On The Verge
In this blog, EDN Editorial Director Maury Wright focuses on digital consumer-electronics gadgets and the converged networks that feed them with video, audio, and data. [Editor's note: As of Feb. 2008, this blog is no longer active and is presented here for archival purposes.]
Did Cingular cave to Apple demands that Verizon rejected?
I’ve been traveling nonstop the past few weeks and carrying a USA Today business section that’s a couple of weeks old. Sorry for the late commentary, but I have to mention the article “Verizon rejected Apple phone deal” that describes the onerous demands that Apple made of Verizon when negotiating a potential iPhone deal. According to the story, Apple wanted a percentag ...... Read More
Comments (2)Collaborative composition closes Demo curtain
I spent two days last week at the Demo 07 conference where companies get six minutes on stage to demonstrate a new technology or product. By nature, the demonstrations can be pretty far out. My friends and colleagues know I’m not the biggest movie fan. But even Kasey Clark, our Managing Editor and resident movie fanatic, might find the “social cinema” concept proposed by Jaman ...... Read More
Comments (3)Apple iTunes market cools according to Forrester
Today in the San Diego Union Tribune, the story “Report questions iTunes’ savior status” reported a decline in sales at the iTunes online store. The story that appears to have originated at the Chicago Tribune quotes a report from Forrester Research. Forrester claims that US sales at iTunes dropped 58% in the first half of 2006. Note that this happened at a time when iPod sale ...... Read More
Comments (0)PS3 programming problems a sure early roadblock
Previously I’ve stated my opinion that the cell processor in the PS3 wouldn’t be tamed anytime soon. Indeed even the three homogenous processors in the Xbox 360 aren’t being used effectively. There’s a nice article by IEEE Spectrum Magazine on a company called Insomniac Games and their development of one of the heralded PS3 launch titles “Resistance: Fall of Man. ...... Read More
Comments (9)Leaving the notebook PC home
I just ran across this blog post by Alereon CEO Eric Broockman on the smartphone replacing the PC. Alereon is a Wireless USB chip vendor and presumably that technology would help such a transition to a smaller mobile platform for all of a traveler’s IT needs. I’ve been contemplating the same thing, although I’m not sure Wireless USB is the missing link. I’ve been shoppi ...... Read More
Comments (10)Do you trust Qualcomm with MIMO IP?
Like most trade press sources, The EDN Network covered the major merger and acquisitions news yesterday including the Qualcomm acquisition of Airgo in “Qualcomm’s Q4 shopping spree.” I read a number of such articles and analysts opinions. You can hardly find a flaw from the Qualcomm perspective. Airgo may have been viewed as a bit of a rebel in the 802.11 space, but clearly th ...... Read More
Comments (2)Microsoft stumbles with Xbox service, but not as badly as Sony with PS3
The game console wars are going to be fun to watch for a while. The winner between the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 (PS3) will be bigger than just the winner in games. As I opined previously, the winner in consoles will dictate the winner between HD-DVD and Blu-ray. Moreover, the battle now is for the dominant position in the living room. It’s tough to find anything good to say about Sony rig ...... Read More
Comments (0)Electronica panel focuses on innovation, more coming
Since the beginning of last week, I’ve been in Europe – primarily to attend the Electronica trade show and also to visit some other companies. I’m way behind in writing and blogging. But here’s my next column for the print edition of EDN based on an Electronica CEO panel. The panel, and the exhibition, had a clear slant to a handful of hot markets including digital cons ...... Read More
Comments (5)First Microsoft Zune review reveals fatal flaw
I have really been hoping that Microsoft would hit a home run with the Zune player next week. And it’s not that I’m a Microsoft fan. I’ve found plenty of fault with them over the years, but I also recognize when they do good things. And I’ve been in their camp on the audio and video codec and DRM side for sure, as I’ve repeatedly voiced my objection to the closed ...... Read More
Comments (41)Rebellion and new competition challenge the iPod
I was catching up on my reading this weekend and went back to a story I pulled out of the San Diego Union Tribune earlier in the week. The story “Nibbling at nano” appears to have originated from The New York Times and describes a college freshman who chose to buy an MP3 player specifically with a brand other than Apple on the faceplate. The article got me thinking again about my fee ...... Read More
Comments (13)Intel and Verizon stretch the truth in gaming announcement
You may well have seen stories in the last few days about a joint effort between Intel and Verizon to support PC video games in the living room. Most of the headlines imply that somehow users will magically be able to play PC games on their living room big screens. The buzz however is yet another case of spin doctors gone wild. The duo have really done nothing but develop a way to rent games ...... Read More
Comments (0)Maney right on with convenience and fidelity stand
I browse a number of newspapers every day but make it a point of reading Kevin Maney’s Technology column in USA Today. In his Wednesday column “Media companies would do well to heed lessons in fidelity, convenience,” his message is spot on both to his target audience and many others in the tech industry. Consumers will eagerly accept questionable fidelity (such as MP3 music) i ...... Read More
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