Now that’s a coincidence, if there ever was any: Earlier this month, Amazon filed for two trademarks for extended warranty and servicing under the Kindle brand. Turns out that the description of these services was lifted verbatim from Apple’s AppleCare trademarks. Read more »
Fiber network are costly, in part because digging trenches to lay the conduit are so expensive. Stringing fiber along telephone poles is cheaper, but has its own issues. A new company claims its drill digs a fiber trench for the cost of an aerial deployment. Read more »
The market for grid-scale advanced batteries is forecasted to reflect nearly $30 billion in investment through 2020. Tapping into this potential depends on the technical and market-focused innovations of a small industry ecosystem, one that faces considerable challenges in R&D and funding. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The third quarter saw many parts of the traditional media business in flux. Other developments included the rollout of new device-based content ecosystems, red flags and red ink for traditional consumer electronics makers, and a resurgence of consumer purchases of movies. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Huge technology trade shows like IFA are meant to parade the biggest products around. But what if the biggest isn’t the best? What if intimacy, personalization and customization are the things we crave? That’s what I argued at a fringe event in Berlin last week. Read more »
A key objective of online social media marketing is to reach influential consumers and get them to pass the word. But marketers and advertisers have to find those influencers ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
With no fear of federal regulation, carmakers are pursuing their “infotainment” strategy of packing cars with the latest consumer electronics. But it’s not clear that the states — which are already fighting distracted driving by cell phone users — will go along for the ride. Read more »
U.S. sales of all consumer gadgets hit just $144 billion last year, which is actually a half percent dip when compared to 2010. But last year’s results weren’t terrible news for all CE companies. There is one company that’s doing pretty well in the U.S. Read more »
This year’s CES was the biggest in the show’s 44-year history. It boasted 15 miles of exhibit hall aisles, 3,100 booths and 153,000 attendees. It is easy to be jaded by the endlessly repetitive products, but the thousands of innovations point toward a future of connectivity. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
One of the year’s largest smart grid conferences — DistribuTECH — closes today in San Antonio, Texas. It’s like the CES for utilities, power companies and the vendors that are trying to sell them stuff. Here are the top 10 trends I took away. Read more »
SquareTrade, a San Francisco-based company that provides warranties for gadgets like the iPhone, landed a $238 million investment from Bain Capital. The new investment is being made jointly by Bain’s private equity and venture capital affiliates. Further financial details about the deal have not been disclosed. Read more »
One DVR to rule them all? In addition to bringing Comcast’s new cloud-based user interface to subscriber homes, the Xcalibur set-top box includes DLNA Premium Video, which will allow users to access live and recorded TV from tablets, PCs, connected TVs and other devices. Read more »
Hollywood’s UltraViolet initiative might not have gotten off to a great start. But things are looking up, as it’s added Amazon as a partner, and Samsung Blu-ray players will now let consumers add DVDs they’ve already purchased to their UltraViolet digital rights lockers. Read more »
Sony remains one of the most important brands in the world, synonymous with quality rich media and the devices that present it. The problem is that, despite a tagline that states “make.believe,” the company is, in a sense, simply playing make-believe with its business. However, the ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Those in the consumer electronics industry sometimes cite TV replacement cycles in the range of anywhere from six to eight years. But rapid adoption over the last five years suggests that low prices and new features are spurring consumers to replace their HDTV sets more often. Read more »
Apple might be looking to expand its live sports offerings through a deal with the English Premier League, a new report says. It’s an interesting proposition but not a cheap one: Sky paid £1.6 billion (around $2.5 billion) for its current broadcast rights. Read more »
One of the biggest draws of the Galaxy Nexus is the 4.65-inch high-definition screen; literally a pocketable 720p HDTV display. But some video services still stream standard definition video. Here’s how to get HD video from Netflix on the Nexus and what it looks like. Read more »
Archos announced on Tuesday an updated 7-inch slate, called the Archos 70b, calling it the first Google Android Honeycomb for under $200. That may not be enough to sway consumers from the $199 Kindle Fire with its custom user interface and broad media ecosystem. Read more »
On Thursday, Nielsen released figures indicating holiday desire for Apple’s mobile products knows no age limits; six- to 12-year-olds cited the iPad as their most desired consumer electronics product for this holiday shopping season, with the iPod touch and iPhone coming in second and third. Read more »
It’s often said that the future of mobile will boil down to Apple versus Google, or iPhone and Android. But that’s far too broad. It’s Samsung that’s giving Apple a run for its money in phones and perhaps, eventually, tablets. Read more »
Our collective addiction to smartphones translates into some big money for the consumer electronics industry. According to the Consumer Electronics Association, the industry is on track to surpass $190 billion in overall shipment revenues this year, and a primary driver of that growth will be smartphones. Read more »
This week, Cisco restructured its consumer business, which included, shockingly, killing off its Flip video camera. Whether or not it was the best choice in the long run is up for debate, as clearly there were other possible strategies f0r Flip that Cisco could have picked. Read more »
IBM thinks that tunnel field-effect transistors could cut transistor power use by tenfold and virtually eliminate vampire power, and it’s working with European researchers to bring the idea from lab to market in six to 10 years. Read more »
Best Buy and Fuse Capital are taking the wraps off a new consumer electronics shopping and information service called Tecca that is aimed at making the process of buying technology gadgets easy, especially for mobile users. Read more »
Cisco, in its effort to become a player in the consumer electronics business, continues its torrid acquisition spree by agreeing to buy marquee design house Moto for an undisclosed amount. The new group will help Cisco Consumer Products Chief Jonathan Kaplan cook up new products. Read more »
Sonic Solutions is growing the amount of on-demand TV content it will have available through its Roxio CinemaNow service, striking a deal with Warner Bros. Digital Distribution that will allow it to sell TV shows the day after they air on TV. Episodes will be sold […] Read more »
News Corp. Shaking Up TV Execs; details are still being finalized, but Peter Rice is expected to assume greater control over the entertainment assets, and David Hill will gain greater power on the sports side. (Broadcasting & Cable) Is Wal-Mart Ready to Try Web TV Again, […] Read more »
Rovi (formerly Macrovision) arrived at CES with its new TotalGuide digital programming guide (formerly “Liquid”) and a slew of new content partners, hoping to win over the hearts of CE manufacturers looking for a way to integrate TV content with broadband video. Read more »
Skype will soon be available on your TV set, thanks to TVs from LG and Panasonic with an integrated Skype client that will be coming out later this year. The plan to move video conferencing to the big screen makes sense. Read more »
Media center software company Boxee gave a sneak peek of its new dedicated hardware device that arrives at CES early next month, and has unveiled the latest version of its beta software. Read more »
High-definition TV sets are expected to top the wish lists of consumers looking to cash in on Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. According to Retrevo’s Gadgetology survey, 30 percent of consumers shopping over the weekend want a new HDTV set, compared to 22 percent that […] Read more »
Freedom of choice is great… until there are too many choices. And the Internet-connected televisions headed to market will soon open up millions of TV-watching options. Right now, most folks use the standard TV grid to scroll through channels and programming. But the move from linear ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
While light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, have long played a role in consumer electronics and displays, solid-state lighting (SSL) is now emerging as a potential technology for everyday commercial and residential lighting applications. As incandescent light bulbs are phased out because they use too much energy, and concerns over mercury affect sales of compact fluorescent bulbs, SSL is receiving increasing attention from consumers and governments seeking to reduce energy costs and lower their carbon footprint. Once LED costs come down, SSL will have a major impact on the global lighting market. While LEDs themselves are not made with silicon, silicon chips are an integral component of SSL fixtures. Thus, the sector represents a significant market opportunity for chip makers. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Flickr Mobile Adds Video Support; photo-sharing site implements QuickTime-compatible videos encoded in H.264 so they run on iPhones and iPod Touches. (VentureBeat) Netflix Streaming Having Video Issues; strange glitch diminishing video quality for some users of the Roku and Xbox. (CNET) What Is Vidding? Video series […] Read more »
Editor’s Note: Marc Barros and Jason Green launched Twenty20Camera, maker of the vholdr hands-free digital video recorder, in 2004, just as they were graduating from colllege. They grew to a 7-man shop on little more than a $100,000-line of credit. So when they closed their first […] Read more »
