Archive for January 5th, 2006
Toshiba has fired a salvo at Blu-Ray by announcing that it will launch two HD-DVD players in the USA in March.
The two models, the HD-XA1 and HD-A1, will sell for $799 and $499, respectively.
“HD-DVD represents the future of HD digital video,” Yoshihiro Matsumoto, president of Toshiba America Consumer Products, said at a news conference at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. “It gives consumers a clear migration path from DVD.”
Despite the high price relative to standard DVD players, Toshiba are confident that they have an attractive offer to tempt users to the new format. “It’s a price point to accelerate market adoption,” said Jodi Sally, president of US marketing for Toshiba’s digital audio-visual products.
Sony, who yesterday were cheered by a calvalcade of annoucements from major film studios announcing Blu-Ray releases in 2006, said that their first Blu-Ray player would hit the streets in June, three months behind Toshiba’s HD-DVD offering.
“Blu-ray disc technology is the final piece needed to complete our vision of the high-definition world,” said Dick Komiyama, chief operating officer at Sony’s US arm.
Meanwhile Samsung is also expected to announce it’s first Blu-Ray player at CES this week.
January 5th, 2006
RealNetworks announced today that its Rhapsody online music service will be promoted on select HP consumer desktop and notebook PCs sold in the United States.
Under a new agreement with HP, Rhapsody will be available via select HP Pavilion, Compaq Presario and HP Pavilion Media Center TV PC product lines. Rhapsody will also become the default player for all major audio files formats, including RealAudio, Windows Media Audio, AAC, and MP3.
“We’re pleased to be working with HP to deliver Rhapsody via their new consumer notebook and desktop PC lines,” said Dan Sheeran, Senior Vice President of the Music and Video Division at RealNetworks. “This new agreement will enable a much wider audience of consumers to experience Rhapsody and use it to manage their personal digital music collections. We’re pleased to bring Rhapsody to HP and a growing list of leading companies like Comcast, Cox, and Sprint.”
“HP is committed to bringing consumers the best PC entertainment experience,” said Bob Lund, general manager, worldwide beyond the box team, Personal Systems Group at HP. “We selected Rhapsody because we want to give our customers a compelling choice for their music management software and easy access to a leading subscription music experience on the Web.”
In addition to Rhapsody’s free music management software, new HP PC customers will have access to the Rhapsody service, which lets anyone listen to and legally share songs of their choosing. Consumers can listen to 25 full tracks from Rhapsody’s extensive music library for free each month, and enjoy unlimited access to the software’s other features at no cost. Consumers can also access Rhapsody’s integrated music download store to purchase their favorite songs and albums; songs are 99 cents each and most albums are $9.99. Downloads purchased from Rhapsody can be transferred to virtually any portable music player, including Apple’s iPod line.
For those looking for an even richer music experience, users can easily upgrade to Rhapsody Unlimited ($9.99 per month), stream an unlimited amount of music, and also download an unlimited number of songs to their PC’s hard drive to enjoy offline for as long as they remain subscribers. Rhapsody Unlimited subscribers can also create custom internet radio stations based on their favorite artists, access thousands of artist-based radio stations or nearly 100 pre-programmed Internet radio stations, and view more than 1,500 music videos within the application. Additionally, consumers may subscribe to Rhapsody To Go ($14.99 per month) and enjoy all the benefits of Rhapsody Unlimited with the added capability of taking their favorite music with them on a compatible portable music player.
Starting in spring 2006, RealNetworks and HP plan to offer a 30-day free trial of the Rhapsody Unlimited service to consumers who purchase new HP and Compaq consumer notebook and desktop PCs.
Since launching in 2001, Rhapsody has received multiple industry awards and honors. Last month PC Magazine honored the service with a Best of 2005 Award, naming Rhapsody “Best Music-Streaming Service,” the latest in a string of honors for Rhapsody. In March 2005, PC World awarded Rhapsody its coveted Best Buy Award, and in 2004, Rhapsody was recognized as the ‘Best Downloadable or Subscription Music Service’ in the Billboard Digital Entertainment Awards.
January 5th, 2006
Building on the applications for its LocationFree® technology, Sony Electronics, today announced that it will be offering a software development kit (SDK) for the portable broadband system so people will have even greater choices for accessing home A/V content on-the-go.
The SDK, which will be available to programmers in the U.S. beginning later this year, will enable software developers to adapt the LocationFree software to stream personal broadcast content to a multitude of portable gadgets, including cell phones, PDAs and music devices.
“The software development kit will empower programmers with the tools they need to expand this wireless broadband entertainment platform,” said Robert Bartels, director of marketing for Sony Electronics. “By making the source code available to third-party developers, viewers will soon be able to remotely access their favorite TV programming on a broad array of portable electronic devices — almost anywhere.”
Currently, LocationFree allows you to connect a base station to a variety of audio visual devices in your home, such as a set top TV tuner, DVD player and personal video recorder (PVR) and stream content to a 12-inch LocationFree TV. You can then access the base station and watch your favorite TV programming, DVDs or PVR content wirelessly in home and over the Internet while on the road.
There is expanded functionality with the new LocationFree Player Pak, which includes a base station and software for viewing streaming content remotely on a PSP or notebook computer.
The LocationFree Player Pak is currently available for about $350. The LocationFree TV LF-X11 monitor is available for about $1,500. Both can be purchased at Sony Style retail stores (http://www.sonystyle.com/retail) and at authorized dealers nationwide and online at http://www.sonystyle.com.
January 5th, 2006