In today’s NewsDesk news roundup: Samsung announces Galaxy Tab 3; Meebo Bar to retire in June; Vermont Telephone Company offers gigabit connection at low price; Intel set to wow Computex Taipei attendees; Google releases Google Glass source code; Facebook losing users in largest markets; Windows Phone popular with first-time smartphone buyers; Technology replicates human touch via nano-wires; and Intel working on smart headlight that makes driving on a rainy day much safer.

Samsung announces Galaxy Tab 3

Samsung announced the newest model in their popular seven-inch tablet line-up, called the Galaxy Tab 3. The internals have undergone a significant upgrade, including a processor with twenty-percent more power and double the on-board storage. Aside from looking like the Tab 2, the Tab 3 will come with the same front and rear facing cameras, and the screen will also go unchanged. The Wi-Fi-only version of the Tab 3 will be available beginning in May followed by the release of the 3G model in June.

Meebo Bar to retire in June

It’s last call for the Meebo Bar. Google has announced that its shutting down the publishing tool it bought just last year. Google’s decision to divert resources from Meebo Bar to Google Plus is an effort to best serve its mobile and desktop publishers. The Google Plus Sign-In product it launched earlier this year, and the Google Plus Plugins will be the focus of its publisher tool efforts. Web publishers have until June 6th to remove the code from their websites.

Vermont Telephone Company offers gigabit connection at low price

The Vermont Telephone Company is now servicing six hundred customers with a gigabit connection. Furthermore, the company is offering these speeds at a ridiculously low $35/month, while Google offers their fiber service for twice as much. The Vermont Telephone Company is following Google’s lead and holding local meetings to properly educate the public on what gigabit internet is and what it can achieve. They are actually third in this new super-speed market, since AT&T recently announced they are building a gigabit connection in Austin, Texas.

Intel set to wow Computex Taipei attendees

Intel is set to reveal its fourth-generation core processor at the Computex Taipei conference in June. The Haswell processor is expected to offer advances in graphics performance, but that’s not its most anticipated feature. Haswell is primarily about better battery life. Devices using the Haswell processor, especially those that incorporate other power-saving technologies, will last much longer than the top of the line devices available today.

Google releases Google Glass source code

Hot off the tails of a successful jailbreak, Google released the source code to their wearable computing device. In the short weekend since the initial jailbreak, developers have already found some features worth getting excited about, such as the potential for near-field communication support. It’s currently uncertain if the final edition of Glass will support NFC, but if Google continues to work well with developers, you can be sure the number of supported features will increase as time goes on.

Facebook losing users in largest markets

Facebook is losing steam in many of its largest markets. The social media giant lost as many as 6 million users in the U.S. last month. Facebook is still experiencing substantial growth in South America, but in most of its developed markets, it’s facing declining numbers. Users who continue to use Facebook are spending less time on the site. The news for shareholders isn’t all bad. Even as user numbers are down, revenues are up.

Windows Phone popular with first-time smartphone buyers

Google’s mobile operating system accounted for 64% of all smartphones in Q1. The only other platform to show gains in the U.S. was Windows Phone. Dominated by Nokia, Microsoft’s mobile operating system is proving to be popular with first-time smartphone buyers. Focusing on consumers who have yet to make the switch from feature phones to smart phones could be a major advantage for Windows Phone. In the UK, smartphone penetration is at about 60%, leaving lots of opportunity open for Windows Phone growth.

Technology replicates human touch via nano-wires

A three-person team out of Georgia Tech can actually replicate human touch. Thousands of microscopic transistors, or groups of nano-wires known as taxels, construct a sensor that can translate motion into electronic signals. This lets the robotic hands interpret surface nuances and grip objects similar to a human fingertip. The advances will likely make their way into everyday items like prosthetics, but more importantly these robots will offer new ways for humans to interact with electronic devices.

Intel working on smart headlight that makes driving on a rainy day much safer

Your rainy day driving experience could get a whole lot safer with a new headlight design. Instead of a normal headlight bulb, a projector built into the car’s front end, outputs a light beam. A camera synced with the projector then scans the area in front of the car and detects individual rain drops. A powerful processor interprets the data and calculates a mask to apply over the projector’s beam of light. What results is a beam of light that passes right by almost every drop of rain. Intel projects we can see this new headlight technology in cars within a decade.