On CE - For Dealers, Distributors and OEMs of Consumer Electronics throughout EMEA

App-controllable light bulbs appear to be the next bright thing. Philips sells one, and so does Insteon. Now Spark Devices suggests an alternative system on Kickstarter-- the Spark Socket.

The Spark Socket is a device customers screw into a regular socket, before screwing in any dimmable bulb. It allows users to control lighting (on, off, dimming) via wifi connection and iOS/Android apps, without the need for new lighting or major wiring.

The system also has a number of additional functions, such as a "sunrise" alarm clock (slowly fading on lighting at a set time), turning on/off all lighting via a single button, or flashing on lights when one receives a new email or text message. For further functionality, wannabe developers can also make use of the RESTful API.

Spark Sockets already exist in working prototype form, and the makers now look for funding (or "preorders," rather) on Kickstarter. One socket costs $60, with shipping estimated to kick off by around July 2013.

Go Spark Socket (Kickstarter)

The Comet struggle continues apace-- administrators Deloitte will close 41 stores by end November 2012 should they fail to find a buyer for the electricals chain.

Closing down sales are already going on at 27 Comet stores, and a further 14 stores should start similar sales next week. The remaining 195 stores will continue operating as usual, if with "generous discounts" and a generally shaky outlook for the post-holiday season future.

The closure plans follow recent Comet job cuts-- 330 employees were rendered redundant from head office and central functions. Reports also suggest Deloitte plans to close down the Comet home delivery operation.

"While the administrators will look to redeploy staff from any stores which do face closure to other stores nearby, there will inevitably be redundancies," Deloitte says. "The administrators continue to hold discussions with parties who have expressed interest in parts of the business."

Dixons and Maplin both plan to take in a number of Comet staff. Maplin had also expressed interest in acquiring a "handful" of Comet stores, even if Deloitte prefers if it were able to sell the entire chain.

The news of store closures follows the dropping of Comet into administrators by owners OpCapita, just 10 months after it acquired the retailer from Kesa (aka Darty) for all of £2, a purchase complete with tidy £50 million cash dowry.

Go Comet to Close 41 Stores Administrators Say (BBC News)

Go Comet Stores Set to Start Closing (FT.com)

As mobile makers look to differentiate product offerings, the Wall Street Journal reports Samsung plans to mass produce a somewhat novel form factor-- devices with flexible displays.

Using OLED technology, the displays are made out of plastic (not glass) meaning the result is unbreakable, lighter and bendable, as well as cheaper to produce.

Samsung actually owns the suitable technology, thanks to electrowetting technology developer Liquivista.

According to "a person familiar with the situation," Samsung will release such devices sometime during H1 2013. We have no idea what such flexible devices will look like, but they might be similar to the prototypes the company showed off back at CES 2011.

As well as novelty value, bendy devices represent a push towards alternative display technologies. Sharp and LG Display sell displays with "in cell technology" integrating touch sensors directly into the LCD, eliminating the separate touchscreen layer.

Samsung is not the only company stretching out more flexible productions-- as early as 2009 Sony showed off a flexible display at CES, while a year earlier Plastic Logic had a bendable e-reader. More recently a bendable "Nokia Kinetic Device" was spotted at Nokia World 2011.

Go Samsung Stretches Lineup (WSJ.com)

Go 2012: The Year of the Bendy Mobile Device?

Global Q3 2012 mobile phone sales to end users drop by -3.1%  Y-o-Y to total around 428 million units Gartner reports-- with smartphones accounting for 36% of sales with 46.9% Y-o-Y growth.

Despite the decline, Gartner points out a number of "positive signs" for the market during Q3 2012. Demand is improving in both emerging and mature market (as seen through Q-o-Q growth), with new devices driving replacement sales.

Samsung leads the overall mobile market, with sales reaching 98m units with 18.6% Y-o-Y growth and 22.9% market share thanks to strong Galaxy smartphone demand. Meanwhile former leader Nokia slips further with 19.2% mobile market share and sales dropping by -21.9% market share to 82.3m units (still an improvement from earlier Gartner estimates due to increased Asha series sales).