Warner chief threatens to scalp iTunes

A Warner Music executive has threatened to cut off Apple if Steve Jobs continues to refuse to give ground on iTunes Music Store pricing. Digital strategy chief Michael Nash said during a discussion at a wireless telecoms conference that the music industry has let Apple get too much power in the digital downloads market. 'What if Jobs says 39 cents or 29 cents per download - what then?,' he said. ...more

Web-based services threatened by patent

Not a week goes by these days without one software developer alleging that another has infringed one of its patents and this week is no exception, with Microsoft's .Net strategy now supposedly under threat. Charlie Northrup, CEO of Global Technologies, a software developer from New Jersey, US, owns a patent for diverse computer systems connecting to servers over the Internet to run software on multiple platforms. ...more

Nokia claims patent dispute hampers 3G uptake

Nokia's ongoing patent battle with Qualcomm may work against the uptake of 'third-generation' mobile technology, believes the mobile phone giant. Nokia is putting its focus for 3G mobile phones on higher-end models, chief technology officer Tero Ojanpera said, despite moves by smaller rivals to lower device costs for the high-speed wireless service. The company, which makes more than one in three of the mobile phones sold globally, is mired in a legal dispute over patents with US mobile phone chip maker Qualcomm after part of a major cross-licensing agreement expired last month. ...more

New iPod and vPod 'could be delayed'

Apple shares took a knock yesterday following an analyst's report that the next generation of iPod and vPod devices might be delayed. The report from American Technology Research (ATR) says that a new Nano is likely to appear in the fourth quarter of this year rather than the third as expected. It also says that video iPod, previously expected in the fourth quarter of 2006 may not appear until sometime in the first half of 2007, missing the crucial Christmas buying season. ...more

HP guns for the monochrome market with printer launch

HP celebrates 20 years of the laserjet with reams of new printers. The company says that the 27 new products it is launching will replace '50 per cent of the entire printing industry's monochrome inventory.' Following two decades as market leader Hewlett Packard is keen to scotch rumours of the imminent death of the mono laser. ...more