NPD: Free Blu-ray player deals led to boosted sales this month
A report from NPD Group claimed Blu-ray standalone player sales accounted for 93 percent of the high-def market for the week ending January 12, but NPD itself won't stand behind the numbers, saying they were leaked and that weekly sales data is not a long-term indicator.
According to Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis for NPD, the data "came from an NPD subscriber" and "wasn't approved for release from NPD." He added that the firm typically sees big fluctuations in sales volumes each week, and never makes long-term judgements based on weekly data.
FCC tightens its guidelines on DTV transition extensions
Less than thirteen months remain for US television stations to move off the old analog VHF and UHF spectra, into their new digital allotments. But even now, the FCC has to deal with stations that have yet to finalize their construction plans.
The zero-hour for the US' transition to an all-digital broadcast television system remains February 17 of next year. But only now has the Federal Communications Commission set what it hopes will be a hard and fast timetable for potentially hundreds of stations that have yet to begin even constructing or re-constructing their transmission facilities.
Samsung's BlackJack finally gets Windows Mobile 6
US carrier AT&T has finally given its BlackJack handsets a long-anticipated operating system upgrade, boosting it to WM6 just as 6.1 appears around the corner.
Rumors regarding the release of this upgrade to the popular handset have abounded, since both AT&T and Samsung have kept their release dates vague.
Vudu drops its price to compete with Apple TV
High-definition on-demand service Vudu has announced it is slashing its price for its console by 25 percent, perhaps in response to Apple TV's having replenished its own value proposition.
In the short few months it has been available, Vudu has tried numerous offers in an effort to eke out a measurable stake in the video on-demand market: First, it offered $50 of free movies with purchase, then it announced a tie-in with Sharp's Aquos HDTV line. Now, it's taking a cue from HD DVD by instituting a severe price drop.
IFPI: Music CD sales continued sharp decline in 2007
In what could be perceived as a signal of a thaw in relations between the recording industry and digital music technology, this morning's annual report from its chief international representative points to a turnaround in the piracy problem.
In its annual report on the state of the global music industry released this morning, IFPI, the trade representative for the recording industry worldwide, appeared to embrace digital music as the future backbone of the music trade, rather than as a problem that needed to be combated and overcome.
IBM rides the instant messaging wave
With its Lotus Sametime line-up, IBM is attempting to use instant messenging and "unified communications" to reel in new customers from new places, ranging from small businesses to Microsoft Outlook mail environments. Will the strategy pay off?
With new moves in instant messaging and the broader category of "unified communications," IBM is trying to lure customers from outside of its traditional Lotus Notes environment -- and it looks like this approach could be working.
Skype for Sony PSP delayed in Japan, still on track for US, EU
Sony's game unit announced the rollout of Skype VoIP services for the handheld would be delayed in Japan due to microphones not meeting specifications.
Problems with the microphone standards are being worked on, Sony said. The headsets, Sony revealed earlier this month, work with the newer PSP-2000.
Digg overhauls its definition of 'popular' articles
The social networking and news sharing site has always kept the precise details of its popularity algorithms a secret. But today, Digg did announce the nature of a change which could alter the entire meaning and purpose of the site.
Up to now, the way any online news publisher got one of its articles publicized through the Digg social service is by hoping enough people were interested in it to vote in favor of moving it up the Digg scale -- of giving it enough "Diggs." Starting today, however, that changes: The secret to a heavy publicity on the Digg service won't be having enough people, but having the right kind of people.
Yahoo is next to consider a DRM-free music store
Yahoo is reportedly in talks with major labels about a DRM-free music store. to offer them either for sale or for free in an ad-supported model.
Discussions are still preliminary, executives told the Associated Press under condition of anonymity. But now that the "big four" -- Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, EMI Group, and Warner Music Group -- have all begun the departure from digital rights management with their music tracks, and successes in the DRM-free retail sector in both Amazon's and iTunes' DRM-free stores have been seen, Yahoo looks to be in an excellent position to launch its own.
AT&T may follow Comcast in monitoring Internet traffic
Addressing the issue of global piracy on the Internet, the head of one of the world's largest telcos told no less than Earth's biggest economic summit that some kind of technological solution may be necessary.
At the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum yesterday, during a roundtable of world business leaders, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson was apparently speaking to the issue of Internet service providers' responsibility with regard to the theft of intellectual property. There, according to the Associated Press, Stephenson said he would not be opposed to his company filtering the types of traffic where intellectual property theft more commonly takes place, implying P2P.
Nokia unveils another fashion phone
Nokia officially announced today the new handset in its Prism line for the "design conscious" consumer, the 7900 Crystal Prism.
Despite a decidedly corny name and somewhat inutile keypad layout, the Crystal Prism is a unique device with customizable backlighting in 49 different colors. Graphic artist Frederique Dubal who has worked extensively on graphic and textile design on campaigns with Nike in the Netherlands, Sony's Playstation in France, and Paul Smith in the UK, collaborated with Nokia on the laser-etched graphic designs and exclusive wallpapers available for the handset.
Baidu expands to take on Google in Japan
The dominance of Google in the search space is almost written in stone in North America, but there may yet be some populous spots in the world where the market is wide open. Now its main Chinese competitor has launched a new assault.
While the US market looks to Yahoo as perhaps the sole competitor in the Internet search space capable of mounting a serious challenge to Google in 2008, there's one area of the world where Google has yet to gain a stronghold: Asia. Now the Chinese market leader, Baidu, is mounting its first strategic mission to capture Google users from outside its home base, setting up shop this morning with a new portal aimed at Japan.
Germans outraged over Nokia cell phone plant shutdown
Upset over the loss of 2,300 jobs in Germany, 15,000 local residents have staged a street demonstration over Nokia's plans to shut down a factory and move production to budget-wise Romania. A boycott is possible, and government leaders claim Finnish-based Nokia should now give back the considerable amount of subsidy money it's gotten from Germany.
Angered over Nokia's plans to close a cell phone manufacturing plant in Germany, 15,000 local residents have marched through the streets, with some politicians calling for a boycott of Nokia products and demanding reimbursement of a big chunk of more than 80 million euros ($120 million) in subsidies paid by Germany to Nokia over the past 20 years.
Next Microsoft Office will continue to support VBA
It has been the "macro" language for Microsoft Word since Office 97, even while Microsoft has moved Office developers toward .NET. But now members of the Visual Studio team are saying Visual Basic for Apps isn't going anywhere.
In response to reports that cropped up last week saying that Microsoft is finally shutting down support for Visual Basic for Applications, the COM-based macro language for customizing Office 97 and subsequent versions, members of the team whose product would presumably replace it are saying VBA support will remain in the next edition of Office, code-named either "Office 13" or "Office 14" on account of squeamishness over the earlier number.
Southwest Airlines to offer Internet access to flyers
Known for its unique boarding system and joke-telling cabin crew, Southwest will be the first US airline to test satellite-delivered broadband Internet access.
Through a partnership with privately held Southern California company Row 44, Southwest will be able to offer an anticipated 30 Mbps to Wi-Fi enabled devices at the cruising altitude of 32,000 feet. Tests are expected to begin on four aircraft this summer.
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