By Ian Sherr

Carmakers are taking apps for a spin.

Automakers from General Motors Co. to Hyundai Motor Co. are using the Consumer Electronics Show to announce plans that will transform dashboards into mini-computers running Internet-connected programs.

For example, Ford Motor Co. debuted an app that will allow owners of its new Focus electric car to schedule charging times from a smartphone. Toyota Motor Co. unveiled a program that lets motorists make reservations via booking site OpenTable.com.

The auto industry’s embrace of apps comes as carmakers look for new ways to differentiate their vehicles from the competition’s. “Internet-connected autos will be among the fastest-growing segments in four years,” said Gartner Inc. analyst Thilo Koslowski.

To read the rest of the story, either contact me directly or read more online at the WSJ: here. (subscription required)

(Originally published January 8, 2011 in the Wall Street Journal.)

By Ian Sherr

Three-dimensional televisions are getting another “D” — discount.

Just a year ago, many 3-D TVs cost $1,000 more than regular sets. But during the recently ended holiday season, the gap halved and is set to shrink further.

Now, television makers, many of which had hoped 3-D would boost sales, are sandwiching the technology into their premium televisions while accepting a smaller premium for it. Like thinner displays, energy efficiency and high-definition, 3-D is becoming a “me-too” feature.

“Prices for 3-D TVs will definitely go down this year,” Skott Ahn, chief technology officer and president of LG Electronics Inc., said at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Mr. Ahn said LG would cut the premium it charges for 3-D TVs by 20% this year and build the technology into all of its new models by 2012.

The muted expectations for 3-D television mark a U-turn from last year’s enthusiastic embrace of the technology. Television makers rushed to bring the third dimension into living rooms after witnessing the success of the movie “Avatar.” Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN unit launched sports broadcasts in 3-D. Even Gucci Group N.V. designed stylish eyeglasses for 3-D viewers, hoping to cash in on the expected popularity of the televisions.

To read the rest of the story, either contact me directly or read more online at the WSJ: here. (subscription required)

(Originally published January 6, 2011, at Dow Jones Newswires and on WSJ.com.)

By Ian Sherr

The technology behind hit videogames such as “Batman: Arkham Asylum” and “Gears of War 3″ is coming to iPhone and iPad game developers this week, in another sign that mobile gaming is booming on Apple’s platforms.

Epic Games is planning to release an updated version of its game-development tools, known as the Unreal Development Kit, to the public Thursday. The kit, which is free to download, will include new tools to create high-quality graphics and animations on iOS, effectively simplifying and speeding up the development processes for games. Epic doesn’t charge license fees to tinker with the kit nor to make free games. But, if developers want to sell their apps, they have to pay a $99 licensing fee and 25% royalties after the first $5,000 in sales.

“Apple’s App Store is the most vibrant market for mobile gaming,” said Epic co-founder Mark Rein. “If you’re going to make a game for a mobile device, and you want to make the most money, you’re nuts not to make it for iOS.”

Over the past few years, Apple has added technologies to improve the visual capabilities of the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. It also has marketed games heavily in both advertising campaigns and in its stores. The Cupertino, Calif.-based electronics maker also hired prominent videogame maker Graeme Devine last year to help manage relationships with top game makers, such as Epic. Devine recently left Apple to create his own games for the company’s mobile devices.

Apple has sold more than 125 million devices using its iOS operating system, strongly competing against the Nintendo DS, which has shipped roughly 135 million units, and the PlayStation Portable, which has sold more than 62 million units.

The results of building on the Apple platform have been good so far for Epic, too.

The company recently released “Infinity Blade,” a fighting game that Mr. Rein said could help usher more games with high-end graphics to iOS. Industry pundits have already pegged Infinity Blade’s sales at more than $1.5 million in its first four days on the market. Apple’s Game Center social network lists more than 300,000 users playing the game at $5.99 a pop.

So, what about Google’s Android operating system?

Mr. Rein said he largely agrees with id Software’s John Carmack, who recently outlined his concerns about the Android platform in an interview with Ars Technica. Among them: the wide variety of Android phones available on the market makes writing applications that can work across the board challenging, and Google’s Android Marketplace doesn’t allow for applications above a certain file size, a definite problem for both Infinity Blade and id Software’s “RAGE,” which are rather large downloads.

But, Mr. Rein said, he expects Google will come up with solutions to those problems over time.

(Originally published December 14, 2010, in the Wall Street Journal Digits Blog, here.)

By Ian Sherr

The holiday shopping season, which starts online Cyber Monday, promises to be very good for Apple Inc.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based consumer electronics giant will likely take advantage of the gift-giving season to flex its muscles, grabbing market share for its popular iPod, iPhone and iPad products.

In particular, analysts say Apple will lock down its dominance of the touchscreen computer market, moving more of its iPad tablet devices through retail partners, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Target Corp. and Verizon Wireless. A recent survey by ChangeWave Research found that 9% of holiday shoppers plan to buy an iPad in the next 90 days. Apple has sold more than seven million iPads since the device went on sale in April.

Of course, Apple won’t be the only beneficiary of the season’s spirit. Smartphones are expected to do well as more utilities and productivity apps become available for phones running Google Inc.’s Android operating system, as well as Research In Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerry and Hewlett-Packard Co.’s Palm products. That software, known as apps, gives people a reason—other than making calls—to use their phones.

To read the rest of the story, either contact me directly or read more online at the WSJ: here. (subscription required)

(Originally published Nov. 29, 2010, in the Wall Street Journal.)

By Gabriel Madway and Ian Sherr

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – As Apple Inc gears up for the crush of customers expected for Saturday’s iPad launch, employees who staff its retail stores are just as curious about the tablet as the fans who will line up outside.

Apple store workers say they have yet to see or touch the iPad, even though the launch is just days away and they are being trained and encouraged to talk about Apple’s newest device with customers.

“We haven’t seen it; we never do” before a product is launched, said one employee, who asked not to be identified because workers are barred from speaking with the media. “Every store employee I know, including the managers, they haven’t seen it.”

(more…)

By Ian Sherr

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – The U.S. economy may have begun to recover in 2009, but holiday office parties are sinking even further into the dumps.

Fewer companies plan to break out the bubbly this season than in 2008, at the height of the global financial crisis, according to a survey from Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.

Only 62 percent of about 100 companies that responded to the survey were planning holiday parties this year, down from 77 percent a year ago and 90 percent in 2007, as recession-era cuts extended from benefits and profit-sharing to Santa hats and disc jockeys.

“For companies that have recently announced layoffs or other significant cost-cutting measures, such as wage freezes, it would be difficult to justify, let alone get in the mood for a holiday party,” said John Challenger, the firm’s chief executive officer.

(more…)

By Ian Sherr

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Price cuts helped Sony Corp’s Playstation 3 become the top-selling video game console for the first time since its release, as U.S. sales of video game gear and software in the United States rose a modest 1 percent in September from a year ago, a research group said on Monday.

The PlayStation 3 dethroned long-running champ Nintendo and its Wii console to take the top spot, according to NPD. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 came in third.

“If they didn’t have the price cut, it wouldn’t have happened,” said Wedbush Morgan analyst Edward Woo, noting the PS3′s $200 in price cuts over the past two years.

(more…)

By Ian Sherr

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) — With an iPhone, Zeus could have saved time to call on lightning from the heavens — so says California-based sculptor Adam Reeder, who seeks to merge classical Greek iconography with 21st century gadgets.

“Art is what we use to talk about our time,” said the 33-year-old artist, whose unabashed aim is to fuse western civilization’s antiquity with its newfound technologies.

The sculptor did so with the mythological Greek nymph Pan, replacing a trademark flute with Apple Inc’s iconic music player and headphones.

“He’s still a musician, he’s still dancing, but now he’s listening to his iPod,” Reeder said.

(more…)

By Ian Sherr

CHICAGO (Reuters) – The United States Olympic Committee will launch a cable television network devoted to Olympic and Paralympic Games next year, with Comcast Corp agreeing to carry the channel in its cable lineup.

(more…)

By Ian Sherr

“We all have fond memories of playing Monopoly, Scrabble and Connect Four when we were kids.  But when you’re an adult, it’s really hard to find people who can dedicate the time to play.  After his friends and family turned him down for a game of Risk, Ian Sherr went in search of more *worthy* opponents at Board Games night at Games of Berkeley.”

Download the file, here.

(By Ian Sherr. Originally published December 4, 2008 on the air with KALX’s North Gate Radio, here.)