As anticipated, the U.S. Department of Justice has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Alphabet’s Google, accusing the company of “unlawfully maintaining monopolies” involving its search and related advertising services. The DOJ is also questioning the terms of Google’s Android operating system, which the Department believes essentially forces phone makers to pre-load Google apps and set Google Search as a default feature. The concern is that the practice unfairly hinders competition and enables Google to generate significant revenue from its search-related advertising business. Continue reading Department of Justice Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against Google

Samsung Electronics inked a $6.65 billion contract for 5G gear with Verizon Communications. With the agreement, which lasts until the end of 2025, Samsung will provide Verizon with network equipment, installation and maintenance, a boost to the South Korean company’s efforts to become a major 5G supplier. According to Dell’Oro Group, Samsung supplies 13 percent of the total 5G network market sales. Meanwhile, T-Mobile, which has launched a 600MHz 5G network, debuted 2.5GHz mid-band 5G towers in almost 90 locations. Continue reading Samsung and Verizon Close Major Deal for 5G Network Gear

If Nvidia acquires Arm Ltd. in the next few weeks, which many experts predict will happen, the company may be in the position to dominate the next computing ecosystem. Jefferies semiconductor analyst Mark Lipacis notes that, the computer industry goes through a “strategic inflection point” every 15 years, with research showing that dominant players in each era account for 80 percent of the profits. Different ecosystems are the result of “multi-pronged” strategy by those companies that come out on top. Continue reading Nvidia Purchase of Arm Signals Inflection Point in Computing

The COVID-19 pandemic has fueled a shift to streaming media, creating opportunities for TV manufacturers. In late 2019, Vizio TV, one of the biggest TV makers in North America, began selling ads for streaming movies, TV shows and digital videos on its screens. It now wants to build out this new business unit to create a recurring revenue source separate from TV set sales. Sources said that Vizio’s platform revenue this year comes mostly from advertising, which appears to be on track to double year-over-year. Continue reading Smart TV Makers Want a Bigger Slice of Streaming Ad Market

Nvidia debuted its 28-billion transistor Ampere-based 30 Series graphics chips for PC gamers, ideal for Microsoft and Sony’s next-generation consoles to unveil by the holidays. The 30 Series GeForce RTX chips (available September 17) are comprised of the RTX 3070 ($500), 3080 ($700), and 3090 ($1,500), with second generation RTX (real-time ray tracing graphics). According to chief executive Jensen Huang, there are “hundreds of RTX games” in development, joining “Minecraft,” “Control” and “Wolfenstein: Youngblood,” which already feature RTX. Continue reading Nvidia Debuts GeForce RTX Chip Series With Lower Latency

Mini-LED technology offers TV sets a promising combination of better contrast, an image improvement over standard LCD TVs, and a more affordable price than OLED TVs. TCL debuted the tech last year in its 8-Series, and, this year, in its 6-Series, with a 55-inch TV for $650. Mini-LED is not the same as MicroLED; the latter uses millions of LEDs, one per pixel, for large high-end solutions such as Sony’s Crystal LED and Samsung’s The Wall. In fact, although MicroLEDs use LEDs, it’s actually an entirely different technology. Continue reading Mini-LED Tech Offers Impressive Contrast Ratio, Affordability

Microsoft is reentering the mobile phone market with the Surface Duo, a dual-screen Android device priced at $1,399 and up. According to Microsoft chief product officer Panos Panay, the company is accepting preorders for the phone that will ship on September 10. The phone will be sold on Microsoft’s website, and at AT&T and Best Buy. The Surface Duo’s screens completely unfold to act as a phone or a book to provide more space for apps. The Surface Duo may appear before Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 2, which currently has no official release date. Continue reading Microsoft Launches Dual-Screen Foldable Surface Duo Device

SoftBank, which spent $32 billion to buy ARM Holdings in 2016, is now actively considering ARM’s sale to Nvidia, according to SoftBank founder and chief executive Masayoshi Son. The company has also invested in Slack, WeWork, and Uber, which have experienced high-profile problems. The U.K.-based ARM Holdings, originally founded by Acorn, Apple and VLSI, designs low-power RISC chips that have become ubiquitous for mobile phones. Last month, SoftBank reportedly hired Goldman Sachs to explore options for a sale or going public.

Continue reading SoftBank Is Considering the Sale of ARM Holdings to Nvidia

Google recently unveiled three new Pixel phones — the $349 Pixel 4a, available for preorder and shipping on August 20; the 5G-enabled Pixel 5, shipping in the fall; and the Pixel 4a with 5G, priced at $499 and also shipping in the fall. According to Google, issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the Pixel 4a from debuting significantly earlier. The Pixel 4a, $50 less than last year’s Pixel 3a and the iPhone SE, stands apart from several competitors with its camera and “clean version” of Android. Continue reading Google Presents Three Phones: Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a 5G, Pixel 5

Samsung live-streamed its annual Unpacked event from South Korea, revealing more than five new devices including the Galaxy Z Fold 2, two Galaxy Note20 5G models, the Galaxy Buds Live, the Galaxy Tab S7 tablet, Galaxy Watch3 and more. The company is finding it difficult to sell its high-end devices as are other phone manufacturers during the pandemic and economic downturn. Regarding the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 2, Samsung focused on its fixes for flaws in the original folding phone. Continue reading Samsung Introduces Galaxy Z Fold 2, Galaxy Note20 & More

T-Mobile announced it has launched what it claims is the world’s first nationwide standalone 5G network. Up until now, AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon have all offered a version of 5G that is really 5G radios deployed on top of 4G LTE gear. T-Mobile’s new 5G network is completely “next-generation” and will enable new features as well as faster data speeds. T-Mobile stated that its 5G network is 30 percent larger than before, available in 2,000 more towns and cities in the U.S. Its network currently covers 1.3 million square miles. Continue reading T-Mobile Introduces First Nationwide End-to-End 5G Network

It’s time to assess the impact of an advertiser boycott of Facebook, started on June 17 to protest that company’s handling of hate speech and misinformation. Following the urging of civil rights groups Color of Change, the Anti-Defamation League and the NAACP, 1,000+ advertisers publicly joined in the boycott, dubbed #StopHateForProfit, which was intended to last for the month of July. Other advertisers pulled back on spending but did so less publicly. Facebook has 9+ million advertisers. Continue reading Evaluating Possible Impact of Recent Ad Boycott on Facebook

The free, ad-supported media app Plex just added 80 live TV channels, none of them cable channels like CNN, Lifetime or TBS. Rather, it offers a lineup that includes Reuters, Toon Goggles and the Bob Ross Channel, among others. In the current economic climate, consumers are gravitating to this kind of free linear programming, which harkens back to the early days of television. Plex got its start as a cord-cutting solution with free on-demand video and DVR functionality for on-air TV networks. Continue reading Plex Launches 80 Live TV Channels on Its Ad-Supported App

In May, Sony revealed the first two models of its intelligent vision sensors, which the company described as the world’s first image sensors with integrated AI processors. Now, the company plans a major shift from hardware sales to “software by subscription” for data-analyzing image sensors on location. The move reflects Sony’s effort to move to a model based on recurring revenue. At Sony Semiconductor Solutions, senior general manager Hideki Somemiya noted that AI-enabled analysis of such data will form “a market larger than the growth potential of the sensor market itself in terms of value.” Continue reading Sony Plans Software Subscription Future With Image Sensors

Facebook just revealed a holographic optical architecture for a future VR headset that will be both thinner and lighter, replacing the current bulkier glasses and headsets. The technology, described in “Holographic Optics for Thin and Lightweight Virtual Reality,” a Siggraph 2020 research paper, uses a “pancake optics” design that combines layers of holographic film with a laser projection system and directional backlights. The results can be either flat imagery or volumetric holograms. Continue reading Facebook Unveils Three Prototype Holographic VR Headsets