The price of Nokia Oyj (NOK1V)’s Lumia 900, which the company is counting on to challenge the iPhone and Android devices, was cut in half to $49.99 at AT&T Inc. (T) (T) stores.
The product is available at that price with a two-year commitment, according to AT&T’s website. AT&T began offering the phone in April, following the debut of the Lumia lineup in the U.S. on T-Mobile USA’s network in January.
North America was the only region where Espoo, Finland- based Nokia saw handset shipments grow sequentially in the first quarter, helped by the release of the Lumia 710 on T-Mobile. Still, the 600,000 units shipped marked a 50 percent decline from a year earlier. Sales of the Lumia on AT&T started after the quarter ended, so its impact won’t be seen until Nokia reports its next quarterly results on July 19.
The price cut was previously reported by the Wall Street Journal.
'Dark Knight Rises,' But Saga Ends For Director Nolan
The new Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises, is perhaps the
most anticipated movie of the summer. It's the last film in the Batman
trilogy that writer-director Christopher Nolan has crafted over the past
7 years.Nolan wanted The Dark Knight Rises, which will be released in theaters July 20, to feel like a historical epic. As he tells weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz, he looked to films like Fritz Lang's Metropolis, David Lean's Dr. Zhivago, and Ridley Scott's Blade Runner.
INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS
On what inspired him to be a film director
"The films of Ridley Scott, particularly Alien and Blade Runner.
Watching those films and realizing that even though the stories were
different, the actors were different, something was connecting these
films, the same mind was behind them. And realizing that, 'Oh, that's
this guy, Ridley Scott, he's the director. He's getting to really define
those movies.' I think that really inspired me to want to specifically
be a director." On why Batman is his favorite superhero
"For me the character of Batman is the most human and relatable of superheros. He doesn't have super powers — base level he's just a guy who likes to do a lot of push-ups. He's a self-created hero."
On the state of Bruce Wayne and Gotham at the beginning of The Dark Knight Rises
We have to be seeing a Gotham where — at least superficially — Batman's not needed. Because the sacrifice that Gordon helps him make at the end of The Dark Knight has to mean something. So we're finding a Bruce Wayne who's living in self-imposed isolation for eight years, he's locked himself up in a wing of Wayne Manor, very much in the manner of Howard Hughes in his sort of Las Vegas period.
On the villain, Bane
"He represents almost a flip-side of Bruce Wayne, somebody Bruce Wayne might have become in a parallel universe or something."
On what he will miss most about ending his Batman run
"The thing I'm going to miss the most about the great privilege of working with these characters is the built-in connection they have with the audience. That lets you tell a story in this incredibly-heightened fashion, what I call this "operatic-style," and I will miss that enormously because you can't do that with characters you make up, you can't assume that investment on the part of the audience."
Stallone, Schwarzenegger in fighting form for "Expendables 2"
(Reuters) - Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and their fellow aging action heroes are back in fighting form for new movie "The Expendables 2," thrilling crowds at the giant Comic-Con pop culture event with footage from the upcoming film.
The new movie, a sequel to 2010's surprise hit about a group of rebel mercenaries out to kill a brutal military leader, appeared similar to the first one in film clips shown Thursday with an emphasis on old-school shootouts over sci-fi fantasy.
"Rambo" and "Rocky" actor Stallone, 66, introduced Schwarzenegger, 64, the former governor of California and star of the "Terminator" movies, to the Comic-Con crowd as "one of my fellow brothers in the hard art business ... a true one-of-a-kind movie star, the likes of whom we'll never see again."
"The Expendables" hit theaters in August 2010 with a tale of aging mercenaries on a new assignment and was positioned as a return to classic 1980s action and adventure versus the Spider-Man and Batman film franchises that rule box offices today.
The film was loaded with older actions stars such as Bruce Willis, and the formula worked well as the movie blasted its way to nearly $275 million at worldwide box offices.
For the sequel, in theaters on August 17, Stallone and Schwarzenegger reunite with Willis, Chuck Norris, Jet-Li, Jason Statham and others.
"The first one was more searching for what was going to work. Is it more dramatic, comedic? But on the second one, you find out what works from the first one, and you try to amplify it," Stallone told the Comic-Con crowd.
"You have the same playbook ... if you have it all together, the second one can surpass the first one, and I think we achieved that."
For the second film, Hollywood's old action heroes set out on another dangerous assignment where Stallone said the Expendables were pushed to the extreme. Film clips showed them in explosive situations, slick fight scenes and trading tough-guy comments with each other.
Stallone said recent Hollywood heroes were "a different kind of action star, more futuristic, scientific, technical. (They) don't have to spend their life pumping iron."
He added that the newer heroes were still valid for their age group, as "each generation has to create their own heroes and each generation redefines the heroes they like to adore."
Much of the audience was filled with fans who have grown up idolizing the old-school heroes including Stallone and Schwarzenegger, and the actors thanked them for their loyalty and dedication.
"The action genre is like a religion, you get your beliefs from these movies, you get your right and wrong from these movies, you get your inspiration," said another of the film's stars, Terry Crews.
Following the panel, Schwarzenegger was given an award from Comic-Con for his contributions and achievements to the film arts and pop culture.
"Rambo" and "Rocky" actor Stallone, 66, introduced Schwarzenegger, 64, the former governor of California and star of the "Terminator" movies, to the Comic-Con crowd as "one of my fellow brothers in the hard art business ... a true one-of-a-kind movie star, the likes of whom we'll never see again."
"The Expendables" hit theaters in August 2010 with a tale of aging mercenaries on a new assignment and was positioned as a return to classic 1980s action and adventure versus the Spider-Man and Batman film franchises that rule box offices today.
The film was loaded with older actions stars such as Bruce Willis, and the formula worked well as the movie blasted its way to nearly $275 million at worldwide box offices.
For the sequel, in theaters on August 17, Stallone and Schwarzenegger reunite with Willis, Chuck Norris, Jet-Li, Jason Statham and others.
"The first one was more searching for what was going to work. Is it more dramatic, comedic? But on the second one, you find out what works from the first one, and you try to amplify it," Stallone told the Comic-Con crowd.
"You have the same playbook ... if you have it all together, the second one can surpass the first one, and I think we achieved that."
For the second film, Hollywood's old action heroes set out on another dangerous assignment where Stallone said the Expendables were pushed to the extreme. Film clips showed them in explosive situations, slick fight scenes and trading tough-guy comments with each other.
Stallone said recent Hollywood heroes were "a different kind of action star, more futuristic, scientific, technical. (They) don't have to spend their life pumping iron."
He added that the newer heroes were still valid for their age group, as "each generation has to create their own heroes and each generation redefines the heroes they like to adore."
Much of the audience was filled with fans who have grown up idolizing the old-school heroes including Stallone and Schwarzenegger, and the actors thanked them for their loyalty and dedication.
"The action genre is like a religion, you get your beliefs from these movies, you get your right and wrong from these movies, you get your inspiration," said another of the film's stars, Terry Crews.
Following the panel, Schwarzenegger was given an award from Comic-Con for his contributions and achievements to the film arts and pop culture.
Symantec antivirus software update crashes some PCs
A recent update to Symantec's antivirus software rendered some
Windows-based PCs inoperable, the security software maker disclosed
Friday.
An update earlier this week to Symantec Endpoint Protection 12.1 antivirus software for businesses caused some Windows XP-based computers to crash repeatedly with a "blue screen of death," the company revealed on its Web site.
"On July 11th, 2012 Symantec Security Response started receiving reports of customers experiencing blue screens after applying the July 11th revision 18 definitions," Orla Cox, of Symantec Security Response, wrote this post "Machines may continue to blue screen after they reboot. This problem only appears to occur on Windows XP machines."
In an update, the company said the crashes were limited to XP machines running Endpoint Protection 12.1 and certain software from Norton. Once the cause was identified, Symantec issued a rollback of signatures on Thursday, the company said.
The company said it learned of the issue Wednesday night from customers, who said they were forced to manually remove the software from disabled machines, a process they described as time consuming.
After Facebook freeze, IPO market starts to thaw
NEW YORK (AP) — With new public stock offerings for guitar maker Fender and travel booking website Kayak on deck next week, there are signs demand is starting to grow for IPOs after a five-week freeze triggered by a steep decline in financial markets and exacerbated by Facebook's rocky May 18 debut.
Five companies are scheduled to go public next week alone, including Fender, Kayak and Palo Alto Networks,
a maker of computer network security products. After Facebook, just
four deals made it to market by the end of June, marking the longest
stretch without an initial public offering of stock since August-October
2011. Stocks sank then in the wake of the U.S. debt limit showdown and a
deepening European financial crisis.
The resurgence now is a welcome indication that dealmakers are regaining confidence about raising money through IPOs.
But the situation is far from rosy.
There
are 68 companies expected to raise $14.4 billion through IPOs later
this year, according to research firm Dealogic, Last year at this time
there were almost double that amount of companies — 135, looking to
raise $23.6 billion.
"If the
market stays healthy — the overall market — I think we will see a lot of
IPO activity in the second half," said Nick Einhorn, an analyst with
Renaissance Capital. But another plunge in stock markets could make it difficult for companies to raise money by selling shares.
The types of companies that try to raise money will also affect the IPO market.
Mutual funds and the other big investors who tend to buy IPO shares are
less likely now to be attracted to technology companies like social networks
and games maker Zynga Inc. They've shifted to business technology
companies such as Palo Alto Networks, which they consider more stable.
Stocks
of several of these kinds of companies have performed well since their
IPOs. ServiceNow Inc., a provider of so-called "cloud" technology
services to companies, went public in late June, pricing at $18, above
its expected range of $15 to $17. The stock has risen 34 percent from
its debut. Jive Software Inc., which makes internal social networks for
corporations, started trading in December and has climbed 56 percent
from its IPO price.
Well-known
consumer brands also help drum up excitement for IPOs among retail
investors, the "regular" people who buy and sell stocks. There are high
hopes for Fender Musical Instruments Corp., the company behind the
famous Fender Stratocaster electric guitars. It's looking to raise up to
$160.5 million in its IPO next week.
Several
other consumer-oriented deals could ignite excitement later this year,
said Morningstar analyst James Krapfel, citing Bloomin' Brands Inc., the
owner of Outback Steakhouse; English professional soccer club
Manchester United; and Coty Inc., maker of OPI nail polish and Jennifer
Lopez perfume. Krapfel doesn't expect much demand for deals in
industries sensitive to economic concerns and weak commodity prices such
as industrial and energy companies.
But
even companies in industries considered appealing will have a hard time
if the broader markets don't cooperate. Fears about the faltering
global economy stalled the IPO market in May, when economic worries
drove the Standard & Poor's 500 index down 6.3 percent. In June, the
index rallied 4 percent, but the IPO market tends to lag the broader
market and reacts to the prior month's decline.
That's
one reason experts like Einhorn remain wary. The S&P 500 is down 2
percent in July and a sluggish U.S. economy, signs of slowing growth in
China and financial crises in Europe may douse enthusiasm. Also, summer
is traditionally a slow time for making deals since many bank executives
take vacation in July and August.
And
then there's the memory of Facebook's disappointing debut. The stock
was expected to take off and ignite investor demand for other IPOs.
Instead, it closed up just 23 cents from its IPO price of $38 on its
first day of trading. The stock has fallen about 19 percent since then
and now trades around $31.
Facebook's
decline after its long-awaited, highly anticipated IPO of the social
network was "no question" a big negative for the IPO market, so the more
time passes, the better, said Sam Hamadeh, the CEO of PrivCo, a
research firm that follows privately held companies.
On
the plus side, investors may take heart from a spurt of IPO activity at
the end of last quarter. The stocks of all four companies that went
public in the last week of June are trading at or above their IPO price.
Next
week's scheduled IPOs include Fender, the travel website Kayak Software
Corp., which expects to raise as much as $87.5 million; network
security company Palo Alto Networks Inc., hoping to fetch as much as
$229.4 million; Five Below Inc., a discount teen retailer, seeking to
raise up to $134.4 million, and biotech company Durata Therapeutics
Inc., which could raise up to $81.9 million.
Serena wins at Stanford in final Olympic tuneup
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Serena Williams overcame a shaky start and two service breaks to beat lucky loser Coco Vandeweghe 7-5, 6-3 on Sunday for her second straight Bank of the West Classic title.
Eight
days after winning Wimbledon, Williams saved a set point and won the
final four games of the opening set. It was the 43rd WTA Tour
championship of Williams' career, tying older sister Venus for the most
among active players.
The first all-American WTA final on home soil in eight years was hardly a one-sided affair.
The
20-year-old Vandeweghe, who failed to make it out of qualifying and got
into the main draw only when Bojana Jovanovski withdrew with an injury,
moved the 14-time Grand Slam champion and her highlighter-yellow outfit
all over the court to give Williams her only real challenge of the
week.
The final result was still the same.Williams whipped a backhand crosscourt that Vandeweghe sent sailing wide for an early break to go ahead 2-0. In what looked to be another rout by Williams, the young American showed some fight.
Vandeweghe
immediately broke twice in the first set — both with Williams
struggling on tosses into the sunny side of the court — and ripped a 121
mph ace in her next game. But serving for the set at 5-4, Vandeweghe
crumbled when she had the chance to put a dent into Williams' final
tuneup before the London Olympics.
All it took was one point.
Williams walloped a soft second serve with another backhand crosscourt to save a set point.
And on the sixth break chance of the game, Vandeweghe double-faulted — a
theme throughout a sun-splashed afternoon in the biggest moments of the
match.
She finished with five double-faults and six aces.
Williams didn't fare much better with nine aces and six double-faults,
but she won 81 percent of her first serve points and waited for her
opponent to make mistakes.
Vandeweghe
again double-faulted to give Williams a set point at 6-5, and Williams
smacked a another backhand crosscourt that Vandeweghe barely got a
racket on to take the set. Williams gave a light fist pump and stayed
steady, just as she had done for most of the last month in her latest
rise up the rankings.
Another double-fault by Vandeweghe on break
point gave Williams a 3-1 lead in the second set. Williams served out
the match and put away one final forehand winner on match point, giving
another light fist pump and showing little emotion — especially compared
to her hug-filled celebration with family eight days earlier on
Wimbledon's grass.The fourth-ranked Williams, still jet-lagged from traveling more than 5,000 miles and eight time zones from the All England Club, never looked at her dominating best at Stanford. But she did exactly what she wanted all week: just win.
Not
only did she defend her points to stay on track to regain the No. 1
world ranking, she did it on a court that will forever hold a special
place in her heart. The tournament is where Williams' comeback took
shape last year when she beat Marion Bartoli in the finals for her first
WTA title since returning from blood clots in her lugs and two foot
operations that threatened her life and career for almost a year.
The
last player to win consecutive titles at Stanford was Kim Clijsters in
2005-06. Clijsters is also second behind the Williams sisters with 41
career WTA titles.
The last all-American final at home on the WTA Tour came in 2004, when Lindsay Davenport topped Williams in Los Angeles.
Blackberry maker loses patent suit over software
A federal jury in San Francisco has found beleaguered Blackberry maker Research in Motion Ltd. liable for $147.2 million in damages for infringing on patents held by Mformation Technologies Inc.
Amar Thakur, a lawyer for Mformation, said Saturday that the verdict late Friday followed a three-week trial and a week of deliberations by an eight-person jury.
Mformation, of Edison, N.J., sued Research in Motion in October 2008, alleging that Canada-based RIM infringed on its 1999 invention for remotely managing wireless devices. Mformation's software allows companies to remotely access employee cell phones to do software upgrades, change passwords or to wipe data from phones that have been stolen.
Officials at RIM, which has been struggling with plummeting sales, a declining stock and other problems, did not provide a comment Saturday.
Thakur said the jury ruled that Research in Motion should pay his client $8 for each of the 18.4 million Blackberrys that were connected to the Blackberry Enterprise Server, from the day the lawsuit was filed until the time of the trial. That's a total of $147.2 million.
He said the software at issue is the heart of the business of Mformation, a privately held company with several hundred employees.
"We believe it's been fundamental to the success of Research in Motion," Thakur told The Associated Press.
The patent at issue was filed in 2001 and issued in 2005, he said.
RIM, of Waterloo, Ontario, has previously denied it did anything wrong.
RIM has seen its business crumble as it increasingly loses market share. Today's consumers want smartphones that go far beyond handling e-mail and phone calls, with built-in cameras and other cool functions.
Particularly telling is the plunge in the Blackberry's U.S. market share. It's dropped from 41 percent in 2007, the year the first iPhone came out, to below 4 percent in the first three months of this year, according to research firm IDC.
Meanwhile, RIM will miss a chance to bounce back because of repeated delays on its BlackBerry 10 operating software, which is intended to help Blackberrys catch up to rivals such as the iPhone and smartphones running Google's Android software. Not only will devices with the new Blackberry software miss the crucial holiday shopping season, they'll have even more competition when they do go on sale, including a new iPhone expected from Apple this fall.
Last month, RIM reported weaker than expected results. For the quarter that ended on June 2, it lost $518 million, or 99 cents a share. Even after excluding impairment charges, the loss was 37 cents per share. Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting a 3-cent per share loss. Revenue fell 43 percent to $2.8 billion, and RIM said it will be cutting 5,000 jobs, or 30 percent of its workforce.
The company's stock, which traded for more than $30 less than a year ago, has recently dropped below $8, near a nine-year low. On Friday, the stock dropped another 2.4 percent to close at $7.24.
Amar Thakur, a lawyer for Mformation, said Saturday that the verdict late Friday followed a three-week trial and a week of deliberations by an eight-person jury.
Mformation, of Edison, N.J., sued Research in Motion in October 2008, alleging that Canada-based RIM infringed on its 1999 invention for remotely managing wireless devices. Mformation's software allows companies to remotely access employee cell phones to do software upgrades, change passwords or to wipe data from phones that have been stolen.
Officials at RIM, which has been struggling with plummeting sales, a declining stock and other problems, did not provide a comment Saturday.
Thakur said the jury ruled that Research in Motion should pay his client $8 for each of the 18.4 million Blackberrys that were connected to the Blackberry Enterprise Server, from the day the lawsuit was filed until the time of the trial. That's a total of $147.2 million.
He said the software at issue is the heart of the business of Mformation, a privately held company with several hundred employees.
"We believe it's been fundamental to the success of Research in Motion," Thakur told The Associated Press.
The patent at issue was filed in 2001 and issued in 2005, he said.
RIM, of Waterloo, Ontario, has previously denied it did anything wrong.
RIM has seen its business crumble as it increasingly loses market share. Today's consumers want smartphones that go far beyond handling e-mail and phone calls, with built-in cameras and other cool functions.
Particularly telling is the plunge in the Blackberry's U.S. market share. It's dropped from 41 percent in 2007, the year the first iPhone came out, to below 4 percent in the first three months of this year, according to research firm IDC.
Meanwhile, RIM will miss a chance to bounce back because of repeated delays on its BlackBerry 10 operating software, which is intended to help Blackberrys catch up to rivals such as the iPhone and smartphones running Google's Android software. Not only will devices with the new Blackberry software miss the crucial holiday shopping season, they'll have even more competition when they do go on sale, including a new iPhone expected from Apple this fall.
Last month, RIM reported weaker than expected results. For the quarter that ended on June 2, it lost $518 million, or 99 cents a share. Even after excluding impairment charges, the loss was 37 cents per share. Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting a 3-cent per share loss. Revenue fell 43 percent to $2.8 billion, and RIM said it will be cutting 5,000 jobs, or 30 percent of its workforce.
The company's stock, which traded for more than $30 less than a year ago, has recently dropped below $8, near a nine-year low. On Friday, the stock dropped another 2.4 percent to close at $7.24.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)