Apple Sells Record 74.5 Million iPhones in Quarter

Apple posted a far better-than-expected 29.5 percent jump in quarterly revenue, driven by record sales of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus smartphones in the holiday shopping season. The company sold 74.5 million iPhones in its first quarter ended Dec. 27. Revenue rose to $74.6 billion from $57.6 billion a year earlier. According to Thomson Reuters, analysts on average had expected revenue of $67.69 billion.



Sony to Cut 1,000 Jobs in Smartphone Business

The Nikkei business daily reported that Sony Corporation plans to cut another 1,000 jobs in its smartphone division, mainly in Europe and China. The cuts are in addition to the 1,000 jobs Sony said it would eliminate in its mobile unit in October. The report said that overall, Sony's mobile division workforce will shrink by about 30 percent to 5,000 by the end of the fiscal year ending March 2016.

How These Energy Geeks are Re-imagining an Old School Utility

Welcome to the utility industry's future - or at least that's what Southern California Edison is hoping. Here in a non-descript, 53,500-square-foot building, the $12 billion utility's research team is testing everything from charging electronic vehicles via cell phone to devices that smooth out the power created by rooftop solar panels. Those are some of the roughly 60 projects in the works at Edison's Advanced Technology division.

Prynt Smartphone Case Prints Your Photos, Polaroid-style

It seems a lot of us would love to crawl back in time to an era when instant Polaroid photos were the height of cool. If Instagram filters aren't enough for you anymore, check out the Prynt camera case on Kickstarter. Prynt essentially turns your smartphone into a Polaroid-style instant camera so you can print out pictures and hold them in your hand, rather than show them off on the screen. Put the case on your phone, take a photo using the Prynt app and then collect the photograph from the top. You can also print out your social-media selfies, Instagram images and photos from other sources.



Apple Takes Top Spot in Chinese Smartphone Market - Data Firm

According to data firm Canalys, Apple has shipped the most number of smartphones in China in the fourth quarter, overtaking Samsung Electronics and homegrown companies such as Xiaomi (rhymes with how-me) for the first time, . Apple's iPhone 6 and 6 Plus launched last September have proved to be popular in Asia despite being costlier than most handsets. " The report said Samsung fell to the third place.

Filmmakers Blur Lines With Virtual Reality at Sundance

Whether putting moviegoers inside the yurt of a Mongolian tribe, in the studio with a musician or in the path of an oncoming train, filmmakers are blurring the lines of reality for viewers at this year's Sundance Film Festival. This year's conclave of independent films in Park City, Utah, is devoting its New Frontier showcase to virtual reality film with 11 works, the largest such lineup in the festival's three-decade history.

Depp, Lopez, Aniston headline new movies this weekend

FOX 34's James Eppler previews the new releases.

Amazon Doubles Down on Entertainment With 'indie' Movie Bet

Amazon.com Inc is making a high-stakes foray into the challenging realm of independent movies, the latest step in its attempt to move beyond simply distributing digital entertainment content to creating it. Amazon said on Monday it was aiming to produce close to 12 movies a year for theatrical release which would then be available on its Prime video service within two months, significantly faster than the roughly one-year wait it normally faces to stream Hollywood releases.



'The Interview' to Get Theatrical Release in France

Sony's controversial comedy, The Interview, about the assassination of Kim Jong Un, is once again scheduled to get a theatrical release in France. The film, starring Seth Rogen and James Franco, which had been canceled following the Sony hack, will be released nationwide on 120 screens Jan. 28. It had originally been slated for a Feb. 11 release. It's the latest in a series of rescheduled release dates in Europe for the movie, which will now be released in Germany Feb. 5 and in the U.K. Feb. 6. After pulling the film following the hack, Sony faced criticism in the U.S. and pressure from Hollywood stars, politicians and the public to release the film. President Barack Obama called Sony's decision to pull it "a mistake" at the time.



LG Bets Big on Internet of Things

LG used its presentation at the 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to highlight its focus on the Internet of Things and the company's pursuit of a functioning inter-operable ecosystem. The LG system can combine its WebOS 2.0 TVs with a new "wellness platform," home automation and even smartcars. LG also confirmed that its Music Flow multiroom audio system would be launched into the US and Australia.

Apple Sells Record 74.5 Million iPhones in Quarter

Apple posted a far better-than-expected 29.5 percent jump in quarterly revenue, driven by record sales of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus smartphones in the holiday shopping season. The company sold 74.5 million iPhones in its first quarter ended Dec. 27. Revenue rose to $74.6 billion from $57.6 billion a year earlier. According to Thomson Reuters, analysts on average had expected revenue of $67.69 billion.



Sony to Cut 1,000 Jobs in Smartphone Business

The Nikkei business daily reported that Sony Corporation plans to cut another 1,000 jobs in its smartphone division, mainly in Europe and China. The cuts are in addition to the 1,000 jobs Sony said it would eliminate in its mobile unit in October. The report said that overall, Sony's mobile division workforce will shrink by about 30 percent to 5,000 by the end of the fiscal year ending March 2016.

How These Energy Geeks are Re-imagining an Old School Utility

Welcome to the utility industry's future - or at least that's what Southern California Edison is hoping. Here in a non-descript, 53,500-square-foot building, the $12 billion utility's research team is testing everything from charging electronic vehicles via cell phone to devices that smooth out the power created by rooftop solar panels. Those are some of the roughly 60 projects in the works at Edison's Advanced Technology division.

Apple Takes Top Spot in Chinese Smartphone Market - Data Firm

According to data firm Canalys, Apple has shipped the most number of smartphones in China in the fourth quarter, overtaking Samsung Electronics and homegrown companies such as Xiaomi (rhymes with how-me) for the first time, . Apple's iPhone 6 and 6 Plus launched last September have proved to be popular in Asia despite being costlier than most handsets. " The report said Samsung fell to the third place.

Content Insider #376 - Second Look

Virtually There, Fly-bys, Friendly Bots, Something from Nothing

CES (Consumer Electronics Show) is like fine dining. It is best to be tasted, eaten, consumed slowly but unfortunately that's impossible because it is like a limited time giant buffet. If you don't fill your plate with the best that is before you it's gone for another year and you missed out on something good...really good. Okay virtual reality, drones, robots and 3D printing isn't on everyone's diet but in small portions they're all pretty good and getting better. Of course if you're into these products you'd swear they are ready right now. Maybe.