| RIM announces Q4 2012 earnings, Jim Balsillie resigns from company's board Mar 29th 2012, 20:46 We've already seen a bit of big news slip out ahead of RIM's earnings announcement, and the company's now dropped another bombshell itself. Former co-CEO Jim Balsillie has resigned from his position on the company's board of directors. In a statement, Balsillie said simply: "As I complete my retirement from RIM, I'm grateful for this remarkable experience and for the opportunity to have worked with outstanding professionals who helped turn a Canadian idea into a global success." RIM also confirmed that CTO David Yach would be retiring as well, and that COO Jim Rowan as "decided to pursue other interests." As for the fourth quarter earnings, RIM is reporting revenue of $4.2 billion, down 19 percent from the third quarter, and a GAAP net loss of $125 million. Total BlackBerry shipments for the quarter dipped 21 percent to 11.1 million units, while PlayBook shipments totaled 500,000, which a new high water mark for the tablet. Developing...RIM announces Q4 2012 earnings, Jim Balsillie resigns from company's board originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Mar 2012 16:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink |  Marketwire | Email this | Comments | | Michael Lynton becomes CEO of Sony America, Nicole Seligman picked for SCA president Mar 29th 2012, 20:24  Plenty of moving and shaking going on after the bell today. Hot on the heels of news that RIM's CEO is making major internal changes, in flies word that Michael Lynton has been selected as the CEO of Sony Corp. America. He's coming over from Sony Pictures Entertainment, where he previously sat as the Chairman and CEO. Effective June 27th, Lynton will have a few new reports as well, and unsurprisingly, Sir Howard Stringer is more than encouraged by the move.
Stringer stated: "Lynton is an incredibly accomplished executive who has distinguished himself in at least three different fields -- entertainment, technology and publishing." In related news, Nicole Seligman has been appointed SCA President; we're told that Lynton will be overseeing Sony's entertainment businesses (including SME, Sony / ATV Music Publishing and SPE), while Seligman will have responsibility for Sony's U.S. headquarters operations. Hard to foresee what two relatively new names mean for the consumer side of Sony's business, but we'll be keeping a close eye on their first hundred days, for sure. The full release is after the break.
Continue reading Michael Lynton becomes CEO of Sony America, Nicole Seligman picked for SCA president Michael Lynton becomes CEO of Sony America, Nicole Seligman picked for SCA president originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Mar 2012 16:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink  CNET | | Email this | Comments | | RIM CEO Thorsten Heins reportedly 'clearing house,' laying off numerous executives Mar 29th 2012, 19:54 With BlackBerry World only weeks away and RIM's earnings report merely hours away, it looks as if newly-appointed CEO Thorsten Heins will be leading it with quite the bang. While Heins has done a truly exceptional job of laying low ( really low) during his first few months in the corner office, he's evidently been hard at work rearranging chairs... mentally, at least. According to The Globe and Mail's Iain Marlow, a trusted source has informed him that the BlackBerry maker's head honcho has begun "clearing house," with senior vice presidents and VP-level executives being informed of the imminent changes today. We're tracking down more on the story right now and will update this post as details flow. Update: The report is up in full, with an unnamed source explaining: "Lots of high level people within RIM were let go today. Quite a few. Big shake up." We're still awaiting official word, which is apt to be found buried deep within the eventual earnings release. RIM CEO Thorsten Heins reportedly 'clearing house,' laying off numerous executives originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Mar 2012 15:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Iain Marlow (Twitter), The Globe and Mail | Email this | Comments | | Sony A77 and A65 firmware update v1.05 peps up your laggy dials, improves autofocus Mar 29th 2012, 19:43 It's no secret that Sony's A77 and A65 SLT cameras have suffered from noticeable lag when it comes to adjusting exposure settings, among other things. For those irked, you'll be pleased to know that the company has just updated both cameras to firmware version 1.05, claiming it'll "sharpen their responses." Specifically, you'll be noticing faster cold startups, quicker response times from the front and rear dials and faster access to images in auto review. That's not all, however, as Sony has also added in-camera shading and chromatic aberration compenstation for 11 of its A-mount lenses, which can translate to less time cooking your images in post. Last, but not least, the A77 gets an extra bonus for its autofocus system that improves its abilities in high-contrast environments, while the SAL500F40G 500mm F4 G SSM super-telephoto lens will now focus faster with both shooters. Shutter finger already twitching? Don't delay, you'll find full details in press release after the break and download information at the source link below. Be sure to let us know how it treats you in the comments. Continue reading Sony A77 and A65 firmware update v1.05 peps up your laggy dials, improves autofocus Sony A77 and A65 firmware update v1.05 peps up your laggy dials, improves autofocus originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Mar 2012 15:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Sony Press Centre (EU) | Email this | Comments | | FreedomPop plans to give away mobile internet, still make money somehow Mar 29th 2012, 19:23 " Freemium" mobile broadband outfit FreedomPop has pulled back the curtain on how it plans to make money while giving away 4G internet. In an interview with GigaOm, Marketing VP Tony Miller revealed that once it has got enough consumers hooked on the gratis data, his company will start selling premium features, potentially including a VoIP solution for the network, now supplied by Clearwire after the collapse of LightSquared. The company will also charge a penny for every megabyte used over the free monthly allowance (currently pegged at 1GB) and build a social network where more data can be earned and traded between friends. Alongside the WiMAX shell for the iPhone, we can also expect to see an iPod Touch edition, USB dongle and mobile hotspot arrive before the network's launch. The company doesn't have too long to iron out the kinks in the business plan however, as it'll go live in the third quarter of 2012. FreedomPop plans to give away mobile internet, still make money somehow originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Mar 2012 15:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | GigaOm | Email this | Comments | | Hulu Plus comes to seven Android tabs with shiny new UI Mar 29th 2012, 19:04 First, lets get the short list out of the way. If you're not the proud owner of a Transformer Prime, Transformer, Xoom, XYBoard 10.1, Thrive, Iconia or G-Slate then chances are Hulu Plus coming to Honeycomb and ICS slates doesn't do you much good. (Hopefully Hulu will get the app ready for Samsung's bottomless well of tablets soon.) Then again, maybe this is one more reason to consider picking up the Google-powered devices. The newly tablet-friendly app comes with an appropriate redesign, including large tiles and show pages packed with info and options. Content is organized into individually scrollable horizontal "trays" that make navigating clips and shows simple, without a lot of jumping back and forth between separate menus and pages. There's even long press shortcuts -- simply tap and hold on a show's icon and the next episode will automatically play. To see it in action check out the quick video after the break, then head over to the Google Play store to download it yourself. Continue reading Hulu Plus comes to seven Android tabs with shiny new UI Hulu Plus comes to seven Android tabs with shiny new UI originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Mar 2012 15:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Hulu | Email this | Comments | |
