Filed under: GAMING | Tags: Microsoft, Nintendo, Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3, Sony, Video game, Wii, Xbox 360
While the Nintendo Wii continues to have a stranglehold on console sales, both worldwide and in the United States, the Xbox 360 and PS3 are battling it out for the the second place position for year-to-date sales. Just a little over two months ago Sony announced that they would be slashing the price of their game console, the PS3, to $299. Microsoft quickly followed suit, and in just ten days dropped the price of their most expensive console, the Xbox 360 Elite, to $299. Nintendo, who has sold nearly double the number of consoles worldwide as these two, decided to lower the price of the Wii on September 27th to $199: this was the first time since its inception that the Wii has had a price cut. All three console manufacturers hoped that the decrease in price would help them to increase sales and finish the year on a strong note. (Crunchgear11/4)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=6358a167-b72a-4f1a-bce8-1a64720d33c2)
Filed under: TECHNOLOGY | Tags: Apple, Best Buy, Blu-ray Disc, Consumer electronics, DVD, Microsoft, Microsoft Courier, User interface
Two still mythical tablet devices, the Microsoft Courier and the Apple Tablet, are probably the hottest and most coveted devices that do not yet officially exist. To further fuel the anticipatory gadget lust, Gizmodo has scored an in-depth look at the former’s user interface and overall design. (Mashable 11/4)
While DVD sales and rentals have slowed, entertainment-industry executives are turning to the Blu-ray format as the saving grace for home entertainment in the near-term. Sales of Blu-ray players have spiked 112% this year, and consumer-electronics giant Best Buy expects to sell 18.6 million Blu-ray players next year. Variety (11/3)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=a56b3c83-36c2-48b2-ab7a-fbfd9bb4c684)
Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Comedy Central, FamilyGuy, FOX, Fox Broadcasting Company, Hollywood Reporter, Microsoft, Viacom, Windows 7
The premiere Oct. 22 of Comedy Central‘s “The Jeff Dunham Show” attracted 5.3 million viewers, the most ever for a series debut on the Viacom-owned network. After factoring in showings later in the night, the series amassed an opening-day audience of 7.9 million viewers. The Hollywood Reporter (10/23)
CNN, which invented the cable news network more than two decades ago, will hit a new competitive low with its prime-time programs in October, finishing fourth – and last – among the cable news networks with the audience that all the networks rely on for their advertising. (NY Times 10/26)
Microsoft is backing out of its sponsorship off Fox‘s upcoming “Family Guy” comedy/variety special. The software giant planned to sponsor the show to tout its new Windows 7 operating system. The special’s content, Microsoft says, “was not a fit with the Windows brand.” (Iwantmedia 10/27, Variety10/26)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=7738bf43-6571-4509-8366-5f14e7d74761)
Filed under: TECHNOLOGY | Tags: Blu-ray Disc, DVD, HD DVD, Microsoft, Time Warner Cable, Video game console, XBox, Xbox 360
Microsoft has no plans to redesign its Xbox 360 video game console to include a Blu-ray player, according to a company spokesman. The software giant, which supported Toshiba’s HD DVD platform in the high-definition format battle with Blu-ray, has been bulking up the VOD capabilities of its console through the Xbox Live service. Digital Trends (10/23)
Time Warner Cable’s Internet customers could be vulnerable to an attack due to a “serious security hole” in the provider’s cable modem and Wi-Fi router, according to blogger Brian Chen. Days after Time Warner promised a fix, Chen says the devices are still vulnerable. http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-10383543-245.html
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=578d95d4-ed7a-4987-af97-aba6c6d85e15)
Filed under: GAMING | Tags: Game Consoles Wars: Xbox 360 vs. PS3 vs. Wii, Microsoft, Netflix, Playstation 3, Sony, United States, Video game, Video game console
Sony said is partnering with Netflix to provide access to the online movie rental company’s library through Sony’s PlayStation 3 video game console. PS3 users in the United States who are also Netflix subscribers will be able to instantly stream movies from the Netflix catalog at no extra cost. (Reuters10/26)
Well it’s about time. I mean, it’s sort of like arriving at the XBox party at the end when everyone has already paired off and only the somewhat sketchy people are left. OK, maybe a slight exaggeration but you know you hear me on this… Here’s the BIG difference between PS3 and XBox, PS3 users don’t have to pay an additional extra dime for Netflix content whereas XBox users must have the Gold level membership which costs $50/year.
So much for the first generation of big Facebook/MySpace social application startups. Slideand RockYouboth got huge valuations in venture rounds. But a new generation of application developers has taken center stage and are racking up big revenues and their own eye popping valuations: Zynga, Playfish and Playdom. (Techcrunch10/26)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=1cce45c3-2cc0-4edb-afbe-9ff526092532)
Filed under: TECHNOLOGY | Tags: Blu-ray Disc, Microsoft, Netflix, Steve Ballmer, TiVo, Wall Street, XBox, XBox Live
Microsoft announced another down quarter this morning. Revenues in the September quarter were down 14 percent to $12.92 billion, and net profits declined even further to $3.57 billion, or $0.40 a share. The consensus estimate was $0.32, so Wall Street is happy and the shares are rallying (up 10 percent in early-morning trading). (Techcrunch10/23)
With expanded distribution options and a big jump in its subscriber count, Netflix reported a third-quarter profit of $30.1 million, a 48% increase over the year-earlier period. Netflix now has 11.1 million subscribers, the company said, and its streaming service now is available via TiVo DVRs, Xbox Live and Web-capable Blu-ray players. Bloomberg (10/22) , PaidContent.org(10/22)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=71f09c8a-d006-4958-a868-0c788cc035a5)
Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: Business, Chief executive officer, Google, iPhone, Microsoft, Mobile device, Smartphone, Steve Ballmer
Microsoft personnel are working around the clock to restore personal data lost during a recent outage of the company’s Sidekick mobile device, and Steve Ballmer, the software giant’s chief executive officer, says his company needs to do more to assure enterprise customers that a similar mistake won’t occur in the future. Ballmer said it was imperative for Microsoft to “explain to customers our method and process and quality approach and what went wrong in that case and how we are making sure that it does not happen again.” Network World (10/19) , InformationWeek (10/19) , CNET/Beyond Binary (10/19)
Google is said to be planning to release its own smartphone directly through retailers, as opposed to through a carrier partnership, in what could be a huge disruption to the industry’s business model. Google’s phone “could be the first credible competitor to the iPhone.” (Iwantmedia 10/21, Internet News10/20)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=235569be-1431-4064-acbb-1a7495305188)
