Apple now represents about a fifth of all technology sales in the US, new NPD data showed Monday. By the end of 2011, 19 percent of revenue in the US was related to an Apple product. The company was now the top company selling technology in the US, topping HP, Samsung, Sony, and Dell even when the others could include their sales from all categories.
Eolas' attempt to patent the "interactive web" may have been dealt a permanent blow after a jury in the normally patent lawsuit-friendly town of Tyler, Texas ruled that the patent was invalid. The decision negated both any attempts at claiming damages and also negated three future trials. The rejection came in part after testimony from the spiritual creator of the web, Tim Berners-Lee, as well as individual creators whose work predated that of Eolas owner Michael Doyle.
Motorola has started up a return program after a minor but still significant privacy gaffe during a Woot auction. About 100 of 6,200 refurbished Xoom Wi-Fi tablets sold during auctions between October and December are believed to have still had some private data stored inside. These could have included anything from account logins through to personal files, Motorola said.
Best Buy raised questions on Thanksgiving weekend after it suddenly started cancelling Blackberry PlayBook orders. Shoppers have frequently reported orders being dropped, even if the order had already been charged and was virtually ready. Those on Best Buy's forums have mentioned the retailer being "overextended," while our own checks had one store say that "all" orders had been cancelled.
Staples has partnered with the reselling service Gazelle to offer its customers trade-ins for their electronics. The Staples Tech Trade-In program targets home users and small-businesses, and offers them gift cards for their used electronics. The cards are redeemable at any Staples store, but not online.
A recent rush of BlackBerry PlayBook price cuts has spread to the US in earnest. Both Office Depot and Staples are selling RIM's tablet with a $100 immediate discount on every model as well as either a $100 gift card (at Office Depot) or a matching rebate (at Staples). The drop puts them at the same
RIM's promises of cutting BlackBerry PlayBook prices to clear the slow-selling tablet have borne out as Canadian stores have started slashing prices. Best Buy and its sibling Future Shop, as well as Staples, have all dropped the price by $200 across the board to $300. The first two chains supply a gift card to get to the $300 price if bought in store, but all three give an immediate discount if the tablet is bought online.
This weekend only, HP is offering an instant rebate of $100 on both models of the HP TouchPad tablet at both the HP website and Staples stores. In addition, WebOS Roundup has learned that Staples will combine the rebate from HP with an additional $100 off coupon available from Fatwallet.
[Updated with Staples ad] A source has obtained a special offer for the HP Touchpad that will be good this weekend only. According to the leak, during August 5-7 the 16GB version of the TouchPad will be offered for $100 off at the HP website. Staples will reportedly make a similar offer during that same time period, discounting $100 from either TouchPad model.
HP on Monday ramped up pre-orders for the TouchPad. The first ever webOS tablet is up for sale at Amazon, Best Buy, Newegg, Staples, HP itself. Every store is so far selling at the official $500 price for a 16GB model and $600 for 32GB.
An insider at a "major big box retailer" asserted Friday that sales of the BlackBerry PlayBook had been perilously low. The unnamed but reportedly reliable source claimed to BGR that RIM's tablet had missed the store chain's sales targets by over 90 percent. Dissatisfaction was also supposedly very high, he said, with returns at a "much higher rate" than the Motorola Xoom, whose own return rate was higher than average at seven percent.
Engadget has been tipped off that a faulty batch of 935 of RIM’s Blackberry PlayBooks has been recalled from all Staples stores. No further details have been provided as to what has prompted the recall, but it appears that it is only the 16GB model that is affected. Also unclear at this stage, is whether the it is only the batch that has been shipped to Staples that is faulty, or whether the issue affects all 16GB models.
RIM's expectations for the BlackBerry PlayBook were half-met on Wednesday with some sales but little of the fanfare hoped for with the launch. One anecdote in Toronto, an hour and a half from RIM's Waterloo headquarters, illustrated some sales but little buzz. A flagship Future Shop in the heart of the city had a significant number of pre-orders but over-prepared for the launch, opening early and hiring a catering company when just two people showed up by doors open.
At least one buyer has received the Wi-Fi version of the Motorola Xoom early courtesy of a slip-up by Staples. Using the phone ordering system to get around the website's official March 27 date, one Droid-Life reader managed to get the cheaper Android 3.0 tablet on Friday, two days ahead of its street date. As explained to Electronista at CTIA and proven here, it's cosmetically identical to the Verizon 3G edition with a matte, rubberized black finish.
A leaked schedule sent in to Engadget from retailer Staples has revealed release dates for two upcoming tablets. Namely, Acer's Iconia Tab, likely to be the same one due at AT&T, though probably without the 4G radio and in Wi-Fi-only flavor, is due at the end of April at Staples. The other is an unnamed 10.1-inch device from Toshiba, and it is said to arrive at Staples in mid-June.
An image of a calendar sent out to Canadian Staples stores and posted on Wednesday by CrackBerry has virtually confirmed the BlackBerry Playbook should be on sale on or before April 15. The calendar entry for that day shows a sales challenge that puts up stores from the district on a competition to see who sells the most PlayBooks that day. The challenge will be repeated on April 22.
Motorola on Wednesday at last confirmed plans to launch the Xoom in a Wi-Fi version for the US. True to leaks, the non-3G tablet will ship to the US through Amazon, Best Buy, Costco, Radio Shack, some Sam's Club stores, Staples and Walmart on March 27. Pricing will be dramatically lower and put it at $599 for a 32GB version.
Two hints have emerged that the Motorola Xoom might become more competitive soon. A leaked Staples flyer has the Wi-Fi version of the Xoom reaching stores on March 27. Droid-Life's copy also showed a $600 price, giving it a price on par with a 32GB iPad 2 but higher than the rumored Sam's Club price of $539.
(Update: April 10 evidence) More signs have emerged of RIM's timing for the BlackBerry PlayBook through leaks of Staples' ad plans. It should start sending out newspaper ads April 17, confirming that the tablet should be out no later than then. One insider on the CrackBerry forums understood the in-store advertising would start on March 22 or 23 and established the earliest possible opportunity for a launch.
(Update: leaked docs confirm it) Motorola's promised but still immaterial Wi-Fi-only Xoom may have finally received a release date through a rumor on Monday morning. The stripped down version of the recently reviewed tablet is believed to be surfacing in Staples' circulars for the week of April 3, suggesting a release in the first full week of next month. The Droid-Life contacts didn't know the price but were being given online training to help sell the Android 3.0 machine.
A leaked document courtesy of CrackBerry reveals that retailer Staples will carry RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. The move would be in line with the company's attempts to bring its products to a more varied choice of non-traditional retailers. The leak reveals Staples employees will receive training on the device starting in March, which also indicates a release date may be in March or soon after.
Interval Licensing took a second shot at its dismissed lawsuit with an updated filing. The Paul Allen-owned company's new complaint still accuses Apple, Facebook, Google, Netflix and others of infringing on e-commerce patents but now includes specific, claimed examples of how the companies allegedly copied Interval's technology. In Apple's case, Interval cited the iTunes Store's album purchasing view (pictured) as a primary example.
Judge Marsha Pechman on Friday dismissed Interval Licensing's patent lawsuit against major online providers. The official tossed the complaint for being too "spartan," as it didn't identify what devices or services actually infringed the patents with "any specificity." The case, filed in a Western District of Washington court, accused Apple, AOL, eBay, Facebook, Google's YouTube, Netflix, Office Depot, Staples and Yahoo of copying technology Interval owned patents for Internet commerce.
Staples announced on Thursday it will begin carrying the Amazon Kindle range, with the latest Kindle e-book reader kicking off sales this Sunday, October 10. The Kindle and Kindle 3G will be offered at Amazon's usual $139 and $189, respectively, with the larger, 9.7-inch Kindle DX arriving in mid-November for $379. Accessories will be sold alongside the devices as well.
Amazon landed a major retail deal today that will let it sell the third-generation Kindle at Best Buy stores sometime in the fall. Both the Wi-Fi only and 3G versions will arrive at the same $139 and $189 prices as on Amazon's own pages. The costlier and larger DX isn't part of the plans.
Staples today said it would be the second US retailer to sell the third-generation Kindle. The office store will carry both the six-inch Wi-Fi and 3G versions of the Kindle as well as the Kindle DX. It plans to both stock the hardware and give users a chance to try the e-readers in the store.
Interval Licensing today hoped to profit off the back of technology and retail companies today as it sued several top firms. for alleged patent infringement. It claimed that AOL, Apple, eBay, Facebook, Google, Netflix, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Staples, Yahoo and YouTube specifically for purportedly infringing on four patents for "fundamental" web technology used for online commerce and search. The patents touch on a form of browsing as well as means of generating attention through design or through a notification system.
Bloom Energy today held the formal launch of its first technology, the Energy Server. A new approach to energy, it uses stacks of solid oxide fuel cells to convert air and most any other fuel source, including things as dirty as fossil fuels or as clean as biogas, into usable electricity. The process almost always produces less CO2 than traditional methods and, unlike solar power or similar methods, can run 24 hours a day without dependence on light or wind.
Apple ranked a solid fifth amongst US electronics retailers during 2009, figures from the NPD Group show. Judging by physical store revenue, Apple found itself behind Best Buy, Walmart, Staples and Target. The company was also fifth in terms of online-only numbers, dominated by Dell, Amazon, Best Buy and HP. This marks a slight slide from 2008, when Apple placed fourth in online sales.
Traffic at Apple's online store rose 71 percent on Cyber Monday 2009 versus the same day in 2008, according to data collected by Experian Hitwise. Although Apple remains outside of the top 20 websites, the growth is nevertheless thought to be significant, as traffic amongst the top 500 sites declined 9 percent overall. The biggest gain within the top 20 was Staples, which jumped 61 percent.
Dell today sent word that it will drop its longtime Direct Store practice. All of the Texas PC maker's 140 try-before-buying kiosks currently operating in the US will be shut down; the points of sale are less useful now that the company's computers are already available at Best Buy, Wal-Mart, and a handful of other locations, Dell claims. The shift will also help Dell return some of its focus to the direct sales model that formed the backbone of the company's business for most of its existence.
