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Broadcom extends fiber reach with BroadLight acquisition, intros new location architecture
Here's a question: did Broadcom get a 50 percent discount for acquiring a company that already had "Broad" in the name? Hard to say at this point, but regardless of semantics, the aforesaid company has snapped up BroadLight in a bid to extend its fiber access portfolio. In lay terms, it's hoping to use BroadLight's inroads to roll out next-gen fiber networks across the globe -- perhaps even through the arctic. In semi-related news, Broadcom has also chosen today to reveal a new location architecture, which will reportedly provide "more responsive outdoor and indoor positioning capabilities for smartphone devices." The new system opens the door for even more indoor GPS locks, and it relies on a minty fresh Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) chip that "significantly reduces time-to-first-fix (TTFF) for outdoor positioning applications." The full deets on both can be found in the source link, but sadly there's no word on when the fancy new positioning tech will meander into your next handset.
HP's imaging / printing group combines with PC group, Printing and Personal Systems Group emerges
Rumor had it, and rumor was right. This morning, HP officially announced an organizational realignment that's set to "improve performance and drive profitable growth across the entire HP portfolio." Corporate speak, sure, but what's happening is that the Imaging and Printing Group (IPG) and Personal Systems Group (PSG) are joining forces to create the Printing and Personal Systems Group. The newly merged entity will be headed up by one Todd Bradley, who has served as the executive VP of PSG since '05. Vyomesh Joshi, executive VP of IPG, seems to be getting the better end of the deal, cashing in his "retirement" card after 31 years at the company. In related news, HP's Global Accounts Sales organization will join the newly named HP Enterprise Group, and it will "unify its Marketing functions across business units under Marty Homlish, executive vice president and chief marketing officer." Lastly, the company is sliding its Global Real Estate function from Finance into Global Technology and Business Processes, which is bound to befuddle precisely no one. For the full chair rearrangement, head on past the break.
Beats Audio is buying MOG music streaming service
Looks like the rumors were all too true -- according to All Things D, Beats Audio is picking up MOG. For those unaware, MOG is yet another music streaming / subscription service, and while the feature set bests even the vaunted Spotify in many ways by including a Pandora-like playlist generator, it's had a tough time procuring the same hype machine. Regardless, there's no more hiding under the radar now, and you can bet that anything with a Beats label on it will soon be using MOG as a musical pillar (hello, HTC Sense?). We're reaching out for comment and will update when we can.
Apple's Tim Cook says 'pipeline is full of stuff,' AT&T affirms record sales of new iPad
Apple's 'cash balance' conference call this morning was mostly uninteresting for folks not immediately involved with Wall Street (the actual thing and the Shia LaBeouf masterpiece, as it turns out), but CEO Tim Cook did let loose a few nuggets of interestingness for those hoping for insight into the future. For one, he stated that Apple's pipeline is "full of stuff," further impressing upon the masses the message he planted at the tail-end of the new iPad keynote on March 7th. He also stated: "I think our customers will be incredibly pleased with what they see coming out." Hardly a surprise, but Apple rarely hands out confirmation of boom times unless it truly has something significant in the labs.He also confirmed that Apple had "a record opening weekend" in regard to the new iPad launch, but stopped short of handing out actual figures. In fact, we could be talking about a record low -- we jest, we jest. At any rate, AT&T has stepped in to announce that on Friday, March 16th, the carrier "set a new single-day record for its iPad sales and activations." Again, no hard figures, but something tells us the number crunchers (and auditors) are hard at work to bring us precisely that. Ma Bell's laughably brief press release can be found in its entirety after the break -- all 45 cliffhanging words of it.
Chris Blizzard bids farewell to Firefox, heads for unnamed startup
Chris Blizzard, a man who has been with Mozilla since its founding in 1998, has left the group and his position as director of web platform to work with a startup. Who the company is and what it does Blizzard didn't specify when announcing his move. In a blog post he said only that the Palo Alto-based outfit was doing "great (and difficult!) work that deals with the intersection of systems, compilers, and web-scale problems." Blizzard's decision to leave the foundation comes a time of relative turmoil, including a number of high-profile personnel changes, a major shift in the development cycle and a landscape that is increasingly mobile minded and hostile to Firefox. Still, after more than a decade, the browser has proven its resilience and we wouldn't worry much about its future. We wish Mr. Blizzard the best of luck in his future endeavours.[Image credit: Mozilla]
Apple announces dividend and share repurchase program for 2012, expects to spend $45 billion over three years
Surprise, surprise -- Apple just let the cat out of its own bag. In right around a half-hour, the company will officially unwrap plans to initiate a dividend and share repurchase program commencing later this year. 'Course, analysts have been clamoring for such an announcement for quite some time, and with a stock price near $600 and some $100 billion in the bank, the outfit can clearly afford it. More specifically, Apple plans to "initiate a quarterly dividend of $2.65 per share sometime in the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2012, which begins on July 1, 2012." Granted, that's all subject to the Board of Directors giving the ole a-okay, but we highly doubt the company would issue such knowledge without a practical guarantee that everyone is on board. Additionally, the Company's Board of Directors has authorized a $10 billion share repurchase program commencing in the Apple's fiscal 2013, which begins on September 30, 2012; we're told that said program will be executed over three years, with the main goal being to "neutralize the impact of dilution from future employee equity grants and employee stock purchase programs."As for CEO Tim Cook's thoughts on the matter? "We have used some of our cash to make great investments in our business through increased research and development, acquisitions, new retail store openings, strategic prepayments and capital expenditures in our supply chain, and building out our infrastructure. You'll see more of all of these in the future. Even with these investments, we can maintain a war chest for strategic opportunities and have plenty of cash to run our business. So we are going to initiate a dividend and share repurchase program."Naturally, this all shows that Apple is supremely confident in its future, but it doesn't shed any light into potential acquisitions from a technology standpoint. Strangely enough, it was just a few days ago that Mr. Cook ended his new iPad keynote with a promise that 2012 would be chock full of unbelievable things from his company, but it sounds like the only folks celebrating this particular announcement are those with a hand in the stockpile. We don't expect to glean much more than what's given in the presser just past the break, but we'll be liveblogging the actual conference call starting at 9AM ET.
Gartner pegs Samsung as China's top smartphone maker, ranks Apple fifth overall
Analysts at the research firm Gartner have come out and crowned Samsung as the most popular smartphone producer in China. The Korean manufacturer beat out others such as Nokia, Huawei, ZTE and Apple to score the title, and now boasts a rather impressive 24.3 percent market share in the country. While the iPhone 4S is portrayed as the most desired handset in China, Gartner suggests its limited availability with carriers played a large role in Samsung's achievement. The report provides a stark contrast with Apple's global success, which was recently named by Gartner as the top smartphone manufacturer in the world. The importance of China can't be overlooked, however, which is now projected to overtake the United States as the largest smartphone market. Until Apple further expands its carrier reach, it appears to be smooth sailing for Samsung -- unless Nokia is able to apply some pressure from its new Windows Phone handsets, that is.
Star Wars: The Old Republic subscription numbers stabilize at 1.7 million
It's shaping up to be one hell of a good month for BioWare. If you consider the amount of money made by the launch of Mass Effect 3 and by the continued success of Star Wars: The Old Republic, the entire studio must be swimming in pools of gold coins a la Scrooge McDuck by now. At any rate, it would appear that Star Wars: The Old Republic's subscriber numbers have stabilized at about 1.7 million active subscribers. It's also worth noting that, according to EA's John Riccitello, the "vast majority" of these active subscribers have already used their 30-day trials, which means most of those 1.7 million subscribers are shelling out $15 per month to play the game. It'll be interesting to see how these numbers change (or don't) in the coming months, but for the time being The Old Republic seems to be doing BioWare proud.
Aeria Games unveils Aeria Mobile, inaugural titles
Aeria Games, publisher of popular free-to-play titles such as Eden Eternal, announced in a press release today that it has established Aeria Mobile in order to deliver quality games to "the underserved mobile core gaming arena." The division is coming into the world with three inaugural mobile games. The first of these is Eden Eternal: Monster Arena. The game is (obviously) set in the world of Eden Eternal and "brings the beloved anime-style gameplay of the popular franchise to an innovative accelerometer-based shooter RPG." Next up on the list is Tuff Tanks, a "turn-based artillery shooter set in a colorful world of monsters and tanks." The turn-based title will be familiar to fans of the Worms series, and it will allow players to face off against computer opponents or against one another. The third and final release title for Aeria Mobile is known as Armygeddon, "a turn-based military strategy game set in a near-future setting that features episodic single-player content and asynchronous multiplayer combat." So if you need to get your gaming fix on the go, Aeria Games has you covered. To check out the library and find out how to get your hands on the games for yourselves, just click on through the link below to the official Aeria Mobile site. [Source: Aeria Games press release]
Blizzard announces layoffs of 600 employees worldwide
Blizzard Entertainment, creator of the perennially popular World of Warcraft, announced today that it would be laying off 600 of its employees worldwide. While Blizzard takes care to note that WoW's development won't be impacted by the layoffs, we find it a bit difficult to take solace in that fact when hundreds of people are losing their jobs. Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime commented on the layoffs, stating that "Constant evaluation of teams and processes is necessary for the long-term health of any business. Over the last several years, we've grown our organization tremendously and made large investments in our infrastructure in order to better serve our global community. However, as Blizzard and the industry have evolved we've also had to make some difficult decisions in order to address the changing needs of our company." Understandable, perhaps, considering the fluctuating nature of the industry, but we still wish those Blizzard employees hit by the layoffs the very best in their future endeavors. Good luck, folks.
Black Prophecy developer Reakktor Media on its last legs
The future is looking a bit hazy for Black Prophecy developer Reakktor Media, as reports indicate that the studio "has begun the insolvency process" and is scrambling for work in order to keep itself afloat. Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Reakktor Media's managing director Kirk Lenke stated that "[the studio is] in a position to accomplish basically anything [that] is played right now, even if we were focused in the recent times on multiplayer mobile gaming," which may indicate an interest in developing games outside of the MMO genre. Lenke also notes that the studio currently has a Diablo-esque sci-fi title in the early development stages. At any rate, we wish the best of luck to the folks at Reakktor Media. Even if things are looking pretty grim, here's to hoping that there's a silver lining in store for the studio.
SOE president John Smedley announces that all players will be able to play on any server
It's no secret that Sony Online Entertainment has been in more than a little hot water in the wake of the recently announced region locks that were to be put in place following the studio's deal with ProSiebenSat.1, but there may still be a silver lining on the horizon. SOE president John Smedley tweeted earlier today that the studio has "come up with a plan to allow ALL players to play on any servers they want." While details are still to come, this should be incredibly welcome news for players of SOE titles who weren't looking forward to playing without their international friends. Smedley promises us that there are "more details to follow," so stay tuned and hopefully we'll have some idea of what's in the works before too long.
JP Morgan: Apple is a sector unto itself
JP Morgan's hardware analyst Mark Moskowitz has laid bare exactly how huge Apple has become lately, calling the company an actual "sector," not just a company any more. Of course, on paper, Apple is competing with other computer and device manufacturers like Dell and Samsung, but the numbers just don't make that comparison meaningful any more, says Moskowitz. Apple's stock is by far the largest single stock in the S&P 500 index, and when you compare the company's income to other tech sectors like Pharmaceuticals and Software as a whole, Apple's take actually lines up within the top 10. I'll say that again, because it's important: Apple's income and operations actually compete with whole industries, not just the rest of the PC market. This isn't just the iPhone or the iPad being a new class of device, it's Apple as a whole company creating a tech sector of its own. That's pretty incredible, and if you haven't yet realized how big Apple has gotten in the past few years (as if the $98 billion in cash wasn't clear enough), maybe that's your wakeup call. Now, this may all seem like financial types just making much ado about numbers, but it actually holds quite a bit of meaning, both for Apple and its competitors going forward. Apple's huge growth in the past few years will have lots of consequences, both for the company and the technology industry at large, and we still haven't figured out just what a lot of those consequences will be.
Former Olympus chairman Tsuyoshi Kikukawa comes down from the mount, into police custody
If you've been following the latest camera industry accounting scandal, then you're probably well aware that all is not well at Olympus. The Japanese company took its latest blow today when former chairman Tsuyoshi Kikukawa was arrested in Tokyo on suspicion of having falsified financial statements. The Tokyo prosecutor's office released a statement saying that two other former execs were also brought into police custody, including Hisashi Mori, a former executive vice president, and Hideo Yamada, a former auditor. Olympus is also faced with the possibility of being delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange -- the decision has been deferred awaiting further evidence. So what does all this mean for the scandal-ridden camera maker's position in the industry? Little, perhaps, from a consumer perspective, considering that Olympus has continued to announce and ship new products, including the well-received EM-5. The fate of its former executives, however, is less auspicious.
Kodak gets court approval to borrow $950 million, end theater sponsorship
Kodak took another step along the road to recovery yesterday, after receiving court approval to borrow $950 million in restructuring funds. Nearly a month after the camera maker filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, US Bankruptcy Judge Allen Gropper granted Kodak's request on Thursday, allowing the company to continue operations during its ongoing transition. Gropper's decision, handed down in a Manhattan court, follows a series of negotiations between Kodak and its lenders, and adds an extra $300 million to the $650 million awarded during January's Chapter 11 filing. The company is also allowed to end its sponsorship of the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, after successfully arguing that doing so would be in the best interest of Kodak and its creditors. Under the deal, Kodak is obliged to pay $72 million over the course of 20 years. It currently shells out $3.6 million per year and still has $38 million in outstanding payments, but Kodak's lawyers argued that the agreement was too costly. Kodak Chairman and CEO Antonio Perez issued the following statement in response to yesterday's decision: "Today's agreement is another step towards ensuring that Kodak is positioned to execute on the goals the Company set out last month: Bolster our liquidity in the U.S. and abroad, monetize our non-strategic intellectual property, fairly resolve legacy liabilities, and enable Kodak to focus on its most valuable business lines."
Gartner: Apple leads the way among smartphone vendors, Android sees slight decline
Gartner's latest bundle of smartphone stats has just hit the wires, bringing with it some encouraging news for the folks in Cupertino. According to the firm's Q4 report, Apple finished 2011 as the world's top smartphone vendor by market share (19 percent), thanks to a Q4 that saw the company grab 23.8 percent of the market. During the quarter, Apple sold some 35.5 million handsets to end users, marking a mildly insane 121.4 percent increase from Q4 2010. This surge also helped Apple overtake LG to become the world's third largest seller of all mobile phones, with a 7.4 percent market share last quarter, trailing only Nokia (23.4 percent) and Samsung (19.4 percent). Nokia, in fact, saw some of its lead wither away during Q4, with sales dropping 8.7 percent over the year, to 111.7 million units. On the OS front, meanwhile, Android continues to dominate Q4 with 50.9 percent of the smartphone market, but that's slightly down from the previous quarter, when it grabbed a little less than 53 percent. Gartner attributes some of this to increased sales of the iPhone 4S, though it expects iOS' share to decline over the next "couple of quarters," as fewer users upgrade to the company's latest handset. For more insight and analysis, check out the full press release, after the break.
Nintendo brings Mobiclip on board to help with Wii U development
Nintendo beefed up its proprietary arsenal yesterday, with the acquisition of Mobiclip -- a Paris-based video codec provider. As Gamasutra reports, the deal was actually finalized back in October, but only became public this week, when Mobiclip confirmed its new ownership on its website. The company already has a history with Nintendo, having lent a hand with video rendering and playback on the DS and Game Boy Advance. Now that it's officially under its wing, Mobiclip will reportedly collaborate with Nintendo on its forthcoming Wii U, as suggested by a recently posted job listing for a "console software engineer."
Reports: Authorities removing iPads from stores in China, following trademark ruling
Government authorities and retailers have reportedly begun removing iPads from stores in China this morning, in apparent response to a ruling issued in December. According to China's Hebei Youth Daily, local representatives of the country's Administrations of Industry and Commerce (AIC) have started confiscating Apple's tablet from retail outlets, with some merchants voluntarily removing the device from their storefronts as a preemptive measure. The scope of this operation remains unclear, though China.com reports that as of 5:00 PM yesterday, authorities had seized some 45 iPad 2s. Retailers who voluntarily removed their iPads apparently did so to protect their stocks from confiscation, and are reportedly continuing to sell the tablet behind the counter. These reports come nearly two months after Apple lost a trademark lawsuit against Proview Technology, which successfully defended its ownership of the iPad name within China. We're still waiting to see whether this is part of a larger nationwide campaign and Apple has yet to comment, but we'll update this post as soon as we hear more. Update: China's iFeng is now reporting that these seizures took place in the city of Shijiazhuang, as part of what appears to be an isolated campaign. Update 2: Looks like the iPad is no longer on sale at Amazon China.
Intel settles antitrust lawsuit with New York attorney general, pays hardly anything
Intel's three-year tussle with the state of New York finally came to an end yesterday, with a settlement of relatively harmless proportion. Under the arrangement, Intel will have to shell out a mere $6.5 million to resolve a 2009 antitrust lawsuit filed by then-attorney general Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo, who has since ascended to the seat of governor, had accused the chipmaker of intimidating PC manufacturers and handing out billion-dollar kickbacks, as part of what he called a "systematic worldwide campaign" to assert its market dominance. The case has since been helmed by Cuomo's successor, current attorney general Eric Schneiderman, but its sails lost a lot of wind when U.S. District Judge Leonard Stark barred the state from seeking triple damages, limiting its claims to a three-year period, rather than the four-to-six that the state had been pursuing. As a result, Intel suffered only the slightest of financial blows.According to Reuters, the $6.5 million sum represents just five hours worth of profit for the company, which reported a net income of nearly $13 billion last year. Intel was pleased with the news, pointing out that the agreement doesn't require it to admit any wrongdoing. Schneiderman, on the other hand, seemed notably less enthusiastic, with office spokeswoman Jennifer Givner telling reporters that the state's lawyers still think they have a case against Intel, but "in light of the court's decision believe that no purpose is served by pursuing the matter further."
Lenovo releases Q3 earnings report, shipments rise, profits soar
Lenovo turned in another stellar earnings report yesterday, following up on a huge Q2 with an encouraging Q3. For the fiscal quarter ended December 31st, the PC maker saw its net profits reach $153 million, marking a 54 percent increase over last year's $99.7 million. Revenue also rose 44 percent last quarter to a record $8.4 billion, thanks in large part to a surge in PC sales. In mature markets, Lenovo saw revenues increase by a whopping 81 percent to $3.6 billion, while emerging market sales reached $1.3 billion, marking a 13 percent rise over the previous year and accounting for about 15 percent of the company's global revenue. The manufacturer saw particularly strong growth in China, where it now enjoys a market share of 35.3 percent, its highest ever. Lenovo attributed much of this to strong smartphone and tablet sales in China, while confirming plans to release a Smart TV within the country, as well (according to CEO Yang Yuanqing, it should hit the market in April). Laptops, however, remain the company's bread and butter, comprising 53 percent of its total revenue last quarter, with sales reaching $4.5 billion -- 30 percent higher than last year. For more numbers, check out the full press release, after the break.
