Archive for July 23rd, 2009

Last week, Amazon sent a shiver down the spine of the Internet when it remotely deleted copies of the books “1984″ and “Animal Farm” from users’ Kindles. As just about everyone was quick to point out, the incident showed a very “Big Brother”-like side to the company. It was simply dumbfounding, and left many people very, very angry. And it made many question whether they should ever buy any books on their Kindles again.

Amazon quickly admitted that the move was a mistake to the press with a bland statement, but that wasn’t enough. So today, right before the company announced its earnings, CEO Jeff Bezos personally apologized for the incident as follows:

During this afternoon’s Amazon Q2 conference call, there was one topic that was clearly on many analysts’ minds: the Kindle. With the recent release of the Kindle DX and the Kindle 2 only a few months before it, the financial success of the device is still very much a mystery, especially since Amazon has long been tightlipped about releasing any Kindle sales figures. CFO Tom Szkutak, who led the call, kept to that script.

Szkutak had little interest in getting into questions about the Kindle, other than to repeat that growth was “very strong” multiple times. When one analyst asked what kind of trends Amazon is seeing with regard to the Kindle cannibalizing book sales, Szkutak danced around the question, stating, “We’re not doing any updates in terms of the units, in terms of specific numbers. We’re seeing very good growth. It’s exceeding our expectations.”

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/apple/AT_T_CEO_admits_iPhone_won_t_be_exclusive_forever’;

It may not be all that shocking from a common sense point of view, but AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson’s statement that “there will be a day when you are not exclusive with the iPhone” is still quite a departure from anything he’s said in the past and, given the stakes involved, pretty darn notable. That word came at Fortune’s now happening Brainstorm: Tech conference, where Stephenson unsurprisingly didn’t elaborate on any negotiations with Apple, and only went so far as to say that he thinks AT&T’s partnership with Apple “works really, really well — maybe as well as any strategic partnership we have.” Of course, none of that means exclusivity is going away anytime soon, and you can pretty safely bet that AT&T will keep on pushing as long as it can.

Filed under: Cellphones

AT&T CEO admits iPhone won’t be exclusive forever originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Microsoft just announced quarterly earnings and they are not pretty. Total revenues are down 17 percent to $13 billion, and net income is down 29 percent to $3 billion. Every business got hit hard, but the worst-performing business by far was the online business. It had the biggest operating loss of $732 million, which was $1 million more than its revenues of $731 million.

That means that every dollar of online revenue was wiped out by a dollar of operating loss. And those operating losses really stack up. For its fiscal year (which ended in June), the online business showed an operating loss of $2.2 billion, nearly twice as much as the year before.

Despite the much-ballyhooed launch of Bing, search revenue was flat in the quarter was flat. You’ve got to wonder how much of the ballooning operating loss is going into Bing, and whether those investments will ever pan out.

Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he’ll explore where our industry is and where it’s going — on both micro and macro levels — with the unique wit and insight only he can provide.

I like books. No: I actually love books. In virtually every room in my home there are bookcases that are filled to overflowing. I like to purchase them, hold them as I read words written to inform, delight, and transport the reader into different times, new experiences, and enlighten them in ways they could not have imagined. Like the worst hot dog I’ve eaten and the worst beer I’ve drunk, the worst book I’ve read was wonderful… but books do have a downside. They’re bulky to store, hard to travel with (paper is really, really heavy), and paperbacks in particular tend to not hold up well over time. So, in addition to books, I’ve been a fan of e-Books. My former venture capital firm did one of the first investments in Peanut Press (long sold and re-sold many times and now owned by Barnes and Noble) and more than a decade ago I struggled with reading fiction by Dan Brown on a Palm V device with low resolution and on backlight. It was a struggle — but it was better than schlepping paper.

Continue reading Entelligence: Two strikes for Kindle is enough for me

Filed under: Handhelds

Entelligence: Two strikes for Kindle is enough for me originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

It’s been twenty long months since the announcement of Android and nine months since its handset debut, but it’s finally picking up steam. On August 5th, the HTC-made T-Mobile myTouch 3G will become the second Android handset to make its way to the shelves of a US carrier. In the time its taken for T-Mobile to cross the t’s and dot the i’s, we’ve already had a chance to review HTC’s next handset: the bigger, badder, and (arguably) better Hero.

Alas, the Hero isn’t yet confirmed for any US carrier, so we’ll take what we can get. Was the myTouch 3G worth the wait? Read on for our review.

Qualcomm is no stranger to legal action, but at the end of the day, you’ve gotta hit ‘em in the pocketbook if you want to get a company to change its ways. South Korea’s antitrust authorities have decided that the wireless chipmaker is guilty of some nefarious deeds, imposing a 260 billion won fine — that’s 26 with ten zeroes after it — or about $209 million, which is a new record for the agency. The company has a rather large operation in South Korea dealing with giants Samsung and LG, and that seems to be where the problem starts — South Korea claims that they’re offering better contracts to companies who deal exclusively with Qualcomm and shun its competitors, which the government is taking issue with. For its part, Qualcomm denies any wrongdoing and is vowing to “vigorously” defend itself as it works its way through the country’s court system. Whatever, we just want cheaper phones, you know?

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

South Korea slaps Qualcomm with massive fine for anticompetitive behavior originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Oh sure, outfits have claimed to ship kitchen-friendly TV sets before, but Toshiba just made ‘em all look silly with the introduction of the 19LV612U. Less formally known as the first member of the Stainless Style TV series, this 18.5-inch set packs a built-in slot-loading DVD player, integrated ATSC / NTSC / QAM TV tuner and a 1,366 x 768 native resolution. Oh, and then there’s the seductive stainless steel coating, which makes it fit in impeccably well with your modern day dishwasher, refrigerator and microwave oven. Other specs include 300 nits of brightness, a 1,000:1 contrast ratio, five millisecond response time, HDMI / VGA inputs, a headphone jack and VESA mount support. It’s expected to ruin meals regularly starting this September for $349.99

Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment, Household

Toshiba’s Stainless Style 720p HDTV redefines kitchenware originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/gadgets/HTC_Hero_review_2′; The HTC Hero has been an object of lust for some time now for gadget enthusiasts. Even from the earliest days of leaked hardware shots and blurry demo videos of its UI, smartphone fans seemed to agree that the company had finally achieved what has been missing in the world of Android. Namely, a polished and attractive device — polished enough to go head-to-head with the iPhone — that kept its open source heart. So, here we are months later with an actual, bona fide Hero in our midst. Yes the reports were true, it is a beautiful device, both inside and out (though of course opinions differ on that chin). But does being a beautiful device mean Android is about to move to a bigger stage? Is HTC’s spit-shine enough to overcome some of the hurdles that have plagued the platform? That question — and more — is answered in the text below, so read on for the full review.

Continue reading HTC Hero review

Filed under: Cellphones

HTC Hero review originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

When we first got our hands-on the 400 disc MegaChanger pictured above we’d hoped it would be out a little earlier; but never the less the wait is almost over as Sony officially announced plans to release the BDP-CX7000ES in August, for the hard to swallow price of $1,900 — about $400 less than rumored. The good news is that it does just about everything we can think of, like handle any Blu-ray Disc, DVD or CD with ease, and of course works with the latest codecs delivered via bitstream or LPCM. Now if you just have to have a Blu-ray changer, but wish it was half the price, you can wait a few more months for the BDP-CX960 for $800. You will however have to be willing to forgo things like RS-232 and IR-in, as well as the ES badge. Also shipping in August with the ES MegaChanger is the BDP-S1000ES. This standalone Blu-ray player is at the top of line and for $700 you get just about every feature and spec Blu-ray has to offer, as well as built-in WiFi and a DLNA client. The full details of all three are in the release after the jump.

Continue reading Sony’s Blu-ray MegaChanger hits the streets next month with new ES standalone

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Sony’s Blu-ray MegaChanger hits the streets next month with new ES standalone originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments