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Massive smartphone maker has shocked the world today, revising its Q4 forecasts lower, again.

The company cited weakening global demand and a huge uptick in competition as its main factors.

Revenue is now expected to come in at around NT$104 billion, down from its already lowered forecast of NT$125 billion.

If accurate, HTC will see no growth year-over-year, a huge disappointment to investors.

While smartphone demand continues to grow, HTC has seen increasing competition from Samsung and Motorola in the Android market, and Nokia now in the Windows Phone 7 market.

HTC will ship 12 million phones in the quarter, the first time it has seen a drop in shipments in 2 years.

New Kinect hardware for general purpose use with Windows.

A post on the Kinect for Windows blog, made on Tuesday, said that the team has optimized certain hardware components and made firmware adjustments which improve PC-centric scenarios. The team is also working on the Software Development Kit (SDK) and runtime.

Simple changes to the hardware include a shortened USB cable to ensure reliability across systems, and a small dongle to improve coexistance with other USB peripherals. Updated firmware enables the depth camera to see objects as close as 50 centimeters in front of the device without losing accuracy or precision, with graceful degradation down to 40 centimeters.

"Near Mode" will enable a whole new class of "close up" applications, beyond the living room scenarios for Kinect for Xbox 360.

Developers and companies are currently participating in the Kinect for Windows pilot program, and Microsoft is taking suggestions for functionality from the Kinect SDK forums.

Spotify has said today that it has reached 2.5 million paying subscribers, with growth accelerating by the day.

The company launched its service in the U.S. during the summer and has seen mass adoption.

In June, before the U.S. launch, the company had 1.6 million subscribers which jumped to 2 million in September.

Spotify Free allows 10 free hours of music per month, with ads.

Premium subscriptions allow for unlimited streaming and access via mobile devices.

Phishing scam being investigated by Microsoft.

The Redmond-based software giant said a small number of users have been affected by a phishing scam that used fake e-mails to get personal details and other information from gamers. "We take the security of the Xbox Live service seriously and work to improve it against evolving threats," a Microsoft spokesman said.

"Very occasionally, though, we are contacted by members regarding alleged unauthorized access to their accounts by outside individuals."

Microsoft was quick to point out that there was no breach in Xbox Live security. Nothing has been hacked, users have just been duped by a crafted e-mail that sent them to a malicious website.

"We work closely with impacted members directly to resolve any unauthorized changes to their accounts and, as always, highly recommend all Xbox Live users follow our account security guidance in order to protect their account details."

YouTube has announced today that they are adding hundreds of Disney and Pixar titles available for streaming rental.

So far, the company has only added a handful of films like the latest "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Cars 2" but the rest will be available "shortly."

The site will also be adding Disney behind-the-scenes clips and featurettes.

All videos will be available on the site and through Google TV and other services with a YouTube app.

Universal, Sony and Warner have made 3000 films available for rent on YouTube this year, making Disney the 4th major to join.

Rentals cost $1-$4 and can be viewed for 48 hours.

More info here: Welcoming your favorite Disney movies

Construction workers at the site say the retail store will not be open in time for Black Friday.

Says the worker (via Mashable):

It won't be any time too soon. We still have a lot to do, so my guess is that it will be ready in December.

Apple bought out the space currently rented by Charlie Palmer's Metrazur restaurant for $5 million, ensuring Palmer breaks his lease 8 years early.

The MTA says Apple will pay $1.1 million rent per year, a significantly higher amount than Metrazur, which was paying $263,997. Foot traffic through Grand Central is over 750,000 people per day, with commuters having an average salary above $100,000.

Besides the space in the east balcony, Apple will take the vacant, adjacent balcony, as well. Overall, the company will occupy 23,000 square feet, making Grand Central its 3rd largest store.

YouTube VP of global sales Lucas Watson has noted this week that the global video site is now serving up 3.5 billion videos every day.

Watson made the announcement during a presentation at the Monaco Media Forum.

In May, YouTube announced that it was delivering 3 billion videos per day and in May 2010 the number was 2 billion.

Additionally, the site has 800 million unique viewers per month making it the third most trafficked site in the world.

65 percent of all viewers are non-English speakers.

Google+ is part of a larger plan, apparently.

When Google+ launched this year, it was described as the search giant's best effort in the social space, and possibly the biggest threat to Facebook's dominance of the field so far. Why not? It hit 10 million users within 16 days, compared to two years for Facebook and Twitter.

After 100 days in operation, it hit a 40 million milestone. On paper, it would certainly look like a winner, but a tally of registered users cannot tell a complete story about the popularity of a web service nearly as well as analytical data.

Chitika, a web analytics firm, reported that the Google+ excitement began to fade just a month after its public launch. Its data shows a 60 percent drop in traffic. As for the number of registered users, Google has not released updated figures since September.

Media outlets have already dug the ditch, with Forbes publishing a Eulogy for the service, and Slate declaring in a headline that, "Google+ is dead". Well, not so, according to Google.

Bradley Horowitz, vice-president of product at Google+, says that it is aimed at being more than simply a social networking service. "Google+ is a foundational element for identity, relationship, interest across all we're doing at Google," Mr Horowitz told BBC News.

Julius Genachowski wants proposed merger sent to administrative law judge.

The Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission sent a draft order to fellow commissioners in which he cites FCC staff findings related to the merger's impact on competition in the market, and on jobs.

"The record clearly shows that -- in no uncertain terms -- this merger would result in a massive loss of U.S. jobs and investment," an FCC official said, according to Reuters. AT&T's planned merger is already in the firing line of the U.S. Justice Department.

The DoJ went to court in August to oppose the purchase on antitrust grounds, with a trial due to commence in February. Any proposed administrative hearing at the FCC would only begin after the antitrust trial, effectively ensuring that another roadblock is prepared.

AT&T said it is disappointed with the FCC action, and disputes its findings related to job losses and investment. The No. 2 carrier in the United States cited $8 billion in broadband investment and commitments on job preservation and enhancement.

"This notion, that when government spends money on broadband it creates jobs, but when a private company spends money it doesn't, is clearly wrong on its face," said Jim Cicconi, AT&T executive, referring to a $4.5 billion annual fund to promote broadband to underserved communities, which the FCC says will create 50,000 jobs over six years.

Commissioner says IP rights used as "instrument to restrict competition."

In recent years, a plethora of legal cases involving patents related to mobile device technology have emerged and are showing no sign of going away any time soon. Consumer Electronics firms view rich patent portfolios as crucial to take a piece of the growing pie, but the effect of their constant legal challenges is being questioned by the European Commission.

European Commissioner for Competition, Joaquin Almunia, expressed concerns about how patents can be used to stifle competition in the market. The European Commission requested that Apple and Samsung send it details on patents used as standards in the industry this month.

"We requested information from both Apple and Samsung. We have not yet received the answers. We need to look at this because IP rights can be used as a distortion of competition but we will need to look at the answers," Almunia told reporters.

"In particular, in the IT sector, it is obvious it is not the only case. Apple and Samsung is only one case where IP rights can be used as an instrument to restrict competition. Standardisation and IP rights are two instruments that in this new IT sector can be used as a tool to abuse."

Falling prices and drop in U.S. shipments push China to top spot.

Shipments of smartphones in China reached a new record of 23.9 million units in the third quarter, compared to 23.3 million in the United States which saw a 7 percent drop during the period.

The devices are becoming cheaper and more widely available in the giant emerging economy.

Compared to the second quarter, smartphone shipments in China rose 58 percent. Nokia Oyj leads the Chinese market with a 28 percent share of shipments during the quarter. It is followed by Samsung Electronics at 18 percent.

Wireless carriers in China have ramped up the amount of smartphones on offer, particularly devices running the Android operating system. Carriers also offer subsidies on iPhones.

"I could never get a Samsung, I'm creative!"

While never specifically mentioning "Apple," or "iPhone," there can be no doubt who Samsung has aimed its new 60 second spot for the Galaxy S II smartphone at.

The scene is outside (presumably) an Apple store on the launch day of a new (presumably) iPhone. It is _just_ nine hours until the store actually opens, so one eager customer questions why some people would already be leaving the queue.

The gang notice a smartphone being used by a passerby, and learn that its a Samsung Galaxy S II.. and a big deal is made out of its 4G capabilities. "The next big thing is already here," we are then informed.

Launch details of PlayStation Vita in EU are revealed.

When the PlayStation Vita handheld launches in EU territories on February 22 next year, it will be accompanied by 12 first-party launch titles. The software line-up includes newly announced Motorstorm 13, and shooter United 13.

Highlights of the list also include Uncharted: Golden Abyss and WipeOut 2048.

The much anticipated tablet is finally available for pre-order, at least via Amazon.

Asus' new Transformer Prime, the first quad-core tablet on the market, will sell for $500 for its base 32GB model.

Here are the full specs (AandM):

Nvidia Quad-Core Tegra 3 Processor
Additional 5th core to reduce power consumption when 2 or 4 cores are not needed
10.1″ IPS+ display with Corning Gorilla Glass and 178 degree viewing angle
1 GB RAM (LP DDR2)
8 megapixel auto-focus rear camera with 1080P video capture and large F2.4 aperature
1.2 megapixel front-facing camera for video conferencing
12 hours of battery life, up to 18 hours when paired with the keyboard dock
2 color schemes: Amethyst Gray and Champagne Gold
2 storage options: 32GB and 64GB ($499 and $599 price points) with expandable storage via microSD
8.3 millimeters thick, weighs in at 1.29 lbs.

The latest Android operating system is headed to the popular tablet via CyanogenMod.

Steve Kondik (Cyanogen) has posted on his Google+ account today that the custom ROM is headed to the tablet "soon":

ICS on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is pretty great. Coming soon to a CM mirror near you :)

In the past, whenever Kondik has said something was coming soon, that means a 2-5 week time frame, so Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 could be running Android 4.0 in time for Christmas.

We will keep you updated on all new versions of CyanogenMod 9 (Ice Cream Sandwich) into the future.