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RIAA goes after NFT music website HitPiece
It wants to know how much it earned from the NFTs it sold.
Ford is doubling F-150 Lightning production to 150,000 vehicles a year
Ford is making new efforts to double production capacity of the F-150 Lightning electric pickup to 150,000 vehicles per year.
Sony reportedly warned that PS5 shortages may continue until 2022
Sony is selling a lot of PlayStation 5s, but it may be some time before the console hits its true sales potential.
'The Witcher' author demands $16m in royalties from CD Projekt Red
Andrzej Sapkowski, author of The Witcher series of novels, is pressing Polish games studio CD Projekt Red for more than $16 million in royalties, because he reckons he was short-changed during licensing agreements made back in 1997 -- licensing agreements he apparently keenly agreed to at the time.
Tesla’s Gigafactory might be behind a global battery shortage
Tesla has been besieged by reports of production delays and quality control issues lately, and now it's coming under fire for problems at its Gigafactory, which have led to a global shortage of cylindrical batteries. According to sources quoted by etnews, it's now "impossible" to purchase cylindrical batteries in Japan -- where most of the world's electronics manufacturing happens -- because Gigafactory has hoovered up the supplies needed to create them, but has failed to do so.
Online sales of the OnePlus 3 will soon be paused across Europe
Starting August 9th, OnePlus will temporarily halt sales of the OnePlus 3 in select European countries as it is struggling to meet demands for the device.
Sony: PS4 demand is challenging European supply
The PlayStation 4 is in high demand for the second holiday season in a row, according to Sony Computer Entertainment Europe CEO Andrew House. Without offering specific sales numbers, House told Reuters that the console is potentially "going to be quite inventory challenged." Shipments for the PS4 reached 13.5 million consoles as of the end of October. "I'm not going to say you won't be able to find a PlayStation 4," House added. "I think it's going to be kind of hand to mouth in terms of that market." The CEO noted that sales for the system in December were in line with Sony's projections, though it was a "tougher" month thanks to the $50 holiday price cut by its main competitor in the United States, Microsoft's Xbox One. While its gaming division is thriving, Sony upped its loss forecast to $2 billion in September due to struggling smartphone sales and opted to not renew its FIFA sponsorship at the beginning of this month to spend more money on structural reforms. [Image: Sony]
The Art of Wushu: Winning in market PvP
Last time on the Art of Wushu, I promised I would write on how to sell production crafts. Crafting is a big deal in Age of Wushu, so it seemed like a reasonable topic to cover. However, I realized doing so would probably be a mistake. Why? If you followed my advice from two weeks ago, congratulations. You probably noticed a huge nosedive in a few markets: hemp, ramie, iron, and mint all took a huge hit. It's a bit flattering to see how I can write a post on what to sell and readers like you guys take it to heart, flooding the market with supply and crashing the value of these commodities. If I gave advice on production crafting, the same thing would happen. Instead, this week I'm going to talk about real market strategy. Pointing out things that sell doesn't help you if the market takes a nose-dive. Understanding supply and demand curves, market equilibrium, and the importance of market diversity are all long-term tools that will help you regardless of what you're selling.
Survey: Interest in iPad mini is growing
TechBargains.com is a deals site that I follow, and it recently shared the results of a survey that demonstrate that Apple's iPad mini is a winner, and suggest that its popularity will continue to grow. TechBargains polled its readers, and found that interest in the smaller iPad has nearly doubled since the tablet was announced last October, with 33 percent of respondents saying that they plan to buy the next iteration of the iPad mini, compared to 18 percent last year. Despite the increased demand, consumers want more out of the next version, according to the survey. First on the list is longer battery life and a faster processor, as requested by 87 percent and 85 percent of respondents, respectively. About 77 percent of those surveyed requested a Retina display on the iPad mini, which is not surprising. But it is clear, both from this survey data and just from what I've seen in the community anecdotally, that people are taking to the iPad mini more and more. I don't think it was ever really unpopular -- the iPad is an excellent tablet no matter what -- but I do think that when it was first announced, many consumers failed to see its appeal. Now that it's been available for a while, however, and it's been in Apple Stores and seen on trains and airplanes, I think more people are warming up to the idea of a smaller and very impressive little iOS tablet. If and when Apple does announce a model with a Retina display, the public's interest will grow even further.
iPhone 5 supply runs short in India
The iPhone 5 officially launched in India last Friday, and just a day later, stores were selling out of their stock. Don't get too excited. Indian sources note only about 15,000 phones were made available for that market, so a sellout isn't too surprising. There were about 100,000 phones made available to India in the first month. An additional 200,000 are expected to arrive by the end of December. Those numbers aren't huge (I'd guess that several North American stores will sell as many in the same time period), but the point here is that demand is high around the world. The iPhone 5 isn't cheap in India. In addition to service and shipment fees, India's currency also plays a factor. The low-end 16 GB iPhone sells for 45,500 rupees, or about US$833 (as of this writing). When you combine those prices with the fact that these phones did sell out, there's a really big indicator of why Apple is so interested to get sales rolling overseas, and why it expects places like India and China both to be such big markets in the future.
ChangeWave: Advance demand for next-gen iPhone "off the charts"
Apple 2.0's Philip Elmer-DeWitt reported today on a new ChangeWave Research survey of purchasing plans for upcoming smartphones. The survey shows that the unannounced next-generation iPhone has an "unprecedented" amount of advance demand. The survey offered 4,042 American consumers brief descriptions of both the currently available Samsung Galaxy S III and the features believed to be in the next-generation iPhone. A whopping 50 percent of respondents said they were planning to purchase an iPhone in the next 90 days, compared to 19 percent who said they'd be purchasing a Samsung phone. Keep in mind that's the iPhone 4S they're talking about -- not the next-generation device. Advance demand for the next-generation is really incredible, with 14 percent responding that they are very likely to purchase an "iPhone 5" and 17 percent saying they're somewhat likely to make that purchase. That's up from the pre-iPhone 4S numbers of October 2011 that showed only 10 percent very likely to purchase an iPhone 4S and 11.5 percent somewhat likely to make the purchase. ChangeWave notes that "The huge wave of pent-up demand for the coming iPhone launch has important implications for the rest of the industry -- and puts a number of second tier smart phone manufacturers at increased risk of coming in below plan for the year." A full copy of the report is available to 451 Research subscribers. Speaking of Apple's iPhone sales and forecasts, be sure to join us tomorrow afternoon for a liveblog of the 3Q 2012 Apple earnings call. #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }
Sprint Galaxy S III won't hit stores tomorrow due to 'overwhelming demand,' pre-orders not affected
Eager to get your hands on a Samsung Galaxy S III with the little Sprint logo on the back? The Now Network is being ever the tease, confirming to us through an official company spokesperson that overwhelming demand has prevented sufficient inventory from reaching store shelves. This doesn't count for early adopters that pre-ordered a 16GB model, however: they'll likely still find the precious new smartphone on their doorstep tomorrow as originally anticipated. According to Sprint, pre-orders for the 32GB version will begin next week, but the carrier isn't completely certain as to when we can expect to see those shipped out -- we'll keep you posted as the news pours in.
Samsung shuns point-and-shoot cameras, switches factory to pricier mirrorless types
Samsung's main camera plant in China is being converted to produce high-end mirrorless cameras instead of cheaper compacts. That's a steel-and-concrete sign that the manufacturer is trying to boost digital imaging profits by focusing on cameras with higher margins, and it implies a level adaptability that other companies can only dream of. To drive the point home, Samsung's imaging chief Han Myoung-sup told the WSJ that "low-end compact camera offerings will gradually be reduced" to make way for the "mirrorless segment." A wise move? Well, Sammy's latest NX range of interchangeable-lens (ILC) mirrorless models start at around $700, which is at least twice the going rate for a decent point-and-shoot. While that higher price point may seem off-putting, demand for mirrorless cameras is actually expected to explode by 60 percent this year, according to IDC projections -- while sales of compacts are retreating in the face of ever more powerful smartphone snappers. Ultimately, Samsung's business plan could be good news for us end-users too, if a newly expanded NX range brings the entry point for ILCs down by $200 or so -- although that could just be wishful thinking on our part.
Demand for the iPhone 4S still high six months after its release
A recent ChangeWave survey suggests demand for the iPhone 4S is still high six months after the handset launched. ChangeWave surveyed 4,413 consumers and 56 percent of future smartphone buyers say they plan on purchasing an iPhone. This is up two percentage points from a previous survey conducted in December 2011. During this same period, demand for Samsung's phones stayed the same while Motorola slipped one percentage point. [Via Fortune 2.0]
Blizzard admits to 'grossly underestimating demand' for World of Warcraft in 2004
If World of Warcraft is credited with a smooth initial launch, that's only because time tends to smooth over the growing pains that come with every MMO. Blizzard co-founder Frank Pearce was quite up-front with the studio's stumbles in 2004 as WoW launched to unprecedented demand; he's admitted that Blizzard execs "grossly underestimated" how many people wanted to play the game, forcing the company to cease shipping boxes to stores while tech was improved to deal with the influx. "I don't think we had any idea what we were getting ourselves into," Pearce said at the recent DICE executive summit. The studio quickly ramped up from its 500-employee taskforce to 4,700 people in 11 cities across the world. Pearce also addressed the issue of addiction in MMOs, saying that Blizzard "think[s] about it all of the time. If there's something that you're really passionate about, whether it's video games, a book, a TV series [or something else]... we have to consume it in moderation."
Apple lists iPhone 4S as "in stock" in most online stores
Those TUAW readers who haven't yet caught Siri fever and purchased an iPhone 4S won't have to wait if they finally decide to buy one. Electronista reports that the device is finally listed as "in stock" at the Apple Store for most countries. As recent as two weeks ago, availability times were still in the three to five day range, but now the 4S is available immediately in every color and capacity. It appears that Apple has managed to get a good handle on iPhone 4S production, with 37 million devices reported as being shipped in just over three months during the first quarter results call. Part of the improvement is most likely due to the addition of Pegatron as a second manufacturer of the popular smartphones. With supply finally meeting or slightly exceeding demand, Apple now has to keep a close eye to make sure that inventories of the phone don't start piling up. The company has a reputation for keeping minimal product inventories, so production is probably being tweaked to more precisely match demand for the iPhone 4S.
Sphero shipments delayed due to high demand, won't be here-o until January
Our hearts were aflutter with anticipation when the Sphero went up for pre-order last month, but that excitement has since been supplanted by a big knot of disappointment, because the smartphone-controlled robotic ball won't be hitting the market until after the holiday season. In a letter published yesterday, Orbotix CEO Paul Berberian attributed his company's setback to a fundamental economic quandary. "Demand has been greater than expected and our production capabilities are slower than we planned," Berberian wrote. "What that means is only a handful of orders are going to be fulfilled before the holidays and the majority of orders will be fulfilled in January." Writing on behalf of the manufacturer, Berberian went on to accept full blame for the delay, with rather admirable honesty: "We simply underestimated the number of units we'd need to make and, more importantly, we miscalculated how long it would take to bring up the production line." To make up for it, Orbotix is offering free expedited shipping to all customers who pre-ordered the device in time for the holidays, along with a free Sphero t-shirt.
Gold Capped: This is the wrong way to do epic gems
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Gold Capped, in which Basil "Euripides" Berntsen and Fox Van Allen aim to show you how to make money on the Auction House. Email Basil with your questions, comments, or hate mail! Epic gems are here, and they're designed differently than we're used to. To be specific, they're designed without fairness baked in, which is somewhat of a new feeling for people who weren't around buying epic gems in The Burning Crusade. Fairness is actually the wrong word for this. Life isn't fair, and neither is WoW. Instead, I'll talk about balance. Blizzard has gone to great lengths to ensure that the game remains fun for as many people as possible by trying to avoid changes that suddenly disadvantage an arbitrary subset of players or shift the desirability of choices made a long time ago. Balanced changes don't force competitive PvP and raiding group to play the gold-making game to be on a level footing with the competition. They also don't provide a tangible itemization difference between the profession perks of different crafting professions.
Strategy Analytics: China leapfrogs US to become world's top smartphone market
The winds of tech consumerism are changing course. More specifically, they're heading east. According to the latest Q3 figures from Strategy Analytics, China is now the world's largest smartphone market by volume, overtaking the US for the first time. According to the research firm, smartphone shipments in China reached a record high of 23.9 million units during the third quarter of this year, up 58 percent from Q2. Compare that with the US, which saw shipments decline by seven percent over the quarter, to 23.3 million units. The Boston-based firm attributed much of China's growth to a spike in cheaper, Android-based handsets from companies like ZTE, as well as a flowering of subsidized higher-end models, like the iPhone. Nokia leads the way within the People's Republic, accounting for 28 percent of all quarterly shipments, followed by Samsung, with an 18 percent share. Find more quotes and charts in the press release after the break, or hit up the source link below for the full report.
Goldman Sachs sees iPad demand slowing
Almost two years after the iPad launch, Goldman Sachs reports that demand is slowing down, just as the holiday shopping season begins. "While improving holiday demand into late November could certainly push the momentum in the other direction, we believe it is prudent to assume the iPad is facing some near-term demand challenges," writes Bill Shope. Shope believes price is the reason. Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet is much less expensive at US$199, for example. While many consumers are still willing to pay more for a quality product, there's no question price is a big driver in a market like this. Shope recommends that if Apple wants to keep demand for the iPad as high as it's been in the past, the company will need to get the price down. The iPhone's price dropped off sharply after introduction, but we haven't seen that same drop with the iPad. Shope also says that increasing adoption of iCloud and Siri integration would likely drive iPad demand back up. Shope does call the iPad's growth chart "remarkable by any metric," but his analysis says Apple must act soon to kick the iPad back out into the spotlight as competing tablets threaten to take it away.
