Ford announced plans Thursday for a prototype hybrid car that uses solar energy from a rooftop charger, reducing gas use and avoiding the need for plugging into the electric grid.

The US auto giant said its C-MAX Solar Energi concept car with a solar panel roof draws power from a special solar concentrator lens similar to a magnifying glass.

Snapchat said Thursday it would be releasing an updated version of its hit app after hackers accessed the phone numbers and usernames of 4.6 million accounts.

The numbers were partially masked when they were briefly published on SnapchatDB.info.

Hackers broke into Snapchat, the hugely popular mobile app, accessing the phone numbers and usernames of 4.6 million users and publishing them online, tech news website TechCrunch has announced.

The numbers were partially masked when they were briefly published on SnapchatDB.info, and the unidentified hackers told TechCrunch they had done this "to convince the messaging app to beef up its security."

A sophisticated, real-world study confirms that dialing, texting or reaching for a cellphone while driving raises the risk of a crash or near-miss, especially for younger drivers. But the research also produced a surprise: Simply talking on the phone did not prove dangerous, as it has in other studies.

This one did not distinguish between handheld and hands-free devices — a major weakness.

Smartphone file-sharing apps Bump and Flock have announced that they will be discontinued at the end of January.

U.S. Internet giant Google bought the Bump Technologies startup behind the apps in September for a deal reportedly worth between $30 million and $60 million.

The Syrian Electronic Army hacker group set its sights on Skype's social media accounts Wednesday to accuse Microsoft of spying on user data.

Microsoft-owned Skype's Twitter account displayed the message: "Don't use Microsoft emails(hotmail,outlook),They are monitoring your accounts and selling the data to the governments.More details soon #SEA."

s I look back at the more than 100 tech products we reviewed in 2013, a handful of gadgets and services deserve a second look.

It's become clear that one brand rarely stands out any more in whatever product category you look at. Competition is more intense than ever, which means consumers have more choices than ever. That's why coming up with a "best of" list for 2013 proved difficult.

The surge into social networks is gaining pace among Americans, with Facebook dominating but with many people using multiple platforms, a study showed Monday.

A Pew Research Center survey found 73 percent of Americans over age 18 on the Internet use at least one social network -- or about 63 percent of the total adult population.

The Authors Guild is appealing a U.S. judge's decision in a long-running case that cleared legal obstacles for Google's massive book-scanning project, court documents showed Monday.

The group filed a notice of appeal in the case following a November 14 ruling by Federal Judge Denny Chin.

Apple said Tuesday it had no "backdoor" in its products after a security researcher and a leaked document suggested the US National Security Agency had unfettered access to the iPhone.

Apple said in an email to Agence France Presse that it "has never worked with the NSA to create a backdoor in any of our products, including iPhone."