High-tech gadgets to make the lives of senior citizens simpler, safer and more fun are in the spotlight at the world's top showcase for consumer electronics and home appliances.

A jump in demand has prompted organizers of IFA, which opened its annual six-day trade show Friday, to offer their first guided tours for the over-60 set, pointing out what's new and hot for the market of a certain age.

Amazon.com Inc. says it has sold out of its Kindle Fire tablet computer amid expectations of a new model for the holiday season.

The Internet retailer has a major press conference scheduled for next Thursday in Santa Monica, Calif. It's widely expected to reveal a new model of the Fire there, so Thursday's announcement that the first model is "sold out" suggests that Amazon halted production a while ago to retool for a new model.

A Japanese court Friday rejected Apple's claim that South Korean rival Samsung stole the U.S. firm's technology for its own products, the latest ruling in a global patent battle between the tech giants.

The Tokyo District Court ruled that Samsung did not infringe on Apple's patents on its iPhone and iPad computer for some of its own Galaxy smartphones and tablet computer.

A Chinese dissident convicted of subversion based on evidence provided by U.S. Internet giant Yahoo! was released from prison on Friday after serving a 10-year term, his wife said.

Wang Xiaoning, 62, became a cause celebre after a Beijing court named Yahoo Holdings (Hong Kong) as the source of evidence that led to his 2003 conviction, in a public relations disaster for the company.

The repercussions of Apple's billion-dollar patent victory over Samsung were still being felt at Europe's biggest consumer electronics show, as the South Korean firm launched a host of new gadgets.

After losing the biggest patent case in decades, Samsung came out fighting at the IFA show in Berlin which opens on Friday, with a sweeping media launch of smartphones, tablets, a "smart PC" and a voice-controlled camera.

Independent booksellers have found a new partner to help them sell e-books.

Toronto-based e-reading service Kobo has an agreement with the American Booksellers Association to offer e-books at independent stores. Kobo and the booksellers association announced Tuesday that starting this fall around 400 stores will offer e-devices, accessories and selections from Kobo's e-book store.

President Barack Obama reinforced his image as the social media president Wednesday as he took questions from the public in an online chat on the Reddit website.

As Republicans gathered for the nominating convention in Florida, Obama chatted about hurricane relief efforts, the space program and Internet freedom in a wide-ranging discussion.

Samsung will offer three different choices to people interested in buying a desktop computer equipped with a redesigned version of Windows going on sale this fall.

The personal computers previewed Tuesday by Samsung at a technology conference in Germany provided one of the first glimpses at the Windows 8 machines scheduled to hit the market on Oct. 26.

Brazil hopes to capitalize on the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics to advance its goal of becoming the world's third largest information technology and communications (ITC) market, a top industry official says.

"We are today the fifth largest ITC market in the world, (worth) $210 billion dollars," Antonio Gil, president of the Brazilian Association of Information Technology and Communication Companies (Brasscom), told Agence France Presse in an interview Monday.

Smartphones are set to make up a majority of the global handset market next year, fueled by surging demand from consumers in both wealthy and emerging nations, a survey showed Tuesday.

The report by IHS iSuppli said smartphone shipments in 2013 are forecast to account for 54 percent of the total mobile phone market, up from 46 percent in 2012 and 35 percent in 2011.