The installed base of Web-enabled stationary CE devices is expected to jump by a factor of six by 2014 to more than 230 million units, according to In-Stat. Analyst Keith Nissen said consumer adoption of online applications through Web-enabled CE devices -- including digital TVs, Blu-ray players, set-top boxes, videogame consoles, DVRs and network storage devices --is driving the growth, especially in the U.S. and Europe, where online video is readily available. He said consumer adoption of apps on Web-enabled TVs will be regional and sometimes country-specific. China, he noted, has “very little licensed video entertainment content available for delivery over the Internet."
Apple is making strides in its efforts to ship enough iPhone 4s to satisfy consumer demand, but “it’s not enough” and “we do still have a significant backlog,” Chief Operating Officer Timothy Cook said in a Tuesday earnings call. Apple said it sold 16.24 million iPhones in Q1 ended Dec. 25, an 86 percent increase from a year earlier (CED Jan 19 p5).
Nintendo of America (NOA) remained mum on specifics about the 3D movies that it plans to make available on its coming 3DS handheld videogame system. But President Reggie Fils-Aime said Wednesday at a news briefing that the device will ship in the U.S. March 27 at $249.99. The company and its Japanese parent haven’t said whether 3D movies for the device, which offers stereoscopic 3D effects without the need for special glasses, will be available through downloads or packaged media.
The Electronics Recycling Coordination Clearinghouse (ERCC) will release this year documents that will help state agencies evaluate the comparative performance of their e-waste laws and aid in harmonizing definitions of products that their laws cover, an official said. The clearinghouse was set up a year ago by the National Center for Electronics Recycling and the Northeast Recycling Council as a forum for state agencies, manufacturers and others affected by e-waste laws to coordinate follow-through on the diverse regulations and ease the burden of compliance.
The 4th Bin, a New York City-based e-waste pick-up service, is gearing up to take advantage of New York’s Electronic Equipment Recycling and Reuse Act. It goes into effect April 1, requiring manufacturers of covered electronic equipment (CEE) to take back a wide range of electronic waste. CEO Michael Deutsch said the company is “working on deals with some consumer electronics manufacturers” who are required to offer standard methods of collection to consumers, including drop-off points and collection events for discarded electronics, but who don’t have to offer “premium” pickup services for equipment.
Samsung Mobile Displays (SMD) will triple its OLED manufacturing capacity this year with the addition of a 5.5-generation line, as it battles to keep pace with demand, Marketing Team Leader Sean Lee told us. Volume production along the new line will start in Q3, ahead of earlier plans for adding it in 2012.
Sonic Solutions is developing custom RoxioNow-based 3D video download stores for customers, and the first are due before midyear, Mark Ely, executive vice president of strategy, told us. Sonic, which agreed to sell the company to Roxio in December, has “dozens” of 3D titles in its library, he said. Sonic is working to bring more 3D movies online as they're released in theaters, Ely said. The company also is working to make 3D a search category for the platform, he said.
Strong sales of new releases including Zumba Fitness helped Majesco Entertainment start this fiscal year well, but its results for Q4 and the fiscal year ended Oct. 31 were mixed, according to its earnings report issued Tuesday. Majesco “significantly reduced” its loss for the past fiscal year “by reducing costs and focusing on our mass market game franchises and the holiday selling season,” said CEO Jesse Sutton.
Officials at the Green Electronics Council haven’t yet figured out how EPEAT could “accommodate” the new top-tier Super Star program being developed by the EPA, said Sarah O'Brien, EPEAT outreach director. The council manages the EPEAT program. Conforming to Energy Star standards is among several criteria for EPEAT qualification. The program now covers computers and monitors but specifications for TVs and imaging equipment is under development.
The Nintendo 3DS will be “available in three versions” for each of the main videogame markets, and “there is the possibility that … software sold in one region will not function properly when running on Nintendo 3DS hardware sold in another,” a Nintendo U.K. spokesman said Tuesday. More 3DS details, meanwhile, are expected to be provided at a Nintendo news briefing in New York on Wednesday, including a specific U.S. launch date and pricing.