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Verizon sold 2.2 million iPhone 4 units in the first 2 weeks
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Corporate News,
Verizon said Thursday that it sold 2.2 million iPhones in its first two weeks and sold out of the iPad 2 in early March.
Verizon also sold 260,000 HTC Thunderbolt devices, the first smartphone for its 4G LTE network, and another 250,000 4G LTE Internet devices, Fran Shammo, president and CEO of Verizon Telecom and Business, said during a Thursday earnings call.
About 22 percent of iPhone activations were for people new to Verizon Wireless, while 78 percent were existing Verizon customers who upgraded.
Overall, 60 percent of phones sold during the quarter were smartphones, up from 36 percent last year. About 65 percent of those were new to the smartphone category, meaning they upgraded from a feature or multimedia phone or were new to Verizon. Overall, 32 percent of Verizon Wireless's retail post-paid customers are now using smartphones, up from 28 percent last quarter.
Click to continue reading Verizon sold 2.2 million iPhone 4 units in the first 2 weeks
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AT&T Buys T-Mobile: Good for AT&T, Bad for Customers
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Editorial, Features, Wireless / WiFi,
AT&T just announced it will buy T-Mobile USA for $39 billion. If the transaction gets approved by the government and closes in a year as planned, it will create the nation's largest wireless carrier by far.
While this is great news for both companies, it's an awful idea for consumers - and I desperately hope the US antitrust authorities rake this merger over the coals.
An AT&T/T-Mobile merger at least makes more sense than the silly T-Mobile/Sprint idea which was being bandied about. Both carriers use the same technologies: GSM, HSPA+ and LTE. While they're on different frequency bands, radios which use all of the relevant bands are becoming easier to build.
The merger neatly solves T-Mobile's long-term problem of not having enough spectrum for LTE, the 4G technology which will soon be a global standard. It gives T-Mobile's struggling parent, Deutsche Telekom, a gigantic cash infusion. And it lets AT&T once again position itself as the number-one carrier against Verizon Wireless, which leapfrogged AT&T technologically this year with Verizon's 4G LTE launch.
AT&T is ahead of T-Mobile on building LTE. T-Mobile is far ahead of AT&T on building HSPA+, a intermediate 4G technology that fits right between the carriers' existing 3G networks and LTE. Together, they could have a smooth and powerful nationwide network.
AT&T's press release for the merger backs this up. The combined carrier will be able to build out much more LTE Than AT&T could alone, by combining AT&T's 700 Mhz spectrum with T-Mobile's AWS spectrum.
For stockholders, this all sounds great. With reduced competition and the efficiencies of a combined network, the new company will probably be quite profitable.
For phone owners, tech lovers, and American consumers, this is a total disaster.
Click to continue reading AT&T Buys T-Mobile: Good for AT&T, Bad for Customers
Aerosmith: New Album on the Way
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Artist News, Gossip, Reunions, Upcoming Releases, Rock,
The feud between Steven Tyler and Joe Perry is over. Along with the other members of Aerosmith, the rockers will get to work on a new album this summer.
According to Tyler, he and Perry smoked a “peace pipe” to at last bury the hatchet. Reportedly, the rift began when Tyler accepted his current American Idol judging gig.
But Aerosmith isn’t going to question a good thing anymore. Since Steven Tyler started appearing on the new season of the reality gorilla, sales of the band’s greatest hits have increased 250%.
Read More 
| Entertainment Weekly
Nintendo Wii sales plummet by 31.5 percent from January 2010
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Nintendo, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360,
January has just not been a pleasant month for video game sales. At least, that's according to new numbers released by NPD. Total January 2011 sales for gaming accessories, portable systems, and games for PCs and consoles fell to $1.16 billion from last year's total of $1.22 billion. And the $1.22 billion figure for January 2010 is itself a decrease from January 2009 figures, or $1.33 billion in total sales.
Breaking that number out a bit, hardware sales took the biggest year-to-year hit, dropping 8 percent from $353.7 million in January 2010 to $324 million in January 2011. NPD no longer splits this number out into publicly available data for the various console manufacturers; however, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said that Microsoft was the only big player to experience year-to-year growth on hardware sales.
According to Pachter, Microsoft sold approximately 332,800 Xbox 360 units, representing a year-to-year growth of 14.4 percent for the company. More than half of the systems sold were also bundled with Microsoft's Kinect accessory.
Nintendo, on the other hand, found its sales down 31.5 percent compared to the same period of time last year. That's a drop from 465,800 Wii consoles sold in January 2010 to 319,000 sold in January 2011. The company still leads the current console market with 34.5 million Wii units sold in the U.S., in total, with Microsoft's Xbox 360 coming in second place at 25.8 million, followed by Sony's PlayStation 3 at 15.7 million.
Click to continue reading Nintendo Wii sales plummet by 31.5 percent from January 2010
MySpace is for sale
Posted by Patrick Lambert Categories: Acquisitions, Rumors, Social Media, Social Networks,
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During an earnings call, News Corp. COO Chase Carey indicated that "now is the right time" to place MySpace "under a new owner". The news is not a big surprise, as things have been going downhill for the social network. Its owner, News Corp., has attempted to revive the property last Autumn with a site redesign, and while the site is still popular with some niche crowds, there's no question that Facebook took its place long ago. Still, Carey stays positive on the outlook of MySpace, saying “the new MySpace has been very well received by the market and we have some very encouraging metrics, but the plan to allow MySpace to reach its full potential may be best achieved under a new owner.” Of course, it's still unknown whether anyone would be interested in buying it.
Graphic Novels Outsell Snooki
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Television, Dynamic Forces, Image Comics,
It appears that nobody wants the read a book that Snooki claims to have written. The tanned and tiny "star" of MTV's Jersey Shore had her first novel, A Shore Thing published about a month ago. Since then, it's sold less than 9000 copies.
This despite a massive pr push that's seen the little orange pumpkin rolling from TV appearance to TV appearance.
9000 copies.
How does that compare to graphic novel sales? John Jackson Miller at The Comics Chronicles has the scoop.
In 2010, Image's Walking Dead Vol 1: Days Gone Bye sold 43,900 copies, DC's Blackest Night hardcover (19,200), Image's Chew Vol. 1 (13,600), and Dynamite's Boys Vol. 6 Self-Preservation Society (11,100). And that's just a sampling.
In all, some 38 graphic novels outsold Snooki's book and that's just using GN sales figures from the direct market.
Click to continue reading Graphic Novels Outsell Snooki
Today I Die Again for iPhone available free today only
Posted by Drea Avellan Categories: Games, App Updates, iPad Apps, Sales, Free Apps,
In conjunction with Free App A Day (FAAD), Atakamalabs has released the popular IndieCade Jury Award winning title rewrite, Today I Die Again by Daniel Benmergui, completely free. Today I Die Again is a thought provoking adventure using words as means to action.
The scene opens underwater with the body of a dead woman floating lifeless in the dark. The rock tied around her waist suggests that her demise was no accident. A poem floats above her: “hopeless world / full of shadows / today I die”
Players must use the floating glowing words or reveal hidden ones to help you transform the ever-present poem in order to progress through the game. All along the way you battle the dark creatures from the depths in effort to break through to the surface. The oddly creative music score sets the mood perfectly as you are immersed deeper into this pixelated world. Today I Die Again is truly a unique game unlike any other, exploring new ways to express emotions through a video game experience.
Today I Die Again is available free on the iTunes store for iPhone and iPod Touch.
Comic Book Jobs: Tokyopop Intern
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, TokyoPop,
Items Du Jour: Anja Rubik Gets Engaged, Lady Gaga Makes Unicorns Sexy
Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Celebrities, Editorials, Fashion Designers, News,
-- Victoria Beckham covers February's issue of Vogue UK looking rather bare-faced and less glamorous than usual. Marking her sixth solo Vogue cover, the singer-turned-fashion designer talks about her style's evolution and -- more importantly -- what it's like to wake up next to David Beckham.
-- Hilary Swank is one Oscar-winning actress who actually is down-to-earth: the woman loves a good bargain, and isn't ashamed of -- gasp -- clipping coupons. If only she had shopping secrets to scoring designer labels...
-- Anja Rubik stars in her third consecutive Fendi campaign, shot (of course) by Karl Lagerfeld.
-- Speaking of Anja, the model's agency recently announced her Christmas engagement to fellow model Sasha Knezevic. As if there aren't enough super hot couples to be jealous of.
-- Lady Gaga treated her monsters to a nice holiday surprise with details of her upcoming album. More importantly, she posted a preview of the album art, which features her rocking a unicorn-blazoned jean jacket that reads, "Born This Way." Oh, and she has completely ditched pants -- literally.
Click to continue reading Items Du Jour: Anja Rubik Gets Engaged, Lady Gaga Makes Unicorns Sexy
Jennifer Aniston’s Perfume (Sales) Fading
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Celebrities,
Women may want to look like Jennifer Aniston, but they might not want to smell like her.
Sales of the actress' first perfume -- Jennifer Aniston (formerly named Lolavie) -- have reportedly dropped off since debuting earlier this year. Some claim Aniston's lack of promotion is to blame.
"It's absolutely not true," Jennifer's rep said in response to the finger-pointing. "The fragrance was launched specifically for Harrods [in London] and Jennifer went there personally to launch it and to do press."
Click to continue reading Jennifer Aniston’s Perfume (Sales) Fading
Read More | E! Online
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