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.
IRex Technologies threw its hat into the increasingly crowded U.S. e-reader market Wednesday with the launch of its new device, the DR800SG.
The DR800SG will cost $400 and features an 8.1-inch screen and 3G wireless connectivity with carrier Verizon. In a retro move reminiscent of the Palm Pilot, the e-reader comes with a stylus pen to navigate the on-screen menus.
TiVo this morning announced a multi-part deal with Best Buy that includes the development of a special version of the TiVo player that would include specialized content–oh, okay, advertising–from the electronics retailer.
The news this week that Napster is relaunching with a $5-a-month subscription plan that includes 5 free MP3 downloads would appear to be a troubling development for RealNetworks’ rival Rhapsody service, which will set you back $13 a month for a streaming service that lacks the free MP3s. It is also no doubt irritating to Real that it comes from a company that is now a unit of Best Buy: in the past, the Best Buy digital music store was a re-branded version of Rhapsody, which came pre-loaded on non-Zune, non-iPod music players sold by the retailer.
There are the things that you say. And then there are the things that you do.
Electronics retail giant Best Buy has supplied a fine example of the difference.
Best Buy this morning reported sharply higher-than-expected profits for its fiscal fourth quarter ended Feb. 28.
For the quarter, the last large national electronics retailer posted revenue of $14.724 billion, a bit below the Street consensus at $14.8 billion. But adjusted EPS of $1.61 a share nicely beat the Street at $1.40 a share.
GameStop shares are getting clobbered today on news that Amazon.com is getting into the business of buying and selling used videogames–and so is Toys ’R Us.
Credit Suisse analyst Gary Balter explained in a research note today that one reason he has maintained an Outperform rating on GME shares is that the company has dominated the used videogame business; he notes that used games generate 44 percent of the retailer’s gross profits, nearly twice the segment’s sales contribution to the company.
Best Buy shares are getting a boost this morning from a bullish note by Goldman Sachs analyst Matthew Fassler, who added the stock to his firm’s Conviction List. Fassler had upgraded the stock to a Buy rating in early January. He has a price target on the stock of $33.
Fassler expects the company to benefit from the demise of rival Circuit City.
Carol Levinson, an analyst with Gimme Credit, has downgraded her credit rating on electronics retailer Best Buy–noting that the retail giant should be profiting more from the misfortunes of its fallen rival Circuit City. Inevitably, though, the company has joined the long, sad line of retailers suffering from the economic downturn.
Dell shares are down today after a disappointing Black Friday weekend at Best Buy stores. A survey of 35 PC experts indicates that salespeople prefer HP to Dell by a margin of 5 to 1, and that Dell is the only brand at Best Buy with negative comments–pointing to potential quality issues.
Good news for shoppers, bad news for retailers. Apple’s Black Friday discount could be up to 15 percent, compared to 5-10 percent. Retailers will be the ones suffering for it, though, not Apple. The ability of Apple products to attract shoppers into stores and turn them into buyers–especially of high-margin products–is likely the reason retailers are willing to take the hit.
Who knows what to make of a day like this one? The market jumped back and forth over the flat line countless times, then staged one of those crazy end of the day runs that have become so much a part of the current market pattern. The Nasdaq Composite finished at the high for the day, up 97.49, or 6.5 percent, to 1596.70. The Dow finished up 552 points, or 6.7 percent, to 8835, or 900 points above the low for the day, after briefly dropping below the 8000 level.
Across the board, estimates for Research In Motion are coming down, with analysts citing factors such as a late launch for both the Bold and the Storm, increased competition from the iPhone, and weak consumer demand projected for calendar Q4. Overall, states UBS analyst Maynard Um, “We do not expect RIMM to be immune from the weakening economy.”
Looks like Chris Gorog really was serious about selling off perennially troubled Napster, after all. He’s selling the company to Best Buy for $121 million. That’s $2.65 per share, which works out to be $54 million net of cash.
Best Buy this morning announced a deal to buy online music site Napster for $2.65 a share in cash. That comes to $121 million, or $54 million net of Napster’s $67 million in cash and short term investments as of June 30.
This is a section of the All Things Digital Web site featuring posts from around the Web, from other Dow Jones properties and also original pieces we solicit. The section is now explicitly labeled that it comes "from other Web sites."
We are fully aware of the controversies around how linking and aggregating is done on the Web and we, in no way, are attempting to "scrape" original content created by others. Instead, regarding third-party posts, we are trying to point readers of this site to other posts from around the Web that we admire and are trying to do so in the quickest manner possible.
The Internet is full of terrific content that is not ours and we want to help our readers find it by making editorial suggestions--Look, Mom, no algorithm!--of posts we think are worth their time.
That is why we have made even more changes to Voices to ensure we do this in the most transparent and timely way. While we don't expect that everyone will agree with our policies, we have made changes that reflect our intent in pointing to content outside our site.
So here is exactly what we do:
Because the site is wholly owned by Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal, we aim to adhere to the journalistic standards of the best of the mainstream media. But, because it is run autonomously as a small online startup, we aim to exhibit the fresh thinking and nimbleness of the best of the new media. We want to be first, and sassy, but also well sourced and accurate. We will offer lots of opinion and analysis, but plenty of fact as well.
D is unlike any other executive conference. Since its debut in 2003, D has brought to life the energy and excitement of the digital revolution in an unscripted, upfront and unparalleled way. Read more »
Don't miss a post! Sign up for our Daily Email and get AllThingsD.com delivered each day.
Get columns, blogs and video from D and All Things Digital on your iPhone. Download now »
