Panasonic Buys Sanyo – Japanese giant Panasonic has purchased economy home electronics maker Sanyo for over $6 billion. Panasonics was most interested in Sanyo’s battery business.
National Chains Going Green – Such chains stores as Sears, Staples and Best Buy have begun to work on keeping electronics industry products out of the waste stream. Best Buy has expanded its CE recycling program to all of its 1000+ stores. Consumers can bring in up to two items a day to any store for recycling. Included are TVs and monitors up to 32 inches, computers, electronic notebooks, small electronics, DVD and VCR players, phones, and accessories such as mice, keyboards and remotes. Appliances are not accepted. There is a $10 recycling fee for items with screens but consumers are compensated on the spot with a $10 Best Buy gift card in exchange (except in California). Other Best Buy recycling initiatives include recycling kiosks in front of every store, which accept free dropoffs of ink cartridges, rechargeable batteries, cellphones, CDs, DVDs, PDAs and smartphones. The stores will also remove old TVs and appliances from customers’ homes for free when a new product is purchased and delivered.
Netflix Raises Fees for Blu-ray Rentals – Netflix’s movie-by-mail service has been charging customers more for the hi-def discs – originally an extra $1 above the normal DVD rentals. But on Monday they sent out an email announcement that their Blu-ray rental rates would increase by up to $8 a month effective April 27. Netflix says the new fees will help expand its Blu-ray library and recoup the premium prices of the discs, which are about 30% more expensive than their DVD counterparts. Abut 10% of Netflix customers are choosing Blu-ray over standard DVD rentals and the company now offers over 1300 Blu-ray titles. Netflix’ other operation – online streaming video – faces competition from Amazon, Apple and Blockbuster, encouraging Netflix to cultivate its disc-based business.
Is 3D DOA? – Both Cnet and Slate have articles up concerning “The problem with 3D.” They claim the technology puts a strain on the eyes. The author of the Cnet article admits he has yet to see a 3D feature film in any theater, seeming to make his entire article irrelevant. Certainly a minority of viewers have trouble seeing or enjoying the 3D effect, just as a minority are not able to realize the binaural effect in hearing. But the two new technologies used in the theatrical showings are hugely improved over previous 3D systems, and so is the IMAX 3D technology. Hopefully when a single technology for home broadcast and Blu-ray viewing is standardized, it will work as well.
