Eve Wilkinson's Blog: October 2017

After lean times, a renaissance for Sony as it forecasts best-ever annual profit

Japan’s Sony expects to book its highest-ever profit this year, underscoring the success of chief executive Kazuo Hirai’s restructuring that refocused the electronics and entertainment firm on image sensors and gaming.

The milestone confirms the renaissance of Sony, once a byword for technological innovation whose earnings peaked in the year ending March 1998 thanks to strong sales of its first PlayStation games console.

But it spent the next decade in price wars with emerging consumer electronics rivals from South Korea and China whilst being outclassed by Apples game-changing iPod and iPhone portable devices.

Hirai’s ascent in 2012 sparked a restructuring drive that saw Sony streamline unprofitable electronics businesses and capitalise on the spread of smartphones with its image sensors whilst retaining a living-room presence with its consoles.

from Eve’s Feed http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/98447930/After-lean-times-a-renaissance-for-Sony-as-it-forecasts-best-ever-annual-profit

from
https://evewilki1971.wordpress.com/2017/11/01/after-lean-times-a-renaissance-for-sony-as-it-forecasts-best-ever-annual-profit/

Game publisher EA’s holiday-quarter sales forecast misses estimates

Electronic Arts’ revenue forecast for the holiday quarter narrowly missed estimates on Tuesday as the game developer gears to face tough competition from rivals such as Activision.

The videogame publisher forecast third-quarter adjusted revenue of US$2 billion (NZ$2.9 billion), a tad lower than the analysts’ average estimate of US$2.01b, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

“We always try to be conservative … Christmas is always the toughest time to predict how business is going to be,” chief financial officer Blake Jorgensen told Reuters.

EA’s holiday quarter launches include “Star Wars Battlefront II” on November 17 and “Need for Speed Payback” on November 10.

from Eve’s Feed http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/games/98442357/Game-publisher-EAs-holiday-quarter-sales-forecast-misses-estimates

from
https://evewilki1971.wordpress.com/2017/11/01/game-publisher-eas-holiday-quarter-sales-forecast-misses-estimates/

iPhone X review: Apple is asking you to break up with the home button

REVIEW: The iPhone X arriving in stores on Friday isn’t just a new design. It’s a new relationship.

Compared to your current phone, the 10th-anniversary iPhone is missing a key element: the home button.

The whole front is just screen. You have to learn new gestures to operate it. Instead of scanning a finger to unlock it, now you stop and look at it for a second like you’re taking a selfie. This phone recognises you.

Is the iPhone X for you? It’s no slam dunk.

from Eve’s Feed http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/gadgets/98440202/iPhone-X-review-Apple-is-asking-you-to-break-up-with-the-home-button