Filed under: TECHNOLOGY | Tags: Business, Consumer electronics, Displays, Hardware, Liquid crystal display, Peripherals, Personal computer, Television
Aqua Soundz is marketing a floating-speaker system through GadgetShop.com. The device consists of a transmitter that plugs into any standard music player and a wireless speaker that can be used in a pool or bathtub. Pocket-lint.co.uk (4/8)
Research shows nearly 2.5 million consumers are interested in buying a broadband-connected TV, especially at a price point of $100 more than a set that’s not connected. A study by Parks Associates shows that on-demand content is the main attraction of connected TVs, though on-screen widgets and access to PC content are also desirable features. CE Pro magazine (4/2009)
Researchers say a burgeoning netbook market will soften the blow for makers of LCD panels, but it won’t completely make up for the drop in global demand. Total LCD sales will fall to 156 million in 2009, down from 167 million last year, according to research firm DisplaySearch. TWICE (4/7)
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Filed under: TECHNOLOGY | Tags: Blu-ray Disc, Consumer electronics, DVD, Hewlett-Packard, High-definition television, High-definition video, Sony, Television
High-definition products for the home-entertainment market are poised to triple by 2012 compared with 2008 numbers. “The high-tech industry’s efforts to provide HD service to every home now are finally coming to fruition. This has resulted in an explosion of shipments of consumer-electronics devices that support HD video, from new Blu-ray DVD players to ultrathin LCD HD Televisions (HDTVs) — and even some portable media players,” said Randy Lawson, senior analyst for iSuppli. Dealerscope (3/31)
Global information technology spending will fare worse in 2009 than during the dotcom bubble collapse of 2001, says industry research firm Gartner. A worsening global recession is discouraging corporations and consumers from spending to get the latest in technology. (Iwantmedia 3/31, http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE52U6B820090331 3/31)
Intel, as expected, on Monday unveiled its Xeon product, a new chip line designed for server systems that is said to double computing performance when compared with existing models. Several server makers are already making plans for the new chip line, with Hewlett-Packard developing 11 machines based on the Xeon 5500 chip. eChannelLine USA Daily News (3/30) , The Wall Street Journal (3/31)
Sony is offering two new Blu-ray recorders that include support for the acTVila video-delivery service for digital TVs. The 500GB BDZ-A950 and 320GB BDZ-A750 are both available in Japan. Electronista (3/30)
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Filed under: TECHNOLOGY | Tags: AT&T, Consumer electronics, DreamWorks Animation, Mobile phone, Sprint Nextel, Television, Verizon Wireless, WIRELESS
Theater owners are completing 3-D technology upgrades for Friday’s opening of “Monsters vs. Aliens,” the new DreamWorks Animation movie. Hollywood will release more than a dozen 3-D films this year, hoping to offer “something that cannot be achieved at home.” (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aw5HkD.dtnDY 3/26)
Viacom’s Nickelodeon cable network is asking its young audience to unplug their hand-held gadgets, games and cell phones for a minute on Earth Day to symbolize a commitment to helping the environment. The “unplugged minute,” however, doesn’t extend to television sets. (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gX39rdF0RVQBZXsbi3HuFIKNKqoAD9754V301 3/25)
Best Buy Co. reported that profit fell 23% in its fiscal fourth quarter because of depressed consumer demand coupled with overly steep cuts in inventory levels. On the bright side, the consumer-electronics giant beat Wall Street forecasts and picked up market share in the wake of Circuit City’s liquidation. The Wall Street Journal (3/27) , Reuters (3/26) , Financial Times (3/26)
Samsung has started producing a new breed of liquid-crystal-display TV panels that are about a quarter of the thickness of conventional models. The new panels also use an edge-lighting system that is designed to be more aesthetically pleasing and more energy-efficient. Electronista (3/26)
RaySat Broadcasting, which has taken over development work on AT&T’s new CruiseCast in-car satellite-TV service, has retained a handful of vendors to work on key technological aspects of the platform, RaySat said. AT&T, which has not disclosed when the 42-channel service — 20 audio and 22 video — will launch, is said to be finalizing programming contracts that its U-verse IPTV group has been negotiating with content providers. Telephony Online (3/26) , CED Magazine (3/2009)
Ford has begun shipping trucks and vans to dealers with touch-screen PCs installed in their dashboards that house Sprint Nextel CDMA-EVDO network links, the carrier said Tuesday. The system, which runs Windows CE 6.0 software, will cost $50 a month for the wireless service on top of the $1,195 Ford is charging for the PC option. Computerworld (3/24)
Verizon Wireless will enter the laptop business, possibly by next quarter, according to a Bloomberg report, which says the carrier will join AT&T in selling netbook computers, inexpensive PCs designed largely for users to access the Internet. The carrier is expected to work with more than one PC maker, according to the report. Bloomberg (3/26)
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Filed under: TECHNOLOGY | Tags: Amazon Kindle, Aspire One, Best Buy, Consumer electronics, Microsoft Windows, Mobile phone, Wi-Fi, Windows XP
The Authors Guild, an advocacy organization for writers, objects to the new Amazon Kindle 2′s text-to-speech feature. “They don’t have the right to read a book out loud,” says executive director Paul Aitken. “That’s an audio right, which is derivative under copyright law.” (Iwantmedia 2/11, http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10161104-93.html 2/10)
Video on demand box maker Vudu announced it is cutting the price of its HD box in half to $150, available at Best Buy, audio video retailers, and online. (Cynopsis 2/11)
Acer is introducing the U.S. market to its Aspire One AOD150, a netbook computer that retails for a penny less than $350. The portable PC comes with Wi-Fi, 1GB of RAM, 160GB of storage, Windows XP and a 10-inch monitor, which is about an inch bigger than the original Aspire One. Digital Trends (2/10)
Medis Technologies is marketing a fuel cell that can power small consumer-electronics devices such as cell phones in an emergency. The user squeezes the cylindrical cell to mix the chemicals inside, and the unit produces electricity for about 40 hours, or until the chemicals are used up. The New York Times (2/10)
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Filed under: TECHNOLOGY | Tags: Consumer electronics, E-book, Financial Times, LG Electronics, Mobile phone, Reuters, South Korea, Wall Street Journal
Here’s some free fodder for your eBook reader, ladies. Pulp romance publisher Harlequin is celebrating its 60th Anniversary by giving away free downloadable books. Each registered user is entitled to 16 free downloads. (Cynopsis 2/9)
LG Electronics, a maker of cell phones and other consumer electronics, said it would seek to reduce its costs $2.2 billion this year — about 30% — amid expectations that the global downturn will drive sales down in dollar terms 20%. The South Korean company said it saw potential to grow its handset share in emerging countries and added that the company would emphasize maximizing its productivity and efficiency before cutting personnel. The Wall Street Journal (2/10) , Reuters (2/9) , Financial Times (2/9)
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Filed under: TECHNOLOGY | Tags: Blu-ray Disc, Business, Consumer electronics, DVD, Electronics, Fiscal year, Panasonic Corporation, Wall Street Journal
The one-two punch of a global slump in demand and a strong yen that makes Japanese products less attractive to importers has led Panasonic Corp. to forecast a $4.3 billion loss for the fiscal year that ends March 31. As a result, the consumer-electronics giant said it would cut 15,000 jobs, about 5% of its work force. 
ClipSyndicate/New York Financial Press (2/4) , The Wall Street Journal (2/5) , Reuters (2/4)![[Panasonic Gloomy Outlook]](image014.gif@01C987C2.AE824D30)
Game consoles are turning out to be the most popular nexus point for consumer-electronics devices connected to a home network, according to a new study from research firm In-Stat. The study went on to say that, in the future, Blu-ray and DVD players — and not personal computers — will become more important conduits in the networked home. Cartt News Service (subscription only) (2/4)
While demand for low-cost, no-frill netbook computers seems to be on the rise, the number of people considering a notebook computer is ebbing, according to a survey by ChangeWave. In the survey, the number of respondents who said they plan on buying a notebook in the next 90 days fell from 8% last November to just 6%. CNET (2/4)
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Filed under: TECHNOLOGY | Tags: Consumer electronics, Consumer Electronics Show, High-Definition Multimedia Interface, High-definition television, Howard Stringer, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Slingbox, Television
Sony Chairman and CEO Howard Stringer showed the crowd at the Consumer Electronics Show 3-D video clips from “Cars” and the Orange Bowl to make his point that the technology is “closer than you think” to becoming widely available. DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, appearing on stage with Stringer, said 3-D represented “the third great revolution” of the film industry after sound and color. Multichannel News (1/8)
The President-elect’s team called for a delay in the cutoff of analog TV signals yesterday after The Consumers Union, the non-profit publisher of Consumer Reports, sent a letter to Capitol Hill late Tuesday requesting that the Feb. 17 transition be postponed to better prepare elderly and poorer consumers who still rely on rabbit ears for their television signals. The requests come days after federal officials announced that the program to distribute $40 coupons to defray the cost of digital converter boxes has run out of money. (The boxes retail for between $50-$80 each, without a coupon.) (Cynopsis 1/9)
Comcast and Panasonic announced they have started working on a new breed of digital cable set-top boxes that can link Panasonic’s Viera HDTVs to other entertainment devices in the home. Theoretically, the new boxes, which will employ HDMI-CEC technology, will enable nontru2way TVs to interact with tru2way set-top boxes via a unified remote control and user interface. CED Magazine.com (1/8) , Light Reading (1/8)
Dish Network unveiled the world’s first “SlingLoaded HD DuoDVR,” integrating Sling Media’s place shifting Slingbox technology with a dual tuner HD DVR enabling subscribers to view HD programming on their TVs, laptops or smartphones both at home and remotely. (Cynopsis 1/9)
IPTV programmer NeuLion unveils a new HD TV Box today that allows participating networks to deliver 720p and 1080i HD streaming to PCs or directly to HDTV sets. The current NeuLion box, available for $129, delivers a wide selection of foreign broadcasting services in 480p and 480i as well as sports programming including NFL football and NHL hockey to broadband customers on an a la carte basis. The new box is expected to ship in March 2009 for an undetermined price. (Cynopsis 1/9)
Like the folks who make a popular New Year’s resolution, TV sets will get thinner in the future, according to research from DisplaySearch. According to a new study, the firm estimated that ultraslim TVs — those no deeper than 1.6 inches — could account for 14 million units worldwide by 2012 and that these thin TVs could make up 18% of the North American, Japanese and Western Europe market in three years. TVWeek.com (1/8)
Sync, the voice-activated, dashboard entertainment and communication system launched by Ford 18 months ago, is beginning to look a lot like an iPhone. Like the Apple device, future iterations of Sync are expected to allow users to customize and further pimp their ride by integrating third-party applications as well as computer-generated avatars, Ford CEO Alan Mullaly said during a CES keynote address. The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) (1/9) , CNET (1/8)
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