Lenovo is interested in acquiring troubled device maker BlackBerry but it would first evaluate the market, the computer and Android-based smartphone maker's chief executive Yang Yuanqing hinted.

In an interview with French financial newspaper, Yuanqing said the acquisition of BlackBerry could make sense, though he would first have to evaluate the market as well as the Canadian manufacturer's standing.

Speaking on the topic, he said that the deal "could possibly make sense. External growth is all about opportunities. But first I have to analyze the market well."

Various sources suggested over the past few months that Facebook is preparing to introduce video ads in News Feed, but many believe that it would not be easy for the social-networking giant to put the video ads without angering users.

Last month, Hillside Partners analyst Rory Maher reported that Facebook was beta testing a video ad product, which would automatically start playing in News feed and would max out at 15 seconds.

Google Inc has confirmed that it has reached a licensing agreement with MPEG LA over patents related to the internet search giant's streaming media technology WebM.

The agreement cleared the way for wider adoption of Google's VP8 video codec. Via the agreement, Google gained the right to sublicense the VP8 and also the techniques in the next version VP9 codec.

As part of the deal, MPEG LA also agreed to ditch its efforts to create a VP8 patent pool, which would have permitted it to cross-license its video patents.

Travel firm Thomas Cook has announced its decision to close its 195 high street travel agencies and cut 2,500 jobs in the UK.

The planned closures and job cuts are a part of the 172-year-old travel firm's restructuring plan, which aims to turn its distressed British business around.

Thomas Cook, the world's oldest travel firm, also said that most of the cuts would affect positions in the back-office and within the firm's retail network.

South Korean carmaker Kia has announced that it would not sell its 'Provo' car in the UK.

The announcement followed a parliamentary motion by DUP MP Gregory Campbell, arguing that the name `Provo' was often used for the Provisional IRA during the Northern Ireland Troubles. The motion stressed that it would be offensive to victims of the Provisional IRA.

Kia responded that it had no plans to launch the car in the UK, where it could be offensive to victims of the Provisional IRA, and added that the model was a special one planned for a Swiss motor show.

BBC's instant streaming service iPlayer will soon become available on Microsoft's Windows Phone platform also, a spokesperson for the broadcaster said.

Cyrus Saihan, head of Business Development at BBC Future Media, said that the BBC iPlayer would be made available on Windows Phone 7.5 and Windows Phone 8 platforms in the next few months.

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), which is owned by Indian auto giant Tata Motors, has revealed its plans to increase investment and double employment at its engine plant in Wolverhampton.

Ralf Speth, chief executive of the British luxury car maker, announced that the management had decided to increase investment at the engine plant from a previous plan of nearly £350 million to more than £500 million.

The luxury car maker is also spending £2.75 billion to boost sales of vehicles, such as a nine-speed gearbox Land Rover and the Jaguar F-Type.

Samsung's Galaxy Note 510 is believed to be announced to fill the gap left between the 5+ inch phablets and the 10+ inch tablets.

Announced last week on the occasion of the Samsung Forum 2013 in Hyderabad for the Indian market, the Samsung Note 510 features an 8-inch display, which prompted many to call it an Apple iPad Mini killer.

The 8-inch TFT LCD display offers a resolution of 1280 by 800 pixels, at 189 pixels per inch (ppi) density. Visuals presented by the display are quite detailed and impressive.

Google has refuted reports that it is worried about the increasing dominance of Samsung and that its relationship with the South Korean manufacturer has become strained.

Speaking at a recently held Morgan Stanley investment conference, Google CFO Pichette claimed that the company had a very strong relationship with Samsung, and that the reports about the alleged strain between the two companies were created by journalists who loved big headlines which sell newspapers.

The Internet is abuzz with reports about the screens shots and release date of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, though developer Ubisoft is yet to make an official announcement regarding that.

Based on a leaked trailer for the fourth-generation Assassin's Creed game, unconfirmed reports claim that the eagerly-awaited game will be available from October 29 this year.

The leaked trailer also claims that the Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag will also become available on next-generation gaming consoles.

William Hill bookie's business could reach £5 billion over the next five years, according to the bookmark service's chief executive Ralph Topping.

Topping predicted the huge increase in the company's business in the coming years after it spent £424 million to take full control of its online operation.

William Hill acquired 29 per cent stake in software firm Playtech, which will give it a freer hand to make investment in the online business worth around £1.5 billion. William Hill is presently worth £2.9 billion.

Workers at Chivas Brothers' bottling plant in Dumbarton accidentally flushed thousands of liters of whiskey down the drain.

The blunder took place at the plant during the night shift on Tuesday while workers on duty mistook the whiskey for waste water while equipment was being cleaned.

The smell of the drained out spirit was so strong that even sewage workers reported it.

According to the findings of Nielsen's Mobile Consumer Report, 97 percent of the UK population owns a mobile handset, with nearly 61 percent owning a smartphone. More than half of the smartphone users in the country have said that they have never received any adverts when their handset in is use.

The Nielsen report's revelation that nearly 53 percent of the UK smartphone users haven't got adverts while using the phone implies that either mobile advertising is easily ignored by the users or it is apparently an underused marketing channel.

Dish Network Corp.'s effort to acquire wireless broadband operator Clearwire Corp may get a major setback as wireless broadband operator is reportedly planning to tap financing from Sprint Nextel Corp.

Dish placed a bid to acquire Clearwire for $3.30 a share. But, Dish also indicated that it would withdraw its offer if Clearwire took financing from Sprint.

Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple is employing its own Advertising Identifier technology to have more control over the way advertisers gather user information from mobile devices, according to TechCrunch.

Citing unnamed industry sources, TechCrunch reported that Apple's App Review team is preventing apps that make use of "cookie tracking," a move that hints that the tech giant is going to implement its own technology to identify advertising.