Amazon Expands Self-Publishing for Kindle Internationally

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Seattle
– Amazon.com (NASD: AMZN) on Friday announced an international expansion of its
self-publishing platform for its Kindle Store for e-books. The self-service
Kindle Digital Text Platform can now be used to upload and sell e-books in
English, German and French to customers worldwide in the Kindle Store.
Previously, the feature had been limited to authors and publishers based in the
U.S.


 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u3kgb

http://dtp.amazon.com

U.K. Broadcaster Sky Plans 3D Channel

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Las Vegas – U.K.
broadcaster Sky has announced plans to launch a 3D channel for its subscribers
later this year, following similar recent news from ESPN and Discovery. The
company partnered with 3ality Digital on the service, which will be broadcast
to Sky+HD set-top boxes and require that consumers own a 3D-capable television.


 

Related Links:
http://corporate.sky.com/media/press_releases/2010/3D_TV_sets.htm

Yahoo Debuts Vancouver Winter Olympics Site

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Sunnyvale, Calif. – Yahoo said on Friday that it has
launched a new website dedicated to the upcoming Winter Olympics in Vancouver,
available through the link below. The company also said that it will have a
custom-designed broadcast studio in Vancouver,
as well as an entertainment center, known as FanCouver, where fans attending
the games can participate in company events and promotions.


 

Related Links:
http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics

CEO of NTN Buzztime Resigns

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Carlsbad,
Calif. – NTN Buzztime, a provider
of interactive TV trivia games found in bars and restaurants, announced on
Friday that CEO Terry Bateman has resigned for personal reasons. Bateman will
remain on the company’s board, which has established a search committee and
expects to name a successor by the second quarter of 2010.


 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u3kk2

http://www.ntn.com

Survey: Tech Firms Poised to Lead Stronger IPO Market in 2010

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Chicago – Amid buzz
surrounding potential initial public offerings by social networking giants
Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, the majority of investment banking executives foresee
a stronger IPO market in the U.S.
this year, according to a new survey by accounting and consulting firm BDO.

More than two-thirds (68%) believe that IPO activity will increase this year
compared to 2009, with almost a quarter describing the increase as
"substantial."

Overall, bankers predict a 25% increase in the number
of U.S. IPOs in 2010, with offerings expected to average just over $400 million
in size.

"This inaugural survey reveals broad-based optimism among the
capital markets community that offering activity in the new year will build on
the momentum established this past fall," said Christopher Tower,
a partner in BDO’s Capital Markets Practice.

"Overall, the bankers’
outlook for IPOs is very positive, but some industry sectors are clearly seen
as stronger than others." Among the strongest are technology, energy,
biotech and healthcare.

 

Related Links:
http://www.bdo.com/news/pr/1226

OiNK File-Sharing Network Admin Found Not Guilty

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

London – A U.K. court jury has voted
unanimously to acquit the administrator of music file-sharing network OiNK on
charges of "conspiracy to defraud" the recording industry, according
to published reports. U.K.
authorities raided the operation two years ago and made several arrests,
including 26-year-old computer engineer Alan Ellis.

At trial, it was alleged
that Ellis was taking in $18,000 a month in donations to OiNK, and he was found
with $300,000 in personal accounts.

Ellis maintained that he was using the
funds to rent server space, and to eventually purchase his own server.

Ellis
also said that he originally built OiNK — which allegedly facilitated over 21
million downloads of 600,000 albums, most of which were pre-release — to
further his programming skills.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u3jrt
(Billboard)

http://snipurl.com/u3js8
(TorrentFreak)

http://snipurl.com/u3jv3
(DMW previous coverage)

New Super Mario Bros Wii

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Report: U.S. Game Sales Up 4% in December, Down 8% for '09

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Port Washington, N.Y. – U.S. video game sales saw their
biggest month ever in December 2009, reaching $5.53 billion, but the
outstanding month was not enough to counter a downward trend this year that saw
total sales come in 8% lower that the record-setting figure reported in 2008,
according to a report from market research firm NPD Group. December sales
increased 4% from a year ago, bolstered by record sales months for the Nintendo
Wii (3.81 million units), DS (3.31 million units) and Sony (NYSE:  SNE) PlayStation 3 (1.36
million units) — which just edged out Microsoft’s (NASD:  MSFT) Xbox 360 (1.31 million
units).

Game hardware sales were up 16% overall from December 2008, to $2.19
billion.

Nintendo also dominated game software sales during December — which
were actually down 7% from 2008, to $2.58 billion — claiming six of the top
ten sales slots, led by its "New Super Mario Bros. Wii" (2.82 million
units).

Activision Blizzard’s (NASD:  ATVI) "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2," also
in the top ten, is now the fourth best-selling game of all time.

Despite the
strong December, overall U.S.
video game sales for 2009 came in at $19.66 billion, 8% below 2008’s record $21.4 billion.

"December
marks just the fourth month of the year where the industry saw an increase over
last year," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier.

"January and February
were both up, and since the decline that began in March, only September
experienced growth. The big sales this month, particularly on the hardware
front, is a positive move for the industry headed into what will hopefully be a
recovery year in 2010."

 

Related Links:
http://www.npd.com

Editor & Publisher Acquired, Will Resume Operations

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

New York
– Editor & Publisher, the 126-year-old trade magazine covering the
newspaper business that was recently shuttered by Nielsen, announced that it
will resume publication in print and online following its acquisition by Duncan
McIntosh Co. Inc., an Irvine, Calif.-based publisher and events firm.

Financial
terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

"Such a critical information
source for a newspaper industry so desperately in need of help should not go
away," said McIntosh. "I’ve been a reader of E&P over the course
of 30 years and know its incredible value to readers and advertisers."

PaidContent
reports that new editor Mark Fitzgerald says that "most" of the
publication’s staff will be back, and that Nielsen is allowing them to operate
from its offices for the next three months during the transition.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u3ii6
(Editor & Publisher)

http://snipurl.com/u3iid
(PaidContent)

Avnera Raises $10 Million for Advanced Audio Chips

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Beaverton,
Ore. – Avnera, a developer of
high-fidelity audio chips for consumer electronics, said on Friday that it has
closed a new $10 million, fourth round of financing.

The company said new
investor Onkyo Corporation joined existing backers, who include Altien
Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Best Buy Capital, DAG Ventures, Intel
Capital, JAFCO Ventures, Panasonic Venture Group, Polycom Corporation and
Redpoint Ventures.

Founded in 2004, Oregon-based Avnera counts over 15
customers for its AudioMagic and VoiceMagic chips, including Best Buy, which
uses them in its Rocketfish line of wireless stereo speakers.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u3i8f

http://snipurl.com/u3i6r
(VentureBeat)

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