Semiconductor shortages related to the Japanese earthquake and tsunami will push 2011 world semiconductor revenue higher than originally forecast, IHS iSuppli said. In a report released Tuesday, the firm raised its projection to 7 percent from the 5.8 percent it offered in February. Revenue will reach $325.2 billion, rather than $320.1 billion, as shortages lead to higher prices for key DRAM devices, IHS said. The prices had been expected to drop 10.6 percent for the year. DRAM revenue is now predicted to decline 4 percent, IHS said.
Panasonic’s “Experience Amazing” road show, which kicked off Monday at Manhattan’s Grand Central Terminal, is funded by a part of a $100 million 2011 marketing budget the company allocated to continue an effort to boost awareness of the Viera TV and Lumix camera brands in the U.S., company executives said.
Sparing few superlatives, an IHS iSuppli analyst on Friday declared that the record quake and tsunami that struck northern Japan March 11 was “the most the significant event to hit the electronic supply chain in the history of the semiconductor industry.” Citing previous quakes that struck semiconductor production centers the past several decades, “none were as broad in scope or impacted as many suppliers as this disaster has,” Dale Ford, senior vice president of market intelligence at IHS iSuppli, said on a webcast.
Sherbourn Technologies, purchased late last year by ODM/OEM Jade Designs, is coming to market “in the May-June timeframe” with a new lineup of Control4-enabled AV products, the company said Tuesday. Sherbourn hopes to grab a piece of the custom installation market and “fill a hole” not currently served by other suppliers, President Dan Laufman told Consumer Electronics Daily.
Xpand launched a $199 3D plug-in for Microsoft PowerPoint at CinemaCon in Las Vegas Tuesday that allows users to add 3D images and graphics to presentations. With the plug-in, users can embed 3D movies, pictures and graphics in PowerPoint files, the company said. The 3D content can be viewed on a computer, compatible 3D TV or a video projector that supports HDMI 1.4 3D formats, using Xpand Universal 3D glasses, the company said. The plug-in, available as a player only or a converter with player, is compatible with 32-bit or 64-bit versions of Microsoft Office 2010, the company said. According to Ami Dror, chief strategy officer for Xpand, case studies have shown that 3D content improves viewer retention by more than 30 percent over 2D.
Barnes & Noble didn’t respond by our deadline to questions about a report from Digitimes that the company has taken delivery of nearly three million Nook Color devices from its Taiwan-based production source, Inventec, since the e-reader was introduced last fall. Sales of Nook Color, the report said, topped one million units in Q4 2010 and reached between 600,000 and 700,000 units during the first two months of 2011. The report said Nook Color has assumed more than half of “iPad-like market” in the U.S. Viral promotion of the device as a low-cost alternative to a tablet could spur more growth. The Nook Color received widespread media attention Sunday when a report on National Public Radio enlightened listeners about how they could convert e-readers, including Amazon’s Kindle and the Nook Color, to “cheap Internet on the go” using unauthorized software downloads. The tradeoff with using Google access on the Kindle is that users have to use directional buttons to navigate the screen. Nook Color, by contrast, has a touchscreen and a stripped-down Android operating system, which a college student in Omaha, Neb., claims to have been able to upgrade to full Android status with a free download that can be installed using a microSD card. He shows Nook Color owners how to hack the Nook Color in a YouTube clip. Barnes & Noble last week refused to say (WID March 28 p8) when its Android firmware upgrade, or an upgrade to Adobe Flash, would be available to users other than “spring,” although a shopping page on the HSN website advised shoppers the Android firmware upgrade -- and its pathway to additional apps -- would be available in April. An onslaught of other tablets, promised at CES, is on the way to stores now. Retailers are currently selling the Motorola Xoom tablet and ones from BlackBerry and Dell are on pre-order, all coming in at double or more the price of the Kindle and Nook Color. HP and Toshiba also have devices nearing the pipeline and Samsung has promised more Galaxy tabs as well. Meanwhile, Amazon.com announced it has exclusive e-book rights to 91 titles from English writer Catherine Cookson. Amazon said the collection includes the majority of Cookson’s full-length novels, some of which are out of print. The e-books sell from $1.50-$5.99 and can be downloaded by Kindle and Kindle app customers.
Barnes & Noble didn’t respond by our deadline to questions about a report from Digitimes that the company has taken delivery of nearly three million Nook Color devices from its Taiwan-based production source, Inventec, since the e-reader was introduced last fall. Sales of Nook Color, the report said, topped one million units in Q4 2010 and reached between 600,000 and 700,000 units during the first two months of 2011. The report said Nook Color has assumed more than half of “iPad-like market” in the U.S.
Panasonic and XpanD are developing a standard for 3D active-shutter eyewear that’s designed to “bring about compatibility among 3D TVs, computers, home projectors and cinema projection,” the companies said Monday. Makoto Morise, manager of the standards group at the Panasonic Hollywood Lab in Universal City, Calif., told us Panasonic this year will bring glasses to market conforming to the so-called M-3DI standard. Although the first-generation standard is based on infrared technology, the group is “considering” an RF-based solution for active-shutter glasses, the companies said. Licensing of the protocol, called M-3DI, will be handled by Panasonic and will begin next month, Morise told us.
Barnes & Noble is planning an April launch for the long-awaited apps for the Nook Color, PC World reported Friday, after spotting a notice on HSN’s website promoting April as the debut month for Nook Color apps. At the launch last fall, Barnes & Noble execs touted Android compatibility, although apps and e-mail functionality weren’t part of the initial product rollout, other than the eight pre-loaded apps bundled with the device. The additional functionality will bring the Nook Color closer to tablet functionality just as several Android tablets from Dell, HP, Samsung and Toshiba are about to hit the market. To date, Barnes & Noble has only referred to a “spring firmware update,” as recently as Friday when the company sent out press releases announcing subscription availability to The Economist, Travel + Leisure, and ESPN The Magazine. The news release also noted an upcoming update to Nook Color firmware this spring “that will give customers access to explore exciting new applications, email and many other requested features.” The company pre-announced several upcoming apps including Angry Birds, Drawing Pad, Lonely Planet Phrasebooks, Tikatok, and Wine PhD. Barnes & Noble told us Friday an update for the Android OS is still on track for “spring” along with the addition of Adobe Flash in 2011. The company launched the Nook developer program last October, inviting developers to deliver “new and innovative reading experiences that enrich, extend and expand” the reading experience using Barnes & Noble’s open eReading platform, a spokesman said. The apps will be offered through “our shopping experience,” the spokesman said. According to the HSN site, its customers will have “the sneak peek” of the new Nook Color updates, and “will be among the first to receive the update when it’s available.” The HSN site says updates will be sent out automatically to devices connected to Wi-Fi. Barnes & Noble told us customers will be notified via email and can check the Nook Facebook page for status updates. Last week, Barnes & Noble had no comment (WID March 22 p6) after Microsoft filed a patent infringement suit against the company over the Nook e-reader. The Android platform used by Nook readers infringe on various Microsoft patents, Microsoft claimed in the suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle. Microsoft “established an industry-wide patent licensing program for Android device manufacturers,” said Horacio Gutierrez, corporate vice president and deputy general counsel for Microsoft intellectual property and licensing. The patents at issue in the suit cover various functions “embodied in Android devices that are essential to the user experience,” Microsoft said. They include “natural ways of interacting with devices by tabbing through various screens to find the information they need; surfing the Web more quickly, and interacting with documents and e-books,” it said.
Barnes & Noble is planning an April launch for the long-awaited apps for the Nook Color, PC World reported Friday, after spotting a notice on HSN’s website promoting April as the debut month for Nook Color apps. At the launch last fall, Barnes & Noble execs touted Android compatibility, although apps and e-mail functionality weren’t part of the initial product rollout, other than the eight pre-loaded apps bundled with the device. The additional functionality will bring the Nook Color closer to tablet functionality just as several Android tablets from Dell, HP, Samsung and Toshiba are about to hit the market.