Share and share alike to save the planet A number of big name tech firms including IBM, Sony and Nokia have joined forces to work on a patent-sharing plan, dubbed Eco-Patents Commons. Continued

CES The F700’s younger brother Samsung has waited until the end of this year s CES show in Las Vegas to secure plenty of attention for its latest mobile phone, the Croix UI-based F490. Continued

Macworld Expo Price cut, new system software coming Apple is to re-launch its Apple TV set-top box as a movie rental system, offering HD content for $4.99 a pop as a direct download. The hardware’s getting cheaper too. Continued

Alpha 200 created Sony has taken the wraps off the successor to its Alpha 100 (a100) digital SLR camera, predictably dubbed the Alpha 200 (a200). Continued

Black hole death ray caught on camera NASA has identified a rather unfriendly galaxy which is blasting its neighbour with a black-hole generated jet in what the agency calls “never-before witnessed galactic violence”. Continued

Jobs for the boys at Orange Less than a month into the job and Orange boss Tom Alexander has lured three of his old muckers from Virgin to help him turn Orange UK into a competitive business. Continued

Finnish phone manufacturer to distribute rudeware Nokia has signed a deal with Vivendi to distribute the latter’s games through their Download! client on the S60 platform, including the eponymous Leisure Suit Larry. Continued

Barcode readers you can talk to It’s not just mobile phones that are getting more features than you can possibly use, Motorola’s latest barcode scanner has a VoIP client built in to allow shelf-stackers to chat while they’re working. Continued

Connecting people? German politicians will investigate whether Nokia took unfair advantage of state and EU subsidies after it announced the closure of its handset assembly plant in Bochum in North Rhine-Westphalia. Nokia employed more than 2,300 people there in exchange for EU subsidies. Continued

CES ‘Kick slider’ successor, the Z10, kicks butt Motorola launched it’s successor to the impressive “kick slider” Z8 - reviewed here - the Z10 at CES in Las Vegas. First seen in May last year, the Z8 was a packed full of features… and the Z10 is no less so. Continued

Vodafone shows off new handset colour Samsung has stayed true to its word and created a white-edged version of its F700 smartphone. Continued

No headphones here The New Year brings about resolutions to get fit and lose weight. So, if you re still struggling to get up of the sofa, a jacket with built-in MP3 capabilities could be the motivation you need. Continued

Q&A I need your help choosing what mobile phone to buy. Here’s what it has to do: Continued

Q&A Are there any updates on unlocking a new OTB iPhone with firmware 1.1.2 in the UK? There are so many forums and commercial websites with long convoluted solutions that I’m at a lost as to what set of instructions to follow. Continued