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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

The iPhone in my honest opinion is not worth the $600 you have to pay up front, you are sacrificing too many usable tools for something that just looks nice. Looks doesn’t get you very far when you need GPS and can’t use it.

1. Call history able to show the length of each call as well as the precise time of each call
2. LOUDER and CUSTOMIZABLE incoming sms and email sounds.
3. Check for email more frequently.
4. There needs be a way to STOP your texts from showing up on the main screen when you get an SMS. Not everyone who can see your phone needs to know your personal business.
5. The ability to delete one message of an SMS conversation- there is no reason why I should have to delete the entire thread.
6. The ability to change the sounds for the different actions and the volume for the related option (i.e. the mail sound, the keyboard click sound, and the touch tone while using the "old fashioned" keypad)
6. The option to display owner information when the phone is locked. (If you lose your phone, how else can someone reach you to let you know they have it?) This actually just happened with my Blackberry Pearl, and was the only way I was able to retrieve it.
7. Search for music just like iTunes and the 6G iPods
8. Ability to delete individual entry in the call history, instead of blanket delete all history.



A list of suggestions for improvements in no particular order whatsoever:

- Provide landscape support for any app that uses a keyboard.
- Improve the Calculator app by adding scientific or other modes as well as more precision for the basic calculator.
- This is a biggy: Add a Back button somewhere to return you to the last screen you were on, whatever it was (provided it makes sense to do so in a particular context).
- Display an on-screen indicator in the area near the signal strength as to whether you are currently in ring or silent mode.
- Allow Bluetooth syncing (even though I'd probably rarely use this since I normally sync at the same time that I'm recharging the battery).
- Provide Copy/Cut/Paste functionality similar to any other operating system.
- Allow multiple emails to be deleted at the same time through multi-select or some other method.
- Make it easier to check your email from multiple accounts without having to wind your way back to the email accounts screen then choosing a different email account.
- Provide more options for your email accounts like Mail on a Mac such as how long to keep email on the server, etc.
- Add a Home button to Safari.
- Allow custom ringtones to be created-preferably without having to pay for them through iTunes as has been rumored.
- Install a few games.
- Add an option to Safari to render pages as if it were a tiny web browser so that I'm not forced to zoom in to view every web page in the world.
- Port Flash to the iPhone but please give us an option to easily turn it off or on because 75% or more of Flash files are just plain annoying.
- Add a very secure, highly encrypted username/password application to keep track of usernames and passwords since most of us have numerous accounts to keep track of.
- Provide a lot more information about recent calls.
- Allow the Home screen to be customized much as the Dock is on a Mac.
- Display the current conditions (or reasonably recent conditions) on the icon for the Weather widget. Apple already displays the current date on the Calendar app icon so it must not be that hard to do.
- Similarly, display the current time on the icon for the Clock app.
- Add junk mail filtering to the Mail app.

Pandigital, which is making a name for itself in the digital photo frame market, is branching out into kitchen televisions. As part of the upcoming International Home and Housewares Show in Chicago, the company will be showing off a new 15-inch LCD HDTV that can display digital photos and act as a digital cookbook.

Here are the highlights and specs from the news release:

1) TV's resolution is 1280x720.
2) Preloaded recipes are included. Plus, additional recipes can be copied onto the frame's internal memory.
3) Copy digital photos onto the frame's memory via the memory card reader or by a connection to Google's Picasa photo sharing Web site.
4) Messproof design that's sealed with glass, so it's protected from water, oil, flour, and other common ingredients, as well as from spills and splatters.
5) Comes with a countertop stand and an under-cabinet mount, and is also wall-mountable.
6) Interchangeable faceplates in brushed stainless, black and white to match various kitchen styles.
7) 512MB of internal memory stores up to 3,200 pages of recipes or digital photos.
8) Calendar and clock functions keep customers informed and allow photos, video and music to be programmed for play at specific dates and times.
9) The alarm function can be set to to noteworthy dates and times, including when it's time for a favorite cooking show.
10) Integrated 6-in-1 media reader that supports SD, XD, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro/Memory Stick Duo, Compact Flash, and MultiMediaCard.
11) Programmable on and off times.
12) Support for JPEG, Motion JPEG, MPEG 1, MPEG 4, and AVI.

Pandigital's multifaceted kitchen TV is scheduled to be available in June and carry an MSRP of $399.99.
Buy now!!!

Posted by David Carnoy

Before you start building new applications around YouTube's video player, it might be wise to check out the Terms of Service agreement.

It has a lot to say about what you can or can't do--particularly when it comes to any thoughts of making money. First up, the No.1 video-sharing site says plainly "the intent of the API is for noncommercial use." More specifically, the TOS prohibits using the application programming interface for the "primary purpose of deriving revenues...such as advertising or subscription" services.

YouTube, which expanded its API on Wednesday, goes on to say that it's permissible to use the API to show YouTube content on an ad-enabled blog or Web site, just as long as they aren't "comprised solely or substantially of YouTube video content."

Not surprisingly, the Google-owned site doesn't want anyone else making money off its content--especially competitors. But how much video can a commercial site post before it's too much? What exactly does "substantially" mean?

There's more.

Under the "Commercial Use" section of the TOS is this item: "The sale of advertising, sponsorships, or promotions targeted to, within, or on the API Client or YouTube video content" is prohibited without YouTube's permission.

A YouTube representative declined to comment.

What this means is that users can't insert advertising into the video or the player. And the YouTube player comes with the YouTube logo overlay. This, too, should also come as no surprise, said Roman Arzhintar, CEO of SideReel, a video search and community site.

"My guess is that YouTube is going to try and offer ads through that player itself," Arzhintar said, "by including code inside of it that will pull ads from Google."

YouTube allows people to use its player. Why shouldn't the company make a buck by delivering ads?

But besides being vague and perhaps over-broad, the language in the TOS is perhaps too restrictive for some commercial sites, especially when there are plenty of places to acquire white-label, third-party players that allow them to include their own advertising and branding.

What this means is that YouTube's player will still be the choice for individual bloggers and smaller businesses that supplement their content with videos and don't mind YouTube's branding and ads. For you in-betweens, better read the fine print.

Posted by Greg Sandoval

Posted by Don Reisinger 43 comments In the past, I've always felt that Blu-ray would win the high-def format war. After that, I wasn't necessarily sure what the future would hold for the format.

Would it be the success DVD was? Would it flop worse than LaserDisc? Would it cater to a slightly more advanced crowd but never reach the mainstream? Would it be a downright loser?

For a while, I decided to hold off from making any judgements until I could see how the Blu-ray group handled its victory. And while it has only been a relatively short amount of time since that win, the end is already in sight and the format has no hope of survival.

As James McQuivey, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research explained to me this week on my Digital Home podcast, Blu-ray isn't quite the shining light on the mountain that some believe it is. Instead, it's a vulnerable product that has considerable work to do before Sony can even think it will stack up to the DVD.

And while all of McQuivey's logic was well-founded and well-researched, I couldn't help but take it a step further and use it as the backbone for my prediction--Blu-ray will die as a forgotten warrior in the long and arduous battle of media formats.

Reason 1: No flexibility

First and foremost, Blu-ray is not flexible, nor is it portable. Doesn't sound like a big problem? Think again. According to McQuivey, the "DVD is extremely usable and you can take that disc and play it in your car, at a friend's house; you can take that DVD and after you're done with it, you can give it to a friend and they can play it at their house."

"Blu-ray players won't be like that for quite some time," he continued. "Because there just won't be nearly enough Blu-ray players in the home to justify even doing something like that."

Realizing that people want to take media and bring it wherever they go, how can we possibly justify saying that Blu-ray will win or even make a dent in the DVD market? McQuivey's point is not only a good one, but it reflects one key point that some have missed--media formats go far beyond the idea that we only care about viewing what's on them. Instead, we are looking for ease of use, availability, and portability--three facets that Blu-ray doesn't provide and probably won't for quite some time.

Reason 2: The issue of looks

HD has always been pretty and everyone knows that an additional 600 lines of resolution are important, but let's be honest--can anyone truly say that the difference in quality between DVDs and Blu-ray is so great that the thought of using that old format is unbearable? Of course not.

McQuivey explained to me that, "the average person can't tell the difference between DVD quality and HD content...so a DVD looks pretty good for most people, especially when they use a DVD upconverter."

I've said it once and I'll say it again--the difference in quality between DVDs and Blu-ray is not nearly great enough to justify spending hundreds of dollars on a player. And as I'm not alone in that assertion, what will that do to the idea of portability that I mentioned above? If people are unwilling to buy Blu-ray players and portability is a key factor in DVD's success, how can anyone possibly say Blu-ray will be a similar success?

Reason 3: Cost, cost, cost

The price of Blu-ray players is simply too high for people to even want them. Why would someone who can't bring media wherever they would like and cannot tell the difference in quality actually waste time spending hundreds of dollars on a player?

At this point, pure logic should come into the discussion. To put it succinctly--Blu-ray will only do well if players are readily available, and players will be readily available if prices are lower. In order for prices to be lower, production costs will need to come down, and so far, production costs are still quite high. And all this is irrespective of the other issues already plaguing the device. Do you see what I'm getting at here? There's trouble in paradise.

Reason 4: The clock is ticking

Right now, Blu-ray is relatively safe because broadband speeds aren't nearly where they should be and HD media downloads are plagued by many of the same issues affecting Blu-ray. But that won't be true for too much longer.

As McQuivey pointed out, HD media downloads probably won't be too big for at least another five years, which means Blu-ray must make a huge splash in that time or face total annihilation. Of course, with crazy player prices and a slew of issues it needs to confront before then, what are the chances of anything like that happening?

The end is near for Blu-ray and there's nothing anyone can do about it. Say what you will, but Toshiba should be ecstatic that it didn't get caught in the middle of this quagmire and got out when it did.

But if you don't believe me, take McQuivey's take on it: "On many levels, Toshiba should be glad it lost (the high-def format war)."

Posted by Don Reisinger

Fasten your seatbelt and get set for the ultimate entertainment explosion!

Playstation-3 is a gaming experience that is beyond anything known today. It is a computer entertainment system that unleashes a brilliant, high-definition entertainment experience which is incomparable. It delivers the next generation of interactive entertainment.

Playstation-3 is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment. A major feature, that sets it apart from its predecessors, is its unified online gaming service, the PlayStation Network. Other main features of the console include its huge multimedia capabilities, connectivity with the playstation portable and its use of a next generation optical media, blu-ray disc, as its primary storage medium.

There are models of four types that are usually referred to by the size of their included hard disc drive; 20, 40, 60 and 80 gigabyte models. All retail packages include one or two six axis controllers, a video/stereo audio, a power cable, a USB cable, output cable, and an ethernet cable(20, 60 and 80GB only).

Numerous accessories for the console have been developed for the system, including the wireless six axis controller, the BD remote, the playstation eye camera and the upcoming play TV DVB-T tuner/digital video recorder. The system has bluetooth 2.0, gigabit ethernet, USB 20 and HDMI 1.3a built-in on all models. Wi-Fi networking is also built-in on the 40, 60 and 80GB models while a flashcard reader (which is compatible with memory stick, SD/MMC and compact flash/micro drive media) is built-in on 60 and 80GB models.

The playstation-3 version of the `Xross Media Bar` includes nine categories of options. These include users, settings, photo, music, video, game, network, playstation network and friends. Also it includes the ability to store various master and secondary user profiles, manage and explore photos with or without a musical slide-show, play music and copy audio CD tracks to an attached storage device, play movies and video files from the hard-disk drive, an optional USB mass storage or flashcard, or an optical disc (blu-ray disc or DVD-video), compatibility for a USB keyboard and mouse and a full web browser supporting in/compatible file download function.

The friends menu allows mail with emoticon and attached picture features and video chat which requires an optional playstation eye or eye toy webcam. The network menu allows online shopping through the playstation store.

The 80GB playstation-3 provides ample hard drive storage space for games and other entertainment content from the game network. The free membership in playstation network allows you to play free games online, allows downloading of special content and be in touch with your friends. The inbuilt Wi-Fi allows for flawless connection with your network. It includes hard drive for all photos, music and personal videos.

The six axis wireless controller gives more precision and freedom during game play. The picture quality is pristine with the capability of full high-definition resolution at 1080p. The built-in blu-ray disc drive provides for high-definition games and entertainment.

Sony has also announced the dualshock3, a controller with the same design and function as the six axes, but with vibration capability included. It was released in Japan in november 2007, while a spring 2008 release date has been scheduled for Europe and North America.

The playstation-3, at first, received generally unfavorable reviews like late, expensive and incompatible, but after a series of price drops and the release of several quality titles, the system has begun to garner better reviews. Their motor sport game is wildly popular and their list of games is getting larger and longer.

With its cutting-edge technology, the high-end Sony playstation-3`s larger hard drive and ability to play playstation-2 games makes it a worthwhile alternative to cheaper models.

By Roberto Sedycias

Posted by Tom Krazit


CUPERTINO, Calif.--We're here at Apple's headquarters for the company's announcement of its iPhone software development kit. The event is scheduled to start Thursday at 10 a.m. PT. What follows is a live blog of CEO Steve Jobs' speech, with updates appearing in reverse chronological order.

10:20 a.m.: "I'm here to tell you about how developers can build great applications for the iPhone," Forstall said. He starts off, however, with the Web applications, which Apple initially said was the best way to build applications for the iPhone back at its developer conference last June. Developers were less than enthused, but it's true that these days you can build lots of interesting Web applications that don't require native access to the computer. Scott singles out Facebook and Bank of America, saying that the iPhone accounts for 25 percent of all mobile online banking for BOA.

10:18 a.m.: "These are the features customers have asked for to make the iPhone a big hit in businesses, universities," and other places around the world, Schiller said. "Now it's addressing the needs of the enterprise as well. That's it for the enterprise features, now Scott Forstall will address the SDK.

10:16 a.m.: Schiller demonstrates the remote wiping feature, which appears to disable the iPhone. That part went through really quickly. I'll try to figure out later what exactly happens when you "remote wipe" an iPhone.

10:14 a.m.: Apple appears to have packed the auditorium with employees, who are very enthusiastically applauding every successful demonstration of a new feature. Either that, or the press corps is really, really excited.

10:13 a.m.: Schiller starts demoing the new features. He's using a virgin iPhone, demonstrating how you would activate the functionality with Exchange. You can do the whole thing over the air, which is very helpful for IT administrators: You won't have to go collect every iPhone that needs that feature. E-mail, contacts, and calendar are automatically pushed from your desktop to your iPhone upon setup. As far as I understand, many devices, such as my Treo and BlackBerrys, also offer over-the-air setup; it's almost a requirement in the IT world.

10:10 a.m.: You'll soon get push e-mail, calendaring, contacts, and a global contacts list, as well as the remote wipe security feature. The iPhone's Mail application will have this functionality; you won't have to have a new user interface for e-mail and calendars. This will ship with every iPhone.

10:08 a.m.: Schiller starts ripping on the BlackBerry, without actually mentioning it, of course. He's referring to the use of a NOC, "which adds to risk and reliability, as we've seen from time to time." The crowd of CrackBerry enthusiasts chuckles.

10:07 a.m.: What do they really want? Microsoft Exchange. And they're getting it: Schiller announces that Apple has licensed the Microsoft ActiveSync protocol, which will make it much easier to do push e-mail and contacts with Exchange servers.

10:07 a.m.: So, what did businesses want? "Great e-mail integration," says Schiller. That also extends to calendars, contacts, and the global address lists of corporations--having that technology instantly accessible and pushed to the device. They also want security policies, like VPNs and remote wiping of a stolen iPhone, and configuration help. "I'm really excited to be the one to tell you today that we're doing all these things in the next release of the iPhone software."

10:04 a.m.: Schiller starts talking about the companies that have inquired about working with the iPhone, mentioning Genentech, where Apple board member Art Levinson is CEO. It's also been a university play, according to Schiller, bringing up Stanford University's deployment of the iPhone. He avoids mentioning Duke, who initially blamed the iPhone for a widespread network outage last year.

10:03 a.m.: Jobs' going to be joined on stage by Phil Schiller, senior vice president of marketing, and Scott Forstall. Phil comes up on stage to handle the enterprise portion of the conference.

10:01 a.m.: Steve Jobs enters--standard outfit. "We're really excited to share some great news with you about the iPhone software roadmap." He rattles off a few iPhone stats from the early days of the product, quoting the Canalys numbers for smartphone share in the U.S., which puts the iPhone in 2nd place behind Research In Motion.

10 a.m. PST: Apple's special event today in Cupertino is about to get started, as a couple hundred people are gathered inside Apple's Town Hall auditorium at its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters. We're waiting to hear how Apple plans to handle third-party application development for the iPhone, as well as to learn about new business-friendly features. Props to Apple this time around for the power strips, but come on guys, it's 2008. Wi-Fi is a proven technology.



The crowd awaits Steve Job's keynote address at the iPhone software event.

Posted by Erica Ogg

Pioneer plans to let someone else make its plasma TV panels, according to several reports.

Reuters reported Tuesday that the company will cease production of its own plasma panels because that portion of its business continues to lose money. The company will still sell plasma sets, but plans to get its plasma panels from Matsushita, parent company of Panasonic, the Nikkei business daily reported. Panasonic is the biggest plasma TV vendor in the world, shipping nearly 40 percent of all plasma displays, while Pioneer ranks fifth, shipping just over 6 percent of plasmas worldwide in the fourth quarter of 2007, according to DisplaySearch.

So far, Pioneer isn't confirming or denying the reports ("Our headquarters are planning to publicly discuss our TV strategy at the end of this week, so we'll have no information until then," said a spokesperson), but it doesn't look good.

As CNET colleague and resident TV expert David Katzmaier put it, this news amounts to "a black day for black levels."

Pioneer has been repositioning its plasma business over the last few years as a premium brand, most recently pushing its "Kuro" technology, which emphasizes deep black levels and contrast, at CES 2007 and 2008. CNET Reviews ranked the 50-inch plasma from Pioneer as "the best it's ever tested" last year.

Though it appears Pioneer will continue to sell plasmas sets, if it's not making the panels, it seems unlikely that it will prolong the life of its Kuro technology.

By Michael Kanellos

For consumers, a device that could play both HD DVDs and Blu-ray discs would take a lot of risk out of adopting the new video players--but one may not arrive for a while.

Legal agreements, intellectual property issues and technological pride will likely keep the two camps backing incompatible next-generation technologies from coming together in the near future, executives and analysts said.

"Until everyone agrees to check their egos at the door and help the consumer, there is nothing we can do about a universal product," said Peter Weedfald, a senior vice president of marketing at Samsung North America.

HD DVD and Blu-ray are competing video and storage formats for succeeding DVDs. While some movie studios said in mid-2005 that they were open to merging the two formats, by late summer, such talk had fizzled out.

Meanwhile, the technological world is bitterly divided. Sony, Samsung, Philips and Dell are among the Blu-ray backers. Intel, Microsoft and Toshiba are on the HD DVD side. Hewlett-Packard has said it will support both contenders.

Pride and ill-will seem to play a significant part in the debate. As in the old Betamax-VHS debate, both sides believe they have each found the formula that more perfectly suits consumers' desires.

Steve Kovsky, an analyst at Current Analysis, recalled a meeting in Tokyo last year at a major Japanese consumer electronics manufacturer. A reporter asked about a "universal" player. The executive leading the tour blew up and called the notion "stupid."

"Japanese executives in general are very political, so this was very surprising," Kovsky said. "Technically, it is possible...but at this point, it doesn't look like it will happen, which is a shame, because it will hinder adoption."

But the conflict goes far deeper. The rules that govern the organizations touting the different technologies currently bar manufacturers from combining the two standards into a single drive, Weedfald said.

"The conundrum is that you've got two different camps. You've got licensing issues, you've got trademarks, you've got copyrights," Weedfald said. "You can't just be on the Blu-ray side and say, 'We will put HD DVD in there,' and the reverse is true."

Samsung may make a separate line of HD DVD players to complement the Blu-ray players it plans to release later this year, Weedfald said. This would allow Samsung to support both formats, although not in a single product. The company, however, does not have current plans to do so, he said.

Return on invention
Royalties also play a significant role, said Rudy Provoost, CEO of Philips Electronics. The companies behind each standard hold patents and expect to be compensated for their inventions. Philips, Sony and the others behind the CD standard eventually garnered hundreds of millions of dollars from that invention.

"There are so many players. There is a lot of intellectual that went into this, and companies like Philips and Toshiba and Sony will all look for a return on investment," Provoost said. "That is what makes it a challenging debate. It's like the CD days. Everybody looks for a fair reward."

Philips currently does not have HD DVD on its product road map. In the second half of 2006, the Dutch electronics giant plans to release a Blu-ray player and then follow up in the first half of 2007 with a player that can record CDs, standard DVDs and Blu-ray discs.

The negative repercussions of the war between Blu-ray and HD DVD could end up being even more expensive than the conflict between Sony's Betamax and VHS in the mid-1970s. Back then, consumers who bought Betamax players found themselves saddled with an expensive player and a dwindling supply of movies released in the Betamax format.

Posted by Michael Kanellos

Now that Blu-ray has won the high-definition disc format war, the industry is moving onto the next step: recruiting companies to produce players and media.

And to help that process along, MPEG LA, the standards and licensing group, is floating the concept of a creating an organization that will be able to license all of the patents necessary to make Blu-ray products.

The idea was discussed back in early 2007 during a meeting of 18 of the holders of necessary Blu-ray patents. With the format war over, MPEG LA is once again talking up the concept. The mechanisms and rates for Blu-ray licenses have yet to fully be hammered out, say sources.

While Blu-ray backers talked up customer convenience and experience, royalties were at the heart of the Blu-ray push. A successful standard can result in millions of royalties every year for patent holders. The licensing fees for making an individual DVD player totaled to $15 to $20 a few years ago. (For those of you who believe manufacturers should only adopt free and open standards, please feel free to spend ten years of your life inventing a complex optical storage and retrieval standard.)

Philips and Sony garnered millions in revenue from CD licensing.

If one-stop shopping becomes a reality, it would prevent one of the major headaches of the DVD world from repeating. To make a DVD player or disc, manufacturers have had to ink deals with three separate organizations, which represented various patent holders. There is DVD 6c (Hitachi, Panasonic, JVC and six others), DVD 3c (Philips, Sony, Pioneer), and MPEG LA (representing encoders and decoders). To make a DVD player, manufacturers have to pay $4 to DVD 6c per player, $2.50 to MPEG LA, and I'm not sure about the amount to DVD 3c.

For DVD movies, DVD 6c charges about 4 cents per disc and MPEG LA charges 3 cents. I wrote an article last month on the subject but low-balled the royalties required.

Forget about customer satisfaction or superiority of image quality. The real issue in the war between Blu-ray and HD DVD was about royalties.

With the competition gone, the Blu-ray consortium now has the opportunity to persuade PC makers and consumer electronics makers to adopt Blu-ray drives as their optical drives of choice. It will also get studios and disc makers to deliver Blu-ray discs to consumers. And every time one of those drives or discs leaves a factory, the Blu-ray Disc Association will get a royalty.

The numbers add up quickly. Look at DVD, for example. To make a DVD player legally, manufacturers recently had to pay around $4 per player or drive, according to some estimates. A few years ago, those fees were around $15 to $20. Fees get paid every time a DVD drive gets included in a PC. Nearly every PC in the world has a DVD drive these days and roughly 250 million PCs get shipped every year. Companies that legally make DVD discs also pay fees. The DVD6C licensing group dropped the per disc fee in January to 4 cents per disc. Years ago, it was 7.5 cents per disc. Then there are verification fees.

The royalties, in fact, led to what Chinese leaders call the "DVD mistake," said Zhisheng Niu, vice dean of the school of information sciences at Tsinghua University, in an interview with CNET News.com last year. Because of intense competition, many Chinese companies have lost money, or just broke even, on selling DVD players. The people that have made money, he added, were the patent holders. Chinese manufacturers often got around the licensing issues problem by making illegal players. (The DVD Forum eliminated the royalty for DVD players made and sold in China for a few years, but a lot of those systems ended up overseas.)

The royalties are one of the prime reasons China has pushed for its own optical standard.

"We have to develop our own standards so that we can have our own industry," said Niu. "We have a big DVD industry, but we are probably losing money. The market is big enough so that we can have our own industry."

Now, remember. Niu isn't some pirate off the street. He's one of the chief academics at China's leading university. That gives you a gauge on the feelings there.

The same went for CDs. Philips got about 1.8 cents per CD disc while Sony got about 1.2 cents per disc, according to analysts estimates. When some of the patents expired in 2001, Philips said its royalty revenue would drop by about $42 million. Collecting royalties is a great business.

The Blu-ray camp will likely move more cautiously than the DVD Forum in granting licenses to player and disc manufacturers, said Richard Doherty, principal analyst at the Envisioneering Group, adding that one of the reasons that the studios liked Blu-ray over HD DVD was it is probably easier to set up a pirate HD DVD shop.


Gartner analyst Van Baker, however, said he doesn't believe that Blu-ray will be as lucrative as DVD. For one thing, Blu-ray will have to compete against digital download services, which could prove popular with consumers. Second, the studios have been knocking down the royalty rates.

"This is what a lot of the negotiations were about," Baker said. "My suspicion is that this is not going to be as good as it was for DVD."

We don't know the royalty standards from Blu-ray. The consortium hasn't been aggressive about collecting them yet, but it will likely move into action once the industry gets moving.

The royalties will be split among several players, said Doherty.

Blu-ray has a lot of grandfathers. A lot of people call it a Sony standard but by our estimates Sony doesn't even have 30 percent of the IP," Doherty said. The top four intellectual property holders are likely Sony, Panasonic, Pioneer, and Warner.

Royalties were one of the primary reasons that it took so long to get manufacturers to come out with players that could handle both HD DVD and Blu-ray discs. Manufacturers with dual-format players have to license technology from both camps, which boosts costs.

"There are so many players. There is a lot of intellectual that went into this, and companies like Philips and Toshiba and Sony will all look for a return on investment," Rudy Provoost, the then-CEO of Philips Electronics told News.com in 2006. "That is what makes it a challenging debate. It's like the CD days. Everybody looks for a fair reward."

When a combo player did come out, it ended up being more expensive than buying separate Blu-ray and HD DVD players.

Buy Sony Cybershot DSCW55 7.2MP $188.27





Technical Details

7.2-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality 14 x 19-inch prints

2.5-inch LCD display; 3x optical zoom

High-sensitivity shooting mode increases ISO to maximum of 1000

Capture MPEG VX video with audio

Stores images on Memory Stick DUO or MS Pro DUO memory cards (56 MB internal memory included)

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

In silver, black, pink, or light blue, the DSC-W55 is a stand-out choice for style-conscious start-out or step-up camera customers who appreciate real value and advanced technology. 7.2 MP imaging, Carl Zeiss 3x optical zoom lens and high sensitivity combine to capture clear, high-detail images even in low light--and with up to 380-shot2 Stamina battery power, 56 MB internal memory capacity and large 2.5-inch LCD screen, the DSC-W55 is ideal for family memories at home or on the road.

7.2-Megapixel Super HAD CCD

More megapixels give you more detail and definition when you make big prints or crop in tight on your subject. The advanced Sony Super HAD (Hole Accumulated Diode) CCD design allows more light to pass to each pixel, increasing sensitivity and reducing noise.

Carl Zeiss 3x Optical Zoom Lens Design

A top-quality Carl Zeiss 3x optical zoom lens design helps the DSC-W55 bring distant subjects closer and lets you frame shots quickly for better composition--a real advantage for family sports, outdoor fun and travel photos.

Large 2.5-Inch LCD Screen

The DSC-W55 provides a large, bright LCD screen for composing shots, checking results, sharing your photos on location and reading camera setup menus even in full sunlight.

High Sensitivity Mode

With high sensitivity of ISO 1000, the DSC-W55 gives you better shots in low light so you can shoot without flash to preserve the mood--great for birthday parties, indoor gatherings and candid portraits.

Clear RAW Noise Reduction

The original Sony Clear RAW NR (Noise Reduction) image processing technology helps suppress color noise that can accompany high-sensitivity shooting.

56MB Internal Memory

The DSC-W55 allows you to capture a large number of images without a flash memory card, so it's great for traveling or for quick candid snapshots.

Memory Stick Duo Media Convenience

The DSC-W55 also has a built-in slot for optional Memory Stick Duo or Memory Stick PRO Duo media--the compact, high-capacity storage media that make it easily to upload photos to your computer or make lab-quality prints at home on your SonyPicture Station digital printer (sold separately).

Function Guide Text/Icon Display

An on-screen Function Guide text/icon display makes it easy to learn the camera functions that give you greater creative freedom to adjust photo settings.

Versatile Color Modes

The DSC-W55 gives you greater creative freedom to adjust color mode for the creative results you want--with Natural setting for subtle colors, Rich setting for more intense colors, in addition to Monochrome and Sepia color settings.

Convenient Photo Modes

To adjust quickly for specific shooting situations, the DSC-W55 lets you choose from several convenient photo modes: Auto, P-Auto, and Scene Selections for Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Landscape, High Sensitivity, Soft Snap, Snow, and Beach environments.

14x Smart Zoom Feature

The Sony Smart Zoom feature intelligently "crops into" the central portion of interest in your photo, avoiding the image degradation of other digital zooms.

MPEG Movie VX Fine Mode

The DSC-W55 can capture VGA (640 x 480) audio/video clips at high frame rate (up to 30 frames per second4), with length limited only by the capacity of your media.

Stamina Battery Power

Sony lets you capture up to 380 shots2 with a fully charged NP-BG1 Lithium Ion battery--enough shooting capacity to cover a long weekend or a whole vacation.

Burst Mode

You can fire off four shots automatically at 7.2 MP mode or up to 64 shots at VGA standard mode--a great way to capture a child's first steps or a pet's best tricks.

Picture Motion Browser Software

Supplied software makes it easier to upload, organize and search photos on your PC--and provides a convenient map view function to sort photos by location and display their origin on a world map by using an optional GPS unit.

What's in the box

Sony Cybershot DSCW55 digital camera, NP-BG1 rechargeable battery, BC-CSG battery charger, AV and USB multi-connector cables, wrist strap, software CD-ROM (Note: No Memory Stick DUO media or adaptors are included.)

Product Description

7.2 Megapixel of detail and definition gives you the option of large prints or crop in tight on your subject. The Super HAD(TM) CCD design allows more light to pass to each pixel increasing sensitivity and reducing noise. Top-quality Carl Zeiss lens helps you bring you subject closer and frame shots quickly for better compositions, ideal for family sporting events, outdoor fun and travel photos. Check your composition shots on the large, bright 2.5-inch LCD Screen, share your photos on location or video the setup menu even in full sunlight. Even shoot in low light with the high sensitivity ISO 1000. Original Clear RAW Noise Reduction helps suppress color noise. 56MB of Internal Memory let's you start shooting right away. Then, when you're ready, upload you pictures onto a Memory Stick(R) Duo media or PC for printing. Capture VGA 640x480 video clips with audio at high frame rates up to 30 frames per second with length limited only by the capacity of my media. Get up to 380 shots with a fully charged NP-BG1 Lithium Ion battery. Enough for a long weekend or a whole vacation. Burst Mode let's you shoot up to 64 shots at VGA Standard Mode. High Sensitivity ISO 1000 Clear RAW Noise Reduction Burst and MPEG Movie VX Fine Mode White Balance - Automatic, Cloudy, Daylight, Fluorescent, Incandescent and Flash Self Timer - 10 Seconds, 2 Seconds and Off Red-Eye Reduction Up to 64 Shot VGA at 1.3 fps Burst Mode Scene Modes - Beach, High Sensitivity, Landscape, Snow, Soft Snap, Twilight and Twilight Portrait Movie Mode - MPEG VX Fine with Audio at 30 fps 640x480 Optical Viewfinder 6 Elements in 5 Groups, 3 Aspheric Elements Lens Construction 35mm Equivalent - 38-114mm Shutter Speed - 1/8-1/2000 seconds 1/3 EV Step Increments Exposure Compensation Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1000 ISO Battery Capacity - 3.6V, 960 mAh Dimensions - 3.5 x 2.25 x 0.875 inch, 89mm x57mm x 23mm Weight - 4.2 ou

Buy Sony Cybershot DSCW55 7.2MP $188.27

Company founder Chris Armstrong explains: Four years ago, he set out to his local DVD store to rent a movie. First, he stopped at the ATM to get cash. The store didn't have Twelve Angry Men, the movie Armstrong wanted. He settled for Carlito's Way instead. He then waited in line, paid for his rental, and returned to his car.

Then he remembered another movie, Gone in Sixty Seconds, the title of which got him wondering why the process of renting movies, from start to finish, can take so long.

While other companies see the Internet as the answer to that question, Armstrong has another idea. PortoMedia is setting up kiosks that will let consumers download movies to a flash memory key or portable hard drive.

The kiosks will be packed with hard drives that can hold 350 to 5,000 titles. Users then plug in a memory device from the company, enter a PIN code, and buy or rent a movie. When consumers get home, they simply slide the memory device into a dock connected to a TV.

The key to the service is a proprietary USB interface that transfers data at a faster average rate than standard USB devices. A standard-definition movie can be loaded onto a memory device in 8 to 60 seconds, depending on the length and chip speed. High-definition movies, which won't be available initially on the service, can be downloaded in 18 to 45 seconds. The USB interface works just fine with the USB slots on PCs and notebooks.

The company did a trial run in Dublin at the end of 2007, with plans to go live in four U.S. cities toward the beginning of the second quarter, though Armstrong declined to name the cities. Two retailers have signed on to put the company's MoviePoint kiosks in their stores.

More importantly, major studios have agreed to let the company rent standard-definition movies out of the kiosks, he said. Getting permission to build a library of high-quality content has been the bane of several would-be Blockbuster killers. Armstrong wouldn't divulge the name of the studios, but said they were major and well-known.

"We will have them (movies) the same day and date as DVD," he said. The pricing will be about the same.

Advantages over current models
If the company can pull it off--and that remains a big if--PortoMedia potentially can short-circuit some of the problems and shortcomings of the various methods for delivering movies. First up is cost. Delivering movies via hard drives and flash memory eliminates many of the packaging and shipping expenses associated with DVDs. Shelf space at retailers now dedicated to discs is also freed up for other products.

In addition, selection is improved. Most video outlets don't have 5,000 titles, he noted. Kiosks further let more companies into the video rental market. The kiosk version holding 350 titles will sell for around $2,000; it could be placed near the counter at convenience stores. Retailers will also be allowed to put their own brands on the box, so it could be hawked, for example, as "7-Eleven MoviePoint."

The time for viewing the rental won't kick in, he further added, until the movie is actually started, which lets the company copy the Netflix "no late fees" model but without monthly subscription fees.

Even more important, the system erodes the desirability of downloading movies. While great in theory, movie downloads have yet to become a big hit. Consumers have complained about long download times with some services, while others only let you watch a movie on a PC. PortoMedia rentals can be for one, or multiple viewings, depending on the fee and service selected. Because the company can control access to the box and makes the devices for downloading movies, viruses become less of a worry.

A physicist by training, Armstrong claims the Internet can't handle movie downloads anyway. He did the math on last year's release of Shrek 3. In the first three days, 11 million copies got sold. That's 66 petabytes of data.

Movies from PortoMedia can be watched on TVs or PCs. To prove his point, he transferred Spiderman from a portable hard drive to an iPod Touch. It took six seconds.

"And I didn't need permission from Apple to do that," he said.

But what about piracy? "It will never be perfect, but we are going to make it as hard as we can," he said. Movies rented from the service will comply with Microsoft DRM standards.

If anything, the company has lined up legitimate technology partners. IBM helped it developed the transaction system. The drives come from Seagate Technologies (which has said for about a year that we will see video rental kiosks with hard drives), while Samsung provides the flash memory. Toshiba is fabricating the chips that make up the high-speed interface. Investors include former film execs like Jay Emmett and Lindsay Gardner.

PortoMedia's interface emphasizes sustained, rather than peak downloads. USB 2.0 can provide peak bandwidth at 480 megabits per second. "But I've never seen anyone achieve that and I'm in the industry," Armstrong said. Average speeds are far lower.

The company claims it can hit a sustained bandwidth of 95 megabits per second or higher. Some venture capitalists advised him to turn the company into an interface chipmaker that would license technology to other semiconductor manufacturers, but Armstrong decided to stick with movies.

The hardware will be sold in bundles with movies. The starter pack, which will sell for around $60, comes with a flash key, a dock, and six movies. At the high end, users can spend around $160 and get a handheld with a 1.8-inch hybrid hard drive with 240GB of storage, a fancier dock, and 12 movies.

By Michael Kanellos
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

While everyone likes the idea of streaming music wirelessly around their home, in reality it can be less-than-enjoyable because of difficult configurations and network dropouts. Trying to address this common complaint, Sony has introduced its new S-AIR technology, which Sony says can get wireless audio up and running without "IP addresses, WEP keys and pin codes." S-AIR will be featured in several of Sony's home-theater-in-a-box systems, and owners can listen to their music wirelessly in additional rooms by purchasing additional AIR Air Stations ($120, available in March).

Proprietary wireless audio solutions aren't exactly new. Klipsch offers the RoomGroove iPod speaker system and forthcoming CS-700 HTIB, both of which use the so-called KlipschCast method to stream music from room to room. Panasonic has the SH-FX85 wireless audio speaker, which can be added to certain home theater systems. Also, Sonos has essentially built a company around its rock-solid, proprietary wireless audio streaming solution. So while S-AIR might not be breaking any new ground, it will offer prospective Sony home theater system buyers a way to easily add some wireless audio to their homes.

Buy now!

Ever wonder how we got along without cell phones, BlackBerrys, notebook computers, and fax machines? How did we manage to have fun without video games, MP3 players, and DVRs?

Come to think of it, how did we ever survive without the Internet?

I don't know how, but we did. And you know what? I don't remember ever thinking I was missing something. I played records, wrote letters, used the phone book, and shopped at stores.

As for work, well, the business of designing chips was a bit archaic back then. Still, at Texas Instruments we did manage to get our designs done and out the door. In fact, TI's venerable TMS320 Digital Signal Processor--the chip inside most of the world's cell phones--was invented back then in the early '80s. How about that?

You know what else? I had more balance in my life back then. I did things other than check my e-mail, surf the Net, and talk on my cell phone. Sure, I still have non-gadget hobbies today, but I use gadgets to enjoy them. I drink wine out of a glass, but the Internet helps me collect and buy. I admit to listening to my iPod occasionally while hiking and gardening.

I know I'm starting to sound like some technology reactionary, but really, I'm not. It's just that, well, for the longest time, gadgets got increasingly complex and feature-rich, but the interfaces didn't keep up. It was time-consuming to learn how to use them. There was no interoperability, wires were everywhere, and, well, it was a royal pain.

The other day I began to realize that that's finally beginning to change. Check it out:


My new Pioneer Kuro PDP-6010FD plasma TV automatically adjusts the signal to fit the screen. The algorithms are so good I barely notice whether the signal is originally 4:3 or 16:9. It even adjusts for commercials on the fly; I don't have to lift a finger.

My cell phone is now also an MP3 player that syncs my calendar and contacts with Outlook using Bluetooth. It's not even an iPhone, just a Razr. Speech recognition technology and voice commands are getting more sophisticated all the time. Maybe someday we'll be able to get rid of our keyboards.

And for the coup de grace, I now have smart-home technology that, once programmed, uses touch-screen LCD panels and universal RF remotes to control all the electronics in the home--audio, video, security, communications, everything. One touch or click controls a host of devices. It's all intuitive; I didn't have to learn to use anything.

And then, of course, there's wireless technology. It's a beautiful thing. My home is on a wireless network so I can work, access the Internet, even print and scan from anywhere in or around the house. And then, of course, there's Wi-Fi and other broadband protocols. Finally, we're no longer tethered to our desks or our offices.

Wait, I almost forgot: tell me Tivo didn't change your life. It did mine. A little programming and you never have to miss a show again. Now we just need some content worth watching.

Computers are still a pain, but every year the manual, legacy stuff gets more and more buried under wizards and automatic updates that do things for us.

Look, I know a lot of this stuff has been around for a while. But for so many years, I was so aware of the increasing gadget complexity that this ease-of-use thing kind of crept up on me. There finally seems to be significant momentum in the direction of technology making our lives simpler and easier, as opposed to just gadgetier. It's about time.

Posted by Steve Tobak

The HP A716 churns out snapshots as large as 5x7 (panoramas, too) and comes with 4 gigabytes of internal storage.

The big benefit, of course, is that you can offload photos from your memory card when it gets full, then copy them over to your PC later. Like any good photo printer, the A716 also features card slots for all major memory-card types, support for PictBridge connections directly to cameras, and a good-sized LCD (2.5 inches) for reviewing photos. It can even connect to a TV for big-screen viewing.

Product Features and Technical Details

Product Features

4 x 6-inch photos in as fast as 39 seconds for about 29 cents a print/Up to 4,800-optimized dpi

Print directly from most memory cards, iPods, flash drives and PictBridge-enabled cameras

Antique, sepia and vintage black-and-white photos without having to use a PC

Use the TV viewing feature and included remote control to display a slide show or browse through photos and video clips

3.50 Lbs (WxLxH) 4.50"x 9.90" x 5.00"

Technical Details

Model: A716
Hardware Platform: PC, Mac
RAM Memory Size: 96 MB
device_type: Compact photo printer Unknown modifier
Printer Technology: Ink-jet
printer_output: Color Unknown modifier
Connectivity Technology: Wired
printer_resolution_bw_horiz_max: 1200 Dots Per Inch
printer_resolution_bw_vert_max: 1200 Dots Per Inch
printer_resolution_color_horiz_max: 4800 Dots Per Inch
printer_resolution_color_vert_max: 1200 Dots Per Inch
media_type: Photo paper Unknown modifier, Index cards Unknown modifier
Maximum sheet capacity: 20
Scanner Type: None
networking_feature: None Unknown modifier
Minimum system requirements: Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Apple MacOS X 10.3.9 or later, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Width: 9.9 inches
Warranty: 1 year warranty
printer_interface: USB Unknown modifier


Buy now HP A716!