October 22, 2010

New York – Three of the four major U.S. broadcast networks
— ABC (NYSE: DIS), CBS (NYSE: CBS) and NBC (NYSE: GE) — are blocking their programming from access by Google (NASD: GOOG) TV,
the company’s new Web-based TV streaming service, The Wall Street Journal
reported. Programs from Viacom’s (NYSE: VIA) MTV and News Corp.’s (NYSE: NWS) Fox aren’t currently
blocked, although a Fox spokeswoman told The Journal "a firm decision has
not yet been reached."

Content from the Hulu video portal joint venture
between News Corp., NBCU and Disney is also being blocked from Google TV.

New
devices from Sony and Logitech that support Google TV began shipping this
month; the service lets users search both Web video and TV shows and other programming available online from a single interface.

Google reportedly asked media firms to optimize their online video offerings for
the service this summer, while Time Warner’s (NYSE: TWX) HBO and Turner Broadcasting did,
as did NBCU’s CNBC.

However, The Journal cited sources who said some at the
networks wanted Google to filter out results from pirate sites when users
searched for their content.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/3yw3av9

http://www.google.com/tv

Social Games Developer Kabam Acquires WonderHill

Mark Hefflinger

October 22, 2010

Redwood City, Calif. – Social games developer Kabam said on
Friday that it has acquired WonderHill, a developer of high-end social games.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

San Francisco-based
WonderHill has developed social games including "Dragons of
Atlantis," "Tattoo City" and "GreenSpot," which collectively
count over 2 million monthly active players.

The company will be come Redwood
City, Calif.-based Kabam’s San Francisco studio.

"Kabam’s strategy to
focus on deep strategy games is the same as ours, so rather than competing,
combining with them gives us both a better shot to build the dominant company
in the space," said WonderHill CEO James Currier.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/2cs4t59

http://www.kabam.com

Tech News Blog Network Giga Omni Media Raises $2.5 Million

Mark Hefflinger

October 22, 2010

San Francisco – Technology news blog network Giga Omni
Media, headed by journalist Om Malik, has raised $2.5 million in new financing,
TechCrunch reported, citing a regulatory filing.

Investors included Alloy
Ventures and True Ventures.

Founded in 2006, San Francisco-based Giga Omni
Media publishes blogs including its flagship GigaOm, NewTeeVee, The Apple Blog
and Cleantech.

The network counts over 4 million monthly unique visitors, and
says it will double its revenues in 2010.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/23eqztt
(TechCrunch)

http://gigaom.com/2010/10/22/okay-we-got-more-money

http://www.gigaom.com

Nintendo to Release Wii Remote Plus in U.S. on Nov. 7

Mark Hefflinger

October 21, 2010

Redmond, Wash. – Nintendo plans to release its Wii Remote
Plus controller — which combines the standard controller with its MotionPlus
accessory — in the U.S. for the first time on Nov. 7. The device will cost $39
as a standalone product, and will also be bundled with a $199 limited edition
Wii console colored red in honor of Super Mario.

Walmart to Sell Barnes & Noble's Nook E-book Reader

Mark Hefflinger

October 21, 2010

New York – Bookseller Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) announced on
Thursday that its Nook e-book reader device will begin selling in Walmart’s (NYSE: WMT)
2,500 U.S. stores, and its website, as of Oct. 24. The company said the Nook
"will be prominently featured as the premier eBook Reader in the consumer
electronics area," while many Walmart stores will feature a Nook-branded
e-reading area.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/2cxhjep

Vevo to Premiere 34-Minute Kanye West Film

Mark Hefflinger

October 21, 2010

New York – Vevo, the music video portal joint venture
between Sony Music, Universal Music and Abu Dhabi Media Company, will play host
to a 34-minute "visual accompaniment" to Kanye West’s forthcoming
album, "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy." The film will begin
screening on Vevo on Saturday, Oct. 23; the album is slated for release on Nov.
22.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/2dkygfm

Music Service Rdio Offers Customized Embeddable Players

Mark Hefflinger

October 21, 2010

San Francisco – Rdio, the streaming music service from the
creators of Skype and Kazaa, on Thursday launched a new feature that lets users
embed customized music players on their blogs and websites. The feature lets
users embed single songs, whole albums and playlists anywhere on the Web.
However, in order to listen to full songs — and not just 30-second clips —
users of the player must be Rdio subscribers.

AT&T Activates Record 5.2 Million iPhones in Q3

Mark Hefflinger

October 21, 2010

Dallas – AT&T (NYSE: T) activated more than 8 million smartphones
during the third quarter of 2010, including 5.2 million Apple (NASD: AAPL) iPhones — a
quarterly record for the company.

The third-quarter figure is up from the 3.2
million iPhones that AT&T activated during the second quarter; AT&T
said nearly one-quarter of iPhone activations during the quarter represented
new customers.

AT&T reported a third-quarter profit of $12.34 billion, compared
with a year-ago profit of $3.19 billion, while revenue rose 2.8% to $31.58
billion.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/25quv9z

Nokia to Lay Off 1,800 Employees

Mark Hefflinger

October 21, 2010

Espoo, Finland – Nokia (NYSE:NOK) announced on Thursday that it will
lay off up to 1,800 employees, as part of its plan to simplify operations in
product creation at its Symbian and Services units. "The aim is to
accelerate the company’s transformation towards a leading mobile solutions
provider, and to do this we are simplifying and integrating operations within
our product creation and corporate functions," said Juha , Nokia’s
executive vice president of human resources.