Analysts: LCD TV sales to fall for first time
NEW YORK (AP) -- Shipments of LCD flat-panel TVs will fall this year from the year before, the first such decline since the popularity of such TVs took off in 2006, according to a research firm.
Lingering economic concerns and slow price declines will crimp shipments to 31.9 million sets this year, iSuppli said. That's down 1.2 percent from 2009.
Apart from the economy, it's possible U.S. consumers are finally having their appetite for new TVs satisfied. The Consumer Electronics Association says about two-thirds of households now have high-definition sets.
LCD is the most popular type of TV, accounting for more than 90 percent of U.S. sales. In January, the CEA projected the industry would sell 37 million sets this year, including plasma TVs.
Prices have come down this holiday season after remaining relatively stable earlier in the year. Some stores are selling 32-inch LCD TVs for $200, less than the long-run average of TV prices in the U.S. Because of the price declines, annual revenue from TV sales started shrinking in 2009.
-- Peter Svensson, AP Technology Writer
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Samsung's Nexus S can make payments at retailers
NEW YORK (AP) -- The new Nexus S smart phone can do something older Android devices can't: make payments.
Nexus S, from Samsung Electronics Co., is the first phone to run the latest version of Google's Android software and has a feature called Near Field Communication.
With it, someone can wave the phone near a bar code or sensor to make payments in much the same way people can already swipe a security card to enter a building. If enough vendors make it possible to pay for things this way, people could begin using their phone to pay instead pulling out a wallet with credit cards.
The software also has a new on-screen keyboard and makes it easy to place phone calls over the Internet, something people can already do from a PC using software programs such as Skype.
The phones will be available through Best Buy Co. Inc. stores starting Dec. 16. People can either sign up for a two-year contact with T-Mobile USA Inc. and pay $199 for the phone, or forgo a contact and pay $529 for just the device.
Carphone Warehouse retailers will sell the phone in the U.K. starting Dec. 20.
Following in the footsteps of other supersized smart phones announced this year, the S has a fast 1-gigahertz processor for relatively fast operating speeds and a large, 4-inch screen that claims vibrant colors and wide viewing angles. Other features include a 5-megapixel camera that also records high-definition movies, a GPS radio for navigating directions, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 16 gigabytes of internal memory for storing music, photos and apps.
About a year ago, Google unveiled another Nexus phone, dubbed the Nexus One, made by HTC Corp. This, too, was eligible for T-Mobile's service plans and was the first to run what was then the latest version of Android: 2.1. What made that phone exemplary, though, was that it was the first phone for sale in Google's now defunct online phone store, through which Google sold a variety of Android smart phones.
-- Dana Wollman, AP Technology Writer
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NEW YORK (AP) -- Movie rental service Netflix Inc. will stream hundreds of episodes of popular ABC and Disney television shows online, the company's latest deal in its effort to ramp up streaming services to customers hungry for immediate access to content.
Netflix said Wednesday that its contract with Disney-ABC Television Group includes prior season episodes of ABC's "Grey's Anatomy," "Desperate Housewives" and "Brothers and Sisters," as well as every episode of "Lost," "Ugly Betty" and "Scrubs." The Disney Channel's "Hannah Montana" also is among the shows offered, as well as ABC Family's "Greek" and "The Secret Life of the American Teenager." In addition, subscribers will have access to TV movies that aired on the Disney Channel and ABC Family, including the popular "High School Musical" and its sequel.
The companies said that new episodes will hit Netflix at least 15 days after they air on television for the first time.
Netflix, based in Los Gatos, Calif., recently announced a subscriber plan that lets people watch movies and shows over the Internet only, starting at $7.99 per month. It has been spending heavily to obtain the streaming rights to movies and TV shows to help lure more customers and shift existing subscribers away from DVDs. Netflix has said that its members are watching more content streamed over the Internet than on DVDs.
Netflix ended October with 16.9 million members in the U.S. and Canada and predicted it would gain another 2.1 million to 2.9 million customers by year's end. That means Netflix could enter 2011 with more than 19 million subscribers, doubling the service's size in two years.
-- Dana Wollman, AP Technology Writer
