Sep. 17, 2010 at 8:43 a.m.
Filed under:
Computers,
Consumer electronics
By Dow Jones Newswires-Wall Street Journal
The success of the iPad has put pressure on Motorola. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Motorola Inc. aims to deliver a tablet computer early next year, after the key holiday selling season.
“We want to make sure that any tablet that we deliver is competitive in the marketplace, and I think all of us will make sure that we will only deliver that when that occurs,” Co-Chief Executive Sanjay Jha said late Wednesday.
Apple Inc.’s success with its new iPad have made tablets a must-have offering for gadget makers. Samsung Electronics Co. unveiled its seven-inch Galaxy Tab to the U.S. market at an event Thursday. Dell Inc. has already launched its five-inch Streak tablet in the U.S., and others are expected ahead of the holidays. Get the full story »
By Wailin Wong
Motorola Inc. said Thursday it has acquired a company that develops location-based software for smartphone devices.
Terms of the deal with Aloqa GmbH, which has offices in Munich, Germany and Palo Alto, Calif., were not disclosed. Aloqa makes a mobile phone application that delivers content to a device based on where its owner is located. A person might receive discounts on local businesses or information about nearby events, Motorola said. Get the full story »
By Associated Press
Sony’s PlayStation 3 game console will work as a Blu-ray disc player for 3-D movies and music videos, not just 3-D games, with a software update download starting Sept. 21.
The free-of-charge update for movies and other content had been promised for later this year. But the date is being moved up to ride on the momentum of 3-D popularity, Sony executive Hiroshi Kawano said at the Tokyo Game Show Thursday.
By Reuters
Smartphone maker HTC Corp. unveiled details Wednesday of its push into the increasingly important mobile services sector and introduced two new handsets using Google’s Android operating software.
The launch came a day after Nokia, the world’s biggest cellphone maker, launched three new smartphones at its annual showcase conference in London. Get the full story »
Sep. 15, 2010 at 6:19 a.m.
Filed under:
Consumer electronics,
Consumer news,
Media
By Associated Press
Sony's new Walkman series are unveiled in Tokyo, zeroing in on sound quality and karaoke-like lyrics. (AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa)
Sony is zeroing in on sound quality and karaoke-like lyric displays to woo Japan, its stronghold in digital music players, amid a battering elsewhere from U.S. rival Apple Inc.’s iPod.
Hisatsugu Nakamuta, the Sony Corp. general manager overseeing marketing, said Wednesday that the Japanese electronics and entertainment company is hoping to grab as much as half of Japan’s annual 6.5 million unit portable audio-player market with its new Walkman models. Get the full story »
By Associated Press
The Hershey Co. is asking a federal judge to decide whether its iPhone application to make virtual chocolate milk violates another company’s copyright. The Pennsylvania chocolate maker has filed a federal complaint asking for a judgment in its legal dispute with Las Vegas-based software developer Hottrix LLC. Get the full story »
By Dow Jones Newswires
Rapid demand for smartphones and tablet computers this year is expected to cause the global market for small and midsize liquid crystal displays to expand at its fastest pace in three years, according to iSuppli.
The research firm said global shipments of thin-film transistor panels, advanced types of displays used in sophisticated mobile devices including smartphones and tablet PCs, are set to rise 28 percent. That would be the highest level of growth for the market since 2007, when shipments jumped 50 percent. Get the full story »
Sep. 10, 2010 at 6:40 a.m.
Filed under:
Consumer electronics,
Consumer news,
Media,
TV
By Associated Press
Aside from the cost of buying 3-D TV sets, the glasses required to watch them are a major hindrance, according to a study released today by The Nielson Co. about consumer attitudes toward 3-D televisions.
Fifty-seven percent of people surveyed cited the glasses as a reason they were not likely to buy a set. Nearly nine in 10 people worry that it will constrain them from multitasking while the TV is on, the survey said. Get the full story »
Sep. 2, 2010 at 5:51 a.m.
Filed under:
Computers,
Consumer electronics
By Associated Press
Samsung Electronics Co. is unveiling a new tablet PC named Galaxy Tab as the latest device meant to rival Apple Inc.’s popular iPad.
Samsung Europe executive Thomas Richter said Thursday the device will offer users “a new galaxy of possibilities” with features such as mobile video conferencing and a video chat function. Get the full story »
By Associated Press
Apple CEO Steve Jobs discusses the features of the new Apple iPod Nano at a news conference in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
Jobs ditches the turtleneck today. (AP)
Apple Inc. announced a smaller, cheaper version of its Apple TV device for streaming movies and television shows over the Internet and into the living room. It also unveiled a new line of iPods, including a touch-screen Nano model.
The new Apple TV announced Wednesday will only let people rent, not buy, content. For first-run high-definition movies the day they come out on DVD, people will have to pay $4.99. High-definition TV show rentals will be 99 cents. Get the full story »
Sep. 1, 2010 at 5:59 a.m.
Filed under:
Cell phones,
Consumer electronics,
Wireless
By CNN
A customer looks at items for an HTC EVO smart phone at a Sprint store in Los Angeles, June 16, 2010. (Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times/MCT)
A hot new smart phone can be Incredible, Vibrant, Epic or just “eh,“ but no matter how it stacks up, it’s a safe bet that it will start selling at $199. And what’s so special about $199?
“The obvious answer is that $199 is a magic price point for smart phone volume,“ said George Appling, partner at consulting firm Booz & Co. “The not-so-obvious reason is that carriers are not charging customers what they pay.“ Get the full story »
By Los Angeles Times
With the unveiling of a new set of Apple Inc. products — likely to include music-related devices, but also the possible major upgrade of a TV gadget — Steve Jobs and company are again poised to cause a stir in the tech world.
Apple watchers are predicting that Chief Executive Jobs, at a company event today in San Francisco, will announce updates to Apple’s lineup of ubiquitous iPod media players, and also changes to its iTunes store to make it more friendly to mobile devices. Get the full story »
By Wailin Wong
Meijer Inc. said Monday it is launching a new digital coupon program where shoppers can choose coupons from the store’s Web site and redeem them by entering their mobile phone numbers at check-out.
The mPerks program rolls out this week at the superstore chain’s 196 stores in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. Customers can sign up for an account linked to their personal cell phone number at mperks.meijer.com. Shoppers select coupons from the site to be stored in their account. At check-out, keying in the phone number redeems all applicable coupons. Get the full story »
By Wailin Wong
Clearwire Corp. launched Monday a new pay-as-you-go 4G mobile Internet service aimed at a young urban consumers in Chicago and 48 other markets.
Clearwire launched 4G service in Chicago late last year, offering broadband speeds that top those of 3G networks and allow for bandwidth-intensive activities such as streaming high-definition video. Sprint and Comcast also offer 4G products and services, which run on Clearwire’s network.
The new pay-as-you-go service is called Rover and will be branded separately from Clearwire’s other 4G offerings. Mike Sievert, Clearwire’s chief commercial officer, said in a conference call that Rover is geared toward city-dwelling youth between the ages of 18 and 24. Get the full story »
Aug. 30, 2010 at 10:58 a.m.
Filed under:
Computers,
Consumer electronics,
Technology
From The Financial Times | Big-name manufacturers, including Samsung and Toshiba, will present rivals to the iPad this week, as Apple prepares to introduce a raft of new products.
Samsung and Toshiba are expected to lead a tablet charge at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin on Thursday, hours after a San Francisco media event where an annual update of Apple’s iPod range is expected. But analysts say it will take time for Apple’s rivals to whittle away at the iPad’s dominance. Get the full story »
