Consumer Electronics

Paul Taylor ooVoo launches new Facebook and iPad apps

May 22, 2012 8:56 pm by Paul Taylor

Since its launch in 2007 ooVoo has helped refine the consumer video chat market with its free high definition app. In the process it has become a favourite with the teenagers and young adults under 25 who make up more than two thirds of its 46m users.

Now the New York-based company’s management team, led by executive chairman Robert Jackman, is trying to consolidate its grip on the youth market with a upgrade to its social video chat service designed to make it easier to use and available on more devices.

Continue reading: “ooVoo launches new Facebook and iPad apps”

Posted in Consumer Electronics, Social, Tech |

Samsung’s Olympic bid to beat Apple: Galaxy SIII

May 3, 2012 7:00 pm by Dan Thomas

The next move in the race for dominance of the lucrative smartphone market has been made by Samsung, after the Korean electronics group unveiled the latest incarnation of its best-selling Galaxy range in London.

The Galaxy SIII comes with a host of innovations and gimmicks – such as multitasking functions and a high definition screen – that Samsung will hope will be enough to take further customers away from the dominant iPhone range made by Apple.

Continue reading: “Samsung’s Olympic bid to beat Apple: Galaxy SIII”

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Posted in Consumer Electronics, Mobile, Telecoms |

Chris Nuttall iPhone powers Apple March quarter, June will suffer

April 24, 2012 9:40 pm by Chris Nuttall

Apple has announced another stunning quarter, with revenues of $39.2bn earning net profits of $11.6bn or $12.30 per share. That compares with analyst expectations of $36.5bn in sales and $9.94 a share in profits.

The company sold 35.1m iPhones -up 88 per cent on the year-earlier quarter – but is expected to sell fewer in the current quarter, with revenues declining 13 per cent sequentially.  Tim Cook, chief executive,  and Peter Oppenheimer, chief financial officer, spoke to analysts after the announcement – our live blog is after the jump.

Continue reading: “iPhone powers Apple March quarter, June will suffer”

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Posted in Computers, Consumer Electronics, Digital media, Mobile |

Paul Taylor Nokia’s Lumia 900 needs to succeed

April 4, 2012 9:10 pm by Paul Taylor

Nokia’s Windows Phone-powered Lumia 900, available today in the US from AT&T, has broad shoulders – which is fortunate because Nokia, Microsoft and AT&T all need this new handset to be a big success.

The Lumia 900 runs on AT&T’s expanding LTE network and boasts a distinctive unibody design with curved side edges, a big 4.3 inch screen and an 8 megapixel digital camera sensor but despite these high-end specs, costs only $99.

Continue reading: “Nokia’s Lumia 900 needs to succeed”

Posted in Consumer Electronics, Mobile, Personal technology, Smartphones, Telecoms |
From personal technology column March 29, 2012

AKG Headphones

Harman’s AKG K495 NC headphones

Noise-cancelling headphones enable consumers to listen to music without the annoyance of background noise such as the drone of traffic on a busy road or the whine of aircraft engines. The three headphones featured here are the latest entrants in an increasingly crowded market for sophisticated noise-cancelling headphones that satisfy audio enthusiasts.

Continue reading: “Sounds of silence”

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Posted in Consumer Electronics, Personal technology |

Chris Nuttall Tivo boosts boxes, lowers subscription

March 24, 2012 1:52 am by Chris Nuttall

Tivo has lowered the monthly subscription to its DVR service, a move that may be aimed at stemming subscriber losses.

The company dropped its monthly service fee for its machines from $20, with a one-year commitment, to $15. It also raised the price of its entry-level Premiere digital video recorder from $100 to $150 as it increased its capacity from 45 hours of HD video recording to 75.

Continue reading: “Tivo boosts boxes, lowers subscription”

Posted in Consumer Electronics, Digital media, Personal technology |

Chris Nuttall Apple’s dividend and buyback – how it happened

March 19, 2012 12:56 pm by Chris Nuttall

Apple has announced plans to pay a dividend and institute a share buyback  programme as it deals with a cash mountain that has grown to more than $100bn.

The maker of the iPhone and iPad said it would begin with a quarterly dividend of $2.65 a share, sometime in its fiscal fourth quarter, which begins on July 1.  A $10bn share buyback would begin in its next fiscal year, starting September 30 and be executed over three years.

Apple held a conference call to discuss the moves (it also revealed a record weekend of sales for the new iPad). Our live blog on that, and the reaction to it, is after the jump.

Continue reading: “Apple’s dividend and buyback – how it happened”

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Posted in Computers, Consumer Electronics, Digital media, Tech Finance |
From Analysis February 27, 2012

As he celebrated Sony’s sweep of Grammy awards at a star-draped after-party in West Hollywood on February 12, Sir Howard Stringer looked like a man relieved.

Adele, the Sony-signed British singer, had won six trophies, capping a year of music successes for the Japanese group and its Welsh-American chief executive, who had lured industry veteran Doug Morris to run his record labels, and pulled off a bid for EMI Music Publishing without committing much capital.

Continue reading: “Sony: Channels to choose”

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Posted in Consumer Electronics |

Tim Bradshaw Apple watchers expect new iPad on March 7

February 14, 2012 10:26 am by Tim Bradshaw

Anticipation is building that Apple will unveil a new iPad within the next month with significant upgrades, including faster 4G wireless networking and a high-resolution Retina display.

A string of rumours and reports have helped to push Apple’s stock above the $500 mark for the first time – making each Apple share more expensive than the iPad itself.

Continue reading: “Apple watchers expect new iPad on March 7″

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Posted in Consumer Electronics, Hardware, Tech |

Tim Bradshaw WikiLeaks could set servers afloat, Fox News reports

February 1, 2012 1:40 pm by Tim Bradshaw

Tech news from around the web:

WikiLeaks, the whistleblowing website, is investigating the possibility of taking its hosting infrastructure offshore to avoid the long arm of the law, reports Fox News. The suggestion is that this would be more than just an island out of the reach of the taxman – WikiLeaks has explored floating its infrastructure on a barge in international waters, Fox claims. Julian Assange is in London’s supreme court this week fighting his extradition to Sweden, while a new legal challenge has also emerged from FSI, his former lawyers, who accuse the WikiLeaks founder of failing to pay his legal fees.

Continue reading: “WikiLeaks could set servers afloat, Fox News reports”

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Posted in Consumer Electronics, Digital media, Internet, Social, Tech |
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