Archives

Date

Napster Launches Digital Music Service in Canada

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 26, 2004 - 7:21am.
Toronto -- Napster, the digital music subscription service unit of Roxio, announced on Wednesday the launch of its service in Canada. Napster will offer Canadians a free 7-day trial, enabling them to sample and purchase songs from its library of 300,000 tracks. Individual songs will be offered for as little as $1.00 Canadian ($0.73 U.S.) to Napster subscribers, who pay $9.95 CDN ($7.26 U.S.) per month. Otherwise, a la carte downloads will cost $1.19 CDN ($0.87) and albums $9.95 CDN ($7.26). The company partnered with Canadian brewer Molson on a multi-year marketing alliance, with Napster offering limited free access for Molson Insiders. Napster is the first of the major U.S. services, which also include Apple's iTunes and RealNetworks' Rhapsody, to launch in Canada. The company also beat out its rivals last week when it became the first major U.S. digital music service to launch in the U.K.
tags: Napster | Canada | Digital Music |

TiVo Adds Record 264,000 Subscribers in First Quarter

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 26, 2004 - 7:20am.
San Jose, Calif. -- TiVo, a provider of digital video recorder services, announced that it added a record 264,000 new subscribers during the first quarter of 2004 -- triple the number added in the same period last year -- and now claims a total of 1.6 million subscribers. The company estimated that 196,000 of the new additions resulted directly from its relationship with DirecTV -- nearly five times the number of new subscribers from satellite TV reported in 2003. TiVo expects to add 265,000 to 300,000 in the second quarter, and says it is still on target to reach 10 million subscribers in three or four years.
tags: Subscribers | TiVo | Records | First Quarter |

Game Developer Mythic Settles Trademark Dispute with Microsoft

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 26, 2004 - 7:19am.
Fairfax, Va. -- Video game publisher Mythic Entertainment announced on Wednesday that it has reached a settlement with Microsoft over a trademark suit it filed against the company last year. Virginia-based Mythic sued Microsoft after learning of a forthcoming game that the company intended to call "Mythica." Under the terms of the settlement, Microsoft has agreed not to use the term "Mythica" or derivations in connection with computer games, and will drop pending applications for a trademark on the name. Mythic will pay an undisclosed sum for Microsoft's international trademarks on the name and other items. "We have worked hard for nine years to earn our reputation for producing high quality online games," said Mythic CEO Mark Jacobs. "When we filed this suit we said that we were not looking for 'jackpot justice' and once Microsoft recognized this we were able to work out this settlement."
tags: Games | Microsoft | Mythic | Trademark Dispute |

Report: Internet Telephony Poised to Transform Global Telecommunications

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 26, 2004 - 7:17am.
London -- According to a new study conducted by analysis firm Juniper Research, Internet telephony -- also known as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) -- is set to account for about 12% of global telephone revenues within the next five years. Juniper goes on to predict that the VoIP market will account for roughly $32 billion of the estimated overall market of $260 billion by the year 2009. "VoIP brings new revenue-generating opportunities to the telephony market, by combining voice services with other IP applications," said Juniper Research broadband specialist Ian Cox. "This will redefine the telephone, bringing brand new services with telephony at its core." The report also called on lawmakers not to over-regulate the market. "A balance needs to be established between promoting healthy market competition and ensuring widespread VoIP adoption on a fair and equitable basis," Juniper said. "VoIP requires nurturing in the early years as the market develops."
tags: Internet | Reports | telecommunications | Global | Telephony |

Nokia Launches Cheaper N-Gage QD Gaming Phone in Europe, Elsewhere

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 26, 2004 - 7:16am.
Espoo, Finland -- Cell phone maker Nokia on Wednesday launched its re-designed N-Gage QD hybrid cell phone/mobile game deck in European, African and Asia Pacific markets. The company added that the device will sell for as little as $60 in those regions after rebates; U.S. retailers taking pre-orders for the device are currently charging around $200. The N-Gage's new design was launched after widespread criticisms of the original model, including an awkward means of exchanging games and angle the device must be held at while talking. Games available at launch will include "The Sims Bustin' Out," "Crash Nitro Kart" and "Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004."
tags: Games | Europe | Nokia | Phone | N-Gage QD |