Price Check: MP3 players

Christmas is around the corner, and for those who can't wait for the Carol singers to turn up, downloading festive tracks to a digital player means you can enjoy aural yuletide cheer wherever you go. Digital music players established themselves some time ago as a more than competitive alternative to portable CD players. And with Apple making its iPod the premium must-have audio accessory this year, we'll also take a look at more budget-friendly players. ...more

Toshiba develops all-in-one video chip

Toshiba has announced a new chip with the ability to encode and decode MPEG4 video and the implications for mobile computing are very interesting. With the use of handheld computers on the rise and news that the convergence of mobile phones and PDAs is nearly at its zenith, Toshiba couldn't have waited for a better time to announce its new TC35273XB chip. It sounds a mouthful, but this single chip can process video with ease. ...more

Dutch join anti-iTunes campaign

The Netherlands' consumer protection agency has joined its French and German counterparts in backing the Norway-led coalition of countries that are trying to force Apple to remove DRM restrictions from the iTunes Store. The Dutch Consumentenbond has filed a complaint with the country's antitrust authority alleging that Apple's practice of supporting only its own iPod portable players is illegal. 'What we want from Apple is that they remove the limitations that prevent you from playing a song you download from iTunes on any player other than an iPod,' spokesman van Kouwen said. ...more

Apple wins case against Beatles' Apple label

Apple Computer has won its court case against The Beatles' Apple Corps. Judge Mr Justice Mann ruled that the use of the apple logo in the iTunes Music Store does not violate Apple Corps' trademark or breach a 1991 agreement between the two companies which established the extent to which Apple Computer could become involved in music related activities. Details will be released later. ...more

Symbian launches 2.5G platform

Symbian has unveiled version 6.1 of its operating system - the Symbian 2.5G platform - for GPRS-enabled Smartphones and Communicators. ...more