The Nintendo Revolution will go on sale later this year at a price of less than $300, the company's executive vice president of sales and Marketing Reggie Fils-Aime told CNET News.com in an interview earlier this week. The news sent the company's stock soaring in Japan, up 6.4 percent to 16,090 yen Friday.

Fils-Aime also took the opportunity to criticize Nintendo's rivals for pricing consumers out of the market. He pointed to the Xbox 360's high startup cost as an example where the average consumer would need to spend about $700 to fully experience the system, not including an HDTV.

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Cell phone usage does not increase the risk of developing the most common type of brain tumor, known as glioma, according to the results of a four-year study performed by the London-based Institute of Cancer Research and three British universities.

The survey was the largest ever published on the subject, and seems to suggest similar findings in other studies are indeed correct. Talk of a heightened cancer risk with cell phones was commonplace in medical circles earlier this decade, however evidence was no more than circumstantial.

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Apple's cost to build the new Intel-based iMac likely costs about $873, research firm iSuppli said on Thursday. The most expensive part in the computer is the Intel Core Duo processor that powers it, on which the firm placed a value of $265.

Additionally, the firm estimates it costs Apple $25 to build and test every iMac, making the total cost $899. This does not include the cost of including a keyboard and mouse, as well as documentation with each system.

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In a letter to eBay members, eBay North America President Bill Cobb said the company plans to launch a specialty site where items would be available for immediate purchase. He says eBay hopes that the new site would attract customers who prefer a more conventional e-shopping experience.

It was not immediately clear how much eBay Express would differ from the company's current "Buy it Now" feature other than providing a central location for such listings. However, instead of purchasing items separately from each seller, the site would offer a shopping cart allowing for purchase from multiple sellers.

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Microsoft has changed the code-name for the next version of Windows after Vista from "Blackcomb" to "Vienna," according to company evangelist and blogger Robert Scoble. Blackcomb was named back in 2000, when Windows XP was still known as Whistler. But Microsoft says it needed a name that fit the "Vista" theme.

"The codename for Blackcomb has changed to 'Vienna'. This does not reflect a big change for us; we have used city code names in the past," a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement. "These code names are derived from cities/locations in the world known for great 'vistas'. The kinds of places we all want to see, experience and that capture the imagination. Vienna fits with this concept."

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According to a recent study by Nielsen/NetRatings, the average iTunes consumer is a Volkswagen driving, hard cider drinking, Wired reading, Cartoon Network viewer. The findings were released as part of the organization's monthly report on the most heavily trafficked Web sites for the month of December.

The survey also found that teens 12 to 17 are more than twice as likely as the average Internet user to visit the iTunes Web site, and are more likely to be male by a 54 to 46 percent margin.

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The Bush administration on Wednesday asked a United States federal judge in San Jose, Calif. to order Google to turn over search records from its database. The request stems from a failure by the search giant to comply with a subpoena issued in October.

The federal government is attempting to gather data to support a child protection law that was struck down two years ago by the U.S. Supreme Court. Under that law, the government could punish pornography sites that made content easily accessible to minors.

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Digital music sales tripled during 2005 according to figures released by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry on Thursday. Downloads accounted for $1.1 billion in sales during the year, up from $380 million the year previous.

Users downloaded 420 million tracks during the year, which was twenty times larger than 2004. The IFPI also counted more than 2 million legal tracks on the net, double the number that was available last year. Additionally, digital music now accounts for six percent of total music sales, indicating more consumers are opting for the increased portability of the medium.

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Walt Disney Co. and Pixar Animation Studios are in "serious" discussions about a potential acquisition, according to a report Thursday in the Wall Street Journal. Disney has offered a stock deal of over Pixar's current $6.7 billion market value, which would make CEO Steve Jobs the largest individual Disney shareholder.

Disney and Pixar have long been distribution partners since the debut of "Toy Story" in 1995. The two companies have since worked together in releasing a number of Pixar blockbusters, including "Finding Nemo," "Monsters, Inc." and "The Incredibles."

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Verizon and Yahoo announced the availability of a co-branded service for users of Verizon FiOS' ultra-high speed network on Thursday. FiOS subscribers would receive premium news and entertainment video content, broadband radio stations, a customized Yahoo Mail account, 100MB of online file storage, anti-virus and anti-spyware protection, and access to other Yahoo services.

FiOS can support connection speeds of up to 30 megabits per second, some four to five times faster than the offerings from cable Internet providers. Service charges range from $34.95 USD per month for 5Mbps downstream to $179.95 USD per month for the 30Mbps plan.

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The PC market continued to grow at an impressive rate in the fourth quarter of 2005, research firm IDC said on Wednesday. Although U.S. shipments of computers were slower than forecast, international sales were better than expected, leading to a growth rate of 17.1 percent year over year, and 16.4 percent for the entire year.

IDC had expected 15.1 percent growth for the quarter and 15.8 percent for the year. The firm said portable PC demand helped drive sales and should remain over the next several quarters.

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Samsung said on Thursday it had completed development of its Blu-ray disc drives, paving the way for the company to begin manufacture of a line of players compatible with the format. However, Samsung was mum as to prices and a specific date for launch, only saying that drives would appear in 2006.

The company was notably format-agnostic in its announcement, extolling the virtues of both HD DVD and Blu-ray over traditional DVD in statements to the press. Samsung is a member of the Blu-ray Disc Association, however it has hinted that it may produce a dual-technology player compatible with both formats.

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The popular iPod may be doing more harm than good, especially to the hearing of the user, doctors say. According to Christine Albertus, an audiologist with the Marshfield Clinic in Marshfield, Wisconsin, iPod users should limit their use of the device to two hours or less per day.

The problem lies in the in-ear headphones Apple offers for the device. Before, music blasted from the speakers of their home audio systems. With the advent of the Walkman, the sound moved closer to the ear through muff-style headphones.

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Computer maker Hewlett-Packard plans to sell PCs running Linux across 37 countries in Latin America, and has selected Mandriva to provide the open source operating system. Mandriva says it will work with HP on sales, support and marketing in all Latin American territories, including Brazil, Argentina and Mexico.

The first HP systems running Mandriva Linux 2006 have already begun to ship in Brazil, the companies said. While Linux has struggled to gain a foothold in North America and Europe, the low-cost operating system has proven popular in developing nations where such technology is not available to most citizens. Technical support will be offered in both Spanish and Portuguese.

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Apple on Wednesday reported the most profitable quarter in the company's history, posting revenues of $5.75 billion and a net quarterly profit of $565 million. The numbers are up from $3.49 billion and $295 million a year ago. Sales of Mac computers and iPods also shot up 20 percent and 207 percent, respectively.

During the quarter, Apple shipped 1,254,000 Macs and 14,043,000 iPods. "We are thrilled to report the best quarter in Apple’s history," said Apple CEO Steve Jobs. "Two highlights of an incredible quarter were selling 14 million iPods and getting ready to launch our new Macs with Intel processors five to six months ahead of expectations."

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