consumer electronics

Japanese electronics giant Sony has been busy developing new handheld devices in an effort to better compete in the mobile market. Under way is a suite of new devices, including a PlayStation game-playing phone.

For decades Sony has kept its focus on consumer electronics. When the company wanted to compete in the mobile-phone market, it formed a joint venture with Ericsson. Now Sony is expanding its presence in the smartphone and portable-device market.

Adobe Systems will make its AIR platform and new Flash player available to mobile devices. The company previewed the new AIR version at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

Apple is in talks with the McGraw-Hill Companies and Hachette Book Group to include educational and trade titles on its planned tablet computer, according to people familiar with the negotiations.

McGraw-Hill Education, the third largest educational publisher in the U.S. by sales, is discussing getting electronic textbooks and parts of its online learning system onto the tablet, say two people. Apple has also held talks with trade book publisher Hachette Book Group about distributing e-books on the tablet, says one person involved in the discussions.

In the latest in the Nexus One saga, Google and T-Mobile have made changes to the pricing policy for the controversial device. The companies are lowering the price of the Nexus One by $100 for some existing customers.

The new pricing paradigm means T-Mobile subscribers who are eligible can get the Nexus One for $279 instead of $379. Google has pledged to give refunds to T-Mobile customers who paid the higher price, though it is not clear whether that refund will come in the form of a T-Mobile billing credit or a gift card.

Whatever might be said of its methods and accuracy, there is little question that the Greenpeace "Guide to Greener Electronics" has become an important fixture on the consumer electronics scene.

In August 2006, Greenpeace took its first stab at ranking the green bona fides of 14 makers of consumer electronics. In a nutshell, the appraisals hinged on the elimination of certain hazardous chemicals and a willingness to take responsibility for products across their life cycles, through take-back programs, recycling and other efforts.

Qualcomm was the chipmaker of choice for some of the highest-profile tech gadgets unveiled the week of the Consumer Electronics Show -- in Las Vegas and elsewhere. Not only do Qualcomm chips run the Google Nexus One smartphone introduced in Mountain View, Calif., on Jan. 5, but they're also under the hood of computers shown off at CES by Hewlett-Packard. HP and Lenovo are working on smartbooks, scaled-down personal computers, based on Qualcomm's Snapdragon processor.

The Consumer Electronics Association ended the decade on a happy note with an overall increase in numbers at this year's International Consumer Electronics Show. Having faced a tough economy with decreased sales, more competition, and upset shareholders, technology companies were eager to show the world what they have been working on.

More than 2,500 tech companies unveiled more than 20,000 new products at CES. While the show saw repeat vendors, a record 330 new exhibitors came to display innovations, including wrist PCs, 3-D TVs and new services.

For consumers concerned about wireless network congestion, hope may be at hand. That's the message from a group of tech companies backing wireless fidelity, or Wi-Fi, a way to get online without having to go through a traditional mobile-phone network.

The Wi-Fi Alliance, an industry group that includes Intel, Marvell Technology Group, and dozens of other electronics companies, was at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to tout a new technology called Wi-Fi Direct as a way to relieve bottlenecks in wireless networks caused by increased use of mobile devices to access the Internet.

Under the theme of Web Meets Phone, Google on Tuesday launched its long-awaited direct entry into the smartphone market with its Nexus One, a challenge to the many devices using its Android mobile platform. Taking advantage of one of the world's most popular web addresses, Google began selling the Nexus One with a dedicated page offering 3-D tours, specs and the ability to order the phone and track the order.

For those looking for some non-Apple or non-Google news from this week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, there's more than enough going on is this tech-heavy week. On Sunday, Samsung unveiled its hybrid, mirror-free NX-10 camera, packed with new features, that will compete with midrange Micro Four Thirds cameras.