Roundup: RIM sales holding up, Panasonic buys Sanyo, TV sales slowing
Here’s the latest action
RIM offers good guidance: Research in Motion said the third quarter was weak but the fourth quarter is turning out better than expected thanks to sales of new BlackBerry models such as the Storm.
Twitpay lets you send money via Twitter: The social messaging service will let people send small payments. Now you can pay for someone else’s drinks using your cell phone.
Illegal downloads losing ground to legal music: Sales of legally downloaded songs are growing as listeners give up CDs. Interestingly, the RIAA has begun to abandon mass lawsuits as the industry finds new revenue sources.
Panasonic to buy Sanyo for $9 billion: In the first major consolidation among Japan’s consumer electronics makers, Panasonic will buy its rival. More deals are predicted. The New York Times has more.
Microsoft retreats on Hotmail changes: After getting bad feedback from its 283 million users on a redesign, Microsoft has walked away from an overhaul it introduced in September.
One Equity Partners and producer buy TVGuide.com and TV Guide cable channel for $300 million: Allen Shapiro and One Equity Partners get a low price compared to the $2.8 billion that Macrovision paid for Gemstar-TV Guide in January.
Oracle’s profit falls one percent: In its second fiscal quarter, Oracle’s profit fell for the first time in three years. It was hurt by the economy and strong dollar.
TV sales are expected to slow in 2009: The tough economy is expected to cause a decline in flat panel TV sales in North America in 2009. That’s the first decline since 2000, according to market researcher DisplaySearch.
Polaroid files for Chapter 11: Polaroid said it will remain operating while under bankruptcy protection and needed to file because of a fraud investigation into its parent company, Petters Worldwide Group.
Fourteen U.S. tech companies start battery effort: The companies, including 3M and Johnson Controls, are asking for money to start a battery production company for electric cars.
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About the Author, Dean Takahashi
Dean is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. Dean previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News, the Wall Street Journal, the Red Herring, the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register and the Dallas Times Herald. He is the author of two books, Opening the Xbox and the Xbox 360 Uncloaked. Follow him on Twitter at @deantak, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.