consumer electronics

Fox Broadcasting Co., Fox News Channel, IGN Entertainment and the Wall Street Journal will launch apps for Xbox this year.

Dish Network is looking to make a splash at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas — but one announcement, which leaked out prematurely, could raise the ire of ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC. Dish’s new multi-room DVR, Hopper, will automatically record primetime broadcasts from local stations for ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC and retain those shows for a week — in effect turning Hopper into into a catch-up VOD service.

A few things we know — the buzz around 3D continues to peter out after peaking at CES 2010, tablets and e-readers continue to find their way into more consumers hands, and “thin is in” as the hottest TV’s, laptops, tablets and phones will be thinner than ever in 2012.

The Consumer Electronics Association has made an aggressive effort to broaden its appeal and roster of members in recent years, expanding the categories of companies it represents to include automakers, major retailers and medical device manufacturers, among others.

What’s generating buzz in the buildup to that technology industry bacchanalia known as CES? The most talk is still around tablets but TVs are seeing the biggest year-over-year gains in online buzz, according to new data from Nielsen’s NM Incite unit.

LG has taken the wraps off its first Google TV-powered television set, even as rumors of an Apple television loom over the industry.

When the annual conclave kicks off next week, organizers expect more than 140,000 people  to descend on Las Vegas. The 2,800 or so exhibitors are hoping to set the tone for the year by showing off tons of tablet computers, throngs of 3D TVs and untold numbers of slim, light laptops called ultrabooks. But a look back at the products heavily promoted at CES in recent years reveals few successes.

NEW YORK (AP) – For flat-panel TVs, the choice for years has been between plasma and LCD. In the coming year, there’ll be another choice, at least for those prepared […]

Television sets are much less expensive now because of an oversupply and continued pressure on prices from low-cost manufacturers and online retailers.

In three weeks, thousands of consumer marketing executives will descend on Las Vegas for the annual Consumer Electronics Show.

Microsoft said the next Consumer Electronics Show, to be held Jan. 9-12 in Las Vegas, will be the last show at which it has a booth or the CEO delivers the customary kick-off speech. Microsoft says it will continue to use CES as a place to connect to customers, but it won’t have a booth because its product milestones don’t align with the show’s January timing.

In recent weeks, Apple executives have discussed their vision for the future of TV with media executives at several large companies, according to people familiar with the matter. Apple is also working on its own television set that relies on wireless streaming technology to access shows, movies and other content, according to people briefed on the project.

Heading into the holiday shopping season, TVs seemed so two Christmases ago. Sales had slowed as consumers tightened their budgets in the weak economy and technologies like 3D failed to spark their interest the way tablet computers and smartphones have. But now shoppers are responding to the discounts of up to 50%.

Sales of 3-D televisions are looking a little flat. Powered by the box office bonanza of the groundbreaking 2009 film Avatar, the latest evolution of 3D technology zoomed out toward TV viewers at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2010. But analysts say 3D TVs are set for less-than-stellar sales for 2011, their first full year on store shelves.

The television aisles of top U.S. retailers are poised for a hard-fought contest this holiday season as chains take little chances with budget-conscious shoppers. Unlike last year when some such as Best Buy held the line on discounts and promoted only high-end TVs, many retailers told Reuters this past week that they plan to do whatever it takes to get the customer through the door.

Consumer electronics giant Sony Corp. is splitting its television business into three divisions to make operations more accountable as part of efforts to turn around the loss-making business. Sony said its TV division will comprise LCD TVs, outsourcing and next-generation TVs, beginning today.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — In a welcome relief for Hollywood, Americans are finally spending more on home videos. For the three months through September, spending rose nearly 5 percent from […]

Japanese electronics maker Panasonic Corp. forecast an annual net loss of 420 billion yen ($5.5 billion), its biggest in a decade, as restructuring costs ballooned, and a soaring yen and weak demand in the United States and Europe eroded income.

The new iPhone 4S has an improved camera with a higher-resolution sensor. The processor is faster, which helps run smoother, more realistic action games. It’s also a “world phone,” which means that Verizon iPhones will be useable overseas, just as AT&T iPhones already are.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — If you own a consumer electronics gadget, there’s a good chance something from Samsung makes it tick. The company has traveled far from its roots […]

Sony Corp. said today that its 60,000 yen ($800) “HMZ personal 3-D viewer” is set to go on sale Nov. 11 in Japan, and is planned for the U.S. and Europe, perhaps in time for Christmas, although dates have not yet been set.