HTC has invested $40 million in cloud video gaming service OnLive, in an effort to strengthen gaming capabilities on smartphones (and likely tablets).
The Taiwanese company has quickly become a very profitable smartphone maker, bringing in $500 million profit for the last quarter, alone, on revenue of $3.6 billion.
HTC was the phone maker behind the first-ever Android device, the T-Mobile G1 and has increased its lineup significantly since.
CEO Peter Chou said earlier this year it wants to use its $2.5 billion it has in cash to boost “strategic investments” in digital content, and it appears, cloud-computing.
Earlier in the week, HTC invested in Saffron Digital, a mobile and Web-based media company.
More details of the OnLive investment are upcoming at the MWC next week.
Result for: digital content
According to sources talking to the NYTimes, Amazon is still actively considering getting into the media player and smartphone markets, moving away from just selling the Kindle e-reader on the hardware side.
The sources say Amazon wants to make it easier for consumers to purchase content from Amazon MP3 and Amazon Video on Demand, just like how Apple has iTunes and the App Store built-in to all their “i” devices.
Amazon’s internal hardware division, known as “Lab 126,” has put out a few versions of the very popular Kindle e-reader but has done little else.
While the company has explored getting into the smartphone market, one source does say that project is out of the “company’s reach,” at this point.
Says the Times: “Internally, Amazon executives have been frustrated with other companies aggressively entering the digital content business, and one person with direct knowledge of the company’s plans said executives there were prepared to do whatever it takes to ensure Amazon remained a major player in the sale of digital content.”
The giant e-tailer is currently looking to expand Lab 126 by hiring new employees.
Result for: digital content
Sony has announced that it will debut a new reality series, via the PlayStation Network, beginning later this month dubbed The Tester, in which 11 contestants compete in challenges to win the position of game tester at Sony America.
The show will be available for free to download.
The full press release:
Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) today announced it will debut the original competition reality series, The Tester, on PlayStation®Network for free download starting February 18, 2010. In the unique series, 11 hopeful gamers from across the country will compete in grueling physical and mental challenges to win a position as a game tester at SCEA and a $5,000 signing bonus, all under the scrutiny of a panel of judges, including actor/comedian and diehard gamer Hal Sparks. With the launch of The Tester, available for digital download only on PlayStation®3 (PS3™) and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) entertainment systems, SCEA further expands the current library of original and exclusive content on PlayStation Network.
To create The Tester, SCEA teamed up with 51 Minds, the dynamic production company that is the force behind hit series such as The Surreal Life, Rock of Love, For the Love of Ray J, and many more popular TV shows. The Tester will follow contestants over eight episodes as emotions run high, alliances form and they battle with brain and brawn. While donning giant slingshots, paintball guns, and human hamster balls, contestants will be put to the test in a series of elimination challenges shaped around the skills necessary to be a game tester, including dexterity, communication skills and mental prowess. Cast members range in age from 22 – 36 years-old and stem from all walks of life — from a student, to a paramedic, to a used car salesman.
[More]>>
