Amazon

TiVo on Tuesday set out to reinvent itself with DVRs that blend television and Internet viewing experiences. The TiVo Premiere and TV Premiere XL combine access to cable programming, movies, web videos, and music.

Paid news content may be making a comeback. The Associated Press said Friday that it will set up a division to help its member newspapers and broadcasters sell content to the new generation of content devices, including tablet computers and e-readers.

AP President and CEO Tom Curley told the Colorado Press Association convention in Denver that the new division, called AP Gateway, will provide a "launching pad" for content from AP and other publishers.

A 'Variety of Ways'

California lawmakers are eager to harpoon the great white whale that is Amazon.com to force it to pay sales tax on every HDTV and Kindle it sells here. But those efforts could ensnare scores of smaller fish: mom-and-pop Internet businesses that rely on Amazon and other e-tailers for their livelihood.

The e-commerce behemoth has avoided paying sales tax in California because it has no offices, stores or warehouses in the state.

But California contends that Amazon does have a presence here.

If Apple cut the price of each TV episode in half -- to 99 cents, from $1.99 -- would sales on iTunes increase enough to offset the price drop?

Experiments in the United States are under way to find out, and the head of the No. 1 U.S. television network, CBS, indicated last week that some shows, at least, would be priced at less than a dollar in the future.

Apple wants to ignite TV show sales, especially as it prepares to introduce the iPad tablet computer next month. But its proposals to lower prices across the board are being met by skepticism from the major U.S. networks.

Nokia Corp. may be the world's top cell phone maker, but it's no longer a trendsetter, as a host of inventive and alluring technologies from North America is shifting the center of gravity in the cellular universe away from Europe.

Despite efforts to boost its position in the U.S., Nokia is struggling to compete with Cupertino, California-based Apple Inc. -- maker of the iPhone -- and Canadian smartphone maker Research in Motion, which makes the BlackBerry.

Amazon.com unleashed new e-reader software Thursday that enables selected BlackBerry handsets from Research In Motion to access and read e-books directly on mobile devices based in the United States. Called Kindle for BlackBerry, the free beta app is available for download from the world's largest online retailer.