Vodafone’s HTC Magic 'Google phone' launch date brought forward
Despite the launch date changing at least twice so far, the first full touch-screen phone to run Google’s Android system will officially go on sale this Friday.
Telegraph

Nokia's Comes with Music comes with fighting talk
Admitting that although it has "learned a lot" from the UK launch of Comes with Music and in spite of a rumour that it has only signed up around 23,000 subscribers since its launch last November, Nokia argues that the eat-as-much-as-you-want song download service is here to stay.
Telegraph

Spotify hits million milestone in UK
The music streaming service Spotify has revealed that it has hit a major milestone in the UK, with over 1 million users in Britain. This milestone comes just weeks after the company announced it had hit a million users in total.
Pocket Lint

Advertisers should target mobile web users by age
Older mobile internet users are more likely to visit financial sites, while younger mobile internet users opt for social networks and entertainment sites, according to a report from ComScore Mobile. The research also looked at the relationship between age and handset ownership.
NMA

Over 60% of Twitter users stop visiting the site after a month
Over 60% of users of microblogging service Twitter stop using the site after a month, according to research figures from Nielsen Online. The US figures show that despite Twitter growing exponentially in the last year - an increase of over 100% year-on-year in the US in March - the rate of retention is just 40%.
NMA

Online retailers sharpen up the customer experience
The latest online customer survey for March and April 2009 has seen Marks & Spencer achieve the top spot across a range of measures, demonstrating how traditional store-based retailers have matured to rival the purely online firms. Play.com, Amazon. John Lewis and online clothing retailer ASOS rounded out the top five.
Vnunet
 
Nokia Ovi Store to Launch with Thousands of Applications
Nokia has announced that it’s Ovi Store will make it’s debut in May with "thousands" of applications available to subscribers. Eric John, director of marketing for Forum Nokia, the developer outreach organisation John said there will be all kinds of applications available on the Ovi Store, including a number of enterprise-style applications that will be helpful to business users.
E Week
 
Swine flu goes viral
Swine Flu is officially a pandemic, which means alongside hundreds jokes there will be a slew of swine flu inspired internet games. Created by Heyzap, Swinefighter players are charged with inoculating as many ill pigs as possible within a time limit before they fly off around the world to cause yet further pandemic panic.
Tech Radar
 
EU green lights telecoms reform
European Union states have given the green light to a reform of the telecoms sector after accepting a last-minute deal to resolve a discrepancy over Internet access. The battle over handling copyright abuse emerged as an issue between EU states and parliament on the reform that aims to increase competition in the sector and bring down tariffs for customers.
IT Pro
 
Swedish ISPs to stop logging IP addresses
Service provider Tele2 said that it would no longer be logging IP addresses in order to preserve user privacy and anonymity. The move comes following new antipiracy directives which allow copyright owners to request that service providers hand over IP addresses of user while investigating possible software piracy and copyright infringement cases.
Vnunet

Microsoft to add voice recognition to Windows Mobile
Microsoft is set to add a voice recognition application in the next upgrade to Windows Mobile. Developed from technology from TellMe, a company acquired by Microsoft in 2007, the application will enable people to speak into the phone to search the Internet, make phone calls and dictate text messages.
Tech World

Indian boost for One Laptop Per Child project
The One Laptop Per Child project has received a boost with the news that the Indian government has placed an order for 250,000 of its machines. This comes as a U-turn to its proclamation in 2006 that the project was ‘pedagogically suspect’.
Guardian
 
Google faces antitrust investigation over $125m book deal
Google is facing fresh accusations of anti-competitive behaviour, following reports that the US Justice Department is investigating the company over its dealings with the book industry. There are concerns that the deal that saw Google pay $125m for the sole rights to digitise millions of books in the US.
Guardian

Sun reports £137m loss
As expected by most analysts, Sun Microsystems’ financial outlook is still grim as it continues the process of becoming the property of Oracle by the end of summer 2009. In its third-quarter 2009 numbers, the company says its loss was caused by restructuring charges and a 20% drop in sales.
E Week Europe
 
Nokia makes moves to fight back against Apple
Nokia has announced that it will combine its different internet service together as it attempts to tackle Apple’s App Store. To cope with declining handset sales, Nokia is building a new business from mobile internet services but is scaling back on separate investment plans and focusing instead on merging the delivery of services.
IT Pro
 
Tech giants form open-cloud-standards group
A major systems-management standards body has formed a group dedicated to developing open management standards for cloud computing.
Zdnet

Zoho continues expansion push
Online productivity software service Zoho is continuing its campaign to expand to new markets and devices. The company said that it would be increasing Zoho's mobile reach, adding support for Blackberry, Symbian, Android and Windows handsets to the Zoho Mobile suite.
Vnunet

Mobile Social Networking Unleashed
Centrl is a smart-phone application that lets you see which of your Facebook friends are around. You can spot nearby buddies on a screen-based map and send them instant messages. You can even mark a map location to let them know about a good restaurant or nightclub. Retailers can send you a coupon if you're near. And you can share that coupon with your friends.
PC World

European telcos seen resilient, not immune to crisis
Analysts view France Telecom, Telecom Italia and KPN as sector picks; Deutsche Telekom, BT lag. European telcos' first-quarter earnings should confirm the overall resilience of the sector, as its ability to generate cash ensures it is less hard-hit than others by the global economic slowdown.
Total telecom

Intel, Nvidia show graphics chip shipment growth in Q1
While AMD and some smaller graphics chip makers saw shipments and market share decline in Q1 compared to Q4 2008, Intel and Nvidia increased shipments and share, according to data from Jon Peddie Research.
EDN

Mobile apps to generate $25bn by 2014
In-app billing will drive the future, according to new research from Juniper. According to a report released this week, additional revenues from value-added services will provide the dominant revenue stream by 2011 with many Tier 1 operators expected to deploy their own app stores.
Mobile Entertainment

Android 1.5 SDK made available for download
Google yesterday released the final version of its software to create programs for an upcoming update to the company's Android mobile-phone operating system. The Android 1.5 software development kit (SDK) was announced on the Android developer blog. The release notes include details that may be of interest to programmers, such as improvements in emulating multiple Android devices and gauging performance issues.
Zdnet

Sky to launch green button TV advertising
Sky is preparing to launch its green button TV advertising service with clients including Macmillan Cancer Support, T-Mobile and Warner Brothers. The service allows viewers to access extra ad features including extended edits, behind-the-scenes footage and exclusive content. Advertisers can direct viewers to download longer ads to their Sky box to view at a later date.
NMA

Samsung plans first Android phone for Europe
Samsung Electronics has announced this week that its first phone based on Google's Android operating system would become available in major European countries from June. The company said that its 17500 handset has touchscreen controls and runs on networks based on HSDPA, a high-speed wireless technology popular in Europe.
Independent

MMA adds 28 members in two months
The Mobile Marketing Association have gained 28 new members since February, it announced yesterday. The new members come from all segments of the mobile marketing industry and include Sony Pictures Entertainment, Telcordia and Be-Mobile.
Mobile Entertainment

IBM supercomputer to take on Jeopardy quiz show
IBM is planning a supercomputer challenge, set to take place on US quiz show Jeopardy, set up to highlight advances in artificial intelligence. The company will construct a system capable of taking on humans in the game show as a test for its new Watson computing project. The aim of Watson is to contruct a system that can analyse and interpret subtleties and underlying meanings in queries.
VNU net

Cablevision rolls out super-fast Internet access
Cablevision Systems plans to roll out super-fast Internet access connections which allows a full-length high-definition movie downloads in less 10 minutes. Cablevision is also doubling the speed of its Wi-Fi wireless Internet service in an attempt to compete with Verizon Communications' FiOS service.
Reuters

Nokia plots a future in web services
Nokia will fundamentally change its business model around an ambitious web strategy, attendees were told at its annual general meeting last week. While the company still plans to compete with the traditional mobile device manufacturers, it will also focus on integrated services in five key areas - maps, music, messaging, media and games.
Telecom Europe

DT, T-Systems sign global deal with Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent will provide T-Systems and Deutsche Telekom with convergent communications solutions from its enterprise portfolio. The deal will support T-Systems and the business customer branch of Deutsche Telekom, to supply their large enterprise and business customers (with IP solutions for voice and data networking.
Telecom Europe

European governments "negligent" in matters of cyber security
According to the EU's telecommunications commissioner Viviane Reding, European Union member states are "negligent" for failing to take adequate precautions against the sort of attacks seen in Estonia, Lithuania and Georgia in recent years. A top level cyber security official should take control in the event of cyber attacks.
Techworld

Hong Kong running low on mobile bandwidth
The high demand for mobile services in Hong Kong has exceeded the current supply of spectrum which causes Hong Kong's Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) to auction a new radio spectrum in the 1800 MHz band to take the strain. However, a very high 3G subscription growth is bound to put further pressure on bandwidth and spectrum availability.
Telecom TV

Facebook to offer user data to developers
Facebook is ready to offer third party developers access to user-contributed information, as it seeks to spur the next generation of applications. The move would allow developers to build apps and services capable of accessing user videos, photos, notes and comments.
PC Pro

Former AOL Exec Mike Jones To Take COO Role At MySpace
Former AOL exec Mike Jones will become the COO of MySpace. This makes him the number 2 executive of the reorganized News Corp. subsidiary under new CEO Owen Van Natta. A third new executive may also be announced later today.
Tech Crunch

Samsung mobile business tops revenue for parent co.
Samsung Electronic’s mobile business has officially been named the biggest revenue generator of the entire Group. The mobile phone business reported a 36% increase in revenue in the first quarter.
Comms Business

BBC uses behavioural targeting across non-UK site
BBC.com has begun to offer behavioural targeting across its global sites outside the UK. With 26m users outside the UK, it’s working with behavioural targeting specialist Audience Science to collect and analyse data on users visiting its sites to serve them more relevant advertising.
New media Age

Gadget jargon still confuses many 
According to a survey run by the Gadget Helpline, the 10 technology-related words the British public find most confusing are: Dongle, Cookie, WAP, Phone jack, (Nokia) Navi Key, Time shifting, Digital TV, Ethernet, PC Suite, Desktop.
BBC Technology

Virtual XP for Windows 
Windows 7 will feature a virtual XP mode, as Microsoft attempts to address the compatibility issues that so infuriated early Windows Vista adopters and sway reluctant business users to upgrade. Windows XP Mode will allow users to install applications designed for Windows XP directly into a virtual environment. 
PCPro

BT offers "Total Broadband" home and mobile packages
BT has announced new mobile broadband packages for its home broadband customers that it claims are the UK's cheapest.  Total Broadband customers can now get up to 8MB wireless broadband at home as well as "free" 1GB monthly usage on BT's mobile broadband that uses Vodafone's network.
Pocket-lint

Qualcomm brings bitter patent battle to an end
The settlement will result in the dismissal of all litigation between the companies, including patent infringement claims Broadcom brought against Qualcomm at the International Trade Commission in 2005. Broadcom will also withdraw its complaints to the European Commission and the Korea Fair Trade Commission as part of the deal.
PC Pro

Apple charged $19m for patent infringement
Apple has been found guilty of patent infringement and charged $19m by a US court in Texas. Apple’s financial condition still remains very robust as the company finished its second quarter with revenue of $8.16bn and a profit of $1.21bn.
Vnunet

First Android netbook on its way
The first netbook running the Google's Android mobile operating system could be available within three months, costing about $250. The Alpha 680, designed by Guangzhou Skytone Transmission Technologies, is going through final testing now. The 50-employee company, located in the southern Chinese city in its name, is aiming to have final prototypes ready by June.
Techworld

India sets subs record
India's mobile operators added a record 15.64 million new connections during March this year, taking the total number of activated wireless lines to 391.76 million, according to the latest figures issued by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) .
Light Reading

Microsoft hit by first ever sales drop
Microsoft has reported its first year-on-year drop in sales as the decline in the global PC market hits home. The supplier says sales in its Client, Microsoft Business Division, and Server & Tools divisions were most affected by the weakness in the global PC and server markets, although revenue from corporate customers remained stable.
Computing

Apple apologies for baby shaking app
Although Apple has apologized for approving an application that encouraged players to shake their iPhone until the baby stopped crying, questions are being asked how this was approved in the first place. Apple’s unpredictable approval process has been a matter of dispute in the past, but this has been focused on apps that have failed to be approved.
Mac World

Samsung beats profit forecast but is wary on recovery
Samsung has reported a 72% drop in quarterly profits and reckons it is too early to say when a recovery in demand or prices will begin. A rebound in mobile phone margins helped the company beat profit forecasts that had been sharply lowered because of a steep downturn in the chip industry that has left all manufacturers selling chips for less than they cost to make.
Washington Post

Sun co-founder gives thumbs up to merger with Oracle
Sun co-founder, Andreas von Bechtolsheim, has given a cautionary thumbs up to the potential merger deal with Oracle, saying it would have a positive impact on database technologies. In particular, he cites synergies in building better database servers using such concepts as large memory.
Tech World

Apple App Store hits one billion landmark
Apple's App Store has hit its billionth download, just over nine months from its summer 2008 launch. On launch, Steve Jobs stated that there were 500 applications available, with 125 free for users, but that number has since exploded, with in excess of 25,000 available now.
Tech Radar

TeliaSonera, Elisa, DNA get Finland 4G frequencies
Finland has announced today that it has allotted additional frequencies to the three nationwide mobile network operators, TeliaSonera, Elisa and DNA, for opening next-generation networks. Finland said the frequencies are located in the 1,800 MHz band, making it the first country in Europe to allow the use of next-generation LTE technology at such low spectrum.
Reuters

Google patches "severe" Chrome
Google has patched a bug in its Chrome browser that allowed attackers to perform cross-site scripting attacks. The flaw was discovered earlier this month by an IBM security researcher and was patched last night, with the release of Chrome version 1.0.154.59.
PC Pro

New Nokia phone has mobile-payment SIM card
Nokia has announced that the new Nokia 6216 classic handset will incorporate NFC technology on the SIM card, paving the way for operators to more easily deploy mobile-payment systems. The 6216 classic is Nokia's third mobile phone with integrated NFC support, but the first that puts the secure element of the technology on the SIM card.
PC Advisor

Faster broadband to boost economy
Homes and businesses in South Yorkshire will receive super-fast broadband as part of a scheme to put the region at the forefront of digital technologies. A 25-megabyte connection will be available from the end of 2009, reaching 1.2m people in this area. Connection to the network will be available through a range of service providers, national, regional and local.
BBC News

Vopium launches iPhone application
Mobile VoIP company Vopium has launched an application for the iPhone powered by mobile VoIP and Wi-Fi. Its new iPhone application enables users to make free and cost-saving international calls at a reduced rate of up to 90% from traditional mobile and landline costs.
Mobile Choice

Starbucks runs mobile coupon loyalty program
Starbucks Coffee in Mexico is running a loyalty program based on 2D bar-code coupons deployed via SMS. The campaign is currently running in Guadalajara and San Luis Potosi, Mexico, but based on the 60 percent mobile coupon redemption rate, it is likely to be expanded.
Mobile Marketer

MMF Singapore gets a live feed
The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) has announced that the industry’s key international event, the Mobile Marketing Forum (MMF), will now be available through live webcast. Launching with the MMF in Singapore on April 28 and 29 it will be the first accessible via a live feed, with the goal of bringing the event to a larger audience both within the region and around the world.
Mobile Business

Government backs 2Mbps broadband
The UK government has signalled its commitment to ensuring everyone in the country has access to broadband speeds of two megabit per second by 2012.
BBC News
 
Nokia launches NFC phone
Nokia has launched an NFC-enabled phone enabling consumers to pay for anything you want by waving it near a reader. The Nokia 6216 is the first phone to have NFC technology integrated on the SIM card.
Electric Pig
 
EU brings end to mobile roaming rip-off
The cost of sending a text message whilst abroad in Europe will fall dramatically in July, costing not more than €.11 instead of the current cost of €.28 per message.  Mobile operators will also be require to bill roaming calls by the second.
PC Advisor

Solid sales help Apple withstand the recession, keeping investors positive
Apple has posted strong results for the last quarter, with profits climbing 15 per cent.  Sales grew to $8.16 billion and while Mac computer sales fell, iPods gained three per cent.
IT Pro
 
MySpace founder steps down
Chris DeWolfe will move to a ‘strategic advisor’ role for the social networking site, stepping down as Chief Executive.  His replacement has not been confirmed, however former Facebook COO Owen Van Natta is a frontrunner for the role.
PC Advisor

Google intros ego-surfing tool
Google has introduced a profile tool, allowing you to present your best side and keep your information the most up-to-date available when people search your name. There is also an option that allows people to contact you without exposing your email address.
Web User

Orange tops UK mobile game sales
Orange accounted for 23% of all mobile games downloaded in the UK, which accounted for 25% of revenues in 2008 according to official figures from ELSPA and Chart-Track. Orange attributed most of its success to the embedding of demo’s on its signature devices.
Mobile Entertainment

Consumers say call and text prices more important than 3G, claims research
Research commissioned by OpenCloud, has revealed that consumers view call and text prices as more important than 3G and social networking capabilities. 80% of the 1,000 consumers surveyed see call and text prices as the most important factor, and two-thirds see social networking capabilities as a non-essential luxury.
Mobile Europe

P2P Mobile Messaging to Reach $106bn by 2014 - but Revenues to Decline in Some Sectors
SMS, MMS, mobile email and IM traffic volumes are set to continue their inexorable rise over the next five years, however competition from the IP evolution is resulting in disruptive business models, says a new report from Juniper. The move to per-month billing models incorporating up to unlimited data and messaging bundles will see total P2P revenues in Western and Eastern Europe post declines.
Cellular-News

Mobile ISPs censor The Pirate Bay
Following the recent court case against The Pirate Bay, all five major UK mobile operators have blocked users from accessing the content as part of the self-regulation scheme. Mobile broadband providers have agreed to block access to adult content on mobiles in case the device falls into the hands of minors. The content bans can be lifted by calling the service provider.
Computer Buyer

Ad-subsidized mobile video: Where is it?
For the past ten years, the mobile industry has hyped itself as the next great medium for advertising. All the elements are there for killer ad campaigns: location information, precise monitoring and-perhaps most importantly-direct access to consumers' most personal device. So why is mobile advertising still in its infancy? The question is especially troubling when it's applied to mobile video and mobile TV.
Fierce Mobile Content

3G enhancers meet capacity needs says Qualcomm
3G will be the biggest enabler of mobile broadband for the next five years, according to Qualcomm, with the challenge being to improve the data carrying capacity of CDMA by adopting the enhancement technologies HSPA and EV-DO.
Electronics Weekly

Telegent signals mobile TV rethink
Wrangling over standards and the release of new digital spectrum have hindered the roll-out of broadcast mobile TV in many countries. But Telegent Systems has sidestepped these issues by focusing on analogue.
C21 Media
 
Carter Super-fast Broadband Plans Leave Out Rural Areas
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, UK communications minister Lord Carter claimed that a huge chunk of rural Britain could miss out on next generation super-fast broadband services, as installing broadband connections in these areas is too expensive. The forecast has triggered concerns that people living in rural areas will not have access to a range of next generation online media services, such as "on-demand television" services.
IT ProPortal

Wikipedia latest to reject Phorm 'snooping' technology
Wikipedia has joined Amazon.com in opting out of Phorm's controversial targeted advertising technology. Last week Amazon, one of the most popular websites in the world, said it would stop Phorm from using its web pages to gather data on internet users. "We consider the scanning and profiling of our visitors' behaviour by a third-party to be an infringement on their privacy," the Wikimedia foundation said in a blog.
Times online

iPhone starts to turn business heads

Forrester has found that the iPhone has made it on to the list of approved devices by some of the biggest enterprises in the US. Feedback by businesses was positive, although problems with Exchange 2003 and Exchange 2007 were experienced. Apple says these problems will be ironed out with iPhone 3.0 software.

TechWorld

Motorola ex-CFO gives his side of the story in whistleblower suit

Motorola’s ex-CFO says he was fired for questioning the accuracy of financial forecasts for its handset division. In response to the suit that was filed against Motorola in February, the company says that he took on the role of whistleblower to cover up for his poor performance.

Total Telecom

Consumers opt for cheap chic Smartphones

Cellphone makers are expected to report healthy sales of lower-priced feature rich Smartphones as consumers opt for ‘cheap chic’ during the recession. RIM surprised its shareholders at the beginning of the month with strong profits due to its cheaper models and was optimistic on the future.

Reuters

Ernst & Young raises questions over Tiscali’s future

Tiscali’s future was thrown into doubt when its auditing firm announced it was uncertain whether Tiscali’s business could continue and said it needed to renegotiate its debt immediately. Tiscali has contested the verdict and will ask its shareholders to cancel part of its 2008 losses.

Financial Times

Egypt lifts ban on GPS devices

After a five year ban on devices with GPS, the Egyptian telecoms regulator has lifted the ban. In a statement by the NTRA, the regulator states that GPS-enabled mobile phones, computers and other devices with what it described as ‘civilian applications’ would be allowed.

ITP

Google offers coders early Android 1.5 SDK

Google has released an Android 1.5 software developer kit, giving programmers access to several new features, such as video support and a faster browser that will appear in a forthcoming version of the company's open-source mobile-phone operating system.

ZDNet

Intel netbook chip revenue plunges

Intel's revenue from its line of low-end Atom microprocessors fell more during the first quarter than other products, according to the chip maker's first-quarter results.

PC PRO

eBay to spin off Skype with IPO

eBay is to separate Skype off in an initial public offering scheduled to begin in 2010. The news comes just days after StumbleUpon announced it has bought itself back from eBay, with the auction giant deciding to focus on its core business of e-commerce and online payments.

Pocket Lint

McAfee blames spam for global warming

spam emails are also responsible for clogging our atmosphere with carbon dioxide, a gas that shoulders much of the blame for global warming, according to a report commissioned by antivirus vendor McAfee.

PC Advisor

Hulu competitor TV.com in talks for UK partnerships

CBS Interactive site TV.com, the main rival to Hulu in the US, has said plans to replicate its successful video-on-demand service in the UK will depend on partnerships with broadcasters. TV.com said it's in talks with UK broadcasters but has no imminent plans to launch its VOD service here.

New Media Age

BBC launches live mobile TV tests

The BBC is testing the live streaming of its television and radio channels to wi-fi enabled mobile devices. Designed for use by wi-fi enabled phones, the screen size is currently set at 176 x 144, allowing reception on the widest number of available devices. Full 3G compatibility may be used at a later date, although the associated charges may be prohibitive.

Broadband TV News

Spotify Launches 'Libspotify' Open API to Developers

Following the launch of Spotify’s Open API, the music streaming program has also announced the launch of 'libspotify', its first step in opening up Spotify as a music platform. Libspotify will allow third-party developers to write applications for the service and offer the possibility of creating a new range of features.

Trusted Reviews

Twitter backs first UK ad partner

Universal Pictures, Virgin Media and Gorillaz are among the first brands to launch commercial services on Twitter through a new company backed by the blogging site to manage demand from brands. Twitter Partners has signed up a range of European media clients to develop a marketing strategy on Twitter and is in conversations with a number of major brands that are keen to tap into the phenomenal growth of the service.

New Media Age

Nintendo DSi sells 92,000 in 2 days

Nintendo's launch of its revamped dual screen DSi handheld gaming console has been deemed a success in the UK with an estimated 92,000 units sold of the DSi console over the Friday and Saturday according to GfK Chart Track.

Pocket Lint

Slower replacement cycle to shrink Taiwan’s market in 2009

­Taiwan's mobile phone market is forecast to shrink by 9.3% to around 6.4 million units. The Taipei-based Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MIC) puts the shrinkage down to slower handset replacements due to the economic downturn. Some 80% of the Taiwanese market depends on replacement sales.

Cellular News

France Telecom gains control of ECMS

France Telecom said it would pay €530m to take full managerial control of ECMS, Egypt’s leading mobile phone operator, and might buy out minority shareholders after winning a protracted legal dispute with Orascom Telecom. France Telecom has been in dispute with Orascom since 2001 over control of ECMS, with both companies trying to claim control. An international arbitration panel on Sunday ordered Orascom to sell to the French company its 28.75 per cent stake in Mobinil, which in turn owns 51 per cent of ECMS.

Financial Times

Phorm considers paying users

In a U-turn, Phorm has admitted it's considering offering users financial incentives to sign up for its behavioral advertising scheme.

PC Pro

New GSM Network to Launch in Vietnam

­Hutchison Telecom has announced that its Vietnamese operation, Vietnamobile will launch its GSM services tomorrow (9th April). Vietnamobile, the partnership between Hutchison Telecom and Hanoi Telecom Joint Stock Company, will launch its service over its GSM network with footprint present at 64 provinces in Vietnam.

Cellular News

Fear of viruses could be causing PC attacks

According to Microsoft, computer users' growing fear of viruses could be behind a recent spike in attacks on PCs. As the Conficker worm was in the news, more users have been looking for security programs online, some of which turn out to be agents for viruses themselves. Seven of the 25 top security threats came in the form of fake security programs.

Reuters

Ads on mobile a fair trade for free content
Good news for advertisers, according to KMPG, 40 per cent of Brits would happily allow adverts on their mobile phone if they received free content in return. This might be a pointer in the ongoing debate over whether advertising or subscription is the right revenue model.
PC Advisor

Battle rages as T-Mobile blocks Skype for iPhone
Internet calling companies, such as Skype, have called on European regulators to adopt policies that let consumers access their services through smartphones on any public network. The Voice on the Net (VON) coalition Europe, which also includes Google, Microsoft and Intel, argues carriers are blocking their applications on their cellular or 3G networks, which limits consumer choice.
Silicon

Orange to snap up Kangaroo?
France Telecom-owned communications service provider Orange has emerged as a potential buyer for the technology behind Project Kangaroo, the defunct broadband TV joint venture between ITV, Channel 4 and the BBC. Orange is one of two companies - the other is thought to be a technology firm - that are serious contenders to buy some of the Project Kangaroo assets. Orange has been examining the feasibility of launching Orange TV in the UK and has just contacted suppliers and informed its trial consumer group that it is not going to pursue a launch of the service becauses of a combination of factors including the deteriorating economic conditions.
The Guardian

Talks break down between IBM and Sun
Sun Microsystems has reportedly rejected IBM’s $7 billion offer, according to reports by the Wall Street Journal. It is speculated that this is could be down to negotiation tactics on Sun’s part, which could backfire as analysts are already calling Sun ‘damaged goods’.
EWeekEurope

BT unveils CDN Plans
BT Wholesale is preparing to launch a content delivery network (CDN) service to British ISPs to keep up with the increasingly heavy video traffic loads. The new offering, called Wholesale Content Connect (WCC), will be launched as a pilot service before the end of 2009.
Light Reading

Al Gore pushes green benefits of smart grids
Former US Vice President Al Gore tells a wireless conference that the industry holds important keys to solving climate change. He told a crowd at the annual CTIA wireless show in Las Vegas that the wireless industry should be a major player in solving climate change.
eWeek

Google builds iPhone control for blind
Google engineers have come up with a way to help visually impaired people control touchscreen-based handhelds such as Apple's iPhone. The system works by mimicking the traditional phone keypad, with the number five in the centre and the other numbers arrayed around it.
PC Advisor

Sun rejects IBM buyout offer, bid withdrawn
Sun rejected IBM's formal buyout offer on Saturday, calling the bid insufficient and putting future deal talks at risk. IBM reportedly made a formal bid of $9.40 (£6.30) a share, or less, for Sun, which in turn rejected the offer and terminated IBM's right to exclusive merger talks.
ZD Net

Feb chip sales down 30%, gradual recovery expected
Worldwide sales of semiconductors continued to fall in February, according to a report from the Semiconductor Industry Association, sales reached only $14.2 billion in the short month. The February sales represent a decline of 30.4% compared to February 2008 sales of $20.3 billion.
Electronics Weekly

Microsoft expands Windows Server family of operating systems
Windows Server 2008 Foundation is built for small businesses with 15 or fewer users and puts the reliability, security and manageability of the Windows Server platform within the reach of all businesses at an affordable price.
Computer Business Review

AMD to close more plants
AMD is set to close down more of its facilities in an effort to return to profitability by the end of the year. The company would not confirm whether further headcount reductions were part of the plan but said it would not have significant material impact on its operations.
Computerworld UK