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...

The customer comments on a Comic-Con post on the Borders bookstore chain's Facebook page, its last post in fact, say it all.

Following on its "don't worry, it's business as usual as we search for a buyer" notice on its website, Borders Group, a pioneer in big-box booksellers, posted a sad notice on another section of its website confirming an unhappy ending to its story.

A press release yesterday confirms that it will close all stores and be out of business by the end of September. Unable to attract a buyer willing to rescue it from bankruptcy, the nation's second-largest bookseller, with 10,700 employees and more than 1,200 stores, is ending its run.Continue reading...

Hearst's magazines are getting on-track digitally, extending the brands of two of its popular automotive titles — Road & Track and Car and Driver — with group-buying digital deals. Exclusive invites will be offered later this summer, targeting the male-dominated audiences of both magazine brands. 

“It’s a brand-new way to connect some of our advertisers with our most trusted asset — our users,” commented Rob Houghlin, publisher and chief revenue officer for the magazines, to AllThingsD.

Having acquired the two titles from France's Lagardère in January, the social commerce launch for the Hearst Digital Media group follows five years of weighing the right fit in a social commerce play, he added.Continue reading...

AIG raises $8.7 billion.

Amazon launches $164 Kindle 3G with ads, as B&N unveils $139 touchscreen Nook.

Apple passes 500,000 unique app offerings in its U.S. store.

Bharti Walmart expands wholesale stores.

Bob Dylan turns 70.

Boeing weighs options for new planes.

British Airways develops Windows 7 mobile boarding app.

California Pizza Kitchen agrees to buyout offer.Continue reading...

Amazon "gives away" Lady Gaga's new album for 99 cents.

AOL shuts down India portal.

Apple rumored to be planning a store in NYC's Grand Central and a curved glass iPhone.

Barnes & Noble's Nook "crushes" Amazon's Kindle in the glossy magazine department.

Cisco accused of aiding Chinese crackdown on dissidents.

Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean 4 scores fourth biggest global weekend opening.

Ellen DeGeneres boycotts Twitpic in wake of Twitter app's photo agency deal. 

Ford plans in-car driver health monitoring with Medtronic.

Foursquare and Groupon reportedly in partnership talks.Continue reading...

In a funny twist of virtual fate, turns out that social media-savvy moms wield substantial clout when it comes to recommending, among other things, eReaders and banking services to family and friends.

As competition in both markets escalate, it’s women with one or more children under 18 living at home, who regularly engage in social media, that are influencing brand choices. 

Motista's recent survey on eReaders asked consumers about brands including Amazon's Kindle, Barnes & Noble's Nook, Sony's eReader and Apple's iPad.

“Social media moms definitely feel a deeper connection to their eReaders that their non-social media counterparts don’t,” said Alan Zorfas, chief product and marketing officer at Motista, in a press release.Continue reading...

Barnes & Noble's upgraded Nook Color (and campaign) today in no way (cough!) prompted Amazon to release its new Kindle ad today. 

Apple's latest iPad 2 ad, meanwhile, ("We Believe," below), is now three weeks old — or three years, in web time.Continue reading...

ABC's Desperate Housewives renew contracts with eight-figure salaries. 

Amazon launches $25 cheaper ad-supported Kindle.

NFL players, owners ordered to start federal mediation.

Donald Trump goes on the warpath against New York media.

BP gives Florida $30 million for advertising.

Costco undercuts cheapest gas prices but stocks $1M diamond ring.

David Beckham says he will collaborate on a kids clothing line with pal Snoop Dogg.

Experian says 30% of searches came from Bing last month.Continue reading...