Canada’s third-largest mobile telecom today confirmed the company will further diversify its product line by offering tablet computers.

The confirmation came from David Fuller, the VP of product marketing today.

The comments raise speculation as to whether Telus will offer the Apple iPad. The iPad is slated for an April 3rd U.S. launch, with the device being available in Canada by the end of the same month, according to Apple.

Mr. Fuller confirmed the iPad is in fact compatible on the new Telus network, but did not further elaborate.

We can confirm Microsoft Corporation is working on its own iPad competitor, dubbed Microsoft Courier, but the company has yet to officially acknowledge it is working on such a device. Judging from recent leaks, the device seems more advanced and intuitive than the iPad, but the iPad still has a major competitive advantage, the app store. Microsoft Courier is reportedly to launch by the end of this year.

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BMW Inc. today announced full year 2009 earnings, reporting significant declines in net profit and total sales.

The company said net profit was EUR 210-million, down 36.36-percent from EUR 330-million in fiscal 2008.

Operating income before taxes was up to EUR 413-million, 18-percent up from 2008.

BMW said it sold 1.28-million vehicles in 2009, a sharp drop of over 12-percent from 2008 as people shifted to smaller, less luxurious and more affordably priced vehicles because of the financial and credit crunch.

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Sony Corporation today confirmed it would begin selling 3D televisions starting June 10, 2010 starting in Japan. The company will later offer the 3D capable televisions in other countries but failed to specify when.

Manufacturers are hoping to capitalize on the recent explosion of 3D content, such as the hugely successful movie “Avatar” directed by James Cameron, which has now become the highest grossing movie in history.

Sony will offer up to eight 3D BRAVIA models (with 3 series, the LX900, HX800, HX900), with the LX900 series being offered first starting June 10. The other two series will be available on June 16.

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Microsoft Corporation today launched a redesign of its popular Internet portal MSN.com.

The company has updated the site with a far more simple and clean design, along with new social networking features that display information from various social networks you set up such as Facebook and Twitter. A new featured called TrendWatch was also implemented, which essentially scans Twitter for local news content.

The company has also now implemented full Facebook support.

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Canada’s third-largest Bank, the Bank of Nova Scotia, reported today first quarter 2010 earnings, beating analyst expectations.

The bank earned just under $4-billion in total revenue for Q1, reporting $988-million ($0.91 per share) in total profits for the period, compared to $842-million net income in the same period last year. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting $3.8-billion in total revenue and profits of $0.88 on a per share basis.

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Meet Courier, Microsoft’s answer to the Apple iPad.

Microsoft has yet to confirm it is working on such a device, dubbed a digital journal, but recent leaks, including the latest leaked images published by AOL’s popular tech blog Engadget, confirms the device.

Unconfirmed reports suggest Courier will be powered by the new Windows Phone 7 Series operating system, and not the traditional Windows 7 OS found on PCs.

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The German apparel company, Adidas, today announced full year 2009 and fourth quarter 2009 financial earnings.

Fourth-quarter profits were €19-million, down more than 60-percent compared to the same period last year. The company said write-downs and higher costs for the 2010 FIFA World Cup this June attributed to the lower than expected operating profits.

Analysts were expecting €25-million in total profits in Q4 2009.

The company warned of an expected weakening in 2010, but increased its forecasted diluted EPS that is estimated to be up to €1.90-2.15 in 2010. 2009 diluted EPS was €1.22.

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A new batch of vehicle recalls were announced early today by Japanese carmaker Nissan, as the industry struggles with record recalls due to component failures.

Nissan said it is recalling more than 540,000 vehicles mainly for two problems. First, on select models, the fuel gauge displays inaccurate fuel levels, indicating the car is plenty of fuel when it is almost empty.

The second problem, and potentially a more serious problem, that Nissan has identified is related to braking pedal pins that come lose in turn not allowing the drive to slow the car down. The affected models with the brake issue include the 2008-2010 Nissan Titan, Infiniti QX56 (also affected with the fuel gauge issue), Nissan Armada, and the Nissan Quest.

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A new AOL Inc. 10-K filing with the SEC today revealed the company is warning shareholders it expects lower than expected advertising revenue in 2010 from its online web properties.

AOL confirmed via the filing that total advertising revenue in Q1 2010 will be lower than Q1 2009.

The company attributed the decline in advertising revenue in both 2008 and 2009 as a direct casualty of the global financial crisis.

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Canada’s fourth-largest bank, the Bank of Montreal, today announced Q1 2010 earnings for the period ended January 31, 2010.

The bank reported net income from operations as CDN $657-million, exponentially up from $225-million in the same period over last year.

The bank said loan losses from Canadian operations declined, allowing the company to lower capital adequacy reserves as deposits grew. Loan losses from the U.S. increased, earning BMO a $16-million net profit from U.S. operations.

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U.S. President Barrack Obama will soon outline specific details about the efficient energy rebate program, the Home Star Program, which he has recently been promoting.

Under the program, people who renovate their homes with approved energy efficient equipment would be eligible for a rebate of up to $1,500. Eligible renovations include insulation, heaters, new windows, roofing, doors, among other renovations and equipment. Consumers would receive the rebates immediately from vendors, who would later be reimbursement by the government. Special financing for projects will also be offered through the program to help consumers complete more expensive projects.

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Early this morning, Apple filed a lawsuit against the Taiwanese phone maker High Tech Computer (HTC) Corporation, alleging the company in infringing on more than 20 Apple owned patents in its mobile phones.

The lawsuit was filed in a U.S. District Court in Delaware and with the U.S. International Trade Commission today.

HTC is the maker of about 85-percent of all Windows Mobile powered devices, and also the maker of Google’s latest Android powered phone, the Nexus One.

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The California-based computer maker, Apple Computers, just revealed that the 10-billionth song from its popular music download service, iTunes, has been reached.

Apple, the maker of the iPhone and iPod, firstly launched iTunes seven years ago back in 2003. Today, iTunes has grown to become the world’s largest online media store, allowing consumers to purchase TV program episodes, podcasts, movies, and of course, music.

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The top telecoms in Canada, including Bell, Telus, and Rogers, today completed testing a new video-calling service that will be compatible across all networks in Canada.

Video-calling in Canada is not as popular, or in the United States, for that matter, but in Canada, the feature requires both parties to be on the same telecom network to actually work.

The new system (3G-324M standard) that the big three telecoms today finished testing would allow users to video-call people across any of the networks, making it the largest video-calling network in North America.

No information relating to possible availability was released.

New Bombardier double-deck train for the French Regions

Bombardier today reached a deal with France to build up to 129 new concept regional double-deck trains.

Right now, Bombardier is confirmed to build 80 trains, at a price of EUR 800-million (USD $1.1-billion). The contract could potentially be worth up to $11-billion US if all orders are fulfilled.

Regional French banks will be financing the project that will see new lines in Nord-Pas de Calais, Aquitaine, Bretagne, among other regions in France.

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