Microsoft unveiled its second generation of the Zune portable media players, software and a new online store including the addition of a new social networking site (do we need another?) called Zune Social. The new Zunes has a touch-sensitive button for navigation, wireless sync, and the company says that it will upgrade earlier Zunes through a software upgrade and give then access to the new Zune Marketplace when it goes live in six weeks. The new Zunes come with 80GB hard-drive and a 3.2-inch screen or with 4GB or 8 GB of Flash costing $250, $150 and $200. The new devices can also capture video from a Media Center PC. Perhaps Microsoft will sell some of these, unlike version one.
TechCrunch thinks that AOL is going to engineer an IPO for the advertising business which has been created under the name Platform A, with all the ad networks AOL has bought in the past; Advertising.com, Tacoda, Third Screen Media, Lightningcast, and AdTech. Time frame is supposed to be early next year. Watch out AOL, Nokia might snap it up is you sell too many shares.
Vodafone has taken an exclusive on a new Sony Ericsson HSDPA device in certain European markets, the new V640i, a stylish music phone designed to help see off the iPhone. Vodafone has already lined up the Samsung F700V, and the Nokia N95, with the Samsung having touch controls like an iPhone. The new Sony Ericsson can download a full-length track in around 14 seconds, has a ‘name that song’ feature called TrackID, drag and drops music and videos from a PC, supports Memory Stick Micro up to 4 gigabytes and has a dedicated music key. It weighs 97grams, offers Web browsing comes pre-loaded with Google Maps and eBay clients and Media Manager software.
The GSM Association says that operators are all reporting a surge in uptake of HSPA devices with KTF in Korea acquiring 1.7 million customers in just six months and Telstra in Australia one million in 10 months. AT&T already has five million 3G customers, the vast majority of whom have HSPA devices. It says there are more than 120 different HSPA handsets available and that will rise dramatically by Christmas by when Vodafone says it will add 10 new HSPA models.
Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Media fame says that he still wants to buy ITV and confirmed, as we have always thought that he would keep his 10.5% stake if the Quad player is sold, saying that if anybody bought it, it would most likely be because of the Virgin brand, not to get rid of it
Brasil Telecom has launched the first commercial IPTV service in Brazil, called Videon, throughout the capital Brasilia. Later it will shift the system to the remaining large cities It is offering either a fixed monthly package with 500 hours of programs, or a pay-per-view option or both. Telefonica is also preparing its own IPTV system based on Imagenio which will launch in the S’o Paulo area.
US DTH market leader DirecTV launched 21 new high definition channels last week including CNN and TBS in its drive towards 100 HD channels by year’s end. DirecTV will launch more channels in October including Bravo, Cartoon Network, Cinemax HD, CNBC, Food Network, Fox Business Network.
Activision said this week its has acquired UK based video game developer Bizarre Creations, a leader in the racing game category. This is a new genre for Activision. Bizarre Creations wrote Project Gotham Racing for Microsoft to run on the Xbox 360. which has sold more than 4.5 million units in North America and Europe. The 160-person development studio is located in Liverpool, England. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Sharp said it would introduce two new Aquos Blu-ray Recorders, one with a massive 1 terabyte hard drive, capable of holding up to 127 hours of HD video, and another half that size. They also support moving video from the hard drive to BD-RE or BD-R discs.
Leichtman Research says that digital video recorders will reach 60 million US homes by 2011 with growth driven by cable and satellite TV providers who offer discounted and subsidized DVR boxes. The report also says that 45% of DVR owners record only five or fewer programs a week.
Microsoft broke all box office records on the first day it had Xbox game Halo 3 video on the market, taking $170 million in US sales on one day. Microsoft reckons this is more than any movie, album or game ever.
Sony and Infineon refugee Qimonda, the German DRAM specialist said they would create Qreatic Design by each contributing some embedded DRAMs specialists and know how, to go after the consumer and graphic DRAM market. The company will be based in Tokyo, and start operations by the end of the calendar year.
Every time a new blow falls on Qualcomm, the chipmaker manages to bounce back, so even as shadows loom over its future IPR business, it raised fourth quarter and full year guidance, with Q4 revenues to be between $2.15 billion and $2.25 billion, on shipments of 67 million chips. For the full year it expects up to $8.82 billion in revenues up from $7.53 billion last year. And all of this without counting any royalties from Nokia. Qualcomm also hired a new top lawyer, Donald Rosenberg, from Apple. Qualcomm’s former general counsel, Lou Lupin, resigned in August for ‘personal reasons’ after a string of legal defeats in the chip company’s various patent related legal battles.
CBS Radio, Clear Channel, Cumulus, Cox, Entercom and Greater Media in the Us announced this week that they are in the process of installing iTunes Tagging technology. As a result, consumers who hear a song on their local HD Radio stations and want to preview, buy and download it later on iTunes will soon be able to do that with just the touch of a button on an enabled HD Radio receiver.
Sony this week launched a cheaper and slimmer PlayStation Portable at the end of September and managed to sell 250,702 of them the first four days on the market compared to the 275,223 original PSPs it sold in the entire months of July and August in Japan.