Appeals Court Overturns Dismissal of Qualcomm Antitrust Charges
In what could become a precedent setting finding, a three-judge panel of the US Third Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday overturned a lower court's dismissal of antitrust complaints raised by Broadcom against Qualcomm. At the heart of the debate is whether the exclusivity rights granted to a patentee corporation should enable it to obtain a legal monopoly over markets the patented technology may create. US District Court in New Jersey said it should, when dismissing Broadcom's claims in August 2006. But the appeals court soundly rejected that basis, and reinstated the case.
"In dismissing Broadcom's claim of monopolization in the WCDMA technology markets," wrote Judge Maryann Trump Barry in her formal opinion Tuesday, "the [N.J. District] Court reasoned that Qualcomm enjoyed a legally-sanctioned monopoly in its patented technology, and that this monopoly conferred the right to exclude competition and set the terms by which that technology was distributed."
Jobs Apologizes, Apple to Give iPhone Customers $100 Credit
Responding to a large amount of negative feedback from existing iPhone customers who felt slighted by Apple's decision to lower the price by a third to $399, CEO Steve Jobs apologized Thursday and said the company will offer a $100 credit for purchases from Apple's retail store or online store.
In an open letter to customers, Jobs said it was the right decision to lower the price because "now it will be affordable by even more customers" in time for the holiday season, adding that in the world of technology there will also be an upcoming price cut or product update. However, he acknowledged that Apple should have done a better job taking care of early adopters. "Our early customers trusted us, and we must live up to that trust with our actions in moments like these," Jobs wrote. Details of the credit are still being worked out and will be announced on Apple's Web site next week.
Microsoft Brings Back the Media Center Extender
With a market likely a little more open to the need for online video in the living room than it was three years ago, Microsoft on Thursday reintroduced the Extender line, meant to complement households with Windows Media Center PCs.
Microsoft first announced the Media Center Extender at CES 2004. However, the product line never took off as consumers balked at the need for another set-top box, and the user interface paled in comparison with the actual Media Centers.
Vudu Joins On-Demand Movie Crowd
There's a new entrant in the growing on-demand movie space, but Vudu takes a slightly different take that may spur adoption or spell its doom. Customers will be able to stream movies over the Internet to their living room, but must first shell out $399 USD for the Vudu hardware.
With broadband finally reaching speeds where on-demand movies over the Web is possible, there's no shortage of companies hoping to cash in. Movielink, which was recently acquired by Blockbuster, is the market leader, but Netflix, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon have all joined the race as well.
Lulu.com Sues NBC's Hulu.com
It took News Corp. and NBC Universal five months to figure out a name for their joint online video partnership. It only took a week for them to get sued over it.
Content publishing site Lulu.com said Wednesday that it had filed suit against Hulu.com for trademark infringement, unfair and deceptive trade practices and for federal cyberpiracy. The complaint was filed in the US District Court in Raleigh, NC.
Google-DoubleClick Deal May Come Under Early EU Scrutiny
A story run over the UK wires of Reuters this morning quotes a European Commission spokesperson as confirming that everyday customers of Google - presumably typical working-class folks - have been sent EC questionnaires asking their opinion about the forthcoming merger between Google and display advertising provider DoubleClick.
The two companies have stated they intend to make their initial filings of merger information with EU antitrust regulators later this month. While questionnaires from the EC are not uncommon in everyday merger investigations, there are two unusual elements here.
HD DVD Claims 'Undeniable Momentum'
Despite lagging behind Blu-ray in both sales of discs and overall players, HD DVD still put on a happy face for CEDIA 2007 and pointed to its advantage in price and computer manufacturer support in the next-gen format war.
Four of the five top PC notebook manufacturers support the format, the North American HD DVD Promotional Group said Wednesday. In addition, its third-generation players would lower the bar for entry even further, which it believes will give it momentum into the holidays.
Motorola Begins Selling RAZR 2
While the now $399 Apple iPhone will dominate the news Thursday, Motorola has chimed in to remind everyone that its RAZR 2 is now available through wireless carriers across the United States. But its $299 to $349 price tag won't likely bring out long lines.
The RAZR 2 V9 is offered by AT&T while the CDMA V9m is sold by Verizon, Sprint and Alltel. T-Mobile will likely sell the RAZR 2 V8, but the phone is not yet listed on the carrier's Web site. Motorola is hoping to bring back the glory days of the original RAZR by adding features such as Windows Media Player, 2GB of on-board memory and a full-HTML browser. But the company faces stiff competition from LG, Samsung and now Apple.
Sony's New Blu-ray Players Still Pricey
After making announcements in Europe regarding its Blu-ray disc player lineup late last month, Sony used the backdrop of CEDIA 2007 to announce its two newest players for the North American market.
However here in the states, Sony's Blu-ray players are none the cheaper. The new BDP-S500 will cost approximately $700 USD, while the top-of-the-line BDP-S2000ES will set the consumer back about $1,300 USD. Both are expected to begin shipping this fall.
Early Apple iPhone Adopters Feeling Undercut by At Least One Third
FOR MORE: Jobs Apologizes, Apple to Give iPhone Customers $100 Credit
Yesterday's announcement of a $200 price drop for Apple's 8 GB iPhone, and the cancellation and clearance of the 4 GB edition, was all some investors took away from CEO Steve Jobs' gala rollout. Meanwhile, among the Apple faithful, there emerged clear signs of discord, especially after expressions of disapproval on Apple's forums evidently disappeared.
California Appeals Video Game Law Ruling
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said Wednesday that he had appealed a court decision that struck down the controversial violent video game law in his state. The appeal was filed in federal court for the Northern District of California. The law would have prevented the sale or rental of "ultra-violent" video games to anyone under 18, and would have required clear labeling of such games.
The legislation
LG Promises New, True Hybrid High-Def Disc Player
We've been down this road before: Covering CES last January, BetaNews was the first to report that LG Electronics' long-promised hybrid Blu-ray/HD DVD disc player wouldn't actually be able to play the full content of HD DVDs, due to its lack of support for its iHD interactivity layer - the part that gives you menus and on-screen features.
LG originally promised a hybrid player as far back as March 2006. Now, at the CEDIA custom electronics show in Denver, the company is showing off a new prototype that it claims will play both iHD and BD-J interactive content, and will sell for $999.
Intel Seeks to Upstage AMD 'Barcelona' with Quad-Core 'Tigerton'
The fact that AMD plans to unveil its quad-core Opteron server processor on Monday is the worst kept secret since rumors yesterday that Apple CEO Steve Jobs would unveil something having to do with iPods today. What has come as a surprise is that Intel decided not to wait to let AMD have its day before releasing some initial specifications for its forthcoming "Tigerton" class Xeon MP quad-core server processors.
If you believe the performance test numbers professed by CPUs' own manufacturers, then Intel definitely plans to make a wrestling match out of Tigerton vs. x4 Opteron. This afternoon, Intel stated that an IBM System x3850 M2 4-way server produced a SPEC_int_rate_base2006 benchmark rating of 184. To give you an idea of relative standing, the best 4-way Intel quad-core servers today tend to just break the 90 barrier.
Microsoft Releases Suite of Windows Live Software
As expected, Microsoft on Wednesday released its Windows Live software suite, including the global betas of several of its desktop products.
Among the applications included are Windows Live Photo Gallery, Mail, Messenger, Writer, OneCare Family Safety, and Toolbar. The unified installer for the product also acts as a central location to download updates to any program once it is installed.
DailyKos and Other Blogs Qualify as 'Media,' Exempt from Finance Laws
Responding to a complaint filed by a blogger for politically conservative Web sites, the US Federal Election Commission yesterday declared that DailyKos, a politically liberal site, operates as a news and commentary provider. As such - in effect, as a member of the "media" - DailyKos is exempt from campaign finance laws that restrict the amounts of money individuals and organizations may contribute.
BlogCritics writer John C. Bambenek alleged in July that DailyKos openly solicited money for what it characterized as good causes, in exchange for which the site would promote the donor through advertising. Rather than simply sell ads like a normal media site, Bambenek claimed, DailyKos was soliciting contributions, with advertising granted to contributors as a token of its appreciation.
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