After years of maintaining that BlackBerry was the only smartphone smart enough for the Department of Defense security blanket, the Pentagon has finally approved the Samsung Galaxy S IV, and sources tell The Wall Street Journal that Apple's iPhone is expected to follow some time later this month. The government has been ditching its BlackBerry-only policy for a while now, but winning over the Pentagon means these devices now have the sheen of security that was one of their main selling points. 

By David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon on Thursday cleared BlackBerry and Samsung mobile devices for use on Defense Department networks, a step toward opening up the military to a wide variety of technology equipment makers while still ensuring communications security. Lieutenant Colonel Damien Pickart, a Pentagon spokesman, said the department cleared the use of BlackBerry 10 smart phones and BlackBerry PlayBook tablets using its Enterprise Service 10 system, as well as Samsung's Android Knox. ...

By David Ingram and Naomi Tajitsu WASHINGTON/WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A trip to New Zealand will put America's chief prosecutor on the same soil as a flashy internet mogul who is fighting extradition to the United States on charges he assisted massive piracy of copyrighted movies and music. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder visits New Zealand next week for an annual meeting of a "quintet" of attorneys general from mostly English-speaking countries - and not to meet up with the entrepreneur Kim Dotcom. ...

By Alexei Oreskovic SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - LinkedIn Corp shares fell 10 percent on Thursday after disappointing revenue forecasts suggested that a revamped mobile app and other new products designed to keep smartphone users engaged will not deliver on advertising growth as quickly as anticipated. The social network that targets professional users and specializes in recruiting services has in past months trotted a series of enhancements such as news content for mobile devices, to keep users signed in longer and sell more advertising. ...

By Gerry Shih SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - For futurists in Silicon Valley, the question is fundamental, almost philosophical: In the coming years, will the humble website still be the dominant way we interact with the Internet? For David Rusenko, the 27-year-old founder and chief executive of global website builder Weebly, the answer is: Of course! On Thursday, Weebly unveiled a refresh of its publishing suite, which allows people to simply drag and drop page elements like images and headlines onto a canvas to build a site. ...

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Twitter has hired Cynthia Gaylor from Morgan Stanley to run its corporate development team, bringing in a veteran investment banker with experience in acquisitions and initial public offerings. Twitter, which announced Gaylor's hiring in a tweet on Thursday, is expected to be the next big IPO to emerge from Silicon Valley. But executives have kept quiet about the company's precise plans. ...

By David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon is expected to clear Apple, Samsung and BlackBerry mobile devices for use on Defense Department networks in the next few weeks, part of an effort to ensure the military has access to the latest communications technology, a spokesman said on Wednesday. The decision will set the stage for an intensified struggle for Pentagon customers among BlackBerry devices, Apple's iPhones or iPads and units using Google's Android platform such as Samsung Electronics' phones. ...

By Euan Rocha TORONTO (Reuters) - BlackBerry's new Q10 smartphone, which comes with the physical keyboard that many BlackBerry fans prize, is selling well in both Canada and Britain, an industry analyst said on Friday. The company introduced the Q10, its second smartphone to run the new BlackBerry 10 operating system, in Canada and Britain this week. "Our checks indicate broad sellouts with generally limited stock otherwise," Jefferies analyst Peter Misek said in a note to clients on Friday. ...

(Reuters) - Wall Street took a long-tem view on LinkedIn Corp's prospects on Friday, with at least six brokerages raising their price targets despite the company's slower-than-expected shift to a marketing model based on selling ads on news feeds. LinkedIn on Thursday forecast a weaker-than-expected current quarter, even after first-quarter results blew past estimates. ...

By Jennifer Ablan and Jonathan Stempel OMAHA, Nebraska (Reuters) - So they are not completely in sync after all. A day after Berkshire Hathaway Inc Chairman Warren Buffett set up his own account on Twitter, his second-in-command, Charlie Munger, said he has no plans to follow the legendary investor's lead. Buffett, 82, launched his "@WarrenBuffett" account with the tweet "Warren is in the house," and immediately started adding followers at the rate of 1,000 per minute. ...