News In Brief: EC, Alca-Lu, ZTE, Novell, Apple, Skype

The European Commission has adopted new rules covering mobile use on ships in Europe’s territorial waters. The rules, adopted Friday, replace 27 sets of legislation  from individual member states covering mobile phone use while at sea.
 
Alcatel-Lucent has appointed former media relations executive Regine Coqueran-Gelin as head of corporate communications and CSR, effective immediately.
 
Chinese equipment vendor ZTE has launched what it is billing as the world's first dual-mode CDMA/LTE remote radio unit (RRU). The product currently supports both 700 MHz and AWS frequencies.
 
Novell has rejected a $2 billion (€1.4 billion) offer from hedge fund Elliott Associates to take it private.
 
Apple is still trying to secure iPad media content deals just weeks before the device's imminent release, and has lowered its ambitious plans for the hardware platform in response, insiders say.
 
Sony Ericsson is tipped to order just two feature phones from Taiwanese supplier Arima Communications in 2010, as it shifts its focus to launching more smartphones throughout the year, Digitimes reports.