Qualcomm’s move to invest up to $120.4 million in Sharp is the first in a series of funding transactions the CE company expects to engage in to bolster its sagging balance sheet, Sharp executives in Japan said. The deal also potentially gives Sharp a ready market for its IGZO display technology.
The U.K. Wii U launch got off to a strong start for entertainment retail chain HMV, spokesman Gennaro Castaldo told Consumer Electronics Daily. “Stores are seeing great demand and interest, including via pre-orders,” he said. Up to 300 consumers turned out for the chain’s Wii U launch event at its flagship Oxford St. store in London Thursday night -- a turnout he said HMV was “very pleased with when you consider the cost of each console.” HMV is selling the black version of Nintendo’s new console as part of the Nintendo Land Premium Pack at 299.99 pounds ($482.79 at $1 = 0.62 pounds) and as part of the ZombiU Premium Pack at 329.99 pounds ($531.09). “Much” of HMV’s initial Wii U allocation on the console “has been accounted for in customer pre-orders,” he said. But HMV is “getting fresh stock in all the time, so we are optimistic there will be the right balance of supply with demand to cater to customers,” he said. HMV is, however, advising customers “to buy early if you can to avoid disappointment,” he said. The average Wii U customer is buying a couple of accessories or games with each system, he said. “Just like with” the first Wii, there are two Nintendo first-party launch games for the Wii U in the U.K., the Association for U.K. Interactive Entertainment (UKIE) said Monday. Also “just like before,” with the Wii, “the top-selling games” at the Wii U launch are the Nintendo titles, this time Nintendo Land and New Super Mario Bros. U, according to UKIE Games Charts, compiled by GfK Chart-Track. Nintendo Land doesn’t come bundled with the ZombiU Premium Pack or cheaper Basic Pack. Only 10 percent of first-week Wii U customers opted for the Basic Pack, UKIE said. As with the Wii launch, Ubisoft had the largest number of launch titles, with six for the Wii U, compared to four for the Wii, said UKIE. Ubisoft also again had the best-performing third-party launch title, this time ZombiU, said UKIE. The Premium ZombiU Pack accounted for 30 percent of total Wii U hardware sales in week 1, UKIE said. The Nintendo Land Premium Pack accounted for the remaining 60 percent of U.K. Wii U console sales in the week, UKIE said.
The FCC approved rules moving toward implementing the Local Community Radio Act, which includes a fifth order on reconsideration that establishes a national limit of 70 applications, and a sixth report and order establishing a second-adjacent channel spacing waiver standard, during its meeting Friday. The FCC plans to open a filing window for new low power FM applications in October 2013.
The FCC Wireless Bureau said continued certification of 25 kHz equipment for use in the T-band is permissible, granting a request for clarity sought by the Telecommunications Industry Association. In May, TIA asked the FCC to clarify its order waiving the Jan. 1 deadline for private land mobile radio licensees in the 470-512 MHz band (T-band) to migrate to narrowband technology. TIA specifically asked the agency to clarify it’s waiving a ban on 25 kHz technologies in radios for use in the T-Band portion of the Part 90 VHF/UHF in certification applications filed on or after Jan. 1, 2011.
After spending over 23 years as a fugitive, Isidoro “Mario” Garbarino pleaded guilty to one count of falsely classifying imported goods, as well as one count of making false statements, in connection with the illegal import of over 100,000 pounds of Russian and Iranian caviar valued at over $10 million, the Justice Department said. Garbarino, an Italian citizen, charged and indicted in 1987, fled the country while on bail in 1989, and was finally arrested by U.S. Marshals in September 2012. Having already agreed to make restitution of $3 million for unpaid duties and related penalties and interest, Garbarino also faces a maximum of four years in prison at sentencing, DOJ said.
Hisense thinks its branded U.S. CE sales this year will rise to $297 million from $94 million, and thinks its branded business soon will equal its OEM operations, Marketing Director JoAnne Foist told us.
Entropic will ship combined Multimedia over Coax (MoCA) 2.0/set-top processors IC samples by late 2013, with a goal of having them deployed in cable products in 2014, CEO Patrick Henry told us. The integrated system on a chip (SoC), to be produced by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (TSMC) using a 28-nanometer process, will be among the company’s first combined ICs, as it builds the set-top business it acquired from bankrupt Trident Microsystems.
Brits receive over 148 million spam texts every month, potentially threatening mobile operators’ business, mobile security company AdaptiveMobile said Wednesday. A YouGov online survey of more than 1,000 consumers who had received spam texts found that consumers rated such messages the most annoying form of spam, ahead of email and junk mail, the company said. The annoyance can quickly turn to fraud, something that has happened in the U.S. in the past few years, said AdaptiveMobile Vice President for Handset Security Ciaran Bradley. With 60 percent of the British public having gotten unsolicited messages, “this is becoming an important issue for the mobile ecosystem,” he said. Despite those problems, SMS remains one of the U.K.’s most trusted ways of communicating, the company said. But that trust can be abused: Nearly a quarter of those who got junk SMS messages have replied “opt out” or “stop,” which tells spammers that the phones are active, it said. Almost half of consumers who respond to texts get more spam or unwanted calls, or may have money charged to their account, it said. Better mobile controls can help cut the amount of spam texts an individual receives, said Stephen Eckersley, head of enforcement at the U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office. The ICO is trying to identify companies that continue to spam in violation of the law and can fine the worst offenders up to £500,000 ($798,000), he said. The research also found that when money is taken after an SMS spam scam, the theft can go unnoticed for months. Fourteen percent of respondents said they wouldn’t query discrepancies on their mobile bills until the amounts exceeded £5, which could add up to around £20 million every month landing in the pockets of thieves, AdaptiveMobile said. Mobile operators are worried that if spam texts aren’t eradicated, they'll experience “significant churn,” Bradley added.
The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology issued an order and notice of proposed rulemaking on the allocation of radio spectrum. It adopted the order last Thursday and released it Monday (http://xrl.us/bn2ow7). The changes implement decisions made at the 2007 World Radiocommunication Conference in Geneva, the order said. The FCC will “make certain updates to our rules” in the spectrum falling between 108 MHz and 20.2 GHz as well as correcting typographical errors, it said. Changes include allocating the 1900-2000 kHz band to amateur radio operators on a “nearly exclusive basis,” modifying the quiet zone rules for radiolocation systems and allocating some parts of spectrum for aeronautical mobile route service, satellite and fixed and land mobile service. It’s seeking comment on two issues -- whether it should “allocate the 135.7-137.8 kHz band to the amateur radio service on a secondary basis, subject to the protection of power line carrier operations,” and whether it should “remove a lightly-used primary non-Federal AMT allocation in the 2345-2360 MHz band and an unused primary radionavigation service allocation from the 24.75-25.05 GHz band.” The comment deadline is 60 days after publication in the Federal Register and the reply deadline is 90 days after, the order said.
GameStop will open more than 3,000 U.S. stores at 12:01 a.m. Friday and open most of the remaining stores at 5 a.m., it said. But Massachusetts stores will open at 12:30 a.m., according to GameStop.com. The retail chain didn’t immediately say why. Black Friday deals that GameStop said it will offer include an Xbox 360 bundle at $249.99 that comes with a 250-GB console and the games Forza Motorsport 4, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Call of Duty: Black Ops II, it said. GameStop was selling the same console on Tuesday as part of a bundle including the first two of those games, but not Black Ops II, at the same price. The chain will also offer a buy two, get one free deal on all used products, it said. Customers who buy Ubisoft’s Just Dance 4 for the Wii will get Just Dance 3 for that console free, GameStop said. It will also sell a Sophix 7-inch, Android-based tablet at only $79.99 -- $50 less than it was being sold for at GameStop.com on Tuesday -- and all used CE devices at 25 percent off, the chain said. U.S. retailers on Friday will also start selling a “flame red” version of the 3DS at $169.99 that comes with the Nintendo game Super Mario 3D Land pre-installed, Nintendo of America said. If bought separately, the system would cost $169.99 and the game $39.99, it said. Almost 6 million 3DS systems have been sold to date in the U.S. alone, it said.