Hollywood studios set $4 billion summer record
LOS ANGELES: Hollywood has notched its first $4 billion summer as teen geeks helped movie studios end the season in record fashion.
Sony's “Superbad,” the comedy about three awkward high-schoolers trying to get alcohol for a party, was the No. 1 movie for a second straight weekend with $18 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. The movie raised its 10-day total to $68.6 million.
Overall, Hollywood crossed the $4 billion mark for the summer season. The figure topped the $3.95 billion set in 2004, according to the box office tracker Media By Numbers.
Movies will have grossed about $4.15 billion by the time the season ends on Labor Day, up 8 percent from last summer, according to Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers.
Sprint picks Samsung for New York network
SEOUL: Samsung Electronics said it would work with Sprint Nextel to bring fourth-generation high speed wireless Internet to New York City.
Samsung said it was chosen to provide infrastructure for New York, part of a plan by Sprint Nextel to bring the network, based on an emerging mobile wireless technology called WiMax, to several U.S. cities.
Sprint Nextel had already picked Samsung to provide infrastructure and equipment for similar networks planned for Washington, Baltimore, Boston and other cities.
Nokia navigation device
HELSINKI: Nokia announced its first hands-free car navigation device to compete against rivals including TomTom of the Netherlands.
The Nokia 500 Auto Navigation device has a 4.3-inch color screen and can be connected wirelessly to a mobile phone using Bluetooth technology, Nokia said. The device will be available in the fourth quarter for a retail price of €300, or $410, excluding taxes.
The navigator has regional maps preinstalled based on where it is purchased and features travel information like hotels, filling stations and tourist sites.
MICROSOFT plans to distribute free software to nonprofit groups to increase charity in India, a company official said. Nearly 35,000 groups will be eligible for the donations.
YAHOO, the provider of the most popular Web-based e-mail service, has added a program that lets users to send free messages directly to mobile phones. Customers will be able to send messages to mobile phones in the United States, Canada, India and the Philippines.
WIPRO, the third-largest software services exporter in India, said it planned to open a software development center in Atlanta to strengthen its presence in its largest market.
