Already Mobile, Porn Industry Goes Live And Interactive

Regardless of your feelings about the porn industry, you can’t deny it’s technological prowess. Long before the rest of the corporate world has figured out how best to adopt the latest tech trend, porn companies have dissected it and found a way to make money from it.

As companies at the industry’s annual expo in Las Vegas promote the latest in wireless technology this week at the Consumer Electronics Show, porn companies are already well established in the space—and planning for the future.

Read more at CNBC.com

Microsoft Kinect sales blast past predictions

Kinect, Microsoft’s recently launched motion capture device for the Xbox 360, has lived up to its reputation as one of the holiday’s must-have gifts.

The software giant says there were 8 million Kinects sold through the end of the year. That’s far beyond the company’s 5 million estimate (which was raised from an initial estimate of 3 million right before the system’s launch).

Read more at Daily Variety

 

CES: Panasonic to launch its own tablet

Panasonic is opening an app store – and launching a tablet.

The company announced plans Wednesday to transform its VieraCast service, which embedded a limited number of apps on select HDTVs, into Viera Connect – a market that will welcome apps from a larger pool of developers.

Read more at Daily Variety

CES: Intel unveils new processor chip

Intel is courting entertainment content makers with its new processor chip.

Big Blue formally unveiled its second-generation Core processor – code named Sandy Bridge – at CES Wednesday, focusing the spotlight on the chip’s video processing capabilities and security enhancements for studios.

Read more at Daily Variety

CES 2011: Panasonic press conference recap

Panasonic is opening an app store – and launching a tablet.

The company announced plans Wednesday to transform its VieraCast service, which embedded a limited number of apps on select HDTVs, into Viera Connect – a market that will welcome apps from a larger pool of developers.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

CES 2011: Panasonic TVs get a streaming game service

Panasonic is getting its game on. The electronics giant has struck a deal with Oberon Media to carry that company’s I-play TV in all 2011 Vierra Connect HDTVs.

It’s a big opportunity for the casual gaming service, which is also announcing today that it has locked up the Smart TV rights to “Tetris”. New Internet-enabled sets from one of the industry’s leading manufacturers will now feature its top franchises, which also include “Dream Day Wedding” and “Bubble Town” – along with casual standards such as “Solitaire” and “Texas Hold’em”.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

OnLive, Vizio strike deal to stream vidgames

Streaming movies directly to Internet-enabled TV sets has already become familiar, but manufacturers are about to begin adding top-tier videogames to their bag of tricks — which could prove to be a fundamental shift in the vidgame industry.

OnLive, a cloud-based game streaming service that has been making headlines for the past few months, announced Tuesday that it has struck a deal with Vizio that would put the service on all 2011 model HD TVs and Blu-ray players as well as forthcoming smart phones and tablets from the company.

Read more at Daily Variety

New fronts in tablet war

In just eight months, Apple has managed to create one of the computer world’s fastest-growing and most lucrative sub markets. And the competitors are getting tired of Steve Jobs and Co. hogging the spotlight.

Launched in April 2010, the iPad has quickly come to define tablet computing. Consumers have snatched it up, with 2010 sales expected to total between 15 million and 19.5 million units. With prices ranging from $499 to $829, the iPad is a huge breadwinner for the company; Apple can’t keep up with demand.

Read more at Daily Variety

Handy guide to tablet warriors

Apple might have a tight grip on the tablet market today, but at CES, the competition will come at it with both guns blazing. Here’s a look at what you can expect:

The Android tablets – Google’s mobile operating system is the de facto choice for companies going up against Apple. The problem is it’s optimized for phones, not tablets. At CES, there will be a lot of talk about devices using Honeycomb, a new version of the OS designed for tablets. Asus, Acer, Samsung, Toshiba and others are expected to have new tablet offerings revolving around Honeycomb, which should hit the street sometime in the second quarter.

Read more at Daily Variety

CES 2011 Preview: Wednesday’s things to watch

It’s press conference day here at CES. That means the news floodgates are about to open big time.

Pretty much every major consumer electronics manufacturer attending the show has their moment in the spotlight Wedensday, with some 15 press conferences scheduled – including the evening’s keynote by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog