Weekly Highlights: Gmail Crashed, iPhone XL Hype, Galaxy S5 Tease And More

It's only January, but Gmail already went down.

The outage was a brief one -- many users were back online within 30 minutes.

But in the time that it was out, users couldn't send or read e-mails or access Google Docs.

Before the iPhone 5 arrived, investors insisted that Apple needed a larger smartphone.

After its release, investors said that Apple needed to make an even bigger smartphone.

This year, many believe that Apple will finally cave and release a phablet. For lack of a better term, that device is often referred to as the "iPhone XL" here on Benzinga.

"The competition between Samsung and Apple will be more intense as the latter releases its larger display smartphone this year," TrendForce analyst Wilson Miao told Benzinga.

Miao added that a larger iPhone "will pose a serious threat to Samsung's high-end market."

Not one to be outdone, the Samsung rumor mill is also churning out a tease for the next Galaxy smartphone.

The Galaxy S5 is now rumored to be unveiled on February 23 at the start of the World Mobile Congress on February 23.

Not much is known about the device, but it is expected to include a 2,900 mAh battery, head tracking gesture controls and a stylus feature that was likely inspired by the Galaxy Note series of phablets.

Carl Icahn (or iCahn, as Global Equities' Trip Chowdhry once said) bought an additional $500 million worth of Apple stock.

The activist investor now has more than $3 billion worth of Apple in his portfolio.

The rumors can finally be put to rest.

Lenovo has officially acquired IBM's x86 server business for $2.3 billion.

Lenovo previously acquired IBM's laptop business and turned into one of the most successful ventures in the world.

The Chinese manufacturer was once rumored to be interested in acquiring a major smartphone company, including BlackBerry.

It has yet to follow through with a purchase, however.

eBay Chief Executive John Donahoe is not eager to spin off its payment service, PayPal.

Carl Icahn wants the two firms to part ways and pave the way for greater investment opportunities.

But Donahoe feels that both companies benefit each other and should stay together.

Amazon Prime has been doing very well.

So well, in fact, that a rumor claims that the company wants to expand its video options and introduce a service for live TV viewing.

But Amazon spokesman Drew Herdener vehemently denied the existence of a pay-TV service.

That doesn't mean Amazon won't introduce a pay-TV service at some point in the future.

For now, however, the company isn't developing one -- or simply wants to stay quiet about the details.

The Internet can make a mountain out of a molehill.

One of the greatest examples involves the last Winnie the Pooh movie.

Social media chatter indicated that it would be huge. By the time it was released in theaters, no one cared.

Pacific Rim underperformed as well, surprising studio pundits who believed that the Internet hype would deliver massive profits.

And who could forget about the time NBC threw out Jay Leno and replaced him with a comedian who appeared to be very popular online?

In all of those cases, the Internet misjudged the popularity of something or someone.

The same thing happened to Microsoft. Contrary to the praise for Apple and Google, consumers actually have more trust in Microsoft.

In fact, the Windows maker was recently voted the most trusted and reliable tech brand.

It's cool to be retro…circa 2009.

Windows 7 may have unofficially retired when Windows 8 arrived, but that hasn't stopped Hewlett-Packard from bringing it back.

The company has received a lot of hype for the effort, which includes a maximum savings of $150.

Intel spent a lot of money building a next-generation TV platform.

The project included a service and a set-top box that would apparently work with existing pay-TV providers.

Intel built the project with former Apple, Netflix and Google employees.

Suddenly, for reasons unknown to the public, Intel decided to back away from this initiative.

Now, after numerous rumors, the company has sold its TV technology to Verizon.

This has yet to be confirmed, but Google is reportedly considering a bitcoin addition to Google Wallet.

The rumor claims that the company is currently gauging interest for the venture.

If Google adds bitcoin support, it could greatly help the digital currency and bring some much-needed stability to its price.

The preceding stories were just the beginning. Check out these other hot tech stories right here on Benzinga.

• Google Working On Glucose-Monitoring Contact Lens For Diabetics
• Rumor: Apple's First TV Delayed Again, Lack Of Content Blamed
• China Mobile Now Selling iPhones
• Apple's $1 Billion Patent Fight Takes Samsung Back To Court