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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: consumer electronics

consumer electronics stories: 80 news summaries

1 - 20 of 80 Stories | 1 2 3 4 Next >>

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WALT MOSSBERG

 Droid a Savvy Choice 
 for Smartphone Fans 

Users sick of AT&T now have an option

Nov 5, 09 5:38 AM CST
(Newser) - Verizon has finally come up with a phone that will satisfy users who want an iPhone-quality smartphone to run on the firm's zippy 3G network, writes Walt Mossberg. The Motorola Droid, is, like the iPhone, "a powerful hand-held computer that happens to make phone calls," Mossberg writes. The... More »

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Verizon • iPhone • Walt Mossberg • Motorola • smartphones • Android • consumer electronics • iPhone 3G • Droid • Verizon Droid review

TWITTERLAND

 First Tweet-Only Device Debuts 

Interesting idea, but bloggers are skeptical it will catch on

Nov 3, 09 12:42 PM CST
(Newser) - The concept is simple: a device dedicated solely to sending and receiving tweets. TwitterPeek—made by mobile email/text gadget maker Peek—launches today at a cost of $199 with free lifetime service or $99 with a monthly charge of $7.95. Neat, writes Don Reisinger on CNET, but this idea... More »

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social networking • Internet • consumer electronics • gadget • mobile devices • Twitter • Peek • tweet • dedicated device • TwitterPeek

Best Buy Noses Into Online Movie Market

Streaming service will come pre-loaded on gadgets

Nov 3, 09 10:11 AM CST
(Newser) - Best Buy has partnered with online provider CinemaNow to develop a movie downloading service that will come preloaded on the bulk of its Internet-capable electronics. The move follows a 13% slump in DVD sales for the year that has had the company casting about for a new revenue stream. It... More »

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digital downloads • digital video • consumer electronics • Best Buy • online movie rentals • retail businesses • DVDs • CinemaNow

California Plans Ban on Power-Guzzling TVs

Nation's first TV energy standards expected to pass

Oct 29, 09 3:54 AM CDT
(Newser) - The consumer electronics industry is kicking hard against California's plans to introduce energy consumption maximums for TV sets. An industry lobby group argues that buyers should be allowed to decide whether they want a power-hungry flat-screen TV set or not, and warns that the move could cost the state jobs... More »

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television • California • flat screen TVs • consumer electronics • Plasma TV • energy consumption • energy efficiency

bloggers' first look

 Verizon Unveils 
 Droid Smartphone 

All looks promising, but some think OS is still no match for iPhone

Oct 28, 09 12:44 PM CDT
(Newser) - Verizon's Droid smartphone—built by Motorola and powered by Google's Android—goes on sale Nov. 6 for $200. Some early opinions on the iPhone challenger:
  • The phone is "almost not worth writing about," notes Chris Dannen in Fast Company . It's "fine" but "doesn't advance" the
... More »

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Iraq • Verizon • Motorola • Google Maps • GPS • smartphones • consumer electronics • Google Android • wireless industry • Motorola Droid • Droid • Droid phones • Verizon Droid price • Verizon Droid review

don't touch that dial


 TV Viewers Migrate to Web 

Americans are more and more likely to have watched shows online

Oct 26, 09 1:17 PM CDT
(Newser) - More and more Americans are watching television exclusively online and ditching their cable or satellite service. One-quarter of families have tuned in online, and 25% of those viewers have watched a full-length show on a computer—a 67% jump just since 2007. “The idea that you come home and... More »

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entertainment • television • Internet • cable TV • satellite TV • online • digital video • Hulu • consumer electronics

 PC Marketing Drops 
 the Technobabble 

'Fact tags' only confused customers: Intel exec

Sep 12, 09 10:54 AM CDT
(Newser) - PC makers seem to have gotten the hint and are beginning to hawk their wares not with dazzling technobabble but with information useful to the average consumer, the New York Times reports. For years, tech concerns have touted their achievements in impenetrable language on “fact tags” (DDR2 RAM,... More »

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advertising • Intel • Apple • Macintosh • computer chip • consumer electronics • AMD • PC makers • personal computers • technical

Jobs Takes Stage at Apple Event, Talks Health, iPods

Some talk of cancer, but mostly tech

Sep 9, 09 1:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Perhaps as much speculation has surrounded the possible attendance of Apple CEO Steve Jobs at the company’s product event today as what the event will actually be about. The first question is answered, Bloomberg reports: Jobs has made his first public appearance since having a liver transplant during a... More »

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cancer • Steve Jobs • iPhone • Apple • iPod • iTunes Store • consumer electronics • liver transplants • product launch • press event

Apple Slashes iPod Prices, Hinting at New Model 

New price structure points to unveiling of new model today

Sep 9, 09 12:06 PM CDT
(Newser) - Apple’s online store today briefly flashed new, lower prices for the company’s current slate of iPods, a likely indication that a new model will be unveiled at today’s invite-only event, the Wall Street Journal reports. The site was then down for a period for updating. The... More »

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Apple • iPod Nano • iPod Touch • portable media players • consumer electronics • iPods • falling prices • Jay-ZTV • press event

PRODUCT REVIEW

 Yes, the $1,100 Earbuds 
 Sound Pretty Awesome 

JH Audio in-ear headphones offer near-perfect sound, for a price

Sep 1, 09 6:11 PM CDT
(Newser) - Sure, the new JH Audio JH13PRO custom earbuds cost $1,100, Jackson Lynch writes in Wired, but you get what you pay for. “The three sets of twin drivers funnel fantastically detailed sound directly to your cochleae,” Lynch writes. “The proprietary drivers—two for the highs,... More »

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mp3 • high end audio • portable media players • consumer electronics • headphones • earbuds • JH Audio • high fidelity

(Newser) - Apple will unveil a new line of iPods complete with point-and-click cameras on Sept. 9, Apple Insider reports. In addition to the 3.2-megapixel camera—which, according to a “Taiwanese rumor site,” will grace the probable last-generation hard-drive iPod in addition to the Flash-based Nano and Touch—Apple... More »

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social networking • Apple • iPod • digital camera • digital music • hard drives • consumer electronics • flash memory • megapixel • point and shoot

OPINION

 iPhone 'Makes Life Miserable' 

'Anti-iPhone movement' inspired by range of technical frustrations

Aug 24, 09 10:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - We’re supposed to be in awe of the iPhone, the device that “was supposed to be our savior.” But after owning four of the "smug, narcissistic little iPhones," Amanda Fortini is fed up. Amid reports that iPhones are overheating and blowing up, “I at... More »

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iPhone • Apple • consumer electronics • gadget

(Newser) - Sony will delay production of its next-generation ultrathin television as the struggling electronics giant seeks to avoid further losses, reports the Wall Street Journal. The organic light emitting diode, or OLED, television was to succeed a three-millimeter-thick model released in late 2007, but will be held back until at least... More »

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television • Sony • flat screen TVs • OLED • consumer electronics • Sony Electronics • Jay-ZTV

Sony Challenges Kindle With
$199 E-Reader

Company angles for bigger share of fast-growing market

Aug 5, 09 2:36 AM CDT
(Newser) - Sony plans to fire up competition in the E-reader market with a pair of affordable releases next month, Bloomberg reports. The Sony Reader Pocket Edition, with a 5-inch screen, will be priced at $199. A touch-screen version will sell for $299. Amazon dropped the price of its Kindles to $299... More »

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Sony • consumer electronics • Kindle • Amazon.com • ebooks • e-readers • Sony Reader

(Newser) - From all accounts, Radio Shack is set to rebrand itself “The Shack,” Joshua Topolsky writes for Engadget. “It makes perfect sense—radios aren’t exactly considered cutting edge these days,” Topolsky writes, and “the store is about to launch a full assault on the mobile... More »

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San Francisco • New York City • Radio Shack • retail stores • consumer electronics • wireless industry • rebranding

(Newser) - Even a gadget as good as the iPhone isn't without its annoyances, although luckily bigger geeks than you have cooked up workarounds for most of them, Jared Newman writes in PC World. Some major gripes:
  • AT&T: The carrier's stranglehold in the US is becoming even more irksome as
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
iPhone • Apple • smartphones • consumer electronics • iPhone applications • PDAs • iPhone 3G

(Newser) - Microsoft has changed at least one of its highly successful "Laptop Hunter" ads after Apple called to complain about it, Advertising Age reports. In the original, a law student shopping for a laptop observes: "This Mac is $2,000, and that's before adding anything." Her mother adds,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Microsoft • advertising • Apple • laptop • consumer electronics • advertising campaign

MARKETS

 Tech Rally Sends Dow Up 257  


Jul 15, 09 3:13 PM CDT
(Newser) - The tech sector drove a substantial market rally today led by rosy projections from chipmaker Intel, the Wall Street Journal reports. Other technology stocks followed Intel—up 7.5%—as investors predicted a resurgence of the consumer electronics market. Good news from the Fed and the credit industry also... More »

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stock market • NASDAQ • New York Stock Exchange • Intel • Dow Jones • consumer electronics • S&P 500 • technology companies

(Newser) - Amazon has lopped $60 off the price of its Kindle 2 ebook reader in a move that looks like an effort to gain iPod-like dominance in an increasingly crowded market, Melissa Perenson writes in PC World. The Kindle is way ahead of the competition, but Sony's ereaders are gaining traction,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
consumer electronics • Kindle • Amazon.com • ebooks • e-readers

Manufacturers Drop Plasma TVs as LCD Takes Over

Pioneer, Vizio axe plasma production lines; retailers slash prices

Jul 2, 09 2:47 PM CDT
(Newser) - TV buyers are increasingly choosing liquid-crystal-display over plasma as LCD manufacturers beef up the technological capabilities of their sets, the Wall Street Journal reports. With 30 million LCDs sold in North America in 2008, compared with 4 million plasmas, Pioneer and Vizio are discontinuing their plasma lines. The shift means... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • television • retail • Samsung • flat screen TVs • LCD • consumer electronics • LCD TV • Plasma TV • Vizio • Pioneer • Jay-ZTV

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