Retailers, Makers Fined $6.6 Million for Digital TV

April 11, 2008 | Bob Snyder | TV - Display - ProjectorsPDFPrintE-mail

US federal regulators fined Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Sears, Frys and other retailers $3.9 million in all for not properly labeling analog-only TVs for the switch to digital TV next year.

 

The FCC also gave $2.7 million in fines to other companies for violating other digital TV rules that involve shipping analog equipment and blocking technologies such as the V-chip.

 

Retailers in USA must display or affix "consumer alert" labels to analog-only TV equipment (TVs, DVDs, videocassette recorders and DVRs)  that says it will not receive signals after the nationwide digital transition - without a special converter box.

 

The FCC conducted numerous inspections, issued warnings to companies, whose stores and Web sites across the country were in violation of the rule: all apparently went unheeded.

 

Go Who and How Much?

World’s Smallest 8GB USB Drive

April 11, 2008 | Bob Snyder | Storage (Personal)PDFPrintE-mail

SuperTalentSuper Talent Technology shows three new 8GB USB Flash drives, including the world’s smallest 8GB drive.

 

These new drives include: PICO-A, with a swivel lid; the retractable PICO-B; and ultra small PICO-C. Super Talent’s patented PICO series USB drives are manufactured using chip-on-board (COB) technology, which enables up to 8GB of Flash storage to fit into an incredibly minute case. PICO-C drives weigh less than a nickel (about 4.7 grams) and measure only 31.3mm x 12.4mm x 3.4mm.

 

Go SuperTalent PICO

Supermarkets Keep Expanding CEE Footprints

April 11, 2008 | Bob Snyder | Retailer NewsPDFPrintE-mail

Discount chain Aldi will open in April its first units in Hungary, a year after it first announced it would enter the country. Aldi will launch 40-50 units this year in Hungary focusing on the Budapest area.

 

Tesco will open 15 stores in Slovakia this year and four of these supermarkets will have shopping areas of 3,000 m².

 

This growth is part of a trend that will bring international “non-food merchandising” into competition with traditional local channels.

 

Go Aldi in Hungary

LaserVue, Laser TV by Mitsubishi

April 11, 2008 | Bob Snyder | TV - Display - ProjectorsPDFPrintE-mail

LaserVueWhile other makers are downplaying LaserTV as a future standard, Mitsubishi gives its laser-based DLP HDTV a brand name: LaserVue. The company says LaserVue will be "in stores and for sale during Q3" at least in USA.

Today’s HDTVs display less than 40% of the color spectrum that the eye can see. Laser, says Mitsubishi, produces as much as twice the color.

Go LaserVue

Context: AMD Ups Market Share Notebook Volume Channel

April 11, 2008 | Bob Snyder | Market Trends - StatsPDFPrintE-mail

AMD Mobile Turion 64 X2 increased market share in distribution sales of PC notebooks, outperforming Intel in the consumer IT space during February, according to Context for France, Germany and UK.

In the volume channel (incorporating multiple retailer and mail order), the share of Intel's Core 2 Duo processor was 34% in February (stable month-on-month, but down from 39% registered in December).

In second position was Celeron M, with 26%, followed by AMD Mobile Turion 64 X2, which registered an all-time high market share in this type of channel, with 21% and surpassing Pentium Dual Core in fourth position with 14%.

In the consumer IT space within the volume channel, AMD became the best selling processor vendor for the first time in the past 12 months, with its Mobile Turion 64 X2 processor gaining 30% market share, outperforming Intel's Core 2 Duo, which registered 27% and Celeron M with 24%.

Stats

Go Context on Notebooks

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