Raspberry Pi Chalks Up Sales Of 2.5M+ As It Turns Two — $10K Bounty Offered For Opening Its Blob

Happy Birthday Raspberry Pi! The low-cost Linux microcomputer has just turned two years old. And boy how it’s grown.

The Cambridge, U.K.-based creators of the $25/$35 credit-card sized computer thought they would only ever sell a few thousand units when they started their project. In the event, they sold 100,000 units of the Model B Pi on the very first day. Global sales of all Pi models have now pushed passed 2.5 million, up from 1.75 million back in October.

The Pi continues to be used in all manner of creative ways — including as a learning platform for teaching kids about computers and coding, which was actually the original mission of the Pi Foundation. And also as a plaything for adults, with makers and fully-fledged startup businesses using it to power all manner of cool stuff.  Long may it continue. 

As Pi continues to grow, the not-for-profit Pi Foundation has just kicked off a competition — offering a $10,000 bounty — to help open source the graphics drivers running on Pi.

Currently the Pi required a block of closed-source binary driver code (aka a blob) to talk to the hardware — but the chipmaker, Broadcom, has just released the source code for another similar chip. And the Pi Foundation is looking for help porting this to Pi so users can bypass its blob and get proper access to the graphics core.

Full details below. If you’re interested in taking part in the global competition (which has no end date — continuing, presumably, until someone is able to do the deed), the competition rules can be found here.

In common with every other ARM-based SoC, using the VideoCore IV 3d graphics core on the Pi requires a block of closed-source binary driver code (a “blob”) which talks to the hardware. In our case, this blob runs on the VPU vector processor of the BCM2835 (the SOC or System On a Chip at the heart of the Raspberry Pi); our existing open-source graphics drivers are a thin shim running on the ARM11, which talks to that blob via a communication driver in the Linux kernel. The lack of true open-source graphics drivers and documentation is widely acknowledged to be a significant problem for Linux on ARM, as it prevents users from fixing driver bugs, adding features and generally understanding what their hardware is doing.

Earlier today, Broadcom announced the release of full documentation for the VideoCore IV graphics core, and a complete source release of the graphics stack under a 3-clause BSD license. The source release targets the BCM21553 cellphone chip, but it should be reasonably straightforward to port this to the BCM2835, allowing access to the graphics core without using the blob. As an incentive to do this work, we will pay a bounty of $10,000 to the first person to demonstrate to us satisfactorily that they can successfully run Quake III at a playable framerate on Raspberry Pi using these drivers. This competition is open worldwide, and you can find competition rules here which describe what you have to do, and how to enter.

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Samsung's slumping sales suggest China is the next mobile battlefield

Samsung had a rough day yesterday. Its earnings report indicated the company experienced the first posted drop in profit in two years (a mere $7.8 billion, compared to $8.27 billion in the same quarter last year), thanks to a strong Korean won, a special one-off bonus payment to employees and heavy holiday marketing costs. Given its increased year-over-year profits and sales this may not seem so bad, but there is a growing concern that the company has a difficult year ahead, especially for smartphone sales.

The company expects slowing sales in the first quarter of 2014 for its smartphones and tablets, thanks to "seasonality." This means fewer people are buying mobile devices -- as a new Galaxy flagship approaches, many people put off their phone purchase until it comes out. But the company also indicated that the mobile battlefield is only going to get fiercer over the next year, as developed markets are reaching saturation. Now, the war is shifting to developing markets where more people are becoming smartphone and tablet owners for the first time.

With developed markets becoming saturated and experiencing slow sales, regions like China are ripe for the picking.

In its earnings report, Samsung stated: "In 2014, Samsung will focus on expanding its smartphone portfolio both by region and price range, and actively responding to growing LTE demand in Europe and China. Expect ... intensified price competition, amid developed and emerging markets to continue rapid growth." With developed markets becoming saturated and experiencing slowed sales, regions like China are ripe for the picking.

This isn't to say that Samsung doesn't already have a large presence in areas like China and India -- it's currently the market share champion in both countries -- but its dominance is quickly slipping as it faces intense competition from both local and global companies alike. Local powerhouses Micromax and Karbonn are quickly catching up to Samsung in India, and in China, Apple has experienced exponential growth in recent quarters; reports indicate that the iPhone 5s and 5c helped Apple more than double its market share to take third place. The phones launched on China Mobile (the country's largest carrier with 750 million customers) this month, so we expect Apple's foothold to only get stronger there in the coming months. But that's not the only large company making strides in China: Lenovo, which is in second place, is also growing significantly.

If the rumors about Apple releasing iPhones in larger form factors are true, Samsung will have to directly compete against a major force that didn't exist last year.

Not only is there more competition in these countries in general, there's also a much more pointed focus on specific form factors and price points. As we pointed out in an earlier piece, the under-$100 pricing tier is becoming very aggressive, especially in emerging markets. Additionally, the large-screen smartphone, a form factor once dominated by the Galaxy Note, is now covered by nearly every major company. If the rumors about Apple releasing iPhones in larger form factors are true, Samsung will have to directly compete against a major force that didn't exist last year.

As the battle continues to intensify in countries like China, where demand is growing at a tremendous pace, Samsung's profit margins will get squeezed as phone prices plunge. Thus, we expect to see the company hit tablets and wearables even harder in 2014 -- according to Samsung, the former will experience a 20 percent increase in demand, and it has more of the latter on the way as well. We don't know if it will be enough for the company to enjoy a record year, but Samsung is under more pressure to bedazzle its customers than at any time in recent memory. It's just going to have to be more creative to stay on top.

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Skimlinks Says Its Affiliate Linking Technology Drove $500M+ In E-Commerce Sales Last Year

Skimlinks, a company that helps online publishers make money through affiliate links, says that it had a record year, driving more than $500 million in e-commerce sales.

A spokesperson told me that three quarters of Skimlinks sales go through affiliate networks that report e-commerce sales value, and they reported $402.3 million in sales driven by Skimlinks in 2013. However, since there are other networks that don’t report sales value, the company is estimating that it drove more than $500 million total for the year (more specifically, based on historical analysis, the company says the number was probably between $502 million and $536 million). That’s about double the sales from last year.

Skimlinks’ technology includes the ability to convert regular links and relevant words into affiliate links (in other words, links where the publisher is paid a commission for driving purchases). Recent additions include last fall’s launch of Skimlinks Editor, a browser plugin that allows publishers to compare the current affiliate commission rates across different merchants.

In a conversation with CEO Alicia Navarro before the launch, and in follow-up emails with a company spokesperson, Skimlinks emphasized that the Editor product is the first step toward “intelligent linking,” i.e., links that are automatically updated and don’t require any work from the writer, editor, or publisher: “They won’t have to find products or list prices; and readers won’t be faced with dead links or redirects or outdated pricing.”

Navarro acknowledged that providing monetization data may be seen as a risk to editorial integrity, and she noted that in some cases, publishers have chosen to hide the actual commission rates from editors. At the same time, she said, “There’s a very strong feel that publishers are realizing that if they keep doing what they’re doing, they’re going to become obsolete. …

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Nintendo Confirms Wii U Has Flopped, Slashes Sales Forecast By ~70%

Nintendo has confirmed what we knew already: its unhappy controller/console combo, the Wii U, is a flop. The company said hardware sales of the Wii U had failed to reach its target during the year-end, pushing it into a third consecutive annual loss, Reuters reports.

With the Wii U failing to shift off shelves — and that despite a $50 price cut last September, to $299 — Nintendo has slashed its global sales forecast for the device for the year to March 31 by almost 70%. It said it’s expecting Wii U sales to number just 2.8 million units over that period. It also cut its sales forecast for its handheld 3DS console to 13.5 million units from 18 million.

Both Nintendo’s devices are facing fierce competition from non-specialist consumer hardware fuelled by thousands of often inexpensive games apps — aka the smartphones and tablets running on platforms such as Google’s Android OS and Apple’s iOS. Ownership of app-supporting mobile devices has exploded since the original Wii’s hey-day, of circa 2006, shifting the gaming goalposts from the living room to people’s pockets.

Meanwhile, the home console market has been increasingly dominated by Microsoft’s Xbox and Sony’s PlayStation — leaving Nintendo to be squeezed out by those more powerful home consoles at the higher end, attracting pro gamers with huge franchise titles such as Grand Theft Auto, and driven out at the lower end by the consumerization of portable gaming via mainstream mobile devices. Talk about a rock and a hard place.

The other point to note is that the Wii U itself just isn’t very good. It’s neither fish nor fowl, so to speak. As TC columnist MG Siegler put it back in September, it’s ”a poor concept accentuated by poor hardware”. He also described Nintendo as being “in the beginning of a death spiral”. Today’s  sales forecasts more fuel on those flames.

Nintendo said it is now expecting an operating loss of 35 billion yen ($335.76 million) this business year vs its initial forecast of a 100 billion yen profit. It also warned of a net loss of 25 billion yen for the year ending on March 31 — having previously projected a 55 billion yen profit. And expects revenues of 590 billion yen, down 36% from its prior forecast.

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Xbox One hit 3 million sales before close of year

bySinan Kubbaon Jan 6th 2014 3:00PM

0Microsoft sold 3 million Xbox One consoles by the end of 2013, the company announced today. As per previous Xbox One data, that figure is sell-through, with Microsoft stipulating the units were "sold to consumers."

"It's been incredible to see Xbox One selling at a record-setting pace for Xbox," trumpeted Xbox Corporate VP of Marketing, Strategy and Business Yusuf Mehdi. "And we were honored to see Xbox One become the fastest-selling console in the U.S. during our launch month in November. Since our launch, demand for Xbox One has been strong, selling out throughout the holidays at most retailers worldwide. We are continuing to work hard to deliver additional consoles to retailers as fast as possible."

The Xbox One passed the 1 million mark on its first day at retail across 13 markets, and then took another 18 days to breach 2 million on December 11, 2013. Going by today's news, that figure rose another million or so across the last 20 days of the year.MicrosoftShareTags: microsoft, sales, xbox-one.fyre .fyre-comment-media-expanded{display:none!important}.fyre-notifier-container{display:none}.fyre .fyre-comment-divider>span.fyre-comment-reply-wrapper{top:18px}.fyre .fyre-comment-divider>a,.fyre .fyre-comment-divider>a:hover{top:20px} InfoDescription

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Featured StoriesNow Playing: January 6-12, 2014

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Hands-on with Valve's Steam Machine beta hardware

Posted on Jan 6th 2014 5:05PM

Super abridged Joystiq news review of 2013

Posted on Jan 5th 2014 10:30AM

EngadgetKindle for iOS updated with flashcards, notebook ...Equil JOT nabs Evernote integration for easy ...meMini's wearable camera gives you the gift of ...TUAWEvening news roundup for January 6, 2013 ...Cut the Rope 2 perfects the art of having in-app ...8 Time Machine excuses that don't make sense ...MassivelyNot So Massively: LoL downed by DDoS attack, Star ...The Stream Team: Heroics continue in World of ...DayZ destroys Hall's early sales expectations ...WoWThe WoW Insider Show LIVE! ...How to PvP ...WoW Moviewatch: Brief History of WoW ...AOL TechJoystiq

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Devs ramp up development as DayZ passes 800,000 sales

byEarnest Cavallion Jan 6th 2014 4:00PM

0ArmA 2 mod turned standalone zombie apocalypse simulator DayZ has topped 800,000 sales less than a month after its Steam Early Access debut, an accomplishment that creator Dean Hall hopes will speed the game's ongoing development.

"We ([ArmA 2 developer Bohemia Interactive] and I) had very ambitious plans for 2014 already, however this amount of sales was completely unexpected," Hall said in a recent Reddit post shortly before DayZ hit the 800,000 sales mark. "Honestly, 250k within a quarter was what I would have considered a success. So to move nearly 800,000 in under a month is crazy." Hall's exuberance seems appropriate, given that less than a week ago the DayZ team was celebrating the sale of 400,000 copies of the game.

At a price point of $30 for the Steam Early Access version of the game, 800,000 copies sold adds up to $24 million. Even after you subtract the fees taken by Steam proprietor Valve Software, the cost of building the game, and other miscellaneous business expenses, that's a very sizable chunk of cash, which Hall believes will improve his team's ability to add new features to DayZ. "We'll be finalizing our roadmap in mid January, but it is safe to say that this kind of result will be having a very positive effect on that roadmap," Hall wrote.Reddit, RedditShareTags: arma-2, day-z, dayz, dean-hall, early-access, pc, sales, steam, valve, zombies.fyre .fyre-comment-media-expanded{display:none!important}.fyre-notifier-container{display:none}.fyre .fyre-comment-divider>span.fyre-comment-reply-wrapper{top:18px}.fyre .fyre-comment-divider>a,.fyre .fyre-comment-divider>a:hover{top:20px}Arma 2 InfoDescription

The 27th U.S. Marine Expeditionary Unit have been deployed to the former soviet country of Chernarus in this third installment in the series of award winning PC war simulators from Bohemia Interactive, creators of Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis and ARMA: Combat Operations.Force Reconnaissance Team “Razor” are among the first to fight. This elite five-man team are about to fall down the rabbit hole, trapped in a war not only for control of the country, but the hearts and minds of its people. With the might of the USMC offshore and the Russians anxiously watching from the north, the stakes couldn't be higher. The fate of Chernarus is balanced on a razor's edge...

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View on Amazon.comBreaking NewsDead Rising 3's first DLC episode delayed, now coming Jan. 21More →

Featured StoriesNow Playing: January 6-12, 2014

Posted on Jan 6th 2014 7:15PM

Hands-on with Valve's Steam Machine beta hardware

Posted on Jan 6th 2014 5:05PM

Super abridged Joystiq news review of 2013

Posted on Jan 5th 2014 10:30AM

EngadgetKindle for iOS updated with flashcards, notebook ...Equil JOT nabs Evernote integration for easy ...meMini's wearable camera gives you the gift of ...TUAWEvening news roundup for January 6, 2013 ...Cut the Rope 2 perfects the art of having in-app ...8 Time Machine excuses that don't make sense ...MassivelyNot So Massively: LoL downed by DDoS attack, Star ...The Stream Team: Heroics continue in World of ...DayZ destroys Hall's early sales expectations ...WoWThe WoW Insider Show LIVE! ...How to PvP ...WoW Moviewatch: Brief History of WoW ...AOL TechJoystiq

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Billboard: Digital music sales decrease for the first time ever, vinyl continues to grow

It was inevitable: After years of highs and then a plateau, digital music sales saw their first decrease in 2013. Last year, digital song purchases dropped almost six percent according to a Billboard report, while digital album sales dropped 0.1 percent. Compact discs continued their downward spiral as well, and took a 14.5 percent loss. On the flip side, pure analog music (read: vinyl) showed an increase of 31.9 percent -- representing a full two percent of music sales. Until Nielsen's SoundScan report for streaming hits, however, we won't know how much of an impact the likes of Spotify or Rdio are having on purchases. We have a hunch it'll be rather telling.

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Xiaomi: We'll double our smartphone sales in 2014

Xiaomi co-founder Lei Jun

(Credit:Xiaomi)

Xiaomi, the smartphone maker whose co-founder Lei Jun has been compared to Steve Jobs, expects to sell many more smartphones in 2014.

In a post on China's Twitter-like service Sina Weibo, Lei wrote that his company will "supply 40 million phones in 2014." According to The Guardian, which earlier reported on the assertion, Xiaomi sold about 19 million smartphones in 2013, which more than doubled the number of handsets the company sold in 2012.

High on the list of Xiaomi's targets for expansion is Southeast Asia, according to Hugo Barra, the former Android honcho at Google who's now heading up Xiaomi's expansion efforts. "I'm trying to find markets and get to them as quickly as possible," Barra said at the LeWeb conference in Paris in December.

Xiaomi has found a sweet spot in its home market of China by offering sleek devices at a low price. Perhaps more importantly, Lei has been able to build hype about the Android-based handsets and offers a relatively small supply of products at launch. That builds up demand and allows the company to sell out of its products in seconds.

Xiaomi has yet to officially announce its plans for 2014.

Topics: Miscellaneous Tags: smartphone, Xiaomi, mobile

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Daily Roundup: New Nexus 5 hardware, Amazon Pantry, next-gen console sales and more!

You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

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