E-reader price war heats up

Two of the leading makers of electronic book readers, threatened by the success of Apple's iPad, yesterday slashed prices in a move that could further drive e-readers into the mainstream, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Barnes & Noble cut the price of its Nook e-reader to $199 and introduced a WiFi-only model for $149. Hours later, Amazon.com lowered the price of its Kindle e-reader to $189.

In coming weeks, both Amazon and Sony plan to unveil new versions of their devices. Analysts believe the new products will also emphasise lower prices.

Kenya has started to register all mobile phone numbers in a bid to cut crime, states BBC News.

Users will have to supply identity documents and proof of address before they get a number. Any numbers still unregistered at the end of July will be disconnected, the government says.

Kenya information ministry official Bitange Ndemo says registering the numbers would help the authorities tackle terrorism, drug-trafficking and money-laundering, as well as the sending of hate messages.

The Google Books case drags on with no hint of when the six-year dispute might finally be settled, four months after a final hearing was supposed to decide the issue once and for all, says Cnet News.

Google and the plaintiffs - representatives of authors and publishers - agreed to settle the case in October 2008, but delays have prevented Google from offering out-of-print yet copyright-protected books in its Google Book Search product.

At issue is whether Google will be allowed to display and sell digital copies of books that have gone out-of-print due to lack of demand, but are still protected by US copyright law.

As deliveries of the anticipated iPhone 4 are set to begin, reports have surfaced that there are more problems with the Apple iPhone's ordering process, says CNN.

Several technology Web sites have reported receiving messages from readers that their iPhone pre-orders had been cancelled without any further explanation.

Last week, AT&T, the exclusive wireless provider for the iPhone, suspended pre-orders after its system was overwhelmed.