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Wednesday, January 19, 2011

EBay 4Q revenue rises, helped by holiday shoppers (AP) : Technet

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EBay 4Q revenue rises, helped by holiday shoppers (AP) : Technet

EBay 4Q revenue rises, helped by holiday shoppers (AP)

Posted: 19 Jan 2011 04:41 PM PST

By RACHEL METZ, AP Technology Writer Rachel Metz, Ap Technology Writer – Wed Jan 19, 7:41 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO – EBay Inc. said Wednesday that its fourth-quarter revenue rose 5 percent, as the healthy holiday shopping season bolstered growth in its online marketplace and PayPal online payments business.

The company's profit fell, since the year-ago quarter included a large gain from the sale of Internet communications business Skype. Excluding special items such as the Skype gain, eBay's fourth-quarter profit shot up 24 percent.

For the quarter that ended Dec. 31, the San Jose-based company earned $559.2 million, or 42 cents per share, compared with $1.35 billion, or $1.02 per share, in the year-ago quarter.

However, excluding one-time items, such as Skype, eBay earned 52 cents per share in the latest quarter, compared with 42 cents per share in 2009.

Analysts polled by FactSet expected an adjusted profit of 47 cents per share.

For the quarter that ended Dec. 31, revenue totaled $2.50 billion — a bit higher than the $2.48 billion analysts expected, on average.

Revenue from eBay's marketplace business, which is its largest unit and includes its namesake website, rose 4 percent to $1.52 billion.

The company said gross merchandise volume, which measures the value of all goods sold on eBay, excluding vehicles, increased 6 percent to $15 billion.

EBay.com counted 94.5 million active users at the end of the year, up 5 percent from the same quarter in 2009.

The company has been working to bolster eBay.com by cutting upfront listing fees it charges sellers, improving its search engine, revamping its home page and ramping up its focus on fashion with the launch of a clothing and accessory site, fashion.eBay.com.

But CEO John Donahoe said eBay is not done yet. During a conference call with analysts to discuss the company's quarterly results, Donahoe said he's still not satisfied with where eBay is in the U.S. e-commerce market.

Still, he said he thinks the company can continue to build on the changes it made last year, which he hopes will help the company "close the gap between our growth rate and that of e-commerce."

EBay's second-largest business, online payments, reported $971 million in revenue — an increase of 22 percent from 2009. That unit includes PayPal and short-term credit service Bill Me Later.

Total payment volume rose 26 percent to $26.9 billion, eBay said, and PayPal had 94.4 million active registered accounts at the end of the year.

The online payments unit has grown speedily even while eBay's marketplace has struggled to bring in and retain buyers and sellers. Within the next few years, eBay expects the unit's revenue to surpass the marketplace unit.

For both businesses, mobile continues to be increasingly important. Donahoe said the company's array of eBay and PayPal mobile apps for smart phones has been downloaded more than 30 million times, and he said he expects $4 billion worth of goods to be sold through eBay.com's mobile apps this year, doubling from last year. For PayPal, mobile payments were five times as high in 2010 as in 2009.

"Consumers want to buy what they want, when they want, how they want to," Donahoe said in an interview.

Looking at the current quarter, eBay is projecting a profit of 34 cents to 36 cents per share, or 44 cents to 46 cents per share when excluding one-time items, on $2.40 billion to $2.50 billion in revenue.

Analysts expect an adjusted profit of 45 cents per share on $2.42 billion in revenue.

EBay shares rose 85 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $29.95 in after-hours trading. The stock finished regular trading down 35 cents at $29.10.

For the full year, eBay earned $1.80 billion, or $1.36 per share, compared with $2.39 billion, or $1.83 per share in 2009.

Revenue rose 5 percent to $9.16 billion in 2010.

Review: Library e-books easier, but still hassle (AP)

Posted: 19 Jan 2011 04:47 PM PST

By PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer Peter Svensson, Ap Technology Writer – Wed Jan 19, 7:47 pm ET

NEW YORK – Libraries have been lending e-books for longer than there's been a Kindle, but until recently only a few devices worked with them. That's changed in the past few months with the arrival of software for reading library e-books on some popular devices: iPhones, iPads and Android-powered smart phones.

However, I'm sad to report that reading library e-books is still more hassle than buying them. The whole process could be smoother, and there are questions about how libraries are going about the transition to the e-book world.

But let's focus first on the good news: You can now download library books straight to your Apple or Android device. Once you've figured out the system and are lucky enough to find a book you want, it takes only a few minutes to start reading.

• First, you need a library card. Visit a local branch if you don't have one.

• Second, download a free application called OverDrive Media Console to your Apple or Android device. OverDrive Inc. runs the lending system for the 5,400 U.S. public libraries that offer e-books — a bit more than half of all public libraries.

• Third, follow the app's instructions to get an "Adobe ID" and tie your device to it. It's an e-mail address and password registered with Adobe Systems Inc. to prevent you from sharing borrowed books with the whole world. The books you borrow won't be readable on devices that aren't "authorized" with this ID.

• If you're still with me after dealing with three different parties just to get started, you can now tap "Get Books" in the app. That fires up the Web browser, where you can find your local library's website. Once there, you can search for e-books. You'll need to enter your library card number and usually a passcode that comes with it.

There's a particular lingo to learn. Your "shopping cart" of books that you want to check out is called "My eList." The books you have checked out already are "My eCheck Outs." Most libraries have entirely separate systems for physical books, and if you blunder into that part of the site, getting back to e-books can be challenging.

Each library has a limited number of copies of each e-book to lend out. If it has five electronic copies of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," then five patrons can have the book at once. Others have to place an "eHold" on it and wait till one of the five "return" the e-book, which happens automatically at the end of the borrowing period, usually three weeks, if the borrower didn't voluntarily return it earlier.

That's right: there's no more hunting around the house for overdue books, no more late fees. That alone should make up for some of the hassle of e-book borrowing.

But the selection of e-books is small, and the limited number of copies is frustrating. Right now, I'm No. 62 out of 98 people waiting to read Nassim Nicholas Taleb's "The Black Swan" at the New York Public Library. It has 12 electronic copies, so I can expect one to free up in about four months.

The OverDrive Media Console has some limitations compared with other e-book software. You can't change page margins or the color of the page, and there's no iPad version.

Another e-book application deals with those shortcomings, but it can't load e-books straight from the Web. You need a Windows or Mac computer and Bluefire Reader, free software that works with the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, but not Android.

As with Overdrive, you need a library card and an Adobe ID. You also need Adobe Digital Editions, another free application. Instead of browsing for e-books on your Apple device, you do so on the computer. You download books to the computer and open them with Digital Editions.

Then, connect the Apple device to the computer with the usual cable. In iTunes click the name of the device and navigate to the Apps tab. Under "File Sharing," you'll find an icon for Bluefire. Click the "Add" button and find the e-book file on your hard drive. Click "Open" to transfer it to the iPad.

This is clunky, but Bluefire has the advantage of being able to load books from the many online bookstores that use Adobe ID, including Google Books. So one app can hold both your library books and commercial ones.

Using a similar process, you can load library books on to Barnes & Noble Inc.'s Nook e-book readers and Sony Readers. Instead of iTunes, you'll use computer's file system or Adobe Digital Editions. Sorry, you're out of luck if you have an Amazon Kindle, which doesn't accept books protected by Adobe ID.

For those willing to figure out the system, library e-books can be rewarding. But many steps in the process are poorly thought out and unfriendly to the user. For instance, to download a book to an Android phone using OverDrive, you have to tap three different "Download" buttons on three different screens.

Another source of frustration is the way the nation's e-books are divided among thousands of libraries. Some branch out there might have a spare copy of "The Black Swan," yet I'm stuck in the long line of the local library. One national e-book library would be better.

But the current system, though unfriendly to users, probably serves the interests of local libraries, which can point to e-book lending as one way they're staying current and relevant. And it's hard to see that publishers would have a big interest in streamlining e-book lending — they want people to buy e-books or even printed copies instead.

So we're probably stuck with what we have: a system where you can trade the time it takes to learn the system for free e-books. It's not great, but it's free.

___

Need help with a technology question? Ask us at gadgetgurus(at)ap.org.

Nintendo 3DS to cost $250, out March 27 in US (AP)

Posted: 19 Jan 2011 01:44 PM PST

By BARBARA ORTUTAY, AP Technology Writer Barbara Ortutay, Ap Technology Writer – Wed Jan 19, 4:44 pm ET

NEW YORK – Promising to usher in a new era in 3-D entertainment, Nintendo says its glasses-free handheld 3DS will go on sale on March 27 in the U.S. for $250. That's the same price that the revolutionary Wii console cost when it went on sale in 2006.

The president and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America, Reggie Fils-Aime, said Wednesday the 3DS is a "truly unique experience that doesn't exist anywhere else."

"This is a different kind of 3-D. Something you haven't experienced before. Not in theaters, not at trade shows." Fils-Aime told a crowd of journalists, bloggers and analysts in New York City. "Of course, there are no glasses."

The gadget features a touch screen on the bottom and a 3-D screen on top. It has three cameras, one facing the user and two facing outward. The latter two let you take 3-D photos, which can be instantly displayed on the screen. There's also an accelerometer and a gyroscope. These track players' movements and how they tilt the screen, so they can play games with motion-based capabilities or see the 3-D games from different angles.

A "Mii Creator" uses photos you take of yourself to instantly create a cartoon avatar based on your image. Then you can adjust it as you like.

The 3DS includes new social features, including "StreetPass," which lets users exchange game information with other 3DS users nearby. For example, your Mii avatar or game high scores can appear on your friend's 3DS if they have also chosen to activate this feature.

Nintendo Co. said more than 30 games will be available for the 3DS by early June. Games will range from "Nintendogs + Cats," which adds feline companions to the popular puppy simulator to "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D" to 3-D versions of EA's Madden NFL Football" and Capcom's "Resident Evil: The Mercenaries." Older games, including those for the original Game Boy, will be available for download.

The 3DS will be available in black and shiny aqua blue. It can play games from older DS systems, but they just won't be in 3-D. The 3-D gradient is adjustable on the 3DS, or it can be turned off completely. If your eyes don't adjust to the 3-D screen immediately, it helps to start out the games in 2-D mode and then slowly turn up the 3-D slider.

Nintendo recommends that children aged 6 or younger should not play 3-D games because it could affect the development of their vision, similar to warnings issued by makers of other 3-D products.

But the American Academy of Ophthalmology says there are currently no conclusive studies on the short- or long-term effects of 3-D products on children's eye development or vision health. At the same time, if a healthy child develops headaches or can't see 3-D images, this could be a sign of an eye disorder, the group said in a statement this week.

__

Online: http://www.nintendo.com/3ds

More WebOS tablet rumors: cloud storage, ‘Touchstone’ charging, shipping in March? (Ben Patterson)

Posted: 19 Jan 2011 11:31 AM PST

By Ben Patterson ben Patterson – Wed Jan 19, 2:31 pm ET

Looks like the rumor floodgate has finally opened for HP/Palm's long-awaited WebOS tablet — or tablets, as the case may be. The latest word is that the new slates may ship as early as March with Flash support and tons of cloud-based storage.

We've been hearing about the tablets, powered by Palm's WebOS platform, for months now, and execs at HP (which gobbled up Palm last April) have announced that there will be a WebOS press event in San Francisco next month.

But we'd heard precious few details about the tablets, rumored or otherwise, until Tuesday, when an Engadget tipster provided purported promo images as well as the scoop that two WebOS slates — a 9-incher code-named "Topaz" and the 7-inch "Opal" — might not ship until September.

But Taipei-based tech site DigiTimes claims that the expected WebOS tablets might ship a lot sooner: March. It's not clear whether a March ship date necessarily equals a March launch, though -- and it's worth noting that DigiTimes has a hit-and-miss record when it comes to predictions. (Hey, don't we all.)

Engadget, meanwhile, managed to beat more WebOS tablet rumors out of the bushes after its initial post Tuesday.

The latest: Flash support for both tablets (not a huge surprise, given that the current version of WebOS boasts Flash video playback), "premium" sound courtesy of HP's proprietary "Beats" audio technology, and an inductive-charging "Touchpad" accessory, similar to what we've seen for the Palm Pre and Pixi.

Another tidbit from the Engadget post: the possibility that the tablets will get "tens of gigabytes" of cloud storage, good for (say) streaming your entire music collection. Interesting, but there's no word on how much internal storage Topaz and Opal might ship with.

And speaking of names, Pocketnow has learned that HP is seeking to get a trademark for HP Touchpad, which could go nicely with the Palmpad name that HP was looking to claim last year.

Again, though, keep in mind that none of this has been confirmed by HP, which on Tuesday re-sent invites to its Feb. 9 WebOS event, complete with the teasing line: "Think you saw the latest on Engadget? Think again."

Related:

— Ben Patterson is a technology writer for Yahoo! News.

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Eyes-on with the Nintendo 3DS (Ben Patterson)

Posted: 19 Jan 2011 08:27 AM PST

By Ben Patterson ben Patterson – Wed Jan 19, 11:27 am ET

At last, I've had a chance to spend quality time with the 3DS, Nintendo's new glasses-free 3D handheld — and yes, it lives up to the hype, although I found that a little 3D on the 3DS's 3.53-inch display goes a long way.

Slated to arrive in the U.S. on March 27 for $249, the 3DS looks pretty much like the DSi, complete with the usual dual displays, the DS slot, and the standard D-pad.

Take another look, though, and you'll spot the new analog stick on the left side of the console, as well as the twin 0.3MP cameras on the top cover for taking 3D pictures. (Click here for more specs, launch titles, and other details.)

Of course, the feature we've all be waiting for is hinted at by the little 3D slider on the right side of the display, which controls the depth of the 3D image on the main 3DS; slide it all the way down for standard 2D, or all the way up for extreme, eye-crossing 3D.

So, how does the 3D image look? For the most part, really good รข€" far better than I was expecting, in fact. There's a real sense of depth to the image, with the action appearing to stretch well behind the screen.

But view the 3DS from an angle — any angle — and the 3D effect falls apart, and the higher up you push the 3D slider, the more you'll feel like your eyes are starting to cross. I also noticed a second or two of double vision before my eyes adjusted to the 3D effect.

For the most part, I preferred to keep the 3D slider barely nudged on, for a subtler and less queasy effect. (Needless to say, the two 2D pictures that I've embedded in this post hardly do justice to the 3DS's display.)

Nintendo reps had a few pretty 3D demos teed up before Wednesday's launch event; after the big announcement, though, the curtains on the side of the room opened to reveal demo stations where we could try a selection of 3D-enabled 3DS launch games.

First up: Ridge Racer 3D, a typical racing game with such glorious 3D vistas that I had a tough time keeping my eyes on the road. The more you push the 3D slider control, the cooler the soaring cityscapes look; at the same time, though, I could feel a bit of eye strain when I had the 3D effect pushed too far. Easy does it.

Next, I gave Dead or Alive: Dimensions a try, and again, the 3D effect looked great as I threw furious punches under a rushing waterfall. Still, it took some fiddling to get the right balance between a noticeable 3D effect and a setting comfortable enough for prolonged gaming, while a few isolated double-vision moments proved a bit distracting.

Another interesting 3D title was Nintendo's first-party Pilotwings Resort, a casual flying game that lets you float around the Wii Sports resort village in a biplane, a hang glider, or a jet pack.

Dialing up the 3D effect made the flight look pretty extraordinary, giving the hills and mountains an almost majestic look on the 3DS's relatively tiny 3.53-inch display. Nice, but the longer I flew around, the more I could feel the eye strain creeping in — and backing off the 3D effect turns Pilotwings Resort into a relatively tepid affair.

Last but not least, I tried my hand at a little zombie killing in Resident Evil Mercenaries 3D, a game that might benefit the least from 3D — mainly because I was too busy staggering away from a hoard of bloodthirsty baddies to notice the new-found depth of the game's grimy world.

Nitpicks aside (and based on very limited testing, of course) I'd call the 3D display on the 3DS a success, and an impressive feat on Nintendo's part — although for gamers, the 3D effect will probably work best if used sparingly.

The true test of the 3DS will only come, of course, once we've had the chance to game on the console for more than a few minutes at a time — and for that, we'll have to wait until March 27.

— Ben Patterson is a technology writer for Yahoo! News.

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webOS Tablets May Be Cloud-Based with High-End Audio (NewsFactor)

Posted: 19 Jan 2011 01:56 PM PST

Barry Levine, newsfactor.com Barry Levine, newsfactor.com – Wed Jan 19, 4:56 pm ET

With dozens of new tablets shown at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this month, the next big event in tablet land is Hewlett-Packard's Feb. 9 unveiling of its webOS tablets. According to new reports, those anticipated devices will feature cloud-based storage and high-end audio, among other innovations.

Web reports indicate that two tablets will be announced at the event, a nine-inch Topaz and a seven-inch Opal. The Opal will reportedly have a 1024x768 TFT LCD display, with a similar screen on the Topaz. Both tablets are expected to offer HP's high-end Beats audio processing as well as cloud-based storage that could be as large as tens of gigabytes.

Alarm Clock, Digital Frame?

If HP does offer substantial cloud-based storage, some observers are speculating that there may also be a raft of cloud-based applications that could make it much easier for users to access and manage the apps as well as a library of documents or music. No synchronization between devices would be required, because little or none of the content would live on a particular device.

According to these reports, the tablets will also feature a front-facing camera, a micro-USB port, and three speakers. There are indications that Opal models will offer Wi-Fi connectivity, 3G over AT&T's network, and LTE over the Verizon Wireless network.

The reports also point to a programmable wireless charging dock that enables either tablet to be used as an alarm clock, a digital photo frame, or a GPS unit -- not unlike some features shown by Palm when it initially released webOS, before the company was purchased by HP. Speculation also includes the possibility that a call to a webOS smartphone could be answered on the tablet.

'The Future of webOS'

On Jan. 7, HP Executive Vice President Todd Bradley told CNBC's Maria Bartiromo that the Feb. 9 event will show "the future of webOS" and the "breadth of products" that the platform will enable.

To stand out from the current two biggest tablet platforms -- Apple's iOS and Google's open-source Android -- HP needs to offer a clear differentiation. Bradley noted that webOS is the "first truly web-based operating system" and "the only true multitasking operating system where you can have 20 different applications open simultaneously."

HP has confirmed that the webOS platform was the primary reason it acquired the struggling Palm last summer.

A key question is how many operating-system platforms can maintain a large installed base in the tablet category. Some analysts have suggested the tablet market, which already has healthy Apple iOS and Google Android platforms, could have room for a third or even a fourth OS -- if there are enough differentiating features.

Kinect for Windows SDK rumored to be in the works (Digital Trends)

Posted: 19 Jan 2011 12:47 PM PST

Aemon Malone Aemon Malone – Wed Jan 19, 3:47 pm ET

Kinect with Windows 7Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced during CES that Kinect will make its way to the PC "at the right time." And according to WinRumors the "right time" may be approaching.

The website reports that Microsoft is currently working on an official software development kit (SDK) and a set of drivers for a Windows version of Kinect, with plans to release the tools to developers in beta form sometime in the near future.

Releasing the SDK and drivers would be the first step towards official PC support for the Kinect. Third-party developers need the SDK and drivers to design PC programs that make use of the device's motion-sensing capabilities.

WinRumors reports that the release will happen "in the coming months." Microsoft is expected to offer support for Kinect in Windows 8. WinRumors cites an unnamed source who indicates that the PC Kinect will figure into a "technical community preview" of Microsoft's upcoming XNA Game Studio tools.

Hackers have already brought the Kinect — unofficially — to the PC. One such hack enabled the accessory to control gameplay in World of Warcraft.

Long before Ballmer confirmed it, the Kinect's status as a run away hit ensured Microsoft would consider porting the device to Windows. As an Xbox 360 accessory, the Kinect topped eight million units sold in its first 60 days on the market  — out performing sales expectations by three million units or so.

Apple's Tim Cook slams Android, Windows tablets (Digital Trends)

Posted: 19 Jan 2011 06:20 AM PST

Jeffrey Van Camp Jeffrey Van Camp – Wed Jan 19, 9:20 am ET

apple-tim-cook-coo

If a combative, yet dismissive, attitude is part of the test, Tim Cook may be ready to take over Apple after all. During one of his first days as active caretaker of Apple during Steve Jobs's medical absence, Cook lobbed some heavy shots at all of the tablets announced at CES 2011. Below are some of his more fiery comments from Apple's record $6 billion profit earnings conference call. His words are almost as targeted and mean as a typical Jobs verbal attack.

For a full rundown of all the new tablets at CES, check out our CES 2011 Tablet Roundup.

On Windows 7 tablets

When asked about tablets, Cook began his attack on Windows 7 tablet PCs, which he views as relics of the past, already rejected by the market.

Cook: "If you look at what's shipping today, there's not much out there as you know. Generally speaking, there's two kinds of groups today at best on the market today. Ones using a Windows tablet PC, are fairly big and heavy and expensive. They have weak battery life, they require a stylus, and from our point of view and what's we've seen customers are just not interested in them."

On current Android tablets

After hitting Windows, Cook moved onto Android, but concentrated on current Android 2.2 tablets like Samsung's Galaxy Tab.

Cook: "Then you have the Android tablet, and the variety are out shipping today, the operating system really wasn't designed for a tablet. Google has said this, so this is not just an Apple view by any means. And so you wind up having a size of a tablet that is less than what we believe is reasonable, or one that we provide what we feel is the real tablet experience. So basically, you end up with a sort of scaled-up smartphone, which is a bizarre product, in our view. Then you've got a third group–those are the two that are shipping today–and frankly speaking it's hard for me to understand if somebody does a side-by-side with an iPad, and some enormous percentage of people are going to select an iPad there–those are not [products] that we have any concern on."

On future Android tablets

Finally, he moved on to future Android tablets like the Motorola Xoom, calling them vaporware.

Cook: "The next generation of Android tablets, which is what you discussed primarily at CES – there's nothing shipping yet, and so I don't know. Generally they lack performance specs; they lack prices; they lack timing; and so today they are vapor. We'll assess them as they come out, wherever, but we're not sitting still, and we have a huge first mover advantage. And we have an incredible user experience from iTunes to the App Store and an enormous number of apps and a hugee ecosystem. So we're very very confident."

$3.9 billion supply contract

As an aside, Cook was asked about a $3.9 billion supply component contract Apple recently signed. He refused to give any detail about it, saying that it's "something I don't want our competition knowing," but said that it was a strategic buy, similar to something like flash memory, reports ZDNet. What could it be?

Apple's Cook Calls CES Tablets 'Vapor' (PC Magazine)

Posted: 18 Jan 2011 11:34 AM PST

Mark Hachman - PC Magazine Mark Hachman - Pc Magazine – Tue Jan 18, 2:34 pm ET

Apple chief operating officer Tim Cook stepped in for Apple chief executive Steve Jobs on the company's analyst call on Tuesday - and provided his own tablet argument, as well, calling scaled-up smartphones "bizarre".

Jobs, who famously slammed RIM and Google last October, took some medial leave this week, leading to talk talk of a succession plan. That didn't stop Apple, however, which reported another record quarter led by record sales of Macs, iPads, and iPhones.

Cook, however, was asked about the iPad's success in relation to the dozens of new tablets that were shown off at the recent CES show in Las Vegas. IDC reported earlier Tuesday that the iPad boosted the tablet market by 45 percent in the third quarter.

"If you look at what's shipping today, there's not much out there as you know," Cook said. "Generally speaking, there's two kinds of groups today at best on the market today - ones using a Windows tablet PC, are fairly big and heavy and expensive. They have weak battery life, they require a stylus, and from our point of view and what's we've seen customers are just not interested in them.

"Then you have the Android tablet, and the variety are out shipping today, the operating system really wasn't designed for a tablet," Cook added. "Google has said this, so this is not just an Apple view by any means. And so you wind up having a size of a tablet that is less than what we believe is reasonable, or one that we provide what we feel is the real tablet experience. So basically, you end up with a sort of scaled-up smartphone, which is a bizarre product, in our view. Then you've got a third group – those are the two that are shipping today – and frankly speaking its hard for me, to understand if somebody does a side-by-side with an iPad, and some enormous percentage of people are going to select an iPad there – those are not [products] that we have any concern on."

Cook didn't mention any competing products by name, although some have classified the Dell Streak as a scaled-up smartphone.

"The next generation of Android tablets, which is what you discussed primarily at CES - there's nothing shipping yet, and so I don't know," Cook concluded. "Generally they lack performance specs, they lack prices, they lack timing, and so today they're vapor. We'll assess them as they come out, wherever, but we're not sitting still, and we have a huge first mover advantage. And we have an incredible user experience from iTunes to the App Store and an enormous number of apps and a hugee ecosystem. So we're very very confident…"

HP directors to investigate Hurd departure: filing (Reuters)

Posted: 19 Jan 2011 03:33 PM PST

– Wed Jan 19, 6:33 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – A committee of Hewlett Packard directors will investigate former CEO Mark Hurd's departure from the company amid sexual harassment allegations last year, according to a recent court filing.

The inquiry comes in the course of shareholder litigation involving the company. The investigation will be conducted by independent directors who joined HP's board after Hurd's departure, assisted by outside lawyers, the January 14 court filing shows.

Hurd left HP last August amid sexual harassment accusations, though the board found no evidence to back them up. An internal investigation turned up inaccurate expense reports, and HP said Hurd's actions displayed a lack of judgment.

Hurd now works as a co-president at Oracle.

A representative for Hurd did not immediately comment on Wednesday and an HP spokeswoman declined to comment.

The committee will examine the decision to approve a separation agreement between HP and Hurd, and will report to the board, the filing indicated.

Shareholder plaintiffs estimated that the separation agreement was worth about $40 million in cash, stock and options, which they called "corporate waste."

Hurd's separation agreement was later pared back under a settlement between HP and Hurd over his hiring at Oracle.

The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California is In Re HP Derivative Litigation, 10-03608.

(Reporting by Dan Levine and Gabriel Madway. Editing by Robert MacMillan)

Eventbrite Ticket Sales Grossed Nearly $207 Million in 2010 (Mashable)

Posted: 19 Jan 2011 01:25 PM PST

Jennifer Van Grove Jennifer Van Grove – Wed Jan 19, 4:25 pm ET

Four-year-old ticketing startup Eventbrite had a strong 2010. According to numbers released by the company today, the event ticketing platform was responsible for more than 11 million ticket sales, grossing nearly $207 million for the year.

The massive ticket sales figures represent sales for event organizers, but they mean that the company is pulling in substantial revenue through ticketing fees. Eventbrite takes a nice cut of all for-charge ticket sales -- roughly 2.5% of the ticket value plus $0.99 per ticket .

Eventbrite also reported strong traffic for the year. On average, the site saw more than 17 million pageviews per month, with October coming in as the highest trafficked month at 6.7 million unique visitors.

Founded in 2006, Eventbrite has grown to become a dominate force in online ticketing. In 2010, 222,353 events -- across 147 countries and 9,370 cities -- were posted to site, according to a company blog post published earlier today.

Look for even more growth from Eventbrite in 2011. The startup closed $20 million in Series D finacing late last year to fuel expansion.

Image courtesy of Flickr, Laughing Squid

Bloomberg: PlayStation Phone announcement coming at MWC (Appolicious)

Posted: 19 Jan 2011 12:24 PM PST

Wi-Fi Direct Still Finding Its Stride (PC World)

Posted: 19 Jan 2011 06:20 PM PST

Stephen Lawson Stephen Lawson – Wed Jan 19, 9:20 pm ET

Wi-Fi Direct is still scarce in announced or shipping products, but it would be wrong to reach a gloomy conclusion about the new peer-to-peer technology from the Wi-Fi Alliance.

The Alliance, which puts the stamp of approval on all Wi-Fi gear, started certifying products with Wi-Fi Direct in late October. About 20 products have been approved, but there were few new Wi-Fi Direct gadgets at the recent International Consumer Electronics Show, which is often watched for new trends. However, that's no reason to count out the new technology, according to vendors and industry observers.

Wi-Fi Direct is a specification for devices to communicate via Wi-Fi without an access point. The capability could have a range of uses, including linking peripherals to PCs, doing quick file transfers anywhere, and connecting home entertainment gear. Wi-Fi Direct can deliver typical Wi-Fi speeds, and peer-to-peer networks can be set up with the technology as long as one of the devices involved is equipped with it.

The new technology is the first realistic option for peer-to-peer networks in the Wi-Fi family of standards. The previous mechanism, called "ad hoc mode," was too complex for most users to set up and worked poorly even when they could.

Vendor-specific tools have filled the void to some degree. For example, Intel introduced Intel My WiFi at CES in 2009, and it is now built into almost all consumer laptops with Intel Wi-Fi chipsets, according to Kerry Forrell, an Intel product manager. Among other things, Intel My WiFi lets laptops send print jobs to printers and synchronize data with mobile phones or portable audio players, he said. Another Intel technology, called Wireless Display, or WiDi, uses Intel My WiFi to send video and audio from Wi-Fi devices to TVs and other displays. Microsoft has gotten into the game with a feature called SoftAP, which allows a Windows PC to turn itself into a virtual access point, again bypassing the need for a dedicated network.

Wi-Fi Direct opens up these capabilities to more devices, beyond the Windows and Intel worlds, said Roel Peeters, vice president of marketing and business development at Ozmo Devices, which makes wireless chipsets. Many types of products, such as TVs and set-top boxes, don't use either Intel or Microsoft. In addition, a standard specification should help all players benefit from market momentum and growing product volume, he said.

The new standard has attracted support from most of the major Wi-Fi silicon providers. Intel, Atheros, Broadcom and Marvell all have had components certified for Wi-Fi Direct. Intel itself plans eventually to include Wi-Fi Direct in all its wireless products, offering it alongside My WiFi and WiDi where those are provided, Forrell said.

Wi-Fi Direct isn't leaping into the market as fast as did some earlier wireless LAN technologies, such as the draft IEEE 802.11n specification that the Wi-Fi Alliance used to certify a new generation of fast WLAN gear starting in 2007. In the first three months of its 11n certification work, the Alliance put its logo on 95 products. But for a variety of reasons, Wi-Fi Direct adoption is a different ball game.

For one thing, Wi-Fi Direct makes entirely new applications possible. Unlike a faster Wi-Fi physical layer, which can be introduced to speed up the exact same applications already in use on Wi-Fi, the new standard needs new software to work, said Greg Ennis, technical director of the Wi-Fi Alliance.

Vendors of peripherals and other gear can package software add-ons with their products. But to streamline the user experience, operating system vendors eventually will have to integrate support into their platforms through OS updates, said Clint Brown, a senior business development manager for wireless LANs at Broadcom.

Likewise, though chipsets with Wi-Fi Direct are already available, hardware development doesn't turn on a dime for teams creating phones and other mobile devices, said analyst Avi Greengart of Current Analysis.

"There is a tremendous premium placed on space in devices that need to fit in your hands and ideally are 10 millimeters thick," Greengart said. "Once you've got a chipset that works, swapping it out usually comes with more costs than benefits." As a result, most vendors will probably wait until they are building products with new chipsets before implementing Wi-Fi Direct, he said.

And certification itself takes time. For example, Ozmo's latest chip, the Ozmo2000, was designed specifically for Wi-Fi Direct but is still being certified. Two products built with the Ozmo2000 were introduced at CES. HP used it in a Wi-Fi mouse and Logitech in an adapter that lets a PC send audio to any standard pair of speakers, Peeters said.

Peeters believes the Ozmo chip will work with Wi-Fi Direct and only lacks the Alliance's formal seal of approval. Conventional Wi-Fi chipsets could be updated through firmware to support the new standard, but they aren't optimized for it, he said. For example, the Ozmo2000 was designed for low cost and low power consumption, with mice and keyboards in mind, he said.

For producing working consumer products with Wi-Fi Direct, the certification process seems to have come too late for many vendors.

"One of the challenges for Wi-Fi Direct was launching in October," Broadcom's Brown said. "It's really not timed very well for the fall selling season."

Most products shown at CES are developed before the show, then completed early in the year and produced in high volume by late summer, in preparation for the fourth-quarter shopping season, Brown said. The late-October kickoff didn't necessarily provide enough time to prepare, he said.

However, some vendors seem to have seized the opportunity. LG Electronics made the biggest splash with Wi-Fi Direct at CES, demonstrating the technology on the newly announced LG Optimus Black handset. The demonstration included quickly sending multimedia content from the phone to TV and PC screens just by flicking a finger across the phone's touchscreen. LG used DLNA, a Digital Living Network Alliance standard for connectivity among consumer electronics devices, in conjunction with Wi-Fi Direct. The Optimus Black is expected to go on sale in the first half of this year.

LG is in the lead for Wi-Fi Direct consumer products, with four Blu-ray Disc players, two home theater systems and a network adapter for older TVs already certified. Samsung has its GT-I9000 smartphone on the list, which otherwise is made up mostly of reference designs.

Though 2011 didn't start with a bang for Wi-Fi Direct, the coming year could be very big for the new technology.

"You're going to see a lot of developers coming to the fore in the next few months," said Kelly Davis-Felner, marketing director of the Wi-Fi Alliance.

Not every Wi-Fi Alliance initiative has been a big success, said Farpoint Group analyst Craig Mathias, pointing to its Wi-Fi Zone program in 2003. But he believes this one has promise, particularly for mice and keyboards.

"It's obviously not a huge thing yet," Mathias said. "It's going to take time."

(Additional reporting by Martyn Williams.)

Stephen Lawson covers mobile, storage and networking technologies for The IDG News Service. Follow Stephen on Twitter at @sdlawsonmedia. Stephen's e-mail address is stephen_lawson@idg.com

Facebook Brings Mobile App to Feature Phones (PC World)

Posted: 19 Jan 2011 05:10 PM PST

Stephen Lawson Stephen Lawson – Wed Jan 19, 8:10 pm ET

Facebook users who want to access the social-networking service on the go, but don't have smartphones, now have an app of their own in some countries.

On Wednesday, Facebook introduced a mobile app for feature phones, the less-expensive, Internet-capable phones that far outnumber smartphones in many parts of the world. Like Facebook apps for the Apple iPhone and other smartphones, the Facebook for Feature Phones app is designed to provide easy navigation, fast scrolling of status updates and photos from friends, and synchronization of contacts with the phone. The app was announced in a Wednesday entry to Facebook's official blog.

While smartphones are widely used in the U.S. and some European and Asian countries, many mobile Internet users elsewhere rely on feature phones. Last year, Facebook launched the mobile website http://0.facebook.com, a stripped-down site for users on slower networks and less-advanced phones. It is designed to work faster by using only text. Now Facebook is offering those users a dedicated application with more graphical content.

The new app works on more than 2,500 handset models from Nokia, Sony Ericsson and other vendors, according to Facebook. But it won't immediately be available everywhere. Facebook initially will offer it through 14 carriers around the world, with nine of those offering the app immediately. They include operators in Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Poland, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Tunisia, Dominican Republic and Romania. Soon after, carriers in Canada, India, Mexico, Brazil and Bulgaria will make it available.

For the first 90 days after launch, those service providers won't charge for data use with the new app, Facebook said.

When Facebook launched its slimmed-down mobile site, it announced 50 carrier partners in 40 countries, offering at least 12 months of free data use. At the time, it said the U.S. was left out of the launch because Facebook was doing well with media-rich smartphone applications and was looking to provide a deeper experience to those users.

Mobile is Facebook's biggest growth engine, mobile products head Eric Tseng said at a conference last July. At that time, the company had about 150 million mobile users out of a total of 500 million members, he said.

MTV plans online award show for digital music (AP)

Posted: 19 Jan 2011 02:46 PM PST

By JAKE COYLE, AP Entertainment Writer Jake Coyle, Ap Entertainment Writer – Wed Jan 19, 5:46 pm ET

NEW YORK – To suit an altered music landscape, MTV is planning an untraditional award show celebrating digital music.

The network says it's prepping an as-yet unnamed, multiplatform award show for April or May that will exult digital music and its many varied incarnations.

The exact nature of the show hasn't yet been defined, but MTV says it will be a "multiscreen experience," including the Internet, social media and mobile — but not broadcast. Categories for awards haven't been determined, but they'll include things like best app, best blog, best Internet feud, best music meme of the year and best Kanye West tweet.

MTV hopes the show will do for digital music what its Video Music Awards did for the music video.

Van Toffler, president of MTV Networks Music and Logo Group, calls the planned show "an interactive musical mess" to celebrate both "the cool and the geekdom."

"It will be sloppy," Toffler says. "It will be interactive. It will be customizable. It will be fun and unexpected. Most shows on television are about what's popular, and I think this will be about what's bubbling up."

Toffler says he's unsure if the show will have a host or even a definable beginning and end. It could be anywhere from one to six hours long, he says, and won't be polished or linear like traditional award shows. Performances will be a central component.

The two flagship MTV award shows — the Video Music Awards (launched in 1984) and the Movie Awards (launched in 1992) — have defined themselves as looser, more youthful and more unpredictable alternatives to the established award programs.

MTV, which is part of the Viacom-owned MTV Networks, hopes to bring that ethos to digital music and, as Toffler says, "let the chaos run free."

The show represents another step in MTV's strategy of becoming increasingly "platform agnostic." It has put ever-increasing focus on its Web properties: MTV.com, CMT.com and VH1.com account for some 60 million unique visitors a month. It launched its own version of a music discovery site, http://www.mtvmusicmeter.com, which ranks acts by social media buzz. And it hired a "Twitter Jockey," a new media version of its VJs.

"It's no mystery that there's a renaissance of creativity and innovation in music across the digital platforms," Toffler says. "It feels like in spite of all the pundits writing about the death of the music industry, there's still a great passion for music and connection between fans and artists and music in the digital space."

___

Online:

http://www.mtv.com

Remains of the Day: Don't buy until you see the whites of their iPhones (Macworld)

Posted: 19 Jan 2011 04:30 PM PST

Lex Friedman Lex Friedman – Wed Jan 19, 7:30 pm ET

What light from yonder terminal breaks? 'Tis the white iPhone, and she is the sun. Also: Steve Jobs will remain on Disney's board, Angry Birds may be coming to a TV near you, and everyone stinks at predicting iPad sales. These are your remainders for Wednesday, January 19.

White iPhone 4 Appears in Best Buy Inventory System With February 27th Launch Date (MacRumors)

If you combine some of the world's greatest mysteries—Who Shot J.R., Where's Waldo, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit among them—you get a sense of the great aura of wonderment that surrounds the never-released white iPhone 4. According to MacRumors, the albino device—once thought to be as mythical as The Macalope riding a unicorn over a double rainbow—has supposedly shown up in Best Buy's internal inventory system, with a February 27 launch date. This close to Martin Luther King Day, though, shouldn't we all focus on the content of the iPhone's character?

Steve Jobs Expected To Stay On Disney's Board (NASDAQ)

Despite taking a medical leave of absence from Apple, Steve Jobs will remain on the board of Walt Disney. To which I reply: Duh! If you're going to take time off work, you might as well spend it at Disney, am I right?

Angry Birds Launches From iPad Game To Television Series (Spinoff Online)

The series—which in fact may end up as either a Web series or a television one—will be animated, which strikes me as a massive missed opportunity. Plots being considered so far include "the birds feel angry," "the birds still feel angry," and "the birds are feeling especially irate." I can't wait until the Very Special Episode where the birds and pigs learn important lessons about how to get along with one another.

Unforeseeable growth: Analyst failure on iPad as indicator of disruptive change (Asymco)

Nobody—not Macworld's own Jason Snell, not John "I Dare Fireballs" Gruber, and not the full-time analysts from Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and Piper Jaffray—correctly predicted how many iPads Apple would sell in 2010. The company sold just shy of 15 million iPads; even Gruber and Snell's predictions combined only totaled 11 million. The takeaway? Tech prognosticators should stick to predicting Angry Bird plot points.

Gingerbread Updates for Android Phones: What's the Holdup? (PC Magazine)

Posted: 19 Jan 2011 09:39 AM PST

Sascha Segan - PC Magazine and Sara Yin - PC Magazine Sascha Segan - Pc Magazine And Sara Yin - Pc Magazine – Wed Jan 19, 12:39 pm ET

As a cell phone consumer, you'd be forgiven for assuming your carrier upgraded your device's mobile software as soon as it was made available.

But as the T-Mobile v. Samsung showdown last week highlights, there's no direct developper-to-user route with Google Android as there is for, say, Apple. Which partly explains why less than half a percent of Android users are on the most current version of the software, compared to 53 percent of Apple iOS users on version 4.2.1.

If you're still waiting for an update for your Android phone, as the chart below shows, you are far from alone. PCMag chose 15 of the most popular Android devices out there and asked carriers, manufacturers, Google, and retailers to find out when you can expect a mobile software upgrade:

Dynamics CRM Online Will Offer a $34 Introductory Price (NewsFactor)

Posted: 19 Jan 2011 10:40 AM PST

Barry Levine, newsfactor.com Barry Levine, newsfactor.com – Wed Jan 19, 1:40 pm ET

Microsoft is stepping up its aggressive competition in CRM. On Monday, the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant announced its Dynamics CRM Online, the cloud version of its 2011 product -- and an introductory pricing of $34 per user.

The price, which is less than half that of comparable products from Salesforce and Oracle, is good for 12 months, after which it increases to $44 per user. The online version of the on-premise product, which offers integrated ERP and CRM applications, will become available at the end of February in 40 markets and in 41 languages. In addition, a Cloud CRM for Less offer provides up to $200 per user that can be applied to data-migration or customization services.

'A Familiar User Experience'

In announcing the online version, CEO Steve Ballmer said Dynamics CRM is an industry leader because it gives "sales professionals a familiar user experience," enables greater collaboration, and streamlines processes and access to real-time data.

The familiarity of the user experience is derived from the use of what Microsoft describes as a "next-generation native Microsoft Outlook client." The product also features guided process dialogs, real-time dashboards, and in-line business intelligence for performance and goal management. There is integration with Windows Azure, contextual Microsoft SharePoint capabilities, and a new Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace for configuration and customization to particular business requirements.

The global availability and pricing structure are major efforts by Microsoft to take customers away from Salesforce.com and Oracle's CRM products. Salesforce's pricing starts at $75 per user, and Oracle's CRM On Demand is $65 to $125 per user, depending on the configuration. Some observers are comparing Microsoft's offering to the enterprise version of Salesforce.com, which is $125 per user monthly.

As part of its sales pitch, Microsoft Dynamics CRM director Bill Patterson told news media that his product offers "full sales, service and marketing functionality in our standard service," while Salesforce.com only offers marketing and real-time intelligence in the enterprise edition. Additionally, he noted that Dynamics CRM's dashboards are continually refreshed, while Salesforce users have to click refresh -- which they can only do twice hourly without getting added charges.

'Lots of Flux'

In response, Salesforce counters that its CRM has a Chatter social-collaboration layer that Microsoft can't match, as well as versions for all mobile platforms, which Microsoft does not.

Laura DiDio, an analyst with Information Technology Intelligence Corp., said an accelerating price war among major CRM products is "inevitable." She said Microsoft is doing in CRM what it has done in other markets -- bringing all its weight to bear when it has determined it wants a bigger piece. Last year, she said, it was "cloud, cloud, cloud," and this year, while clouds are still flying high, CRM is a key target.

The keys to Microsoft's strategy here, DiDio said, are not only global availability, aggressive pricing, and features, but the company's well-established services and support. "There is lots of flux in this market," she said, adding that the thing to remember is that, "for any CRM customer, their main loyalty is to their wallet."
at 9:53 PM

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