Britney Spears new song "Womanizer" debuted at number 1 on iTunes. The video, which features Britney nude in a sauna, in a nightie, as a naughty secretary, a tattooed waitress and a near-topless chauffeur, debuted on ABC's 20/20 and has become a hit online. Spears is currently in the midst of planning a 2009 world tour.
As expected, Apple unveiled a new line of laptops yesterday. The new MacBook and MacBookPro are carved out of aluminum blocks and feature a buttonless, glass trackpad, as well as to Nvidia graphic processors, which give the laptops five times the graphic power of the Intel processor. The new MacBook and MacBookPro will go on sale today and will retail for $1,299 and $1,999.
Google and Yahoo are currently in talks with the Justice Dept. over their proposed online advertising partnership. Some advertisers worry the deal, which is under regulatory scrutiny, would give Google too much control over Internet advertising. Google and Yahoo delayed their deal by three months to allow for anti-trust reviews, but are now in heavy talks with the DoJ to pass the deal, which they hope to launch by the end of the month.
Sharp recently revealed the world's first LCD HDTV with an internal Blu-ray player. The set comes in everything from 26" to 52" and retail for roughly $2,000-$4,000. The electronics manufacturer is banking on consumer interest in Blu-ray players, which has been slow due to high prices, to drive the sale of the new televisions.
Plus, today's consulting question, "How will the Federal Appeals Court lift on Qualcomm cellphone imports affect the business?" Shelly has the answer on today's MediaBytes.
Shelly Palmer is a consultant and the host of MediaBytes a daily news show featuring news you can use about technology, media & entertainment. He is Managing Director of Advanced Media Ventures Group LLC and the author of Television Disrupted: The Transition from Network to Networked TV (2008, York House Press). 