Communication Technology

NEW YORK - The e-book reading device is the gadget gift of the season.

Cablevision Systems Corp. on Tuesday said its third-quarter profit more than tripled as a sluggish economy didn't deter subscribers from signing up for its digital cable, Internet and phone plans in the face of aggressive competition from Verizon's fiber-optic FiOS TV service.

LOS ANGELES - Online music retailer Lala is preparing to launch an iPhone application that its co-founder says paves the way for the end of downloading songs in the MP3 format.

LOS ANGELES - Headbangers will have a reason to steady their gaze a bit starting Tuesday, when rock band Metallica makes its way onto iPhones with a finger-tapping music app called "Tap Tap Revenge: Metallica." In the game, players tap areas on the screen in time with the music, much like players strum or drum plastic instruments in video games such as "Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero," except on a smaller scale.

ViaSat Inc. is acquiring Wild Blue Communications Inc., a provider of high-speed Internet access via satellite, for $568 million in cash and stock, according to a person familiar with the situation.