Apple heralds the Beatles' arrival in iTunes with new commercials, while fans geek out over iOS 4.2 arrival and Apple TV 4.1.

B&N taps Sarah Jessica Parker to tout the NookColor.

Blockbuster to launch a major we're-not-dead-yet ad campaign.

Google pushing Chrome so hard it’s buying…print ads?

MTV bets on growing Middle East audience.

Netflix finally brings streaming-only plan to U.S.Continue reading...

Airstream peddles premium RVs in a recession.

AOL unveils beta version of new email hub. as Facebook rolls out email service.

Apple brings mobile iAds to Europe this week.

Arcelor expresses interest in buying Massey.

BHP Billiton withdraws its takeover bid for Potash in the wake of Canadian-government opposition.

Caterpillar to buy Bucyrus in $8.6 billion deal.

Daily Beast's Tina Brown begins transforming Newsweek, including plans to fold (update: incorporate) its website.Continue reading...

Remember that time, back in e-reader history, when Barnes & Noble upped the ante by going all polychromatic on everyone? And getting all jiggy with the kids’ books? Ahh, the golden age.

In the e-reader wars, every week seems to bring more big news – such is the biz cycle when the market for your product is just taking shape, the speed of innovation is high (“hey, what if this e-reader could also make toast?”) and the competition hot and heavy.

Apparently Jeff Bezos was paying attention when the Nook made its splash, because yesterday Amazon announced it is completely flipping the script on the revenue share deal with its partner publishers. Currently publishers are on the wrong end of a 70-30 split, but beginning December 1, Amazon is offering publishers 70 percent of the retail price on newspaper and magazine downloads purchased at the Kindle store – matching Apple’s current split.  Continue reading...

Upping the stakes in the e-reader battle this holiday selling season, Barnes & Noble introduced its new e-reader, the lower-cased nook color, yesterday — just as Amazon announced its latest Kindle model is flying off its virtual shelves. Apple, meanwhile, is projected to sell upwards of 22 million iPads in 2011 — and that's according to one of the brand's competitors.

So will nook color be a game changer of the magnitude needed to keep Barnes & Noble competitive in the e-book game? Let's weigh the pros and cons.Continue reading...

Barnes & Noble introduces a color version of its Nook e-reader with Google Android OS.

Disney and Time Warner Cable will experiment with TV Everywhere (Internet TV behind a paywall for TWC subscribers) with the next installment of ESPN's Monday Night Football.

Facebook and MySpace asked by Sen. Jay Rockefeller, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, to detail how they safeguard user information.

George Foreman expands with Healthy Cooking line.

GlaxoSmithKline agrees to pay $750 million fine for bad products.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt apologizes for Street View privacy flap.Continue reading...

Apple’s iPad may prove crucial to salvaging a decent Christmas-shopping season for some retailers.

Arena Pharmaceuticals encounters FDA skepticism on new anti-obesity drug.

Bank of America admits to foreclosure-document errors.

Barnes & Noble launches Nook Kids.

BMW plans to test short-term car rentals in Germany.

Denny’s details a new fast-casual restaurant model for urban markets.

Google gets apps makers to focus more on its Android software after its smart-phone success competing with Apple’s iPhone.

Land Rover goes collaborative over marketing for its new small vehicle, Evoque.

L’Oreal adapts approach to marketing. Continue reading...

Ford and GM brands came out on top for the American Customer Satisfaction Index study for the first time. Ford's Lincoln-Mercury and GM's Buick took the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, the first time U.S. auto makers have held the two top spots in the survey. BMW, Cadillac and Mercedes-Benz tied for third.

KFC franchise owners are suing Yum! Brands for control of the fast food chain's advertising. Their beef (er, fowl)? They feel KFC's decision to emphasize grilled instead of fried chicken has hurt the brand and lowered U.S. sales. They've also hired former McDonald's CMO Larry Light to spearhead their campaign.

Toyota is studying the design and placement of its accelerator and brake pedals to see whether the current setup makes drivers more prone to hit the wrong one.

Barnes & Noble removes its brand from Nook e-reader suite, while commercial landlords start to worry about B&N being up for sale.

Barclays agreed to pay $298 million to settle charges by U.S. and New York prosecutors that the U.K. bank altered financial records for more than a decade to hide hundreds of millions of dollars in payments flowing into the U.S. from Cuba, Libya, Iran and other sanctioned countries.

BlackBerry's new Torch has not been a runaway hit, as UAE reports progress on BlackBerry security talks.Continue reading...

When it comes to e-readers, Kindle is the Kleenex, the Band Aid, the Coke of the category – the name synonymous with the entire space …until now. The Nook is out of its cranny and aggressively competing with Kindle by leveraging a very retro advantage it holds over Amazon: bricks-and-mortar.

Barnes & Noble is building 1,000-square-foot boutiques in all of its 720 stores to promote and sell its e-reader. The Nook boutiques (Nooks?) will feature demo tables, sample devices, and employees ready and willing to offer tutelage and advice.

It’s a big advantage – “crucial” says Barnes & Noble: “I think that’s everything. American consumers want to try and hold gadgets before they purchase them,” said William Lynch, CEO Barnes & Noble. Continue reading...