Regulators put pressure on Sprint to remedy issues with iDEN network
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Sony Halves Price Of PlayStation 3 Development Kit (TechWeb)
Sony on Monday cut by nearly half the price of its PlayStation 3 software development kit, in an attempt to encourage more game development on the struggling videogame console. ADVERTISEMENT
The move followed by about a month Sony cutting prices of the console around the world to boost sales, which have lagged behind the less expensive and more popular Wii from rival Nintendo. The price for the 80Gbyte PS3 was chopped to $499 from $599. Both consoles shipped about the same time late last year. In the latest move, Sony Computer Entertainment, the unit responsible for the PlayStation, reduced the price of the SDK, which SCE calls the Reference Tool, to $10,250 in North America, $8,600 in Japan, and $11,250 in Europe. In addition, SCE said it would enhance the development environment by integrating programming tools from SN Systems. SN's core tool is Sony has been forced to cut prices on its money-losing PS3 in order to compete against the Wii, the hottest selling console. As of October, Nintendo shipped 13.2 million units worldwide, and expects to sell a total of 17.5 million Wiis by the end of the fiscal year March 31, the Associated Press reported. Sony, on the other hand, has shipped only 5.6 million PS3s as of the end of September. Selling consoles at a loss is not unusual in the industry, since manufacturers make money licensing the platform to game developers. Sony, however, has yet to attract a blockbuster game comparable to Microsoft's Halo 3. The game has broken a number of gaming industry records, including the mark for first-day sales, pulling in $170 million on its Sept. 25 launch. Microsoft said in its financial first quarter that ended Sept. 30, sales of PS3 rival Xbox 360 Microsoft has sold 13.4 million Xbox 360s since the console's release two years ago. While Sony has trailed Microsoft in games, Nintendo has bested the one-time console leader with a strategy of offering easy-to-use games on a relatively inexpensive console. The Wii, which uses a popular motion-sensing control that gets players more involved in games, sells for $250 in North America, $370 in Europe and $230 in Japan. The company, which has never cut prices, has managed to attract people who normally would avoid the more complicated games available for Xbox 360 and PS3, which are more advanced consoles. As of September, Sony has sold 5.6 million PS3s, according to the AP. The company has reported higher sales as a result of its most recent price cuts.
As U.S. cools, world demand helps HP outpace rivals
SAN FRANCISCO: Buoyed by its heavy international presence, Hewlett-Packard appears to have sidestepped the softening demand from corporations inside the United States for new technology.
In recent weeks, companies including Cisco, IBM and Network Appliances have warned that American corporations are tightening their purse strings when it comes to technology spending. On Monday, Hewlett-Packard, the world's largest technology company, not only reported strong fourth-quarter net profit and sales, but also predicted further growth in the months ahead.
In conference calls with reporters and industry analysts, Mark Hurd, the chief executive, declined to answer directly whether HP is seeing softening in demand among corporate customers in the United States. Over all, he said, “we're seeing fairly steady demand.”
He also said: “I don't want to be confused with an economist in any way, shape or form.”
Hewlett-Packard, he also noted, does not depend on the financial industry for a significant portion of its sales.
Wall Street analysts said that the results, which beat their projections, reflected the diversity of HP's business geographically and in terms of its reliance on selling to consumers, not just corporations.
“This is very different from what we heard from IBM and Cisco, in particular,” said Shaw Wu, an analyst with American Technology Research. “HP continues to execute in this very tough environment. The key reason is that they're very global.”
Hurd, known for giving conservative forecasts to analysts, predicted revenue for 2008 would rise about 7 percent to about $111.5 billion. The new forecast exceeded industry analysts' predictions.
For HP's fourth quarter, ended Oct. 31, the company reported revenue of $28.3 billion, and net income of $2.8 billion, or 86 cents a share, a figure that does not include one-time charges.
In the fourth quarter a year ago, HP reported net income of $1.9 billion, or 68 cents a share, and revenue of $24.55 billion. For its full fiscal 2007, HP reported revenue of $104.3 billion and net income of $8 billion, or $2.93 a share, excluding one-time charges.
A. M. Sacconaghi, an industry analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein & Company, called the fourth-quarter and fiscal 2007 earnings “very solid,” adding: “They beat handily and raised guidance, which investors always cheer.”
The company's shares, which fell with the overall market Monday during regular trading, rose 86 cents in after-hours trading to close at $50.30. The company also announced a plan to buy back $8 billion of its shares.
Unlike many technology companies — which do roughly 60 percent of their business domestically — HP does around 65 percent overseas, industry analysts said. Dell, its chief competitor, does only about 35 percent of its business internationally, Wu said.
Despite its recent success, the question for a company as large as HP is where can it find opportunities that will satisfy investors' interest in seeing continued growth at a rapid pace. Hurd has frequently warned analysts that the law of large numbers makes it increasingly difficult for the company to add $7 billion to $8 billion in new revenue each year.
Hurd said in a conference call with Wall Street analysts that he would continue to seek businesses with growth potential, but that he would also keep pursuing a program of cost cuts and efficiency improvements and would then reallocate resources to the growth sectors.
At the two largest individual business divisions, sales rose 30 percent, to $10.1 billion, in the personal systems group, which sells PCs to consumers and corporations, but they were up only 4 percent, to $7.6 billion, in the imaging and printing group.
“PC's continued their torrid success,” Sacconaghi said. “The only mild disappointment was in the imaging and printing group.”
The performance in computers could underscore continued trouble for Dell, HP's chief competitor, which reports its financial results next week. Sales of HP notebook computers rose 49 percent in the fourth quarter, Hurd said.
While Hurd declined to discuss the relative performance of corporations in the United States, HP did see more modest growth in North America in the fourth quarter than it did in its overseas markets.
Excluding currency effects, growth in North America was 10 percent, to $11.9 billion, compared with the period a year ago. Sales grew 19 percent in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, to $11.6 billion, and in the Asia-Pacific market they were up 20 percent, to $4.8 billion.
HP estimated that for its first quarter of 2008, sales would be $27.4 billion to $27.5 billion, and net income would reach 80 cents a share, not including one-time charges.
RTX Telehealth Monitor keeps you in contact with your doctor
We’ve seen a few , but they all seem like overkill compared to RTX’s Telehealth Monitor, which strips things down to the basics. The device wirelessly connects to a range of sensors like blood glucose monitors, scales, and and blood pressure monitors, and sends data to healthcare providers over a phone line connection. In addition, the unit can be programmed to ask diagnostic questions, give dosage reminders, and communicate other information from doctor to patient. Intriguing, but come one — not even our grandparents have landlines anymore.
Samsung SE-S204S DVD burner cuts out the hard drive
Skype Grows Up
Skype, the Internet phone company founded in Luxembourg back in 2003 and acquired by eBay in 2005, is growing up. There was a time when Skype could only be used to call from one PC to another. But they now have SkypeOut and SkypeIn, which make it possible to call regular landline and cell phones and receive calls through your own phone number.
Though “Skype to Skype” calls between PCs or special Skype phones are free, the company does charge for calls to landlines and cell phones as well as for receiving calls from regular phones because the company has to pay fees to local phone companies for calls to or from landlines or cell phones.
The cost of a SkypeOut call depends on where you’re calling, but is typically 2 cents a minute when calling landlines anywhere in the U.S. or Canada and in many other countries as well.
As with any Internet phone service, there is a surcharge for calling cell phones in most countries because outside North America, the caller - not the cellular subscriber - pays airtime. For $30 a year you can purchase unlimited outgoing calls to anywhere in the U.S. and Canada (including cell phones).
SkypeIn costs $18 for three months or $60 per year which means that for about $90 a year, you can use Skype for all your incoming and outgoing calls and never have to pay for long distance calls within the U.S. or Canada. That’s a lot cheaper than getting a VOIP line from Vonage, your cable company and most other services and also a lot cheaper than a line from the phone company.
Unlike your regular phone or even most cell phones, you can use it from anywhere in the world, as long as you have an Internet connection. And unlike a cell phone, you don’t have to worry about going over your minutes.
My kids, who are in their 20s - typical of their generation - don’t have landlines but use cell phones for all their incoming and outgoing calls. Perhaps it would be cost effective to use Skype at home and save their minutes for when they’re on the road. Besides, Dad would prefer it if they had a real phone at home since I often can’t get through to their cell phones.
Skype is also making a big push to encourage video calls. The company recently improved video calling for its latest PC version, which you can download and use for free.
Video calling was first demonstrated at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York but it’s come of age lately, largely due to the growth of high-speed Internet as well as better cameras and free services like Skype video. While I can think of reasons I wouldn’t want to make a video call (like the way I look first thing in the morning), I’ve come to appreciate the value it can add to calls.
The benefit of a parent or grandparent using video to communicate with a child is obvious but even calls between adults can benefit from video. I was recently on a business video call that kept me a bit more engaged. But even more interesting, I found myself paying attention to the other person’s facial expressions, which really did convey more than just what I was getting from his voice.
I’m not suggesting that video ought to replace audio only for all calls, but video does have its place and can add value so long as it doesn’t get in the way by adding complexity to the process or by degrading the signal.
I recently tested the new Skype version for Windows and was impressed by the quality of video calls. Of course, the actual quality of both the image and voice depends on network bandwidth on both ends and in the middle.
I have a pretty fast cable modem and the people on the other end of the call also had pretty good bandwidth. The one time I chatted with someone with a slower connection, the picture was a little bit “pixilated” and he would sometimes freeze up during the call, but the overall quality was still OK.
Another factor is the quality of the webcam. While Skype will work with just about any webcam, it’s optimized for a new series of cameras from Logitech. I tested it with the Logitech Quickcam Pro 9000 (available from Skype for $79.99 after rebate) in use on both ends of the phone call.
In addition to being able to keep up with at least some level of subject motion, Quickcam Pro has autofocus and Carl Zeiss optics and what Logitech calls “RightLight Technology” that helps correct for poor lighting conditions. With this camera the person can see you in full screen mode instead of only in a small window on the screen. The camera also has a built-in microphone but to get the best audio quality, I recommend using a headset or a standard microphone.
Another significant development for Skype is the launch of devices that free you from having to make or receive calls from a PC.
Philips’ new VOIP841 cordless phone comes with a base station that connects directly to your Internet router, so you don’t even have to have a PC running to make and receive calls. The phone also connects to your standard phone line so you can use it to make and receive both Skype and regular calls.
Skype, by the way, urges users not to use its technology as their only phone because it does not report your location if you use it to dial 911. Also, Skype in the U.S. doesn’t report your phone number to people you call who accept caller ID.
The Philips phone was easy to install and easy to use. When you make a call, you’re asked if you want to use a landline or SkypeOut. If you have a SkypeIn account, you can answer incoming calls to your Skype number or your regular landline if you have one.
So, there are plenty of Skype options, and, a few more details to keep in mind.
In the U.S., when you are making calls with Skype, your phone number will not show up on caller ID devices used by the people you are calling. That could be inconvenient in some cases - say, when calling someone whose phone is programmed to reject all unidentified calls.
Skype also doesn’t report your location, for instance, if you use Skype to call 911. For that reason, Skype urges its users not to rely on their technology as their only phone.
A syndicated technology columnist for over two decades, Larry Magid serves as on air Technology Analyst for CBS Radio News. His technology reports can be heard several times a week on the CBS Radio Network. Magid is the author of several books including “The Little PC Book.”
HP 4Q profit beats Wall Street forecasts (AP)
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Hewlett-Packard Co., which took the title of world’s biggest PC seller a year ago from slumping rival Dell Inc., is warning investors that it does not expect its PC business to continue expanding as quickly as it has been.
“The numbers we’ve delivered are huge. It’s not prudent to build a business model on that,” Chief Executive Mark Hurd said in an interview Monday. “We’re not building our models on the kind of growth we’ve seen in the past.” Sales of laptop and desktop computers have fueled much of the Palo Alto-based company’s growth over the past year, jumping 26 percent to $33.5 billion and accounting for nearly a third of HP’s $104.3 billion in revenue in 2007. Still, Hurd said Monday that the company isn’t forecasting the same kind of rapid growth for its PC business, though it expects to continue taking market share from other makers. The company has historically given similarly conservative financial guidance. As the world’s largest technology company, HP’s results are closely watched for signs about the health of technology spending. Investors were interested this quarter in whether HP was hurt by the continuing mortgage crisis that has saddled banks with billions of dollars in losses. But Hurd said HP derives only a small slice of its business from sales to the financial services sector. He didn’t see any “material weakness” in that segment during the latest quarter, he said. “We’re actually trying to get more exposed to financial services_ we see that as a big opportunity for us,” Hurd said on a conference call with analysts. HP reported fourth-quarter sales and profit Monday that easily beat Wall Street’s forecasts. A brightened financial outlook and the board’s authorization of $8 billion more for stock buybacks — a sign the company believes its shares are undervalued — helped lift HP shares 86 cents to $50.30 in after-hours trading. They fell $1.31 to $49.44 during the regular session Monday, before the results were released. HP’s net income leaped 28 percent in the three months ended Oct. 31, to $2.16 billion, or 81 cents per share, from $1.69 billion, or 60 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier. Excluding one-time charges, HP’s profit was 86 cents per share, 4 cents higher than the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial. Sales jumped 15 percent to $28.29 billion, nearly $1 billion more than the $27.4 billion Wall Street was expecting. Aided by falling prices for components such as memory chips, strong PC sales were behind much of that growth, including a 49 percent rise in laptop sales to $5.16 billion and a 15 percent increase in desktop computer sales to $4.21 billion. HP currently commands about 20 percent of the worldwide PC market, compared with Dell’s roughly 15 percent, according to the latest data from market researcher IDC. But HP’s most profitable business is printer ink. The company derived 42 percent of its $2.63 billion total operating profit in the latest quarter from its Imaging and Printing Group, nearly twice the amount contributed by the Personal Systems Group, which includes PCs. For the full fiscal year 2007, HP rang up $104.3 billion in sales, a 14 percent improvement over last year and the first time HP has cracked $100 billion in annual sales. Net income for the year was $7.26 billion, or $2.68 per share. Investors were pleased with a higher financial forecast. HP expects profits — excluding one-time charges — of 80 cents per share in the first quarter, 3 cents higher than Wall Street’s forecasts. And it predicts sales between $27.4 billion and $27.5 billion, also higher than the $27 billion analysts were expecting.
Nokia Siemens sees profit from “greener” networks (Reuters)
HELSINKI (Reuters) - Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN.UL) aims to cut the energy consumption of some of its mobile base stations by up to 40 percent by 2010 in a move that should also boost profits, the telecoms network group said on Tuesday. ADVERTISEMENT
With new technology and software, fewer base stations would also be needed for the most power-hungry part of a mobile telecom network, it added. By the year 2010, it said it would reduce energy consumption of its GSM and WCDMA base stations to 650 watts and 300 watts respectively, from the current levels of 800 watts and 500 watts. "We have set ambitious goals that are reasonable both environmentally but also business-wise as energy is becoming more expensive," Nokia Siemens' head of environmentally sustainable business, Anne Larilahti, told Reuters in an interview. Part of a base station can be shut down during times of low traffic which reduces the need for air conditioning on sites, the company added. Finnish handset maker Nokia (NOK1V.HE) and German conglomerate Siemens () decided to combine their telecoms network equipment businesses last year to gain scale against rivals such as Ericsson () and Huawei (HWT.UL). "There is also the chance to make a profit," Larilahti said adding that it was possible to have a "net positive" impact with greener products. "Only then, we can do this in the long term and not settle for short-term charity projects." Larilahti said Nokia Siemens saw itself the top player in energy efficiency with its GSM base stations consuming 25 percent less energy compared with the next best competitor. (Reporting by Sami Torma and Sakari Suoninen; editing by Paul Bolding)
Sony cuts price for PS3 developers
TOKYO: Hoping to encourage the creation of more games for the PlayStation 3, Sony said Monday that it had cut the price of a software development kit for the struggling console in half.
Sony's gaming unit, Sony Computer Entertainment, said prices for the development package would be reduced to $10,250 in North America, ¥950,000, or $8,600, in Japan and €7,500, or $11,250, in Europe.
The reduction followed price cuts on PlayStation 3 around the world last month. Sony has said that sales have improved in the United States, Japan and Europe since the cuts. The 80-gigabyte version now sells for about $499, down from $599.
Although its predecessor, the PlayStation 2, dominated the gaming market, the PS3 has struggled against the Nintendo Wii console.
Increasing PS3 sales is crucial for Sony's overall business strategy because the game console also supports its next-generation video product, the Blu-ray disc. It is competing with the HD-DVD format backed by Toshiba.
The Wii has succeeded in drawing people who are not accustomed to playing electronic games, by offering easier-to-play games that use a wandlike handheld device as the remote controller.
There have been no price cuts on the Wii, which sells for about $250 in North America, €250 in Europe and ¥25,000 in Japan.
It is generally more difficult and expensive to create games for sophisticated machines like the PS3, which is packed with cutting-edge technology and is driven by the Cell microprocessor. But the consoles will not sell unless a variety of games can be played on them.
Game developers who previously designed products for the PlayStation 2 are now increasingly making Wii versions of the games.
By October, Nintendo had shipped 13.2 million Wii units worldwide. The Wii console went on sale late last year. Nintendo is expecting to sell 17.5 million Wiis by the end of this fiscal year, which is March 31.
Sony had sold 5.6 million PS3s worldwide as of the end of September, said a company spokesman, Daisuke Nakata. The console went on sale late last year in Japan and the United States and in March in Europe.
The PS3 has also lagged behind the Xbox 360 machine from Microsoft, which has sold 13.4 million Xbox 360 consoles over the past two years.
Amway has new product line: Hollywood
Stephanie Diani for The New York Times Dan Adler's Fanista offers rewards to users who get friends to buy CDs or DVDs.
LOS ANGELES: It peddles a way to sell entertainment
Amway, the door-to-door peddler of vitamins and soap, wants to reinvent how Hollywood sells entertainment.
The owners of the multilevel marketing company are pouring millions of dollars into a new online store called Fanista - pronounced fa-NEE-sta. The Web site, set to make its public debut this week, will initially sell DVDs and CDs. In the coming months it will add video games, digital downloads and books.
People can use Fanista as a place to shop, but the company said it hoped consumers would join as members - signing up is free - and then recruit their friends.
The carrot: If a friend joins and buys something, identifying you as the reason for joining, you get 5 percent of the sale in cash or credit.
Think of it as part Amazon (online retail), part MySpace (hip social network) and part Amway (direct pitch from somebody you know).
“The distribution system for the entertainment business is broken,” said Daniel Adler, Fanista's founder. “We're pioneering a new model.”
A newfangled Internet business pops up every few weeks in Hollywood and promises to revolutionize something or other, but movie studios and music labels are taking the upstart seriously.
Money is one reason: Alticor, the owner of Amway and Fanista's sole financial backer, says it generates about $6 billion in annual revenue.
“Those are awfully deep pockets,” said the writer and entrepreneur Norman Lear, who helped connect Adler with the direct-sales giant.
Through his various business partners and friends in Hollywood, Lear knew that Adler was tinkering with a new Web-based distribution system and Alticor was looking for a new angle, perhaps in entertainment.
More important, Adler is an entertainment insider. He formerly worked at Creative Artists Agency, where he led the new media division, and Walt Disney, where he was a creative developer, or “imagineer.”
Adler helped roll out LidRock, which created a stir in 2004 by distributing music on miniature CDs tucked inside the lids of movie theater soda cups.
“His Rolodex of relationships is what makes this different,” said Sherry Lansing, the former Paramount chairwoman.
Adler aims to exploit the increasingly cynical view that consumers, particularly young ones, have about the way Hollywood pushes its wares.
“Regardless of what the big marketing campaign says is hot, regardless of what the big-name critic says is good, people make entertainment purchases based on the recommendations of people they encounter directly,” he said. “That is the only authentic voice.”
The company arrives as Hollywood experiments with the Web to build a more direct relationship with consumers.
The rock band Radiohead last month allowed fans to set their own price for digital downloads while Blockbuster recently signed a deal with Facebook to promote movie rentals. When members of the social network rent films from Blockbuster.com, they will be encouraged to have their movie choice broadcast to all their Facebook contacts.
Some Internet analysts say Fanista has an uphill battle. “It's certainly interesting, but I'm not completely sold on what they're trying to do,” said David Card, a senior analyst at Jupiter Research who focuses on online media. “Historically, with the exception of Amazon and Wal-Mart, the shopping mall approach hasn't worked online.”
Amway also suffers from an image problem because of lingering memories of its past legal troubles. Most prominently, the company pleaded guilty in 1983 to defrauding the Canadian government and paid $25 million in fines.
In recent years, India, China and Britain have investigated the company's business practices.
Aware of the negative connotation that comes along with the multi-level marketing tag, Fanista coined a happier term. The site explains the sales model to users as “consumer interest marketing.”
On Fanista, members create and customize profiles where they list favorite DVDs and CDs - preferably ones Fanista has in its inventory of about 500,000 titles.
Adler, for instance, added the movie “Fletch” to his home page. Members are then asked to write reviews for items.
“If you love good comedy, this is a MUST,” wrote Adler of the 1985 film, which stars Chevy Chase as a wisecracking reporter.
Next comes inviting friends to join. If they become members and identify you as the reason, you earn a 5 percent commission on purchases they make.
Fanista, developed in secrecy over the past two years, plans to make noise in multiple ways, Adler said. Celebrities, attracted partly though Adler's contacts in Hollywood, will be members, while the company also hopes to get exclusive access to certain new releases from studios and record labels.
