COMPANIES

As the long and eventful year 2011 ended, the expectations over the upcoming gadgets have hit the pinnacle, particularly after the grand display at the CES. It's time to look at the most anticipated gadgets for the year 2012.

Looking to reverse its ailing financial fortunes, LG has officially announced its Optimus Pad LTE tablet.

The unveiling of the world's thinnest notebook, the 13-inch Acer Aspire S5 at CES 2012, has sparked a comparison with the better known Macbook Air.

Google has changed how it scans web pages and has provided advice to help Wikipedia, Reddit and others remain high in search results while they black out to protest SOPA and PIPA.

Reports suggest that a number of Asian smartphone makers have taken an interest in buying ailing BlackBerry maker RIM.

Apple is tipped to be holding a media event next month where it will announce the hotly anticipated iPad 3, just under a year after the iPad 2 broke cover.

Wikipedia and Reddit may not be the only ones on the Anti-SOPA blackout radar, as reports indicate about 7,000 websites will be going down in protest against SOPA and PIPA legislation in U.S.

Wikipedia closes English-speaking site over controversial Sopa and Pipa legislation website says threaten to censor internet.

Saudi banking officials deny Israeli reports that hackers brought down Saudi Stock Exchange and Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.

Wikipedia saysentire existence depends on free, open and uncensored internet.

An untethered jailbreak for the iPhone 4S running iOS 5.0.1 is just around the corner, as a hacker has posted a video online demonstrating that it works.

Which? experts call for 'pro-consumer' watchdog to regulate complicated charges.

Apple is expected to enter the digital textbook business on January 19 at a media event focused on education.

Production of a figurine of the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs has been cancelled, after the Hong Kong manufacturer received "immense pressure" from Apple.

Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg is believed to be preparing for initial public offering with astronomic $100bn valuation.

For users running out of steam after a hardcore diet and energy-sapping weight loss programmes, it may be time to reverse that trend. The advent of the New Year and the chance to sample some truly delicious, if not sinful, food may be too much to resist.

Wikipedia to black out English-language site over anti-piracy laws in the US.

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak says that he wishes the iPhone did as much as his Android smartphone, claiming that Google does voice commands better than iOS.

CloudFlare has introduced a 'Stop Censorship' app in its bid to support the anti-piracy campaign with the likes of Wikipedia, Reddit and Cheezburger.

Amazon's free cloud service offers 750 hours of access to Windows Server 2008 R2, Linux and free storage up to 30GB over cloud. It is Microsoft Azure versus Amazon's free cloud service in the battle of wooing .NET developers and project heads.

Japanese carmaker announces first self-healing iPhone case, which it claims can repair itself when scratched.

Incidents of violence against retail staff soar by staggering 83 percent in 2011.

Watching the BBC iPlayer on smart, internet connected TVs increased by more than 1000 percent through 2011, signalling a dramatic shift away from watching live television.

The Samsung RV720 is powerful yet affordable laptop with large screen that could easily act as desktop replacement.

Google Doodles has gained momentum over the years as more and more users have applauded the search engine giant's efforts in celebrating significant events with style.

Pirate Bay is on its last legs, as the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is gaining momentum. Torrent files are gradually disappearing from the Web site and with only magnetic links to fall back on, there is very little hope for the world's most resilient torrent site.

Apple's latest attempt at suing Motorola for infringing three of its patents has backfired, as the U.S. court has ruled in favour of the latter.

Super-fast 4G wireless technology and high-resolution retina display highlights of Apple iPad 3.

Google is under fire from News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch with accusations of profiting from advertisements sponsored for pirated materials.