In a move that should bring substantial more money to author JK Rowling, the blockbuster 'Harry Potter' book series is expected to go digital for the first time ever, 14 years after the 1997 release of 'The Sorcerer's Stone.'

All seven of the books will soon become available via the iPad and the Kindle e-reader, and should net Rowling £100 million.

Scotsman cites Rowling's agent as confirming the imminent deal.

Rowling has an estimated fortune nearing $1 billion USD, following the record sales of the books, the films, the DVD/Blu-rays and other merchandise.

One editor added:

Experts believe that move could revolutionize the world of electronic publishing, triggering rocket sales of e-book readers such as Kindle and the iPad.

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Despite a report from a Korean site claiming that the iPhone 5 is indeed coming in June, Jim Dalrymple of The Loop adamantly refuted that claim today.

The Korean report cited manufacturers and even claimed that Apple confirmed the news.

If true, the news would be significant as Apple has released a new iPhone at every annual Worldwide Developers Conference since the smartphone's launch in 2007.

Instead, the company will focus on software this June, iOS 5 and Mac OS X Lion, while saving the hardware for a later date.

The most likely date is in September, when Apple normally launches refreshes its iPod line.

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Sprint Nextel says it will start its "Tap-and-Go" mobile payment system in 2011, front-running similar initiatives from Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile US.

The technology will use NFC, which will allow payments to be made via a tap or wave of your smartphone in front of electronic scanners in stores.

"Isis," the rival joint venture from the other carriers will likely not go live until 2012.

Says Sprint:

We intend to make this an open solution where consumers can use their phone in a variety of physical locations.Because we're allowing other brands and other institutions to participate, they can also tell their consumers that this is available on Sprint.

Differentiating itself from Isis, which will take a percentage on each transaction, Sprint will use a revenue share from sales of coupons and ads sent to customer's handsets.

The biggest problem with NFC so far is lack of merchant acceptance. There are only 150,000 locations with NFC readers while there are 6 million locations with traditional credit card support.

NFC-enabled phones will grow to 70 million shipped in 2012, says ABI Research.

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Winrumors has reported today that Microsoft appears to be on the verge of launching Silverlight for the Xbox 360.

The software giant will announce the plans at next week's MIX11 conference, and the sources claim the technology has been in the works for months.

Last November, Microsoft confirmed it was planning on bringing the tech to the console, but a Silverlight 5 preview day in December notably held back all details of the Xbox integrations.

If accurate, the company is also expected to open its own app Marketplace that will let Windows Phone 7 developers port their apps to the big screen.

Altogether, Silverlight will tie together the Xbox 360, Windows Phone 7 and the upcoming Windows 8 through a new "Jupiter" application model using AppX packages. Windows 8 will come with the app store pre-installed.

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The MPAA has surprised no one today by filing a copyright infringement suit against streaming site Zediva, claiming the site does not have proper licenses from the studios.

Zediva launched in January and has become very popular because it streams new releases (like Black Swan, The Social Network, more) and does not have delay windows like Netflix and Redbox do for physical discs.

The company "rents" users a DVD player and DVD and allows them to control it via online streaming.

What has helped the company become so popular is the prices of the movies. You can buy 10 streams for $10.

Zediva has claimed it does not need licenses because it is just "like" a brick-and-mortar rental company. When a customer rents a DVD, it takes it out of circulation, and does not create any digital copies.

The MPAA does not agree:

Comparing itself to a rental store is disingenuous, and Defendants are attempting to rely on technical gimmicks in an effort to avoid complying with U.S. Copyright Law. Defendants operate an online VOD service, not a neighborhood rental store.

The studios are scared Zediva will crush its profit margins and its relationship with companies that do offering licensed streaming, like Apple, Amazon and Netflix.

As is standard, the MPAA is seeking $150,000 per infringement.

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