electronics

Electronic Arts: Digital sales will surpass boxed game sales in years

Electronic Arts expects sales of digital games to surpass those of boxed games in the coming years.

"There will come a point, whether it is two or three years from now, when we say: 'We are doing more in digital media now than we are in physical media,'" EA Chief Operating Officer Peter Moore told Reuters.

As a result, the maker of "Battlefield", "The Sims 3," and "Crysis 3" is likely to increase its range of mobile and free-to-play games.

EA will serve up more than 40 social mobile and free-to-play games … Read more

Samsung to investigate child labor claims at factory

Samsung has already sprung into action in response to accusations that its HEG Electronics supplier is forcing underage children to work under harsh conditions.

The Korean handset maker is sending a team this week to the HEG Electronics factory in Huizhou, China, to conduct its own investigation, according to The Verge. This would be Samsung's third probe of the facility; the first two failed to turn up any issues.

HEG Electronics, which makes DVD players and mobile phones for Samsung, has been accused by China Labor Watch of employing children under 16.

A new report from CLW found that … Read more

'Dyle' in to watch live TV on your phone

You don't need any accessories to catch up on Friday's top tech stories:

A new service called Dyle picks up live, local TV signals to watch on your mobile device. The first with this service is the MetroPCS Samsung Galaxy S Lightray 4G. But if you rather not drop $460 right now for a phone, iOS users may have another option this fall when Dyle attachments are expected to go on sale.

No price has been set, but the attachments could cost, at most, $150. And the service from then on is free. Would you pay for an … Read more

EA sues Zynga, alleges 'The Ville' is 'Sims Social' ripoff

The punches just keep coming for Zynga.

Electronic Arts is suing the social games creator for copyright infringement, alleging that Zynga ripped off EA's "The Sims Social" when it created "The Ville," EA said today in a press release.

The gaming giant filed its lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California today.

The Sims Social is the Facebook version of EA's "The Sims" game. After launching in August 2011, the game has gained "several million active" users on Facebook, according to EA's press … Read more

Headphone maker 'Beats' marketing rules at Olympics

File this one under M.W.A.: Marketers with attitude.

Organizers of the 2012 London Olympics are peeved at Beats Electronics, makers of the headphones that are ubiquitous in major U.S. cities, according to The Guardian and other British publications. Without the company ponying up the money to become an official sponsor of the games, Beats' headphones still managed to find their way onto the ears of Olympic athletes, who during the games are some of the most watched people on the planet.

That makes them very valuable human billboards.

Officials from the International Olympic Committee are looking into … Read more

YouTube's weapon against crude comments

Tuesday's top stories score a touchdown against trolls:

YouTube is hoping to reduce its troll population by letting users go by their real names. Google+ accounts can now be used as a YouTube identity. The switch can be done in settings. Before making the change, users can review past activity and delete any undesirable comments. But this isn't a required switch. Users can keep their existing account names.

Video game publisher Electronic Arts may not have the monopoly over pigskin for long. Back in 2008, EA was sued for making exclusive licensing deals with the NFL, NCAA and … Read more

Electronic Arts comes out against Defense of Marriage Act

Electronic Arts has joined a coalition of American businesses opposing the Defense of Marriage Act, a federal law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

The game publisher said in a statement Wednesday that it was joining dozens of business in signing an amicus brief that urges the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to find the 1996 law unconstitutional. In part, the statement reads:

DOMA presents a number of problems for businesses like EA, as it creates regulatory, tax, and discrimination complications for employers, and that's why we're standing against it. … Read more

littleBits goes big, closes $3.65 million funding round

littleBits, makers of the eponymous educational circuitry kits, has announced the close of its series A funding round this morning, having taken in $3.65 million from various investors. True Ventures, funder of companies like MakerBot and FitBit, leads the group, with Khosla Ventures, O'Reilly AlphaTech Ventures, and Lerer Ventures pitching in.

Along with the funding, littleBits has also announced that supply chain and manufacturing firm PCH International will be helping to scale up production.

littleBits kits are made up of a series of electronic modules that connect together with magnets, with a color-coding system to guide assembly. Each … Read more

Apple reverses course, re-ups with EPEAT green standard

Apple is once again a part of the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool group, which rates electronics for their greenness.

Last month Apple quietly ended its participation with EPEAT. In a statement earlier this week, Apple said its products were still made to meet the Energy Star 5.2 guidelines and that it posts extensive information about its environmental efforts on its Web site.

In a new letter, Apple's soon to be outgoing hardware engineering chief, Bob Mansfield, said the company will once again have its products rated by the organization:

We've recently heard from many loyal Apple … Read more

Wilson's 4G V for better Verizon LTE

Wilson Electronics announced today that its Sleek 4G V signal booster is now on sale for $129.

Announced earlier this year at CES, the Sleek 4G V is the first cell phone signal booster from the company to support Verizon's LTE network in the 700 MHz band. And when you're not on 4G, it's compatible with all GSM and CDMA networks (so, Verizon and its carrier rivals) at the 2G and 3G levels.

Like the earlier Sleek Booster, the Sleek 4G V comes with a cradle for holding your phone, a power cable for the cigarette lighter … Read more