Diehard gamers in Japan who began queuing earlier this week finally got their hands on a new PlayStation 4 as Sony unleashed its console on home turf in a midnight launch.

The long-awaited Japanese launch comes after a stellar debut in the United States and Europe, where more than 5.4 million units have been shifted since November, offering a bright ray of hope to Sony after years of gloomy sales of its key consumer electronics goods.

Google announced a new research project Thursday aimed at bringing 3D technology to smartphones, for potential applications such as indoor mapping, gaming and helping blind people navigate.

The California tech giant said its "Project Tango" would provide prototypes of its new smartphone to outside developers to encourage the writing of new applications.

PlayStation stands out among the long list of famous Sony brands as one that hasn't faded or succumbed to a nimbler competitor. Months after hitting global markets, the latest version of the video-game console is going on sale at midnight in Tokyo, a big shift from times when Sony was ascendant enough to launch flagship products in Japan first.

The PlayStation 4's much awaited arrival in Sony Corp.'s home market is the first time Japan did not get a major Sony game machine ahead of other markets. With much riding on the PS4's success, the commercial advantages of targeting overseas markets outweighed the sentimental pull of a home town launch.

Google on Wednesday ramped up its drive to build a super-fast U.S. Internet network in a budding challenge to the grip a handful of titans have on service.

Lessons learned and confidence gained from Google Fiber projects in Texas, Utah, and the Kansas City region prompted the Silicon Valley technology giant to invite 34 more cities to explore the potential to build the ultra-fast networks.

Samsung aims to take the mobile world by storm Monday, almost certainly unveiling a new Galaxy S5 smartphone with rumored Apple-fighting features such as a fingerprint scanner and larger screen.

The top smartphone maker coyly announced to journalists an "Unpacked 5" event for the opening day of the February 24-27 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

Facebook's $19-billion (14-billion-euro) takeover of smartphone messaging service WhatsApp staked the social network's place in dramatic fashion as a pivotal player in the mobile world.

The U.S. social networking giant's 29-year-old founder Mark Zuckerberg snatched the limelight ahead of his debut as the star speaker on the opening day of the February 24-27 World Mobile Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

Google on Tuesday gave early adopters of its Internet-connected eyewear a bit of advice: don't be "Glassholes."

It was the final suggestion in a recommended code of conduct posted online for software developers and others taking part in an Explorer program providing early access to Google Glass.

Japan's Sony said Tuesday it has sold more than 5.3 million PlayStation 4 consoles three months after its release, as the firm battles Microsoft and Nintendo in the lucrative games sector.

The eagerly-awaited PlayStation, which sold more than one million units in just one day after its November 15 debut in North America, easily cleared a worldwide target of 5.0 million units before March.

It used to be that "hacking" was just a type of crime, a computer break-in. But today, the term is also part of a growing — and perfectly legal — mainstay of the tech sector.

Computer programming competitions known as "hackathons" have spread like viruses in recent years as ways for geeks, nerds and designers to get together to eat pizza, lose sleep and create something new.

An Israel-based startup specializing in using sounds instead of passwords for logging in said Monday it has been bought by Google.

SlickLogin did not disclose financial terms of the deal, and Google did not respond to an Agence France Presse request for comment about the acquisition.