Communications and Consumer Electronics

Consumer Electronics Sales Defy Bad Economic News
While U.S. sales growth is slowing for some products such as digital cameras and camcorders, flat-panel and other digital television displays are powering overall sales gains in consumer electronics.
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Energy Consciousness Reaching Consumer Device Firms
As rising energy costs mean consumers pay more attention to the electricity needs of electronics, device manufacturers and retailers are improving energy efficiency while promoting information about the products.
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Market Pressures Link Semiconductor and Consumer Electronics Companies
The growth of consumer electronics and shorter development cycles are causing semiconductor firms to work closely with consumer electronics companies to improve design processes and bring products to market quickly.
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Digital TV Transition Prompting Education Efforts as Clock Ticks
With 13 months left before analog TV broadcasts end, the industry is working with the public sector, consumer electronics firms and retailers to make sure more than one-tenth of its audience doesn’t vanish after the switch is thrown.
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Connected Devices Boosting Media Use, Piracy Fight
Consumer-electronics companies are integrating Internet connectivity into entertainment devices, making it easier for consumers to download digital content while also making sure they have the rights to do so.
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Unified Communications Coming, but Not Until the Next Decade
Technology companies are racing to bring Internet telephony, collaboration tools, voice mail and instant messaging onto a single screen — a concept known as “unified communications” — but widespread adoption is probably three to five years away.
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Carriers Cast Eyes on Remote Monitoring Services
As competition intensifies between communications firms and cable companies over bundled offerings, voice and wireless carriers are offering services that monitor consumers’ homes on cell phones and Web browsers using cameras and sensors.
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Digital Music Retailers Hope to Bundle Success
Record labels are redefining the “album” as a digital bundle that often includes ringtones and ring-back tones, videos and games.
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Connected Consumers Make Tech, Entertainment Firms Cooperate
Electronics firms are collaborating with entertainment companies on technical standards to create a “digital lifestyle ecosystem” that can distribute content to multiple devices.
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