News Corp. Sells Off Digital Publishing Group

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

New York
– News Corporation (NYSE: NWS) has sold its Digital Publishing Group (DPG) unit to venture
capital firm VantagePoint Venture Partners for an undisclosed amount,
PaidContent reported.

The company will reportedly retain a stake in DPG, which was
founded in 2005 and creates content management and publishing systems for
customers including Fox’s stable of local TV stations.

The sell-off follow News
Corp.’s recent divestment of a number of other digital properties, including photo-sharing
site Photobucket, and movie review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/tz37m
(PaidContent)

http://www.vpvp.com

http://www.digitalpublishinggroup.com

Annual Wikipedia Fundraiser Nets $8 Million

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

San Francisco
– The Wikimedia Foundation announced on Tuesday that its annual fundraiser this
year raised just over $8 million, exceeding its goal of $7.5 million, with a
record more than 230,000 individuals giving donations, up from 125,000 a year
ago.

This year’s campaign — the foundation’s sixth — also brought in $2
million more than was raised during the 2008-09 campaign.

The average gift in
2009 was $33, although the Foundation also received a $500,000 challenge grant
from the Omidyar Network.

The Wikimedia Foundation, which counts a staff of 33
and provides technical, administrative, legal and outreach support to the
volunteer-run Wikipedia, said it will spend the funds on people and technology.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/tz361

Will The New Google Phone Be An iPhone Killer?

By
Joakim Baage
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0

Discovery/Sony, ESPN Plan 3D Television Channels

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
1

Las Vegas – Broadcaster
Discovery Communications (NASD:  DISCA) announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with Sony (NYSE:  SNE)
and IMAX (NASD:  IMAX) on a joint venture that will develop a dedicated 3D television network
in the U.S.,
while Disney-owned (NYSE:  DIS) ESPN said it will launch a 3D TV service in conjunction with the World
Cup soccer matches this summer.

Discovery, Sony and IMAX will hold equal stakes
in the 3D channel joint venture, whose goal will be to drive consumer adoption
of 3D televisions.

Discovery will provide affiliate sales and technical
support, as well as 3D rights to the content aired on its 13 U.S. networks,
while Sony will provide promotional and ad sales support, as well as license TV
rights to current and future 3D feature films, and music- and game-related 3D
content.

IMAX will license TV rights to future 3D films, and licenses to its
own proprietary image enhancement and 3D technologies.

"Discovery’s
business strategy has always focused on delivering groundbreaking content
through new platforms, including the first suite of digital channels launched
in 1996 and the first 24/7 basic cable HD channel in 2002," said Discovery
Founder and Chairman John Hendricks.

The ESPN 3D channel is slated to launch on
June 11 during the World Cup, and is expected to broadcast at least 85 live
sporting events, including the Summer X Games, NBA games, and college basketball
and football games, USA Today reported.

"We’re going to assess the
viability of this as we did with all our businesses," Sean Bratches, an executive
vice president for sales and marketing at ESPN, told USA Today, adding that the
network is committed to the venture through at least June 2011.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/tz2qe

http://snipurl.com/tz227
(USA Today)

Nexus One

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Google Unveils $179 Nexus One Android Smartphone

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

Mountain View, Calif. – Google (NASD:  GOOG) on Tuesday introduced its anticipated
Nexus One smartphone, designed in close partnership with manufacturer HTC, at a
media event at its headquarters in Mountain
View, Calif. The
handset is available from today on Google’s website for $179 with a two-year
T-Mobile (NYSE:  DT) contract, or on its own for $529; the Nexus One will also be available
from Verizon Wireless (NYSE:  VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE:  VOD) sometime in the spring.

The Nexus One
features a 3.7-inch OLED display; a trackball with multi-colored LED that will
be used for notifications; a 5-megapixel camera; stereo Bluetooth; and active
noise cancellation.

It will offer voice activation for all text fields on the
phone, including for creating email and Twitter status updates.

Multiple home
screens, a la the iPhone, will let users populate the device with icons for applications
they download from the Android Market.

Along with the Nexus, there are
currently some 20 Google Android-powered mobile devices, including the Droid
and MyTouch, available from 59 carriers in 48 countries.

 

Poll: Will The New Google Phone Be An iPhone Killer?

 

Related Links:
http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=29089

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2010/01/05/live-blogging-the-google-nexus-one-launch

http://www.google.com/phone

App Store

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Apple: iPhone App Store Downloads Top 3 Billion

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Cupertino,
Calif. – Apple (NASD:  AAPL) announced on
Tuesday that downloads of applications for its iPhone and iPod touch from the
company’s App Store have surpassed three billion. "Three billion
applications downloaded in less than 18 months — this is like nothing we’ve
ever seen before," said Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

"The revolutionary App Store
offers iPhone and iPod touch users an experience unlike anything else available
on other mobile devices, and we see no signs of the competition catching up
anytime soon."

The App Store, which launched in July 2008 and is now
available in 77 countries, reached 2 billion downloads just two months ago.

 

Related Links:
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010/01/05appstore.html

Providence Backs Baidu's Hulu-like Video Portal Venture

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Shanghai – Baidu (NASD:  BIDU), the top search engine in China, has partnered with Hulu investor
Providence Equity Partners to create a similar video portal in China that will
feature licensed professional content, Reuters reported.

Providence reportedly invested $60 million in
the joint venture, while Baidu will inject $10 million into a fund that will be
used to secure content licenses, sources told Reuters.

The U.S.-based
investment firm is also a backer of Hulu, the video portal joint venture between
News Corp., NBC Universal and Disney.

Reuters noted that Baidu is also a
financial backer of PPLive, another licensed video site in China.

 

Related Links:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTOE60406820100105

http://www.provequity.com

http://www.baidu.com

Market Research Firm Gartner Buys Burton Group for $56 Million

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Stamford,
Conn. – Gartner (NYSE: IT) announced on
Tuesday that it has acquired fellow information technology market research firm
Burton Group for $56 million in cash.

Utah-based Burton Group counts 41
research analysts and will see projected 2009 revenue of $30 million.

Connecticut-based
Gartner said the deal will expand its product and service offerings, and
increase its IT research market opportunity, while also providing operational efficiencies
and cost savings.

"Gartner has traditionally focused on providing
strategic insight to CIOs and senior IT executives, while Burton Group has
built a leading niche providing practical, how-to advice to front-line IT
professionals," said Gartner CEO Gene Hall.

"Thus, Burton Group is a
great strategic fit for Gartner and should enable us to offer a more complete
solution to every level and functional expert within an IT organization."

 

Related Links:
http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1272013

http://www.burtongroup.com

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