Sony has faced a tough time in the smartphone and tablet markets in recent years in the face of competition from Apple and Android devices, but it is slowly fighting back and interest in its products is growing.

Our review of the Xperia Tablet Z was the most popular item of the last week, with readers keen to know our impressions. We were impressed by its ultra-lightweight, slim build and reasonable performance, awarding it four stars, although its software let it down slightly.

Elsewhere a customer story in the ongoing Google verses Microsoft battle gave both sides cause for optimism, and concern. At first, it seemed Google had landed yet another blow when education firm Pearson said the majority of its 40,000-strong workforce were using Google services over Microsoft platforms. However, since the story went live, scores of unhappy staff at the firm came forward to decry the switch to Google.

Elsewhere, Sky’s boost of its backhaul network on Virgin Media Business services was of interest, possibly from Sky customers hoping to see a speed boost from their services.

Another notable headline from the past seven days saw the chief technology officer at the BBC suspended for overseeing a failed digital project that cost the corporation £98m without any clear benefit.

A final piece of interesting news came from Transport for London (TfL), which revealed that it is planning a major overhaul of its website, based on HTML5, in order to meet the demands from Londoners accessing its site on numerous mobile devices.

Sony Xperia Tablet Z review
A lightweight rugged tablet that’s ideal for working on the move

Google trumps Microsoft in Pearson’s cloud app offering to 40,000 staff
Firm sees most business units opting for Google

Sky pays Virgin £49m for broadband backhaul boost
Deal sees Rupert Murdoch forced to hand over cash to rival John Malone

Microsoft calls for Office attack victims to be more vigilant with security patches
Firm urges businesses to apply automatic updates to systems

Apache Darkleech PDF and JavaScript attacks infect hundreds more websites
Security firm Zscaler links harmful attack to Blackhole exploit kit version 2

Google pushes Android and Chrome SAP Fiori apps to attract enterprise
Company partners with German software house to push secure HTML5 apps onto browser and mobile platforms

BBC suspends CTO after £98m loss on failed digital project
John Linwood pays the price for unnecessary Digital Media Initiative project

Apple OS X Oslo malware linked to sophisticated India ‘Operation Hangover’ gang in India
Indian group tied to multiple crimeware outbreaks

DWP has no immediate plans to support systems newer than Windows XP and IE6 for benefits claims
Claimants restricted to phone and face-to-face meetings for certain benefits

TfL plans HTML5 website overhaul and ditches Bing Maps for Google
New site to be live before the end of the year, beta planned within two months