Take that, Groupon! As Google executives previously suggested, the search giant is going full-speed ahead with a daily-deal service. "Google Offers is a new product to help potential customers and clientele find great deals in their area through a daily email," reads a confidential fact sheet obtained by Mashable. At first glance, Google Offers looks and operates just like Groupon and other daily deal services, which send subscribers limited-time discounts on local services via email. "From what we can tell, Google Offers will be powered by Google Checkout," writes Mashable. "It also includes Facebook, Twitter, Google Reader, Google …

The big news from Google's earnings call on Thursday was co-founder Larry Page's imminent plans to replace Eric Schmidt as CEO. And, as you'd expect, no clear explanation from Google left the field wide open for speculation and innuendo. Under the headline, "Google Shake-Up Is Effort to Revive Start-Up Spark," The New York Times writes: "As it has grown into the dominant company in Silicon Valley, Google has lost some of its entrepreneurial culture and become a slower-moving bureaucracy, analysts and insiders say, in contrast to Facebook, Twitter and other younger, more agile competitors."

Social gaming startup Kabam has raised $30 million in a third round of funding to develop new games, and maybe make a few acquisitions. "Kabam makes massively multiplayer strategy games for hardcore gamers who play on Facebook," VentureBeat explains. Presently, Kabam has about 7.4 million monthly active users on Facebook. "That's not huge compared to Zynga's 299 million users, but it's a big number considering the fact that most people believe hardcore audiences don't exist on Facebook," according to VentureBeat. Redwood City, Calif.-based Kabam acquired WonderHill in October. Investors include Redpoint Ventures and Intel Capital, which tells …

Flipboard and other tablet-based content aggregators are about to get some fresh competition from AOL and its forthcoming Editions service. And, according to Fast Company, "AOL just might have a hit on its hands." Calling Editions' technology fascinating, Fast Company notes: "Instead of requiring users to customize their news feed inputs in the app, Editions relies on a more touchscreen-friendly 'quick'n'easy' process wherein you grab icons that match your interests and then rearrange them into a priority-ranked list." The app then "scours" the web for matching news, and rearranges the feeds into an eye pleasing magazine-like user …

Apple consumers are known for being seriously brand loyal. However, a new study from Finland-based Zokem finds that Android users take the cake in the devotional department. According to the study, a full 89% of Google's Android users plan on staying with Android in the future, while a measly 85% of iPhone users say their next phone will be an iPhone. "One key difference between the platforms which is heavily based in Android's favor is variety," writes Fortune. "If a smartphone owner wants a bigger/smaller/ faster/ slower/ different shape phone, there are more Android devices available." It's …

Eduardo Saverin -- who you may remember as Mark Zuckerberg's forsaken friend and business partner in "The Social Network" -- just led an $8 million investment in Qwiki. What is Qwiki? It's a startup that responds to search queries with interactive multimedia presentations rather than links, according to The New York Times. "Qwiki is early stage, but they are on the path to be a game changer," Saverin tells The Times. Saverin, who currently lives in Singapore, isn't saying exactly how much he invested in Qwiki. But, Saverin could stand to invest a few million - even …

Can the success of Facebook's mobile strategy rest on something so passé as the feature phone? Well, keeping in mind that the devices are still used by most consumers worldwide, the answer should be obvious. "We want people to have a great mobile experience no matter what type of phone they carry," writes Mark Heynen, mobile program manager at Facebook, in a new blog post. "Smartphones have offered better features for sharing with friends but aren't used by most people around the world." "While many tiny companies devote all their resources to …

Oh, phones carriers are going to love this. Google is testing a phone number portability feature for Google Voice, which will let consumers use their personal mobile phone number to route their calls for a mere $20. "For $20, users will be able to move their person [sic] mobile phone numbers -- not landlines or corporate mobile numbers -- to Google Voice, just a [sic] if they were switching it from, say, AT&T to Verizon Wireless," eWeek reports. The port, however, will likely terminate users' current service plans, which means they can be charged steep early termination …

Apple posted revenue of nearly $27 billion on record sales Tuesday afternoon, but -- other than its robust health -- what does the news tell us about the tech giant? For one, "The iPad business [about $4.6 billion] is already a bigger business than Apple's portable computer business," TechCrunch reports. "That includes MacBooks, MacBook Pros, and MacBook Airs. And it's within spitting distance of surpassing Apple's entire Mac business in terms of revenue." What's more, "The interesting story is in the massive volume of iGadgets -- OK, technically, devices like the iPhone or iPad that run iOS -- the …

Supporting similar findings, Deloitte said this week that companies will buy more than 10 million tablet computers this year. "Although some commentators view tablets as underpowered media-consumption toys suitable only for consumers... in 2011, more than 25 percent of all tablet computers will be bought by enterprises and that figure is likely to rise in 2012 and beyond," the consultancy said in its annual sector forecast this week. Likewise, Gartner recently predicted that the global market for Apple's iPad would rise from 19.5 million in 2010 to 55 million devices this year. As Reuters notes, "Deloitte said healthcare and …