IBT Staff Reporter

It's official: With the launch of Research In Motion's PlayBook tablet now just a month away, the BlackBerry maker's battle against Apple and Google is at the cusp of a fierce new phase.

The U.S. Interior Department said on Tuesday it approved a permit for Exxon Mobil to drill in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, the fourth such deepwater permit the department has cleared since the BP oil spill last summer.

Leap Wireless International has entered a roaming agreement with broadband and satellite company LightSquared, it said on Tuesday.

Apple Inc will stick to plans to roll out its newest iPad on Friday to 25 more markets, including France and the United Kingdom, even as it fails to meet the high demand for the gadget in the United States.

U.S. wireless operators will have to pay higher subsidies for cellphones as they come with more features, according to Dan Hesse Chief Executive of Sprint Nextel.

Oil prices rose on Tuesday as unrest in Yemen threatened to crimp energy exports from the Gulf region and potentially spill over into neighboring Saudi Arabia.

A former Intel Corp managing director testified on Tuesday that he shared the chipmaker's secrets with his close friend, hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam, the central figure in the biggest Wall Street insider trading trial in decades.

Wall Street snapped a three-day winning streak on Tuesday, even as investors adjusted to the insecurity created by events in Japan, the Middle East and North Africa.

TMZ is reporting that Charlie Sheen will make $7 million off of his one-man show tour titled Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat is Not an Option.

Days into foreign military assaults on Libya, the Arab League has maintained support of a U.N. resolution authorizing the establishment of a no-fly zone over the country.

Sprint and HTC today announced the HTC Evo 3D, a dual-core smartphone equipped with a 3D screen.

Lockheed Martin unveiled its new Orion Spacecraft, part of NASA's program for space flight beyond low Earth orbit and possibly back to the moon.

A slew of celebrities are coming together to create a digital-only compilation album to raise money for earthquake and tsunami relief efforts in Japan.

The U.S. recovery is gaining traction, two top Federal Reserve officials said on Tuesday, though they differed on the risks of inflation in the U.S. economy.

Wall Street snapped a three-day winning streak on Tuesday, even as investors adjusted to the insecurity created by events in Japan, the Middle East and North Africa.

People.com is reporting that an angry and shirtless Chris Brown stormed out of the Good Morning America offices in Times Square Tuesday morning.

An Intel Corp executive testified that confidential details about a big wireless network transaction were leaked before the announcement of the deal, a key transaction in hedge fund founder's Raj Rajaratnam insider trading case.

Amazon.com introduced its store for Google Android smartphone applications ratcheting up its fight with Apple Inc.

Major U.S. airlines announced further 2011 capacity cutbacks to cope with the dramatic rise in fuel prices, and Delta Air Lines Inc said higher oil and the effects of the Japanese earthquake will hurt earnings in the current quarter.

Lady Gaga will be answering her fans' questions in an exclusive interview through Google Moderator, an application that allows participants to manage feedback.

U.S. stocks closed down, snapping a three-day winning streak on Tuesday, even as investors adjusted to the insecurity created by events in Japan, the Middle East and North Africa.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski has called for expanding the spectrum available to wireless communications companies, in order to support the growth of mobile data services.

World number one Rafael Nadal and number two Novak Djokovic will lead a team of top tennis players for a soccer match agaisnt Fort Lauderdale Strikers professional team in a charity match for aiding the relief effort in Japan.

Apple Inc. Chief Executive Steve Jobs, who is out on medical leave, has been ordered by a federal magistrate to answer questions from plaintiffs' lawyers in an antitrust lawsuit related to his company's iTunes business.

U.S. wireless operators will have to pay higher subsidies for cellphones as they come with more features, according to Dan Hesse Chief Executive of Sprint Nextel.

As a sex offender, the Super Bowl hero is barred from porn websites and sex shops. He also cannot be alone with underage kids, except his 5-year-old son and his friends, and has to be home between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m.

Walgreen Co said it could face pressure from government agencies pushing back on how much they reimburse for the prescriptions it fills in a slowly recovering economy, and shares of the largest U.S. drugstore chain fell more than 8 percent.

A recent survey suggests small businesses are not prepared in the event data gets wiped out.

Samsung announced an 8.9-inch version of its Galaxy Tab, as well as a redesigned version of its 10.1-inch tablet.