Apple prepares to announce Beatles/iTunes deal at 10am ET.

BHP Billiton will keep pursuing large acquisitions despite failed bid for Potash.

Buick, Delta, Disney, Diageo, and T-Mobile test Google Goggles brand marketing.

Chrysler redefines Dodge brand, sans Ram.

Discovery buys Animal Planet and Liv TV channels from BBC.

Droid lands a starring role in Gossip Girl.

Facebook roils rivalry with Google with new messaging system.Continue reading...

Apple is expected to unveil a new MacBook Air tomorrow.

Cars.com returns to the Super Bowl.

Disney's Tron-related licensed merchandise includes $800 shoes.

Fox and Cablevision chastised by FCC chief over transmission standoff.

GM has the capacity for 60,000 Chevy Volts in 2012.

Goldman Sachs reduces bankers pay pool.Continue reading...

O2 just launched the UK’s first eco ratings for mobile phones.

The reason for divulging its internal ranking of "sustainability credentials": customers told the Telefonica-owned wireless service provider "that they want the whole story about the phones they choose. So as well as specifications on battery life, web-access and connectivity, they also want to know about carbon performance, how ethical our suppliers are, how free from complex chemicals the handsets are, and so on."

The only hiccup to the ratings, as Brand Republic notes — Apple refused to participate.Continue reading...

In the technology world, if a company doesn't continue to be a trendsetter, sooner or later it's left in the dust.

That truism proved to be the downfall of Palm, the former industry leader that long ago created the Personal Digital Assistant category with its Palm Pilot.

Pioneering Palm failed to innovate, and its PDA was duly outsmartphoned by the BlackBerry, the iPhone and the Droid. Palm's recent late entries into the smartphone category, Pre and Pixi, have had only lukewarm results.

It was therefore inevitable that Palm would seek a buyer. Rumors swirled that interested parties would likely be other smartphone manufacturers -- maybe HTC, Nokia, or RIM, the maker of BlackBerry. But lo and behold, it was Hewlett-Packard that came out of nowhere to announce its acquisition yesterday of Palm for a cool $1 billion in cash.

On the surface, HP's purchase looks very risky.Continue reading...

Absolut vodka settles trademark dispute.

Ann Taylor investigated over blogger gifts.

Apple will charge a premium to put ads in apps.

AriZona, the iced tea, distances itself from Arizona, the state.

Ask.com grows in popularity.

Baidu rises in China with Google's exit.Continue reading...

Hewlett-Packard confirmed rumors that it will acquire Palm for about $1 billion, and plans to "invest heavily in product development." The sale should be good news for mobile computing and Palm investor Bono. In personal branding news, Bruce Willis taped a spot (above) for his upcoming cologne launching in (Cologne?) Germany while David Letterman is launching his own music label. Also garnering buzz today:Continue reading...

For sale: Slightly used, slightly abused, completely iconic mobile phone brand. Real fixer-upper, tons of potential.

Yes, in a move that has been suspected by fans of the brand for some time now, Palm has put itself up for acquisition. The move comes after recent sales numbers for Palm's Pixi and Pre units disappointed already low expectations, making the company's independent survival all but impossible. Existing mobile brands HTC and Lenovo are rumored to be interested. Some question the wisdom of HTC buying the brand, as Palm's operating system, WebOS, would clash with HTC's Android system.

But Lenovo? A purchase by Lenovo might be the perfect brand-building fit. Continue reading...

DirecTV can now track police information. [Consumerist]

Apple should update censors for its iTunes material. [Boston Herald]

Verizon is slashing Palm Pixi and Pre prices. [NY Times]

Dov Charney disagrees, but American Apparel is doing poorly. [LA Times]

GameSpot, Univision join forces for a new gaming site. [Adweek]

Jennifer Hudson is the new face for Weight Watchers. [AP]Continue reading...