Want Some Games With That Music Purchase?

Monday, March 8th, 2010
By Anita Frazier, Entertainment Industry Analyst Toys & Video Games

When I was 16, I got my first non-babysitting job and spent four months toiling at the drive-through window of my local Carl’s Jr. restaurant. Being a quick study, “Want some fries with that shake?” or “Can I interest you in a hot apple pie this evening?” soon rolled off my tongue at the end of every order as I eagerly attempted to up sell customers.
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New Displays Bask In The Sunlight

Friday, March 5th, 2010
By Ross Rubin, Executive Director, Industry Analysis

At DisplaySearch’s USFPD conference, the sun-drenched beachfront of San Diego was an appropriate setting for my panel that included representatives from two companies working on energy-efficient displays that excel at outdoor readability.

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Walmart Rings Up Vudu

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010
By Ross Rubin, Executive Director, Industry Analysis

This week brought news that Walmart has purchased Vudu, a one-time on-demand video device company that transformed its business to servicing connected TVs and Blu-ray players. As the largest seller of packaged home video in the country and one of the largest sellers of consumer electronics, Walmart clearly has an interest in maintaining its position as more video is consumed digitally, but also in establishing ties to the televisions and Blu-ray players that are featuring the Vudu service.

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iPad Begins A New Chapter For e-Readers

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
By Ross Rubin, Executive Director, Industry Analysis

One of the open questions surrounding the iPad that has quickly come to the fore in light of the recent Amazon-Macmillan brinksmanship is to what extent the device will jeopardize sales of e-readers. This is particularly true of the market-leading Kindle, upon the metaphorical shoulders of which Steve Jobs said Apple stood.

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Carpe Diem

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
By Liz Cutting, Industry Analyst

Last weekend I hit the slopes for the first time in about 20 years (gasp!) and for the first time with my husband and “tweenaged” son. So across the span of the last three decades (gasp again!) I haven’t had the chance to get excited, frustrated, inspired, or perplexed about using a digital camera with thick gloves, 2 ski poles, a head cold, and a ghastly sense of balance…until now.
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Apple’s MID Life Crisis

Thursday, January 28th, 2010
By Ross Rubin, Executive Director, Industry Analysis

At the iPad unveiling in San Francisco, Steve Jobs announced a milestone for the company he co-founded in 1976. Apple has turned 50… billion dollars in annual revenue. And to kick off its next growth opportunity, its super sized iPod seeks to fill the gap between the smartphone and laptop, a gap that has become an abyss for many.
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Reseller Sales Close Out The Optimism Trifecta

Thursday, January 28th, 2010
By Stephen Baker, Vice President, Industry Analysis

NPD today released some good news about sales to small and medium business through the reseller channel, what us old timers used to call the DMR (direct marketing reseller) channel. Sales in December were very strong, posting growth of 7 percent year-over-year, the first time this segment has shown positive growth in more than 15 months.

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Apple Reinvents The Netbook

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010
By Stephen Baker, Vice President, Industry Analysis

Apple just finished introducing their latest product; the iPad. Small, slick, typically great looking, and well priced at $499 it is an interesting, but ultimately not breakthrough device. In fact it reminds one very much of a netbook. A companion device to your main computer (or iPod in this case) that allows you to have a more focused web experience and a more media-centric device at a lower price, which is much of what the netbook is evolving towards.
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Waiting To Exhale

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010
By Ross Rubin, Executive Director, Industry Analysis

Given all the outlandish rumors circulating around Apple’s forthcoming announcement on Wednesday, you probably wouldn’t be surprised to hear that the purported Apple tablet can become transparent and levitate. Indeed, it is otherwise difficult to explain how the device was able to hover above the CES show floor, invisible to everyone’s eyes but prominent in everyone’s imagination.
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The Teens

Thursday, January 21st, 2010
By Russ Crupnick, Vice President, Senior Industry Analyst

Having come back from the holidays and CES to a mailbox full of “Decade In Review” articles in my email in-box, I decided to jump on board. From the dawn of digital music, through iPod nation, Wii, High Definition, social networking, and smartphones (with apps), it may have been an unparalleled ten years for entertainment.

Which got me thinking about the teens.
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