News Byte
Lauren Goode in News on February 23 at 1:23 pm PT
For the first time, more U.S. TV buyers are looking to purchase LED TVs rather than cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) TVs, according to a new report from IHS iSuppli. Consumers who planned to buy an LED-backlit TV jumped to 54 percent in the last quarter of the year, a 32 percent increase from the third quarter; the share of CCFL-backlit LCD TVs dropped to 25 percent from 56 percent. The report comes just a couple days after Samsung, the world’s largest LCD-panel maker, said it would spin off its LCD business to focus more on higher-margin OLED screens.
Peter Kafka in Media on February 11, 2011 at 3:30 am PT
Twitter’s popular ad units could see prices go up by 25 percent or more in the next few months. Also: Here’s how “Promoted Accounts” really work, and how much a new follower will cost you.
Tricia Duryee in Commerce on February 10, 2011 at 1:28 pm PT
Two years ago, eBay’s CEO John Donahoe promised Wall Street analysts massive changes to improve the company’s e-commerce experience. Today, he says it’s all “new eBay.”
Liz Gannes in Social on January 10, 2011 at 3:00 am PT
Myspace is finalizing plans to lay off 550 to 600 of its staff of 1,000 tomorrow, as its parent, News Corp., looks for a buyer.
Peter Kafka in Media on January 4, 2011 at 3:30 am PT
If you’ve got $49.99, you can buy a copy of “Rock Band 3.” Or you could have bought the company that makes the videogame. Ouch.
Walt Mossberg in Personal Technology on November 3, 2010 at 6:05 pm PT
The biggest question for some buyers this fall will be whether to get a tablet or a laptop, now that Apple’s iPad is a proven hit and a flood of competitors is on the way.
Peter Kafka in Media on May 14, 2010 at 7:20 am PT
There are a whole lot of people–from scrappy start-ups to publishers to–betting that display advertising is finally going to start picking up on the Web. This may be the year they’re right!
Peter Kafka in Media on April 14, 2010 at 9:04 pm PT
Somebody, somewhere is going to buy Palm. And whoever that is will end up paying more for the company than the market thinks it’s worth today. At least, that’s what Harbinger Capital hopes now that it owns 10 percent of Palm.
John Paczkowski in News on April 5, 2010 at 5:10 am PT
An interesting data point from the first of many Monday morning analyst notes on the iPad’s weekend launch. Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster surveyed 448 iPad buyers Saturday, asking about the size of the device they were purchasing and their reasons for doing so, and found that 13 percent owned a Kindle. Of those, 58 percent said the iPad would replace Amazon’s device as their e-book reader.
John Paczkowski in News on April 1, 2010 at 3:01 pm PT
Remarking on the iPad iBooks application in January, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said, “Amazon’s done a great job of pioneering [e-book] functionality with the Kindle. We’re going to stand on their shoulders and go a little further.” It was a backhanded compliment, but also a threat. What will Amazon do if Apple delivers on it, as early reviews of the iPad suggest it might?
