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  • FCC Inquiry Into Comcast


    The departing Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Kevin Martin announced another investigation is to be launched into Comcast shortly before leaving his post.

    The regulatory agency is to focus on allegations that Comcast is deliberately downgrading its rivals’ phone services.

    Among those whose sound quality is said to have been affected are Vonage and Skype, competitors of Comcast’s own VOIP service.

    The FCC has ordered Comcast to reply to the inquiry by 30 January.

    Comcast has responded by saying it has "fully complied" with the FCC’s so-called congestion-management practices and that it is "reviewing the FCC staff’s letter".

    Julius Genachowski is expected to be named as the next head of the FCC.

  • Sony Takes On Pirates By Opening Blu-ray Plant in China


    Sony is turning its sights on the growing high-def market in China with the opening of a Blu-ray manufacturing plant in Shanghai.

    The new plant will produce 500,000 of the high-def discs per month specifically for the domestic market.

    With bootlegging a major problem in China the move by Sony is certainly bold.

    Not least because there are strong doubts over whether Chinese consumers are willing to pay the price premium for Blu-ray.

    Illegal DVDs fetch USD $1 compared to official Blu-ray discs that could cost up to USD $30.

    If successful, the rewards are certainly appealing.

    Blu-ray is growing in China with three Chinese manufacturers making the high-def players and Pioneer, Sony and Panasonic importing devices.

    Sony expects to add around 100 new Blu-ray titles by the end of the year to the 32 currently available in China.

    The company already has Blu-ray disc plants in the United States, Japan and Austria.

    By having a manufacturing plant in China, Sony should be better placed to combat piracy by avoiding import permits and taxes while also releasing movies to consumers faster.

    Sony just reported its first annual operating loss in 14 years and announced that it plans to close one of its two television plants in Japan – Ichinomiya TEC – and cut 2,000 full-time jobs.

    The cutbacks follow last month’s announcement that 16,000 jobs were to be lost.

    Sony is targeting a global headcount reduction of approximately 30 per cent across its TV design operations and related divisions by the end of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2010.

  • Testing Times For Technology Tradeshows


    This year’s Home Media Expo has been cancelled after a 27-year run as a result of the current economic conditions.

    With the financial situation worsening, the technology event is unlikely to be the only casualty among industry tradeshows.

    The Entertainment Merchants Association said it was planning on holding the Home Media Expo in 2010, according to VideoBusiness.

    It said the organizers felt that they had to temporarily pull the plug to meet the new recession-time realities for studios and retailers.

    While the DVD business suffered its steepest year-to-year declines in 2008 the EMA said the cancellation was not a reflection on the performance of DVD and Blu-ray.

    The economy has already impacted on the first major exhibition of 2009 – the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas – which saw visitor numbers drop from 140,000 in 2008 to 110,000 this year.

    Companies are also reconsidering their participation in trade shows, including influential players such as Apple and Nokia.

    Apple announced that this month’s Macworld Conference & Expo was the last at which it would exhibit, preferring instead to reach people in ways other than trade shows.

    Apple has been steadily scaling back on trade shows in recent years, including NAB, Macworld New York, Macworld Tokyo and Apple Expo in Paris.

    Nokia Siemens Networks is also changing its approach to trade shows by scaling back on exhibits.

  • Hardware Confusion A Barrier To Blu-ray Uptake


    With prices of Blu-ray players and discs falling, the high-def format appears to be making some headway after a hesitant start.

    But public ignorance of what hardware is required to fully enjoy Blu-ray is preventing even greater uptake, according to the British Video Association.

    So much so that it has launched a new website with interactive guides to explain to consumers how they can get the best out of their equipment.

    Blurayrevolution.co.uk will also spell out the importance of having an HD-ready TV, a Blu-ray player and a Blu-ray disc to obtain the highest-quality home entertainment possible.

    "One of the current barriers to broader adoption of Blu-ray among mainstream consumers is misunderstanding of the hardware components needed to deliver maximum high-definition images and sound in the home," the BVA explained in a statement.

    A collaborative venture between hardware manufacturers, film studios and distributors supporting the high-def format, the website aims to become the online Blu-ray authority.

    As well as educating the public, it will raise public awareness about the benefits of Blu-ray and be a source of Blu-ray news.

    This will include information about new and forthcoming title releases and hardware player launches.

    The BVA said the launch of the website comes amid increasing optimism for the growth of the format in 2009.

    UK Blu-ray disc sales are forecast to rise to over 17 million over the next 12 months, according to Screen Digest, which equates to 7 per cent of current DVD volumes, but 14 per cent of DVD sales value.

    Hardware sales of stand-alone Blu-ray disc players are expected to hit one million this year, with the total Blu-ray hardware installed base in the UK hitting 4 million – 1.2 million stand-alone players and 2.8 million PS3 units.

  • AppleTV To Get Investment


    Apple reaffirmed support for AppleTV after announcing first quarter sales of the digital media receiver were three times higher than for the same period last year.

    Presenting its Q1 financial results, Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s senior vice president and chief financial officer, said they had beaten Wall Street estimates – with revenues surpassing USD $10bn for the first time in the company’s history.

    In the first quarter – which runs from 1 September through 31 December – revenues were up 5.94 per cent to USD $10.17bn and profits up 1.90 per cent to USD $1.61bn.

    When asked about AppleTV, acting CEO Tim Cook was fairly emphatic about the device’s future.

    "We still consider this a hobby, however, it is clear the movie rental business has helped AppleTV and there are more and more customers who want to try it," he said.

    "We fundamentally believe there is something here for us in the future. We will continue to invest in it."

    Strong video sales also helped the iTunes store to a record quarter.

  • Flat-panel TV Price Falls Factor In LG Losses


    Pricing pressure for flat-panel TVs was among the factors given as LG Electronics reported a net loss for the fourth quarter, ended 31 December.

    On a parent-company basis, LG reported sales of USD $4.84 billion for the quarter, an operating loss of USD $228 million and a net loss of USD $493 million.

    In the fourth quarter of 2008, sales on a global basis rose 22.5 per cent year on year to USD $9.82 billion and operating profit was USD $74.2 million, resulting in a profit margin of 0.8 per cent.

    For fiscal year 2008, annual sales on a global basis rose 20.8 per cent to a record USD $36.2 billion with operating profit at USD $1.56 billion.

    By operating unit, LG’s digital display company sales rose to USD $3.39 billion, an increase of 16.4 per cent from a year earlier.

    Sales of flat-panel digital TVs grew 22 per cent year on year and 26 per cent quarter on quarter, but PDP module sales declined 44 per cent year on year and 24 per cent quarter on quarter.

    Globally, operating profit saw a loss of USD $10 million primarily due to a sharp drop in the prices of TVs and slowdown in external sales of PDP modules.

    The company said it sees global demand in 2009 to be similar to 2008 as a result of growing low-end/small sized flat-panel TV demand in emerging markets and expects to expand its market share with stronger branding activities and product lineup.

  • Final Chance to Nominate HDTV Person/Product Of The Year


    The new year may well be firmly underway but there’s still plenty of time to submit your nominations and votes for hdtv.biz-news’ 2008 Man and Product of the Year awards.

    With voting expected to be close in both award categories there’s plenty of opportunity for latecomers to make their mark.

    In the product section, submissions can be made for any hardware launched in 2008 that has particularily impressed.

    Alternatively, nominations can be made for anything else HDTV-related – from content providers to software applications.

    For the Person of the Year, there can be no shortage of likely candidates – whether its an innovative industry leader or a colleague who made waves in 2008.

    But please don’t delay – we need your product or person nominations before the end of January.

  • WinMo And Mobile Services Microsoft


    Interest continues to grow over Microsoft’s intentions for next month’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

    Among the expectations are an update to its mobile software and services strategy.

    This could extend to the unveiling of three mobile services:

    • SkyBox to synchronize a phone’s information with the web
    • SkyLine to synchronize with Microsoft Exchange servers
    • SkyMarket – a mobile marketplace.

    If they take place, the announcements will set them up against Apple’s MobileMe and App Store.

    Microsoft is also expected to reveal the latest update of Windows Mobile – version 6.5 – at the telco show.

    The first tranche of WinMo 6.5-based devices could then be available in the third quarter of the year.

  • South Korea's KT Absorbs Mobile Unit In Battle For customers


    South Korea’s fixed-line operator, Korea Telecom (KT), is to merge with its majority-owned mobile unit, KTF, the country’s second-largest mobile operator.

    The merger is an effort to offer bundled fixed and mobile services and increase its global exposure.

    KT’s move is seen as necessary if it is to compete with SK Telecom and LG Telecom.

    South Korea’s mobile and household broadband markets are approaching saturation and operators in the country are battling for customers.

    This has led to the offering of products bundling fixed-line, broadband, Internet TV and mobile services.

    The deal ends months of speculation and will see KT absorb the mobile unit, of which it owns 54 per cent.

    NTT DoCoMo, Japan’s largest mobile operator, also owns 11 per cent of KTF.

    The terms of the deal mean KTF shareholders will receive 0.719 of a KT share for every KTF share they own.

    KT is also to sell USD $253 million bonds exchangeable into its stocks to DoCoMo as part of the merger plan.

    The Japanese firm will transfer 60 per cent of its holding in KTF to KT.

  • Will GPS-enabled Smartphones Avoid Handset Slowdown?


    Demand for GPS-enabled mobile phones will slow in 2009 but will avoid the fall in shipments expected to affect handsets generally.

    At least that’s what ABI Research is predicting. It forecasts that feature-rich smartphones will post year-to-year unit growth through the current economic downturn.

    For 2009 that translates into a climb in shipments GPS-enabled phones to 240 million units, an increase of 6.4 per cent over 2008.

    This contrasts with a drop of 4—5 per cent for global handset shipments generally in 2009, according to a study by the researchers.

    For the period through to 2014, the analysts suggest demand for smartphones will increase at an average annual unit shipment rate of 19 per cent.

    ABI says this "surprising performance" will be driven by the ongoing demand for feature-rich smartphones, including the Apple iPhone 3G, RIM’s BlackBerry devices and Nokia N series phones among a growing list.

    During the period, the report says GPS chipsets will continue to penetrate this segment; nine of every ten smartphones will contain GPS ICs in 2014, compared with one in three in 2008.

    George Perros, senior analyst with ABI Research, said that falling component prices and increasing consumer awareness of handset locationcapabilities will keep demand for GPS-enabled phones healthy, in spite of the slumping global economic picture.

    Other factors that will continue the trend toward the inclusion of GPS functionality in handsets include the spread of open source operating systems such as Google’s Android.

    It provides application specific interfaces (APIs) that allow software developers to create location-based content for mobile devices.
    The report also highlights the continuing emergence of navigation and map-based applications for handsets.

    "As the quality of positioning technology in handsets improves and the cost of including it declines, GPS location technology will approach the status of a standard device feature," said Perros.

    "We are approaching the point where location awareness will be synonymous with smart devices, a point where personal navigation, social spatial knowledge, and location-specific contextual information will be assumed handset capabilities."

    If accurate, the report’s predictions will certainly be welcomed by smartphone manufacturers.

    We’d be interested in hearing your view on the figures.