Sony earnings call entertains PlayStation Phone, reveals tablets are on the radar
October 29, 2010 No Comment
Earnings calls aren’t usually that interesting, and that’s doubly true when trying to listen via official translators. Still, we couldn’t help but give an ear to Sony’s fiscals, and sure enough, someone asked about our ( still real ) PlayStation Phone leak . We’re not sure who answered since it’s through interpreter, either Executive VP / CFO Masaru Kato or Senior General Manager of Investor Relations Division Gen Tsuchikawa (we’re assuming the former). Citing the aforementioned device, the curious party asked if such a product would come out of Sony or of Sony Ericsson, and no, it wasn’t a complete denial. Instead, we’re told just how such a device would happen, that a gaming phone would be planned and prototyped under the ( recently restructured ) Network Services umbrella. We’re also told how SCE’s move to Sony City headquarters now puts them closer to the planning and engineering group, meaning the company “can better incorporate all these capabilities better… so when the timing is right we can probably announce to you the new product we have.” Ericsson is later cited as a resource “on smartphone and for the games devices,” although this might be something peculiar with translation. Again, that’s far from a confirmation, but they’re certainly entertaining the notion in a very, very detailed response. But that’s not all; there’s also apparently a tablet brewing in the background, one that would obviously fall somewhere in between PC and Sony Ericsson’s efforts. There isn’t much else said, but if you’re up for psychoanalyzing executive commentary, we’ve transcribed and placed the full quote after the break. Continue reading Sony earnings call entertains PlayStation Phone, reveals tablets are on the radar Sony earnings call entertains PlayStation Phone, reveals tablets are on the radar originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Oct 2010 14:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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It must be hard for newspaper editors to pick and choose which candidates to report on in an election season when their endorsed candidates fall on the opposite side of issues that contradict the paper's endorsed claims. Case in point, given the choice of reporting about the numerous reports of Illinois not paying their obligations and that of a payment glitch concerning a leading Republican gubernatorial candidate which story do you think the Chicago Sun Times would choose? If you picked the non-story hiding behind candidate R you would be correct. This morning's edition of the Sun Times features a breathless story under the headline, ” Brady ads pulled because TV stations weren't paid “. In an embarrassing campaign misstep , dozens of political commercials for GOP gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady were yanked from the air Thursday because at least three Chicago television stations did not receive payment. The story ran even though the payment glitch had been corrected as of Thursday evening and was very shortlived. One could consider this an accomplishment considering that Illinois has a record of not fixing such payment “glitches” when it comes to ensuring that state insured patients are not denied medical care because the state simply isn't paying doctors and health insurers for services rendered. Thus you will likely not find stories like that of Ashley Wright of Carterville Illinois anywhere on the Sun Times site. Mrs. Wright's husband works for Southern Illinois University, a state run school with state provided insurance. Her family is being denied medical care because the state isn't paying it's bills; a recurring sort of non-payment story that is plaguing the state of Illinois yet not reported in the Chicago Sun Times. Here's how that story plays out when actually reported on: Family Denied Medical Treatment Because of State's Debt read more
Continue reading …Verizon’s new rebate form shows two Droid 2 Globals, Samsung Continuum, and more
October 29, 2010 No Comment
Carrier rebate forms have a fun tendency to reveal unannounced hardware, since they cover several upcoming weeks when they’re published — and Verizon’s latest for the month of November is a particularly juicy one. Here’s what we’ve got: There are two SKUs listed for the Droid 2 Global , but only one for the Droid Pro , leading us to wonder whether it’ll actually be the Global that’s getting a cameraless version . Speaking of Motorola, the WX445 Citrus is in the mix for the first time. The Pre 2 is in the system with a $100 rebate. There are two new SKUs for the Bold 9650 , possibly indicating the release of new versions with BlackBerry 6 pre-installed. The LG Cosmos Touch is in here, which we imagine will be a touchscreen successor to the Cosmos . There’s a Samsung Zeal listed with a $50 rebate, but we’re not sure what it is — we know that Sammy has a number of Android phones in the pipe for Verizon, and we suppose this could be one of ‘em (likely low-end considering it’s not a $100 rebate). More interestingly, the Samsung Continuum is in here, suggesting that the November 8 event could be for this dual-screened (and Galaxy S-branded) beast. $100 rebate here. Of course, November is a time when retailers of all types and sizes bring out new products in time for the holidays, so we’re not surprised to see the mother lode here. Who’s excited? Verizon’s new rebate form shows two Droid 2 Globals, Samsung Continuum, and more originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Oct 2010 13:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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A Chilean surfer told The Associated Press that the tsunami in Indonesia hit like a runaway train. Supplying exclusive video, he said the giant waves battered the 3-story building where a group was sheltering. (Oct. 29)
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The AP’s Jason Bronis takes a look at what happens with a bank foreclosure on an elderly homeowner. Georgia homeowner Patricia Fuller is fighting her foreclosure claiming that the bank violated a homeowner’s assistance agreement. (Oct. 29)
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Photo: Richard Harrison , Geograph, Creative Commons “There is no need for the public to have information beyond what is entering the atmosphere” As part of the EPA’s plan to begin cracking down on the nation’s largest greenhouse gas emitters next year, the agency is requiring polluting companies to disclose their emissions. These disclosures will be collected in a database, which the EPA will use to monitor companies’ pollution and their reduction achieve… Read the full story on TreeHugger
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The U.S. economy had a bit of a pickup during this year’s third quarter, showing growth of 2 percent in an ever-so-slight acceleration toward economic improvement. Meanwhile, the housing market remains limp and high unemployment recalcitrantly hovers at 9.6 percent. —JCL The BBC: The US economy grew at an annualised rate of 2% in the July-to-September period, an acceleration on the previous quarter, official figures have shown. The expansion came despite continuing high unemployment and weakness in the housing market. The 2% figure is an improvement on the upwardly revised 1.7% increase between April and June, but less than the 3.7% growth recorded from January to March. Read more Related Entries October 29, 2010 Obama on ‘The Daily Show’ October 28, 2010 It’s the Stupidity, Stupid
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photo: Agustín Ruiz / Creative Commons It may seem overly provocative to compare climate change to the scourge of human slavery, but when it comes to the sorts of cultural changes that are needed to stop them, they really have much in common. That’s what University of Michigan professor Andy Hoffman posits in a new issue of the journal
Continue reading …The House will look very different when the new Congress comes to town in January. Most if not all of the so-called Blue Dog Dems will be gone, many other Dems with them, and only the craziest of the bunch who come from districts that have been gerrymandered to elect anyone not named Hitler as long as he or she is a Dem will be left: Based on the RealClearPolitics ratings of House races, 62 of 76 seats held by a member of the Progressive Caucus are “safe.” For the Blue Dogs, the picture is much more bleak. Of the 54 districts held by a member of that caucus, only six are “safe.” With moderate and conservative Democrats in much greater trouble than progressives, it is a virtual certainty that the “average House Democrat” will be much more liberal when Congress reconvenes next year. “You can call it the ideological paradox,” said Isaac Wood, the House race editor for Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball. “If Republicans clean up in the elections next week, the House will become more conservative, but the Democratic Caucus will actually become more liberal. The ranks of the Blue Dogs will be decimated, but the Progressive Caucus will be largely untouched.” Seats belonging to 82 percent of Democrats in the Congressional Progressive Caucus — a group bound together by liberal goals like universal health care and gay marriage — are considered safe contests. As a whole, 48 percent of Democratic House seats are safe. On the other side of the aisle you’ll have a much more conservative GOP in charge. This should make for some very entertaining moments in congressional hearings and floor debates.
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In one of the world’s most troubling on-again-off-again relationships, Iran has announced that it is open to resuming stalled multilateral talks over its nuclear program after irreconcilable differences shut down negotiation channels between Iran and six other nations last year. —JCL The Guardian: Iran has said it is willing to resume the stalled international talks over its contentious nuclear programme, the EU said today. Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, sent the EU’s foreign policy chief, the British peer Lady Ashton, a letter saying he was prepared to continue the talks, which halted a year ago, “in a place and on a date convenient to both sides” after 10 November. “I think this is a very significant move,” Ashton told reporters at the EU summit in Brussels. Earlier this month Ashton – who is the main contact point for Iran in talks involving Britain, France and Germany along with the US, Russia and China – invited Jalili for three days of negotiations in Vienna next month. Read more Related Entries October 26, 2010 The Shifting Balance of Power October 17, 2010 Iraq’s PM Heads to Iran for Advice
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