Most of us probably remember where they were when The Phantom Menace, the long-awaited continuation of the Star Wars saga from George Lucas, hit theaters nationwide.



read more

Original post by David Konow

It’s a great idea for a reality TV show, at least I sure think so, and so do Kevin Smith and AMC apparently, because Comic Book Men takes you into the world of geeks. 



read more

Original post by David Konow

When Peter Jackson finally released The Hobbit’s long-awaited trailer, most of us were certain all relevant casting positions had been filled. 



read more

Original post by Starr Keshet

We all loved playing with lightsabers, so don’t pretend you didn’t, just thankfully no one caught us on tape like the Star Wars kid. 



read more

Original post by David Konow

The music business, or whatever’s left of it, sure isn’t what it used to be, so if anyone’s buying music at all, it’s a miracle. 



read more

Original post by David Konow

This week welcomed great news of new projects in the works, featuring great music fests on the way, highly anticipated new albums and just all-around awesomeness.

read more

Original post by Lily Angele, MXDWN

Original post by timothy

Original post by timothy

Original post by timothy

The growth of global LCD TV shipments is expected to fall in 2012, according to market research firm GfK. The company believes that in 2012, growth will come from emerging markets as demand from the U.S. and Europe will subside. Global TV shipments grew 12% in 2011, and that rate is expected to slow to an estimated 7% growth rate this year. In total, GfK expects vendors to ship 225 million LCD TVs worldwide in 2012, Digitimes reports. Samsung, the world’s largest TV vendor by shipment volume, has vowed to sell more than 50 million units into global channels this year.

Read

Original post by Dan Graziano

On Friday, the Mannheim Regional Court of Germany announced that Motorola’s patent lawsuit against Apple had been dismissed. The patent in question was considered essential to the 3G/UMTS wireless telecommunications standard and was used as a “method and system for generating a complex pseudonoise sequence for processing a code division multiple access [CDMA] signal.” Judge Andreas Voss claimed that Motorola failed to present conclusive evidence that Apple infringed upon its patent, however, according to FOSS Patents. Rather than demonstrating Apple’s infringement, Motorola argued that any implementation of 3G/UMTS must then inevitably infringe on the company’s invention. Last December, the manufacturer won an injunction against the Cupertino-based company to ban the sales of iPhones and iPads. The ruling was upheld earlier this month and Apple’s devices were temporarily pulled from shelves, before returning soon after.
Read

Original post by Dan Graziano

Apple is in “crunch mode” to line up apps that will be used for on-stage demonstrations during the company’s iPad 3 launch event, which is said to be scheduled for early next month, TheNextWeb reports. The Cupertino-based company is now looking for apps that will show off the stunning quality of the iPad 3′s high-resolution Retina Display. Apple works with partners to hand-pick apps that highlight the capabilities of new devices during major announcements, and the selection process for Apple’s iPad 3 is now said to be nearing its final phase.

Read

Original post by Dan Graziano

Original post by samzenpus

Original post by samzenpus

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 shattered sales records when it launched last November. The wildly popular first-person shooter sold an estimated 6.5 million copies and pulled in more than $400 million during its first 24 hours of availability, and more than 12 million copies were purchased over the game’s launch week, racking up about $740 million in revenue. But Activision isn’t done, of course, and the next major launch in the Call of Duty franchise is shaping up to be a big one. ”The next Call of Duty will bring meaningful innovation to the series,” Activision Publishing chief Eric Hirshberg told The Guardian. The executive wouldn’t elaborate on exactly how the next major CoD release — presumably Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 — might revolutionize the popular game, but he undoubtedly piqued the interest of millions of gamers around the world. Despite being released in mid-November last year, Activision’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was still the best-selling video game in the U.S. last month according to recent data from market research firm The NPD Group.

Read

Original post by Zach Epstein

Google hasn’t been known as a hardware vendor in the past. That may soon change thanks to the company’s pending acquisition of Motorola, and recent reports suggest Google is already working on a self-branded home entertainment system and HUD glasses. Through a recent FCC filing, it has now been discovered that Google is also planning a “next generation personal communication device.” Details surrounding the mystery device are few and far between, although the filing does confirm both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are on board. The company has requested to test 102 units near Google office locations throughout the United States. The Mountain View-based company is listed as the manufacturer of the devices and it is described as being “in the prototyping phase and will be modified prior to final compliance testing.”

[Via SlashGear]

Read

Original post by Dan Graziano

AT&T is increasing the fee charged when subscribers upgrade to new handsets on contract beginning this Sunday. BGR has been informed by multiple readers via email that AT&T has sent them notices regarding the new fee, which had previously been $18. ”Because the overall costs associated with upgrading to a new device have increased, effective Sunday, February 12, 2012, AT&T will change its upgrade fee from $18 to $36,” AT&T said in a note to dealers obtained by BGR. An AT&T spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A portion of the memo follows below.

UPDATE: AT&T has confirmed the change. “Wireless devices today are more sophisticated than ever before. And because of that, the costs associated with upgrading to a new device have increased and is reflected in our new upgrade fee,” an AT&T spokesperson told BGR via email. “This fee isn’t unique to AT&T and this is the first time we’re changing it in nearly 10 years.”

Original post by Zach Epstein

AT&T is increasing the fee charged when subscribers upgrade to new handsets on contract beginning this Sunday. BGR has been informed by multiple readers via email that AT&T has sent them notices regarding the new fee, which had previously been $18. ”Because the overall costs associated with upgrading to a new device have increased, effective Sunday, February 12, 2012, AT&T will change its upgrade fee from $18 to $36,” AT&T said in a note to dealers obtained by BGR. An AT&T spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A portion of the memo follows below.

Original post by Zach Epstein

read more

Original post by Starr Keshet

Sales of video game hardware and software in the United States plummeted last month according to new data from market research firm The NPD Group. The firm’s January figures suggest that sales of video game hardware fell 38% to $199.5 million, down from $324 million in January 2011. Video game software sales slid 38% as well in January, falling to $355.9 million, and sales of accessories in the U.S. dropped 18% year-on-year to $195.2 million. Total industry sales were down 34% to $750.6 million. “January retail performance experienced steep declines with a lack of software launches, and poor Hardware and Accessory performance partly related to bad comps from Kinect-related success in Jan’11,” NPD analyst Liam Callahan said in a statement. “Outside of new physical retail sales, we estimate that the consumer spend on other ways to acquire content including used games, full game and add-on content downloads, social network games, mobile games, rentals and subscriptions accounted for an additional $350 – $400 million in sales.” Callahan noted that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 was the best-selling console for the sixth consecutive month in January, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was the top-selling software title. A complete list of NPD’s top-10 games for the month follows below.

Original post by Zach Epstein