Business

The number of mobile phone subscribers worldwide has doubled since 2000 to nearly 1.5 billion, with cell phone adoption growing faster than land line telephone service and Internet usage, according to a new report from the United Nations. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a wing of th...

With the impact of the last major merger still rippling through the wireless communications industry, another major combination might be in the works, with No. 3 Sprint and fifth-place Nextel said to be contemplating a combination. The merger would create a larger and more robust No. 3 wireless gian...

In a move to cash in on the growing ring tone market, Napster has announced that it has forged an agreement with Dwango Wireless to go mobile. Napster will work with the mobile developer and publisher of entertainment content to launch "Napster Mobile" across major North American carriers. The servi...

Much attention has been focused on the promise of enabling large business-to-business transactions over the Internet -- and many corporations can testify to the Web's transforming power to streamline inventory management. However, there's a new revolution coming online, and it's called micro-commerc...

In what might be an overseas preview of a battle coming soon to U.S. soil with market leader Netflix, Amazon.com has launched a DVD rental service through its United Kingdom Web site. Amazon's UK site began advertising the DVD rental option this week, as the site sees heavy holiday traffic. The serv...

In a move to beef up its services aimed at wireless devices, Yahoo has acquired tech start-up WUF Networks. Company officials confirmed the acquisition this week but declined to disclose the terms of the deal. WUF develops software that is designed to simplify the control and access of digital conte...

The DVD Copy Control Association (DVD CCA) has filed a suit against Kaleidescape, alleging misuse of the association's proprietary copy protection technology, known as the Content Scramble System (CSS). Mountain View, Calif.-based Kaleidescape is developer of a home audio video network that enables ...

Chipmaker Infineon Technologies said it would invest US$1 billion to build a new fabrication plant in Malaysia that will make products aimed at the automotive and industrial industries. The German-based company said it would break ground early next year on the facility in Kulim High Tech Park and be...

ITT Industries announced today that it has won a seven-year contract that could reach a maximum value of US$2.5 billion from the U.S. Army's Logistics Readiness Center. ITT will produce Single Channel Ground to Air Radio System (SINCGARS) combat radio systems for the Army. Under the terms of this om...

On November 15, Google filed a lawsuit against Texas-based Auctions Expert International (AEI) for engaging in "click fraud" and attempting to force Google's advertisers to pay for fraudulently generated clicks. Google claims, among other things, that AEI constructed its Web site with the sole purpo...

In an effort to develop a standard approach to building and deploying an enterprise grid computing infrastructure, high-technology heavy hitters have announced a collaborative effort dubbed Project MegaGrid. Dell, EMC, Intel and Oracle are joining forces to combine certain core technologies and tech...

Ending nearly a week of speculation, IBM has reached an agreement to sell its personal computer business to Chinese PC maker Lenovo for US$1.25 billion in cash, a deal that calls for Big Blue to retain a sizeable stake in the business and for an IBM executive to take over the combined company. The d...

As the holiday shopping season begins in earnest, consumers say they're just as willing to buy from small online retailers as they are from large, national e-commerce providers. In addition to this key finding, a new national survey of 2,500 consumers discovered extremely high levels of consumer par...

The health care industry might be next in line for the type of mega-merger that has already rocked the retail and wireless communications sectors, with Johnson & Johnson reportedly mulling a takeover of Guidant in a deal that could be worth more than US$24 billion. Published reports said that J&...

The health care industry might be next in line for the type of mega-merger that has already rocked the retail and wireless communications sectors, with Johnson & Johnson reportedly mulling a takeover of Guidant in a deal that could be worth more than US$24 billion. Published reports said that J&...