United Kingdom

RIM Corners the “You’ll Use BlackBerry 7 and That’s an Order” Market

John Paczkowski in Mobile on May 18 at 4:00 am PT

Well, at least one part of RIM’s business is on the upswing.

Apple and Taxes: What the New York Times Missed

Arik Hesseldahl in News on April 30 at 11:01 am PT

Sunday’s New York Times story on the strategies Apple uses to minimize its tax bill missed a few key points worth considering.

Yammer Makes Its First Acquisition: OneDrum

Arik Hesseldahl in News on April 11 at 12:02 pm PT

Fresh off an $85 million round of new funding, the social enterprise start-up will acquire a company that makes Microsoft Office more collaborative. Let the comparisons to Jive begin.

News Byte

Rhapsody Arrives in U.K. and Germany Via Napster Deal

Peter Kafka in Media on January 26 at 12:01 am PT

Streaming music service Rhapsody, which has only been available in the U.S. for the last 11 years, has finally made it to Europe. The service has finished a deal to buy one-time competitor Napster’s operations in the U.K. and Germany; last fall, Rhapsody bought Napster’s U.S. assets. Rhapsody competitor Spotify isn’t in Germany yet, but industry sources expect that to change soon.

Anonymous Fails, Once Again, to Make Its Point

Arik Hesseldahl in News on January 20 at 1:58 pm PT

Big as they were, the attacks carried out in revenge for the Megaupload arrests accomplished nothing significant.

Will That Be Sir Jonathan, or Sir Jony?

Arik Hesseldahl in News on December 30, 2011 at 7:49 pm PT

Apple’s design guru Jonathan Ive is to be knighted by the Queen of England.

News Byte

Netflix Heads to U.K. to Take on Amazon

Peter Kafka in Media on October 24, 2011 at 4:04 am PT

Netflix says it will bring its streaming video service — but not its DVDs — to the United Kingdom and Ireland in “early 2012.” The announcement confirms earlier reports and speculation that the company would target the U.K. after a Latin American expansion in 2011; other reports have the company moving into Spain as well. Unlike other Netflix expansion moves, in the U.K. the company will run up against its first entrenched digital competitor: Amazon’s LoveFilm, most often known as “the Netflix of Europe.” Netflix reports Q3 earnings this afternoon.

News Byte

Coupons.com Buys U.K. Couponstar After Big Fund-Raising Round

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on October 12, 2011 at 12:01 am PT

Following two back-to-back rounds worth $230 million, Coupons.com says it has acquired the remaining 50 percent stake in Couponstar, a European digital coupons company. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Coupons.com, which is working to make traditional paper coupons digital, raised $30 million last week from Greylock Partners, which valued the company at $1 billion. In June, it received a $200 million cash injection.

Britain’s First Software Billionaire Now Reports to HP CEO Meg Whitman

Arik Hesseldahl in News on October 3, 2011 at 2:58 pm PT

Hewlett-Packard closes on its $11.7 billion deal to acquire the British software firm Autonomy. Now the question is whether it can make it pay off.

Autonomy: When All Else Fails, Blame the Bankers

Arik Hesseldahl in News on September 30, 2011 at 4:52 pm PT

He still says he never shopped his company to Oracle, and Autonomy CEO Mike Lynch keeps changing his story. Wait till you read the email from his banker to Oracle President Mark Hurd.