Sprint is happy to report that the Palm Pre sold more units in its first weekend than any other device the company has launched. Sources say that the between 50,000 and 100,000 Pre's were sold last weekend. Accordingly, almost 80% of people who purchased the Pre were already Sprint customer. In addition, the WSJ is reporting that Verizon will begin selling the smart phone in January. So much for exclusivity.
AT&T is pressuring the FCC to complete a 100%, nationwide broadband initiative by 2014. The tele-communications giant noted that the free Internet should be "universal, open, private and safe", and is urging the committee to think outside of the box, in terms of how it will roll out the network. AT&T also thinks the FCC should reach out to investment firms and venture capitalists, in order to better understand the fundamentals of the net-based future economy.
David Letterman is reportedly in talks to extend his contract with CBS through 2012. The Late Show hosts current deal expires at the end of the 2009-10 season. Letterman is currently competing against new Tonight Show host Conan O'Brien and ABC late night host Jimmy Kimmel.
A week into the market, Bing is already having a positive influence on Microsoft's search market. The new search engine, which has been heavily promoted on television, with analytics site StatCounter noting that Bing beat out Yahoo for the #2 search engine late last week. While Bing has done a good job of generating buzz, it still has along way to go in terms of chipping away at Google's market share.
Shelly Palmer is a consultant and the host of MediaBytes with Shelly Palmer a daily 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) and the upcoming, Get Digital: Reinventing Yourself and Your Career for the 21st Century Economy (2009, Lake House Press). Shelly is also President of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, NY (the organization that bestows the coveted Emmy Awards). You can join the MediaBytes mailing list here. Shelly can be reached at shelly@palmer.net For information about Get Digital Classes, visit www.shellypalmer.com/seminars