print

LinkedIn Pushes Ad Tools

Standard

LinkedIn Corp. is beefing up its advertising technologies, offering marketers more ways to target ads to the social network’s users and making it easier for big advertisers to connect to its website.

The business-oriented network, which has more than 90 million members, plans to roll out updates for its marketing tools that let advertisers zero in on people based upon job titles, seniority, age and location, people familiar with the matter said.

LinkedIn, which declined to comment, will be wading into an already competitive market where social-networking rival Facebook Inc. is rapidly gaining ground. Last month, more than a quarter of all online display ads in the U.S. appeared on Facebook, according to comScore Inc. By comparison, LinkedIn represented less than 1%.

3-D TVs Get Cheaper, as Makers Hope to Spur Buyers

Standard

Three-dimensional televisions are getting another “D“ — discount.

Just a year ago, many 3-D TVs cost $1,000 more than regular sets. But during the recently ended holiday season, the gap halved and is set to shrink further.

Now, television makers, many of which had hoped 3-D would boost sales, are sandwiching the technology into their premium televisions while accepting a smaller premium for it. Like thinner displays, energy efficiency and high-definition, 3-D is becoming a “me-too“ feature.

“Prices for 3-D TVs will definitely go down this year,“ Skott Ahn, chief technology officer and president of LG Electronics Inc., said at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Mr. Ahn said LG would cut the premium it charges for 3-D TVs by 20% this year and build the technology into all of its new models by 2012.

The muted expectations for 3-D television mark a U-turn from last year‘s enthusiastic embrace of the technology. Television makers rushed to bring the third dimension into living rooms after witnessing the success of the movie “Avatar.“ Walt Disney Co.‘s ESPN unit launched sports broadcasts in 3-D. Even Gucci Group N.V. designed stylish eyeglasses for 3-D viewers, hoping to cash in on the expected popularity of the televisions.

Tech Behind Hit Games Comes to iPhone

Standard

The technology behind hit videogames such as “Batman: Arkham Asylum“ and “Gears of War 3″ is coming to iPhone and iPad game developers this week, in another sign that mobile gaming is booming on Apple‘s platforms.

Epic Games is planning to release an updated version of its game-development tools, known as the Unreal Development Kit, to the public Thursday. The kit, which is free to download, will include new tools to create high-quality graphics and animations on iOS, effectively simplifying and speeding up the development processes for games. Epic doesn‘t charge license fees to tinker with the kit nor to make free games. But, if developers want to sell their apps, they have to pay a $99 licensing fee and 25% royalties after the first $5,000 in sales.

“Apple‘s App Store is the most vibrant market for mobile gaming,“ said Epic co-founder Mark Rein. “If you‘re going to make a game for a mobile device, and you want to make the most money, you‘re nuts not to make it for iOS.“

Lexmark Tries to Catch App Fever

Standard

Lexmark International Inc. is seeking software developers to create applications for some of its business printers, a move the company hopes will increase competition with industry leader Hewlett-Packard Co.

Lexmark plans to open an app store and release specialized tools that allow developers to create apps for four of its printers, which have touchscreens and Internet connections. The company says the goal is to expand the capabilities of its devices in the same way other companies have expanded the functionality of cellphones and cars by adding apps.

Apple Sees a Ripe Corporate Market

Standard

Apple Inc. will unveil Wednesday a new version of its computer operating software, a development that comes as the consumer-electronics giant makes a more aggressive move to expand in a market that has historically eluded it: corporate customers.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company will hold an event dubbed “Back to the Mac,” a reference to its line of laptop and desktop computers. The event, which comes just two days after Apple’s planned fourth-quarter earnings release, will feature new bells and whistles in the software that powers Macs and possibly new computer models.

California High Court Upholds Furlough Plan

Standard

SAN FRANCISCO—California’s top court ruled Monday the state has the authority to furlough state workers, potentially clearing one more hurdle to the eventual passage of California’s budget.

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court of California ruled the state’s 2010 budget, passed in 2009, gave Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger authority to furlough state workers being paid under that budget. The ruling doesn’t directly address furloughs recently enacted by the governor. California is currently operating without a budget.

Online Coupons Get Smarter

Standard

When Jennifer London cut a deal with Groupon Inc. to promote her smoothie shop in an email, she wasn’t sure how many people would show up for discounted drinks.

Thirsty New Yorkers bought more than 1,300 of her online coupons, and “it kind of blew my mind,” Ms. London said. People redeemed roughly 900 of the coupons over six months at her small Xoom NYC Inc. shop, including a crush in June, but she was disappointed that few became regular customers.

“Most of the people who came are not from this neighborhood—I most likely won’t see them again,” Ms. London said, adding she wished she had limited each person to three coupons rather than 10. Fortunately, she said, not all the coupons were redeemed. “I definitely would have lost money if everyone had shown up,” she said.

Groupon and its competitors, which build buzz by sending out a daily email alerting subscribers in a city to a local bargain, are listening to gripes like Ms. London’s and recasting their operations. Among the new approaches: computer programs to better target consumers with personalized deals and staff on the ground to help merchants.

Apple Seeks Growth Beyond Consumers

Standard

Apple Inc. is boosting efforts to appeal to a new type of customer: small businesses.

The consumer electronics giant responsible for the iPhone is seeking to hire engineers in as many as a dozen U.S. retail stores to put together Apple-based computer systems for small businesses, according to recent job postings on Apple’s website. The employees would implement computer systems for clients and are expected to be proficient in networking hardware and server platforms.

“Thousands of businesses run on Apple products,” the posting reads. “Many more would like to, and that’s where you come in.”

Dell Puts Hope in Health-Services Unit

Standard

Dell Inc. hopes customers like Methodist Hospital System will help cure what ails it.

Methodist has contracted with Dell’s services since December 2009 to help it create and maintain an electronic medical records system. Dell’s technicians are also customizing software for Houston-based Methodist’s 2,600 doctors so those records can be accessed by staff at any of its four community hospitals.

The Methodist contract is one of the most visible examples of what Dell hopes to accomplish with its $3.9 billion 2009 acquisition of Perot Systems, a specialist in health-care information technology.

New iPhone Antenna Aims to Better Hold Calls

Standard

Apple Inc.’s new iPhone might perform a simple task much better than its predecessors: hold a call.

Among the most dramatic design changes in the latest iteration of Apple’s smartphone, the iPhone 4, is a stainless-steel antenna that wraps around its sides. The new antenna design constitutes a radical departure from previous iPhone models, which buried the antenna under the phone’s shell.

The new phone, which goes on sale June 24, puts out more radio-frequency radiation than its predecessor, according to Federal Communications Commission documents. That, along with the new antenna, is expected to give the iPhone 4 greater signal strength and reliability.