Webwire: Web giants sign privacy agreement; HP plans new tablet foray

Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, RIM and HP have all signed a binding agreement to require themselves, and developers for their respective mobile or app store platforms, to disclose to mobile users how apps use private data before they are downloaded.

Reuters 

 

HP plans to launch a new tablet, running on the Windows 8 OS, and plans to differentiate the device from the iPad by tailoring it to business use. The vendor's last foray into the market ended in a $99 fire-sale due to disappointing traction against the iPad.

 

Deutsche Telekom has reported a €1.34 billion ($1.79 billion) quarterly loss, after taking a €3.3 billion impairment charge due to financial woes at its Greek business and the collapse of the sale of subsidiary T-Mobile USA to rival AT&T in the US.

Bloomberg 

 

China's ZTE plans to unveil eight new smartphones at next week's Mobile World Congress, as part of its push to become one of the top three handset vendors by 2015.

Australian ISP Dodo has confirmed that a “minor” routing fault on its network played a role in a brief outage of incumbent Telstra's international internet connectivity affecting millions of people.

Malaysia's Axiata Group Berhad has set an indicative dividend ratio of 65% for FY12, up from 30% in FY10 and 60% in FY11, but stressed that the actual payout will be contingent on its financial performance and cashflow needs.

Billionaire Sir Richard Branson has won a tussle against an Australian man for control of the web domain richardbranson.xxx, after the US-based National Arbitration Forum ruled that the name was registered in bad faith.

BBC News 

Dutch airline KLM is trialling a new service allowing travellers to use social network profile data to match them with a seatmate with similar interests.