Items tagged with Economy
These are interesting times for Sony. The company's great rise has given way to tougher times of late, with intense competition in everything from digital imaging, to gaming, to HDTVs. As these major corporations often do in times of contractions, Sony has announced that it has sold its Sony City Osaki office building and premises to Nippon Building Fund Inc. and a Japanese institutional investor. The sale was structured such that Sony placed the office building and premises in a trust and then sold the trust beneficiary rights. Sony and other Sony Group businesses will remain in the building for a period of five years after the sale under a lease agreement entered into separately. The price...
Read more...
It's the American Dream. Come up with a great idea, get investors, and you're on you way to wealth and unauthorized biographies about your life. The White House is throwing its weight behind a new way to better support hopeful tech entrepreneurs based on the mentorship model. About two weeks ago, TechStars Network launched as part of the White House Startup America initiative. Yesterday, TechStars Network gained another helping hand. This from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, one of the world's largest foundations for entrepreneurship, with $2 billion in assets. It granted TechStars Network $200,000 to build software that would let a startup hopeful fill out a single form to apply to...
Read more...
Quanta Computer. You may have never heard of them. You've probably never visited their website. You've definitely never seen an advertisement for their company on the television. So why are they so important? They're the contract notebook computer maker for some of the world's biggest laptop brands, including Hewlett-Packard, Dell and Sony. So every notebook that you see from Dell, HP or Sony was actually build in the same factory (or set of factories). That's pretty wild, but it's true. Investors and economists play close attention to what happens at Quanta, even though most consumers could not care less. The reason? Quanta's total shipments are often good indicators of how business is doing...
Read more...
One million. That's a pretty large number. In fact, that's a really hefty sum. And it's even larger when you hit that figure from 0 in three weeks. That's exactly what Sony has accomplished, as its newest PlayStation 3, hailed by many as the "PS3 slim," has sold one million units since debuting three weeks ago in retail. For Sony, that's a huge accomplishment, as its larger, more expensive PS3 had seen sales sag since the first day on the market.Obviously, the crucial aspect of seeing sales soar was pricing the unit at just under $300. Considering that most decent Profile 2.0 Blu-ray players are still above $200, it's a no-brainer to just get a game console with the deal for just a bit more....
Read more...
Intel may still have the lion's share of the market in the microprocessor realm, but AMD isn't doing too bad for itself these days either with all things considered. Aside from introducing a litany of new technologies and devices over the past week, the company also took time to beef up its distribution strategy, which is something that could signal a broader push into more markets.For far too long, it has felt as if AMD was content with second place. With releases like this, however, it's clear that the company is no longer satisfied with being associated with that notion. This past week, AMD nailed down an agreement with Clevo to distribute notebooks with its own chipsets to emerging mobile...
Read more...
Don't look now, but it seems as if PC sales are on the up and up. While GPU makers, PC builders and basically every other related company in the industry suffered through the first two quarters as the recession loomed, Dell's latest figures are showing a sign of light in the darkness. Out of nowhere, the Texas-based outfit reported that its profits stooped less than it had expected during the May through July period, and just so we're clear, we did say profit. Any profit is good these days, and the company's shares shot up around 6% following the news. Dell wasn't alone in the party scene, as HP and Intel also suggested via their newest quarterly reports that the sector was ready for a comeback....
Read more...
Let's face it--Apple's App Store is big business. Really big. And if you paid any attention to the fact that Apple saw its 1.5 billionth (yes, with a "B") app downloaded back in July, you'd know that things still weren't even close to slowing down. But have you ever stopped to think about just how much cash is being generated in the store frequented so often by iPhone and iPod touch users? AdMob's latest findings, which study usage habits of smartphone users, saw that around $200 million of apps are sold each and every month in Apple's App Store, meaning that said outlet is a $2.4 billion per year industry. That, friends, is wild. We'd venture to say that even Steve Jobs himself didn't see that...
Read more...
The Internet could be described as something of a youthful beast. But even still, the very first domain name to be purchased and registered brings a tear to the eye of anyone that remembers when the Internet was only accessible via a 14.4k modem and an ISP that charged by the minute. Believe it or not, it wasn't www.internet.com or www.dot.com that was purchased when the Internet was "born." Instead, it was the somewhat off-the-wall symbolics.com.It's hard to say why this domain name was the first purchased back on March 15, 1985, but for obvious reasons it holds a special place in history. What's even crazier is that the original owner has paid the dues in order to retain it for nearly 25 years....
Read more...
Tomato, to-mah-to. Netbook, Mini-Note. Despite the fact that DisplaySearch refers to the well-known netbook as a Mini-Note, we still catch the research outfit's drift: shipments of these mini notebooks are expected to surge this year.With the economy forcing consumers to take a closer look at just how much they spend on their next mobile PC, and with emerging markets looking to finally secure notebooks they can afford, the netbook sector is expected to boom throughout the rest of this year. In fact, DisplaySearch figures that netbook shipments will hit 33 million in 2009 and its overall penetration into the netbook PC market to hit 20% worldwide.It's kind of hard to fathom that netbooks were...
Read more...
As the economy here in America creeps back into gear, the online gaming industry is reaping the benefits. According to a new survey, video game addicts who aren't already turning their attention to the tube (or even a subset of those who are) are looking to low-cost online games to pass the time.Industry tracker ComScore found that around 87 million US Internet users visited online video game sites in May, which is a 22% increase from the same month last year. We'd heard that the economy was forcing more users to remain planted at home, but wow--22% percent! According to ComScore, the "continuing surge in online game play was attributed, in part, to people opting for cheaper entertainment alternatives...
Read more...
Ever since this so-called "recession" thingy got the media all hot and bothered a few months back, we'd been hearing that more and more individuals were finding ways to stay entertained at home. Now, we finally know what they've been doing at the domicile: gaming.A new research report published this week by the Nielsen Company shows a sharp uptick in hours spent in front of a game console since the economy as a whole took a turn for the worse. Said stat has been on the rise since 2007, but here lately is has especially shot up. Of course, this totally makes sense--with more people curbing their spending on "going out," it makes sense that dusty consoles are seeing more usage.The other finding...
Read more...
Think of it as the computer company that just...won't...die. After being lambasted by Apple from day one, dealing with more threats and lawsuits in a year that most of us will hear of in a lifetime and eventually filing for bankruptcy, the infamous Mac clone maker known only as Psystar is back. Shortly before most of America hits the pause button for a holiday weekend, the company made famous for producing its very own machines with OS X installed on them (without Apple's permission, mind you) has issued an email newsletter that clearly states that it is "ready to emerge [from bankruptcy] and battle Goliath [otherwise known as Apple]." Of course, the company is still awaiting a formal dismissal,...
Read more...
It's a tough time for Blu-ray to be really hitting its stride. Many consumers are still wary due to the battle with HD-DVD, and frankly, many are still content with DVD. In too many cases, upscaled DVD looks "good enough" for consumers, and only those with oodles of disposable income are willing to fork out for Blu-ray. Blu-ray player prices are still relatively high, and the actual movies are way expensive compared to the same titles on DVD. Plus, the install base of DVD is so high, it's tough for many to start building another movie library on another format.Those reasons and more are what is keeping the interest in Blu-ray rather low according to a new study by Harris Interactive. Currently,...
Read more...
Sigh. Another shot, another failed attempt. Yahoo 360 -- which is Yahoo's second major attempt to break into the social networking scene -- is quietly folding early next month. The news comes a few years after Yahoo! Mash also faded into the distance, and it'll be almost two years since Yahoo has devoted any support to the site whatsoever.In an e-mail statement issued by the search company, it informed current Yahoo 360 members that July 13th would be its last day in existence, and in order to "focus our efforts on making your new profile on Yahoo the place where you connect with the people who matter to you most," users will need to migrate their information over to Yahoo Profiles. After July...
Read more...
We've always been somewhat skeptical of these so-called "surveys." With the proliferation of the Internet, it's pretty easy to fetch any kind of results you could ever want, but we tend to feel that these findings are at least somewhat substantiated. As part of a new 'Women & Digital Life' study, researchers found that Apple was the most popular technology brand in America amongst the ladies. Surprised? We doubt it.The results showed that Apple took the top spot, with Sony, Microsoft, Dell and HP following closely behind. And really, we can totally see why Apple and Sony would be ranked so highly. Both outfits choose to spend heavily on design and marketing, and so it follows logic that consumers...
Read more...
Here lately, it's been Nintendo bragging about massive sales numbers. This week, however, it's all about Microsoft. First comes the launch date of Bing, and now we're told that the firm's Xbox 360 is selling like hotcakes. In fact, sales of the unit have surpassed 30 million worldwide, which ain't too shabby for a company that just leaped in the game console realm a few years back.Potentially more amazing is this statistic: there are over 20 million active Xbox LIVE members. With the keyword being active. In other words, a solid two-thirds of Xbox 360 users are considered active online participants, which certainly goes to show just how important online gameplay and functionality is to today's...
Read more...
We've always heard that setting your sights high was the best way to come close, but evidently Asus isn't up to speed on that mantra. Currently, it's the world's fifth largest PC maker, and while one might assume that it would aspire to be number one, a recent Reuters report says otherwise. In fact, it's openly aiming to grab the bronze medal by 2011 -- but again, who's satisfied with third place?To be candid, we have all ideas that the CEO would love to overtake Dell, Acer and HP in order to become the planet's largest PC maker, but maybe it's just being realistic here. Indeed, jumping up two spots in the rankings within three years is still a mighty tall order, but with its hot-as-fire Eee...
Read more...
You remember Psystar, don't you? How could you not, right? The company famous (or should we say infamous?) for forging ahead with production on Mac clones even as lawsuits from Apple piled up has finally caved, but not to Apple. No, it has caved to the pressures of financing a business.According to a new report up at The Mac Observer, the company -- which engineered stylish PCs that were sold with Apple's OS X operating system -- filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Florida late last week. If you're wondering why all the hubbub, it's that no third-party PC maker is allowed to sell hardware with Apple's OS X operating system. Only Apple is allowed to sell machines with OS X, and Psystar...
Read more...
Good news for Intel, chip makers, PC manufacturers and the economy at large: Intel's CEO is seemingly upbeat about the industry, and recently stated that things were "so far, so good" in Q2. The comment came from the top man Paul Otellini, where we was addressing analysts during a conference call this week. Specifically, he noted that chip orders have been "a little better than expected," and compared to how rough Q1 was, this news is even more wonderful to hear. Mr. Otellini also proclaimed that he stood by his previous remarks that PC sales have "bottomed out," noting that things seem to be on the rebound and should only get better from here. Better still, Q3 and Q4 are typically very strong...
Read more...
While we're still unsure if netbooks are ready to dabble in the corporate world, they're clearly ready to take on pretty much every other sector. In fact, they already have. According to new research from ABI Research, netbook sales really haven't been adversely affected during the recent credit crunch. Sure, the extra low price tags are mostly to thank, but even without any recessionary factors, some analysts suggest these things would still have taken off.The report notes that the recession has definitely given netbooks an edge over larger, pricier alternatives. First off, netbooks are a new class of device, and obviously adoption tends to be rampant when a product is hot, new and unique. Secondly,...
Read more...
It's not like Hewlett-Packard has never trumped Dell before in PC shipments, but the back-and-forth has continued today with the newest computer shipment reports. According to Gartner Incorporated's freshest analysis, HP has snagged the number one spot in domestic PC shipments from Dell, who had most previously held the crown.The report noted that Dell's shipments in the United States dropped 16.3% to "just" 3.9 million in the first quarter of 2009, while during the same period, HP's shipments grew 11.1% to 4.2 million units. On a global scale, Dell's shipments also sank 16.9% compared to last year to 8.8 million units, which places it in a "virtual tie" with Acer for the silver medal. As for...
Read more...
We knew the first quarter of 2009 wouldn't be fantastic for chip makers. Frankly, so did they. But somehow or another, Intel managed to escape the vicious first three months of the year with quite a few dollars in its pocket, which -- in our opinion -- deserves applause in its own right given the circumstances.The company's Q1 2009 filings show that it ended the quarter with a net profit of $647 million -- a figure that some outfits would do anything to reach during these tumultuous times. That said, it was still an 11% drop year-over-year, which some investors figured would be less drastic. Potentially more startling is the first quarter revenue drop, which was down an amazing $7.1 billion but...
Read more...
