Wal-Mart is the world’s biggest retailer, but online, it’s still a relative piker. Now the company is trying to change that by opening up its Web store to other retailers–just as its biggest competitors already do. But no need for Amazon and eBay to start sweating just yet.
Sony did indeed have a bit of news to announce at the New York Public Library: Its most direct challenge to Amazon’s Kindle to date. Like the Kindle, the “Daily” reader will feature a wireless connection–Sony will use AT&T, while Amazon uses Sprint. And unlike current versions of the Kindle, the Sony device will feature a touchscreen.
But it will come at a price: The device will retail in December for $399. That’s $100 more than the current price of Amazon’s Kindle 2. And that price point is almost certain to drop in coming months.
A year ago, Apple’s iTunes owned about 70 percent of the digital music market, and newcomer Amazon had just five percent. Today, Apple still has 70 percent, but Amazon has…eight percent. In other news: People are buying music from Microsoft’s Zune store!
Ready to toss dirt on the old, unloved CD? You’re going to have to wait a while. Compact discs are increasingly hard to find (at least in physical stores), but someone out there keeps buying them: The ancient format still makes up the majority of music sales in the U.S. And since album-length CDs are a whole lot more lucrative for the industry than iTunes singles, expect to see the industry cling to them as long it can get away with it.
Here’s the next step in the Associated Press’s attempt to adapt to the reality of the Web: It’s going to try to keep tabs on its stories, photos and videos via a “news registry that will tag and track all AP content online to assure compliance with terms of use.”
At first blush, the AP’s description of the program sounds a lot like an attempt to implement digital rights management–a lock-and-key system–for the news. But at least in this iteration, that’s not the case.
Figuring out Twitter’s business model may be complicated, but using the service isn’t: It’s fast, short and to the point. Unless you’re the world’s biggest retailer.
Videogame players are spending more time playing videogames than ever. But that won’t do the videogame business much good unless those players actually start buying new games again.
The Walkman is 30 years old today, but Sony isn’t throwing the iconic gadget much of a birthday party. More of a somber memorial, really. Blame Apple.
Next to no news from the Apple earnings call this afternoon, which is just the way Apple execs like their earnings calls. Once again, the company provided no information about CEO Steve Jobs’s health except to note that he is still scheduled to come back to work in June. And the company continued to pooh-pooh the concept of netbooks–supercheap, supersmall laptops with very little horsepower that are the hottest part of the PC business right now.
Common sense tells you that the CD is a vanishing artifact. Slightly more surprising: Music consumers–or at least, people who are willing to pay for music–are disappearing, too. So says the NPD Group, which estimates that 13 million Americans stopped buying music last year.
The people who run the Virgin Megastore chain have already announced plans to close their Times Square outpost, which is the highest-volume music store in the U.S. So news that they’re shuttering even more of their stores isn’t shocking. Just telling.
Are you one of those people who enjoys buying magazines at stores or newsstands? Then you might have a hard time grabbing a copy of Time, People or Sports Illustrated next month: The magazine industry’s biggest publisher is squaring off against the industry’s biggest distributors.
The most popular record store in the U.S. is about to call it quits. When will other retailers give up selling music, too?
Amazon’s data-free claim that it posted its “best ever” holiday season this month has gotten a deservedly skeptical reception. But here’s one vote in favor of Jeff Bezos’s e-commerce giant: A customer satisfaction poll that singles out just Amazon and Netflix for praise.
The iPhone’s long-rumored appearance at the world’s biggest retailer is about to become a reality: Wal-Mart will start selling Apple’s iconic handset starting Sunday, Dec. 28. One rumor that has yet to materialize, though: A cheap version of the phone priced at $99.
Peter Kafka has been covering media and technology since 1997, when he joined the staff of Forbes magazine. Most recently, he has been the managing editor of the tech and media Web site, Silicon Alley Insider. Read more »
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