sales

White House petition backs direct sales of Tesla cars

A Tesla fan is asking the White House for help. He wants the federal government to stop states from requiring that cars be sold only by third-party dealers.

In a White House petition he created, the fan asks the Obama administration to "allow Tesla Motors to sell directly to consumers in all 50 states." He believes that states shouldn't be allowed to stop the electric car company from selling autos directly to customers.

"The state legislators are trying to unfairly protect automobile dealers in their states from competition," the fan writes in the petition. "… Read more

iPhone 5S rumors arrive amid iPhone 5 deals

CNET Update needs a smarter wrist:

In this episode of Update:

- Examine the alleged iPhone 5S photos posted to MacRumors.

- Find the iPhone 5 at Virgin Mobile next week -- or get one for free with a Best Buy trade-in deal.

- Color your world with these new Galaxy S4 models.

- Explain your feelings with pictures on Facebook comments.

- Save $50 on the discounted Nvidia Shield portable gaming device.

- Ponder how Sony could improve the SmartWatch with a new model coming next week.

CNET Update delivers the tech news you need in under three minutes. … Read more

Amazon to slash price of HTC One to $99 on June 14

Those of you eyeing the HTC One can score the phone for half off the usual price, courtesy of a one-day sale at Amazon.

On Friday, the retail giant will sell the HTC One for $99.99, a hefty discount off the usual $199.99 price tag. Buyers will be able to find the phone through Amazon's Cell Phones & Accessories page. But you'll need to be quick -- the sale itself will last just for the day.

The $99 offer is good for all AT&T or Sprint subscribers eligible for an upgrade. New customers can … Read more

Apple would survive ban on older iPhones, iPads, says analyst

Sure, Samsung won a victory over Apple when a judge imposed a limited sales ban on older iPhones and iPads. But Apple would survive such a ban virtually unscathed, according to Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster.

Tuesday's ruling by the U.S. International Trade Commission found Apple guilty of infringing on certain Samsung cellular technology patents. Assuming the ruling stands, a ban on the infringing devices would halt sales of the AT&T models of the iPhone 4 and 3GS and the 3G versions of the first and second iPad.

A ban on most of those devices would … Read more

Amazon's secret weapon: $600 million in annual ad revenue

Amazon might be making the bulk of its cash on online sales and tablets, but the company has been quietly building an awfully large advertising business.

According to new data released on Tuesday by research firm eMarketer, Amazon generated $610 million in ad revenue last year, up 45.5 percent compared to 2011. What's more, eMarketer expects Amazon to generate $835 million this year, generating a 37 percent gain over the previous period.

So, how did Amazon do it? The company has been generating revenue from ads in search results on its own pages. The company also generates ad … Read more

Microsoft refutes reports about Xbox One used game sales

Ever since the Xbox One unveiling Tuesday, gamers have wondered how Microsoft will handle the resale of used games for the system.

In the absence of a clear answer, speculation and rumors have flooded the Web.

Microsoft is now telling gamers that the speculation and rumors aren't true. But it's not saying what the new policy will be.

"The ability to trade in and resell games is important to gamers and to Xbox," Larry Hryb, director of Xbox Programming (better known by his gamer handle Major Nelson), wrote on his blog Friday. "Xbox One is … Read more

Lenovo scores record sales amidst PC industry slump

Lenovo seems to be the only top PC vendor bucking the trend of sour sales.

The Hong Kong-based company today reported record results for its fiscal year that ended March 31. For the year, Lenovo captured sales of $34 billion, a 15 percent increase from the prior year. Earnings hit $635 million, up 34 percent. And its PC shipments grew by 10.2 percent, compared with an overall industry drop of 8.1 percent.

Lenovo's 15.5 percent market share for the year put it in within reach of stealing the top spot from Hewlett-Packard. A recent report from … Read more

Apple hits record revenue per store visitor, says analyst

Apple stores continue to outpace the rest of the retail industry in sales per customer.

The company took in record revenue per visitor of $57.60 during the first quarter, mobile analyst Horace Dediu said Monday in his Asymco blog. That's up from $51.75 per visitor in the first quarter of 2012.

At the same time, the number of visitors rose by 7 percent from the prior year's first quarter. And the average revenue per Apple store reached $13 million for the quarter, its highest number ever for a non-holiday quarter, Dediu noted.

The average number of … Read more

BlackBerry Messenger jumps to iPhone, Android

CNET Update busts out the Breakout:

Lots of news around BlackBerry in today's roundup. Not only is BlackBerry expanding the popular Messenger service as an app for Android and iOS, but it also is giving Messenger a social-media twist with BBM Channels.

BlackBerry keyboard fans in the U.S. are finally able to own the Q10 this summer when it arrives at T-Mobile, Verzion and Sprint. (Get the full Q10 review here.) Considering the phone was unveiled at the end of January, BlackBerry fans in the U.S. have had to wait awhile for any availability details. But as … Read more