In his latest commentary, analyst Rob Enderle of TechNewsWorld gave his opinions about Sony's Blu-ray. He stated that Blu-ray is facing a very serious problem, and the PlayStation 3 may be the biggest culprit to blame.

The analyst said that he was convinced that Blu-ray would have "toasted" the HD-DVD format by this time if it wasn't for the price point of the technology. This assumption was based on the idea that "Sony would never be stupid enough to price itself out of the game console market, effectively giving it to Nintendo Latest News about Nintendo and Microsoft."

"Instead of the PS3 ensuring Blu-ray's success, right now it appears that Blu-ray may have effectively killed the PS3, at least in terms of market leadership," adds Enderle.

Enderle also shed some light as to why Dreamworks and Paramount supported the HD-DVD. He explained that while there seems to have been some US$ 250 million in incentives doled out, the more compelling reason was that the two companies saw Blu-ray's failure coming and abandoned ship.

The move by Dreamworks and Paramount, he concluded, effectively ensures that "Blu-ray will lose whether HD-DVD wins or not."

Such a scenario, Enderle says, is possible if the price point of players for both formats don't drop to US$ 200 and below. This, he says, could stagnate the market and compel consumers to skip the generation altogether.

"In other words, while Blu-ray can't win, in my view, there is still an excellent chance the market will simply bypass both if one doesn't ramp to high volume this year. In that instance, everyone loses," the analyst said.

Vilhelm sends us a tip about an intriguing little bit of information that could force retailers to turn the tide over to HD DVD as the winner of the format wars. Apparently, Wal-Mart leaked plans to bring in a large number of low-cost HD DVD players for Christmas.

The large shift towards selling low-cost HD DVD players for Christmas could increase HD DVD sales by a staggering amount. Given that studios count on support from huge retailers like Wal-Mart, it stands to reason that if Wal-Mart puts it foot down and chooses one format above the other, then studios will be increasingly pressured to adopt the retailer's choice or stand to lose money by supporting multiple formats.

Why the choice of HD DVD, however, when Blu-ray seems to be selling more? Rob Enderle of Digital Trends weighs in with this important insight:

For Wal-Mart the only real metric is cost... They needed something that could sell for under US$ 200 soon and they needed the lowest cost of the new formats. This is where HD DVD shines, not only had Toshiba agreed to license to low cost manufacturers early on, but HD DVDs are pressed on the same lines that regular DVDs are, they require no major equipment change out and the blanks, when compared to Blu-Ray are less expensive as well.

This made the decision simple, Blu-Ray was just too expensive to make this work and any technical advantages were insignificant against Wal-Mart’s need for the lowest cost offering. For them it is about price and that is where HD DVD clearly has the sustainable advantage.

Looks like the format wars are getting more interesting. As for which one's going to win, it's definitely going to be up to consumers like you to help influence that outcome.

Market Watch reports that technology giant Microsoft has just filed for a gadget that'll most likely be taken as the company's answer to Apple's iPhone.

According to the filing, which was submitted Monday to the Federal Communications Commission, Microsoft and other firms will submit for the agency's approval a prototype of a wireless device that could be used to talk over the Internet. It describes a wireless device that utilizes OFDM, a technology that can be used to route digital TV and voice calls among devices.

While the FCC filing makes no mention of the Zune, analyst Rob Enderle said that the filing seems to indicate "an internet device or a mobile VoIP phone," that "certainly could be a Zune derivative product." A VoIP-enabled Zune would be greatly different from the iPhone, which is intended for use on cellular networks.

After its public debut last November 14, it's time to check up on the much-hyped and supposed iPod-killer, the MS Zune. So how is Microsoft's foray into the portable media business doing? Not too good.

After having proclaimed itself as THE portable music player to bring the iPod to its knees, it seems that the Zune has barely made a dent in a market which is still dominated by Apple. Afterall, the Zune seems to be one full gen behind its competitor, as Apple has already released its second gen line of new, cooler and sleeker iPods, iPod Nanos and iPod Shuffles.

So why isn't the Zune flying off the shelves like Microsoft first thought it would? Well, a report over at NBC 11 points out two main factors: its lack of colors, and its lack of just being plain hip.

Sure, the Zune can do just about anything the iPod can, and music can even be purchased at the same price that Apple offers at their iTunes Music Store, but would you really want to walk around with a BROWN MP3 player while everyone else has got models in gorgeous shades of red, blue, silver, teal and purple? According to the analyst Rob Enderle, "Microsoft came to the conclusion after market research that the new hot color is brown... No other hardware company has come to that conclusion."

So, Microsoft wants this new creation of theirs to become the public's new darling, they better shape up and stop being out of touch with the public's tastes, because otherwise, Craig Ferguson's predictions just might come true, and the only thing that would be cool about the Zune would be its name.

This post is for those of you out there who are having difficulties with their significant other. Don't laugh. It really is. No really, we're not kidding... VIA Technologies, Inc., a developer of silicon chip technologies and PC platform solutions, announced a unique "Couples, Computers & Gaming" event to be held in San Francisco on Saturday, November 11. The event is set to provide a comprehensive look at the interaction of couples and gaming as the industry adapts to create, develop and promote games.

Team members of the all-female professional PC gaming team, girls 0f destruction will give on couples from the audience hands-on training in the skills needed for pro gaming, and probably skills needed getting along with a pro-gamer (male or female). The guests for the event include John Broady of CNET Gamespot, analyst Rob Enderle, and Mary Shuyler, producer of the Desperate Housewives PC game. They will discuss the relationships between women and gaming, advertising, and the future of the industry.

More details on the event after the Jump!

Just how old is your iPod? A year or two, perhaps? You may not have to replace it just yet. Apple says that they've build their iPods to last at least four years. This claim was made following Chicago Tribune's report weighing up the complaints regarding Apple's music player.

With millions of iPods being sold each month, Apple is likely to get complaints about faulty units. Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris assured the Chicago Tribune that iPods have "fairly low" failure rate of less than 5%.

The newspaper's report took into consideration other evidence that points to a higher failure rate, including unscientific online polls and the word of famed Microsoft analyst Rob Enderle, who claims that iPods have a 15% failure rate. Kerris countered the claim, saying "The vast majority of our customers are extremely happy with their iPods."

So if Apple's right, and you neither bought a lemon nor kick your iPod around, learn to love it if you don't already dote on it - it and you could be together a while.

Bill Gates will be leaving Microsoft in 2 years time to focus on his non-profit work for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which focuses on global learning and health. So with that, analysts have been scrambling to give out their speculations about MS now that their iconic chairman and chief software architect will be leaving.

Contrary to the notion that MS might go down as Bill Gates leave, some analysts are saying that  Mr. Gates' departure from daily operations at the company could actually strengthen it and even pave the way for better, more innovative products. Gates departure will also be synonymous to the end of the peculiar division of labor between him and MS Chief Executive Steve Ballmer.

According to technology analyst, Rob Enderle, "usually a chief software architect reports to a CEO, but since Gates was also chairman, Ballmer had to report to him. There really wasn't one person in charge...This takes Microsoft back to a more traditional structure." He also added that "he (Gates) wasn't really involved in the day-to-day decisions on what went into the product for quite some time and Gates's actual impact on the products has fallen off dramatically over the last seven years."

With Mr. Gates departure, "the industry may have lost an icon but Microsoft gained a full-time chief software architect." Which only means that if his successor, Ray Ozzie, is willing to take the challenge, MS might just emerge to be a stronger, more balanced company that is backed by an impressive line of products.

Although MS is going to lose an icon and the company's public face, non-profit or charity work will gain a lot. With Mr. Gates focusing his attention to the improvement of global health and education, the day he leaves MS is definitely a good day for the developing and third-world countries. Sometimes it's all about getting your priorities straight, Mr. Gates certainly did, and people are applauding his decision.