In today’s NewsDesk news roundup: Nintendo sales drop further than anticipated; Utah approves iProvo fiber network transfer to Google; Amazon to release TV set-top box; SNL now exclusively featured on Yahoo!; Zynga beats analyst expectations but still at a loss; New Xbox set for May 21 reveal; Verizon to buyout Vodafone for $100B; Google acquires Comex; NASA launches PhoneSats; Mars One now accepting applicants for the 2022 one-way Mars trip.

Nintendo sales drop, worse than anticipated

Quarterly reports from Nintendo say company-wide sales dropped nearly $6.5bn. Though analysts expected a drop in sales, Nintendo’s actual figures undercut the predicted losses by over 5%. Despite all of this, Nintendo heads remain optimistic. The company actually cut over a hundred-million dollars in losses last year, and sales of the Wii U are expected to increase as major software titles begin shipping later this year.

Utah approves iProvo fiber network transfer to Google

On Tuesday, Provo, Utah city council formally approved the transfer of its existing iProvo fiber network to Google. The transaction will only cost Google one dollar, but it will be required to provide a free 5mb connection to all residents for 7 years, as well as a free gigabit connection to 25 public institutions. There’s only one problem: the city doesn’t know where the fiber cables are buried. The construction company that installed them neglected to keep a fiber map.

Amazon to release TV set-top box

Amazon is planning to release a TV set-top box later this year. This announcement follows a surge of multiple tech giants who are rushing to corner the market in internet TV. For Amazon, the competition is a good thing, as they already offer services to their would-be competitors. Amazon’s vast media library adds to their advantage as it allows them to release their set-top box at an extremely competitive price. With a pre-existing billing relationship with millions of users, the world’s largest online retailer could end up becoming the world’s largest TV provider.

SNL now exclusively featured on Yahoo!

Saturday Night Live’s archive will now be featured exclusively on Yahoo. It’s not clear when the episodes will be online, but when they become available, the content will be featured across all of Yahoo’s sites. Late last year, Yahoo signed a deal with CBS to combine its OMG! celebrity news website with the CBS entertainment news program, to create the rebranded show OMG Insider.

Zynga beats analyst expectations but still at a loss

Zynga beat analyst expectations in its first quarter financial report, but the numbers still paint a bleak picture. Earnings were down 18% after monthly users have fallen about 50 million in the last year. The shift in user preference from browser based web games to mobile continues to be Zynga’s greatest challenge.

New Xbox set for May 21 reveal

The next Xbox will officially be revealed on May 21st. The announcement event, titled “a new generation revealed,” will take place at Microsoft’s campus in Redmond, Washington, and will be streamed live via Xbox.com, Xbox Live, and even Spike TV. Microsoft already promised to fully unveil the new Xbox at this year’s E3 conference, so this pre-unveiling event appears to be their way of creating hype before the big show a couple of weeks later.

Verizon to buyout Vodafone for $100B

Verizon is said to be preparing a $100 billion buyout package, to take full control of Verizon Wireless from its partner Vodafone. The British firm owns 45% of Verizon Wireless, and that minority stake makes up around 75% of the company’s total value. According to one Vodafone investor, it would take something closer to a $135 billion offer to generate excitement. Verizon and Vodafone came close to a deal in 2004, but it fell through when Vodafone’s attempt to purchase AT&T was thwarted by Cingular.

Google acquires Comex

Hacker Nicholas Allegra AKA Comex, is Google’s latest talent acquisition. Allegra rose to fame in 2011, when he single handedly programmed the JailbreakMe tool that was downloaded and used by over 2 million people to unlock their iOS devices. Apple brought him on as an intern, but shortly after his one-year anniversary, he was let go for failing to respond to an email that would have extended his employment. Apple’s loss is Google’s gain, as the talented hacker begins his new internship with the search giant in the next few weeks.

NASA launches PhoneSats

NASA is headed for another giant leap with the recent launch of three smartphone-based satellites into Earth’s orbit. These phone-satellite hybrids also known as PhoneSats aim to decrease the cost of satellites without sacrificing performance. The PhoneSats which are Google HTC-Nexus Ones will be spending a couple weeks in orbit snapping photos of Earth and sending them back via radio signals. These consumer grade smartphones already have many of the systems needed for a satellite, including fast processors, high-resolution cameras and GPS receivers.

Mars One now accepting applicants for the 2022 one-way Mars trip

The Mars One foundation is now accepting applications for their one-way journey to The Red Planet in 2022. First order of business is setting up a base camp and activating life support systems. Once the base is built, humans will launch in twenty-twenty two and arrive seven months later after a journey of one-hundred-forty million miles. If you’re eighteen years old, speak english, and have a healthy physique and personality, you are welcome to apply.