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

PC Pro online music expos?: UK public pays too much for too little

The new issue of PC Pro, which goes on general sale today, includes a headline-grabbing expos? of the UK's online music market. It reveals what many have suspected for some time: that the British public is being asked to pay too much money for tracks, that the music is often poorly encoded, and that the limitations over what people can and can't do with the tracks are strict to the point of draconian. 'What people don't understand is that when they buy an iPod or other digital music player, they're being tied into a system,' believes Deputy Labs Editor, Nick Ross. ...more

Canadian pharmacy websites look to UK

Canada's online pharmacies are making plans to move to Britain according to the Financial Times. The sites are planning their move after the Canadian government threatened to outlaw the procedure known as 'co-signing' whereby a Canadian doctor countersigns a prescription made out in the US to a patient they have never seen. If the practice is outlawed, it would mean the end of Canada's burgeoning online pharmacies in the country. ...more

eBay rumoured to be starting 'anyone but Google' alliance

Auction giant eBay is courting various technology partners including Yahoo! and Microsoft in order to help it fend off a challenge from Google according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. Reports of the approaches range from co-operation to a full blown merger, although such a deal would undoubtedly attract the attention of the US competition authorities. eBay has watched with growing alarm over the past few months as the search engine has made a series of announcements that put it in direct competition with eBay's core businesses. ...more

Sony to launch online bank

Sony has applied for a banking licence with Japan's Financial Services Authority and plans to open an online bank, Sony Bank Corp, in June. The bank will be aimed at online customers, who will be able to use cashpoints at branches of Sakura Bank, a partner in the project. Sakura Bank will take a 16 per cent stake and JP Morgan Chase four per cent, with Sony claiming the remaining 80 per cent. ...more