Ruling frees companies to sell phones with Qualcomm chips
Samsung and LG Electronics will be able to sell new mobile telephones during the U.S. winter holidays because a ban on Qualcomm chips has been lifted, at least temporarily.

Tech in Brief: Nokia and rivals join to create faster flash
Also, Police in Netherlands raid DVD counterfeiter.

Apple of his eye
The new iPods are here and the reviewer David Pogue finds they are equal to their reputation.

Shares in Alcatel-Lucent tumble after 3rd profit warning this year
Shares in telecommunications equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent SA fell Thursday to their lowest level after the company slashed its forecast for full-year revenue growth in its third profit warning since the start of the year

Qualcomm wins rare legal victory in chip patent fight
A U.S. judge sided with various cellphone carriers and manufacturers, blocking a federal ban on imports of premium phones containing Qualcomm chips that a rival chip maker, Broadcom, maintains violates its patent on battery power-saving technology.

Disgraced writer of 'A Million Little Pieces' wins deal for his novel
James Frey, the author who admitted making up portions of his best-selling memoir "A Million Little Pieces" and earned Oprah Winfrey's public scorn, has signed a new book deal for his novel "Bright Shiny Morning," with HarperCollins. The dollar figure was not disclosed.

Modest furniture
Live in a Digital Home! Connect All Your Devices! Control Your Media Through a Single Appliance!

Gadgets of the week
A resilient laptop and a nifty recorder.

Traditional law firm tries the Madison Avenue route
Foley Hoag will advertise in print and on the Web in an effort to reflect its cutting-edge and challenging practice.

NASA gives Google founders a coveted parking place for their private jet
In the annals of perks enjoyed by American corporate executives, the founders of Google may have set a new standard: an un-crowded, federally-managed runway for their private jet.

Vimpelcom to invest as much as $1 billion in Vietnam
The joint venture will give the Russian mobile phone operator a foothold in Asia.

The End User: The food chain of consumer electronics
Early adopters know how the system of computer technology works - and how expensive it is. But what about the next level of user?

Yahoo, starting late, signs a deal with Bebo, the British social Web site
After missing out on advertising partnerships with the social-networking companies Facebook and MySpace, Yahoo has forged an agreement with Bebo.

Nokia and rivals join to create faster flash

HELSINKI: Nokia said Thursday that it would join rivals, including Samsung and Sony Ericsson, to produce a flash memory card with high capacity to ease and speed downloads for cellphone users.

The technology, expected to be ready in 2009, will use a new specification, dubbed Universal Flash Storage, or UFS.

The removable memory card would be used in cellphones, digital cameras and other electronic devices, and could cut the three-minute access time for a 90-minute movie to a few seconds, Nokia said.

Others companies involved in the project include Micron Technology, Spansion, STMicroelectronics and Texas Instruments.

Police in Netherlands raid DVD counterfeiter

LONDON: Dutch police have raided an illegal DVD manufacturing plant capable of making 900 copies of movies an hour, anti-piracy officials said.

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, which represents the recording industry, said that the Dutch police were dismantling a factory in Velddriel, southeast of Amsterdam, after raiding it on Tuesday.

The industry group said the DVD press, which was making copies of movies like "Die Hard 4.0" and "Ocean's Thirteen," might have once been a legitimate operation.

APPLE has scheduled a news conference at its retail store in central London on Tuesday amid speculation about when the iPhone will go on sale in Europe. Apple has said that it will bring the iPhone to Europe in late 2007 but has not yet said who would be its European distributor and network operator.

AOL has started a Web site in Italian as part of a plan to expand in 14 countries in the next 18 months. AOL, which has sites for Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Austria, is accelerating a push overseas, where it lags behind rivals.

BOUCHERON, the jeweler owned by the French retailer PPR, said it would create a Web site to sell and advertise its wares, joining the trend among luxury groups to branch out into e-commerce. A spokeswoman said the site would be up Monday but was already open for selected clients.