According to figures recently released by Strategy Analytics, WCDMA (3G) technology, accounts for 5% of the total handset sales during Q2 2005. While 3G is still in an early stage of development, Nokia has 17% of the 3G market.

This 17% may not seem that large, but it puts Nokia well ahead of other handset manufactures and may be due in part to the popularity of the 6680 line. While Motorola continues to make inroads into the GPRS / 2.5G market, it may have to step up pace for the next battle of the WCDMA phones.

Is this barrier already too high to climb for Nokia’s competitors? No, but Nokia is clearly making up some of the “high-end” ground it has lost to Motorola, Samsung, LG and others in the past few years.

The continued battle of the “games are good” “games are bad” war plays on with a recent article in Discover Magazine that examines the growing body of research suggesting that video games exercise the mind similar to the way physical activity exercises the body.

Laparoscopic surgery, also known as keyhole surgery or band-aid surgery, involves manipulating controls/joysticks to control a fiber optic camera and surgical tools to perform minimally invasive surgery with only tiny incisions in the person’s body. Laparoscopic surgery has been around for many years now, but doctors have only recently begun to notice a stirring correlation between the top surgeons and video gamers.

Surgeon Butch Rosser, directory of minimally invasive surgery at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York, read a reporter’s comments about one of his procedures that referred to him as a “Nintendo surgeon”. This started his thinking that perhaps his apparent gift among many of his peers was because he was a gamer.

Chris Merris of CNN presents, in an August 24th article, a great look at a possibility that several in the game industry have proposed. Is Sony bluffing about how expensive the Playstation 3 will be?

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The Technology Suits looked into the business strategy of a move like this by Sony and think that it is quite reasonable. If Sony is playing a “bait and switch” game with the price of the PS3, will it hurt Microsoft and the Xbox 360? Not likely.

Even if the PS3 does release around the $300 price point or even less, Microsoft is still in a better position by entering the next generation race 8 to 12 months before the competitors. Console manufactures have historically sold each console at a steep loss per unit, where console licenses for each game sold on the system bring in significant revenues down the line. Many analysts have claimed that Sony in fact often sells hardware at a loss to maintain brand strength and market share, with Sony’s video game revenues and movie divisions subsidizing at least portions of the hardware businesses.

Early adopters and many hardcore gamers will no doubt buy the Xbox 360 at the proposed $300 and $400 prices, and the more expensive bundles of games and accessories will likely increase the overall stigma of a “must have” item. This higher price point will lessen the loss that Microsoft experiences form each console sale and help the bottom line.

When the final pricing for the PS3 is announced and it goes on sale, Microsoft will be in a position to decide whether or not to drop the price to be more competitive with Sony’s release. Plus, Microsoft will have many months to monitor consumer views on the high prices and new technology.

By moving first, Microsoft may be in a position to manipulate the 360’s price to track closer with consumers’ willingness to play and maximize revenues, but Sony will have the extra time to learn from Microsoft’s mistakes, as will Nintendo with the Revolution (We have not forgotten it and are excited to hear more details on the Revolution.). While the PlayStation 3’s hardware specs may be fairly locked down, Sony can continue to tweak the software offering with the console such as media center functionality, DVR capabilities and integration with other digital services.

Analysts are predicting that Google’s move into the IM and VOIP arena may shake the market. While analysts and vendors are generally upbeat about Google’s chances to win consumers and enterprise customers, the move may be a sign that the market is about to explode.
Several reviews on Google Talk have talked about […]