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

Sony and Samsung end their LCD panel joint venture, S-LCD Corporation, with Samsung buying Sony's 50% share in the business for around $938.97M.

With the Samsung purchase, Sony will not only make some cash, but also enter in agreement with Samsung to secure LCD panels on market prices without having to operate a manufacturing facility.

The sale follows reports of Sony slashing global TV midterm sales targets, as 2011 TV-related losses for the company total $1.15BN. Sony is also reducing sales volume while splitting the TV business into 3 entities in attempts to return to making profit from TVs by 2014.

Samsung is also streamlining its TV business, absorbing the remaining 50% stake of Samsung LED from Samsung Electro-Mechanics.

Go Sony and Samsung Shift to New LCD Panel Business Alliance

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) announces CES 2012 will not only be the "coolest" tradeshow but also be the greenest, with the adoption of several new sustainability practices.

For the first time this year for this year attendee badge holders will come from recycled vinyl show banners, which the CEA will collect at the end of the show to recycle even further. The CEA is also pushing for signs made from recycled materials (such as reusable cardboard) while collecting magnetic, vinyl and cardboard show signs for repurposing.

All TechZones will also use recyclable carpet, and the CEA plans to cut print production by at least 50% of where it was 5 years ago.

Taking place in Las Vegas on January 10-13, the show will host a Sustainable Planet (showcasing the latest eco-friendly products) and a GoElectricDrive TechZone (showcasing electric vehicles, energy storage devices and charging solutions).

Go Greening CES 2012

The Wall Street Journal reports Apple wants to make one of the late Steve Job's last wishes come true by "moving forward with its assault on TV" and meeting with executives at "several large (media) companies."

According to WSJ sources, the Apple TV set (or "iTV") will access content via wireless streaming technology, recognising users across phones, tablets and TV.

Delaying development and release is work on the user interface-- one using not only voice (via Siri) but also gestures and iDevices.

This being Apple, development is (of course) extremely secretive, but apparently some media companies are receiving updates on iTV developments. Sources say "the types of new services Apple and the media companies are discussing could be done with Apple's existing technologies, which include its Apple TV set-top box." Apple also wants the iTV to receive data directly from mobile devices via AirPlay, without need for the Apple STB.

Apple is hardly the only company wanting to take over TV-- as we all know, Google has (the still unsuccessful) Google TV product, recently updated to Android 4.0. Speaking at LeWeb 2011, Google chairman Eric Schmidt sounded optimistic, saying "by the summer of 2012, the majority of the TVs you see will have Google TV embedded in it."

Will Schmidt's wish come true, or will fortune favour Apple? Maybe the two rival companies will bring some fuel to an admittedly ailing TV market...

Go Apple Plots Its TV Assault (WSJ.com)

Go Eric Schmidt Predicts Google TV Success

There are no doubts-- it has been quite a full year. From natural disasters to protests and ousted dictators, there was truly something for everyone on the headlines. And as for our business, well, we're about to take a look at what went on during past 12 months, with a Top 11 for 2011...

1. Farewell, Steve Jobs: The biggest story this year was certainly the untimely demise of Steve Jobs at age 56, following a 7 year struggle with cancer. During those years, Apple brought us the iPhone and the iPad. Jobs had already stepped down as Apple CEO on Aug. 24th 2011... and most of us knew the only only reason he would walk away from the company would be his ultimate demise.

One cannot understimate Jobs' effect on the industry-- his return to Apple in 1997 turned a company Jobs himself described as weeks away from bankruptcy into one of the the biggest in the world (and the biggest for a few weeks), fuelling customers' lusts for technology in the process.

2. Bye bye, Best Buy: The biggest retail headline this year was definitely Best Buy leaving the UK, closing its 11 big box stores in the country, following £62 million worth of losses last fiscal year. Not that Best Buy is completely out of Europe-- it still keeps its joint venture with Carphone Warhouse.