Sony Ericsson Sales Drop By Almost Half in One Quarter [Financiapocalypse]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Kv9IWvjeGrM/sony-ericsson-sales-drop-by-almost-half-in-one-quarter

Sony Ericsson, the world's 4th biggest handset maker, has reported a titanic sales decrease of almost 50% in just a few months. This is a bad thing, you see.

Reuters slapped a scary headline on this story, but it couldn't really be described as sensational. As much a terrifying portent of electronics companies' coming year as it is an indicator of the company's especially sorry state, this announcement is particularly gruesome when you consider that, unlike Palm, they don't even have an escape plan in place, or even a substantive smartphone line—one of the few areas that is expected to grow over the coming months. [Reuters]

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Intel's Leaked Z550 Atom Processor For Netbooks/MIDs Reaches 2GHz [Processors]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/P-E0H5MHBGg/intels-leaked-z550-atom-processor-for-netbooksmids-reaches-2ghz

Leaks suggest that Intel will be dropping a new single-core Z-series Atom proc that will be the first of the family to reach 2GHz.

Granted, the Z series is the slightly lower-powered single-core chips intended for MIDs, but it's not ridiculous to assume these could find their way into a low-cost netbook or two. The new chips use the same 2.4W as the previous 1.86GHz version, allowing them to be used in the exact same thermal conditions.

Also leaked was an ultra-low-power 1.2GHz Atom, the Z515, that uses only 1.4W of power at full-speed, and just 0.65W when scaled back to 800MHz. This means it could almost be used in a cellphone. [HKEPC (translated) via Electronista]

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Cell Stickies: How People With No Friends Get Text Messages [IPhone]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/VtRnj1_ky50/cell-stickies-how-people-with-no-friends-get-text-messages

I can only imagine these acetate stickers (a mere concept, sadly) of the iPhone's friendly SMS overlay being used to prank someone. But what a prank it would be. [Fiona Carswell via OhGizmo]

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iTunes HD Movies Won't Play on Older Non-HDCP Monitors [ITunes]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/PVJ_yN-UrUU/itunes-hd-movies-wont-play-on-older-non+hdcp-monitors

If you dropped $20 on an HD movie from iTunes since they came out yesterday, but have a newer Mac and an older external display, you might not be able to watch it.

That's because iTunes HD movies require that you have an HDCP-compliant external display. High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection is designed to prevent video from being copied as it moves across digital video interfaces. So, as iLounge points out, if you're using a Cinema Display older than Apple's 24-inch LED model (or any older DVI or VGA monitor, basically), you're screwed if you have it hooked up to a newer, HDCP-loving Mac. You just get a black box where the video should be.

It's not the first time HDCP has caused iTunes-related pain. When Apple first started rolling HDCP, they even applied the protections to standard definition content, so a whole bunch of people found out they couldn't play new movies they bought, so Apple wound up pulling back on SD, and everyone forgot about it until yesterday, when you could finally buy HD movies.

One solution iLounge proffers is to transfer the file to one of your older iTunes authorized computers, since Apple doesn't pull the HDCP mojo on them. The other is to play the movie in standard def mode—then it'll play on your monitor, but in crappy standard def.! All tog ether now: HDCP sucks. [iLounge]

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BlackBerry Niagara 9630 Gets Groped: "Best BlackBerry Keyboard. Ever. Best Screen. Ever." [Blackberry Niagara 9630]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/OiM-CnEVRa0/blackberry-niagara-9630-gets-groped-best-blackberry-keyboard-ever-best-screen-ever

Boy Genius is the first to hands-on Verizon's incoming BlackBerry Niagara 9630. The initial impressions? The word "best" gets tossed around a lot. It might just be the BlackBerry Verizon customers have been waiting for:

• Best BlackBerry keyboard. Ever.
• Best BlackBerry speakers. Ever.
• Best screen. Ever. (It looks more like glass than crappy plastic)
• Best size/feel. Ever.

Coming from someone who loves BlackBerrys so much he commissioned a customized BlackBerry Bold, them's some hot and heavy words. I am pretty excited about that keyboard myself, since the Bold's is my favorite QWERTY keyboard ever, and the Niagara has the same one, minus the fat ass. [Boy Genius Report]

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