Amazon next month will unveil the Kindle--an electronic book reader that has been the subject of industry speculation for a year. Many publishing executives see Amazon's entrance into the e-book world as a major test for the notion that books and newspapers may one day be consumed on a digital device. Priced at $400 to $500, the Kindle will wirelessly connect to an e-book store on Amazon's site. Sources say Amazon will pack some free offerings onto the device, like reference books, and offer customers a choice of subscriptions to feeds from major newspapers. The device also has …

Apple yesterday cut the top price of its month-old iPhone from $599 to $399, leading to speculation that sales had not been as strong as anticipated. But CEO Steve Jobs says that the "aggressive" move is timed to take advantage of the holiday shopping season. Apple also says it will stop selling a $499 low-end model of the iPhone that came with 4 gigabytes of storage because most of its customers were buying the higher-end model with twice the capacity. Also yesterday, Apple introduced a new iPod that will let users directly purchase songs wirelessly over the …

ConAgra Foods will discontinue the use of diacetyl in its Orville Redenbacher and Act II brands of microwave popcorn following the Food and Drug Administration's disclosure that at least one man who ate several bags of butter-flavored microwave popcorn each day has developed a life-threatening lung disease possibly caused by the additive. Weaver Popcorn Co., maker of Pop Weaver microwave popcorn, last month said it had removed diacetyl from its popcorn. The additive--which gives microwave popcorn its buttery taste--has been linked to a rare lung disease, bronchiolitis obliterans, also known as popcorn lung, found in plant workers. …

New England supermarket chain Hannaford Bros. says its gold-star rating system aimed at helping shoppers make healthier choices is working, and that sales of items that earn at least one out of three stars outpace products that have no stars. The difference is greatest among packaged foods, including cereal, canned goods, bakery items and snack foods. Hannaford says those products that received stars grew 2 1/2 times faster than similar items deemed less healthy. Only a few food areas, including seafood, showed no change. Data suggests consumers are using the program. Star-rated frozen dinners grew 4 1/2 times …

Commodore Gaming--the maker of the popular Commodore 64 of the 1980s and a developer of high-end PC gaming hardware--is selling a new line of machines online to U.S. consumers. The company's expects to eventually move its products into big-box retailers. Four colorfully dressed Commodore models are targeted at beginners to expert gamers and can be customized to a gamer's needs. The line features Intel Quad Core processors and DirectX 10-enabled graphics cards. The gaming system also comes with Windows Vista and 50 Commodore 64 games, such as "Moon Lander," "Last Ninja" and "Bruce Lee." "Like the …

A study of customers' in-store behavior conducted by Nielsen Customized Research provides copious evidence that some marketers don't really know how shoppers shop. The study was designed to teach food marketers about shoppers' habits by category. The study, which was released this summer, found that shoppers look for discounts and special offers for canned tuna, canned fruit and pasta sauce, but they want products like cheese, mayonnaise and coffee to be recognizable and easy to find. For energy drinks and chocolate, shoppers care little about price, but want eye-catching ads and snazzy packages. When it comes to salad …

Long ago dubbed "The Chic," the couturier who dressed some of the most stylish women in the world--from Jackie Onassis to Audrey Hepburn to Elizabeth Taylor to Babe Paley--was bid "adieu" yesterday by the House of Valentino. That was the simple title on a surprising statement announcing the retirement of Valentino and his longtime business partner, Giancarlo Giammetti, in January. Only two months ago, sources indicated the duo was close to sealing a three-year contract with the house's new owners, private-equity firm Permira. Those talks appear to have broken down, since Valentino, 75, will now do only one …

Most people who haven't dabbled in online retailing are likely to stay on the sidelines, which will make it hard for companies to continue the ultra-rapid pace of growth in online retailing, analysts say. The good news is that those who are already comfortable shopping online are likely to funnel more dollars to Web sites. "Pretty much, most of the people who are ever going to be buying online are online," says Patti Freeman Evans, senior retail analyst with Jupiter Research. Jupiter expects online retailing to dip below double-digit percentage growth rates around 2010, and to plateau after …

Microsoft has failed to win approval for its Office software file format to be considered an international standard. Gaining such acceptance by the Geneva-based International Organization for Standardization was aimed, in part, at allaying concerns that Microsoft's control of the file formats--the rubrics used to turn bits of data into business letters, spreadsheets and presentations--keeps rivals from developing competing office software. Critics says the Office file format--called Open XML--is so laden with Microsoft-specific features that only Microsoft would be able to use it fully. Giving it the ISO's approval would cement Microsoft's dominance, they argue. Microsoft has …

The Los Angeles Times is planning to run a full-page ad for the Fox-Walden film "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium" this Sunday that, when scratched, will release "the universally beloved frosted cake scent," it says. "Mr. Magorium"--starring Natalie Portman and Dustin Hoffman--is about a magical toy store, and the aroma is supposed to remind readers "to be young and have fun." Jeffrey Godsick, president of marketing at Fox Walden, says the newspaper approached the studio about "doing something that engaged people in a different way." Newspapers are especially interested in scent marketing because they've "got to add some …