On CE - For Dealers, Distributors and OEMs of Consumer Electronics throughout EMEA

Sonos customers no longer need PCs in order to take advantage of multi-room audio-- the latest Sonos Controller app update allows for playback of music stored on iDevices.

Available in iPad and iPhone versions, version 3.8.3 of the app plays audio from the devices directly on the system, without need for Airplay turnarounds or docks.

It also handles a number of online music sources, such Amazon Cloud Player, Spotify, Rhapsody and Last.fm. A familiar drag and drop interface handles playlists.

The app is compatible with Sonos component running on v3.8 firmware, as well as the Sonos Play:3 and Play:5 systems. The company gives no mention of a similar update for Android devices, but we imagine one is in the works.

Go Sonos Controller for iPad

In what surely is a bid to raise much needed funds, Nokia sells off its Espoo, Finland HQ-- the so called "Nokia House" now belongs to Finnish company Exilion.

The 48000 square metre building cost all of €170 million, and the sale should be complete by end 2012.

"Owning real estate is not part of Nokia's core business," Nokia CFO Timo Ihamuotila says. "When good opportunities arise we are willing to exit these types of non-core assets."

The mobile maker will remain based in the building, if on a lease.

Nokia is currently working hard at trying to staunch its financial bleedings-- Q3 2012 saw company losses reach $754 million, down from $1.01 billion in Q2 (and $1.7bn in Q1).

Go Nokia to Sell and Lease Back Head Office Building

Go Nokia Q3 2012 Results

Canon rolls out a set of printing and scanning solutions for the holiday season-- the Pixma MG6320 and MG5420 All-in-Ones (AIO), the Pixma iP7220 printer and the CanoScan 9000F Mark II scanner.

The MG6320 and MG5420 have a sleek and compact design, with a low-height body and a redesigned paper casette allowing the printer to sit flush against a wall. The MG6320 carries a 3.5-inch touchscreen, while the MG5420 has a similar 3-inch display, and both have built-in wireless printing capabilities allowing use with iOS, Android and Windows RT devices as well as Canon digital cameras (via PictBridge WLAN).

Meanwhile the iP7220 is a wireless printer with output speeds reaching up to 15ipm in black and white and 10 ipm in colour. It has Quiet Mode for less noisy operation and Canon claims it prints a 4x6-inch borderless photo in around 21 seconds.

And finally the CanoScan 9000F Mark II is an easy-to-use scanner with a maximum optical resolution of 9600dpi for film (via separate Film Adapter Unit) and 4800dpi for other media. It also has an Auto Dcoument Fix feature allowing the correction of both scanned text and images.

Go Canon

According to supply chain sources Surface tablet sales remain fairly slow-- DigiTimes claims Microsoft has already cut tablet orders for the year by half.

The Taiwanese news site says Surface orders are now 2 million units (down from 4m) as "sources from the upstream supply chain believe [Windows 8] may not perform as well as expected in the market."

Demand is also not too hot for Windows 8 tablets from Asus, Samsung and Dell the site reports.

The Digitimes sources also say Microsoft considers spurring demand through price cuts-- even such actions will only make its PC maker partners-turned-rivals even less happy.

Let's not forget how Acer is already not too jolly about the Surface...

Meanwhile Asus CFO David Chang tells the Wall Street Journal "demand for Windows 8 is not that good right now." Chang says demand ramp-up for Windows 8 touch notebooks is slow, even if he declines to mention actual sales figures. Asus currently offers one Windows 8 touch-capable notebook, the 11.6-inch Vivobook.

Such news follow the recent sales figures from Microsoft saying Windows 8 licenses since the end October 2012 launch total 40m. However the company does not provide any Surface sales figures.

Go Microsoft Cut Surface Tablet Orders in Half (DigiTimes,subscription required)

Go Windows 8 Touchscreen Laptops See Slow Start (WSJ.com)