Margins Check: HBO on iTunes, Google’s social network, and more

Editor’s Note: Welcome to On the Margins, a feature for RCR Wireless News’ weekly e-mail service, Mobile Content and Culture. Every week, the RCR Wireless News staff considers events in the wider business world and how they could affect the wireless industry.
–HBO announced it will begin selling some of its shows through Apple’s iTunes service. According to the New York Times, HBO may be able to sell its shows at a price higher than the $1.99 Apple iTunes currently charges for all current television episodes. The agreement reflects both a broadening of HBO’s content distribution efforts – which may help mobile vendors – as well as a relaxation by Apple on its pricing structure, which also may help mobile vendors looking to cash in on the iPhone craze.
–Google expanded its social networking presence with a release of its Google Friend Connect, a way for Web publishers to add social-networking features to their sites. The move comes after similar announcements from MySpace and Facebook. The news could help further the mobile social-networking scene, which is in its early stages but could be set for solid growth.
–Hewlett-Packard Co. announced a deal to pay about $13.25 billion, or $25 a share, in cash to buy Electronic Data Systems, a move that sets the stage for HP’s challenge of IBM in the area of computer consulting and services. For the mobile industry, the deal might signal a new vendor for complex computing services.