Samsung launched Wednesday the newest version of its oversized smartphone Galaxy Note, just a week after Apple's iPhone 5 hit shelves, in an apparent bid to outpace its rival with a wider range of gadgets.

The South Korean electronics giant said the Galaxy Note II -- first unveiled at a trade fair in Berlin last month -- will eventually hit stores in 128 nations including the United States, where the firm's recently lost a $1.05 billion patent case to Apple.

In the nasty world of U.S. politics, voters want to know: who is behind some of the ads they see on TV. Now, there's an app for that.

The Super PAC App is an iPhone application which allows users to find out more information on political ads in the 2012 presidential election by simply holding up their phone to the ad while it's playing.

Tesla Motors Inc. unveiled a solar-powered charging station that it said will make refueling electric vehicles on long trips about as fast as stopping for gas and a bathroom break in a conventional car.

CEO Elon Musk said at a news conference Monday at Tesla's design studio that the company's roadside Supercharger has been installed at six highway rest stops in California.

Apple Inc. said Monday that it sold more than 5 million iPhone 5s in the three days since its launch, fewer than analysts had expected.

Apple shares fell $9.30, or 1.3 percent, to close at $690.79 on Monday. The shares hit an all-time high of $705.07 Friday as the phone went on sale in the U.S., Germany, France, Japan and five other countries.

A new vineyard worker is looking for a job in France. White with red trim, 50 centimetres (20 inches) tall and 60 wide, he has four wheels, two arms and six cameras, prunes 600 vines per day, and never calls in sick.

The Wall-Ye V.I.N. robot, brainchild of Burgundy-based inventor Christophe Millot, is one of the robots being developed around the world aimed at vineyards struggling to find the labour they need.

Myspace on Monday provided a glimpse at a major overhaul of the music-centric online community striving to reclaim lost glory.

A message atop the myspace.com home page promised: "Coming soon. The new Myspace," and provided a link to video showing a redesigned user interface that deeply integrates Facebook and Twitter.

Apple is seeking more than $700 million in additional damages and interest while arch-rival Samsung wants a new trial in the wake of a verdict that saw the U.S. technology giant awarded $1 billion.

In a massive U.S. court victory, a California jury declared on August 24 that the South Korean electronics giant should pay Apple $1.049 billion in damages for illegally copying iPhone and iPad features for its flagship Galaxy S smartphones.

Whether you want to know how long until you're sober, flirt with like-minded single revellers or where to stumble home after a few, help is only a click away at this year's Munich Oktoberfest.

Amid the pageantry, oompah and lederhosen associated with the world's biggest folk festival, a galaxy of ingenious apps for smartphones and tablet computers this year have blasted the 202-year-old party into the 21st century.

Auto giant Toyota on Monday unveiled plans to unveil 21 new hybrid models and launch its latest all-electric vehicle this year in a bid to ramp up sales of environmentally friendly cars.

The firm said it would release the new autos models by the end of 2015 and "expects global sales of its hybrid vehicles to be at least one million units a year from 2013 to 2015".

Iran blocked access to Google's popular and relatively secure Gmail service Monday amid first steps by the Islamic republic to establish a walled-off national intranet separate from the worldwide Internet.

Access to Google's search page (www.google.com) was also restricted to its unsecured version, web users in Iran found. Attempts to access it using a secure protocol (https://www.google.com) were also blocked.