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Tech: Nokia is hoping that the launch of the Apple iPhone will be a boost to all smartphone manufacturers, and not just Apple. That’s what Nokia chief Rick Simonson said (…). He added that the iPhone could raise the profile of smartphones and boost the market as a whole.”The American consumer hasn’t had a lot of choice to go out and purchase these kind of higher-end, feature-rich multimedia devices. If [the iPhone] can help that market grow, I think that gives us an opportunity,” Simonson said at the Reuters Global Technology, Media and Telecoms Summit.

“Don’t get me wrong, they will bring some things to the table that we have to be responsive to, but we have been investing in this area or some time,” Simonson said. “We are leading in multimedia convergence.” (…)

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T3: Is that a Motorola in your pocket? If so, you’re in for a surprise. The mobile giant has just hooked up with European satnav types ViaMichelin, giving mobile users the chance to access mapping content on their cells.

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AV zombie: A survey of UK consumer electronic store staff reveals that most believe that HD DVD and not Blu-ray will win the next generation disc format war.

A survey conducted by technology field marketing agency Gekko of 425 shop staff from Currys.digital, Comet and John Lewis were asked by to name the format they thought would win out.

A massive sixty per cent voted HD-DVD, leaving 38 per cent backing Blu-ray. 2 per cent were undecided. HD-DVD pricing (21 per cent) and availability (16 per cent) were seen as key factors for potential buyers.

The news will doubtless come as a surprise to Walt Disney Company president and CEO Bob Iger who recently told US reporters that outside of the US, there isn’t even a HD format war happening.

“If you look across the globe, the only place there is really a format war is in the United States,” he proclaimed. “In other markets where next-gen DVD is starting to penetrate, Blu-ray is winning, and substantially – so much so there isn’t even a perceived format war.”

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DigiTimes: Samsung revealed it has suspended sales of several of its LCD TVs and PDP (plasma display panel) TVs because of defective digital tuners and will help solve issues with those already sold to customers, according to the Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN).

Affected LCD TV models include the LA40M81, LA46M81, LA32R81 AND LA40R81 (sizes from 32, 40 to 46 inches) while PDP TV models include the PS42Q91 and PS50Q91 (42 and 50 inches), EDN said.

Samsung has notified retailers to stop selling the goods and have set up special services for consumers having purchased the models, the paper indicated.

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Engadget: In yet another case of a British individual nearly losing their life thanks to a complete and utter lack of common sense, a 20-year old Birmingham lass was following GPS directions, only to have her vehicle destroyed by a speeding train while she watched.

Oddly enough, the dame followed the route onto an “unmarked” (?) railroad crossing, but rather than actually contemplating the situation, she proceeded to lift the nearest gate, drive her vehicle squarely onto the tracks, and then went to lift the far gate in order to cross
what she reportedly thought was “a normal farmers’ gate.”

In the meantime, a train made its way in her direction, and while she admitted that she considered getting back into the vehicle in an attempt to move it, thankfully she didn’t follow through on any more unbelievably bad decisions.

Needless to say, the car was trashed along with the GPS, but perhaps the most comical part is the fact that the lady has vowed to never use a navigation system again in protest for it nearly killing her. Naughty GPS.

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France24: After launching “the world’s best flat screen TV’s” just last week, Pioneer said yesterday that it trimmed its net losses last year and returned to the balck with an operating profit as it went through a restructuring.

The company also forecast a net profit in the current financial year as it cashed in on sales of plasma televisions, DVD drives and, in emerging economies, of car stereos.
  
“Declines in the prices of plasma TVs occurred at a faster-than-expected pace, which forced us to write down the impaired value of our plasma TV production facilities,” executive officer Hajime Ishizuka said, explaining the year to March 2007 losses.
  
“But with the release of new models with cutting-edge technology, we hope to see a three percent rise in the average shipment price of our plasma TVs in the current fiscal year (to March 2008),” he told a press conference.
  
Pioneer said it suffered net losses of 6.76 billion yen (56.26 million dollars) in the 12 months to March, narrower than the 84.99 billion yen loss the previous year.
  
Operating income went into positive territory at 12.49 billion yen, compared with 16.41 billion yen loss a year earlier, on revenue up 5.6 percent to 797 billion yen, the company reported.
  
Pioneer’s problems arose in 2004 when it bought the plasma display panel-making operations of NEC Corp for 40 billion dollars, hoping to become the world leader.
  
But because NEC supplied its products to Sony Corp, which later stopped making PDP TVs, the purchase meant Pioneer was saddled with overcapacity and declining prices.
  
Pioneer said its revenue increased thanks to sales of its plasma displays, car navigation systems and DVD drives overseas and domestically.
  
It said it expects a net profit of 12.5 billion yen in the current year, with sales up 4.8 percent to 835 billion yen thanks to expansion in overseas markets, including car electronics sales in Latin America and Russia.
  
Operating profit is also expected to rise 20.1 percent to 15 billion yen, Pioneer said.

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AV zombie: Bill Gates, speaking at Microsoft’s Strategic Account Summit in Seattle, claimed that IPTV technology will make traditional TV broadcasting obsolete, and predicted that it was only a matter of time before the TV advertising industry goes “completely online.”

The Microsoft Chairman argues that the advertising industry will be unable to resist the lure of IPTV, because it will allow them to tailor advertising to specific viewers.

Joost, the high-quality IPTV service currently in Beta testing, has secured 45 million dollars in funding from CBS and Viacom. The level of interest in the service is attracting the attention of the big studios. Warner is the latest to pledge programming. It will begin netcasting on two ad-supported channels later this year.

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Nintendowiifanboy: Just hours after we heard that Wii kills marriages, we see evidence of the opposite: play Wii for a stronger marriage! Guess the difference is that the couple that Wiis together, stays together, amirite? A reader sent this into fellow Nintendo obsessives GoNintendo, and we couldn’t resist sharing it with you guys.

The Wii certainly does seem to be something that a couple can share, even if both parties weren’t big gamers prior to the console’s debut. We have seen a lot of fellows with bruised egos, however, complaining that their non-gaming ladies beat the pants off them in one game or another. We thought you guys liked that sort of thing, and now we even have photographic evidence that it brings us closer together. So suck it up, fellas! Anyone want a round of Wii Sports?

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APC: Most tech enthusiasts have wondered why web browsers on mobile phones suck so much. Mozilla Foundation CEO Mitchell Baker has been thinking about it too, and looking at how Firefox can be ported to mobile platforms.

Mitchell Baker: Yes it is a long‑term move though — it is not in the next weeks or months. The Mozilla Foundation’s mission in life is to improve Internet experience and that is increasingly on devices other than PCs. If we’re not there then we won’t be able to live the kind of vision that we helped grow. (…)

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DigiTimes: Japan-based Funai Electric recently said it is exiting the PDP (plasma display panel) TV market due to sharply-falling prices and rising competition from vendors such as Panasonic, according to the Japanese- language newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun.

Funai offers 42-inch PDP TVs in North America with panels sourcing from LG Electronics (LGE). The TVs are manufactured in Malaysia, the paper quoted sources as saying. Sales volume from its PDP TVs in North America were no more than 100,000 units in 2006, the paper noted.

In the future, the Japan-based company will focus on LCD TV business, added the paper.

During a recent announcement of its fiscal year of 2006 (the year ended March 2007) performance in May, Funai updated its LCD TV business strategy and highlighted the company is scheduling to launch a 42-inch full high-definition (HD) LCD TV in the US in mid-2007. The company will also have a full line up of LCD TVs, from 15- to 37-inch models with a DVD player, noted Funai.

The Japan-based player is also planning to seeking for more LCD TV OEM orders, stated the company. In addition to OEM business, Funai also has brand names of Sylvania, Symphonic, Funai and Emerson.

Meanwhile, Funai announced that its new LCD TV plant in Poland will commence operation next month with monthly capacity of 200,000 units. The new plant should help the company to shorten lead time, reduce the inventory level of finished goods and lower tariff, said the Japan-based company.

Funai shipped about 600,000 LCD TVs in fiscal year 2005, sources said, adding that Funai is aiming for LCD TV shipments of 1.8 million units worldwide in fiscal year 2006.

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Smarthouse News: iPod users are turning to classical music in droves with some analysts saying that the next big thing could be the return of quality two channel Hi Fi.

The iPod generation is becoming hooked on classical music with new figures in the UK revealing a huge surge in youngsters listening to radio station Classic FM.

Driven by the success of film scores for blockbuster movies like Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter and determined efforts to sex-up the classical music industry, a section of Britain’s youth appears to be tuning in to Mozart.

The surprising figures revealed in the latest set of radio results show half a million under 15s are now tuning in to Classic FM each week, overturning the conceived wisdom that classical music is something people predominantly turn to in older age.

Classic FM, which recently won the top award at Britain’s radio oscars the Sony Radio Academy Awards last week, saw a massive 52 percent increase in the number of under 15 listeners on the previous quarter.

According to Nielsen SoundScan worldwide sales of classical music in 2006 was whopping 22.5 percent over 2005 however some purists are upset by the inclusion of such music as Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban (Josh Groban?!) and Il Divo, all of whom they say don’t really belong in a a classical music category.

Hip-hop was down (-20.7%), R&B was down (-18.4%), alternative was down (-9.2%), jazz was down (-8.3%)—soundtracks were up (+19%). 

Classical racked up 19.4 million records sold, which had many media outlets crowing that classical is hot again. Really? Let’s put that in perspective: Total record sales for 2006 were 588.2 million—and 2006 was considered a dead year.

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Mobileage: Nokia has come up with a plan to help out the environment by saving some energy when your not charging your mobile phone.

According to Kirsi Sormunen, Vice-President of Environmental Affairs at Nokia, “Around two-thirds of the energy used by a mobile phone is lost when it is unplugged after charging but the charger itself is left in a live socket. We want to reduce this waste and are working on reducing to an absolute minimum the amount of energy our chargers use. The new alerts also play an important role, encouraging people to help us in this goal by unplugging their chargers.”

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