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U.S. stock index futures rose on Friday as oil prices rebounded and on upbeat results from technology bellwethers Research In Motion and Oracle.

Stocks were expected to open higher on Friday, recovering from the previous session's sharp falls. Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were up 0.2-0.4 percent by 0915 GMT (4:15 a.m. EST).

U.S. Internet retailer Amazon.com Inc said on Thursday that its Kindle electronic book reader posted its best sales yet in the month of December, as the battle for the digital reader market heats up.

The way Howard Stringer sees it, Sony's digital e-readers should focus on the printed word and making reading comfortable, even though the consumer electronics giant could turn it into a multimedia machine.

Sony Corp said it struck a deal with News Corp that will make The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, and the New York Post available on its electronic reader, the latest shot fired in an intensifying battle with Amazon.com Inc's popular Kindle device.

Electronic download service Kobo Inc said its technology is the fastest way for U.S. bookseller Borders Group Inc to catch up to rivals in the burgeoning e-books market.

Stocks ended higher on Wednesday, reversing earlier losses, as a weaker dollar fueled appetite for riskier assets, boosting shares of financial, technology and natural resource companies.

Apple Inc is preparing to launch a tablet personal computer in late March or April, with manufacturer partners poised to roll out as many as 1 million units per month, according to an Oppenheimer research note.

Apple Inc is preparing to launch a tablet personal computer in late March or April, with manufacturer partners poised to roll out as many as 1 million units per month, according to an Oppenheimer research note.

News Corp, Time Warner Inc's Time Inc and three other publishers detailed their long-expected plans to develop open standards for a new digital storefront and technology to help prepare their print titles for devices ranging from e-books to tablet computers.

Efforts by Barnes & Noble Inc to get its Nook electronic reader into customers' hands suffered another setback on Monday, when the bookseller said it was postponing the in-store debut of the device until early 2010 to fulfill orders already received.

Barnes & Noble Inc. said Monday that its Nook electronic reader will only be released in-store early 2010 as its still trying to fulfill the orders its already received. Customers can only try out demonstration models at the Barnes & Noble stores.

Following much date-guessing from bloggers and Apple fans about when the highly rumored “Apple Tablet” would debut, now a top industry analyst predicts it will debut next year. Frank Gens, chief analyst at IDC, said it's a “no-brainer” that it will be released in 2010.

Online retail sales on Cyber Monday are set to reach a new record, with rivals Amazon.com Inc and Walmart.com set to be the prime beneficiaries, according to industry experts.

U.S. stocks rose on Monday, helping the Dow post its fifth straight monthly gain, on hopes that possible fallout from Dubai's debt woes will be contained.

U.S. stocks rose on Monday, helping the Dow post its fifth straight monthly gain, on hopes that possible fallout from Dubai's debt woes will be contained.

U.S. stocks rose on Monday, helping the Dow post its fifth straight monthly gain, on hopes that possible fallout from Dubai's debt woes will be contained.

Stocks inched lower on Monday with retail shares down after Black Friday and data suggesting weak holiday sales, while data showing expansion in business activity in the Midwest helped to limit losses.

Investors took a dim view of holiday retail sales after a weak Black Friday weekend, with Amazon.com Inc one of the few stocks to rise on hopes it was gaining a greater share of consumer spending.

Amazon.com said on Monday that its Kindle electronic book reader posted its best sales yet in the month of November, as rivals struggle with fulfilling their customer orders.

U.S. stocks declined moderately on Monday as weak data on holiday retail sales prompted questions about the consumer's ability to spend.