Microsoft signs patent deal with Foxconn to get cut of Android production. 

Dove uses forensic sketch artist to "beautify" women.

Tesco expected to announce the sale or closure of 199 of its Fresh & Easy stores in the US.

American Apparel comes under fire again for "offensive" ads in UK.

Apple has been ordered to remove obscene content from its App Store by Chinese government officials.

Bank of America struggles for growth.

BBC Worldwide partners with Foxtel to build BBC brand in Australia.Continue reading...

Uber, the San Francisco-based startup at the intersection of mobile, car transport and logistics, is disrupting the industry and causing wide-spread regulatory reverberations.

The app for U.S. urbanites to book a cab on iPhone or Android OS smartphones has emerged as an alternative to overcrowded public transit and an escalating dearth of regular taxis, but now finds itself in the crosshairs of local taxi and limousine commissions. The key issue, is Uber a limousine service or a cab service? Answer — a bit of both.

It's pitched as "Everyone's Private Driver. Request a swanky ride in a black car with just the tap of an app! We're changing the way people are getting around by offering a convenient, cashless, and stylish on demand car request service from your mobile phone." A clever marketing tie-in just saw the Uber app used by New Yorkers to hail vintage gangster cars in a "free on demand" (a double entendre for NYC cable VOD subscribers) promotion for the third season launch of Boardwalk Empire on HBO.

This week the app launched in Boston and last week in Dallas, making it available (in theory, if not in practice) in 15 cities in total: San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Chicago, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Diego, Denver, Atlanta, and beyond the U.S., London, Paris and Toronto. But it hasn't all been smooth hailing — D.C.'s taxi commission has just proposed new rules to shut down Uber.

Uber's execs thought they had recently passed muster in Washington, following a six-month battle in the District of Columbia to legalize sedans used by its car-service partners.Continue reading...

Apple still sees consumer demand for iPhone 3GS.

AT&T warns blocking T-Mobile deal will lead to higher prices.

Amazon provokes retailers with new price-check app.

Banana Republic opens Paris flagship.

Bill Gates rumored to consider returning to Microsoft.

Billabong uses augmented reality in new campaign.

Carrefour mulls merger with French supermarket chain.

Dean & Deluca expands from New York to Singapore.

Jamba Juice to tap into schools market with self-serve units.

Ford to restart dividend after five years.

GM CEO Dan Akerson acts aggressively to staunch Volt damage.Continue reading...

AOL struggles in first quarter, while display advertising business grew.

Chipotle hiring probe expands.

ConAgra (maker of Chef Boyardee, Slim Jim) increases bid for Post cereal owner Ralcorp.

American Airlines offers in-flight streaming to personal devices.

Apple's iPhone 5 faces delay as app revenue projected to hit $3 billion.

Applied Materials to buy Varian Semiconductor.

AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile scrap "Isis" payment platform for mobile wallet.Continue reading...

Bits and bobs that caught our attention this week:

* Still think making consumers laugh is the way to connect? UK retailer John Lewis disagrees (above).

* Is that a Mini Coupe-r?

* T-Shirts for font snobs.

* "Luke, I'm your brand extension."Continue reading...

Coca-Cola kicks off FIFA World Cup campaign (above).

Anheuser-Busch the next official beer of the NFL?

BP boss Tony Hayward meets with US Congress as value drops $23 billion.

British Airways, “British enough”?

BMW sales soar, from Minis to Rolls-Royce sedans.

Chrysler introduces sales incentives.

Domino's ad blitz pays off.

Facebook defends "open privacy" policy.Continue reading...

Foursquare's new updates will be revealed during the SXSW conference. [TechCrunch]

Internet Explorer needs a makeover to keep up with competing browsers. [NY Times]

Panasonic Corp and Best Buy stores are set to market a 3D television. [Reuters]

The Nissan Cube is perfectly packaged to be marketed for younger drivers. [Boston Herald]

The 'Alice in Wonderland' opening has given Disney a gift of $210 million. [LA Times]

Auto brands are intimidated by the power of the #recall hashtag. [Washington Post]Continue reading...

The unofficial Apple weblog reported recently that GPS software and hardware maker TomTom has cut prices on its iPhone navigation application. The widget assists drivers with turn-by-turn directional mapping -- as long as you don't live in Canada.

Engadget revealed that the app now costs $49, well down from the original price of $99. Black Friday saw TomTom doorbuster models selling for $59, while refurbished high-end GPS devices were below $50 on eBay.Continue reading...