Business News Holding

Tag: hardware-and-technology

  • 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.

  • "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.

  • 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.

  • Glorious HDTV – no strings attached

    Belkin announces wireless HD transmitter that gives 1080p resolution to any HDTV in the home

    It seems such a shame to have a wonderful sleek new HDTV only to be restricted in where you can place – or suffer an unsightly trail of cable and clutter.

    Now Belkin have come up with a solution – albeit at a price – that wirelessly connects devices such as Blu-ray players, receivers, video-game consoles, and set-top boxes to HDTVs and projectors, transmitting a high-definition 1080p True Cinema picture resolution.

    The FlyWire wireless HDMI hub, which uses the 5GHz band to output a full 1080p signal, cost US$999.99 for the full version, which can broadcast around a typical home.

    There’s also a smaller single-room alternative – the FlyWire R1 – which comes in at US$699.99.
    Hanoz Gandhi, VP of Products for Belkin, said the device the limitations as to where HDTVs can be placed and a room littered with cables.

    The company says that as FlyWire does not compress video, it transmits content without lag – definitely a must for gaming.
    FlyWire’s SD card slot also allows for upgrade and expansion options.

    Inputs include three HDMI, two component and one composite. There is also an HDMI output.
    It automatically finds a clear channel to operate on, so minimising interference with other wireless devices.
    FlyWire will be available this October, with the R1 expected in early 2009. UK availability and pricing is still to be announced.

  • Blu-ray step away from being HD format for China

    “Chinese companies will play an important role in driving the rapid adoption of the Blu-ray Disc format worldwide” – Xinhua Zhao, president of CESI Technology

    The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) has announced that DigiRise Audio (DRA), a locally-developed Chinese audio codec, has passed an important technical evaluation, and is now on its way to being adopted into the format.
    The adoption, if it is approved, is seen as a major step towards Blu-ray becoming the high definition optical disc format for China.

    Meanwhile, CESI Technology Co. Ltd, a contributor member of the BDA, has been designated as the first official Blu-ray Disc Test Centre in China.
    CESI Technology’s joining BDA as a contributor member and their establishment of the Test Centre is another indication of the strong momentum building for the Blu-ray Disc format in China.

    Xinhua Zhao, president of CESI Technology, said BD, as the successor of DVD, presented new business opportunities for the Chinese consumer electronics industry.
    “I am confident that Chinese companies will play an important role in driving the rapid adoption of the Blu-ray Disc format worldwide,” he said.
    “The establishment of our Blu-ray Disc format Test Centre will help complete the ecosystem of Blu-ray Disc business and this centre will help Chinese companies shorten the time to market while saving cost.
    “We expect to collaborate closely with the BDA to bring the high definition experience to Chinese consumers as soon as possible.”

    The establishment of the Test Centre is a critical piece in the Blu-ray Disc value chain in China.
    From today, Chinese manufacturers can receive verification services for the official production of BD-ROM Movie Players at the centre.
    This will dramatically shorten the time needed for product development and market launch of fully compliant BD products for Blu-ray Disc product manufacturers.

    Sumitaka Matsumura, chair of the BDA China Task Force, said the BDA was working hard to bring HD Chinese consumers and the development with CESI Technology was another “significant indication” of the strong support for the format in China.
    “The establishment of an official test centre in China is critical to the acceptance of Blu-ray Disc in China by the industry and consumers and so we very much look forward to the contribution of CESI Technology,” he said.

  • Pioneer develops 400 GB Blu-ray disk


    Pioneer     has developed a Blu-ray compatible disk that can hold 400GB of data on 16 layers.
    The company currently only has a read-only disk available but expects to be able to produce recordable discs.
    Each of the layers can hold 25 GB of data – equivalent to one single “standard” Blu-ray disc layer.

    Multi-layer disks have existed for a while. Normal DVD players and burners are usually able to read and write to dual-layer disks.
    It has been a challenge for Pioneer to get a clear signal from each of the recording layers of the disk, without picking up distortion from other layers.

    The electronics company invented a disk structure that reduces crosstalk from adjacent layers, resulting in a 16-layer optical disk that can playback high-quality signals from every layer.
    No infomration has been given so far on availability and pricing.

  • Commuters on London Underground to be shown adverts on giant HD screens






    Passengers waiting for the tube will have no shortage of distractions now that 14-foot HDTV screens are being installed in stations.
    The cross-track projection (XTP) system, which allows high-quality digital images to be projected on to the walls opposite platforms, has been installed by advertising company CBS Outdoor for London Underground.
    The system, which formally went live on Monday, means that commuters waiting for trains are now faced with moving advertising images displayed on the biggest screens in Europe
    Any profits London Underground receives from XTP will be reinvested to improve the Tube.
    Before rolling out the ads to other stations the system was tested at Euston Tube station.
    Following the success of the pilot, stations at Piccadilly Circus, Euston, Bank, Liverpool Street and Bond Street have now been kitted out with 23 high definition projectors and giant soundless screens that will show trailers for new film releases and other advertising.
    Further stations are scheduled to host XTP technology, which will take the number of screens to 150, which, according to London Undeground, makes it the biggest and most sophisticated system of its kind in Europe.
    Richard Parry, strategy and service director for London Underground said the technology would enhance passengers’ journeys.
    “The Tube has a history of innovation and these hi-tech screens are a perfect complement to the major upgrade work carried out by London Underground in delivering a world-class Tube for a world-class city,” he said.
    CBS Outdoor was awarded a £1.5bn contract to manage advertising on the London Underground in June 2006.
    The media company’s soundless screens are all linked to a new digital advertising network enabling messages to be changed remotely and instantaneously.
    In total, CBS Outdoor’s £72m investment programme includes the installation of 2,000 digital screens across the Tube network and, to date, 1,034 digital screens have been installed, including 181 LCD screens, 830 digital escalator panels and 23 XTP screens.
    All the non-digital sites are currently being replaced with new ‘dry-posting’ material which allows all internal posters to be recycled, removing the need for glue and avoiding 96 tonnes of paper going into landfill every year.

  • Mobile phone memory card market set for significant growth as more music, images, video and data stored





    There were 592 million slotted phones shipped worldwide in 2007, representing 53 per cent of all mobile phone shipments, according to a survey by Strategy Analytics.
    It reports that, with nearly 57 per cent of slotted phone shipments in 2007, the microSD (including microSDHC) slot format is now more popular than the MMC format.
    The microSD format is expected to hit peak penetration of 86 per cent in 2011, after which it will face competition from other, new, high capacity systems, such as the Universal Flash Storage (UFS).
    Steve Entwistle, vice president of the Strategic Technologies within Strategy Analytics, said penetration of slotted phones was already over 85 per cent in many developed countries.
    He was speaking after the publication of the firm’s Removable Memory Card Forecast.
    “We are now seeing significant growth in emerging markets where demand for music and camera phones is taking off,” he said.
    Stuart Robinson, director of the firm’s Handset Component Technologies service, said demand for high capacity cards to store music, images, video and data will trigger significant growth in the high capacity microSDHC format during 2008 and 2009.
    He said strong growth was also expected in embedded memory over the next few years.
    “But the benefits of being able to upsize your capacity and transfer your data to a new phone make memory card slots an essential requirement for all mid-to-high end phones,” he said.
    An earlier Strategy Analytics report predicted that the average capacity of a removable memory card for the global mobile phone market will grow exponentially over the next five years, at an average 120 per cent per year.
    If correct, this would take memory card capacity from 517 megabytes in 2007 to 26 gigabytes in 2012.
    The report “Cellphone Memory Card”, also revealed that revenue from sales of removable memory cards for mobile phones will grow from US$4.8 billion in 2007 to almost US$11.3 billion in 2012.

  • Delta to begin volume shipments of HD projectors with positive outlook for remainder of 2008














    Delta Electronics will soon begin volume shipments of full HD projectors, according to company CEO Yancey Hai.
    He expects its business outlook for the second half of 2008 to remain “guided positive”.
    Hai said orders for Delta’s power supply products from segments such as desktops, notebooks and LCD TVs have remained strong, with order visibility extending at least three months.
    The CEO said Delta had recently begun production of full HD projectors and the company is now in talks with a number of brand vendors for ODM orders.
    Delta’s projector will deliver a full HP 1080P resolution and brightness of 6,000 lumens.





  • Gas released from HDTVs potentially far worse for climate change than CO2










    A gas used in the production of flat-panel displays for HDTVs is 17,200 times better at trapping heat in the atmosphere over a hundred-year period than carbon dioxide, the gas most associated with global warming.
    Michael Prather, of the University of California at Irvine, has completed a study into nitrogen trifluoride (NF3), which he describes as the “missing greenhouse gas”.
    Yet the synthetic chemical produced in industrial quantities is not included in the Kyoto Protocol’s basket of greenhouse gases or in national reporting under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
    Concerns have led Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology to avoid using the gas, although Air Products, which produces it for the electronics industry, said very little NF3 is released into the atmosphere.
    Prather argues that as the gas is not controlled in the same way as other greenhouse gases, companies may be careless with it.
    The scientist, whose findings are reported in the latest issue of the journal Geophysical Research Letters, is calling for NF3 emissions to be monitored.
    It wasn’t included in the Kyoto agreement when it was signed by 181 countries in 1997 because the compound’s manufacture at the time was miniscule.
    But increased use of NF3 in flat-panel display production means that’s no longer the case.
    NF3’s global-warming potential is second only to sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), the worst-rated greenhouse gas on the Kyoto list.
    Prather notes that the increased production of NF3 means that emission levels of the gas could potentially increase.
    “With 2008 production equivalent to 67 million metric tons of CO2, NF3 has a potential greenhouse impact larger than that of the industrialised nations’ emissions of PFCs or SF6 (sulfur hexafluoride), or even that of the world’s largest coal-fired power plants,” writes Prather.
    “If released, annual production would increase the lower atmospheric abundance by 0.4 ppt, and it is urgent to document NF3 emissions through atmospheric observations.”