forecast

Forecast: SLR growth rate to taper off

LAS VEGAS--Digital SLRs showed strong growth last year, but the sales surge will begin to moderate, according to a new report by the Camera and Imaging Products Association.

SLR cameras are bulky and expensive, yet they're also responsive, work better in dim conditions, and are flexible because photographers can change lenses. Year-over-year sales of digital SLRs grew 42 percent to 7.5 million units worldwide in 2007, CIPA said this week.

By contrast, the SLR growth rate will dip to 22 percent in 2008, 13 percent in 2009, and 9 percent in 2010, the CIPA predicted. That corresponds to … Read more

Study predicts rise of 'circular entertainment'

A new study from Nokia predicts that by 2012, a quarter of all entertainment will be created, edited, and shared within peer groups rather than being generated by traditional media.

Jointly conducted with the trend research firm The Future Laboratory, Nokia's study asked trend-setting consumers from 17 countries about their digital behaviors and lifestyles. The company also used information gathered from its 900 million customers as well as views of leading industry analysts.

"From our research we predict that up to a quarter of the entertainment being consumed in five years will be what we call 'circular.' The … Read more

AccuWeather mashes forecast tool into Google Maps

Google Maps has worked hard to place just about every capability you'd want when you stare at a map into its Web app. That includes the ability for third-party developers to ornament Google's maps with their own KML, or keyhole markup language, mapplets.

AccuWeather.com announced today its Forecast Snapshot for Google Maps. The add-on slips into the MyMaps tab of a user account and offers multiple ways to fetch the weather forecast while fixating on a particular locale.

Click the map, or enter the ZIP code or city into the AccuWeather.com search bar to grab meteorological data in Celsius or Fahrenheit. AccuWeather.com displays a three-day forecast in the sidebar and on the map face, but the widgetlike qualities stop there. Clicking for compressed or extended forecasts, animated radar, or anything else opens new tabs on AccuWeather.com.… Read more

11 weather stations on any TV screen

See what we mean about personal weather stations? They're everywhere, we tell you. Not only that, but just one isn't enough for some inflicted with OCMD (obsessive-compulsive meteorological disorder).

To wit: The "TV Weather Station" doesn't just provide the usual temperatures and forecasts; it can track up to 11 weather conditions at the same time. You can even get microclimate information up to 200 feet away from any part of your property so you can decide whether it's a croquet or a Slip 'N Slide day.

Unlike the typical standalone devices, according to OhGizmo, … Read more

The Weather Channel launching really local weather maps

Tomorrow the Weather Channel is officially launching a new Interactive Local Maps service. If you live in a city where the weather tends to vary by several degrees while just a short distance away, this new tool lets you to scope out the lay of the land--literally. The tool uses The Weather Channel's HiRAD (High Resolution Aggregated Data) technology which pulls in its weather information from several different integrated tracking services.

Like any other mapping tool, you can search for a specific location or just browse around. You can also turn on and off various layers, similar to Google Earth, … Read more

Cameras: Shipments rising, but prices falling

BURLINGAME, Calif.--Unexpected growth in the 2007 digital camera market has delayed the day when shipments start shrinking, but plunging prices already are a reality.

So reported Ed Lee, director of InfoTrends, at the analyst firm's Digital Imaging conference here Wednesday. The average digital camera price is projected to slip from $298 in 2006 to $191 in 2011 in North America.

"Price declines are happening much more rapidly than shipments are growing," Lee said. Those price declines, though, "probably are one of the reasons sales are up."

In the compact camera segment, average prices are … Read more

IDC to raise digital camera sales forecast

Shipments of digital cameras jumped 22 percent in the second quarter compared with the year earlier, and growth for coming months likely will outpace earlier expectations, analyst firm IDC said Thursday.

"IDC expects to raise its forecast for the CY2007 year due to this continued, stronger-than-expected growth," analyst Christopher Chute said in a statement.

Consumers are replacing earlier cameras with new models that stabilize images to counteract camera shake, but more importantly, they're also responding to lower prices, he said.

Canon remained the No. 1 seller, with 26 percent of shipments in the second quarter. Sony was … Read more

Tech stocks mere passengers in Thursday's downhill ride

This is based on an initial, somewhat superficial look at Thursday's stock tumble, but it's hard to say tech stocks played all that much of a role in the plunge. Many of them lost a little ground but didn't get hammered like some among the Dow industrials, which ended up almost 300 points lower at the end of their second-worst trading day of the year. Most of the selling was said to be prompted by concerns over weakness in the housing market and grim prospects for buyout financing.

As of about 4:30 p.m. East Coast … Read more

Ambient Devices' weather-forecasting umbrella now available

The folks from Ambient Devices came by the office yesterday to give me a look at the company's upcoming products and also let me know that their new weather-forecasting umbrella is now on sale. The Ambient Umbrella, which automatically receives weather data from Accuweather.com via Ambient's Infocast Network, has made some appearances on blogs, but it's now an official product with an official price tag of $125--though it's selling for $139 at Hammacher Schlemmer. I saw the thing in action, and while it isn't exactly super high-tech, the handle of the umbrella has a … Read more

Weather iWidget (iPhone App)

There have already been a few weather forecast apps released for the iPhone. Weather iWidget is not particularly notable in its design, but it will get you the information you need. Like other weather apps, simply enter a zip code and Weather iWidget does the rest.

iPhone Link: http://weather.iwidget.org/

Web site link http://iwidget.org