consumer electronics

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This Section at Best Buy Is About to Vanish for Good

Electronics retailer is phasing out DVD, Blu-ray sales by early 2024

(Newser) - Best Buy is saying goodbye to movie-watching with physical discs. The consumer electronics retailer plans to phase out its DVD and Blu-ray sales by early 2024—with physical movies set to be sold in stores and online as they are today through the holidays, Best Buy confirmed to the AP...

Apple Won't Like New EU Rule on Charging Cords

USB-C cable will be required for devices, from phones to headphones to GPS units, from 2024

(Newser) - Forget rummaging through the junk drawer. Soon, Europeans will need to reach for just one cable to charge their smartphones and other devices, the AP reports. European Union officials said they inked a provisional agreement Tuesday that will require a uniform charging cord in the 27-nation bloc. The new rules,...

After 21 Years, the iPod Is Being Discontinued
Time to Say
Goodbye to
the iPod

Time to Say Goodbye to the iPod

Apple is discontinuing device after 21 years

(Newser) - Some 21 years after Apple introduced a device that the company boasted could "put 1,000 songs in your pocket," it's time to say goodbye to the iPod. Apple announced Tuesday that the iconic device is being discontinued, though it will still be available online and at...

Clinging to an Old BlackBerry? Today Is Its 'End of Life'
RIP to an Iconic
Mobile Device 

RIP to an Iconic Mobile Device

BlackBerry is discontinuing service after Tuesday on all of its devices not running on Android software

(Newser) - If you're still clinging to your older BlackBerry not for nostalgia's sake but for actual functionality, you're out of luck after today. In what multiple outlets are calling the "end of an era," the Canadian company known for its once-ubiquitous mobile devices with thumb-friendly QWERTY...

One Charger for All Devices? Europe May Make It a Law
In a Shot at Apple, Europe
Plans New Law on Chargers
the rundown

In a Shot at Apple, Europe Plans New Law on Chargers

Legislation would require that phones, etc., use universal charger, a USB-C

(Newser) - Anyone who's fought with a tangle of wires hunting for the right charger may find themselves cheering a proposed law in Europe: It would require that all phones, tablets, and all other such electronic devices use the same type of charger—a USB-C, reports the BBC . Apple is already...

In 2 Years, Trio Stole $1.2M From Amazon

3 sentenced over fraud scheme involving 'hundreds' of accounts

(Newser) - "To those who seek to exploit the convenience of online shopping through fraud, remember this case." That's the message from a chief prosecutor in Indiana who helped send three people to prison for a scheme that defrauded Amazon of $1.2 million. US Attorney Josh Minkler says...

'Crazy Eddie,' King of 'Insane' Prices, Dead at 68

Eddie Antar rose to success with his electronics retail chain, ended up in prison

(Newser) - If you came of age in the New York tri-state area in the '70s and '80s, it was hard to escape the "Crazy Eddie" ads that touted one of the region's most well-known electronics retailers. But there won't be any more Christmases in August for...

New Headphones Claim to Produce Runner's High

Too good to be true? The science is still out

(Newser) - A new company that's betting there's a big market out there for folks who'd like to, say, enjoy a runner's high without having to, well, run are about to unleash a new device that could very well induce a dopamine high. Florida-based Nervana, a wearable tech...

Fancy New TV Selling for a Whopping $133K

And it'll be years before there's anything to watch on it

(Newser) - Great news for anyone in the market for a prohibitively expensive, largely useless status symbol: Sharp is releasing the first commercially available 8K TV next month. The BBC reports the 85-inch set—which comes with a $133,000 price tag—has a resolution 16 times better than a regular HD...

Why the Apple Watch Will Flop
 Apple Watch Is Doomed to Fail 
OPINION

Apple Watch Is Doomed to Fail

It's a Newton, not an iPod, Mark Wilson says

(Newser) - With Apple set to announce new details on the Apple Watch , including a release date, Mark Wilson at Fast Company says he has the courage to say what a lot of people are thinking: The watch is going to be a big flop. The device has more in common with...

RadioShack Files for Chapter 11

Electronics store had tried to stave off bankruptcy

(Newser) - Struggling electronics retailer RadioShack has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and says it will sell up to 2,400 stores. The Fort Worth, Texas company said today that it was also having discussions to sell all of its remaining assets . RadioShack Corp. introduced one of the first mass-market personal...

Android Wear: More Wearable Wearable Tech?

New OS set to open up smartwatch market

(Newser) - Wearable technology looks set to take a big leap forward with Google's new Android Wear system, a version of its mobile operating system designed specifically for wearable devices. Analysts say the move opens the door for a lot of wearable devices like smartwatches that, unlike Google Glass, the general...

The iPod Is Kaput




 The iPod Is Kaput 
OPINION

The iPod Is Kaput

Sales way down this holiday season: Sean Hollister

(Newser) - This holiday season, Apple sold 6 million iPods—a 52% decline over the year before, and a paltry number compared to the 51 million iPhones and 26 million iPads it unloaded. Apple brought in $57.6 billion in revenue last quarter, of which iPod sales contributed only $973 million. Other...

More Foxconn Woes: Huge Fight Breaks Out

Images show men carrying pipes; unconfirmed deaths reported

(Newser) - Foxconn may not be in the news like it once was , but not for lack of woes, it seems. The company revealed that a major fight erupted Thursday at a Foxconn campus in eastern China, and the firm says 11 people were injured. The fighting reportedly started as workers drank...

Check Your Pulse for Your New Password

Wristband lets you log on with heartbeat

(Newser) - Keep forgetting your password? A Canadian startup says it can give you a password that you won't lose for the rest of your life. The firm's "Nymi" wristband checks your heartbeat—which is as unique as your fingerprints—and uses it to unlock everything from computer accounts...

Cook: New Apple Game-Changers Are on Deck

He hints at a move into wearable electronics

(Newser) - Apple hasn't been having such a great year but CEO Tim Cook says the company will continue to come up with new innovations—in the field of consumer electronics, not tax-dodging . Speaking at the All Things Digital conference, Cook says Apple will release "several more game-changers" and signaled...

Tablets May Soon Be Allowed During Takeoff, Landing

Industry group preparing report on in-flight devices

(Newser) - You may not have to switch off that iPad during takeoff much longer. Last year, the FAA established an industry group to look into the effects of in-flight gadget use; by the end of 2013, officials are hoping to announce a more easygoing approach to electronic devices like e-readers. Instead...

Tomorrow: National Day of Unplugging

Time to turn off the smartphones—and everything else

(Newser) - Feeling the stress of being plugged in and available 24 hours a day, every day? Tomorrow is an opportunity to take a break from all that. Starting at sundown today—in accordance with the Jewish Sabbath—thousands of Americans are set to shut down their gadgets (yes, all of them)...

Here's Samsung's 'Ultra HD' TV for ... $20K

It's a 'statement piece,' says company

(Newser) - Samsung has revealed a TV to make your HDTV look old-hat. At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the tech giant is displaying its 85-inch Ultra HD TV, which analysts expect will run you a mere $20,000 when it ships later this year. Ultra HD—likely the future...

Foxconn Finally Improves Conditions

Audit finds progress at electronics giant

(Newser) - Life has become less stressful for the million or so people employed by electronics giant Foxconn, an audit from the Fair Labor Association has found. The company, which suffered a spate of suicides at its plant in southern China, has complied with most of the recommendations made after Apple opened...

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