Consumer Electronics Daily News

Epson Partners with DonorsChoose.org to Fund Classroom Technology

Epson America, Inc. today announced a 2012 holiday season initiative to help teachers acquire the classroom technology they desperately need to enhance student learning. Through the DonorsChoose.org “Double Your Impact Program,” Epson will donate two percent of purchases sold on Epson.com between Dec. 1 and Dec. 24, 2012, up to $100,000.

“Providing our public school teachers with the tools and technology needed to improve classroom learning is important throughout the year, however, with all the cutbacks facing public schools right now, it seems particularly important this holiday season,” said Jered Goodyear, Manager, Online Marketing, Epson America, Inc. “Our decision to partner with DonorsChoose.org was based on its ability to get funding for specific projects directly into the hands of teachers throughout the U.S. who are committed to delivering the best possible education they can to their students. We are very excited about this program and encourage teachers, along with students and parents, to participate.”

DonorsChoose.org is an online charity that makes it easy for anyone to help students in need. Public school teachers from every corner of America post classroom project requests at DonorsChoose.org and donors can give any amount to the project of their choice. Through the Double Your Impact program, once projects are approved and posted, all projects that meet the given criteria automatically qualify for the Double Your Impact offer.

“We are very pleased to have Epson participating in our Double Your Impact program this year,” said Charles Best, Founder of DonorsChoose.org. “We applaud Epson’s commitment to helping teachers acquire the latest tools and technologies to help them better engage and communicate with their students.” To learn more about the project and view Epson’s holiday deals, please visit http://epson.com/100kholiday.

Origami Electronics at Printed Electronics USA

On December 5-6, attendees to the Printed Electronics USA conference and exhibition in Santa Clara, CA, will receive their own origami printed electronic device. One of the compelling benefits of printed electronics is that electronics can be used in completely new and innovative form factors. The demonstrator consists of printed circuits on traditional paper, which only become functional when the device is correctly folded - the design of the folded paper is part of enabling the functionality of the circuit.

The innovative design utilizes conductive silver ink, printed batteries and traditional LEDs to create an interactive user experience in the form of an origami sail boat. The circuit will illuminate the boat's mast light and logo, and highlights the technology's growing use in the area of interactive packaging and printed media. The image below shows one side of the device.

The sample was built in collaboration with a number of partners, including Cal Poly, Blue Spark, NovaCentrix, Fujifilm Dimatix, Sappi Fine Paper, 3M, Esterline and IDTechEx. All attendees will receive their sample at the Cal Poly booth, part of "Manufacturing Street." In addition, Manufacturing Street brings together organizations in the supply chain who will demonstrate a number of printing and process steps in interactive sessions throughout the event, printing functional inks and demonstrating how the sample was made.

The event also features "Demonstration Street", a large area dedicated to showing a full range of complete working products. Visitors will have the opportunity to closely examine samples, prototypes, and commercial products. These demonstrators, that incorporate printed electronic functionality, will help attendees envisage how printed electronics can be integrated into their own products, in addition to keeping your own very unique sample. For more information and to register please see www.PrintedElectronicsUSA.com

HUNGRY YouTube Channel Teams with SAVEUR Magazine for Web Series

Ben Silverman's multimedia studio Electus, an operating business of IAC, today announced that HUNGRY, the company's food-centric YouTube™ channel will team up with the culinary minds at SAVEUR Magazine to create a new web series titled Dueling Dishes to expand on the delicious variety of programming offered on HUNGRY's menu.

Dueling Dishes, slated to premiere on HUNGRY Saturday, December 1st, is the latest gastronomic competition show that pits two acclaimed chefs in a head-to-head battle to see who can whip up the best recipe of the world's favorite dishes. Dueling Dishes, created and produced by HUNGRY CEO Bruce Seidel is executive produced by James Oseland and Sean Holzman of SAVEUR Magazine.

Over the course of six episodes, each chef will create a beloved dish such as Fried Chicken, Meatloaf, Macaroni and Cheese, Ice Box Pie, Buche de Noel and Potato Latkes which will be judged by Dueling Dishes host and SAVEUR Senior Editor Gabriella Gershenson, SAVEUR Executive Food Editor Todd Coleman, and culinary notables such as Chef Todd English and Michael Laiskonis, Creative Director of the Institute of Culinary Education.

"HUNGRY is thrilled to partner with such an esteemed brand as SAVEUR Magazine to bring Dueling Dishes to life online,"said Bruce Seidel, CEO of HUNGRY. "While SAVEUR sticks to the roots of culinary tradition, their forward thinking and engaged readership is the perfect recipe to entertain food enthusiasts in the current digital landscape."

"Electus and the Hungry Channel have been a dream to work with--and we're absolutely excited for audiences to enjoy the fruits of our labors together," said James Oseland, Editor-in-Chief, SAVEUR Magazine. The Dueling Dishes episodes will feature competitions with chef pairings including: Episode 1: Latkes - Chef Eli Sussman (Mile End Deli) vs. Chef Craig Koketsu (Quality Meats, Park Avenue, The Hurricane Club) Episode 2: Buche de Noel -Chef Emma Bengtsson (Aquavit) vs. Chef Marc Aumont (The Modern) Episode 3: Macaroni & Cheese- Chef Ratha Chaupoly (Num Pang) vs. Chef Katy Sparks (Tavern on the Green) Episode 4: Fried Chicken - Chef Tadashi Ono (Matsuri) vs. Chef Matt Hamilton (Lulu & Po) Episode 5: Meatloaf - Chef Joey Campanaro (Little Owl/Market Table) vs. Chef Daniel Holzman (The Meatball Shop) Episode 6: Ice Box Pie - Chef Kieran Baldwin (The Dutch) vs. Chef Nancy Olson (Gramercy Tavern)

Dueling Dishes joins additional HUNGRY series starring Celebrity Chef Duff Goldman, Chris Cosentino, gluten-free chef Alex Thomopoulos, Casserole Queens, The Brothers Green, Fung Brothers and Chef Nathan Lippy. Viewers can subscribe to The HUNGRY Channel for trailers and show updates at: www.youtube.com/hungry.

Letter by Letter Word Game Released

Row Sham Bow announced today that Letter by Letter is now available on iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and Android devices. Letter by Letter is a brand new game from Row Sham Bow with an exciting new twist. Players take over the board by spelling new words and stealing their opponent's letters in this easy to learn yet surprisingly strategic word puzzle game.

Players must spell words to take control of the most spaces on the board. By adding letters and stealing letters from opponents, players increase their scores while simultaneously decreasing their opponent's score. Convenient turn-based gameplay lets players play whenever and wherever they want to. Players can challenge their friends via Facebook or email, or make new friends through random matches.

"We worked really hard to reward players that have a good vocabulary rather than an arcane knowledge of the kinds of words traditional crossword based puzzle games employ," said John Taylor, the game's creator. "We built a highly competitive game with an evolving strategy that develops in layers over the course of play."

Letter by Letter is available for download for Android and iOS now at the following link: http://rsbgames.co/lxl. About Row Sham Bow Row Sham Bow, Inc. is a critically acclaimed game developer and publisher. Row Sham Bow's previous game, Woodland Heroes, earned Gamasutra's Social Game of the Year award in 2011.

PriceGrabber Reveals Online Shopping Trends During Black Friday

Leading shopping site PriceGrabber.com® today revealed the latest online shopping behavior and trends over the busiest shopping period of the year. The findings indicated that Black Friday has turned into "Black Week," with sales starting earlier and deals extending later.

PriceGrabber experienced a 14 percent year-over-year growth in traffic this year from Thanksgiving until Cyber Monday, signifying that more consumers are using the internet for research, price comparison and purchasing gifts. As expected, Cyber Monday was PriceGrabber's biggest day last weekend with 20 percent more traffic than Black Friday. Consumer shopping behavior is based on PriceGrabber data and website analytics from Nov. 22 to Nov. 26, 2012.

"This year, Black Friday leaked into Thanksgiving and extended into the weekend, while Cyber Monday deals were stretched to Tuesday, as we saw strong online activity starting on Thanksgiving Day and continuing throughout the week," said Steve Krenzer, CEO of PriceGrabber.com. "We expect this 'Black Week' trend to continue next year, as retailers try to get in front of consumers earlier, and keep them engaged by offering compelling deals throughout the week – which is great news for shoppers. As a result of this new trend, shoppers this season had more time to take advantage of discounts, resulting in a consistent year-over-year growth in visits and page views."

Mobile device traffic increases Shoppers are taking advantage of having the internet in their back pocket. Traffic from smartphones and tablets have increased significantly compared to 2011, with 27 percent of total traffic originating through a mobile device over the Thanksgiving weekend, an increase of over 116 percent compared to the same period in 2011. It is worth noting that on Black Friday, PriceGrabber saw significantly more mobile traffic than on Cyber Monday. Increased mobile volume was an indication of some show-rooming and price matching but consumer intent stayed strong as sales completion rate was within the normal range for mobile devices.

Top Category Trends

Tablets and eReaders were among the highest growth channels this holiday weekend, with an 81 percent year-over-year traffic increase, and a modest 3 percent decline in average order price driven by the introduction of lower cost tablets such as the iPad Mini®. Smartphones were also among the highest growth categories with 60 percent year-over-year increase in volume and a 16 percent drop in average price compared to last year. Other popular categories included headphones with a 51 percent year-over-year growth in volume and an average price of $162. The TV category was the top searched page over the weekend and PriceGrabber saw huge discounts with the average price declining by 10 percent year-over-year. However, volume stayed relatively flat compared to last year, showing that the discounts did not result in increased demand. The price of digital cameras increased by 14 percent this year to an average of $612. PriceGrabber believes this increase is due to the introduction of higher end SLR cameras. However, overall traffic declined by 6 percent, indicating that improved smartphone cameras are taking share from the expensive SLRs. MP3 Players and GPS devices experienced the sharpest decline in traffic with almost 40 percent fewer visits this holiday weekend compared to last year.

Trending Products (Nov. 22 to Nov. 26, 2012)

Tablets: The Latitude™ ST from Dell® was the most popular product and tablet over the weekend, followed closely by the Samsung® Galaxy Tab® 2. PriceGrabber also saw high activity on the Asus® Google® Nexus 7® and the iPad®.

TVs: Samsung® was the top brand with the UN46EH5000 46" LED TV, the UN32EH4003F 32" LED TV and the PN51E530 51" Plasma TV. The Mitsubishi® WD-73C12 73" DLP Projection TV was also among the most popular TVs.

Cameras: The Canon® EOS Rebel® T3i™ and T4i™ Camera Kits with 18-55mm lens were among the most popular products this year. The Nikon® D5100™ and D3100™ models of the black SLR digital camera kit with 18-55mm lens were also among the most popular cameras, followed by the Nikon® D7000™16.2 Megapixel Digital SLR Camera Body, as well as the Nikon® Coolpix® P510™ Black Digital Camera.

Toys: The Elf on the Shelf® Boy and activity book was the number one toy, followed by the Mini® power quad ride-on, LEGO® Ninjago® Epic Dragon Battle, and Hot Wheels® 3 Lane Plug In. The Hasbro® Furby®, Monster High® dolls, Easy Bake Oven®, Lionel Trains® The Scout® Steam Train Starter Set, and the Mattel® Barbie® Dream House Bundle were also among the top toys over Black Friday weekend.

Video Games: The top console was the Xbox 360® Black 250GB Console Kinect® Adventures Special Edition Bundle, also ranked in the top ten top products overall. In the video game category, the Wii® U Black 32 GB Console Deluxe Set was the second most popular console. Top games include Just Dance 4®, God of War® Saga Collection, Borderlands 2®, Madden NFL 13™, Assassin's Creed® 3, Skylanders® Giants Starter Kit, and Marvel Avengers®: Battle for Earth.

The Urchin: BOOM's Ready For Anything Bluetooth Speaker

Forget standard-looking Bluetooth speakers, the BOOM Movement is taking its next supreme idea to the streets with Urchin, a Ready 4 Anything (R4A) rugged Bluetooth speaker designed to go where you go with style. Designed to stand out and to withstand whatever you throw at it, the Urchin's interchangeable silicone skins give the Urchin its distinct clean look and also make it shock and water resistant.

  The Urchin ships with a carbineer for hooking on a belt loop or backpack, a suction cup for sticking to a shower tile, and a screw mount attachment for the dash of a car, or it can be used with the optional bike mount or strap attachment. The Urchin's silicone skin is molded with a hole at the top so it can easily be attached to most anything with everything from a screw in the wall, to a rope tied around a tree. Also included is a powerful, built-in microphone that instantly turns the Urchin into a hands free speaker for any Bluetooth phone allowing it to be used in the car, at home, on a beach, mountaintop…wherever. BOOM's Urchin is truly R4A!

The Urchin is built to connect with pretty much any Bluetooth device, with support for Version 2.1 + EDR or higher, Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP), Audio/Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP), Simple Secure Pairing (SSP), Advance Audio Coding (AAC), Hands-Free Profile (HFP) 1.5 or higher, and Headset Profile (HSP). With about 10 hours of battery life and a charge time of just two hours, it's also ready to rock on the road whenever the mood strikes. A 3.5mm input also makes it easy to connect a phone for devices that do not have Bluetooth. (The mini jack input and USB charging port are water resistant when not in use.)

"The Urchin plays loud and clear, and is fully customizable with up to 10 colorways and a range of different attachment accessories for wherever you want to take it," says BOOM's founder, Ryan Minarik. "It's not locked down to your desk like many traditional products, and it's not limited to the accessories we put in the box. It really fits the BOOM lifestyle. It's ready to go on all adventures from a bike ride, to a hike, or anywhere you want to take it." The BOOM Urchin will make its debut at the International CES in Las Vegas, January 8 – 11, and on the BOOM Movement website on January 8, 2013 for $149.99. For more info, check out www.BoomMovement.com.

PlayStation Sales Soar on Black Friday

It's clear that millions of gamers across the US will be spending some quality time with PlayStation during the holidays following sales results for the week of Black Friday. PlayStation®3 (PS3®) Black Friday bundle sales increased 15 percent, and total PS3 sales including hardware, software and peripherals, grew 9% over the same period last year.

The Ultimate PlayStation Value Bundle, which included a 250GB PS3 and the Uncharted Dual Pack and inFAMOUS Collection for $199, quickly sold out at retailers across the US. In total, more than 525,000 PS3 consoles were sold in the US during Black Friday week.

In Latin America, gamers were able to enjoy various offers across participating local retailers, resulting in a year-over-year sales growth increase of 200 percent. PlayStation® Vita (PS Vita) is entering its first-ever holiday season and enjoyed very strong sales during the week of Black Friday.

The Assassin's Creed® III: Liberation Bundle for $199 sold out at retail, highlighted by Amazon selling through its specially priced inventory in less than five hours. The Call of Duty® Black Ops: Declassified Bundle and Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes Bundles for $199, respectively, were also very popular with gamers and sold out at retail during the week. More than 160,000 PS Vita units were sold during the week of Black Friday.

"We're very pleased with the Black Friday sales results, especially the incredible reception for the PS3 and PS Vita bundles. The demand was very strong which quickly depleted our inventory across retailers nationwide," said Jack Tretton, President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America. "The PlayStation brand generated significant revenue and year-over-year growth at retail because of our focus on what gamers love most in combining amazing hardware with great games and digital entertainment."

Consumers also took advantage of the value delivered by PlayStation's subscription service package, PlayStation®Plus (PS Plus), which supplies members with an Instant Game Collection of 18 blockbuster games2 across the PS3 and PS Vita systems, in addition to huge discounts, exclusive beta access, and much more. Sales of PlayStation Plus subscriptions on PlayStation®Network increased 259%3 compared to last year's Black Friday period. In addition, since the Instant Game Collection was introduced earlier this year, customer satisfaction rates for PS Plus are above 95 percent.

PlayStation will continue to offer incredible entertainment experiences for gamers during the holidays with the PlayStation®Vita PS Plus Instant Game Collection Bundle that includes a one year membership to PS Plus (launching next week), along with the PS Vita Assassin's Creed® III: Liberation Bundle and PS Vita Call of Duty® Black Ops: Declassified Bundle. In addition, there are two PS3 bundles available this holiday including the PlayStation® 3 500GB Assassin's Creed III Bundle, and the PlayStation® 3 Uncharted 3 Game of the Year Bundle. Gamers will have no shortage of new exclusive titles to play with the recent introductions of PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, LittleBigPlanet Karting and Wonderbook™: Book of Spells.

Advertise in Consumer Electronics Daily News

 

Consumer Electronics Daily News is a publication of Oser Communications Group, which is solely responsible for its content. It is not affiliated with either International CES or the Consumer Electronics Association and is not an official publication of the show. CES and CEA are trademarks of the Consumer Electronics Association.

Peel Partners with Samsung on Smart TV Remote

Peeland Samsung Electronics, Inc. today announced the international expansion of the popular Peel Smart Remote app. This launch represents the first phase of a global rollout, beginning with localized TV program information in over 20 countries and 13 languages across Europe and Southeast Asia. International Samsung GALAXY Tab users on devices with integrated IR ports or the Samsung GALAXY Note 10.1, can now use Peel to find great shows and movies as well as control their TV using the remote control functionality on their Samsung tablet device.

Since announcing their partnership, Peel has been pre-installed on all Samsung mobile devices with integrated IR, beginning with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus launched in the US in 2011. When paired with the Peel Smart Remote app, Samsung mobile devices with built-in IR functionality enable a seamless second screen entertainment experience. In summer 2012, Peel expanded to Canada with the launch of the Samsung GALAXY Tab 2 device, marking the first step in Peel's evolution as the go-to living room entertainment platform across the globe. With this new round of expansion to 20+ countries, international TV program data is now available to Samsung GALAXY Tab and GALAXY Note 10.1 device owners via the pre-loaded Peel Smart Remote app on those devices. Peel and Samsung will continue this expansion momentum into the New Year, with plans to be available in over 50 countries by the spring of 2013.

"The reception of Peel's service on the Samsung GALAXY Tabs in the US has been very encouraging," said 
Hankil Yoon, Senior Vice President of Samsung's Product Strategy Team. "The Peel Smart Remote app paired with our devices is a testament to what happens when a good software solution is integrated on state-of-the-art hardware. The Samsung GALAXY Tab and GALAXY Note 10.1 devices offer users the best in tablet technology, and I am pleased that our offering has become even better with Peel's unique TV experience."

"Peel was the first to combine the TV remote control, TV program listings and online social viewing in a single Second Screen app experience," said Scott Ellis, Vice President of Marketing for Peel. "Bringing this experience to millions of passionate TV viewers outside of North America is a big priority for us, and we are excited to take this next step with our partner Samsung." This expansion is a significant milestone for Peel as it marks the first time the app has been available outside of North America. Additionally, Peel's expansion into Asia represents the first Second Screen remote app to tackle the television ecosystem in the region. Beginning today, Peel Smart Remote is available in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom in Europe; and in Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan in Asia.

SeaWorld Launches First Mobile Game: Ocean-themed, Of Course

SeaWorld® announced today the company's first mobile game, Turtle Trek™ now available from the App Store℠. Turtle Trek is a free game download for the iPhone and iPad.

Players guide an adventuresome sea turtle on a quest across the beach and into the water to find friends. They help the plucky sea turtle navigate through the perilous seascape and conquer a variety of challenges, some dangerous and some light-hearted. With help from friendly characters such as Shamu the killer whale and Nyah the green sea turtle, players collect treasures and fill virtual sticker books with an array of ocean friends met during their trek.

SeaWorld engaged Sleepy Giant through its Flying Grom label to create the new game. Turtle Trek provides hours of fun and immersive action, and also offers an educational benefit by sharing fun facts about real sea animals. Players encounter dozens of sea creatures but when they meet a special "Ocean Friend," they gain a collectible virtual sticker for their Trek Book. At the touch of a finger, this virtual sticker opens to reveal interesting facts and photos about the actual ocean animal that the character resembles. These facts are kept easily accessible and can be shared with family and friends.

Since 2011, SeaWorld has recently begun expanding its popular brand into new media and entertainment platforms such as mobile games, movies, television and new lines of licensed consumer products. "SeaWorld has a 50-year history of creating entertainment experiences that inspire people to connect with animals, and this type of entertainment is a natural extension for our company," said Scott Helmstedter, Chief Creative Officer of SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. "It is engaging and fun, but also instills a greater understanding of some of the ocean's amazing animals." The game is the first to be offered under the new partnership between SeaWorld and Sleepy Giant.

Sleepy Giant's Flying Grom label is focused on working with brands to create compelling, family-oriented interactive experiences. "We are thrilled to be working with SeaWorld, an exceptional brand and partner. SeaWorld has a rich history of providing entertainment, education, and conservation in everything they do, and 'Turtle Trek' extends that tradition with fun and learning," said Matt Hannus, CEO of Sleepy Giant. While Turtle Trek offers a free opportunity to download and play, additional purchasable content is available. A portion of proceeds from the purchasable content will be donated directly to the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund.