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  • Funai announce LCD TVs with built in Blu-ray

    Japanese firm to follow Sony’s lead and combine Blu-ray player with LCD TV

    Funai is to launch an LCD TV with an integrated Blu-ray player in a move that is certain to widen the appeal of the format with consumers.

    From next summer the company is to combine the two products into one unit.

    Sony recently said that it plans to put Blu-ray into a variety of CE products.

    Around a fifth of Funai’s current US TV sales are based on TV/DVD combos, so it is an area in which the company has a good track record.

    The Japanese firm is the parent company for discount brands such as Symphonic, Emerson and Sylvania.

    In the US their products can be found in a range of electronic retailers. Wal-Mart currently has their Sylvania Blu-ray player for US$299.

    Funai has released no details as yet, but a 42-inch LCD/Blu-ray combo is expected to cost between US$1,100 and US$1,300.
    Is this combination going to turn more consumers onto Blu-ray? Your views please.

  • Details emerge on Sony's first WHDI device

    Information is beginning to emerge about Sony’s first device harnessing the new standard for wireless high-definition video connectivity – WHDI.

    According to Sony Insider, the DMX-WL1T will allow uncompressed 1080p HD video and audio signal to be transmitted to any Dmex compatible Sony Bravia HDTV.

    WHDI is claimed to be capable of data rates up to 3GB per second, transmitted on a 40mhz channel in the 5Ghz unlicensed band.

    The range for the DMX-WL1T is said to be 5 feet, a distance Sony Insider points out is significantly less than Sony’s claims of the distance WHDI technology is capable of communicating.

    However, as the technology has a range of 100 feet, this is expected to rise as more details emerge.

    The interface will have four HDMI inputs, one component input, one digital audio input and a stereo audio input. A receiver base station and transmitter will also be included on the DMX. Other components may be controlled using three IR blaster ports.

    The DMX has an anticipated release in September or October. More information is expected to be made available at IFA 2008 in Berlin. No price has not been given for the interface.

  • Tethering to get cheaper with Sprint

    Tethering may still be an unofficial no-no on the iPhone but US telecom company Sprint seem determined to encourage it on their own handsets.

    Sprint are understood to be considering dropping the price of Phone As Modem (PAM) add-ons on new plans to US$15, down from the previous US$40 per month paid by current plan holders.

    Tethering enables customers to use their cellphones as wireless modems “tethered” to their laptops.

    Earlier this month, Nullriver’s Netshare application that turns an iPhone into a portable WiFi hotspot was pulled from Apple’s App Store shortly after being made available.

    Tethering is one of the most requested apps for the iPhone and is only available for jailbroken iPhone handsets – and in a more complicated form.

    Sprint’s price drop appears to be part of an effort to lure customers over from older plans.

    It will only take effect on current offerings – Sprint’s Simply Everything, Sprint Everything, and Everything Plus plans.

    While Sprint’s plans of today typically cost more the discounted PAM can make up for the difference.

  • iPhone's growing corporate appeal threatens Blackberry

    Questions remain about battery life, security and email options but it would seem Apple’s 3G iPhone is attracting increasing interest from the business world.

    HSBC is considering equipping its employees with some 200,000 iPhones, according to HSBC’s Australia and New Zealand chief information officer Brenton Hush.
    Research in Motion’s BlackBerry is currently the firm’s standard issue handset.

    In the US, the handset commands 46 per cent of the US smartphone, according to a recent report by Synergy Research Group.

    Hush told ZDNet.com.au that the world’s largest banking group was reviewing iPhones from an HSBC Group perspective.

    If such reports are accurate, then RIM’s BlackBerry could see its dominant position as the enterprise smartphone leader weakened.

    A report by IT researchers Gartner further weakens the perception that the iPhone is completely unsuited to the demands of the corporate world.

    While it stresses there’s still room for improvement on everything from application support to security to calendar access, the study says Apple’s latest handset is now viewed as a legitimate enterprise mobile device.

    Ken Dulaney, an analyst at Gartner, said: “It’s acceptable for enterprise use if the security it provides is the same as other handsets in play.

    The iPhone features a complex password system for Microsoft Exchange users and a “wipe” feature that clears the phone’s contents when a password is violated. Neither security aspect was provided on the initial firmware, according to Gartner.

    Apple’s second handset, which debuted in July, also supports a small set of enterprise applications such as voice mail, personal information manager, Web browsing and e-mail.

    Still, some big enterprise-level functionality gaps remain when compared with BlackBerry, including shorter battery life, the ability to edit mail attachments and issues over calendar functionality.

    Gartner also said the iPhone’s bandwidth is lacking when it comes to using e-mail over a network, and there is still no cut and paste functionality.

    However, with Best Buy now poised to start selling the iPhone in the US there is no doubt that Apple’s priority remains the consumer market.

    The agreement is expected to help make already strong estimates for Apple’s device sales seem all too modest.

    It will also help ensure that Apple’s market value remains greater than Google, which it has just surpassed.
    The current market capitalisation of Apple is US$159.37 billion, just a little higher than Google’s market cap of US$157.56 billion.

  • Nokia leads China smartphone sales boom

    Sales of smartphones in China grew 32 per cent on year to 15 million units in the first half of 2008, according to data released from China-based CCID Consulting.

    The analysts said Symbian-based models accounted for over 70 per cent of smartphones sold in the China during the January-June period, followed by Linux-based smartphones with a 15 per cent share and Windows Mobile-based models with a 10 per cent share.

    Nokia saw its shipments of Symbian-based smartphones in China surge over 40 per cent on year to more than 10 million units in the first six months, according the CCID, and the company alone took up a 68.5 per cent share in the smartphone segment.

    Motorola, which focuses on Linux smartphones, was ranked the second largest smartphone vendor in China in the first half with a 15-16 per cent market share, CCID added.

    Dopod International and Amoi Electronics, the two major vendors of Windows Mobile-based smartphones, each took a less than 5 per cent share.

  • Discover the secrets of keeping ahead of HDTV competitors

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    Traditional consumer electronics channels face increasing competition from discounters and non-traditional retailers, while a new generation of users is quickly emerging with requirements that are still unclear.

    Amidst this shifting landscape how can you gain a unique standing and maintain competitive advantage?

    Anyone curious to find the answers to the above would do well to get along to DisplaySearch’s HDTV 2008 Conference Confronting the New Reality (September 15-17).

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    Held at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel and Spa in Hollywood, California, the two-day event features industry-leading speakers, exclusive exhibits, world-class analysis and unforgettable keynotes.

    As well as focussing on the challenges faced in the quickly transitioning HDTV industry, there will be sessions covering:

    * How can excitement and margin be realized when HDTVs have progressed from novelty to commodity?
    * How should TV set makers and retailers respond to proliferation of digital video beyond the traditional broadcast model?
    * How can the TV set makers deliver greater value and differentiation beyond the box?
    * In an age of infinite choices, how can TV stakeholders maintain an effective and engaging entertainment experience?
    * What will it take to deliver on the promise of the full HD entertainment experience?


    The event offers an exciting opportunity to explore how you can prosper in the reality of the new HDTV marketplace along with peers, analysts and the biggest names in the industry.

  • Dedicated video processing for HD in new Apple range?

    Apple may be about to upgrade the Mac’s graphic chipset in a move that would enhance its already high status for creating and editing home movies, according to reports.

    Gizmodo is suggesting that Apple’s new range of computers will have a dedicated chip specifically for decoding and encoding video, which should significantly reduce the time it takes to process HD content.

    The site compares the technology to the Quad Core HD Processor, which uses H.264 and MPEG2 encoders alongside the device’s CPU.

    It says mobile phones like the Nokia XpressMusic range also use a dedicated chip for processing audio, therefore increasing the battery life and allowing for far better quality playback.

    If true, the upgraded range could be released as soon as next month.

  • Viewers glued to HD Olympics coverage

    First all high definition Games proving irresistible as viewing figures climb

    NBC Universal is attracting an average of 29.1 million US viewers to its coverage of the 2008 Olympic Games, according to figures just released.

    While viewership was undoubtedly helped by the extravant opening ceremony and early coverage of US swimming star Michael Phelps, the unprecedented high def footage must take some of the credit.

    For the first time by a US broadcaster at a Summer Olympics, NBC is broadcasting the whole Olympic Games entirely in high definition.

    This will stretch to some 3,600 hours of Beijing coverage, the most ambitious single media project in history.

    The viewing results make it the most highly rated broadcast of the Summer Games held outside the United States since 1976.

    A total of 114 million viewers turned on their TVs for at least part of the broadcast in the first two days, about 20 million more than the 2004 games in Athens, NBC said, citing figures from Nielsen Media Research.

    Meanwhile, Fuji Television Network and NTT Corp are using the Games to test out “non-compressed HDTV video transmission using a wireless technology based on the 120GHz milliwave band” in live feeds from Beijing events.

    By utilising the technology, the duo say they have demonstrated “simultaneous, wireless transmission of multiple HDTV video channels without delay”.

    This enables camera-toting employees to capture footage from more places by being able to walk around untethered.

  • Blackberry dominates Apple – for now

    RIM’s Blackberry commands 46 per cent of a US smartphone market that shows strong growth, according to a report by Synergy Research Group.

    The US smartphone market grew 67.3 per cent in the first half of 2008 with RIM’s Blackberry the firm leader with nearly half of all sales.

    However, even with Q2 shipments dropping in anticipation of the new 3G iPhone, Apple retained the second place spot for the first half of the year with Motorola a close third.

    Aaron Vance, senior analyst, Synergy Research Group, said Apple’s performance since entering the smartphone market suggested RIM’s margin of lead may soon be under pressure.

    Apple’s iPhone continues to break records, shipping over a million units in 3 consecutive quarters.

    “Despite the rock star status of the Apple iPhone, the Blackberry dominates the US market with a market share of 46 per cent (for the first half of 2008) versus Apple’s 15 per cent,” he said.

    “But with iPhone’s continued strong success, which only took Apple a year to achieve a number two ranking, it may be sooner than later that Apple is challenging the Blackberry, a notion that would have seemed impossible to many a year or two ago.”

    Q2 2008 US Smartphone Vendor Shipment Growth
    Manufacturer Q-Q Y-Y
    Apple -64.2% 125.6%
    RIM 8.1% 92.1%
    Sony Ericsson 9.4% 32.9%
    Samsung -1.1% 31.3%
    LG 10.5% 29.4%
    Motorola -28.6% -18.2%
    Nokia 43.6% -24.5%

    The Synergy Q2 2008 Mobile Handset Market Share report said the strong first half performance was good news for operators having a greater opportunity to increase revenues per subscriber in a market that is a leader in consumer voice usage.

    Motorola, currently the number one US Mobile Handset vendor with 25 per cent share, is showing signs of difficulty in the fast growing US smartphone business.

    In Q2 2008, Motorola was the only vendor in the Synergy study posting double-digit drops for both sequential and annual growth.

    In the first half of 2008, the US smartphone market represented 12.2 per cent of total mobile handsets shipped.
    This compares to fewer than 10 per cent in the first half of 2007.

  • Broadcast and online TV can co-exist

    Reports suggests that VOD does not detract from broadcast TV

    Video on demand shouldn’t be viewed as a threat to broadcast TV but helps promote it, according to a report.

    Thinkbox, the marketing body for the UK’s commercial broadcasters, says that online VOD services do not detract from linear television viewing.

    It has released figures showing that the popularity of web services such as iPlayer, 4OD and Sky Player appear to be incremental to the broadcast television that people have always watched.

    The report says that both broadcast and online TV platforms are growing simultaneously, which it suggests underlines how the two fulfil different needs for viewers.

    It adds that this underlines “that they can co-exist and indeed promote each other”.

    Online TV services, according to Thinkbox, are primarily used as a means of catching up with the broadcast stream.

    Thinkbox recently announced that it has commissioned further research to examine how and why people use online TV, its relationship to broadcast TV and the advertising opportunities it affords, with preliminary results expected before the end of the year.