Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: Business model, comScore, Google, Sony, Unique visitor, us, Veoh, YouTube
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Sony‘s entertainment unit is negotiating with Google to become the first major U.S. film studio to post full-length movies on YouTube. No other details on the possible deal were provided by Sony. YouTube did not comment on the talks. Bloomberg (4/9)
As video sites on the Web struggle to find a business model that will pay their mounting bandwidth and storage bills, many of them are trying to reinvent themselves. Veoh
, which has raised a total of $70 million, had to cut 35 percent of its staff earlier this month and the site seems to be losing steam. Unique visitors are down 18 percent from their high a year ago to 15.2 million worldwide, and users of its desktop app VeohTV are down 40 percent to 7.2 million worldwide, according to comScore (see chart below). (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/10/veohs-hail-mary-spreading-video-search-across-the-web-with-video-compass 4/10)
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Filed under: TECHNOLOGY | Tags: Amazon Kindle, Amazon.com, General Motors, NBC Universal, New York, New York City, Segway PT, Sony
General Motors and Segway have teamed up on Project PUMA (Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility), a two-wheeled city vehicle capable of reaching speeds up to 35 miles per hour, and going 35 miles on a single charge at a cost of 35 cents per charge. (http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/04/07/gm-and-segway-announce-two-wheeled-urban-transport-vehicle 4/7)
Some 250 readers of the Kindle are using Amazon.com‘s own book-tagging system to mark e-books priced more than $10 with the tag “9 99 boycott.” Their argument: A Kindle book is more restricted in its use than a paper book and therefore should not cost as much. (Iwantmedia 4/07, http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2009/04/kindle-readers.html 4/6)
The Sony compact HDR-TG5V, due out in May for a recommended price of $1,000, will come equipped with GPS capabilities and mapping software allowing tagging and geographic sorting of stored footage. (Cynopsis 4/7)
New York and New Jersey PATH train riders are getting information, news and entertainment courtesy of NBC Universal‘s NBC Everywhere arm and transit partners. Digital screens in train stations and trains will offer local news, weather, lifestyle and entertainment clips. (Iwantmedia 4/07, http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3iff50ba6951560a30f6b7af52e5d298b6 4/6)
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Filed under: GAMING | Tags: Momentum, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Playstation 3, PS3, Public relations, Sony, Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony has denied rumors that it is planning to announce a price reduction for its PlayStation 3 gaming console. “As we have stated previously, we do not have plans for a PS3 price drop, and any rumors to that effect are false and are the result of speculation. SCEA remains focused on the long-term momentum of PS3,” said Sony PR Manager Al De Leon. Electronista (3/30)
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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: GAMING | Tags: Microsoft, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi, Playstation 3, Sony, Video game, XBox
Nintendo is gearing up for the next iteration of its Nintendo DS handheld with the DSi set to hit U.S. stores in April. Nintendo has already sold 100 million DS consoles and has added a few features to the new version, including an online application store. New York Post (3/29)
In some ways, these are the best of times for video game makers: More people than ever, and more types of people, are playing on an unprecedented number of platforms. But, according to this report, these are also the worst of times because a growing number of free or low-cost games that can be found online may cut into sales of consoles, such as Sony‘s PlayStation and Microsoft‘s Xbox. The New York Times (3/29)
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Filed under: TECHNOLOGY | Tags: Blu-ray Disc, Google, IBM, Liquid crystal display television, Sharp Display Products, Sharp Electronics, Sony, United States
With the end of the first quarter of the 2009 almost here, even the strongest companies companies are making last-minute layoffs to shave costs. Today, layoffs were announced across the tech sector, from IBM to Google to Amazon. The biggest layoffs came from IBM, where 5,000 people
are losing their jobs in the U.S.. Amazon cut 210 people at three distribution centers in Nevada, Indiana, and Pennsylvania. Google also announced layoffs of 200 people from sales and marketing (so far, engineers have been spared). In all three cases, the job cuts amounted to roughly one percent of each company’s global workforce. The New York Times also announced a 5 percent cut of its newsroom, or 100 people. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/26/end-of-quarter-layoffs-hit-amazon-ibm-google-and-the-new-york-times 3/26)
“Ambivalent Networkers” — primarily males in their late 20s — admit to being glued to their mobile devices. Still, they would like to “take a break” from all the new technologies, says a study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. Technology “feels like an obligation.” (Iwantmedia 3/26, http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090325/ap_on_hi_te/tec_techbit_digitally_ambivalent 3/25)
Revenue from mobile-broadband services will reach $137 billion by 2014, a more than 400% rise from current levels, according to a report from Ovum, a consultancy and research firm. The report also predicts that average revenue per user will decline as the number of users will outpace the growth in sales. InformationWeek (3/25)
Sharp Electronics and Sony on Wednesday will christen Sharp Display Products Corp., a new joint-venture company to produce LCD TV panels. The firm, which will be two-thirds owned by Sharp and one-third owned by Sony, will be based in a new facility in Sakai, Japan. Dealerscope (3/25) , TWICE (3/24) , CEPro.com (3/24
Hewlett-Packard has debuted the new Pavilion Elite m9600 desktop, which is powered by Core i7 processors and has up to 1TB of hard drive storage and Blu-ray options. The company also introduced a suite of new LCD monitors featuring HDMI connectivity. Digital Trends (3/25)
The first-quarter 2009 reliability rankings by computer-service chain Rescuecom do not hold good news for Apple’s Mac. For the first time, Mac dropped out of first place and fell to third, where it now must look up at Asian computer makers Asustek Computer and Lenovo Group. Computerworld (3/25)
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Filed under: GAMING | Tags: GameFly, Microsoft, Nintendo, Playstation 3, Sony, Video game, Wii, Xbox 360
GameFly is testing rental kiosks at universities. The G-Box has games for Nintendo’s Wii, Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360. The Hollywood Reporter/Home Media Magazine (3/10)
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