Sony jumps to top of LCD sales
According to DisplaySearch, Sony has jumped ahead in holiday quarter LCD TV sales while Vizio has dropped.
This quarter marks the first time Sony has been on top of LCD sales and DisplaySearch said the lead was built upon “top showings” in the 40-44″, 45-49″ and 50-54″ categories.
Vizio, which has been on top for a few quarters now, fell to third place yet still posted 250 percent growth year over year and kept its share lead in the 37″ HDTV market, selling almost twice as many TVs as the next closest competitor.The market itself remained very close, with Sony leading at 12.8 percent of the market. Samsung was second at 12.3 percent, Vizio followed at 10.7 percent and Sharp rounded out the top four at 8.4 percent.
Sharp fell furthest for the quarter seeing almost flat quarter growth. Sony grew over 80 percent and Samsung grew over 50.
LG’s Viewty handset gets certified for DivX
LG Mobile has announced that its very popular Viewty mobile phone has now become the first handset to become certified for recording video using DivX compression.
Although the list of DivX-certified devices continues to grow, the list of mobile phones is very short. There are only two phones that even support DivX playback, the Samsung SGH-F500 and SGH-F508.
The Viewty camera phone captures video at an abnormally large 120 FPS and a relatively large 640 x 480 Resolution. Besides adding better quality Compression the Viewty will no longer need to use conversion software that 3GP video needs.
Netflix streaming service on Xbox lacking Sony films
With the now available New Xbox Experience update, Xbox 360 owners have access to Netflix’s large “Watch Instantly” streaming service. However, some users will be disappointed when they see that there are a few films listed as “not available on Xbox.”
The movies not available are from Sony Columbia Pictures, and despite rumors, it is not because Sony happens to have a rival gaming console. It turns out that Netlix did not get a licensing deal completed in time, and the Netflix team admits to the snafu.
Steve Swasey, a Netflix spokesman, added that movie titles “come in and out of licensing all the time.” He said he hopes the missing movies will only be temporary.
“Today, titles regularly come in and out of license and there is a natural ebb and flow to what we have on license at any given point in time,” he explained. “In the case of Xbox 360, a few hundred titles are temporarily unavailable to be streamed via the Xbox game console. Those titles are still available to be watched on subscribers’ computers and on TVs via other partner devices, and we hope they’ll be licensed for Xbox 360 shortly.”
Microsoft drops price of Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on
Microsoft has announced that it has cut the price of its Xbox 360 HD DVD addon by $50 USD. The price cut follows recent decisions by Toshiba to drop prices on their HD DVD players.
The new price cut brings the price of the add-on in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand to $129.99 USD. A few months ago Microsoft dropped the price of its add-on and promptly saw a surge in sales.
Earlier today, the huge e-tailer Amazon began selling the add-on for $79.99 USD and sold out within hours.
It is also important to note that every purchase of the add-on includes a free copy of “King Kong” on HD DVD in the box as well as an offer to get five free discs in the mail.
Motorola talks out about LTE and HD Video
According to Motorola, the upcoming 4G/LTE (Long Term Evolution) standard should allow HD video to finally be available on cellular networks. Motorola promises to prove its theory next week at the Mobile World Congress.
The company also stated that they will demo the standard and show examples of HD video moving in both directions including something they call “HD blogging”. Motorola will use LTE to stream live HD video to a set top box so that viewers can follow mobile phone footage in real-time. From the opposite direction, the standard will be shown Streaming an HDTV feed from home straight to the handset, cutting out the need for re-encoding.
Motorola also added that the very low lag times of LTE will make real-time actions finally possible. To demo their statement, the company will show off a racing game played online against other players. They will also show VoIP calls made using LTE.
The company did not say how long until the technologies would be commercially available but LTE should launch in some areas by early 2009.
Best Buy will begin selling DTV boxes in two weeks
The large retailer Best Buy has announced that it has stocked up on Digital TV converter boxes that are compatible with the US government’s rebate program for the boxes.
Last month, the Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) began offering a $40 USD rebate off the purchase price of $59.99 USD for the box. It is important to note that the box will only be required for TV owners that do not have cable or satellite service. To qualify for the rebate, any consumer must simply apply for it via NTIA’s web site.
In October, the retailer pulled analog TVs and analog tuner products from its shelves, being the first company to do so. The retailer also said it will be launching a dedicated toll-free number for Best Buy customers to call if they have any inquiries about the transition.
“The DTV transition is an event that is unprecedented in this country, and it will require a coordinated effort by broadcasters, manufacturers, retailers and the government,” electronics chief Mike Vitell said “We take our role as a trusted source of information very seriously.”
The Pirate Bay fights back against ISP block
In an effort to fight back against the recent Danish ISP Block of its site, The Pirate Bay has launched jesperbay.org as a countermeasure.
The new site, named after the boss of the Danish IFPI, gives Danish users detailed instructions on how to get around the block and gain access again to The Pirate Bay.
One of the admins of TPB, Brokep, had this to say about the new domain name. “We’ll associate his name with something positive instead of his negative IFPI vibe.”
The admin team over at TPB has also asked other torrent site admins to help by redirecting all customers from the blocked ISP Tele2 to the Jesper Bay. The team even wrote a piece of code that can redirect all Tele2 users to the Jesper Bay so they can change their DNS.
The ruling which has caused the block was released last night and ruled that Tele2 “assists in copyright infringement” simply because they give their customers access to TPB. The ruling should result in more ISP blocks, and the IFPI has already announced that they will start similar cases in Norway and Finland.
Sebastian Gjerding, a spokesperson for the Danish pro-piracy lobby Piratgruppen, made an interesting quote after the ruling was read. “It’s very frightening that the IFPI can get through the courts with something like this. In Turkey and China its the state that decides what information the people can access and what should be censored. In Denmark its apparently the record industry.”
Napster posts small loss for Q3
Yesterday, the subscription-based online music retailer Napster announced that thanks to a 15 percent jump in revenue from subscriptions the company has posted a much smaller Q3 loss for 2007 than the comparable quarter a year before.
For the three month period that ended December 31st, Napster posted a net loss of $2.8 million USD, a huge drop compared to the $9.5 million USD loss they posted the year before for the same period.
The company, which survives primarily on its monthly music subscription service, announced last month that it will begin selling DRM-free tracks in MP3 format, putting another nail in DRM’s coffin.
Napster also said revenue for the quarter was $32.8 million USD, up 15 percent from the comparable quarter a year ago. The company also stated that they finished the quarter with 743,000 subscribers, a minuscule decline from the previous quarter.
Toshiba updates Gigabeat line
Toshiba has announced that it has updated two models in its Gigabeat media player line, one in the T series and the other in the V series.
The new T802 is an upgrade to the T401 and will add 802.11b/g wireless as well as doubling the capacity of memory from 4GB to 8GB. Users will be able to browse the YouTube-like GyaO service as well as download movies and podcasts. The player will be available first in Japan on February 15th for the equivalent of $279 USD.
The new V81, an update to the V41, will also see a doubling in capacity from 4 GB to 8 GB. Another new feature is the ability to play copy-protected videos. The player will launch on the same day as the T802 but with a heftier price tag of about $326 USD.
Nokia begins open beta test for N-Gage
According to the Nokia N-Gage website, users of the N81 mobile phone are now able to download the oft-delayed N-Gage mobile games platform as an open beta test.
The platform will allow mobile gamers to link up for multiplayer games and social elements in the same way Xbox Live does for Xbox 360 users.
The company says they are in the final stage before “full-scale deployment” and that the stage means increasing the user base.
For the beta, only the N81 and N 81 8GB are supported, as long as they are connected via service plans that support GPRS or have an accessible Wi-Fi connection. The company did note that the Chinese model of the phone is incompatible.
The games available now during the beta test are: Creatures of the Deep, Space Impact: Kappa Base, Block Breaker Deluxe and System Rush Evolution. 13 more titles will be released after full launch including FIFA 08, Brothers in Arms and The Sims: Pets.
