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  • New chip will lead to cheaper Blu-ray players

    NEC promises chip will increase functionality of Blu-ray players while driving down prices

    NEC is banking on the world’s first chip that combines signal processors with memory that controls graphics, audio and other functions to double its sales of Blu-ray hardware in the next two years.

    The company expects the EMMA3PF chip to raise its revenue from Blu-ray products to US$378 million in the year ending March 2011.

    NEC plans to increase its share of Blu-ray products by offering deep price cuts, which other companies have started and are necessary for the market to grow.

    It hopes to challenge rivals such as Panasonic, Broadcom and Sigma and capture 40 per cent of the market by March 2009. Market share is predicted to rise to half in March 2011.

    Shigeo Niitsu, associate vice president of NEC Electronics, said they had “gained an edge” over competitors with the new chip.
    “We will do what it takes to keep pace with market price falls of 30 per cent to 40 per cent to keep our lead,” he said.
    The chips will start sample shipments in September – we would like to hear your views on whether they really will drive Blu-ray player prices down.

  • "Iconic" new smartphone models will entice buyers

    Launch of latest smartphones by Apple, RIM, Nokia and Samsung will ensure handset markets enjoy strong end to 2008

    Some impressive mobile phone product launches between now and the year-end will help the world’s mobile handset markets finish 2008 with strong sales, according to ABI Research.

    Spurred on by the launch of Apple’s second-generation iPhone, rival handset vendors such as RIM, Nokia and Samsung are also expected to debut new models in the second half of 2008.

    Kevin Burden, director of ABI Research, said such “iconic” models generate a lot of interest around the handset industry and get consumers thinking about replacement.
    “2008 should still be a very good year for the global mobile phone market,” he said.
    “While Q2 performance figures are still preliminary until finalised at the end of July, early indications do not point to an aggressively weak quarter.

    “Historically, the second half of the year has always outperformed the first, and despite nearly global economic problems, a second half lift is still expected, although likely lower than the near 20 per cent increase the worldwide market has seen in recent years.”

    Burden said that greater simplicity in handset design had been a powerful driver in new adoption over the last two years.
    He said a lot of advanced technologies and applications hade been built into phones but there had often been technical or ease-of-use barriers that prevented wide adoption.

    “The trend now is about making better use of what we have rather than introducing a flood of new services and network features,” he said.
    “That’s going to go a long way towards ensuring users’ acceptance of new phones and new applications.”

    Burden was speaking after the release of the latest update to ABI Research’s Mobile Device Market Share Analysis and Forecasts.
    It reports that many usability issues will also be progressively worked out as the industry increasingly moves towards standardised operating systems.

    Proprietary real-time operating systems can be painful to manage for operators as well as for users.
    Open operating systems will continue to migrate down phone vendors’ product lines, increasing the penetration of devices using standardised and predictable platforms and boosting overall ease of use.

  • Sony adds HD downloads to PS3

    High Definition choice on game consoles boosted as Sony launches an HD movie download service for the Play Station 3 in the US

    Sony has signed up the major studios, including Fox, Disney and Warner, to offer HD movies on its US download service.
    The downloads can be transferred from the console to the Play Station Portable handheld device.

    This latest development follows Microsoft’s announcement that it will add a NetFlix movie streaming service to its XBox 360 video game console.

    While the NetFlix service will not include high-def movies, Microsoft does offer HD TV shows and movies on its XBox Live (link to other story) service.

    The rivalry between the console makers is good news for consumers.

    Microsoft has said it will triple the storage capacity of the Xbox 360 and sell the consoles with 60-gigabytes of storage starting in early August in the US and Canada.

    Meanwhile Sony is to introduce an 80GB Play Station 3 for US$399 in September.

    Jack Tretton, president of Sony Computer Entertainment, said the new 80Gb console was “perfectly suited for high-definition downloads of games, movies and more”.

    However, the new movie download service does not permit viewers to purchase HD programmes.
    PS3 owners can rent movies in HD, but they can only purchase them in standard-def.

    The HD-rental only policy is understood to have been the decision of the Hollywood studios, perhaps fuelled by the concern that PS3 owners could illegally copy and sell the high-def movies.

  • "Best way to buy a Blu-ray player" isn't getting cheaper

    Sony resists PS3 price cut despite rival Xbox 360 dropping by US$50


    Sony’s Play Station 3, with its integrated Blu-ray disc (BD) player, has given many millions of consumers their first taste of the high definition format.

    But hopes that the makers of the US$399 video game console would give Blu-ray a further boost have been dashed by Sony chairman Howard Stringer.
    Prices of stand-alone BD devices are widely regarded as remaining too high to persuade many viewers to ditch their DVD players.

    The Sony chief claims Microsoft’s decision to cut the price of its Xbox 360 by US$50 is evidence that it’s falling behind the PS3 in overall sales.

    Microsoft has no intention of adding a Blu-ray drive to the Xbox. David Gosen, the company’s vice president of strategic marketing for Europe, said they weren’t looking towards Blu-ray as a long-term format.
    Instead Microsoft will concentrate on distributing media through its Netflix rental service in the US, which should also be pushed into Europe in due course.

    However, after trailing Microsoft’s console in 2007, sales data from the NPD Group show that PS3’s US sales have surpassed the XBox for the first five months of this year, although both consoles still trail Nintendo’s Wii.
    The Wii had sales of 2.8 million units during the five months through to May, according to the NPD Group. Sony sold 1.2 million PS3 consoles and Microsoft sold 1.12 million Xbox 360s.

    New exclusive games, such as Metal Gear Solid 4, and the rise of Sony’s Blu-ray as the dominant high-definition DVD player have been instrumental in giving PS3 its lead.

    Stringer said: “We’re selling a lot of PlayStation 3s now and it’s still the best way to buy a Blu-ray player.’”
    But speaking after reports that Microsoft was cutting the price of its 20-gigabyte Xbox 360 from US$349 to US$299 while supplies last, he said: “We’re not considering lowering the price.
    “We don’t have to be nervous about what Xbox 360 does. We’re in fine shape.”

    As well as a price drop, Microsoft have just announced that Universal, and NBC Universal programming, is coming to Xbox Live, delivering The Office, Monk, Battlestar Galactica, The Mummy, Bourne Supremacy and others to the service.
    Xbox Live Video Marketplace now claims over 10,000 movies and TV shows on the marketplace, which it says puts it as the number one HD provider.
    MGM and Constantin are pushing things forward in Europe, having just added 700 new titles to the library.

  • Blu-ray disc prices could fall in line with DVD

    Warner Brothers is to reduce cost of Blu-ray movies in a development that could see discs being sold for the same price as DVDs

    Warner Home Video is to launch aggressive pricing initiatives for the fourth quarter of 2008, including its most comprehensive Blu-ray Disc promotion yet.

    From September and continuing into the first-quarter of 2009, Warner will offer a Blu-ray point-of-sale rebate programme in which retailers will be able to order participating catalogue titles for around US$11.

    Among the featured titles are The Fugitive, Enter the Dragon, Clockwork Orange, The Shining, The Aviator, Road Warrior and Swordfish.

    The strategy could result in Blu-ray discs at retail being on a par with current DVD prices.

    Even including a retail mark-up, the price paid by consumers should be significantly less than the titles’ current average of US$20 to US$25 retail price at outlets such as Amazon.com and Best Buy.

    The scheme will work by allowing retailers to buy the titles at their present pricing but obtain rebate money back upon the sale of each unit, reducing the cost to around US$11 for retailers.

  • Sky's HDTV sports coverage set to get boost

    The addition of Eurosport’s HD channel to Sky HD would mean major sporting events such as the Tour de France and Olympics broadcast in high def

    Eurosport could be returning to UK screens after a three year gap if negotiations currently being held with Sky are succesful.
    The sports network is expected to add its HD channel to the Sky HD platform within the next few days.

    It is understood to be currently testing at 28 degrees East alongside Eurosport News.
    A Eurosport spokesman said: “We’ve been negotiating with Sky and are very keen to launch our service in the UK.”

    Speaking to Broadband TV News he said that the cross promotion on Eurosport’s standard definition channels had encouraged a number of viewer enquiries.

    The channel is expected to be made available to subscribers to Sky’s HD Mix.
    Eurosport launched its high definition service on May 25, 2008 and is currently broadcasting live HD coverage of the Tour de France.

    The channel has picked up significant carriage in France, Poland, Israel, the Benelux and Scandinavia.
    After the channel’s original launch it was replaced by Eurosport 2, which was launched in 2005.
    This channel included some Eurosport News programming, but continued as a standalone operation in other markets.

    Speaking before the launch of Eurosport’s HD service in May, Laurent-Eric Le Lay, the network’s group chairman, said he wanted to provide as much high def coverage as possible.
    As well as this year’s French Open-Roland Garros tennis Grand Slam the channel’s HD offerings include the Tour de France and the Beijing Olympics.
    “Sport, especially live is spectacular in high definition; it transforms the viewing experience for sports fans,” he said.

  • Smartphone isn't spelt A-P-P-L-E?

    As the iPhone notches up one million sales Palm and HP launch their latest smartphones with a little less fanfare

    With hardly a whimper Palm’s Treo 800w and Hewlett-Packard’s iPaQ 910 have been released on to a smartphone market still largely focussed on Friday’s iPhone launch.

    Sprint and Palm have unveiled the Treo 800w, a Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone targeted at business users.
    With integrated Wi-Fi, GPS, EV-DO Rev. A, and a slimmer design, the Treo 800w is available US$249.99 with a two-year contract and after rebates and discounts.

    Elsewhere, HP made available its new Windows Mobile smarthphone, the HP iPaQ 910, which is now available for US$499.99 from HP’s website.
    It’s loaded with high-end features, including a 2.4-inch touchscreen display, full QWERTY keyboard, HSDPA for connecting to the web at 7.2 Mbps, 3.0-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, built-in Google Maps and GPS, 128MB of RAM, and a 416 MHz Marvell PXA270 processor.

    Aimed at the business market, the iPaQ 910 runs on Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional and is loaded with various Microsoft programs including Office Mobile, Office Outlook Mobile and Internet Explorer Mobile.

    While Apple has made no secret of the fact that it would like a share of the corporate pie, no-one at the company will be complaining about its new handset’s initial sales figures.

    Three days after launching, the iPhone 3G is now available in 21 countries and will go on sale in France on July 17.
    Despite the outages, shortages, and related hand-wringing associated with the launch and release of the iPhone 2.0 firmware, Apple said there were nevertheless 10 million downloads from its new App Store in its first weekend of existence.

    Apple founder, Steve Jobs, said the 3G phone had got off to a ·great start” and described the App Store as a “grand slam”.
    “Developers have created some extraordinary applications, and the App Store can wirelessly deliver them to every iPhone and iPod touch user instantly,” he said.

  • Competition spurs Cablevision to boost HD channels

    Cablevision Systems Corp will give customers another 15 free high definition channels as it faces stiffer competition from satellite TV providers and Verizon Communications Inc.

    New York-based cable operator Cablevision is to add mainstream HD channels including Discovery, Viacom Inc’s Nickelodeon, FX, FOX News, AMC and The Weather Channel to its line-up in an increasingly competitive market.
    The addition of 15 more channels brings its HD offering up to 60 channels.

    Cablevision says that more than 1.1 million of its digital cable subscribers have at least one high-definition TV and HD-enabled set-top box.

    This latest expansion of HD programming by the company, which has more than 3 million subscribers, is in response to competition from satellite rivals DIRECTV Group and DISH Network Corp, as well as a growing threat from Verizon’s expanding FiOS TV service.

    Industry analysts contend that the satellite TV providers have an “HD advantage” because customers think they offer more and better quality HD services than cable.

    DIRECTV has said it will have capacity for more than 150 HD channels by the end of this year and currently has 95. DISH has around 80 HD channels.

    Verizon, which is in a fierce battle for TV subscribers with Cablevision in New York’s Long Island, currently offers 30 HD channels on its FiOS TV service and said it would add another 30 in the next couple of months.
    The phone company said it would also have capacity for 150 HD channels by year-end.

    Cablevision said in June 2007 it would have the capacity to carry more than 500 HD channels by the end of 2007, but this has not translated to an equivalent amount of HD television programming.

  • UK viewers reluctant to pay for HDTV

    Digital revolution sweeps UK but viewers appear unwilling to pay for limited range of HD channels

    UK households with digital televisions as their main set now account for 87.2 per cent of the total, according to a study by Ofcom.
    The survey by the independent communications industry regulator revealed how the digital TV market is divided up between the three main forms – digital terrestrial television (DTT), satellite and cable television.

    Unsurprisingly, DTT’s freeview is the most popular, with 9.6 million homes using a digital tuner to receive an expanded range of terrestrial channels – up 1.3 million in the last 12 months.

    Sky has signed up 332,000 new subscribers to its satellite services over the past twelve months and now hase 8.3 million customers, while Sky+ received an additional 262,000 subscribers.
    However, the figures for SkyHD are only up by 43,000 to 465,000 subscribers.

    With the HD market still developing in much of Europe, programming choices are much more limited than in the US, where competition is leading to a rapid expansion of channels.
    The narrower choice of HD channels in the UK is seen as contributing to viewers’ hesitance to pay for HD services currently on offer.


    Ofcom’s Digital Progress Report also shows that Virgin Media cable subscribers now amount to over 3.5 million, up by 36,800 in the first quarter of this year.
    Cable viewers subscribing to Virgin’s digital video recorder service known as V+ -which can also be used to watch HD services – now amount to 364,200..
    Almost half of Virgin Media customers (48 per cent) were using its video on demand service, with viewing up 10 per cent on the previous quarter.

  • iPhone software is bold attempt to turn smartphones into PCs

    Free applications like vSNAX Videos make up 25% of the App Store’s offerings


    The opening of Apple’s online App Store to coincide with the launch of the new iPhone could herald seismic changes in the mobile phone market.
    At least that’s what Steve Jobs, the Apple founder, is hoping.

    He sees the online applications store as an attempt to do for mobile applications like games, reference guides and other software what Apple’s iTunes Store has done for music.

    If successful, it could fuel the transformation of mobile phones into something closer to personal computers – which many software developers and analysts believe Apple, with its talent for distributing applications coupled with the sophisticated capabilities of the iPhone, is well placed to do.

    While rivals may bristle at his comments, Jobs is clear about his goal.
    “There’s been nothing on a mobile phone a fraction as good as what’s on PCs,” he told The Wall Street Journal, as he explained how the iPhone represented a rare launch of a new computing platform.

    So what exactly does the App Store offer?
    Initially it will feature more than 500 applications, ranging from educational programmes, mobile commerce and business productivity tools to games (estimated to be about a third of the first-wave apps including Sega Corp’s Super Monkey Ball).

    While around 90 per cent of the premium apps are priced at US$9.99 or less, 25 per cent of the first 500 apps are free.
    Among them is vSNAX Videos, which promises to deliver mobile video clips to iPhone and iPod touch users from more than 20 premium media partners including AccuWeather.com, Ford Models, Ripe TV, and MTV Networks’ VH1, Spike and GameTrailers.

    Refreshed throughout the day it will offer the latest celebrity gossip, TV show highlights, breaking news, national weather forecasts, fashion and comedy clips.

    Jim Morris, chief product officer of Rhythm NewMedia, which developed vSNAX Videos, said the iPhone allows for “significant improvement” in the way customers experience and consume videos on their mobile devices.
    “vSNAX Videos brings mobile viewing to an entirely new level by using the iPhone’s groundbreaking Multi-Touch user interface so, for the first time, iPhone owners are able to continue to watch their video clip while simultaneously swiping through thumbnails to pick their next selection,” he said.

    vSNAX Videos will be available exclusively in the US and can be downloaded for free from Apple’s App Store.