A new feature wherein All Things Digital looks at up-and-coming and innovative start-ups you should know about.
This week: A video visit with, some questions for and a few pertinent stats about Chris Wetherell and his creation, Brizzly, a Web-based social media reader.
by Miguel Bustillo and Bobby White, Reporters, The Wall Street Journal
Some of the biggest companies backing the Blu-ray format for high-definition movies are hedging their bets by introducing players that can also show Internet video, which is making surprising inroads in the home-entertainment market.
Hollywood stars are going virtual, in the latest effort to jazz up the printed word–and wake up consumers who have become inured to traditional ads.
Hearst Corp.’s Esquire magazine will pepper its December issue with markers that trigger interactive video segments featuring cover subject Robert Downey Jr. and other actors, as well as an ad for Lexus.
by Daisuke Wakabayashi, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
Vizio Inc., a supplier of low-cost flat-panel display TVs in the U.S., expects shipments of its LCD televisions to rise more than 70 percent to more than six million units this year and to remain profitable even as set prices fall at least 30 percent, the company’s chief executive said.
The US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple today that reveals various concepts behind a newly advanced service in development that entails subsidizing an incredible array of hardware from Apple.
Walt Disney Co. is close to unveiling technology that it says will enable entertainment companies to adapt their business models to a new reality in which consumers increasingly rely on computers and cell phones in place of DVD players and TVs.
Samsung Electronics Co. said it will set up a joint venture to build a 7.5-generation liquid crystal display panel plant in Suzhou, China, that will cost about 2.6 trillion won ($2.25 billion).
South Korea’s LG Display Co. said its third-quarter net profit nearly doubled from a year earlier, thanks to a steady rise in prices for flat-panel screens.
by Evan Ramstad, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
Samsung Electronics Co.’s profits are on the rise again as its chip and display businesses recover from operating losses earlier this year. The turnaround recently helped push its market capitalization past Intel Corp.’s for the first time.
by Yukari Iwatani Kane, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
Videogame publishers, pushing to expand their businesses, are making games that target girls and women a new industry battleground.
This holiday season, more games than ever are being geared toward female players. Electronic Arts Inc. is releasing the latest installment of its “Littlest Pet Shop” game for young girls and introducing a series of fashion-themed games called “Charm Girls Club” for older girls later this month.
by Andrew LaVallee, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
See what the power of the Internet can do?
Tracy Morgan joined Twitter Thursday afternoon in response to a brief campaign designed to encourage the “30 Rock” star to share his off-color updates with fans.
by Marisa Taylor, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
A new celebrity site has launched a campaign to get Tracy Morgan, a star of NBC’s “30 Rock,” on Twitter.
The site, OMGICU, encourages visitors to send their celebrity sightings, and Mr. Morgan is its most-seen subject. Its founder, Hugh Dornbush, on Tuesday created a second site, Twacy.org, to convince the comedian to get to tweeting.
by Daisuke Wakabayashi, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
Even as the electronics industry pushes televisions for watching three-dimensional videos as a future growth area, Panasonic Corp. acknowledged that it will be challenging to get consumers to upgrade to 3-D sets so soon after many purchased new flat-screen TVs.
Qualcomm Inc., which is known more for cellphone chips than products sold to consumers, is betting that a new pocket-sized device will spur more interest in mobile TV.
The San Diego-based company late Tuesday announced that a subsidiary will begin offering what it calls FLO TV Personal Television. Qualcomm said U.S. retailers are expected to offer the device over this holiday season at a suggested price of $249.99.
The rush by Asian liquid-crystal-display makers to ramp up production at home and to invest in new plants threatens to curtail the nascent recovery in the flat-panel market.
LCD makers in Asia have just started to see their earnings recover in the second quarter after prices began to rise thanks to production cuts made last year, component shortages and strong demand from China.
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