Dell Inc.’s Chief Executive Michael Dell met this week with Blackstone Group LP as the private-equity firm pieces together a plan to take control of the computer maker, people familiar with the matter said.
Sony Corp. is planning to unveil its next-generation home videogame console during a February event, showing off a successor to its current PlayStation 3 system.
Bay Area hardware startups are accelerating plans to sell their products overseas, seeking new opportunities for growth after seeing unexpectedly strong international demand.
Toyota Motor Corp. and Audi AG are throwing their hats into the ring of potential suppliers of self-driving vehicles.
Both auto makers confirmed on Thursday that they will be demonstrating autonomous-driving features at the Consumer Electronics Show in the coming week, signaling a new effort to raise the technology’s profile among consumers.
In a preview video posted to its website on Thursday, Toyota showed a five-second clip of one of its Lexus brand cars outfitted with various sensors and the caption, “Lexus advanced active safety research vehicle is leading the industry into a new automated era.”
Some companies that were preparing for a public offering after Facebook’s May IPO have shelved those plans. Others are distancing their businesses from those of Zynga and Groupon, amid concerns their companies will be tarred by the same brush. And some have watched their user growth trail off and are working to recapture the viral magic they once experienced.
Several Web startups have closed shop entirely. Color Labs Inc. raised $41 million in venture capital last year before even launching its social photo app for mobile devices, but it has since imploded and the app won’t be available after Dec. 31.
“There’s less heat in and around the SoLoMo market,” said Brian O’Malley, a venture capitalist at Battery Ventures in Menlo Park, Calif. “For a while, there was a suspended disbelief about how hard it is to build a company. Now that’s coming back to bite people.”
Microsoft Corp. has a lot riding on its new alien shooting videogame, Halo 4, which is part of the blockbuster Halo franchise and debuts Nov 6. (read “The Big Game Battle“). But there‘s one thing over which Halo 4′s creators can breathe a sigh of relief: the game‘s review score from Metacritic.com.
Metacritic, which aggregates videogame reviews from various game publications such as GameStop GME +0.04%‘s Game Informer magazine and AOL‘s Joystiq, gives videogames an averaged score ranging from 1 to 100. The ranking that a game receives is regarded as a barometer for whether a title will sell well, with many game industry veterans and analysts saying a game needs to score in the mid-80s to be a certified hit.
“I‘d be hard pressed to buy a 60-rated game,“ said Josh Holmes, “Halo 4′s“ creative director. “Anything below 75–that‘s the kiss of death.“
Did you ever have something you wanted to say, but didn‘t know how to say it? Now William Shatner has an app for that.
The iconic actor of the Star Trek series and performer of spoken word albums is starring in a new role as the voice of a new app, called “Shatoetry.“
The app, which costs $2.99 for the iPhone and was released Thursday after more than a year of development, relies on Mr. Shatner‘s trademark larger-than-life voice and mixes one of around 400 words together into a very Shatner-esque sentence, which the developers call a “Shatism.“
Microsoft Corp. plans this weekend to start the marketing blitz for Windows 8, the software company’s dramatic overhaul of its flagship product to catch up to the rise of mobile devices such as Apple Inc.’s iPad.
According to people briefed on the marketing efforts, Microsoft’s ads beginning this weekend will coincide with pre-orders of some computers and tablet devices powered by Windows 8. Those devices are slated to go on sale widely on Oct. 26.
It’s no small push. People with knowledge of the marketing efforts said Microsoft and its hardware allies will have blankets of ads with a cumulative price tag of hundreds of millions of dollars.
Apple Inc.’s new iPhone 5 remained a hot item following the sales kickoff Friday, with customers flocking to stores to buy the new handset. But they seemed to have little luck finding the gadget at the Silicon Valley company’s retail partners.
While Apple’s own stores appeared to be selling the new device in large numbers, other retail chains that offered the device had limited quantities from the outset, according to sales staff in stores and other people familiar with the situation.
Shortages have hit Apple partners in the past, but the disparity seemed more pronounced this time.
The company has begun telling retail employees that they may offer discounts of $49 on the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 4 to customers who cite lower prices from other outlets, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The outlets include stores operated by Target Corp., Best Buy Co. and Sprint Nextel Corp., according to Apple‘s communications with employees.