Blockbuster, NCR Add Online Ordering to DVD Kiosks

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Duluth, Ga. – Video rental giant Blockbuster’s (NYSE: BBI) partner
for DVD rental kiosks, NCR (NYSE: NCR), has launched a new feature that lets customers rent
DVDs online at BlockbusterExpress.com, and pick them up from local kiosks. The
new rent online features lets customers create a favorites list, browse
available titles at their preferred kiosks, and complete the rental of up to
three titles at once.


 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/us2dx

http://www.ncr.com

http://www.blockbusterexpress.com

Motorola Makes Bing Default Search on Android Phones in China

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

New York – Motorola (NYSE: MOT) plans
to add Microsoft’s (NASD: MSFT) Bing search engine as the default on the Android-based
phones it sells in China,
replacing Android developer Google’s (NASD: GOOG) own search engine, The Wall Street Journal
reported. The Journal speculated that the move could foresee a time when Google
may potentially remove itself completely from China,
as it threatened to do in the wake of the hacker attacks on its Gmail service
that reportedly emanated from China.


 

Related Links:
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100311-703710.html

Dolby to Bring Axon 3D Voice Chat to PS3, Xbox, Mac

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

San Francisco
– Dolby Laboratories announced on Thursday that it plans to extend its Axon
surround-sound voice chat platform beyond PC games to the PlayStation 3, Xbox
360 and Mac OS X platforms. The technology creates a more realistic
three-dimensional representation of where players are located in the action
during live voice chat in multiplayer games.


 

Related Links:
http://investor.dolby.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=451138

http://news.cnet.com/8301-27076_3-20000258-248.html

Report: News Corp. Pondering Sale of Mobile Firm Jamba

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
1

London
– News Corporation (NYSE: NWS) is considering a sale of Jamba, the mobile content publisher
and distributor it acquired control of for around $381 million in two
transactions in 2006 and 2008, the Financial Times reported.

The story cited a
source familiar with the company and three venture capital investors.

News
Corp.’s digital arm has of late divested a number of other properties,
including the photo-sharing site Photobucket and movie reviews site Rotten
Tomatoes.

FT cited a bank and an industry executive who said that Spain-based
digital entertainment firm Zed is a prospective buyer for Jamba, also known as
Jamster in the U.S.

Other prospective suitors include Italy’s Buongiorno or Flycell, Dada.net,
or European mobile carriers like Vodafone, Telefonica or Telecom Italia.

The
report noted that the News Corp. unit that includes Jamster saw revenues fall
20% to $2.4 billion in its last fiscal year, while operating losses climbed
from $84 million to $363 million.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/us0yl
(Financial Times)

http://www.jamster.com

DBOR

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Cantor Fitzgerald to Launch Film Futures Market

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
6

New York
– Financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald plans to launch a service next
month that will allow consumers, industry insiders and institutional investors
alike trade on futures based on motion picture box office receipts. The
Domestic Box Office Receipt (DBOR) Movie Futures will see $1 equal to $1
million in box office receipts, and allow trading of futures around six months
before a film’s theatrical release.

The New York Times reports that customers
will be able to begin depositing money into their accounts on March 15, while the
exchange is expected to open after April 20, once it gains final approval from
the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Rentrak will be the provider of data
on box office receipts for the exchange.

Cantor acquired the URL of a similar
exchange, the Hollywood Stock Exchange (HSX.com), in 2001.

Cantor Exchange
president Richard Jaycobs told The Times he hopes many of the 200,000 active
users on HSX.com will opt to place real-money bets on the new exchange.

The
Times also reported that Veriana Networks plans to launch a competing exchange
called Trend Exchange out of Chicago, but will only cater to professional and
institutional investors.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/us0cq
(PDF: Cantor announcement)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/11/business/media/11futures.html

http://www.cantorexchange.com

Report: AOL Could Make More Abandoning Bebo Than Selling It

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

New York
– As AOL (NYSE:  AOL) continues to explore the sale of some of its non-core assets, TechCrunch
speculated that the company may fair better financially if it were simply to
abandon social network Bebo, rather than sell it.

The company, which paid $850
million to acquire Bebo in 2008, would likely pocket around $380 million by
writing off the struggling property, according to corporate tax experts.

Selling it, however, likely would only bring $100 million or less.

And while
AOL could declare the remaining $750 million a tax loss, that amount could only
apply against long term capital gains.

Bebo currently boasts about 14.6 million
members, down from 22 million at the time of the sale.

Newly independent AOL
recently has been trying to shed some of its non-core properties, selling
affiliate marketing network Buy.at and reportedly shopping Bebo, instant
messenger ICQ and video site Truveo, among others.

 

Related Links:
http://techcrunch.hereing.com/html/1/4857/index_target300.b64.htm

http://www.bebo.com    

PlayStation Move

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Sony Unveils PlayStation Move Motion Controller for PS3

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
4

Tokyo
– Sony (NYSE:  SNE) Computer Entertainment on Thursday unveiled its PlayStation Move
motion-sensitive controller for the PlayStation 3, which it plans to release in
the fall. The controller will require that users also have the PlayStation Eye
camera accessory, which will be used in tandem with the controller to gauge a
gamer’s movements.

The company will also release the PlayStation Move
"sub-controller," which may be used along with the main controller
"for intuitive navigation of in-game characters and objects."

Sony
has confirmed for several outlets that a starter pack bundle that includes the
controller and a PlayStation Eye camera will retail for less than $100.

Sony
said 36 third-party developers and publishers so far are supporting the
PlayStation Move platform, and that its own studios plan to release more than
20 titles that support the platform this year.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/urzwx

Report: FTC Probing Google Rivals on AdMob Acquisition

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
1

Washington
– The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has solicited sworn declarations from
Google’s (NASD: GOOG) competitors, on the potential for reduction in competition in the mobile
ad market due to its acquisition of AdMob, Bloomberg reported.

People familiar
with the matter told Bloomberg that the move could indicate the government may
challenge the deal.

Google initially announced its $750 million deal to
purchase AdMob, a mobile display advertising provider, in November 2009.

"It’s
difficult to envision a scenario where this development, if true, is positive
for Google-AdMob," Thomas Ensign, counsel in the antitrust, competition
and trade practice of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP in Washington, told
Bloomberg.

"But it doesn’t necessarily mean the agency is going to
challenge the deal."

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/urzmz
(Bloomberg)

http://snipurl.com/urznk
(DMW previous coverage)

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