The Palm Beach Post from West Palm Beach, Florida • Page 30

TUESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2007 Google, Yahoo increase efforts for mobile phone accessibility NOilTH AMERICAN IHTKNATIONAL AUTO SHOW 1GB, THE PALM BEACH POST Both search engines are revving up service ivith handset makers. iP profits by selling advertising targeted at consumers outside their homes and offices. Spending on mobile ads is expected to rise to about $1.5 billion this year and at least double in size by 2010. Sunnyvale-based Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO, $27.92) is hoping to fare better in mobile search than it has in traditional Web search, where Mountain View-based Google (Nasdaq: GOOG, $483.58) has been steadily increasing its already sizable lead to devour an even larger chunk of online ad spending. The lopsided competition has punished Yahoo's stock, which has plummeted by about 35 percent during the past year.

The downturn triggered a reorganization that will include the March departure of Yahoo's chief operating officer, Dan Rosensweig. Both Google and Yahoo will feature some of their products on mobile phones manufactured by Samsung Electronics under deals announced at the nation's largest gadget-fest. Yahoo also hammered out similar arrangements with other leading handset makers, including Motorola Nokia Corp. and Research In Motion Ltd. as it tries to popularize a new feature designed to make it easier for consumers to find information while they are on the go.

With its "oneSearch" product, Yahoo believes it will do a better job delivering vital information to mobile phone users without forcing them to click through as many links. Mobile search has been slow to take off, largely because handset providers have different operating standards that have made it difficult to develop applications for a mass market The small screens and keyboards of mobile handsets also make searching cumbersome. By MICHAEL LIEDTKE Tht Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO Internet icons Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. are intensifying their efforts to become more accessible on mobile phones, a platform widely seen as the next big battleground for the longtime rivals.

The Silicon Valley foes underscored their commitments to the mobile market Monday at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where they brandished partnerships, As more people spend more time using their mobile phones for things besides talking, Google and Yahoo believe they can boost their CARLOS 0S0RI0rti Associated Press Jianxin, chairman of Changfeng Group Co. stand near Changfeng's Liebao vehicle Monday. Bob Thibodeau, an official of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, and LI Chinese automakers itch to compete on U.S. roads More news from the Consumer Electronics Show i Radio, weather, GPS data unite die after police shocked them with Taser devices one a 45-year-old man in Fort Pierce on Saturday. Some observers expect them to be a contender before the decades end.

XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: XMSR; 15.18) and Bushnell Outdoor Products, a privately held company based in Overland Park, on Monday unveiled a handheld device that integrates satellite radio and weather information with location tracking. XM and Bushnell are previewing the waterproof Bushnell Onix 400 this week. The device, which can simultaneously access global positioning system location data, XM's radio programming and personalized realtime weather, is expected to be ready for consumers this summer. Chip operates on four engines For more than a year, Intel Corp.

(Nasdaq: INTL, $21.01) and other chip makers have been selling the idea that two heads are better than one. Now, the world's largest semiconductor company is betting four heads actually, four computing engines will be better still. On Monday, Intel introduced the newest additions to its line of microprocessors, the silicon "brains' of computers. The Intel Core 2 Quad has four computing cores in a single chip package. The company said the upgrade from two-core line will give PCs an extra boost in handling media-intensive applications.

Regardless of whether Geely or Changfeng makes the jump, the Chinese auto industry represents a tenacious future competitor in America. Roadblocks remain, such as the cost of getting them here and consumer worries about the quality of Chinese cars, but some observers expect Chinese-built cars to be competing for drivers before" the end of the decade. "One of these days you're going to see Chinese cars all over the place," said American entrepreneur Malcolm Bricklin, who brought the Yugo and Subaru to this country and wants to export luxury vehicles from China to the US. as soon as 2009. Although the VS.

market probably will be important for Chinese carmakers, surviving in their home market may be a shorter-term focus. Foreign automakers are competing aggressively in China, where sales are expanding at double-digit annual rates and major European and Asian producers have set up factories. The industry estimates that vehicle sales in China this year are expected to rise by 15 percent to 8 million, up from an estimated 7 million in 2006, compared with predictions the US. sales will be flat after falling to about 16.5 million in 2006 from just under 17 million in 2005. Africa, Asia and the Middle East have been major markets for Chinese exports.

And Rebecca Lindland, an auto analyst at Global Insight, an economic research and consulting company, said Chinese companies need to balance efforts to satisfy their growing domestic market while looking to expand exports. "You need to see it as a credible, if long-distance, threat," Lindland said Monday at the Detroit show. "You just cant bury your head in the sand." Chinese manufacturers face tough logistical issues in bringing vehicles to the such as establishing dealer and service networks, as well as the cost of bringing them in from afar, Lindland said. The overall cost of importing is part of why Japanese and South Korean automakers built plants in the she said. Some of those obstacles could be avoided through partnerships with companies that already have a significant share of the US.

market And because of that the first Chinese-made cars for the VS. may not be sold under Chinese nameplates. By DAVID RUNK The Associated Press DETROIT A year ago, a lone Geely Automobile Co. sedan sitting the main exhibit halls marked the first time a Chinese automaker displayed at the North American International Auto Show. This year, Geely was absent from the Detroit show.

But another Chinese automaker, Hunan Changfeng Motor Co. was showing its cars in a more polished display, albeit one in a basement exhibit hall Changfeng's Liebao and Feibao vehicles, including a pair of small sport utility vehicles" and two pickups, are being built for the growing Chinese market But the company is looking for a way to get them on US. roads. "Through the collaboration with local dealers, we will jointly promote Changfeng's products in the North American and global market," Li Jianxin, chairman of parent Changfeng Group Co. said at a news conference Monday.

Ailing Motorola touts products Motorola Inc. chief executive Ed Zander rode onto the stage Monday astride a yellow bicycle, joking that he pedaled all the way from Chicago because his company was on "expense controls." It wasn't the first poke Zander would make about the wireless equipment maker's ailing fortunes, even as he opened this year's major technology show by introducing several new products and services that Motorola hopes will boost sales. The company recently warned of disappointing sales and earnings from the key holiday selling season, causing investors to dump their Motorola stock (NYSE: MOT, $18.60) and industry experts to use phrases like "tired product" to describe the blockbuster Razr line of cell phones. Music fans get more digital Info Opera and classical music aficionados have long lamented the difficulties they face in organizing their music in digital programs and portable players. Now a new standard announced Monday could give them something to applaud.

Most digital systems such as the iPod organize tracks by song name, artist and album title, and display those three lines on music-player screens. Gracenote which operates a huge database for Apple's iTunes and other digital song services, says it has developed a solution a new data standard for classical music. Essentially, the new approach offers a standardized way of cramming the additional relevant data in classical music such as composer, ensemble, movement number or soloist into the three-line display. The Associated Press A new, colorful stun gun Taser International Inc. (Nasdaq: TASR, $8.19) on Monday rolled out a new version of its stun gun intended for civilian use, calling the devices "the next generation in personal protection." The new Taser C2s come in a variety of colors, including metallic pink.

Taser's primary customers now are police departments and the military. The new weapon's introduction comes after a weekend that saw two people Plaintiff applauds decision, urges consumers to be vigilant Ideas catching on with consumers CAPRI SUN from 9B Surveys report about 30 percent of consumers are Interested In watching TV shows on their PCs. v- ,1 1 it JAIME KUJALAStaff Photographer Linda Rex of Boynton Beach filed suit Monday against Kraft, calling on the company to remove the words 'all natural' from Capri Sun. With this action, the phrase 'All Natural' is being removed from the package," Firestone said in the statement The new Capri Sun, which also will contain vitamins and still will be made with high-fructose corn syrup, he said, but Kraft already makes a 100 percent fruit juice version of the brand. In May, the Center for Science in the Public Interest notified soda giant Cadbury Schweppes that it would sue the company for rebranding 7Up as "100 Natural," despite the fact that it includes corn syrup.

The center said it is in discussions with Cadbury, but is considering a suit if Cadbury doesn't agree to changes soon. Christine Bandy, a Palm Beach Gardens nutritionist recommends children not drink any juice from boxes in the first place. It's better to consume whole fruit she said. "If it comes in a package, ELECTRONICS 95 players. The company also may show off a cellphone that also plays video and music.

Because of Apple's revolutionary successes with the iPbd and iTunes music software, anything announced at the consumer show "almost by default will have some wind taken out of its sails, because everybody is looking at Macworld too," said Joe Laszlo, an analyst with technology consulting firm Jupiter Research. The idea of watching Internet video on a TV, or television programming on a PC or cellphone may still be like a foreign concept to many consumers today, but that's changing. About 30 percent of consumers have expressed interest in watching TV programming on their PCs, according to surveys by Jupiter Research. About 12 percent have said they'd like to watch TV on mobile devices such as cellphones. they can't roll it out widely until cable companies agree to buy and deploy their set-top boxes, a major cost that' many cable operators aren't willing to pay right now.

Still, some analysts predict that TV and set-top box makers may be the ultimate winners in the connectivity game after other companies pave the way. The last big TV technology, digital video recorders, were pioneered by upstart TiVo Inc. but now are deployed widely by set-top box and cable companies. Either way, "there are no well-defined winners and losers yet," said Zeus Kerra-vala, an analyst at the Yankee Group research firm. "We're really still at the first batter in the first inning." But the game definitely has begun, he said.

Obkeefecoxnews.com "It's getting to be a very respectable share" of consumers, Laszlo said. What's making such connectivity a reality now is the rise of digital content and the explosive growth of devices to put it on. "The entertainment business is in the midst of a transition," said Dan Schein-man, senior vice president for Cisco's Media Solutions Group. "The problem we're trying to solve now is how do consumers find and connect to all the media they want in a world where there's a lot of media out there." By some measures, outfits like Cisco and its arch-rival Motorola may be in a bad position when it comes to the new world of connectivity. Even though they already have the technology to let TVs, computers and the Internet to talk to each other, for a 12-year-old relative visiting from Ireland because she wanted something more healthful than soft drinks.

When she arrived home and read the nutrition label, she threw the product away. Kraft's removal of the phrase won't change the need for consumers to be vigilant she said. "Moms should still be reading the labels," Rex said. susansallsburypbpost.com it's not natural," Bandy said. "It's not natural unless it comes from a tree, a bush or a farm." Warwick said part of the problem is that the Food and Drug Administration does not define "natural" But if Kraft does indeed do away with the "all natural" designation, then the lawsuit won't be necessary, he said.

Rex bought a 10-pack carton of Capri Sun last year during the Easter holidays "i Tiffi iin liTnrjlm i -VHthm ui.ipji tl frh (. fT Caisoym Vj I i -3 BellSouth is joining the new Today the people, affordabltity and service you've depended upon tor decades are Joining 'the new nation's largest provider of broadband DSL. The result? Your TV, broadband, '3 4 r-f rjome phone and wireless are going to be working together like never before, connecting you to your world on America's most complete and secure network. So to atl BellSouth customers and employees welcome to the new BELLSOUTH' is joining.