But with that growth has come a growing problem with knock-offs that are using its brand.

Last week, the company filed a multi-million-dollar lawsuit — it’s biggest enforcement action yet — against Katinkas USA, a Utah company it says has been selling fake Speck cases. Also named is the company’s chief executive.

An email to Katinkas seeking comment did not immediately receive a response.

“Counterfeiting is a very big problem in the accessories market,” Speck CEO Irene Baran said in an interview. “We’re going to go after this. It’s illegal and it hurts us companies and there’s a lot of it going on.”

In the suit, filed in federal court in the Central District of California, Speck accuses Katinkas and its CEO of copyright and trademark infringement and unfair business practices, among other claims. The company seeks injunctions against the company as well as millions in damages.

According to the suit, Katinkas USA sold the counterfeit goods on Amazon.com. Speck says it bought goods on Amazon that it determined to be counterfeit. It said it worked with Amazon to identify the source of the goods as Katinkas.

Baran said that Speck has been able to spot and seize counterfeit goods in the past, but said this is the first time it has been able to track down a major distributor of the goods. The company hopes to work with its rival accessory makers to crack down on such operations.

“I think we could pool our resources and make a concerted effort,” she said.

Nintendo’s Wii U has managed to outperform the launch of its original Wii, at least in terms of revenue, but only because it costs more.

In the U.S., Nintendo sold 460,000 Wii U devices in December and more than 890,000 since it launched in mid-November, according to NPD, which tracks monthly sales figures for the videogame industry.

As a result, Nintendo said it recorded $300 million in revenue, which is more than the $270 million that the original Wii made at the same point in its life cycle.

But the original Wii, which launched in 2006, cost only $250, and today’s Wii U is setting players back between $300 and $350 apiece. So, the only reason it was able to exceed prior sales is because it upped the price — not because it sold more units.

That didn’t stop Nintendo of America’s EVP of Sales & Marketing Scott Moffitt from singing the company’s praises: “While the Wii launch established new benchmarks in the United States, Wii U has surpassed its predecessor in perhaps the most important category: revenue generation.”

Moffitt, however, did not comment on profits.

The Wii U has two editions: The deluxe offering that costs $350 and the basic offering for $300. The deluxe edition sold out at retail this holiday, and both editions were difficult to find after the Nov. 18 launch. But it was nothing like the launch of the Wii, which experienced shortages for months. Nintendo did run into a few hiccups at launch with customers experiencing long waits for mandatory software updates. Additionally, some of the device’s most notable features, like its TVii service, did not launch until later in the month.

Microsoft also reported strong revenue for the Xbox. The company holds the envious position of having the top-selling piece of hardware for the past 17 months straight. It sold 1.4 million units in December, or three times the number of Wii U’s sold. (When you add up all the hardware Nintendo sold, it totals more than 2.65 million units).

In all, Microsoft said, consumers spent more than $1.27 billion on the Xbox 360, including games, consoles and accessories.

Following the release of the NPD data, Sony did not immediately break out the PlayStation’s performance for the month of December.

Even so, the numbers are staggering, especially given the amount of pressure that smartphones and tablets are putting on the game console industry. But some impact can be seen. The amount of money being generated by mobile games and online gaming still has not been enough to offset the declines that the traditional console gaming market is seeing — at least that’s NPD Group’s position.

Historically, the research firm has monitored sales through purchases made at physical retail locations. In recent years, it has expanded its methodologies as more content is sold digitally over services like Valve’s Steam on the PC or as expansion packs inside of console games.

Overall, it reported for December that new physical retail sales of hardware, software and accessories totaled $3.2 billion, falling 22 percent year over year. It calculates that the physical channel accounts for nearly 50 percent of the total consumer spend on games.

When NPD considers revenue from other channels, such as used and rentals, and digital formats, like full games, micro-transactions, mobile apps and social gaming, its preliminary estimate is that consumer spending in December hit $4.1 billion in all. A final analysis of non-physical spending however, is expected to be released in February.

It’s also a huge challenge for the companies that make those accessories. Although there are plenty of cases and other non-electrical add-ons for the new iPhones, iPads and iPods, the move away from the dock connector has all but stalled the market for plug-in accessories.

Until now, anyway.

Belkin said on Monday that it will have both a car charger and a dock that work with Apple’s new Lightning connector ready by mid-month. Both will sell for $30, about the same as Apple charges just for a cord that allows older accessories to work with the new connection.

When Apple made the move away from the old 30-pin connection, it said that it would work with peripheral makers to create officially sanctioned Lightning accessories. (Some unofficial ones have already cropped up, but given the highly sophisticated nature of the new connector, buyer beware on those.)

That Belkin is first out of the gate should not come as a surprise to Apple historians. As Belkin itself notes, the company was early with products that plugged into the original dock connector.

“Belkin was the first third-party manufacturer to develop accessories for the 30-pin connector back in 2003, and we are thrilled to be first to market again with solutions for the new Lightning connector,” Belkin General Manager Martin Avila said in a statement.

But Belkin’s history actually predates even that. Belkin helped Apple with the first-ever iPod accessories. Even before there was a dock connector, Belkin helped Apple with a microphone that plugged into the top of the early iPod.

And with the 7.9-inch tablet comes a slew of new accessories. While typing on a mini accessory keyboard should be an interesting experiment in ergonomics, one accessory maker is even offering a finger-cramping keyboard in addition to the usual assortment of cases.

We haven’t tried and tested these add-ons, but here are some notable options plucked from the deluge of press releases that come with every new Apple product announcement:

Cases

In the case of cases, it can be especially tough to choose one from among the dozens of options. Apple is offering its standard iPad Smart Cover in mini sizes and in six different colors, for $39 (the same price as the larger iPad Smart Cover). This cover, for those not familiar, protects just the screen side of the tablet, hinging magnetically to the device.

Otterbox Defender Series Case for iPad Mini

But there are other, more protective cases out there, too. Otterbox, known for its durable iPhone cases, has created a Defender Series iPad mini case, though, at $69.95, it’s not cheap. The impact-resistant case includes a screen protector, and has a textured exterior for added grip. If you’re prone to dropping your device, the Otterbox has a foam-padded interior for extra shock absorption.

A less costly case is Targus’ Vuscape, a water-resistant, padded twill case that offers six landscape viewing positions. It’s available in black, red or indigo blue for $40.

If you’re looking for something with a little more style, iLuv is selling these $30 foam-padded sleeves for iPad mini, while the Joy Factory offers cases in denim and camouflage, each for $49.95.

Stands

Targus has also created a water-resistant twill case, called the Versavu, that boasts a 360-degree rotating axis. So, users can twist and turn the iPad mini for different viewing angles while it’s propped up in the case.

Kensington’s iPad Mini Case

For a better idea of how this works, you might want to check out the quick video on the Targus Web page. The stand is available in red or black, and costs $50. For a less expensive option, there’s the simpler $30 Kickstand, also available in red or black.

Kensington also offers a nice blend of cover and stand with this $35 protective case, available in brown marble, black marble or “tan snake” (for those who really want to make an impression in business meetings, I suppose).

Keyboards

What is this, a keyboard for ants? Zagg doesn’t seem to think so. The company is selling a $90 seven-inch keyboard accessory that works with the iPad mini and “other 7-inch tablets.”

If you want to go larger, Zagg offers a nine-inch keyboard, also costing $90. This has the same spacing as Zagg’s traditional tablet keyboard, so your fingers won’t feel as cramped. Your tiny tablet can be nestled into the cover portion of the keyboard case.

Zagg’s 7-Inch Keyboard for iPad Mini

Both are Bluetooth-compatible and come with a built-in rechargeable battery that the company claims will keep the keyboards powered for months at a time.

Tactile-typists might also want to check out Logitech’s selection of Bluetooth-equipped keyboards for iPad, which the company says should be fully compatible with the iPad mini. Logitech has made the point that consumers might still look primarily to the larger iPads for real productivity, and hasn’t said yet whether it plans to make devices specifically for the iPad mini.

Adapters

Last, but certainly not least important, are Lightning adapters, which make your older iDevices compatible with new ones that use Apple’s new eight-pin connector.

On its Web site, Apple is selling the Lightning to 30-pin adapter for $29, and a Lightning to SD Card Camera Reader for $29, which lets you transfer photos and videos from your digital camera to your iPad mini. That one is currently in stock, according to the site; the Lightning to 30-pin adapter should ship in about a week. The Lightning to VGA adapter, which works with VGA TVs, costs $49, and has an expected ship time of two weeks to three weeks.

Someecards

When Apple’s soon-to-debut 7.85-inch iPad finally ships, it will be accompanied by a smorgasbord of third-party accessories. Manufacturers in Asia have been building them for quite some time now.

Topeka analyst Brian White, who has been travelling around Asia recently, checking up on the consumer electronics companies there, said he was “blown away” by the way in which accessory providers have been ramping up for the launch of the so-called iPad mini. Some have been producing accessories for the device since September. Interesting, considering invitations for the event at which Apple will unveil the iPad’s diminutive sibling haven’t even been distributed yet.

“We uncovered over 20 suppliers that showed us accessories for the iPad Mini,” White said. “Some already have the accessories boxed, labeled and ready for order.”

Among the vendors White spoke with was one that had on hand a “pilot” iPad mini. While the device’s origins aren’t clear, White seems to have been quite impressed with its physical form factor. “This 7.85-inch iPad Mini fit our hands like a glove,” he said. “We were easily able to tuck the device in our sport coat [and feel it may provide] a more mobile iPad experience for certain use cases.”

Given that, White is confident that the device will be well-received by consumers, and has high expectations for early sales. He figures Apple will sell between five million and seven million iPad minis during the December quarter, but predicts that ultimately it will surpass the unit volumes of the larger iPad.

The change from the old 30-pin connector to the new format was expected, but that doesn’t make it any less of a headache for consumers.

The Lightning connector leaves those who have products designed for the old connector needing to buy an adapter, ranging between $19 and $39, to use their old chargers and accessories with the iPhone 5. Even then, Apple says the adapter will not work with some products.

It’s all a bit confusing and frustrating for iOS device users who have invested a lot of money into compatible accessories. So why the change? Which accessories will work with the iPhone 5 and new iPods? If you’re planning on purchasing one of these devices, here are a few things you need to know about the Lightning connector.

What is it?
The Lightning connector replaces the 30-pin connector that’s been used on iOS devices since 2003. It uses an eight-signal adapter interface and is reversible, meaning you can insert it either way up. Like the old 30-pin connector, the Lightning port can be used for various functions, including charging the iPod or iPhone, syncing data and outputting audio to another device.

Which devices use the Lightning connector?
Currently, the iPhone 5 and the new iPod Touch and iPod Nano.

Why the change?
In an interview with AllThingsD’s Ina Fried, Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, said that the company didn’t take the decision lightly, but in order to make its new iPhone and iPod thinner, it had to change the dock connector. The iPhone 5 marks Apple’s thinnest smartphone yet and is about 20 percent lighter than the iPhone 4S. And the new iPod and iPod touch are thinner still.

Why didn’t Apple use the micro USB standard?
After Apple came out in support of the International Electrotechnical Commission’s recommendation for a universal microUSB mobile charging standard, some had hoped that the company would do away with its proprietary ports.

But clearly that’s not the case. Sure, it would have made many consumers happy, but there were some technical reasons behind the decision.

“Apple’s iPhone connectors offer more functionality than standard micro USB connectors, like the ability to directly control accessories from the iPhone screen,” said Ian Fogg, principal analyst at IHS, “and it enables Apple to deliver a rich variety of third-party accessories.”

Of course, it also adds to the company’s bottom line and draws more people into Apple’s world.

Charles Golvin, principal analyst at Forrester Research, said, “Apple derives nontrivial revenue from its connector licensing program. The accessories tied to these connectors meaningfully increase the strength of the loyalty gravitational field, pulling customers into Apple’s ecosystem.”

What are the advantages of the Lightning connector?
Aside from the extra functionality, it’s 80 percent smaller than the 30-pin connector and reversible. Apple says it is also more durable than its predecessor.

What are the disadvantages?
The biggest disadvantage is that the Lightning connector will require an adapter to work with old accessories, and some products simply won’t be compatible at all.

“The greater the investment in iPods, iPads, and associated accessories, the more their purchase of an iPhone 5, new Nano, and/or new iPod Touch will introduce complexity and some hassle,” said Golvin. “I can imagine these consumers having to purchase not just one but multiple 30 pin-to-Lightning adapters — one for each car, dock, etc.”

At $19 a pop for the Lightning to USB Cable, $29 for the Lightning adapter and $39 for the Lightning-to-30-pin connector cable, the accessories are not cheap, and they also don’t support all functions–particularly iPod out and video out. The current adapters only support analog audio output, USB audio, syncing and charging. Lightning-to-VGA and Lightning-to-HDMI cables will be available later, but for now, you won’t be able to connect your iPhone or iPod to an external display or TV to view videos or photos using the adapters.

The adapter doesn’t make for a very elegant solution, but even worse, Apple says some 30-pin accessories are not supported. I can see this being a problem with accessories that use a cradle design.

When will there be Lightning-compatible accessories?
Hopefully, soon. During its press event this week, Apple said it was working with partners like Bose and JBL to support the new connector, but given Apple’s notorious secrecy, third-party accessory companies weren’t able to deliver final products in time for the iPhone 5 and iPod launch.

“We didn’t know anything more than anyone else knew ahead of the launch,” said Brian Yang, vice president of sales and marketing for iLuv Creative Technology, an accessories company based in New York. “We, like other manufacturers, take calculated risks in developing accessory products in advance of the launch so that we can be among the first to market with stylish, quality accessories for devices that are always instant ‘must-haves.’”

Yang added that iLuv will deliver a full range of new accessories in the coming months. ILuv is also looking to build more products using wireless technology like Bluetooth to avoid the connector issue in the future, and some companies, like Jawbone, simply think the dock is dead.

Will Apple change the connector again?
Short answer: Probably at some point. But for now, Schiller told AllThingsD, “This is the new connector for many years to come.”

Updated at 9:20 a.m. to include information about the Lightning to USB Cable.

Now, Logitech has found way to fix that mess with a washable keyboard. Yes, you read right. The Logitech Washable Keyboard K310 can be submerged in up to 11 inches of water and features drainage holes for easier drying. The only part that can’t be exposed to water is the USB cable.

The keyboard is compatible with computers running Windows XP and higher and comes with 12 hot keys for quick access to the Web, email and more. In addition, all the letters, numbers and symbols are laser etched onto the keyboard buttons and then UV coated so they won’t fade away with multiple washes.

The Washable Keyboard K310 is available for preorder now from Logitech’s Web site and costs $40.

EMarketer predicts that the apparel and accessories category is expected to grow by 20 percent to $40.9 billion this year, up from $34.2 billion in 2011.

That beats the sale of books, music and videos, which have historically been considered the most dominant e-commerce categories — those are now expected to grow by only 18 percent to $20.4 billion this year.

The report published by the Internet market research firm today is the first time it has broken down its forecasts by category.

EMarketer attributed the gains in apparel to retailers’ improved methods for displaying products online that make purchasing clothes, in particular, less of a guessing game.

Some of the visual innovations are stunning.

For instance, Amazon.com’s MyHabit, a private sales clothing site, produces animated videos of models wearing the clothing for sale. The representations are so realistic, the fabric sways as the model struts and turns as if walking down a catwalk.

On the more whimsical side of innovations is eBay’s augmented reality app that allows users to “try on” a pair of sunglasses by layering them over a picture of their face.

But in addition to new display technology, there are also many more apparel sites for consumers to choose from. Over the last two years, the idea of private sales or flash sales — offering expensive, high-end fashion at steep discounts — has spread like wildfire.

Free shipping also plays a role since it removes some of the risk for consumers: If they don’t like a shirt or pair of pants, they don’t have to pay a fee for delivery back to the retailer.

Overall, the report is predicting another big year for e-commerce. It expects U.S. retail sales to grow 15.4 percent to $224.2 billion in 2012, which is higher than eMarketer’s previous forecast that called for e-commerce to grow 11.3 percent to $209.3 billion in 2012.

The biggest category in 2012 is expected to be computer and consumer electronics, which have a higher price point, and are expected to bring in a total of $48.6 billion.

GungHo is a new energy drink, which is pouring it on thick to attract videogamers who are looking for less jitters and more eye-hand coordination for those late-night gaming sessions.

In a study conducted by the University of Utah on behalf of GungHo, it found more than 50 percent of gamers said they were not satisfied with existing energy drinks because jitters cause a lack of control.

In contrast, GungHo, which promises “Ninja-like focus” says it increases concentration, memory storage and recall without the same high’s and low’s associated with other energy products.

No reason why an energy drink can’t be like any other videogame accessory in the industry, from high-end controllers to downloadable content. A single shot costs $2.99, or about the equivalent of three 99-cent mobile games.

Here’s a video of someone under the influence of GungHo:

Zynga was up 42 cents, or almost 5 percent today, to close at $8.87 a share.

That’s a huge reversal from earlier this week when the stock nosedived to an all-time low. Meanwhile, none of the traditional game makers were having such a good day.

Electronic Arts closed down $1.47, or 7.5 percent, to $18.04 a share; THQ fell 7 percent to 66 cents a share; Take-Two Interactive fell .5 percent to $14.50 a share; and industry-leading Activision Blizzard slipped 2.5 percent $12.24 a share. GameStop also traded lower, finishing off the day down 2.8 percent to $23.51 a share.

The game makers were universally feeling the impact of an NPD Group report that revealed yesterday that videogame software sales fell 8 percent in December compared to the same month in 2010. When including hardware and accessories, like game cards, the entire industry contracted by 21 percent year over year.

Potentially, investors were betting that if the traditional game-makers weren’t fairing well, then Zynga was a good bet. The leading Facebook game-maker operates purely online and on mobile, so it potentially would be more isolated from the retail and packaged goods sectors.

The old guard vs. new guard battle also played out on the front lines yesterday.

EA was dealt an additional blow when Zynga announced it had hired away Barry Cottle, head of Electronic Arts’ Interactive division. Cottle, who was in charge of the company’s digital strategy, including social and mobile games, was EA’s biggest weapon in fighting Zynga’s dominance on Facebook and had led EA’s rise on mobile.

But EA’s loss was Zynga’s gain.

The social games leader appointed Cottle to the position of EVP of business and corporate development in charge of new global partnerships, acquisitions and other development roles.

According to NPD data released today, about $6.7 billion, or 40 percent of consumer retail spending, was spent on the Xbox, breaking down into two categories: $2.1 billion on consoles and $4.6 billion on games.

The figures take into account U.S. retail sales of new physical videogame content, including portable and console hardware, games and accessories.

In all, those sectors generated revenue of $17.02 billion in 2011, an 8 percent decline over the $18.6 billion generated last year. (Yes, I repeat, Microsoft got 40 percent of that in 2011.)

The initial report does not take into account sales from digital formats such as downloadable content on the console, social and mobile games, or other categories, including used and rentals.

Those so-called “newer” categories generated $7.24 billion in revenues last year, an increase of 7 percent over the prior year.

The increase in spending on alternative formats, however, wasn’t enough to offset declines in physical retail. All told, consumer spending across both categories totaled between $16.3 billion and $16.6 billion, falling 2 percent over last year.

Separating physical and digital sales is quickly becoming an outdated concept, since the two are so intertwined. Consumers have the choice of purchasing many of the games over the Internet via a digital download versus buying them at Wal-Mart or Target.

NPD acknowledged today that it needs “deeper visibility” into digital distribution to get a complete picture of the industry, which will be its focus in 2012.

Still, the report can still be used as a litmus test to see what is performing well.

Overall, a surprisingly disappointing December is what dragged down results for the whole year, NPD discovered.

“Because of the great slate of content that came to market during the fourth quarter, I had expected December sales to represent a larger portion of total year sales than what occurred,” said NPD Group analyst Anita Frazier, in a release.

Frazier added that December sales accounted for just 23 percent of the annual total, compared to the past 10 years, when December, on average, represented 28 percent of the total.

In addition to Microsoft’s Xbox, Sony’s PlayStation also performed well, with both witnessing a 5 percent increase across all game categories for 2011. Meanwhile, the Nintendo Wii, which cannot display HD content, saw a decline year over year.

In a separate statement, Microsoft said that it outsold the PlayStation, the second-place console, by 2.7 million units, and that in all, it has now sold 66 million Xboxes and 18 million Kinect accessories. On a global basis, Sony said in a statement that it sold more than 6.5 million units worldwide this holiday season.

Here are the Top 10 best-selling games in December, according to NPD:

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 by Activision Blizzard
2. Just Dance 3 by Ubisoft
3. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim by Bethesda Softworks
4. Mario Kart 7 for 3DS by Nintendo
5. Battlefield 3 by Electronic Arts
6. Madden NFL by Electronic Arts
7. Assassin’s Creed: Revelations by Ubisoft
8. NBA 2k12 by Take Two Interactive
9. Super Mario 3D Land for 3DS by Nintendo
10. Batman: Arkham City by Warner Bros. Interactive

Apple rolled out a new iPhone today. Sort of.

Except it did not have a bigger, flatter screen. It did not have a sleeker, thinner body. It would not need all new polypropylene sleeves and other fancy accessories.

In other words, it was not an iPhone 5.

Oops, after all the breathless stories about this ideal and groundbreaking new device and predictions — including here — that this was the name of whatever Apple was releasing.

In fact, everyone was using that moniker for it, from local television news to vendors to my mother.

Instead, the tech giant launched the new iPhone 4S, which has a faster processor, an improved camera and Siri voice control feature, at a cheaper price.

Very slick, as usual, and full of cool Apple bells and whistles.

Still. Prolonged sighs could be felt all over the blogosphere and on Twitter, where Steve Brown tweeted me: “Can I be bummed now?!?”

You may.

Better still, Davin Bentti wrote: “The ‘S’ stands for ‘Steve, come back!’”

He was referring to the missing Apple icon Steve Jobs, who recently turned over leadership at the company to new CEO Tim Cook. Jobs’s Apple event performances are legendary.

Wall Street also had its iPhone 5 bubble burst, with investors shunning Apple stock. Shares are down almost five percent now.

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In fact, the only sector that grew in January was accessories, which increased six percent to $235.1 million

Accessories have been strong in previous months as well, buoyed by new motion-controlled remotes, like Microsoft’s Kinect and Sony’s Move.

The accessories have breathed new life into the Xbox and PlayStation at a critical time when the consoles have already been on the market for a couple of years.

However, accessories weren’t enough to keep both hardware and software sectors afloat.

In January, U.S. sales of videogame software fell five percent to $576 million compared to the same period the previous year. Hardware sales fell eight percent to $324 million.

In a statement issued by Microsoft today, it released more NPD data, including that it sold 381,000 Xbox units in January, up 15 percent year-over-year. It says it is the only console that showed growth in the time frame.

Microsoft also said it continues to experience some Xbox shortages at retail because of sustained consumer demand for Kinect, but anticipates the problem to improve through February, and is working retail and manufacturing partners to expedite production and shipments.

The top-selling games for the period were Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty: Black Ops, Ubisoft’s Just Dance 2, Electronic Arts’ Dead Space 2, Sony’s Little Big Planet 2, and Majesco’s Zumba Fitness. Making it into the top 10 was MTV’s Dance Central, which teaches people how to dance using the Xbox Kinect.

Photo Credit: Harmonix

The latest statistics released today from NPD Group estimated that consumer spending on game content totaled between $15.4 and $15.6 billion, which was flat to down 1 percent, compared to 2009. Meanwhile, sales of new physical videogame hardware, software and accessories were also down–6 percent, to end the year at $18.6 billion.

Microsoft was able to counteract those industry-wide trends through the successful launch of its Kinect hands-free controller and strong sales of the hit game Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Sales of the Xbox 360 jumped 42 percent year-over-year, and was the only platform to register an increase in unit sales. In fact, December 2010 was the best month ever for Xbox 360 sales after selling 1.9 million units.

After the figures were released today, Microsoft used the moment to toot its own horn: In a statement, it said it had pulled units from its January and February production to keep up with holiday demand for both Xbox and Kinect–and it still sold out in some circumstances. Now it’s scrambling to catch up.

At CES, Microsoft said that roughly eight million Kinects had been sold after being on the market for roughly two months, and that over 50 million Xbox 360s have been sold worldwide over the lifetime of the console.

The videogame industry is very cyclical, with software sales often trailing new hardware sales. Without new console introductions from the usual suspects, Microsoft has tried to increase sales by repositioning the Xbox as an entertainment hub, and relied on the Kinect to make the console appeal to a wider audience outside hard-core gamers.

Nintendo is hoping that its new 3DS gaming handheld will boost sales–however, it doesn’t come out for another couple of months, so it missed the critical holiday season and will face competition from smartphones.

NPD Group concluded that in December the Wii and the 360 platforms generated the greatest dollar sales of all platforms at 32 percent and 31 percent, respectively. That’s across all categories, including hardware, software and accessories.

Other than Xbox, there were some bright spots, but it wasn’t enough to offset overall declines. NPD Group said the highlights included digital downloads, mobile apps, social network games and non-digital stuff, like used games and PC games.

The numbers released today are early estimates. NPD Group said it will issue its final analysis in March.

Given that I only had about an hour for my grand tour, I decided, in true Vegas style, to explore the first thing that came to me when I entered the show floor. Fortunately, since I cover mobile stuff, that turned out to be the iLounge-sponsored Apple area. It took me back to my early days of covering MacWorld Expo, back when it was an event Apple attended.

Some of the vendors were names I recognized, like Speck and Griffin and Mophie–companies that I had covered since their early days, companies that I had watched transformed from start-ups to serious players amid the explosion in the market for companion products to the iPod and, later, the iPhone.

There were also plenty of companies that I had never heard of, eager to find global distribution for ideas ranging from an iPod speaker resembling a gramophone to stickers that make the back of an iPad appear to be etched with a portrait of Barack Obama, Steve Jobs or Bill Gates, among other famous faces.

There were also T-shirts, headphones, keyboard attachments and even a booth with a representative of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

My only purchase of the day came after I had left the show entirely, though. With some urging from BoomTown’s Kara Swisher, I splurged on Pinball Magic, an accessory that transforms an iPod Touch or iPhone into a pinball machine, which was on clearance for $25 at the Brookstone store in the Las Vegas airport.

Here’s a video look at some of what I found.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20110110/exploring-istuff-at-ces-with-mobilized-video/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20101220/microsoft-eyes-wider-net-as-xbox-turns-to-entertainment/ http://allthingsd.com/20101220/microsoft-eyes-wider-net-as-xbox-turns-to-entertainment/#comments Mon, 20 Dec 2010 13:30:22 +0000 Tricia Duryee http://emoney.allthingsd.com/?p=838 The Kinect has been an early hit for Microsoft, but an even bigger moment to celebrate will be if the new gaming accessory can help move the Xbox beyond the hard-core gamer demographic to appeal to a mass audience for general living-room entertainment.

In the first 25 days at market, Microsoft sold 2.5 million Kinect accessories and now aims to sell five million this holiday season. The sales helped the Xbox become the best-selling console in November.

The Kinect is a motion detection system similar to the Nintendo Wii, but is hands-free and doesn’t require any controllers. Xbox 360 owners can purchase one for $150.

During our visit last week to the Xbox offices in Redmond, Wash., Craig Davison, the senior director of marketing for Xbox LIVE, told us the goal is to broaden the audience for Xbox. He said the competition is no longer limited to PlayStation or the Wii, but extends to Google TV and Apple TV.

Hard-core gamers enthralled with Call of Duty and Halo may shudder at the prospect, but the trend is already in play.

But adding a new kind of player to the platform is critical if Microsoft wants the console to be an entertainment hub. Kinect allows users who’ve never picked up a controller to play, and brings new functionality to hardware, which historically has been marketed as something that must be replaced frequently.

Game console owners are most likely to use the boxes to play games and watch DVDs, but after that, Nielsen reports, entertainment services are a close third. Video-on-demand and streaming services such as Netflix, MLB Network and ESPN3 account for 20 percent of Wii users’ time, 10 percent of Xbox 360 users’ time and 9 percent of PlayStation 3 users’ time.

Davison said the demographics for Xbox started to shift in 2008 when it introduced Netflix streaming to the console. Since then, it has launched a partnership with ESPN, and will launch Hulu Plus early next year. It’s even helping out the top line: Close to 85 percent of Xbox Live’s revenues come from games, with the remainder coming from Zune, he said.

Here are some other numbers to consider:

–Since the launch of Zune on Xbox 360 in November 2009, the pace of HD movie and TV consumption–downloads and streaming–has more than doubled.

–In the last year, Microsoft has seen a 157 percent increase in the time spent watching movies over Xbox LIVE.

–42 percent of Xbox LIVE users who spring for Gold status at $59 a year are watching an average of one hour of TV or movies every day–or more than 30 hours a month.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20101220/microsoft-eyes-wider-net-as-xbox-turns-to-entertainment/feed/ 5 http://allthingsd.com/20101214/hp-photosmart-estation-printer-zeen-tablet-review/ http://allthingsd.com/20101214/hp-photosmart-estation-printer-zeen-tablet-review/#comments Tue, 14 Dec 2010 23:02:13 +0000 Katherine Boehret http://solution.allthingsd.com/?p=1567 Just when you think you can’t fit anything else into an all-in-one device that already prints, copies, scans, and faxes, HP ups the ante. The HP Photosmart eStation e-All-in-One performs all those tasks and includes a seven-inch, touch-screen tablet computer that doubles as a display when snapped onto the printer. This tablet lets users do things like check email, Facebook or weather, but I can’t imagine using it much as a stand-alone tablet, at least in its current version. And people who just want basic printer functions may grow tired of the tablet’s extra features.

Over the years, printers have progressively shifted from PC accessories to devices that can work independent of PCs. They started small, as dedicated 4×6 printers that had built-in memory-card readers and used basic photo-editing capabilities, and have matured into models like last year’s HP Photosmart Premium All-in-One with Touch-Smart Web that offered apps for printable things like maps, coloring book pages and recipes.

The $400 HP e-All-in-One (http://3.ly/DP8b) takes this concept a step further by enabling even more independence from the PC because its tablet—named the Zeen—is more robust and can browse the Web, check email in a dedicated email program and run a limited selection of apps. It also works as a stand-alone tablet when detached from the e-All-in-One, though it only connects to the Internet via Wi-Fi rather than a cellular connection. It runs on the Android 2.1 operating system, but can only access certain apps rather than any app in the Android Market.

Perhaps an even more important new feature is that this all-in-one will print anything emailed to it from any device connected to the Internet, thanks to ePrint, a cloud-based printing system. This system assigns an email address to the e-All-in-One during its set-up and almost anything sent to that email address will print out, including attachments, no matter where the email is coming from.

One catch is that you must only send the document to the e-All-in-One’s email address and can’t CC anyone else or add another address to the “to” line of the email. A spokesman for HP said that this is done to prevent spam print-outs because batches sent to several people won’t print.

HP also has an exclusive relationship with products running Apple’s latest iOS 4.2 operating system for hand-held devices. Apple’s iPads, iPhones, and iPod touches now have a built-in feature called AirPrint which allows them to print anything directly to HP’s new ePrint printers as long as these devices and the printer are connected to the same Wi-Fi network. I tested this several times using an iPhone and it worked, printing Web pages, emails and photos. I liked the ease of using ePrint and AirPrint. Printouts looked sharp and printed quickly.

But I found the concept behind the e-All-in-One’s detachable tablet screen to be both alluring and confusing. It’s great to be able to do more with the printer’s touch screen and apps—but you don’t want to stand at a desk looking down at this screen, so it makes sense that the tablet is detachable. On the other hand, tablets often work in place of printed paper. I use my iPad for things like finding a recipe online, standing the iPad on my kitchen counter and cooking from that on-screen recipe. If I used the eStation All-in-One like that, I would ultimately print less often, which seems to defeat the purpose of having this big thing in your home. The HP eStation All-in-One measures about 18 inches wide and about 14 inches deep.

HP’s Zeen tablet can be detached from the e-station, but its uses as a stand-alone are questionable.

In order to save energy, the eStation All-in-One goes to sleep when it hasn’t been used for 15 minutes. This is a fine idea for environmental reasons, but in sleep mode, it also turns off its connection to the local Wi-Fi network. This means that if documents are emailed to its assigned address it may not print if it’s not awake and online. An HP spokesman said the company recently issued a fix for this problem that wakes up the printer when something is sent to it, but not all printers have been updated.

The Zeen tablet’s battery recharges every time it’s docked in the eStation All-in-One’s base, and HP estimates that its battery life is around four to six hours with Wi-Fi turned on. Hard buttons for volume and power are hidden on the Zeen’s back edge, as are speakers. A spokesman for HP said that eStation All-in-Ones will be updated early next year to run Android 2.2, which is faster and plays Flash videos.

The Zeen’s four gigabytes of internal memory hold roughly 100 apps, 35 of which come pre-loaded on the tablet. These include apps for MapQuest, Disney, Facebook and the Barnes and Noble bookstore, from which digital books, magazines and newspapers can be purchased and downloaded. Photos, videos, music and other files must be stored on an SD card in the Zeen’s SD card slot.

All documents sent to the e-All-in-One using HP’s ePrint can be seen online at hp.com/go/ePrintCenter as long as users register their printer and set up an account, which I did in about two minutes. Here, too, users can add or remove apps from their printer. I preferred adding and removing apps directly from my Zeen tablet’s screen, but it takes some digging to find the Add More icon for adding apps. Over a dozen HP products support ePrint; they range from $100 to $450.

The concept of ePrint is a smart one, but the printer’s tendency to go into sleep mode to save energy is a problem. I like that the Zeen tablet detaches from the e-All-in-One, but its functionality as a tablet with limited apps and capabilities isn’t very sensible.

Edited by Walter S. Mossberg

Write to Katherine Boehret at mossbergsolution@wsj.com

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20101214/hp-photosmart-estation-printer-zeen-tablet-review/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20101209/microsofts-kinect-drives-industry-wide-gains-in-november/ http://allthingsd.com/20101209/microsofts-kinect-drives-industry-wide-gains-in-november/#comments Fri, 10 Dec 2010 00:46:45 +0000 Tricia Duryee http://emoney.allthingsd.com/?p=414 The Xbox 360 was the best-selling console for the month of November, jumping 68 percent compared to the same month last year, according to NPD Group.

The report released today is limited to trends that occur at physical retail locations, but from that vantage point, the Xbox 360 platform accounted for more than 40 percent of total industry sales. NPD analyst Anita Frazier reasoned the gains were driven by the successful launch of Microsoft’s Kinect, the Nintendo Wii-like motion detecting game accessory that works with the Xbox. The Kinect led Xbox 360 accessories to account for 60 percent of that category’s dollar sales.

Microsoft started selling Kinect halfway into November, and after only 15 days Microsoft said it had sold 2.5 million.

In general, NPD says the gains made last month, due to Microsoft’s successes and holiday discounts, were good enough to offset the majority of declines that occurred in 2010. “We expect a big jump in sales in November due to seasonality and the influence of holiday, but the change this November over October is bigger across most platforms than it was last November,” Fraizer said.

Last month, total game sales, including videogame hardware, like consoles and portables, plus software and accessories, were estimated to total nearly $3 billion, an 8 percent increase over November 2009. Now, sales for the year to date are only off last year’s $14.7 billion by 5 percent, providing hope that 2010 can end the year flat at $18.8 billion to $19.6 billion.

Other top performers included the Nintendo DS, which was boosted by new red and white designs, and Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty: Black Ops game.

Photo Credit: Microsoft.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20101209/microsofts-kinect-drives-industry-wide-gains-in-november/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20101130/time-inc-s-instyle-sets-up-shop-at-stylefind/ http://allthingsd.com/20101130/time-inc-s-instyle-sets-up-shop-at-stylefind/#comments Tue, 30 Nov 2010 11:08:32 +0000 Peter Kafka http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/?p=26432 Remember when magazines were excited about launching Web sites, not iPad apps?

Here’s a reminder of what that was like: Meet StyleFind.com, which is supposed to be live Tuesday morning. It’s a new shopping site from Time Inc.’s InStyle magazine, and you’ll figure it out as soon as you see it.

In case you don’t: The site helps shoppers pick through some 2,000 brands, from 150 retailers, and eventually sends them off to partner sites, which handle the actual purchase and fulfillment. InStyle will get affiliate fees for forwarding on customers, giving the title another revenue stream to complement circulation and advertising.

StyleFind sports the requisite Twitter and Facebook buttons, but this isn’t one of the new breed of social shopping sites that have cropped up in the past year, like Svpply.

Instead, StyleFind assumes that shoppers are interested in the sense and sensibility that InStyle exudes, translated here by a small team of dedicated editors who pick out clothes and accessories.

Pretty straightforward stuff, and you can find versions of it elsewhere on the Web, and from other publishers as well. The major difference here is that Time Inc. built and operates the site itself, based on technology it acquired when it bought Boston-based StyleFeeder nearly a year ago for a price reported as “well into eight figures.”

Following that deal, Time Warner’s publishing unit then hired Bluefly vet John Carles to head up e-commerce for its Style group. Assuming Stylefind pans out, Carles will be able to use the same model for other titles, including People and even Entertainment Weekly, the publisher says.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20101130/time-inc-s-instyle-sets-up-shop-at-stylefind/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20101117/best-buy-joins-free-shipping-fray/ http://allthingsd.com/20101117/best-buy-joins-free-shipping-fray/#comments Wed, 17 Nov 2010 16:33:00 +0000 Matt Jarzemsky http://voices.allthingsd.com/?p=32685 Best Buy Co. said it plans to offer free online shipping on certain items through Dec. 21, following a similar move by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. earlier this month.
The electronics retailer said Wednesday its offer is valid on “hundreds of thousands” of items, including all CDs, Blu-Ray and DVD movies and gaming software and accessories. Some items, such as Apple Inc.’s iPads, laptop computers and major appliances are not included.
Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, plans to provide free shipping on more than 60,000 online items during the holidays without the need for a minimum purchase or subscription plan.
The strategy was seen as an attempt to counter a similar but broader deal from rival Target Inc. and grab sales from e-commerce leader Amazon.com Inc. From Nov. 21 to Dec. 11, Target plans to offer free shipping on more than 800,000 items, on orders of at least $50. Amazon already includes free shipping on many orders over $25.

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]]> http://allthingsd.com/20101117/best-buy-joins-free-shipping-fray/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20101109/digital-cameras-improve-zooms-hd-function/ http://allthingsd.com/20101109/digital-cameras-improve-zooms-hd-function/#comments Tue, 09 Nov 2010 22:26:27 +0000 Katherine Boehret http://solution.allthingsd.com/?p=1488 With Thanksgiving fast approaching, so, too, comes the start of the holiday shopping mayhem. Once again, digital cameras are rocketing to the top of wish lists, and once again, shoppers are tentatively entering electronics stores with bewildered looks on their faces.

To alleviate some of that shopping stress, I’ve compiled a buyer’s guide for different camera categories with prices and pointers to innovation. This year, manufacturers have improved photo-location tagging and are offering artistic photo alteration and clever ways to label images for future sharing on social networks.

Let’s Get Physical

Consumers are starting to understand that better sensors make it possible to do things like taking photos in low light, which can really make a difference in photo quality. Some high-quality sensors are making their way into affordable models, like the CMOS sensor in Nikon’s $300 Coolpix S8100. High megapixel counts aren’t overly important, though more megapixels per photo still make it easier to zoom in while editing and give higher resolution in a larger photo or poster. A 14-megapixel camera like the Olympus FE-47 costs just $100, but a recent Consumer Reports review gave it low marks in handling shake and liquid-crystal-display screen quality. Optical zoom, or the physically manipulated distance between the camera and a subject, is still more important than digital zoom, and it’s easy to find many models with 7x optical zoom or better. LCD screens on digicams are so large that they leave little room for optical viewfinders, thus making built-in image stabilization all the more important. Image stabilization comes on nearly all new cameras. And more digicams than ever are capable of recording high-definition videos.

Breaking It Down

Digital cameras can be divided into four broad categories: pocket-size, point-and-shoot, super- or mega-zooms and digital single-lens reflexes (D-SLRs). I’ll leave SLRs out of the discussion, since they’re still primarily aimed at hobbyists who don’t mind the cost and effort of buying additional lenses, filters, flashes and other accessories.

Most pocket-size digital cameras cost between $100 and $300, weigh no more than seven ounces and lack optical viewfinders, forcing users to look at LCD screens to compose pictures. Most of these LCD viewing screens measure between 2.6 inches and 3.5 inches diagonally. Samsung, however, has an even bigger touch-screen LCD, at 3.7 inches, on its CL80 camera priced at $350.

These small but powerful machines capture images with 10, 12 or 14 megapixels and their optical zoom lenses usually range from 3x to 7x, though a handful of manufacturers are boosting their cameras’ optical zooms. The $170 Casio Exilim EX-H5, for example, is equipped with a 10x optical zoom lens.

Today’s point-and-shoot digital cameras are sleeker and more stylish than they used to be, though they remain somewhat bulkier than their pocket-size relatives. The point-and-shoot size can allow for better optical zoom lenses, and these models sometimes cost less than the pocket sizes. The $300 Canon PowerShot SX210 IS and $280 Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS5 are equipped with 14x and 12x optical zoom lenses, respectively.

Super-zoom or mega-zoom digital cameras satisfy people who want the power of a great zoom and optional manual settings without the hassle and expense of an SLR. At a glance, you might mistake these models for SLRs due to their bulkier bodies, and, in some cases, detachable (or hot-shoe) flashes. Nikon’s $400 Coolpix P100 offers a 26x wide-angle optical zoom, and Olympus’s $350 SP-800UZ is the smallest camera with a 30x wide-angle optical zoom. Both cameras have built-in flashes, but the Nikon includes an optical viewfinder while the Olympus offers only an LCD screen for viewing and capturing photos.

Shaking It Up

Camera manufacturers are adding creative new features to these devices. Starting the week of Thanksgiving, Casio will provide Hybrid GPS on its $350 EX-H20G, which geotags (adds digital location information to) images indoors where GPS satellite signals can’t reach. This works using a combined GPS radio and motion sensor to measure the direction in which the camera has moved, and how fast. When you’re back in satellite range, the camera corrects the geotag by cross-referencing its own estimates with satellite-provided latitude and longitude.

Olympus now has art filters, which let you view your subject with special effects before capturing the photo. Some filters supply gentle sepia, soft focus or grainy film. There is also a drawing filter, which makes a subject instantly appear as a sketch.

Samsung’s $150 PL90 model has a pop-out USB arm that reminds me a lot of the pop-out USB connector on Cisco’s popular Flip camcorders. Samsung’s USB arm eliminates the need for messy wires, or the removal of a memory card to transfer photos from a digicam to a PC.

Many cameras have and continue to supply guides that appear on screen as a photo is being captured. Sony’s NEX-5 offers this, and the Olympus Live Guide let you preview photo adjustments—like brightness or color saturation—on the screen as you make them. Nikon’s Scene Auto Selector, found in the Coolpix P7000, Coolpix S8100 and Coolpix S80, will automatically adjust the camera’s settings so users can stop worrying about scrolling through menus to select the right scene from a list.

Fujifilm offers the only true (not simulated) three-dimensional digital camera in its $500 FinePix REAL 3D W3, which I reviewed in August. These 3D images can be seen through the camera’s LCD viewing screen but not on laptops or television sets unless they’re 3D-capable and you’re wearing 3D glasses.

Kodak is trying to encourage sharing with its cameras by including a Share button that, when pressed, digitally tags images and videos with labels for Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, Kodak Gallery or email, then automatically sends the photos to those places when you next plug the camera into a PC.

One last warning: Don’t be seduced by lower prices or better technology alone. Be sure you try a camera in the store before buying it. The way it feels or works for you is just as important as any technological specification.

Email Katherine Boehret at mossbergsolution@wsj.com.

Edited by Walter S. Mossberg

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20101109/digital-cameras-improve-zooms-hd-function/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20101108/vipshop-bags-20m-to-bring-flash-sales-to-chinese-consumers/ http://allthingsd.com/20101108/vipshop-bags-20m-to-bring-flash-sales-to-chinese-consumers/#comments Mon, 08 Nov 2010 21:19:51 +0000 Jonathan Shieber http://voices.allthingsd.com/?p=32164 Chinese venture capitalists are buying into the country’s “flash sales” membership-based retail websites, as online shoppers in the country get a taste of steep discounts on the gilded life through offerings from retailers like newly funded start-up Vipshop.

The Beijing-based company has raised $20 million from DCM and Sequoia Capital China in its first round of venture funding. The capital will enable the company to expand its business offering brand-name clothes, accessories, makeup and home furnishings through time-sensitive online discounted offers.

The company has 1.5 million members across China and is one of a handful of start-ups taking the model popularized in the U.S. by companies such as Groupon Inc. and Gilt Groupe Inc., European companies like Spanish internet retailers BuyVip GmbH and Privalia Venta Directa S.L., or the French site Vente Privee, which is backed by Summit Partners LLC.

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]]> http://allthingsd.com/20101108/vipshop-bags-20m-to-bring-flash-sales-to-chinese-consumers/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20100514/videogame-sales-crater/ http://allthingsd.com/20100514/videogame-sales-crater/#comments Fri, 14 May 2010 13:50:08 +0000 John Paczkowski http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/?p=40620

April was another lousy month for the videogame industry. With overall revenue down 26 percent and hardware down 37 percent, it was the worst monthly year-over-year sales decline since last July, according to research house The NPD Group. It was also the 10th time in the last 13 months that sales have fallen year-over-year.

• Nintendo sold 277,2000 Wiis, down from 557,500 in March and 340,000 a year ago. The company sold 440,800 Nintendo DS’s, down from 700,800 in March and 1.04 million a year ago.
• Microsoft sold 185,400 Xbox 360s, down from 338,400 in March, but up from 175,000 a year ago.
• Sony sold 180,800 PlayStation 3s, down from 313,900 in March, but up from 127,000 a year ago. And it sold 65,500 PSPs, down from 119,900 in March and 116,000 a year ago.

What’s driving the drops? Blame the portable gaming industry, which contributed more than its fair share to the industry decline, said NPD analyst Anita Frazier.

“The portable business across hardware, software and accessories accounted for 25 percent of total industry dollar sales in April,” Frazier explained. “But declines in portable sales compared to April ’09 accounted for 61 percent of the total industry decrease.”

That’s just abysmal, even if April is traditionally the slowest month of the year for videogame sales. Consider this: At 440,800, sales of the Nintendo DS tanked by more than 50 percent from more than one million last April.

So what’s going on? Perhaps consumers are postponing new portable game system purchases in anticipation of Nintendo’s new 3DS. Or perhaps they’re finding that their smartphones make fine gaming devices.

It’s not yet clear. But what is clear, and painfully so, is that the hardware refresh promised by Sony (SNE) and Microsoft (MSFT), which are adding new motion technology to their players, and Nintendo, which is debuting the 3-D version of its DS handheld, can’t come soon enough.

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