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| Z750i Sony is 3 Mobile Exclusive Mobile Phone - Sony Ericsson Z750i |
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The dedicated UK 3G network 3 Mobile has now exclusively released a Silver coloured version of the new Sony Ericsson Z750i.
The Sony Z750i is a direct upgrade to the popular Sony Ericsson Z610i and features many of the original design and finishes, however the Z750i is a far more advanced mobile phone and incorporates some new technology aswell as some exciting new features.
The Silver Sony Ericsson Z750i is the latest 3G, HSDPA enabled handset to be released by Sony Ericsson that additionally offers UMTS and EDGE support.
Remarkably similar in its appearance to the Sony Ericsson Z610i and with the same high gloss exterior finish, the Silver Sony Ericsson Z750i features more rounded contours and a much enhanced specification list, albeit with slightly larger dimensions.
They've worked hard on this handset to improve the quality of the display, boosting it up to a 2.2 inch 240 x 320 pixels display in 262k colours and the memory capacity offers 2GB with the help of Memory Stick Micro card.
With a secondary camera dedicated to face to face video caling, the Silver Sony Ericsson Z750i offers that personal touch to conversations when away from loved ones whilst its 2.0 mega pixel camera lets save pictures of your loved ones to be treasured when away from home.
With HSDPA browsing the web and checking up on emails is quick and easy and you can even blog your favourite pictures for all to share.
A secondary display on the front of the handset will light up with incoming calls and whilst in idle disappears as if without a trace.
Listen to your favourite music tracks with the Sony Ericsson Z750i MP3 Player or tune in to FM Radio with RDS.
Other features included vary from RSS feeds for the latest news headlines to flight mode function for use in Hospitals and Aeroplanes ensuring that the Sony Ericsson Z750i homes in on every aspect of your life and needs.
Initially released as an exclusive handset on 3 Mobile, the Sony Ericsson Z750i will only be able to be purchased with a 3 Mobile contract deal. After the exclusive period has ended the phone will be made available on further UK networks but maybe not as widespread as other mobile phones. |
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posted by GadgetMan @ 10:55 AM  |
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| GPS Systems |
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 Prices for GPS units vary a great deal and in general, you get what you pay for. While some units cost around $100 and offer relatively few features, others may cost as much as $1000 or even more and are loaded with dozens of features. Here is a good rule of thumb for determining how much money to spend on your next GPS. You should expect to pay between $200 and $300 to get a decent GPS Unit. I own a Garmin eTrex Vista. I believe it is the best GPS available for under $300. There are various brands, features and types of GPS navigation systems to choose from. More sophisticated systems obviously will cost more than simpler models. Some units are portable and can plug into the cigarette lighter. Others require technical installation. Keep in mind that some manufacturers will void the warranty unless the unit is installed by a certified dealer. As technology is constantly evolving, you should purchase a GPS navigation device that is upgradeable. These devices communicate with geostationary satellites, which tell the device, exactly where on Earth it is. The potential applications for this knowledge are endless. If you know where you are, where you were and the time in between then you know your speed exactly. If you know where you are then others do too.
A GPS (Global Positioning System) unit has the primary function of calculating its own location on land or water by using satellite signals. Once the GPS unit knows its own location, it can help the user determine direction and distance to other known locations. For instance, a GPS on a boat can tell the captain how far it is to the shoreline or how far it is to a favorite fishing spot. For the outdoor sportsman a GPS can help with finding your campsite, your vehicle or your next geocache. Popular outdoor activities such as hiking, hunting, fishing, trail running, backpacking, rock climbing, canyoneering and canoeing are all made more enjoyable and safer when you take along your GPS.
http://www.gpsshopsite.com |
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| posted by GadgetMan @ 10:53 AM |
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| Movies and TV shows coming to PS3? |
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 The PlayStation 3's newest v2.30 firmware just came out yesterday, but Sony isn't show any signs of slowing down its updates for the PS3. In a blog yesterday, Senior Vice President Peter Dille wrote this enticing tidbit:
Many of you have been hearing rumblings about a video service that will allow you to download full-length TV shows and movies via PLAYSTATION Network for North America. While I don't have any new announcements here for the PlayStation Nation, it's already been confirmed that we'll be offering a video service for PS3 in a way that separates the service from others you've seen or used. Ultimately the goal of the PLAYSTATION Network service will be to break through the overwhelming clutter of digital media to give you the TV, movies, and gaming content you want. More on this very soon...
That sounds pretty promising for PS3 fans, but until we get more information, all we can do is speculate. Just a few months ago, there were plenty of rumors about Netflix coming to the PS3. That would certainly be a great score for the PS3, as many people already have Netflix subscriptions and consumers seem more open to subscription plans for movies than they do for music. Another solid option would be support for Hulu, which offers a bunch of TV shows from Fox and NBC--plus some Universal movies--broken up only by short 15-minute ads. This might seem even better to some PS3 owners, mainly because it's 100 percent free. The most likely option is that Sony rolls out it's own video service, and that has the biggest potential to be a bust. Sony always seems to be a little quirky with digital media downloads (see: Sony Connect and ATRAC3), and we're betting that a proprietary "Sony Video Store" would be much more expensive than Hulu or Netflix--probably more in line with iTunes pricing.
What do you think? Would you use Netflix on your PS3? Would Hulu be a worthwhile add-on? Or will Sony finally get digital media downloads right on the PS3?
Posted by Matthew Moskovciak |
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| posted by GadgetMan @ 11:59 AM |
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| The iPhone is a 'MID' with many ARMs |
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 The iPhone is a mobile Internet device. Just in case you forgot, ARM wants to remind you that before the Intel Atom processor there was the iPhone and its handful of ARM processors. Yeah, it's a MID too.
Listening to Intel, a casual observer might believe that the world's largest chipmaker is single-handedly creating the class of tiny devices called mobile Internet devices or MIDs.
But ARM processors have been powering small, low-power devices since 1985. There was the Psion series of handhelds, the Apple Newton, Nintendo DS, and, today, products like the Microsoft Zune. All used or use ARM architecture chips.
On a Web page titled Mobile Internet Devices, ARM now posts this marketing message: "It is clear that the future of mobile computing rests in devices that are truly mobile, always connected and providing a rich Internet browsing experience--ARM calls these devices Mobile Internet Devices (MID)." Intel does too.
ARM lists other devices like the Nokia N95, the BlackBerry 8700g, and the Motorola Q. All powered by ARM silicon.
The Web page continues: "ARM licenses the intellectual property that powers MIDs. This includes all the technology required by the chips at the heart of these devices: the microprocessor, digital signal processing, embedded memory, graphics acceleration, (and) fabric interconnect."
And ARM is not exaggerating. If anything ARM is understating the case. As one of the most understated chip architectures today, few consumers know the name. And almost no one listening to their Zune or iPod or talking on their Nokia phone knows that there is ARM silicon inside. But consumers can hardly miss the flashy Intel, AMD, ATI, or Nvidia branding on their PCs.
And this conspicuous PC-style branding strategy will carry over to Intel MIDs and Netbooks too. Lest consumers forget, maybe ARM should do a little more in-your-face branding.
Posted by Brooke Crothers |
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| posted by GadgetMan @ 11:50 AM |
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| T-Mobile betting on 3G to close on high-speed competitors |
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T-Mobile USA is late to the high-speed wireless party, but it's going low-cost to catch up.
While rivals such as AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and Sprint Nextel have been talking recently about building new 4G wireless networks, T-Mobile--which will begin offering 3G wireless service this summer--is leveraging cheap, unlicensed Wi-Fi technology to bring true broadband speed over wireless networks to some of its subscribers today.
There's no question Wi-Fi is far from perfect. Its use of unlicensed bandwidth can mean signal interference. And it's a short-range radio technology that will never be able to provide ubiquitous coverage. But when Wi-Fi is combined with a new 3G wireless network using phones that T-Mobile claims switch seamlessly between the two networks, it becomes an interesting story.
As the smallest nationwide carrier in the U.S. market, T-Mobile is using $4.2 billion worth of spectrum it bought in the Federal Communications Commission's 2006 Advanced Wireless Auction to build a 3G wireless network that operates in the nation's top markets. The service, expected to launch this summer, will be up and running in 80 percent of the top 20 markets by the end of the year, according to Joe Sims, vice president and general manager of broadband products and services for T-Mobile USA.
Even without 3G services, T-Mobile has managed to become a formidable competitor. And even though it doesn't offer specific e-mail or Internet surfing service over its cellular network, T-Mobile has still managed to become a leader in messaging with its popular Sidekick device that's used for SMS text messaging.
Now, as T-Mobile prepares to open its 3G network for business, the carrier has also begun offering a companion service using Wi-Fi that will provide even faster upload and download speeds for mobile-phone users. And while Sprint Nextel struggles to roll out WiMax and Verizon Wireless and AT&T talk about LTE (long-term evolution) deployments, T-Mobile will be able to offer its subscribers true mobile broadband service through Wi-Fi hot spots. The combination of its 3G network and Wi-Fi strategy could help the company compete more aggressively as mobile Internet and data become more important sources of revenue for wireless operators.
"WiMax and LTE are a ways off from becoming reality," Sims said. "There isn't anything faster than Wi-Fi right now. And with the seamless handoff to a 3G network, we can get much wider coverage."
Last summer, T-Mobile launched the Hotspot @Home service, which allows people using any of T-Mobile's dual-mode Wi-Fi/cellular phones to use their home Wi-Fi networks instead of the T-Mobile cellular network to make phone calls or access the Internet from their phones.
The company has expanded the service to also include its more than 9,000 public Wi-Fi hot spots in the U.S., giving its customers even more places where they can use Wi-Fi. I must admit, I have never used the service myself, but T-Mobile's Sims says the handoff between the Wi-Fi and the cellular is seamless, and subscribers can walk in and out of either network as many times as they like without ever noticing they have hopped onto another network.
Since the Hotspot @Home service launched nationwide last summer, T-Mobile has assembled an impressive list of devices that can be used with the service. Earlier this month at the CTIA trade show in Las Vegas, the company introduced the BlackBerry Pearl 8120 with Wi-Fi. T-Mobile also offers two other Hotspot@Home-enabled BlackBerrys, the popular Curve 8320, and the business-centric BlackBerry 8820.
Using the Wi-Fi network instead of the cellular network benefits T-Mobile, as well as its customers. For T-Mobile, Wi-Fi helps reduce the amount of traffic that is running on T-Mobile's own wireless network. And consumers get better in-home or in-building coverage. It also greatly improves the upload and download speeds for surfing the mobile Web. And at only $9.99 extra per month for subscribers who spend at least $40 a month on T-Mobile phone service, it's not an expensive add-on for high-speed data access and better coverage.
The service, which began selling nationwide last year, has been a big success, Sims says. It's even helped the company entice some customers to switch providers for T-Mobile.
"Over half of the @Home customers are new subscribers to T-Mobile," he said. "And most of them seem to be coming on for the faster speeds and the increased coverage proposition."
T-Mobile also recently announced a home phone replacement service called Hotspot @Home Talk Forever that also uses Wi-Fi. The service is currently available in Seattle and Dallas. Essentially, it is a voice over IP service, much like services offered by cable providers and companies such as Vonage. It allows people to use their regular phones to make and receive calls over a broadband connection. The service only costs $9.99 more a month on top of the regular calling plan and Hotspot @Home charge.
"Hotspot @Home is great for one device and great for improving in-home coverage," Sims said. "But there's another demographic that wants one permanent line in the home."
He admitted that the new service is an attempt to take on companies such as AT&T and Verizon, which offer wireless as well as home phone service.
"We are absolutely going after the traditional phone companies with these offerings," he said. "And we're doing it in a way that is relevant to our brand."
But Sims also says that T-Mobile's ambitions for Wi-Fi go beyond simply using it in the home. The service can also be used in conjunction with thousands of T-Mobile public Wi-Fi hot spots. The company currently has more than 21,000 public hot spots around the globe, with more than 9,000 of them in the U.S. While these hot spots by no means provide ubiquitous coverage, Sims said the company is evaluating how to expand its hot spot footprint to bring more Wi-Fi access to its subscribers.
Currently, most of T-Mobile's hot spots are in places like airports or cafes where people typically use laptops. But as more dual-mode phones come online, he said the company will evaluate where it might be useful to deploy hot spots for "nomadic" use.
Considering citywide Wi-Fi
He even admitted that the company has considered deploying Wi-Fi citywide. The movement to blanket cities with Wi-Fi was badly damaged last year when EarthLink, the largest Internet provider to offer such a service, decided to stop building these networks. Since then cities have been struggling to figure out ways to bring inexpensive Wi-Fi services to their communities.
T-Mobile could be the perfect candidate to build such a network. Not only does the company already have its own Wi-Fi networks, but the use of dual-mode devices that can switch between cellular and Wi-Fi networks would make the service more useful and appealing to nomadic city workers or even consumer subscribers looking for faster mobile Internet surfing.
"We've looked at citywide Wi-Fi," Sims said. "There's no real reason why it couldn't work from a technology standpoint. But there are different business models around using the technology in that way."
T-Mobile's service is already being used on some Wi-Fi-blanketed college campuses. The University of Texas at Austin launched a pilot program last month that will run through August and is allowing T-Mobile subscribers to use the university Wi-Fi network as part of their Hotspot @Home service. This means that in addition to using the @Home service in a dorm room, residents and faculty who subscribe to the T-Mobile service will be able to use it anywhere they can find the university Wi-Fi network, such as in the library, in classroom buildings, and in outdoor public hot spots.
The main reason the university is interested in allowing the T-Mobile service to be used with its Wi-Fi network is to provide better in-building coverage. The university currently is working with all the major cell phone carriers to improve cellular coverage on campus, but even with these efforts faculty and students complain of poor service inside many buildings.
Instead of investing in expensive femtocell technology, which uses a router-like device to boost cellular radio signals indoors, William Green, director of networking for the University of Texas at Austin, sees Wi-Fi as an inexpensive way to provide better coverage. At the same time, people in the university community with dual-mode phones can also benefit from the higher-speed network access using Wi-Fi.
That said, Green is skeptical that T-Mobile's Wi-Fi service could be as effective in a citywide deployment.
"Wi-Fi networks are very hard to manage in dense environments," he said. "And it's very hard for a city to deploy a network such as ours. We already own the fiber and all the rights of way."
Skepticism over Wi-Fi strategy
Indeed, other experts are also skeptical that T-Mobile's Wi-Fi strategy will find much traction beyond some niche applications. Roger Entner, vice president of communications for IAG Research, said T-Mobile has had little choice but to use Wi-Fi since it is so late to the 3G cellular game.
"They are trying to turn a virtue out of necessity," he said. "They're forcing a technology to be used in a way that it was not designed to be used. Can they get to it to work? Yes, but it doesn't work very elegantly."
At this point in the game, only time will tell. Sprint Nextel was supposed to have launched its Xohm WiMax service this month. But it now says it will launch the service later this year. And even though Nokia has announced one device to be used on a WiMax network, it will take awhile before more WiMax-enabled devices become available.
Then there's the other 4G technology, LTE. Verizon Wireless and AT&T have each said they plan to use wireless spectrum newly won in the 700MHz auction to build these networks, but it will be years before either provider offers a service on these proposed networks.
In the meantime, T-Mobile will be expanding its Wi-Fi hot spots and cell phone manufacturers will be embedding inexpensive Wi-Fi chips into more devices. So at least for the near future, T-Mobile, the laggard in the wireless speed war, could be the only provider to offer true wireless broadband speeds to its subscribers.
Coverage may not be everywhere, but it might just be enough to entice some subscribers to give it a second look.
by Marguerite Reardon |
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| posted by GadgetMan @ 11:54 AM |
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| Funai to distribute Philips TVs in U.S., Canada |
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 As of September, Philips will no longer make televisions for the U.S. and Canada.
Instead, it is transferring that job to Japanese electronics maker Funai. The two companies agreed to a brand-licensing agreement in which Funai will source, distribute, market and sell all consumer TVs under the Philips and Magnavox brand names in the U.S. and Canada.
The deal begins September 1 and is good for five years. Funai will pay a royalty to Philips.
"This agreement secures continued presence of Philips and Magnavox branded TVs in North America in a model that safeguards Philips profitability in this highly competitive market," Philips said in a statement Tuesday.
And so begins the thinning of the herd. The television market is becoming an especially tough business, as prices continue to fall and more inexpensive brands like Vizio and Olevia attempt to edge out the traditional market leaders. Pioneer, a leader in plasma TV tech, also recently announced it would sell TVs but no longer make its own plasma panels.
This means that though the Philips brand name will live on in the U.S., the materials inside those televisions aren't necessarily the same. But the biggest blow is to brand perception.
Philips is a top-tier television maker--it won the Best of CES 2008 Best in Show Award from my CNET Reviews colleague David Katzmaier for its Eco TV--and Funai is, well, not as a highly regarded. This is a boon to Funai, and Chief Executive Tetsuro Funai's comment is pretty much the understatement of the year: "As a premium brand, Philips will add lustre to our existing portfolio."
To be fair, Philips has definitely struggled to compete in the flat-panel TV market. Though the company has attempted to differentiate its brand with Ambilight technology aimed at home theater enthusiasts, it still trailed the big guys, like Sony, Panasonic, and Sharp, in both production and panache.
by Erica Ogg |
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| posted by GadgetMan @ 8:53 AM |
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| First Intel Centrino 2 notebook debuts Down Under |
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This appears to be a first: Australia-based Pioneer Computers is marketing a notebook based on Intel's "Montevina" Centrino 2 processor and new ATI graphics.
The mobile Centrino 2 processor isn't due until later this quarter but that's not stopping Pioneer from hawking a notebook based on the next-generation Penryn chip and ATI "Radeon M82" graphics.
The processor specifications for the Pioneer DreamBook Style 9008 speak for themselves: "Intel Core 2 Duo Centrino 2 processors (45nm Penryn CPU, Montevina Platform)."
The Thermal Design Power (TDP or thermal envelope) of the processor is listed as 25 watts. The front-side bus is spec'd at 1066 MHz. The low TDP and faster front-side bus distinguishes it from the current generation of Core 2 Duo mobile Penryn chips, which have higher TDPs and slower front-side buses.
The notebook is also listed with an "Intel Cantiga PM45" north bridge and "ICH9M" south bridge. These two components constitute the chipset.
Another intriguing aspect of the computer is the ATI graphics chip listed as "ATI Radeon M82 256M GDDR ll VGA Card PCI-E." This is otherwise known as an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3400 series chip.
The notebook is also listed as offering a 2.5-inch 320GB hard disk drive and a solid state drive option.
Intel will roll out its first wave of mainstream Centrino 2 mobile processors by June then follow this up in September with additional chips including the first quad-core mobile processor.
The Pioneer notebook was first sighted by Australian PC Authority.
by Brooke Crothers |
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| posted by GadgetMan @ 2:43 PM |
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| HP strikes chord with Mini-Note PC |
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 The biggest name in computing is joining the growing mini-notebook fray.
On Tuesday, Hewlett-Packard announced its new Mini-Note PC, due to begin shipping next week. You might recognize it as the HP Compaq 2133, which was the internal HP name back when early images were leaked online.
HP's entry into the trendy mini-notebook market is certainly the biggest name--so far. To get an idea of how popular these devices are of late, check out Amazon.com's list of 10 most-purchased PCs. Three of Amazon's top 10 notebooks are versions of the Eee PC from Asus. The rest is comprised of Sony Vaios and Apple MacBooks. That a traditional white box PC maker is in the same list as those two, which are pricier laptops with a legacy of good design is fairly amazing--but not entirely shocking. The Eee PC has been the talk of the gadget and tech world since its fall 2007 launch.
Now HP has just put its fairly large boot smack into the middle of Asus' territory. Will it be able to steal the Eee PC's thunder? It has a good chance. Though it's slightly bigger than the Eee PC, the Mini-Note also has big brand-name backing, and slightly more flair for design than the Eee.
Though HP is flaunting the low-end $499 version of the Mini-Note, don't be fooled. This is not a pricing competition with Asus. HP is the largest PC manufacturer in the world, and if it wanted to make the most inexpensive Windows machine out there, it likely could.
Instead, it chose a combination of mature features (Wi-Fi, USB, a Via processor) with some nice bonuses, like a spill-proof keyboard, a shock-resistant hard drive, and a sleek aluminum case.
What's more likely is this: It's probably the first major fork in the road for this category of computing. NPD is predicting that many more manufacturers will throw their hat into this same ring sometime this year (Acer is rumored to be next). The devices will probably break along the lines of an Eee PC-type device, and the Mini-Note: low-cost, Linux-based Web companions versus tiny, full-featured Windows notebooks, according to Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for The NPD Group.
Key features
The Mini-Note is nice-looking and boasts some appealing features: it weighs in at 2.6 pounds, has an 8.9-inch screen with 1280x768 resolution, and comes with an optional Webcam. But the difference here is it could, if need be, actually function as a primary computer: the option of SUSE Linux with a 64GB solid-state drive or Windows XP or Vista with up to 160GB of hard drive space.
The key difference for a lot of users, however, will be the Mini-Note's keyboard. It has essentially a full QWERTY keyboard, shrunk just 8 percent smaller than the traditional typing surface we're used to.
On low-cost laptops intended for students--like the XO from One Laptop Per Child, the Eee PC from Asus, and the Classmate PC from Intel--a major complaint and a key limitation is the twee keyboard, which poses a challenge for average adult-size fingers. That's why the keyboard--and not the screen, the battery, or the motherboard--is driving the form factor of the Mini-Note. HP says it built the entire machine around the custom keyboard.
Like the three aforementioned machines, the Mini-Note is not aimed at the mass market. It starts on the low end at $499 for the Linux, SSD version, but a fully configured device with Vista can top out at $1,200.
Who'll use it?
For its part, HP is looking at two very specific niches of users for the Mini-Note--primary and secondary school students, and business travelers. Though Asus also insisted it was targeting kids with the Eee PC, HP's brand name and more sophisticated configuration options give it much more room to actually reap a profit from these things, noted Rubin.
HP might ship the most computers in the world, but it also recognized an opportunity they could be missing out on, according to Dan Forlenza, vice president and general manager of HP's business notebooks division.
"We like (market) share, but we're more interested in profitable growth," Forlenza said in an interview.
Education is a niche in which HP doesn't lead. The Palo Alto, Calif., PC maker shipped just over a million computers to U.S.-based K through 12 students last year, which puts them in third place behind Dell, with 2.7 million PCs in schools, and Apple with 1.2 million units, according to IDC.
"The mass market (for these kinds of devices) isn't as wide as a lot of folks think because of their limited functionality," said Richard Shim, PC analyst for IDC. Though the feature set of small notebooks like the Mini-Note and its ilk will expand in the coming years, its best feature--the price--will lose its shine as mainstream notebook prices also continue to fall.
Notably, HP isn't trying to market this as a UMPC-like device that could work for everyone. It's a wise move that could spare the Mini-Note PC from the same fate as HP's previous attempts at this category (the Journada, the OmniBook), according to Shim. "We all have drawers full of handhelds that can attest to that. It doesn't seem like there's a lot of wiggle room in the market for this type of product from a mass-market standpoint."
by Erica Ogg |
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| posted by GadgetMan @ 11:28 AM |
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| Dell adds another retail partner, this time in India |
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 Dell notebooks will be available in retail stores in India for the first time, the company said Tuesday.
The company hinted that it would make this move last week, saying it planned to increase its presence in China and India, two of the world's biggest emerging markets for computers. Dell already has a relationship with one of China's largest retail chains, Gome.
In the announcement, Dell said it plans to offer Inspiron desktops and notebooks, and XPS notebooks through Indian electronics outlet Croma. Dell has a presence in India, but prior to this announcement, only via direct sales channels where customers could call or order a PC online.
The move to make its PC available in retail stores follows a strategy the company began laying out almost a year ago when it first announced it would offer some PCs through Wal-Mart and Sam's Club. Since then the Texas PC maker has added U.K. electronics retailer Carphone Warehouse, Bic Camera in Japan, Gome in China, Staples, and Best Buy.
by Erica Ogg |
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| posted by GadgetMan @ 12:34 PM |
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| Can Sony get 50% market share for Blu-ray this year? |
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 Maybe that price cut in Blu-ray players is coming sooner than we think because Digitimes is reporting that Sony has set some very ambitious goals for Blu-ray in 2008. And by ambitious I'm talking a 50-50 split with DVD.
The short article, which carries the headline, "Sony looks to 50% global market share for its Blu-ray products in 2008," says that "Sony will offer Blu-ray Disc (BD) devices in a wide range of product lines and prices and aims to increase the global market share of its BD products from 20 percent currently to 50 percent by the end of 2008."
It also summarizes some remarks that Sony president and electronics CEO Ryoji Chubachi made recently at a press conference in Taipei.
DVD and BD currently account for about 80 percent and 20 percent, respectively, of global demand for movie discs, Chubachi indicated. The new BD devices to be offered by Sony include models integrating an HD LCD TV with BD recording functionality, Chubachi pointed out.
The reporter then adds:
"Sony has relied mainly on the PlayStation 3 (PS3) to promote BD, and sales of the game console will increase along with the offering by top Hollywood studios of new BD movies, Chubachi noted. However, Sony will extend its BD promotion from the current focus on the PS3 and BD players/recorders to IT devices, Chubachi pointed out."
Perhaps something was lost in the translation, but 50 percent seems ridiculous at this point, especially with most Blu-ray players still costing north of $400. Even the 80-20 figure doesn't seem right, but maybe I'm too North American focused. What do you guys think? Am I incorrect, is Mr. Chubachi, or is the Digtimes reporter just not telling the story correctly?
Posted by David Carnoy |
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| posted by GadgetMan @ 1:49 PM |
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| MySpace Music: Here comes the latest iTunes killer |
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Posted by Greg Sandoval
 Imagine digital music without Apple as the marquee act.
That's what the music labels want. For years, they have wished for a legitimate challenger to wrest away some of the bargaining power Apple has wielded as the No. 1 online music seller. So, here we go again: it's another iTunes killer.
On Thursday, MySpace executives unwrapped MySpace Music. Backed by the four largest record companies and MySpace parent company News Corp., the music service will offer much of what iTunes does and more, according to MySpace's managers. But haven't we heard this before?
Urge, Sony's Connect, and SpiralFrog are only a few of the services once predicted to unseat iTunes. Of this group, only the troubled SpiralFrog continues to limp along. The other two no longer exist.
MySpace is up against music retail's supreme power in Apple's iTunes. The new service must compete with not only one of the most successful consumer-electronics makers of all time, it must do battle with arguably one of world's greatest marketers and retailers in Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Apple has dominated Internet music sales the past six years and now iTunes can call itself the country's largest music retailer--online or off--after besting Wal-Mart in sales during the first two months of 2008.
Apple's iTunes has had years to establish a large and loyal following and to develop systems that make shopping at the site simple and easy. And you can't underestimate the power of having iPod owners already plugged into iTunes.
Besides music, Apple has forged relationships with movie studios and TV networks that enable iPod owners to watch feature films and TV shows on their devices. But even though Apple has a head start with iTunes, the service will have to keep up with the industry's rapid changes.
"MySpace Music is not a serious threat for at least two or three years," said James McQuivey, an analyst with Forrester Research. "Apple's iTunes succeeds because of its connection to an amazingly popular device. As long as the iPod is central to their music strategy, they will continue to be a force. But the question is whether iTunes can adapt to Music 2.0."
The next stage in the music industry's evolution will be an all encompassing model that melds social networking, e-commerce, and music discovery.
MySpace Music is unlike any iTunes challenger that has come before. An audience of 110 million people from all over the world visit MySpace every month. About 30 million listen to music on the site, and more than 5 million music acts rely on the site for promotion.
So influential has MySpace become in the music world that last year when EMI was preparing budget cuts, it considered a plan to reduce expenses for discovering new artists by getting talent scouts to spend less time in music clubs and more on MySpace.
Nothing has done more to expose Apple to competition than the death of digital rights management. Although Jobs called for the end of DRM, there's no question that it provided iTunes with protection from competitors. With the major record companies adopting unprotected MP3s, iPod owners are free to buy songs from any music store selling DRM-free songs. Music fans are no longer locked into iTunes.
"Apple's advantage lies in the Apple iPod connecting to iTunes," said Susan Kevorkian, an analyst with research firm IDC. "But that advantage is being dissolved by MP3s that are compatible with more and more online music services. And the social networks have the opportunity to offer new dimensions to the online-buying experience. Not only can they offer information on specific bands, but they also have the ability to easily connect users to each other and share taste-making information."
MySpace's intent is to create a total immersive music experience, the digital equivalent of walking into a large record store, one that features listening posts, CDs, DVDs, vinyl albums, and in-store concerts, according to McQuivey.
"What MySpace Music does is establish a new level of expectation about what music could be in people's lives," McQuivey said. "Apple might find itself following for the first time."
But here is what MySpace should do if it seriously intends to challenge iTunes.
MySpace has to build a site that's as easy to navigate and buy music from as iTunes. That's not an easy feat. Plenty of others have failed at this, and one of the main criticisms of MySpace is that the site is cluttered and difficult to move around on.
It also needs to undercut Apple on price. That's what Amazon did. The Web's biggest store offers most songs for 79 cents, while Apple sells them for 99 cents. The company has yet to report how the strategy has worked, but nothing speaks to consumers like a bargain.
Apple offers movies and TV shows, so MySpace should cut similar deals with Hollywood. Why stop at music? If you're going to compete with iTunes, you must have at minimum everything Apple offers. That also means signing EMI, the only label among the four majors not to join the venture.
Even Apple fans should want MySpace to challenge Apple. Jobs and company have always been at their sharpest when pushed.
Rock on, MySpace. |
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| posted by GadgetMan @ 12:26 PM |
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