My brother told me that HD DVD died a few months ago because I hadn’t heard or read anything about the format war, but Blu-ray still ain’t doing so hot. And by “doing so hot,” I mean selling any better than it did when it was still entrenched in the utterly pointless war. From January […]
My brother told me that HD DVD died a few months ago because I hadn’t heard or read anything about the format war, but Blu-ray still ain’t doing so hot. And by “doing so hot,” I mean selling any better than it did when it was still entrenched in the utterly pointless war.
From January to February, Blu-ray sales plummeted some 40 percent, only to get a slight bump from February to March to the tune of 2 percent. Hardly the type of news Sony wanted to hear, especially if those rumors that it paid Warner $500 million were true.
The Blu-ray folks blame their inability to meet demand following the spectacular, dare I say “epic,” failure of Toshiba to convince anyone that HD DVD was worth buying. Cynics, myself included, think that, generally, consumers still aren’t too keen on Blu-ray when, you know, regular DVD (which is cheaper; the economy’s not so hot right now) looks “good enough.”
This Sunday, AT&T will launch a new video service that’ll allow select handsets carry 10 television channels for a fee of $15 a month. The service, called AT&T Mobile TV, is an attempt by the company to compete with Verizon Wireless’ V Cast Mobile TV.
AT&T has a mobile video service, CV, which works on a different principle than AT&T Mobile Television. Mobile TV, which uses Qualcomm’s MediaFLO technology, constantly streams shows so that they are more like regular broadcasts. The service will begin in 58 markets including Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.
At the start of the launch, only two handsets will be Mobile TV capable. The LG Vu, which sells for $299.99, and the Samsung Access, which sells for $199.99, are the first units that can run the application. A two year contract with a $100 mail-in rebate will get you one of these phones. In the future, other phones will be able to carry the new service.
AT&T Mobile Television will allow users to view CBS Mobile, Comedy Central, ESPN Mobile Television, Fox Mobile, MTV, NBC 2Go, NBC News 2Go, Nickelodeon, Sony Pictures and CNN Mobile Live.
Verizon isn’t telling how many people subscribe to its V Cast Mobile TV service. AT&T priced its TV service the same as Verizon’s but some are skeptical about the practicality of such an application. The consuming public might not be willing to pay $15 a month to watch television on the small screen.
This Sunday, AT&T will launch a new video service that will allow choose handsets carry 10 TV channels for a fee of $15 a month. The service, called AT&T Mobile Television, is an attempt by the company to compete with Verizon Wireless’ V Cast Mobile Television.
AT&T has a mobile video service, CV, which works on a different principle than AT&T Mobile TV. Mobile Television, which uses Qualcomm’s MediaFLO technology, constantly streams shows so that they are more like regular broadcasts. The service will begin in 58 markets including Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.
At the begin of the launch, only two handsets will be Mobile Television capable. The LG Vu, which sells for $299.99, and the Samsung Access, which sells for $199.99, are the first units that can run the application. A two year contract with a $100 mail-in rebate will get you one of these phones. In the future, other phones will be able to carry the new service.
AT&T Mobile TV will grant users to view CBS Mobile, Comedy Central, ESPN Mobile Television, Fox Mobile, MTV, NBC 2Go, NBC News 2Go, Nickelodeon, Sony Pictures and CNN Mobile Live.
Verizon isn’t telling how many people subscribe to its V Cast Mobile Television service. AT&T priced its Television service the same as Verizon’s but some are skeptical about the practicality of such an application. The consuming public might not be willing to pay $15 a month to watch television on the small screen.
Bluepulse, a free mobile social messenger, was named to the annual FierceWireless “Fierce 15” list, designating Bluepulse as one of the top wireless companies of the year. FierceWireless editors looked at hundreds of organizations and determined that Bluepulse was among the “fiercest,” based on their creativity and innovations.
FierceWireless is a daily email newsletter that reaches more than 72,000 senior wireless industry executives. Top management in over 100 countries receive a swift, authoritative briefing on the day’s top wireless stories, including new trends and technologies.
“With all the hype surrounding mobile social networking, bluepulse’s application stands apart because it readily works on most Internet-enabled handsets,” stated Sue Marek, Editor-in-Chief of FierceWireless.
The Bluepulse mobile social messenger allows users to access the Mobile Web to message and update their circle of friends from a regular mobile phone. At CTIA Wireless 2008, Bluepulse revealed new features including simple friend importing from Web mail services, daily summary notifications of bluepulse activity and emoticons that give users a fun way to express themselves through bluepulse messages.
“We are thrilled to be recognized by FierceWireless, the industry’s must-read news leader,” said Ben Keighran, founder and CEO of bluepulse. “The wireless community depends on FierceWireless to provide the most up-to-date news along with analysis of major industry trends. It is an honor to be recognized by such a well-regarded news outlet.”
Uh oh. A couple of companies in Germany have patented technology that enables sending scented text messages between phones. You know what this means: bring on the fart messages.
Actually, the way the system will work is by triggering one of 100 pre-defined scents on a chip in the phone, which seems less exciting and precise than what people would want to use it for. Yeah, being able to send a generic watermelon scent to someone is cool, I guess, but what if you want to send the specific scent of a dish you’re eating to someone? Or, you know, a fart you’re particularly proud of? It’s a nice thought, guys, but until you figure out how to get the subtleties of my farts expressed with a proper amount of nuance, I’m not interested.
Now, just because I can, here’s my favorite comedy sketch relating to farting, from the classic Mr. Show.
Uh oh. A couple of companies in Germany have patented technology that enables sending scented text messages between phones. You know what this means: bring on the fart messages.
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