South Korea is the world’s most wired nation with the fastest global broadband connections (seven times the world average), and students there have been experimenting with digital since 2008, using e-textbooks on tablet-like Fujitsu PCs and Samsung Galaxy Tabs. 

Now, the nation is pushing for all elementary-level educational materials to be digitized by 2014, while by 2015, the entire school-age curriculum will be administered by computers, smart phones and tablets. 

The national initiative has a $2.4 billion budget, with Samsung poised to get the bulk of the deal. Not only will this move redefine primary school education, it will spawn a huge market for home-grown electronics including the iPad, the Galaxy Tab and other branded tablets.Continue reading...

AOL considers paid content.

Ben & Jerry's kicks off food truck in San Francisco with free ice-cream.

Bloomberg pushes for a wider TV audience.

Cadbury's Naomi Campbell ad ruled not racist.

Cartier joins Burberry, Louis Vuitton and other luxury brands by launching Youku video channel in China.

Cisco turnaround takes longer than expected.

Coca-Cola accuses Goldman Sachs of manipulating prices.Continue reading...

Turns out Apple doesn’t own the letter “i” after all.

Having just announced its iCloud computing service, joining its existing iTeam (iTunes, iBook, iPod, iPhone, iPad, iWeb) on its lengthy trademark list, Apple is being sued by iCloud Communications, a Phoenix company that provides telephone services via the Internet; a classic David vs. Goliath case.

Apple in no newcomer to trademark disputes, and as befits a Goliath, has always won – or settled, including litigation for the appleimac.com domain name in 1998; the domain name itunes.co.uk in 2005 vs. Cyberbritain Group Ltd; the iPhone trademark in 2007 vs. Cisco Systems; the iPad trademark in 2009 vs. Fujitsu; the iAds name in May 2010 vs. Innovative Media Group, LLC; and (in an ongoing dispute) Amazon over the term “App Store.”

The tech behemoth’s very name itself, was the subject of dispute when Apple Corps, founded by The Beatles, filed a trademark infringement suit in 1978 — a spat that was finally laid to rest with Apple's iTunes deal with The Beatles in November.Continue reading...

* AIG pays back $4 billion of its US loan.

* BlackBerry and India may resolve their differences as early as next week.

* Barneys finally hired a CEO, after two years without one.

* BP, continuing work on its broken pipe, is slammed by Brad Pitt in Spike Lee's HBO documentary debuting tonight.

* Boeing expects more than $2 billion in U.S. military satellite sales.

* Fujitsu is "very actively" seeking acquisitions, according to its president.

* J&J recalls contact lenses in Asia and Europe.Continue reading...

Most of the world was amped for Apple’s official iPad announcement yesterday – except for one company: Fujitsu. The Japanese-based electronics company claims that Apple not only stole the idea for the iPad, but also it isn’t even first in line for the trademark rights either.

Just as a comparison, Fujitsu’s iPad – which retails at $2,000 – debuted in the United States in 2002, runs on Microsoft’s CE.NET operating system, features a 3.5-inch color touch-screen, Intel processor, Wi-fi and Bluetooth connections, and also supports Skype VoIP technology.

On the other hand, Apple’s iPad – which retails at $499, $599, $699, and $829 (depending on GB and 3G plans) – runs on a Mac OS X variant, features a 9.7-inch color LED backlit glossy multi-touch screen, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 + Enhanced Data Rate (EDR), and 3G cellular is an available add-on.Continue reading...