Apple, IBM to give 5 million iPads to Japanese seniors

Apple, extending its partnership with IBM, will also collaborate on apps to improve the wellness and connectivity of elderly people, starting in Japan.

NEW YORK -- Apple and IBM are getting into the senior care business.

The two companies said Thursday that they plan to give 5 million iPads to seniors in Japan over the next five years. The iPads will come with special software designed to help the elderly manage health care and other needs.

"We will dramatically improve the lives of millions of people," Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said an event here. "Sooner or later almost every country on the face on the earth will encounter this same issue."

Bezos' space company tests suborbital rocket

Blue Origin, a spacecraft startup owned by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, carried out an unmanned maiden test flight of its New Shepard suborbital rocket Wednesday, the company revealed early Thursday.

A dramatic video posted on the Blue Origin website showed the squat rocket being erected on a launch platform at the company's west Texas development facility followed by a brief countdown -- with Bezos looking on -- then a smooth liftoff and a vertical climb to an altitude of 58 miles.

After a string of losses, Sony sees good times ahead for profit

The company lost 126 billion yen ($1.05 billion) in the fiscal year ended in March, but it expects to turn that around with a 140 billion yen profit next fiscal year.

Sony might have posted a loss for the fiscal year ended in March, but the company says that the future looks much brighter.

Sony said (PDF) on Thursday that it expects to post a profit in the fiscal year ended March 2016 of 140 billion yen ($1.2 billion), more than making up for the loss of 126 billion yen the company suffered for the fiscal year ended in March. That profit would be the first the company would tally since the fiscal year ended in 2013 and its biggest profit in seven years. It would also mark an important turnaround for a company that has been facing its fair share of troubles over the last couple of years.

Looking even further ahead, the company is predicting a $4.2 billion profit by the end of its 2017 fiscal year, ending in March 2018.

Nokia denies reports it plans to return to smartphones

Nokia Technologies said Sunday it has no plans to resume smartphone manufacturing, denying recent reports it would return to a business it famously abandoned not so long ago.

"Nokia notes recent news reports claiming the company communicated an intention to manufacture consumer handsets out of a R&D facility in China," the company said in a statement. "These reports are false, and include comments incorrectly attributed to a Nokia Networks executive."

Xiaomi's plan to be No. 1 in India begins with the Mi 4i

NEW DELHI -- There's no denying that Xiaomi's new Mi 4i looks familiar, with its cute and colorful rounded plastic frame. But while the Chinese smartphone maker is likely to take flak for its Apple-ish emulations, Hugo Barra, the company's global vice president, says he had this phone in his head when he joined up with the company two years ago, after leaving Google.

"I came on board thinking that Xiaomi needed a flagship phone for emerging markets," said Barra here at the launch of the Mi 4i. "I've spent plenty of time in these markets and thinking a lot about this stuff in my previous job. I do think that price really matters and everyone should have a flagship."

Twitter launches 'Highlights,' to help users cut through the chaff

Twitter seems to be taking a cue from Facebook.

The company announced on Thursday a feature called Highlights that -- like Facebook's News Feed -- is designed to draw on a user's information to deliver relevant content and keep people from becoming overwhelmed.

"While your home timeline is a great place to browse through and engage with Tweets, we know it can be challenging to find the time to get through everything," Twitter said in a blog post Thursday.

For Microsoft, catching the future is an uphill battle

Microsoft's plan for the future is still costing it profit today.

The company that once dominated the computer industry is making the transition to a world where software lives on many devices, all managed online in the cloud. As Microsoft makes that shift, its commercial division -- which sells its Windows operating system and Office productivity apps to businesses -- continues to take a hit.

New version of Google Glass coming soon, says Luxottica CEO

The new version of Google Glass, the search giant's Web-connected eyewear, may be here soon.

The chief executive of Italian eyewear company Luxottica, Massimo Vian, said his company is working on the new product, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. He said it's coming soon, but did not give a specific timeline.

Luxottica, the company behind Ray-Ban and Oakley, has partnered with Google since last May to make frames for the device. Vian was speaking at Luxottica's general meeting in Milan, Italy, the Journal said.