France Telecom has offered a bid to take over TeliaSonera. The offer stands at US$42 bn, which is about a 17% premium. The rational is the usual market access, cost savings and synergies. Read more

Computex 2008 is a shed mark in personal computing history. This is the show where Linux and low cost, small form factor desktop and notebooks take the centre stage. This market is driven mainly by the Asus eee PC notebook, but many other OEMs are now following suit; Acer, HP, and MSI have all committed themselves to this market, which a Sony executive has described as “ a race to the bottom”. No wonder, given that Sony sells premium priced laptops, and is very keen on defending those margins. Read more

Sony has announced it will integrate tru2way, the standard for devices to interoperate with cable TV services in the US, into TVs for the US market. Behind this announcement stands the cable operators Bright House Networks, Cablevision, Charter, Comcast , Cox, and Time Warner Cable. The Java platform tru2way enables consumer electronics devices to interact with cable TV services, without the need for a dedicated cable set top box. Read more