Accessories supplier iGo received its second U.S. patent (No. 7,779,278) for its “novel approach” to reducing wasted standby “vampire” power, the company said. The company estimates its green technology can automatically reduce vampire power loss up to 85 percent.

Sixteen million of the 38 million PS3s that have been sold globally have been sold in Sony Computer Entertainment Europe regions, SCEE CEO Andrew House said Tuesday at his company’s Gamescom news conference in Cologne, Germany. In comparison, about 13 million PS3s had been sold in the U.S. through July (CED Aug 16 p7).

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- CEA’s 3D Technologies Working Group (R4 WG16) “unfortunately is working slower than consumers want” to hash out standards on interoperable active-shutter glasses that would work across most brands of 3D TVs, David Chechelashvili, who runs global retail and distribution for glasses supplier Xpand Cinema, told the DisplaySearch TV Ecosystem Conference Wednesday. “At some point, the standards will be in place,” but not for at least a year or two, Chechelashvili said. CEA officials couldn’t be reached by our deadline for comment.

BJ’s Wholesale Club was hurt by weak TV sales in Q2 ended July 31, the company said Wednesday. BJ’s shares fell 2.75 percent or $1.19 after it reported results for Q2 2009 that were stronger than Q2 2009 but weaker than analysts’ estimates and the company slashed its fiscal year forecast.

Mozaex’s new multiroom Blu-ray 3D server (CED Aug 10 p1) underscores the fine line between what server manufacturers consider legal when it comes to products that store movies for distribution throughout a house and what copyright-protection groups want to shut down as violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Michael Ayers, spokesman for the Advanced Access Content System, told Consumer Electronics Daily that Mozaex, like any PC manufacturer, needs no license from AACS to add a Blu-ray drive to its server. The manufacturer of the drive and the publisher of the software player application do have to be licensees, he said, and they must obey copyright laws prohibiting illegal copying of software. Mozaex’s position is that it simply makes a server and it doesn’t provide a way to rip movies to a hard disk or control what a consumer does after buying the system.

Fujifilm unveiled what it called the first digital camera that can capture HD 3D movies, following the company’s debut last year of the first digital camera to take 3D stills. Due in stores next month, the $499 Fine Pix REAL 3D W3 shoots 3D HD at 720p resolution and 2D HD at 1920 x 1080 resolution. The camera packs its own 3.5-inch widescreen autostereoscopic 3D LCD viewfinder for 3D playback from the camera, without glasses. The camera has a built-in mini HDMI port which allows consumers to play back content on “most” 3D TVs, the company said. “Fujifilm doesn’t want to comment on specific models as they don’t want to be seen to be showing favoritism to one over another,” a spokesman said in response to our query about which TVs are compatible with 3D video shot using the camera. “Suffice it to say that Sony, Samsung, Panasonic and LG all make compatible 3D TVs (basically any current model with HDMI version 1.4) and any PC that runs or supports Nvidia’s 3D Vision system."

CE manufacturers have only until Wednesday to “rebut” in writing Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection market share “determinations” for the state’s new e-waste program that begins in January, the department said. Under state rules that took effect June 1, the department’s market share determinations are “presumed to be correct unless a manufacturer submits information rebutting this determination,” the department said.

With Systemax poised to open its second TigerDirect store in October, it’s reviewing U.S. branding strategy as the company continues to also operate under CompUSA and Circuitcity.com banners, Chief Financial Officer Larry Reinhold told us.

LONDON -- “Buy music direct from your radio” is the promise of U.K. receiver supplier Pure, which went live Monday with the beta version of a new cloud music service called FlowSongs. Anyone listening to broadcast music on one of Pure’s Internet-connected Flow radios will be able to click on a radio button when they hear a song they like, and automatically purchase it for future streaming, or download to a PC for transfer to portable devices.

GENEVA -- The U.S., Japan and Taiwan won in a World Trade Organization dispute over European duties as high as 14 percent on some information technology gear covered under the Information Technology Agreement for tariff-free treatment, officials said. About $44 billion in global exports of set-top boxes, LCD panels and multi-function printers is at stake in the agreement. Questions linger over the possible future tariffs on consumer goods that continue to evolve and incorporate communications and other functions.