The Taipei city government said Friday it will appeal a court ruling which revoked a fine it imposed on the U.S. Internet giant Google in a dispute over its mobile phone apps.

The city government in 2011 fined Google Tw$1 million ($34,000) for refusing to grant customers a seven-day trial period on its mobile phone apps, in accordance with Taiwan's consumer protection law.

BuzzFeed, a fast-growing social news website, said Thursday it had raised $19.5 million in a new round of funding from investors to help its expansion.

The latest round was led by the venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates and included previous investors RRE, Hearst, SoftBank, and Lerer Ventures.

South Korea confirmed Thursday that Google chairman Eric Schmidt was planning a visit to North Korea, but was unable to comment on the reason for a trip that has sparked criticism from Washington.

"We are aware that he is planning a personal visit," South Korean foreign ministry spokesman Cho Tai-Young told a regular press briefing.

BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIM) paid rival Nokia 50 million euros ($65.8 million) to settle a patent dispute, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing U.S. regulatory filings.

Analysts believe RIM will also have to pay the Finnish company a licence fee of between $2 and $5 for each handset sold using Nokia technology, the newspaper wrote.

Nintendo's TV-watching tool for the new Wii U game console beats my regular remote control hands down.

Called TVii, the service transforms how you watch television in three key ways. It turns the touch-screen GamePad controller for the Wii U into a remote control for your TV and set-top box. It groups your favorite shows and sports teams together, whether it's on live TV or an Internet video service such as Hulu Plus. And it offers water-cooler moments you can chat about on social media.

A federal judge on Wednesday rejected Apple's claim of false advertising for Amazon.com to refer to its online shop for mobile gadget applications as an "app store."

"Apple has failed to establish that Amazon made any false statement of fact that actually deceived or had the tendency to deceive a substantial segment of its audience," U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton said in her ruling.

Microsoft stepped up its criticism of Google on antitrust grounds Wednesday, claiming the Internet giant refuses to allow Windows Phone users "proper access" to the YouTube video service.

"Despite government scrutiny, Google continues to block Microsoft from offering its customers proper access to YouTube. This is an important issue because consumers value YouTube access on their phone," said Microsoft attorney Dave Heiner in a blog post.

It appears it may finally be game over for the PlayStation 2.

According to Japanese tech publication Famitsu, Sony Computer Entertainment of Japan announced this week that they are discontinuing the PlayStation 2, with no new shipments going to retailers in its home nation.

LG Electronics says customers are pre-ordering big-screen TVs that offer sharper and clear images using advanced technology.

The South Korean company said Wednesday it will begin delivering the 55-inch OLED TVs next month for $10,335 in its home market.

Embattled Japanese electronics firm Sharp is considering making a public share offering worth more than 100 billion yen ($1.15 billion) early this year, a report said Tuesday.

The public offering could take place in the spring with the firm hoping to use the funds to strengthen its mainstay liquid crystal display (LCD) business and improve its creditworthiness, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper said.