Tokyo - Japan has at least temporarily abandoned plans to enact an "iPod tax" that would have provided part of the cost of each device to copyright holders and recording artists, from presumed sales lost to piracy, officials there told the Associated Press.

London - Game publisher Square Enix on Tuesday released its "Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes" game for the iPod at the iTunes Store. The roleplaying game incorporates musical elements, and is available in English or Japanese for the iPod nano with video, iPod classic and fifth-generation iPod for $4.99.

New York - Rolling Stone recently posted an interview with Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, and reports that his iPod contains songs from artists including Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Elton John, Earth, Wind and Fire, Jay-Z, Howlin' Wolf, Yo-Yo Ma and Sheryl Crow. "If I had one musical hero, it would have to be Stevie Wonder," Obama told RS. "When I was at that point where you start getting involved in music, Stevie had that run with "Music of My Mind," "Talking Book," "Fulfillingness' First Finale" and "Innervisions," and then "Songs in the Key of Life." Those are as brilliant a set of five albums as we've ever seen."

Chicago - United Airlines (NASD: UALA) announced on Monday that it has added iPod and iPhone connectivity to its in-flight entertainment system, which will enable passengers to view video content stored on the players on a 15.4-inch personal TV. Technology for the connectivity was developed by Panasonic Avionics Corporation. The feature will be offered primarily on trans-Atlantic routes. United said its entire fleet of international, widebody aircraft are being reconfigured over the next two years with iPod connectivity, other on-demand entertainment and lie-flat seats in first and business class.

Los Angeles - Microsoft's (NASD: MSFT) Zune digital media player gained a bit of the MP3 player market share in NPD Group's latest rankings, now accounting for 4% of the total market, up from 3% in the first quarter of 2007, Wired.com reported.

Cupertino, Calif. - Apple's (NASD: AAPL) Canadian unit has settled a class action lawsuit with Canadian iPod owners over claims to the device's battery life, and will pay consumers there who purchased an iPod before June 24, 2005 a $45 credit, Canada's Gazette reported. The settlement is similar to one Apple made with U.S. iPod owners in 2005. Some 80,000 Canadian should be eligible for the $45 credit, which is redeemable through Apple's online store.

London - Apple (NASD: AAPL) has threatened legal action against nearly a dozen U.K.-based online retailers who are buying Apple iPods in the U.S., where they cost about $30 less, and then reselling them in the U.K. at a discount on Apple's pricing, The Register reported.

London - Apple (NASD: AAPL) is in talks with the major record labels on possible new models that would see music come pre-loaded, or be available through unlimited subscription plans on its iPod and iPhone devices, the Financial Times reports. While Nokia (NYSE: NOK), which signed a deal with Universal Music for an unlimited "Comes With Music" service, will reportedly pay nearly $80 per handset to music companies, Apple is offering only about $20 per device, two executives familiar with the negotiations told FT.com.

Cupertino, CA – Apple has announced that over 100,000 iPhone developers have downloaded the Software Development Kit (SDK) in the first four days of its release.  The SDK gives developers the same tools (Application Programming Interfaces) that Apple itself uses to create applications for the device.

Menlo Park, Calif. - Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), a venture capital firm focused on technology, said on Thursday that it has launched a new $100 million fund to invest in companies developing applications and services for Apple's (NASD: AAPL) iPhone and iPod touch. The iFund, as it is known, plans to back companies with "market-changing ideas and products" related to the popular devices.

Beaverton, Ore. - Nike (NYSE: NKE) and Apple (NASD: AAPL) on Tuesday announced that they are working with major gym equipment manufacturers to make their cardio equipment compatible with their Nike + iPod service, so users can plug an iPod nano into the machines and track their fitness progress at NikePlus.com. The companies said the feature will soon become available at participating gyms, including 24 Hour Fitness nationwide and Virgin Active Health Clubs internationally.

Tokyo - A student at Japan's Osaka University Graduate School of Engineering Science has developed a remote control that uses infrared sensors to monitor eye winks and control the functions of an Apple (NASD: AAPL) iPod, Reuters reported. Kazuhiro Taniguchi says that his "KomeKami Switch" or "Temple Switch" can judge the difference between accidental and intentional winks, even if a user "eats, talks, walks and runs."

Cupertino, Calif. - Apple (NASD: AAPL) on Tuesday introduced a new 2GB model of its tiny iPod shuffle portable music player, and reduced its standard 1GB model in price to just $49.

I ordered a MacBook Air site unseen. That's a first for me. As I write this I'm about to go workout and it dawns on me that I'm on my 3rd generation of Apple IPod. I started with the original, switched to a bigger version (to back up all my pics and show off my kids to my friends) and then for the holidays, got myself and wife an iTouch.

Cupertino, Calif. - Shares of Apple (NASD: AAPL) slid nearly 11% on Wednesday after the company said that its second-quarter earnings are likely to be weaker than expected. CFO Peter Oppenheimer said that the company expects to earn $0.94 a share on revenue of $6.8 billion, well below consensus analyst estimates of $1.09 and $6.99 billion, respectively, according to Thomson Financial.

There once was a time when the release date of an album was exciting. For our favorite artists we knew when the last album came out and when the next album was due. If you loved the artist you bought it. If you didn't you either bought the single or you listened to the album with your friends and then decided. As the price of records and then CDs increased year by year, spending 20 bucks for a CD became a purchase you needed to be sure of rather than a no brainer or impulse buy.

Toronto - The Canadian Federal Court of Appeal last week overturned a decision that would have extended the levies the country adds to the cost of blank discs -- to cover potential losses from media copying -- to digital audio recorders. The Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC), which collects and distributes the blank disc tariffs to artists, had sought the expansion of the levy to include MP3 players and similar devices.