BetaNews.Com http://ces.betanews.com Copyright (C) 1998-2007 BetaNews, Inc. webmaster@betanews.com Fri, 12 Jan 2007 15:56:14 -0500 http://ces.betanews.com/entry/Is_the_BestofShow_Judging_Really_Practical/1168635376 Is the Best-of-Show Judging Really Practical? Fri, 12 Jan 2007 15:56:14 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:entry-1168635376 http://ces.betanews.com/entry/After_Xbox_360_Will_Apple_TV_Have_a_Chance/1168573517 With as powerful a statement Microsoft made on Sunday with its Xbox 360 revision - more powerful, many feel, than its case for Windows Vista during the same keynote - Apple's introduction, tucked between its boosted statistics for iTunes and its iPhone revelation, seemed somewhat muted, perhaps an afterthought. Or perhaps it was just me...and a few million others who were expecting the company to make a bid to change the face of mobile communications. Thu, 11 Jan 2007 22:45:15 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:entry-1168573517 http://www.betanews.com/article/Apple_Without_the_Computer_Life_with_iPhone/1168571599 On Tuesday morning in San Francisco, Apple did something it had never done before. In 1976, it basically created the personal computer industry; if it had ever come into fruition without Apple, the computer today would probably be unrecognizable, and maybe even unlikable. In 2001, the company essentially invented the portable digital music industry, even though MP3 players existed prior to 2001, and personal computers of some sort existed prior to 1976. Thu, 11 Jan 2007 22:35:27 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:article-1168571599 http://ces.betanews.com/entry/Is_the_Bar_Raised_Too_High_for_Cingular/1168559123 This week, Cingular has had one of the biggest cellular device announcements at CES, for the Palm Treo 750; and certainly the biggest one <i>outside</i> of CES, for the Apple iPhone. But neither device is geared to use the HSDPA higher-speed 3G network, which is supposedly being championed by Cingular. Thu, 11 Jan 2007 18:45:21 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:entry-1168559123 http://ces.betanews.com/entry/Verizon_Wireless_Plans_Onward_and_UMB_Upward/1168555163 For a lot of mobile broadband users, myself included, it was Verizon Wireless that introduced us to Internet use that didn't require hotspots. But it's not quite a year later, and my EV-DO technology has already been superseded - in fact, twice, but not necessarily in a way that I'd notice. While EV-DO has evolved (that's actually what the "EV" stands for, "evolutionary"), it takes time for the nation's still-incomplete wireless broadband data networks to catch up. Thu, 11 Jan 2007 17:39:22 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:entry-1168555163 http://www.betanews.com/article/Skype_Throws_Cold_Water_on_Cell_Version/1168543430 Don't expect a version of Skype for cellular phones anytime soon. A company executive told Reuters Wednesday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that data plans are still too costly to make such a version viable. Thu, 11 Jan 2007 14:32:31 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:article-1168543430 http://ces.betanews.com/entry/The_Course_Ahead_for_Sony/1168531244 Sony has been badly in need of good news this year, and even if it came a few days after CES opened, a nice piece of it may have come this morning: NPD's figures for US market share in televisions for the first 11 months of 2006 are out, and Sony has retained its position at #1 in unit sales by 5%. Thu, 11 Jan 2007 11:00:42 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:entry-1168531244 http://ces.betanews.com/entry/Sprints_WiMAX_Plan/1168487234 Sprint Nextel showed off WiMAX capability at CES this week, while at the same time, they put forth some pretty lofty-sounding predictions numbers. But when you take an in-depth look in the numbers, as Sharon Fisher did, they may not be lofty enough. Wed, 10 Jan 2007 22:47:13 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:entry-1168487234 http://ces.betanews.com/entry/Is_the_Megapixel_Race_Still_On/1168485457 We went into this CES week believing the race to build digital cameras with more and more megapixels was finally wearing down. Lo and behold, Sharon Fisher talks with a key analyst in this space who says there's actually no stopping the rapid rise of megapixels. Wed, 10 Jan 2007 22:17:36 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:entry-1168485457 http://www.betanews.com/article/Cisco_Sues_Apple_Over_iPhone_Trademark_Use/1168471707 Cisco Systems - which holds the 'iPhone' trademark after its Linksys division acquired Infogear in 2000 - has filed suit against Apple claiming trademark infringement. Wed, 10 Jan 2007 18:28:24 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:article-1168471707 http://ces.betanews.com/entry/Sling_Media_to_Sling_CBS_Clips_to_Palm_OS_Handhelds/1168466168 Following Sling Media's announcement of the SlingCatcher, the company has also proceeded to announce deals with Palm as well as the CBS Television Network. Wed, 10 Jan 2007 16:56:06 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:entry-1168466168 http://ces.betanews.com/entry/Intel_to_Launch_Public_Beta_of_Viiv_DVR_Service_with_DirecTV/1168465459 In an official connection of the proverbial dots between satellite TV service and home computers, Intel announced at CES today it will begin public trials later this year of a streaming media service to customers of DirecTV HD Plus DVR service. Wed, 10 Jan 2007 16:44:18 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:entry-1168465459 http://ces.betanews.com/entry/The_Current_State_of_3G/1168450575 When the iPhone was announced, a number of people expressed disappointment that it didn't support 3G. Some general-press journalists attending Macworld yesterday asked some members of the crowd on hand why they were disappointed, and in getting the response that there was no 3G...they learned there was something called "3G." Wed, 10 Jan 2007 12:36:13 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:entry-1168450575 http://www.betanews.com/article/Cingular_Made_iPhone_Deal_with_Apple_in_February_2005_NYTimes/1168444782 A <i>New York Times</i> report this morning cites high-ranking officials with Cingular and Apple as having confirmed they entered into a deal to produce the iPhone as far back as February 2005. Wed, 10 Jan 2007 10:59:39 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:article-1168444782 http://ces.betanews.com/entry/HD_DVD_Not_So_Fast_Bluray/1168410076 HD DVD: Not So Fast, Blu-ray Wed, 10 Jan 2007 01:21:15 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:entry-1168410076 http://ces.betanews.com/entry/LG_Hybrid_BlurayHD_DVD_Player_Cannot_Be_Sold_As_Is/1168407626 LG may have a difficult time bringing its newly announced BH100 hybrid Blu-ray and HD DVD player to the market, BetaNews has learned, because it will not receive certification from the DVD Forum. Without such certification, LG cannot publicly claim the player supports HD DVD as it is doing now. Wed, 10 Jan 2007 00:40:24 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:entry-1168407626 http://ces.betanews.com/entry/Microsofts_Sideshow_No_Longer_On_the_Side/1168405527 Microsoft's Sideshow No Longer On the Side Wed, 10 Jan 2007 00:05:25 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:entry-1168405527 http://ces.betanews.com/entry/More_Sampling_of_Analyst_Opinions_of_Apple_iPhone/1168405190 More Sampling of Analyst Opinions of Apple iPhone Tue, 09 Jan 2007 23:59:49 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:entry-1168405190 http://ces.betanews.com/entry/Microsoft_Reaction_to_Apple_iPhone/1168402451 Microsoft Reaction to Apple iPhone Tue, 09 Jan 2007 23:14:10 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:entry-1168402451 http://ces.betanews.com/entry/Warner_Home_Video_Announces_Total_HD_States_Discs_are_TwoSided/1168398943 Warner Home Video Announces Total HD, States Discs are Two-Sided Tue, 09 Jan 2007 22:15:41 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:entry-1168398943 http://ces.betanews.com/entry/What_is_the_True_Market_for_HugeScreen_TVs/1168386144 Every year, there's a little battle going on at CES to see who can display the real-world television (not some mockup, not one of those video wall displays, but a real TV) with the largest display. This year, Sharp seems to hold the prize at 108". But is there a real market for these things? We asked our analyst, Sharon Fisher, to look into this in-depth. Tue, 09 Jan 2007 18:42:22 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:entry-1168386144 http://www.betanews.com/article/The_Buzz_iPhone_Reaction_Mostly_Positive/1168384807 While most of the media (including ourselves, admittedly) was agog over Apple's iPhone announcement, reaction to it from the tech punditry and blogs was a little less positive. Tue, 09 Jan 2007 18:20:07 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:article-1168384807 http://www.betanews.com/article/Dell_Customers_Central_to_Our_Future/1168376692 In his keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas Tuesday, Dell Chairman and founder Michael Dell said that "customer imagination" would be the most important driver for innovation during the year. Tue, 09 Jan 2007 16:04:49 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:article-1168376692 http://ces.betanews.com/entry/Running_Commentary_During_Steve_Jobs_iPhone_Announcement/1168373948 Here's the transcript of commentary from BetaNews correspondents and analysts during Apple CEO Steve Jobs' Macworld keynote speech Tuesday morning. Tue, 09 Jan 2007 15:19:06 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:entry-1168373948 http://www.betanews.com/article/Cisco_Offers_to_License_iPhone_Name_to_Apple/1168373079 A representative of Cisco Systems, which <a href="http://www.betanews.com/article/Linksys_iPhone_Announcement_Gets_Attention/1166472974" title="Linksys iPhone Announcement Gets Attention">acquired the iPhone trademark</a> by way of its Linksys division having acquired Infogear in 2000, told BetaNews this afternoon that it is offering to license its trademark for Apple's use, and has drawn up papers to that end. Tue, 09 Jan 2007 15:04:36 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:article-1168373079 http://www.betanews.com/article/Apple_Drops_Computer_from_Name/1168369768 Reflecting Apple's movement away from just being a provider of computers, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said the company would be removing the "Computer" from its company name and would now be known simply as Apple, Inc. Tue, 09 Jan 2007 14:09:25 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:article-1168369768 http://ces.betanews.com/entry/Sharp_Shows_Off_108inch_LCD_TV/1168365650 Sharp Shows Off 108-inch LCD TV Tue, 09 Jan 2007 13:00:48 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:entry-1168365650 http://www.betanews.com/article/Apple_Goes_for_the_Trifecta_with_iPhone/1168365575 In his keynote address at Macworld in San Francisco Tuesday, Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the oft-rumored and much-anticipated iPhone, although the device is somewhat different than what had been expected. Tue, 09 Jan 2007 12:59:32 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:article-1168365575 http://www.betanews.com/article/Apple_Debuts_Apple_TV/1168364531 Apple CEO Steve Jobs took the lid off of its "iTV" project, renaming it Apple TV. Being billed as a "way to enjoy your media on a bigscreen TV," the unit would feature 720p HD video, a 40GB hard drive, and component and RCA hookups. Tue, 09 Jan 2007 12:42:11 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:article-1168364531 http://www.betanews.com/article/Jobs_iTunes_Served_2_Billion_Songs/1168363657 Starting off his yearly keynote at MacWorld 2007 in San Francisco, Steve Jobs said "we're going to make history." Indeed the company has -- with Jobs noting nearly half of the new Macs sold at retail have been to new Macintosh customers. Tue, 09 Jan 2007 12:27:34 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:article-1168363657 http://ces.betanews.com/entry/Starz_Vongo_Selected_as_Vista_Launch_Partner/1168320245 Starz’ Vongo video service has been selected as the premier movie store launch partner for Windows Vista, the US movie channel said Monday. Tue, 09 Jan 2007 00:24:04 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:entry-1168320245 http://ces.betanews.com/entry/Microsoft_Still_Pushing_Forward_with_SPOT_for_MSN_Direct/1168319168 SPOT is still not dead. Microsoft on Monday said that it had reached a deal with navigation device maker Garmin that would integrate MSN Direct services, based on Microsoft's long-running Smart Personal Object Technology, into select GPS devices. Tue, 09 Jan 2007 00:06:07 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:entry-1168319168 http://ces.betanews.com/entry/Sling_Media_Introduces_The_SlingCatcher/1168315649 Having conquered “place-shifting” television content, Sling Media is now attempting to do the opposite by bringing Web and PC-based content to the television. Enter the SlingCatcher, which debuted Monday at CES. Mon, 08 Jan 2007 23:07:27 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:entry-1168315649 http://ces.betanews.com/entry/HD_DVD_Bluray_Both_Declared_Victors_in_Separate_Biased_Opinions/1168312120 File this in the so-ridiculous-it’s-almost-sad category, but the Blu-ray Disc Association declared itself the winner Monday at CES. Match this up with a statement by Robbie Bach just 24 hours before that declared HD DVD the “top selling format this year.” Mon, 08 Jan 2007 22:08:39 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:entry-1168312120 http://ces.betanews.com/entry/Sony_Bravia_Tries_Bringing_AOL_Video_Into_the_Living_Room/1168307621 Today, Sony is premiering the latest in its Bravia line of high-definition digital TV components. One of its key features is something called an "Internet Video Link," which is essentially the capability for the TV tuner component to dial up Internet videos from a major service, just as easily as it dials up channels from the TV service provider or antenna. Mon, 08 Jan 2007 20:53:40 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:entry-1168307621 http://ces.betanews.com/entry/Amedia_AmiNET_Aims_to_Replace_Computer_with_IPTV_Gateway/1168295660 Nothing more clearly demonstrates the dividing line between IPTV's telco clients and IPTV's retail customers than Amedia Networks, a network equipment provider that sells switches and gateways to Internet service providers seeking a route into the home - looking to bridge the "last mile." Mon, 08 Jan 2007 17:34:19 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:entry-1168295660 http://ces.betanews.com/entry/IPTV_and_the_Last_Mile_Problem/1168291110 Getting IPTV into the living rooms of many ordinary consumers will be a big headache, just for geographical reasons. Our Sharon Fisher has experienced many of those problems first hand, and we asked her to tell us about some of them. Mon, 08 Jan 2007 16:18:28 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:entry-1168291110 http://www.betanews.com/slideshow/CES_2007_LG/145 CES 2007: LG Mon, 08 Jan 2007 15:40:59 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:album-145 http://ces.betanews.com/entry/First_Look_at_LG_Super_Multi_Blue_Player/1168287137 First Look at LG 'Super Multi Blue' Player Mon, 08 Jan 2007 15:12:15 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:entry-1168287137 http://ces.betanews.com/entry/CinemaNow_BurntoDVD_to_Collaborate_with_Intel_on_Viiv/1168278247 One of the missing elements from Intel's Viiv platform for media center PCs, announced in 2005 and that was one of the major hot points of last year's CES, has been a standard methodology for burning downloaded content to DVD at the console. Mon, 08 Jan 2007 12:44:05 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:entry-1168278247 http://ces.betanews.com/entry/Boom_or_Bust_for_LCDTVs_in_2007/1168220073 With mass production, we're seeing the prices of LCD monitors plummet. But are they going down too far? Specifically, is the entry of the mainland Chinese and emerging-market manufacturers into this industry driving down margins so far that the typical Japanese, Taiwanese, and semi-American manufacturers can no longer compete? Sun, 07 Jan 2007 20:34:31 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:entry-1168220073 http://ces.betanews.com/entry/LG_to_Display_Its_Full_HD_Line_Including_Hybrid_HighDef_Player/1168202091 At noon Sunday, LG Electronics made it official: The model BH100 (no hyphen) hybrid Blu-ray / HD DVD disc combo player is being shown now. There will probably be some exclusive previews today, then the floor will open to the public Monday. Sun, 07 Jan 2007 15:34:49 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:entry-1168202091 http://ces.betanews.com/entry/Will_Steve_Jobs_Announcement_Steal_the_Thunder_from_CES/1168152334 It's difficult to speculate about the potential impact of a device whose function we don't know yet; but it's just too tempting to speculate about <i>any</i> device from Apple. So we called upon our frequent analysts Carmi Levy of Info-Tech Research, and Ross Rubin of NPD. Sun, 07 Jan 2007 01:45:33 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:entry-1168152334 http://ces.betanews.com/entry/Is_the_iPhone_a_Phone/1168146747 So what is this thing called - or not called - 'iPhone?' We asked our senior CES analyst, Sharon Fisher, to look into it. Sun, 07 Jan 2007 00:12:25 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:entry-1168146747 http://ces.betanews.com/entry/Will_Hybrid_Discs_andor_Players_Resolve_the_Highdef_Logjam/1168141359 For more in-depth analysis of what could be the biggest news to come out of the show this year (especially if you count next week's Apple news as originating <i>outside</i> Las Vegas), we turn to two of our frequently featured analysts here at BetaNews. First, Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis at NPD, followed by Carmi Levy, senior research analyst at Info-Tech Research. Sat, 06 Jan 2007 22:42:37 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:entry-1168141359 http://ces.betanews.com/entry/LGs_Hybrid_Player_and_Warners_Total_HD_Hybrid_Discs/1168139111 LG's Hybrid Player and Warner's Total HD Hybrid Discs Sat, 06 Jan 2007 22:05:10 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:entry-1168139111 http://www.betanews.com/article/Warner_Hybrid_Discs_to_Premiere_at_CES/1167954107 Though the formal press release has yet to be delivered, press services including Reuters were formally alerted this afternoon that movies made using a hybrid multiple-layer, Blu-Ray/HD DVD/DVD disc manufacturing system for which Warner Home Video applied for a patent earlier this year, will be formally revealed to the public by Warner Home Video next week at CES 2007. Thu, 04 Jan 2007 18:47:37 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:article-1167954107 http://www.betanews.com/article/LG_to_Announce_Bluray_HD_DVD_Hybrid_Drive_at_CES/1167930194 After having whetted the public's appetite for a hybrid high-definition console at this time last year, and then publicly withdrawing that plan, LG Electronics this morning announced it is jumping back into the high-def pool head first. The company is promising to provide "details" next week, at CES 2007 in Las Vegas, of a hybrid HD DVD / Blu-ray Disc player. Thu, 04 Jan 2007 12:21:48 -0500 tag:betanews.com,2007:article-1167930194