May 12, 2008

By By Antony Bruno, Denver

- Internet traffic measurement firm Hitwise takes a closer look at how free digital downloads from Coldplay, Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead affects long-term visits to each artist's Web site. Radiohead takes the prize, but it's hard to say whether the traffic was a result of the album release alone or all the press that surrounded it.

- Microsoft's Zune digital music player has crossed the 2 million sales mark, putting its growth rate at about 1 million a year. While not necessarily cutting into Apple's iPod market share, the device is presenting a formidable challenge to other iPod competitors, most notably, the Creative Zen.

- Research In Motion, the company behind BlackBerry mobile phones, has launched a $150 million VC fund for mobile applications of all stripes. In March, VC firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers introduced a similar $100 million fund for the iPhone -- the BlackBerry's primary competition.

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