Top five articles for the week beginning August 18
TV disposal woes threaten the environment
Americans are sprinting in record numbers for the latest generation of flat-screen televisions, lured by lush picture quality, the high-def Summer Olympics and a switch to all-digital TV early next year.
U.S. TVs trending smaller, data shows
More Americans are turning on smaller liquid crystal display televisions to watch their favorite programs, research data indicates.
New IPod Touch and MacBooks Coming Soon, Analysts Say
Apple is likely to announce a redesigned iPod Touch and slimmer MacBooks at an event in September, analysts said on Monday.
Microsoft claims first with native Blu-ray support
Microsoft has announced that it is the first operating system developer to more completely incorporate Blu-ray support into its platform, with the addition of the Microsoft Feature Pack for Storage which will allow Windows XP, Vista, Server 2003 and Server 2008 users to burn Blu-ray discs directly from the OS without the need for usually expensive third party applications.
Slowdown seen for electronics, semis
What's the outlook for semiconductors in the second half of 2008 and beyond?
Top five articles for the week beginning August 11
Samsung, Microsoft in Talks to Speed up SSDs on Vista
Samsung isn't just pushing the envelope in storage capacity of SSDs (solid-state drives), it is also working with software makers to boost SSD performance on operating systems.
Blackstone, China's Qingdao Haier to bid jointly for GE unit: report
Blackstone Group LP is joining forces with Chinese consumer goods-maker Qingdao Haier Co. Ltd in the $7 billion action of General Electric Co's appliances unit, The Sunday Telegraph reports, without saying where it obtained the information.
Misinformation abounds on TV's switch to digital
By now, most consumers are aware that some kind of switch is set for February that has to do with their televisions and digital signals.
Mac laptop prices steady as Windows prices fall
Speculation that Apple might be slashing Mac prices in the coming weeks could get a boost from new data released by The NPD Group.
Blockbuster: PS3 Sales Booming
Blockbuster says it's now selling between 2,000 and 3,000 Play Station 3 consoles with Blu-ray players inside every week.
Top five articles for the week beginning August 4
Sony TV Profit Jumps on Bravia LCD Sales
Sony said today that its fiscal first-quarter television earnings rose as it dropped prices to sell more of its Bravia liquid-crystal display TVs.
Consumers Shun Blu-ray Players
Consumers are unimpressed with Blu-ray players, preferring to stick with their less expensive standard DVD players, a market researcher said Friday.
LG bringing Netflix-streaming Blu-ray player
At the 200 CES event, LG announced that they would in time be introducing a device that could stream movies from Netflix's Watch Instantly streaming, on-demand service.
PS3 to Outsell Xbox 360 This Year, says Activision
In a conference call following the June quarter earnings release from Activision, Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith provided his company's own forecast for how the console wars would turn out in 2008.
Consumers buy into GPS
Manufacturers and consumers are finding new applications for the Global Positioning System, or GPS, as its navigational technology becomes more accurate and accessible.
Top five articles for the week beginning July 28
U.S. consumer electronics sales to exceed expectations this year
Revenue from consumer electronics shipments will top $173 billion in the U.S. this year, which is $2 billion more than January's prediction by the Consumer Electronics Association.
Consumer giants rally around Wi-Fi variant
Startup Amimon has rallied five consumer giants behind its variation of an 802.11n home network that it claims can carry uncompressed high-definition video an average of 100 meters.
Samsung profits rise on strong handset sales
Samsung Electronics reported Friday that its second-quarter profits rocketed 51 percent, due in large part to a surge in cell phone sales.
Blu-ray Sales Up 300%
No need to worry about Blu-ray format say industry experts. BD titles have already sold over $200 million in 2008.
Sony gets more aggressive, sets 150 million unit target for PS3
After a very rocky start, Sony is now much more optimistic about the sales potential of its game console:
Top five articles for the week beginning July 21
Sony's Playstation 3 Regains 1st Place Over XBox
Sony's latest PlayStation 3 console has stretched its lead over rival Microsoft's Xbox 360 last month, though it still lags behind Nintendo's Wii system, according to industry research firm The NPD Group.
Sony Blitzes U.S. Market with Next-Gen, ‘Green’ Blu-ray Player
Sony Electronics this week began selling a svelter, lighter, ‘greener’ standalone Blu-ray player as its next-generation offering in the CE marketplace.
Blu-ray Price Drop Coming
Blu-ray prices could be about to drop.
Sony Embraces Cable-Without-the-Box Technology
Sony Electronics is the latest consumer electronics company to embrace Tru2Way technology, which enables televisions, digital video recorders, and other devices to receive encrypted cable signals without the need for a set-top box.
Appliance sales feel deep freeze
For a look at one of the latest victims of the economic downturn, head into the kitchen.
Top five articles for the week beginning July 14
AMD To Take Nearly $1B Hit For Q2
Advanced Micro Devices announced Friday it will take an $880 million impairment charge for the second quarter related to the Handheld and DTV units of its Consumer Electronics Group.
Apple May Earn $1 Billion With iPhone 3G Launch
While no official estimates are available, Apple could take in as much as $1 billion in the initial launch of the 3G iPhone, which is scheduled to go on sale in 22 countries on Friday.
GE Pursues Spinoff of Consumer & Industrial Group
General Electric Co., two months after placing its century-old appliance unit on the block, said it plans to spin off its entire GE Consumer & Industrial group to shareholders as Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt struggles to raise a slumping stock price.
Flat TV boom going bust?
Target Corp. isn't the only major Twin Cities-based retailer that's feeling the heat of a surging Wal-Mart.
Portable analog TVs may be lost in digital transition
Barry Spadoni first bought a battery-powered TV after the Northridge earthquake in 1994, when his Chatsworth home was without electricity for 10 days.
Top five articles for the week beginning July 7
Xbox 360 Price Cut Coming, Report Says
Microsoft will soon cut the price of its best-selling Xbox 360 model, according to a published report.
iPhone 3G to be in healthy supply as iPod touch supplies weaken
Apple should have ample stock of iPhone 3G when it touches down this month, according to analysts, who also note that Apple stands to make more from each device than once thought -- and that iPod touch stocks are continuing to run down ahead of a possible refresh.
Consumer Gadget Demand Stays Strong for Sony
Sony Corp is seeing little or no sign of softer demand among U.S. consumers for its range of digital TVs, cameras and computer goods despite a weakening economy, a top regional executive said last week.
Amazon.Com Tops Consumer Reports' Latest Appliance Store Ratings
Amazon.com topped Consumer Reports' latest ratings of appliance stores in the small appliance category for the third year in a row. Independent stores followed closely behind, and topped CR's ratings for customer support.
Mitsubishi: Laser TVs Will Be Big, Very Big
Mitsubishi has revealed that its Laser HDTVs will come in 65-inch and 73-inch sized models later this year.
Top five articles for the week beginning June 30
$30 Levy on TVs is Price for E-Waste
Television manufacturers have proposed a levy of about $30 on imported televisions sets to pay for the cost of recycling, and an industry agreement on how to pay for the environmentally-safe disposal of unwanted computers looks within reach.
JVC introduces super slim, eco-friendly LCD TVs
JVC announced new slim LCD TVs as part of the company’s Procision series.
Blu-ray on track to surpass DVD sales in 2012
High-definition video saw substantial growth in 2007, but it will take four more years until consumers will spend more money on Blu-ray discs than on DVDs, the Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) concluded in its 2007 Annual Report.
Uh-oh, Blu-Ray: Sony looks to streaming movies
Sony's plans for the near future, which company chief executives discussed today in Tokyo, include streaming video for both the Bravia line of TVs and the PS3.
NPD Says Consumer Electronics Sales Rebounding
Along with the slow economy in the US came slow sales of all sorts of consumer goods including electronics.
Top five articles for the week beginning June 23
Corning sees strong U.S. LCD TV sales to continue, unaffected by economic downturn
Specialty glass and ceramics manufacturer Corning Inc. said it expects continued growth in liquid crystal display or LCD television unit sales in the U.S. and reaffirms its projection that 2008 global LCD glass market growth would be at the upper end of its original 25% to 30% year-over-year estimate.
Circuit City Posts Expected Loss, Adds High-End Brands
As expected, beleaguered Circuit City Stores posted a loss for the latest quarter, and a big one: $164.8 million, compared to a loss of $54.6 million in the same period a year ago.
iPod touch supplies seeing shortages, changes due by September
Stocks of some iPod touch models are starting to run low and may be connected to recent promotional announcements, according to one Wall Street analyst, who also notes that the advent of the $199 iPhone 3G will put pressure on Apple to alter its pricing on the high-end media players in the next few months.
$1 Billion is Magic Number for Blu-ray in 2008
One billion dollars.
Business travelers lighten their load with tiny tech gear
Charles Emnett recently took a leap of technological faith — he left his laptop at home on a business trip.
Top five articles for the week beginning June 16
Apple makes big bet with new 3G iPhone
Apple delivered some mixed messages to investors on Monday, introducing a widely- expected 3G version of the iPhone at a price that will surely make customers swoon - and may end up eating into its cash cow iPod business.
U.S. consumers more aware of Blu-ray Disc devices
Nearly half of U.S. HDTV owners claim to be familiar with Blu-ray Discs, up from 35 percent in June 2007, according to market research firm The NPD Group.
Sony Working On A New PS3 Wii-like Controller?
According to several news reports, Sony is working to create a new controller for its next-gen gaming platform, PlayStation 3.
Playstation 3 sees sales jump
"Grand Theft Auto IV" and Nintendo were kings of the videogame kingdom again in May, but Sony surprised the biz by landing in second place for the month in console sales.
Support Grows for Universal Power Adapter
A technology that could help the environment by eliminating the need to ship a power adapter with every electronics device got a vote of confidence Friday from consumer electronics maker Westinghouse Digital Electronics.