Facebook will use the service, but most speculate they will use the technology to boost their mobile offering, giving users an easier way to upload and tag photos.

Facebook recently purchased Instagram for $1 billion, showing its commitment to its mobile app.

Barnes & Noble has confirmed today that it is not part of Microsoft's mysterious news conference tonight at 7PM EST.

When asked, a B&N spokesperson frankly said "we are not participating."

There had been speculation that Microsoft was introducing a new tablet/e-reader along with their partner B&N to compete with the Amazon Kindle Fire and the alleged upcoming Google Nexus tablet.

Microsoft has invested $300 million to become a large stake holder in the book chain's digital content subsidiary.

We will have coverage of the event at 7PM.

Verizon has finally made their ultra-fast service official.

The company has dubbed the service "FiOS Quantum," and it will offer users 300Mbps downstream and 65Mbps upstream.

For $210 per month, you can access the fast fiber Internet, or get a discount to $205 per month if you sign up for a 2-year contract.

There are all new tiers and pricing now, outside of the Quantum. Verizon's "cheap" base plan of 15 Mbps down and 5 Mbps up will now cost $65 per month with a two-year contract, a far cry from the current $55 with one-year contract. That's where the bad news ends for Verizon fans, fortunately.

The current 25/25 tier is being replaced by a 50/25 plan, which will cost the same ($75) with two-year contract. The 50/20 is being replaced by a 150/65 plan that costs $95 per month.

Finally, there is a new 75/35 tier for $85.

Nokia's 808 PureView, the smartphone the company introduced this year with a 41MP sensor, is expected to reach the States today.

According to a number of teasers posted on the Nokia U.S. Facebook page, the date 06.18.12 will be important, as will the number 808.

The device has already launched in Russia and India, but Nokia has never confirmed its release anywhere else except for the UK, where it will be released next week.

Nokia's teasers included an aerial photo of the Hawaiian islands, which use the 808 area code, and then posted a picture of the Roland TR-808 drum machine. The final post read "808 reasons to be excited about Monday."

The 808 runs on the now defunct Symbian operating system and could on sale as early as this week.

Over the last few weeks, Google has introduced new Chrome OS products like the Samsung Chromebox and a line of new notebooks.

More importantly, however, was the unveiling of Chrome OS 20, the first real "face lift" for the operating system.

For this review, we will take a look at what's new in version 20 and 21, as used on the Google CR-48 beta Chromebook.

First off, I will be clear in saying that Chrome OS cannot yet compete with Microsoft, Apple or Linux, but it is slowly but surely getting there. The lack of offline abilities (for now) and the need to have apps for most tasks make it a bit daunting for consumers used to the openness of traditional operating systems. Then again, the main benefits of Chrome OS is quick boot-up, and the ability to survive without very much internal storage, thanks to cloud storage of your files. If you are a power user, who needs video/photo editing and other memory intensive apps, Chrome OS will not be for you, probably ever. For the average consumer, however, Chrome OS is becoming a viable alternative.