Sony Computer Entertainment’s PlayTV PS3 PVR apparently has been delayed in Europe, for undisclosed reasons. The device, shown lasat summer at the Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany, was to ship early in 2008 in the U.K., France, Italy, Germany and Spain early, with other PAL territories following “in due course,” SCE Europe said then (CED Aug 23 p1). But the device has not shipped, nor has the company announced a launch date or price. The holdup may involve technical issues with codecs related to PlayTV’s ability to record HD channels, according to published reports. SCEE wasn’t immediately available for comment. Amazon.com’s U.K. Web site indicated Monday that release isn’t expected until Oct. 31. No price was given, but published reports said the site earlier listed the device for 59.99 pounds, almost $119, down from 80 pounds, about $158, with a July 31 release. The PlayTV twin-channel TV tuner peripheral and PVR software will turn Sony’s console into a “state of the art TV recorder, allowing users to watch, pause and record live TV,” the company said in August. It said the two TV tuners will be HD-ready and allow viewing, recording and playback of HD signals in 1080p. PlayTV users will be able to record individual programs or whole series to the PS3 hard drive for viewing later on a TV or for transfer to a PSP, it said. The device will run on the DVB-T format, widely available in Europe, and use a seven-day electronic program guide, Sony said. The seven-day guide is expected to be possible only in the U.K. and Germany at first. SCE America hasn’t announced a similar offering for North America. Separately, Sony was listed as the ninth most innovative company worldwide by BusinessWeek, behind Apple (No. 1), Microsoft (No. 5) and Nintendo (No. 7). Sony finished just ahead of No. 10 Nokia, No. 11 Amazon.com, No. 12 IBM and No. 13 Research In Motion.
Federal action in 2008 on electronic waste probably won’t deflect a surge of state legislation expected to peak early in 2009 with the digital transition, said industry, environmental group, and state officials. Congressional advocates recently released an e-waste “concept paper” they termed a prelude to a federal bill (CED Feb 26 p3). This year is expected to see at least eight states pass e-waste measures, with nine already having them, officials said.
Federal action in 2008 on electronic waste probably won’t deflect a surge of state legislation expected to peak early in 2009 with the digital transition, said industry, environmental group, and state officials. Congressional advocates recently released an e-waste “concept paper” they termed a prelude to a federal bill (CED Feb 26 p3). This year is expected to see at least eight states pass e-waste measures, with nine already having them, officials said.
Half the mobile game market “is still up for grabs,” Glu Mobile CEO Greg Ballard told a Goldman Sachs symposium in Las Vegas Thursday. Glu will be the only mobile game company with a “substantial presence in China,” he said. He predicted that market will grow significantly over the next few years. The North America mobile game market is a “three- horse race,” among Electronic Arts, Glu and Gameloft, he said. But smaller mobile game companies are fighting for the remaining 50 percent of the market, and they will be “giving up market share over the next couple of years,” Ballard predicted. Glu disclosed late last year it acquired China mobile game company MIG and announced a tender offer in January to buy Superscape, which Glu said ranked among the top five mobile game publishers in the U.S. during Q4 2007, citing Nielsen Mobile data. If the Superscape transaction is consummated, adding of its market share to Glu’s existing share “would solidify” Glu’s No. 2 position in the U.S. among mobile game companies and bring it closer to No. 1 player Electronic Arts, Ballard said early this month. Glu is “pleased with the progress” of the tender offer so far, he said Thursday. It’s “probably going to pause for a little while” on acquiring more companies as it takes time to “digest” the MIG and Superscape deals, Ballard said.
Half the mobile game market “is still up for grabs,” Glu Mobile CEO Greg Ballard told a Goldman Sachs symposium in Las Vegas Thursday. Glu will be the only major, Western mobile game company with a “substantial presence in China,” he said. He predicted that market will grow significantly over the next few years. The North America mobile game market is a “three-horse race,” among Electronic Arts, Glu and Gameloft, he said. But smaller mobile game companies are fighting for the remaining 50 percent of the market, and they will be “giving up market share over the next couple of years,” Ballard predicted. Glu disclosed late last year it acquired China mobile game company MIG and announced a tender offer in January to buy Superscape, which Glu said ranked among the top five mobile game publishers in the U.S. during Q4 2007, citing Nielsen Mobile data. If the Superscape transaction is consummated, adding of its market share to Glu’s existing share “would solidify” Glu’s No. 2 position in the U.S. among mobile game companies and bring it closer to No. 1 player Electronic Arts, Ballard said early this month. Glu is “pleased with the progress” of the tender offer so far, he said Thursday. It’s “probably going to pause for a little while” on acquiring more companies as it takes time to “digest” the MIG and Superscape deals, Ballard said. It likely will take “several months” to integrate Superscape into Glu’s operations, he noted. But he said Glu’s “eyes are still open” for new opportunities on the acquisition front. Ballard also predicted EA and other major publishers in the midst of consolidation could end up lessening their focus on mobile games to better focus on their core console games, which will “allow us even further opportunity to consolidate our business,” he said. Glu announced plans to launch 12 titles in the first half of 2008: Shadowalker, Space Monkey, Age of Empires III Mobile, Mystery Case Files: Agent X, Solitaire Pop, Speed Racer, Wedding Dash, Frantic Factory, Get Cookin’, CrossPix by glu, Super Slam Ping Pong! and The Dark Knight, based on the upcoming Warner Bros. Batman film of that name. Nine of those games are original Glu properties, Ballard boasted, before predicting the company’s second half lineup “will be even stronger.”
The economy is slowing, but telecom still will “see a healthy uptick at home and abroad” the next three years, said Telecommunications Industry Association president Grant Seiffert as TIA released its 2008 Telecommunications Market Review & Forecast. TIA expects the global telecom market to grow 9.2 percent yearly, hitting $4.9 trillion in 2011, said Seiffert. Of that, the U.S. will contribute $1.3 trillion, with revenue growing 7.2 percent annually between now and then, he said.
After years of tire-kicking, most large U.S. and Canadian cable operators finally are rolling out, or preparing to roll out, switched digital video (SDV) technology to save digital spectrum for more profitable uses (CD Nov 26 p5). The biggest North American cable companies - - Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Charter, Cox and Cablevision Systems -- are deploying or preparing to deploy SDV, trying to bolster their competitive positions against DirecTV, Verizon and other multichannel video rivals.
After years of tire-kicking, most large U.S. and Canadian cable operators finally are rolling out, or preparing to roll out, switched digital video technology to save digital spectrum for more profitable uses. The biggest North American cable companies -- Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Charter, Cox and Cablevision Systems -- are deploying or preparing to deploy switched digital video, trying to bolster their competitive positions against DirecTV, Verizon and other multichannel video rivals.
In a time of cutthroat e-commerce competition, eBay is pulling out the stops to keep users happy, even at the risk of upsetting sellers short-term, Marketplace President John Donahoe said Tuesday at the UBS investor conference. The company’s fixed-price transactions now account for 41 percent of all sales, and eBay has been testing a new pricing formula for fixed-price sellers the past three months, he said. Donahoe also defended eBay’s purchase of Skype, which came under fire when the company took a $1.4 billion writeoff for it.
HD DVD’s most ambitious use yet of its Web-enabled interactivity comes Dec. 11, when Warner Home Video’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix debuts on HD DVD Combo Disc, as well as on DVD and Blu-ray. The HD DVD version’s “Live Community Screening” function lets viewers watch the movie together from different locations, and comment simultaneously through the remote controls of their Ethernet- connected players. One disc-owner acts as host, inviting up to three others to join the screening. The host operates all disc functions on all the connected machines, such as Play and Pause, in response to input from guests via text-messages through players’ remote controls, or even e-mail or cellphones, Warner said. The community screening feature isn’t available on Blu-ray versions of the Potter movie, because Ethernet connections aren’t mandated for all Blu-ray players as they have been for HD DVD since its launch. Blu- ray and HD DVD versions of the Potter disc have a $35.99 MSRP. Conventional DVD versions of the Potter movie also feature an innovation. The single-disc version offers the option of downloading a free copy of the movie to PC. With the two-disc version, a compressed copy of the movie is included for free ripping to a PC -- in case a buyer lacks a broadband connection, or wants to avoid download time. Both free-copying methods are part of Warner’s effort to offer consumers new ways to port its content to other devices without having to resort to unauthorized methods like P2P file-sharing. The studio can gauge consumer interest in the copying options and HD DVD community screening because disc buyers must register online to activate them.