Danny Puff

By Clare Jim

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Google Inc will launch a new version of its Nexus 7 tablet powered by Qualcomm Inc's Snapdragon processor around July, two sources told Reuters, as the software giant pushes deeper into the cut-price mobile hardware market.

Google is aiming to ship as many as eight million of the Asustek-made tablets in the second half of the year, throwing down the gauntlet to other low-end tablets such as Amazon.com Inc's Kindle Fire and Apple Inc's iPad mini, the sources with knowledge of the new product said.

This is the first time details about the timing and sales targets for Google's new tablet have been unveiled, although the company has not publicly released any information.

Google, which gets almost all of its revenue from online advertising, wants the aggressively priced Nexus tablets to be a hit as more Nexus users would mean more exposure for Google's ads.

The latest version will have a higher screen resolution, a thinner bezel design and adopt Qualcomm's chip in place of Nvidia Corp's Tegra 3, which was used in the first Nexus 7s released last year, the sources said, declining to be identified because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

In a blow to Nvidia, Google weighed both U.S. chipmakers' processors but finally decided on Qualcomm's for power reasons, one of the sources added.

Qualcomm and Nvidia are competing aggressively in the tablet market as they seek to expand from their traditional strongholds of cellphones and PCs respectively.

A Google spokesman declined to comment on its new tablet. Qualcomm and Nvidia also declined to respond to questions.

Google and other traditionally non-hardware companies like Amazon and Microsoft Corp have begun making inroads into mobile devices as consumers increasingly access the Web on the go.

Google introduced its first tablet last June, hoping to replicate its smartphone success in a hotly contested market now dominated by Kindle Fire and iPad.

The Nexus 7 joined the ranks of smaller, 7-inch tablets popularized by Amazon and Samsung Electronics, among others.

Pricing is yet to be determined and Google's plans are fluid, the sources said. Market leader Apple is expected to launch new iPads this year as well, possibly forcing its competitors to change their assumptions.

Google may choose to sell the new gadget for $199, the same as the first generation rolled out last June, while the old model may be discounted, one of the sources said. Alternatively, the new tablet could be priced more competitively at $149 and the previous model discontinued, the source added.

The cheapest iPad mini goes for more than $300.

CORE STRENGTHS

Though pricing has not been finalized, discounting could play to Google's and Amazon's strengths by getting cheaper hardware into more consumers' hands to drive revenue from their core Internet-based businesses.

"This is the 'zero margin strategy'," said Fubon Securities analyst Arthur Liao. "Ninety-seven percent of Google's revenue comes from advertisement, so it needs to sell more mobile devices in order to reach more consumers."

The Internet search giant, which has never disclosed tablet sales, plans to ship six to eight million of the new Nexus 7s in the second half of this year, the sources said. That compares to an estimated 4.6 million Nexus 7s sold in the same period last year, according to Enders Analysis mobile industry analyst Benedict Evans.

The large volume could help to accelerate development of tablet-specific applications for its Android operating software.

Asustek, a netbook PC pioneer, will continue to co-brand with Google on the new Nexus 7. The Taiwanese company has said it aims to ship over 12 million tablets this year, almost double last year's shipments.

Asustek could not be reached for comment.

(Additional reporting by Edwin Chan and Alexei Oreskovic in San Francisco; Editing by Stephen Coates)

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By Gerry Shih

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The head of Zynga Inc's New York studio has left the social gaming company a year after its $180 million purchase of his mobile game start-up failed to produce the expected results.

Dan Porter, the former chief executive of OMGPOP, will be succeeded by Sean Kelly, an executive formerly in charge of Zynga's smash hit "CityVille," the company said in a statement on Tuesday. Zynga's New York office focuses on developing games for mobile devices, a top priority for the company.

Zynga did not say where Porter, who was vice president and general manager of Zynga's New York operations, would go next.

Porter joined Zynga last March when it bought OMGPOP, known for its popular Pictionary-like game, "Draw Something," in its largest acquisition to date. His departure comes shortly before the highly anticipated global launch of the sequel, "Draw Something 2."

"Draw Something" began losing users soon after Zynga's purchase and OMGPOP struggled to replicate its previous success, leading Wall Street analysts to question the deal.

OMGPOP's integration into Zynga was challenging in other ways. Porter, a colorful and outspoken executive, publicly apologized to his Zynga colleagues last month after Quartz, a business news website, quoted him as saying that the company copies other publishers' games.

Zynga eventually wrote off $95 million in relation to OMGPOP last fall.

Despite Porter's rocky tenure, Colin Sebastian, an analyst at R.W. Baird, said Zynga's OMGPOP purchase helped signal the company's shifting emphasis toward mobile game development.

"I certainly can't say that he has been able to string together a long line of hit titles, but that's not necessarily his fault," Sebastian said. "In bringing some of that mobile perspective to Zynga and at least one key game, that mission was accomplished even if the price tag was deemed to be very pricy."

Zynga's stock plummeted 80 percent in 2012 from a high of $12.90 last March, but has rebounded in recent months. The shares fell 2 percent to $3.09 late Tuesday.

(Reporting by Gerry Shih; Editing by Richard Chang)

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LOS ANGELES (AP) Ellen DeGeneres is going fishing again with a sequel to the animated blockbuster "Finding Nemo."

Disney and its Pixar Animation unit announced Tuesday that DeGeneres will reprise her "Nemo" voice role for "Finding Dory." The sequel is due out Nov. 25, 2015, and will be directed by Andrew Stanton, who also made "Finding Nemo."

"I have waited for this day for a long, long, long, long, long, long time," DeGeneres said. "I'm not mad it took this long. I know the people at Pixar were busy creating 'Toy Story 16.' But the time they took was worth it. The script is fantastic. And it has everything I loved about the first one: It's got a lot of heart, it's really funny, and the best part is it's got a lot more Dory."

The new film picks up about a year after the action of "Finding Nemo," with DeGeneres' forgetful fish Dory on her own adventure to reunite with loved ones.

According to Disney, the film will feature new characters along with familiar ones, including Nemo and his dad, Marlin, who was voiced by Albert Brooks. There's no word yet from Disney on whether Brooks will reprise his voice role.

"Finding Nemo" was released in 2003 and took in $921 million worldwide. The movie was the first Pixar production to win the Academy Award for best animated feature after the category was added in 2001. Pixar films have gone on to dominate, winning the Oscar seven years out of 12.

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NEW YORK (AP) Rapper and recording producer Jay-Z is expanding into sports representation and has signed New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano away from Scott Boras to be a client.

Shawn Carter, also known as Jay-Z, and his Roc Nation company have partnered with CAA Sports to form Roc Nation Sports. Cano changed his listed agent with the Major League Baseball Players Association on Tuesday from Boras to CAA Sports' Brodie Van Wagenen.

Cano can become a free agent at the end of the World Series. Boras usually prefers that his clients become free agents to increase bidders and maximize their values, so the change could increase the chance Cano will reach a new agreement with the Yankees during the season.

"CAA is built on a culture of collaboration and this relationship is no different," Van Wagenen said. "Jay and I will both be involved in all aspects of Robinson's representation on and off the field."

Juan Perez is president of Roc Nation Sports. Jay-Z, a part owner of the NBA's Brooklyn Nets, is friendly with injured Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, a former Boras client.

"Because of my love of sports, it was a natural progression to form a company where we can help top athletes in various sports the same way we have been helping artists in the music industry for years," Carter said in a statement.

Cano was represented by Bobby Barad before switching to Boras early in 2011.

"At this point in my career, I am ready to take a more active role in my endeavors both on and off the field," Cano said in a statement.

It remains to be seen whether the players' association will have an issue with Roc Nation's personnel because of Jay-Z's role in NBA team management and his agreements to perform concerts in venues owned by major league teams and their owners.

"The Roc Nation personnel who will be working in baseball must become certified as either general or limited agents," union special adviser Rick Shapiro said. "These people have applied for, and been granted, temporary limited certification. His ownership in the Nets is an issue we will look into when we receive the full application package."

While the Yankees usually wait for contracts to expire before negotiating new agreements with players, they have said they hope to reach a deal with the 30-year-old Cano while he remains under their control.

"I have yet to speak to Robinson, so I'm not going to comment until I talk with him," said Boras, who had represented Cano since 2011.

Cano is making $15 million in the final season of what became a $57 million, six-year deal and is eligible for free agency after the World Series. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said Feb. 28 that the team had made a significant offer to Cano for a new deal.

"We've consistently said Robinson Cano has been a great Yankee, and we hope is a Yankee for many years to come," team president Randy Levine said.

CAA Sports has negotiated $100 million-plus packages for San Francisco's Matt Cain and Buster Posey, Milwaukee's Ryan Braun and Washington's Ryan Zimmerman. The agent fees for Cano's next contract could become subject to litigation between Boras and the new company.

"This particular player's situation, his high-profile stature, his accomplishment and frankly our understanding off the landscape makes this a situation that we are certainly well-equipped already on what his potential could be both short-term and long-term, and (we) certainly will be educating Robinson on that," Van Wagenen said.

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LONDON (Reuters) - Bogged down by a stagnating economy and sinking poll ratings, British Prime Minister David Cameron ventured into a new swamp when he waded waist-deep into mud to rescue a drowning sheep.

Cameron was on his way back from visiting a farmer near his weekend home in the Oxfordshire countryside last month when he heard bleating and spotted a ewe that had got stuck in the mud after following her two lambs.

In jeans and rubber boots, Cameron waded into the swamp, followed by his two bodyguards, wrestled the sodden sheep and hoisted it onto safe ground, the Sun newspaper reported.

"When I got there, David (Cameron) was in the swamp, waist-deep in mud, along with the two police, who had all gone in there to help drag this sheep out," farmer Julian Tustian told the Daily Telegraph.

"He was brilliant, pulling, pushing and shoving. He was covered in mud, he looked a mess."

The ewe, which has since been nicknamed Swampy, has fully recovered from the ordeal, which unfolded on the evening of March 1, Tustian said. The lambs drowned.

The story of the lost sheep's messy rescue could have passed for an April fool joke but a Downing Street spokeswoman confirmed it had taken place.

Twitter users mocked what they labeled Cameron's "ewe turn", describing it as an unusual show of compassion from a prime minister imposing harsh welfare cuts and talking tough on immigration.

"Are you sure it was not the over way round? The ewe saved #Cameron from the swamp he's in?" wrote one user calling himself @Brianma68.

(Reporting by Natalie Huet; editing by Estelle Shirbon and Guy Faulconbridge)

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LONDON (AP) Could a Roman gold ring linked to a curse have inspired J.R.R. Tolkien to create The One Ring?

Britain's National Trust and the Tolkien Society are putting the artifact on display Tuesday for fans of "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" to decide for themselves whether this was Tolkien's precious ring of power.

Found in a field near a historic Roman town in southern England in 1785, the gold ring is inscribed in Latin, "Senicianus live well in God," and inset with an image of the goddess Venus. It is larger than average, weights 12 grams, and is believed to date from the 4th century.

The ring is believed to be linked to a curse tablet found separately at the site of a Roman temple dedicated to a god named Nodens in Gloucestershire, western England. The tablet says a man called Silvianus had lost a ring, and it asks Nodens to place a curse of ill health on Senicianus until he returned it to the temple.

An archaeologist who looked into the connection between the ring and the curse tablet asked Tolkien, who was an Anglo-Saxon professor at Oxford University, to work on the etymology of the name Nodens in 1929.

The writer also visited the temple several times, and some believe he would have been aware of the existence of the Roman ring before he started writing "The Hobbit."

"The influences most often cited for Tolkien's creation of The One Ring usually take the form of literary or legendary rings," said Lynn Forest-Hill, education officer for the Tolkien Society.

"It is, then, particularly fascinating to see the physical evidence of the (ring), with its links to Tolkien through the inscription associating it with a curse," she said.

The gold ring is displayed at The Vyne, a historic mansion in southern England, starting Tuesday.

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By Joseph Ax

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Donald Trump is withdrawing his lawsuit against television host and comedian Bill Maher seeking $5 million (3.3 million pounds) that Maher said he would give to charity, in a seemingly facetious offer, if Trump could prove he was not the son of an orangutan.

The lawsuit stems from comments Maher made during an appearance on NBC's "The Tonight Show" in January in which he said an orangutan's fur was the only thing in nature that matches the shade of Trump's trademark hair.

Records in Los Angeles Superior Court show the real estate mogul requested the lawsuit be dismissed without prejudice on Friday, eight weeks after he filed it. His spokesman, Michael Cohen, said Trump plans to file an amended lawsuit sometime in the future.

Cohen declined to offer further details, including a reason for the withdrawal.

Maher offered a $5 million donation to the charity of Trump's choice - "Hair Club for Men," he suggested - if Trump produced a birth certificate that proved he was not half-ape. A Maher spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

Last year, during the presidential campaign, Trump offered to give $5 million to charity if Democratic President Barack Obama would release his college records.

Trump, who briefly considered a White House run, had previously questioned Obama's citizenship and boasted that his scepticism prompted the president to release his so-called "long-form" birth certificate.

In a letter to Maher before filing the lawsuit, Trump's lawyer wrote, "Attached hereto is a copy of Mr. Trump's birth certificate, demonstrating that he is the son of Fred Trump, not an orangutan."

Legal experts said Trump was unlikely to succeed in his lawsuit because Maher's offer was obviously a joke, and courts rarely enforce verbal contracts that are clearly satirical in nature.

In an appearance on Fox News after the lawsuit was filed, Trump said he was convinced that Maher was not joking.

"That was venom," he said. "That wasn't a joke."

(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Tim Dobbyn)

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LONDON (Reuters) - Bogged down by a stagnating economy and sinking poll ratings, British Prime Minister David Cameron ventured into a new swamp when he waded waist-deep into mud to rescue a drowning sheep.

Cameron was on his way back from visiting a farmer near his weekend home in the Oxfordshire countryside last month when he heard bleating and spotted a ewe that had got stuck in the mud after following her two lambs.

In jeans and rubber boots, Cameron waded into the swamp, followed by his two bodyguards, wrestled the sodden sheep and hoisted it onto safe ground, the Sun newspaper reported.

"When I got there, David (Cameron) was in the swamp, waist-deep in mud, along with the two police, who had all gone in there to help drag this sheep out," farmer Julian Tustian told the Daily Telegraph.

"He was brilliant, pulling, pushing and shoving. He was covered in mud, he looked a mess."

The ewe, which has since been nicknamed Swampy, has fully recovered from the ordeal, which unfolded on the evening of March 1, Tustian said. The lambs drowned.

The story of the lost sheep's messy rescue could have passed for an April fool joke but a Downing Street spokeswoman confirmed it had taken place.

Twitter users mocked what they labelled Cameron's "ewe turn", describing it as an unusual show of compassion from a prime minister imposing harsh welfare cuts and talking tough on immigration.

"Are you sure it was not the over way round? The ewe saved #Cameron from the swamp he's in?" wrote one user calling himself @Brianma68.

(Reporting by Natalie Huet; editing by Estelle Shirbon and Guy Faulconbridge)

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CANBERRA, Australia (AP) Australia is paying its biggest Hollywood inducement ever to bring "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" Down Under.

The Walt Disney Studios will film a new version of the science fiction classic in Australia, which will pay the studio 21.6 million Australia dollars ($22.6 million) to film there, the government said Tuesday.

David Fincher of "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" and "The Social Network" will direct, said Disney Asia-Pacific spokeswoman Alannah Hall-Smith.

"No casting decisions have been made," she said, so the filming schedule and locations haven't been set.

Sydney's The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported Tuesday that producers were believed to have been in discussions with Brad Pitt, who starred in Fincher's "Fight Club."

The newpaper reported that Fincher wanted Pitt for the film's hero Ned Land.

The story centers on Capt. Nemo and his submarine the Nautilus. Jules Verne's book was made into an Academy Award-winning movie in 1954 with Kirk Douglas starring as Land and James Mason as Nemo.

The announcement comes after "The Wolverine," starring Australian actor Hugh Jackman, recently wrapped filming in Sydney. The government paid Fox Studios AU$12.8 million to film in Australia.

Gillard said the "The Wolverine" created more than 1,750 jobs, contracted more than 1,027 Australian companies and generated AU$80 million in investment.

She expects "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" will create more than 2,000 jobs.

A strong Australian dollar buoyed by a mining boom has made Australia less attractive to Hollywood as a filmmaking location in recent years.

It wasn't known how much the payment would offset the film's budget.

"The securing of this film is a huge coup for the Australian film industry and for the near 1,000 local businesses that will be providing goods and services for the film," Gillard said in a statement.

"The Wolverine" in 3D opens in July in the United States, Australia and other countries.

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NEW YORK (AP) The chairman of CBS Sports had no regrets about banning further replays of Louisville basketball player Kevin Ware's gruesome broken leg and says if anyone wants to watch it on the Internet, that's fine with him.

CBS aired two quick replays Sunday from a wide enough distance for viewers to see the leg land awkwardly, but not any blood or bone. It hasn't been shown since on CBS.

"In today's world, if you want to see a piece of video instantaneously that you just saw on television, there are a million ways to do that," Sean McManus said Monday. "I've seen statistics on the millions of views this piece of footage has had on YouTube and I have no problem with that."

Ware was injured after attempting to block a shot in the Cardinals' regional final victory over Duke. The sight of his tibia bone protruding from his skin left coach Rick Pitino and his teammates in tears. Ware was operated on later Sunday and is expected to watch Louisville's Final Four appearance Saturday from the bench in Atlanta.

The network received praise for restraint, although McManus said he knew people would say CBS should have shown it more because the network was in a position to document history.

Several postings of CBS' coverage were quickly available with a search for Ware's name Monday afternoon.

"If people want to go watch the footage for whatever reason, they have a right to do so," McManus said. "I just didn't think we had any obligation to be the facilitator of putting that footage back on the screen. We documented it, we described it and we showed it, and I think that was enough."

It's considerably different from when Washington Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann broke his leg during a Monday Night Football game in 1985. It was equally horrific, with bone jutting through skin. Back then, about the only way a viewer could see it again is if a television producer decided to show the replay, said Jeff Billings, a sports media professor at the University of Alabama.

Aside from the availability of footage online now, many viewers have DVRs that enabled them to replay the incident as much as they wanted, Billings said.

"Current technology makes it a whole lot easier for them to take the high road," he said.

CBS concentrated on the methods it had to tell the story that others did not have access to players and coaches and pictures of their reactions, he said.

The unedited video was hard to find on national news outlets within 24 hours, when it was still a fresh news story. CNN aired the sequence, but blurred out Ware's leg so the break was not visible. Fox News Channel and MSNBC did not show the video, representatives said.

ABC's "Good Morning America" showed footage, again with the leg blurred. NBC's "Today" show and the CBS morning news program did not show it.

At ESPN, executives set specific guidelines: Producers had discretion to use it on their own programs but they were to only show it once, not air it in slow motion and warn viewers in advance. Through Monday afternoon, spokesman Josh Krulewitz said he did not believe the network had shown it.

McManus said CBS producers had not discussed whether the footage will be seen again; opportunities may come if Ware shows up at the Final Four this weekend. But he said he didn't see any reason why it should be.

"I just think that it's not necessary," he said. "It's not journalistically important that we do that now because we told the story. I think we'll move on from that footage."

Decisions like the one made by McManus and his producers are made by broadcasters globally.

In Britain, sports broadcasters often self-censor footage they feel might distress viewers.

Often an incident, such as a dangerous tackle in football, will be frozen at the point of contact to judge a referee's decision but no further footage will be shown.

Sky Sports, which is operated by BSkyB, chose not to show replays in 2008 after then-Arsenal striker Eduardo da Silva's left leg was broken following a tackle by Martin Taylor during a Premier League match at Birmingham.

During an FA Cup match being broadcast globally in March 2012, then-Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba collapsed after suffering cardiac arrest on the pitch at Tottenham.

ESPN's British channel, which was broadcasting the match live, showed no close-ups as Muamba, who survived, received treatment on the turf, instead it focused on the reaction of other players or wide shots of the stadium.

___

AP Sports Writer Rob Harris contributed to this report from London.

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