director of industry analysis

Nintendo's Wii gaming console is still blasting its competition, with sales reaching record levels during the 2009 holiday season, but the popular, motion-sensing system is losing ground to Sony's PlayStation and Microsoft's Xbox.

The Kyoto, Japan-based company saw revenues drop 9.4 percent and earnings drop 23 percent in the three-quarter period ending in December 2009, compared to last year, according to figures released Thursday.

In the fiscal year ending in March, the company anticipates a drop in profits from $6.1 billion last year to $4.1 billion.

There may be plenty of media buzz about Apple's expected tablet launch next week, but only a small number of people surveyed in advance are likely to buy one. A poll of 3,314 consumers released this week by ChangeWave Research found that four percent said they are likely to buy the Apple tablet, while 14 percent were somewhat likely. That's not bad considering no one outside Apple's Cupertino, Calif., headquarters has actually seen the device.

Network-attached storage, or NAS, may be one of the best-kept secrets in personal technology.

"It is one of the fastest-growing categories of data storage, but most consumers still haven't heard of NAS," said Seema Lindskog, director of product marketing at Western Digital, a hard-drive manufacturer that also sells NAS products. "Most people are still using external hard drives for backup."

More customers chose to point and click rather than park and swipe this Christmas season, with a five percent increase in online shopping over the same period last year, a study by the Internet marketing firm comScore says. By comparison, in-store retail shopping grew only 3.6 percent, according to credit-card spending tracked by Mastercard Advisor's' Spending Pulse.

"Overall this year, we have seen increasing stability in spending, as opposed to the free fall of 2008," noted Michael McNamara, vice president of research and analysis for SpendingPulse.

Though it's only been available for a few weeks, Verizon Wireless already has released an update package for the Motorola Droid, an Android-based smartphone. A Verizon spokesperson said the update started Monday and will continue for about a week.

Verizon's web site says the update offers 14 improvements or corrections, including stabilization of the operating system, three-way calling enhancements, improved camera autofocus, longer battery life, and better audio.

Tinkering Needed

If you shelled out hundreds of dollars for a new GPS navigation device a couple of years ago, it may drive you crazy to see what they're selling for on Black Friday. In response to changes in the market, portable navigation devices (PNDs) will go for as little as $59 for a TomTom at Wal-Mart and $99 for a Garmin at Best Buy. Radio Shack lists the Mio M400 for $79.99. Those are bound to be hot tickets when stores open Friday.

The ongoing holiday selling season -- both online and in the malls -- will enter the home stretch with the celebration of Thanksgiving, and eBay wants to be ready.

On Tuesday, the company announced the Deals app for the iPhone and iPod touch. Deals is designed, eBay says, to make it easier to find the best offers from amid the millions of listings on the site. The free app can be downloaded from iTunes.

Comcast's new TV Everywhere is launching next month. That's the word from Comcast Interactive Media President Amy Banse, who described some of the details of the anticipated service in an interview this week at the NewTeeVee Live 09 event in San Francisco.

The new service, now in a trial phase in 5,000 homes, will allow Comcast subscribers to watch favorite shows over the web with no additional charges.

On-Demand Online

The focus of smartphone development is moving, at least to some extent, from the hardware to software and applications. The 2009 BlackBerry Developer Conference, which is being held Nov. 9-12 in San Francisco, is centered on ensuring that the applications for the BlackBerry are as useful and flexible as those for Apple's iPhone, Palm's Pre, the Droid from Motorola, and other smartphone platforms that are competing for market share.

There's a new Android device on the market. On Tuesday, the French company ARCHOS announced the ARCHOS 5 Internet Tablet, based on Google's open-source Android mobile operating system.

The ARCHOS 5 features 720p high-definition viewing, TV recording, and built-in GPS with 3-D navigation in addition to Net browsing. It has a five-inch 800x480 touchscreen, and the company emphasized that it has a full-fledged browser and integrated applications. Connectivity is Wi-Fi, or 3.5G from a mobile phone connected through Bluetooth.

Android a 'Major Differentiator'