BT reclaims broadband crown

BT claims it is once again the most popular broadband provider in the country, leapfrogging Virgin Media. The company says it now has more than 3.66 million broadband customers - which equates to more than a quarter of the UK market. ...more

BPI rebuffs Stelios

'Just because stealing is easy, doesn't make it right' In response to a letter from easyGroup chairman and cuddly business tycoon Stelios claiming Internet music piracy to be the result of the music industry overcharging customers, BPI chairman Peter Jamieson has responded in a letter to the FT, putting the shoe on the other foot. The letter to the editor reads: 'If I were to find a way to get into the easyJet booking system and steal myself free airline flights to Luton, Liverpool and Majorca, I'm sure Stelios Haji-Ioannou would be the first to cry foul. If I were to find a way to do so, which he was powerless to counteract, he would be even more aggrieved. ...more

French competition body rejects 'open iPod' claim

The French Competition Council has rejected Virgin France's claim that Apple's FairPlay technology should be licensed to other companies' online music stores. FairPlay is the digital rights management (DRM) technology that enables paid-for downloads from Apple's iTunes Music Store to be played on an iPod and no other portable device, but more significantly prevents other stores's downloads from being played on iPods. News. ...more

Apple could see green light for European iPhone trademark

A matter of hours could separate whether Cisco or Apple can claim the iPhone trademark in Europe. A trademark expert at UK law firm Pinsent Masons said that a German company filed a revocation application for Cisco's iPhone trademark on the same day that the networking company finally announced a product under the iPhone name. Lee Curtis said that under European law, trademarks that have been unused for a period of five years or more can be revoked when such a request is filed. ...more

The phone that thinks it's a pen

Ahead of this year's CeBIT, starting 18th March, the German company has lined up some new communications gadgets, and leading the way is the mobile PenPhone (pictured). The rather neat idea is that you use the pen to 'virtually' write out phone number you wish to call and it dials if for you. It also lets you write SMS messages directly into the phone. ...more