By JOSHUA FREED, AP Business Writer

MINNEAPOLIS - Best Buy pulled further ahead of consumer electronics retail rival Circuit City on Wednesday, reporting an 18.5 percent rise in its fourth-quarter profit while Circuit City swung to a loss.

Best Buy Co. Inc., the nation’s biggest consumer electronics chain, said it earned $763 million, or $1.55 per share, during the quarter that ended March 3, up from $644 million, or $1.29 per share, in the three months ended Feb. 25, 2006. Revenue rose 21 percent to $12.9 billion from $10.69 billion a year ago, driven by store openings and a quarter that was a week longer than last year’s. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were expecting earnings of $1.52 per share on revenue of $12.67 billion.

Best Buy also announced that it would carry Apple computers in 200 stores by this fall. Meanwhile, Circuit City Stores Inc. continued to struggle.

On Wednesday, the nation’s No. 2 consumer electronics chain said it lost $12.2 million in the fourth quarter, hurt by hefty restructuring charges related in part to store closings. It said revenue growth was slow because of declining flat-panel television prices and uneven demand for computer hardware in advance of Microsoft’s launch of its new version of Windows.

For the quarter ended Feb. 28, Circuit City lost 7 cents per share compared with profit of $141.4 million, or 81 cents per share, a year ago. The latest results included pretax charges of $144.6 million related to store closings and other restructuring activities and a lowered value for its international unit. Circuit City closed about 55 stores in Canada in February, and expects to close about 10 more this year.

Sales rose 1 percent to $3.93 billion from $3.89 billion, but fell short of analysts’ estimate of $4.04 billion, according to a survey by Thomson Financial. Sales at stores open at least a year slipped half a percent. "Fourth-quarter sales growth was somewhat less than we expected," said Philip J. Schoonover, chairman, president and chief executive.

Circuit City said personal computer hardware posted strong sales growth in both December and February, but January sales were hurt as the company kept inventories lean in advance of the Vista introduction. The company’s shares fell 39 cents, or 2 percent, to $17.90 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Since hitting a high of $31.54 a year ago, the stock has steadily declined and recently hit a new year-low of $17.02.

While Circuit City blamed TV and computer volatility for its troubles, Bank of America analyst David Strasser wrote in a note that "we believe competitive pressure from BBY is a big part of the issue."

Best Buy’s revenue grew faster than its profit — meaning Best Buy profited slightly less from each dollar in sales than it did last year. The company said that was because of growth in areas that carry lower profit margins, such as video game consoles, online sales, and its Five Star electronics retail stores in China. Best Buy also said margins were pressured by tough price competition in home theater, music and movies.

The company said margins would have been worse if not for gift card "breakage," or cards that don’t get redeemed. That added up to $23 million for the first three quarters of the year.

Best Buy said it plans to spend $800 million to $850 million this year on new stores and other initiatives, in addition to spending for acquisitions such as the $97 million purchase of Internet provider Speakeasy announced last week.

Best Buy’s comparable-store sales gain — a key retail barometer — was 5.9 percent, driven mostly by a strong increase at stores outside the U.S. Sales grew 4.8 percent at U.S. stores open at least 14 months, down from 7.4 percent growth during last year’s fourth quarter. Best Buy said the comparable store sales gain was driven by an increase in the average sale made to each customer.

Best Buy has already made moves into China, and on Wednesday it said it might open test stores in Mexico and Turkey within the next year and a half, said Bob Willett, who runs Best Buy’s international operations. "We believe that international expansion is one of the key ways we will meet the growth goals of the company," he said. He said China operations would contribute more than $1 billion in revenue this year "and be modestly profitable — a bit of a feat during the rapid growth phase for any business, particularly in an environment of such rapid change," he said.

Best Buy said it expects to earn $3.10 to $3.25 per share during the current fiscal year on revenue of about $39 billion, which would be an increase of 9 percent. Analysts were expecting earnings of $3.18 per share on revenue of $39.8 billion. Best Buy shares dropped 88 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $48.25 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange. They have traded in a 52-week range of $43.51 to $59.50.

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Associated Press Writer Zinie Chen Sampson in Richmond, Va., contributed to this report.

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - news) said on Tuesday it has taken a step toward the long-promised notion of phones replacing credit cards, checks and cash by signing agreements with Wachovia Corp. (NYSE:WB - news) and several other banks.

The agreements will allow customers of its Cingular Wireless arm, which is being rebranded as AT&T, and participating banks to manage their accounts and pay bills electronically by using an application on their cell phones. While the use of mobile phones for transactions is in its nascent stages in the United States, such services are already available in parts of Europe and Asia.In Japan, people commonly shop with their mobile phones by just waving their handset instead of swiping credit cards.

AT&T, having tested mobile banking last year, has said it will not charge extra for the service but expects it to attract more users to its wireless Internet service and potentially help it add new users and keep existing ones.Along with Wachovia, U.S. banks such as BancorpSouth Inc. (NYSE: BXS - news), Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE:RF - news) and SunTrust Banks Inc. (NYSE:STI - news) are offering mobile banking to AT&T customers. The move is part of an effort by wireless companies around to world to boost their revenue and customer loyalty by convincing subscribers to use phones for everything from Web browsing and text messaging to playing music and video.

AT&T said customers can download software from privately held Firethorn Holdings LLC onto their phones. AT&T plans to include the software in new handsets in the second half of this year and is planning a multimillion-dollar ad campaign.Firethorn is also acting as an intermediary between AT&T and the banks.

AT&T said most BancorpSouth customers who tried mobile banking said they would use it to check their balance, and about three quarters said it would help them make better spending decisions. Wachovia operates in 21 U.S. states, while Regions operates in 16 states in the Midwest and South, including Texas. SunTrust provides banking in Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states and BancorpSouth operates in eight U.S. states.

AT&T Chief Operating Officer Randall Stephenson talked about the mobile banking service in a keynote speech at the CTIA wireless technology conference on Tuesday. He also commented on combining wireless and fixed-line services. "I’m confident that in the not too distant future the concepts of having different handsets for different networks ….. will be seen as quaint," Stephenson said. For example, cell phone video conference services that AT&T plans to launch in 50 markets this summer could eventually work in conjunction with video conferencing on television screens and desktop computers."You should fully expect in a very short period that the other two screens will be brought into this," said Stephenson. He saw mobile video representing as dramatic a change as the replacement of black-and-white televisions with color. To illustrate the growing ubiquity of mobile phones around the world, Stephenson said that while four babies are born every second in China, about 25 people are signing up for wireless services in the country.

By Jefferson Graham

LAS VEGAS - This year you’ll finally be able to get the digital camera you’ve always wanted, but couldn’t afford.

Popular digital SLR cameras from Canon and Nikon generally set you back around $1,000. But discounters will likely drive that down to $299 by year’s end, says Chris Chute, an analyst at researcher IDC. That’s just a tad higher than most people pay now for compact point-and-shoots. "This will dramatically reshape the digital camera market," Chute says. "It will give consumers a reason to jump into features they’ve always wanted, but didn’t know they could get."

Professional-looking digital SLRs (single-lens reflex) can stop action on a dime, without annoying shutter lag. They produce better-looking photos in low light and are much simpler to use than novices might think.

Chute says the point-and-shoot market peaked in 2006 at 29.8 million cameras. He expects flat sales this year. Meanwhile, 1.7 million digital SLRs sold in 2006, which he expects to jump to more than 2 million for 2007.

At the Photo Marketing Association trade show that concluded over the weekend, Olympus and Nikon introduced new SLRs for $799 that are expected to greatly fall in price in the coming months.

They compete with Canon’s market-leading $799 EOS Digital Rebel XTi, which has a 10-megapixel sensor (a megapixel is a measurement of a camera’s resolution).

Nikon’s lineup includes the $599, 6-megapixel D40. Its new $799 D40x matches Canon’s 10 megapixels. Olympus’ 10-megapixel Evolt E-410, also $799, offers built-in image stabilization, which helps make shots steady for those with shaky hands.

The E-410 is small and an ultralight 10 ounces. "Portability is the key for the female demographic," says Olympus product manager Sally Smith Clemens.

On the other end of the spectrum, Canon unveiled its latest super-high-end SLR. It’s a $4,000 model aimed at professionals, mostly sports and news photographers.

The EOS-1D Mark III is "the fastest camera we’ve ever had," says Chuck Westfall, a Canon customer service executive. The Mark III can shoot 110 pictures in 11 seconds.

Now that’s fast.

The new SLRs are expected in stores later this month. Elsewhere at the PMA show:

•So many cameras. In the heyday of SLRs, iconic cameras such as the Nikon F and Nikkormat were around for decades. Now Nikon, like its rivals, introduces about 20 cameras a year, only to kill them off the following year with new ones.

The average Nikon camera lives on for just six to eight months, says Nikon senior product manager Steve Heiner.

Why the constant reshuffling? "The stores demand it; the consumer demands it. They want to see ‘what’s new,’ " Heiner says.

Olympus’ Smith Clemens says that unlike the film era, when cameras rarely changed, "In electronics, the technology is constantly evolving, and we want to bring the new innovations to our customers as soon as we can."

•Big zoom, small size. Most compact cameras come with a 3X zoom, which brings you a little closer to the action from your seat. A new breed of "super zoom" tried to bring people even closer, with a 10X zoom. The drawback was that these cameras were big and bulky and couldn’t fit into your pocket.

Not anymore. Panasonic’s Lumix TZ3 is a typical compact size, but also has a 10X zoom. The $349, 7-megapixel camera is expected in stores later this month.

According to the New England Journal of Medicine, and the American Medical Association, using a program like SugarStats will reduce the complications associated with diabetes by as much as 40%.

Volcano, Hawaii - Marston Alfred, founder and chief architect of SugarStats.com, himself a diabetic since he was 9 years old, has developed a web based self-management application in which users can track, manage and monitor the most essential and important of their diabetic information online. Through a user-friendly web interface using the latest in web and information technology, SugarStats.com also enables the Diabetic to selectively provide friends, family, educators and health care professionals ‘read only’ access to their statistics. Primary elements affecting blood sugar levels including medication, food intake and physical activity are addressed in a manner that is not overly complex or too feature rich, enabling the end user to expediently self-manage via the Internet and Internet-enabled mobile devices. The core of this system will be available free to the public.

20.8 million people, approximately 7.0% of the U.S. population, have diabetes. Diabetes was the sixth leading cause of death listed on U.S. death certificates in 2002. The prevalence of diabetes is increasing at an alarming rate, as are the associated personal and societal costs, including long-term complications such as blindness, kidney damage, cardiovascular disease and lower-limb amputations. Further studies show diabetes and its complications cause substantial loss in quality of life, are the fourth most frequent reason for ambulatory physician visits, and incur $132 billion dollars in U.S. health care expenditures, directly and indirectly annually. There is now abundant evidence that complications of diabetes are preventable.

According to Dr. IM Stratton, Al Adler, HA Neil, et al, management of glycemia in diabetes is crucially important to the prevention of both acute and long-term complications. In general, every percentage point drop in A1C blood test results (e.g., from 8.0% to 7.0%) reduces the risk of micro-vascular complications (eye, kidney, and nerve diseases) by 40%. When programs like SugarStats were used regularly by the diabetic, they showed an average of a 1 point drop in the A1C levels.

Web-based tools have been emerging as effective methods for lowering HbA1C levels and several other key health markers in diabetics such as blood pressure however, to date, none have been available to the public. SugarStats.com provides a proven means to substantially lower these important health markers while also supporting the important opportunity to shift the focus of diabetes management toward patient self-management.

Alfred was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes as a child. He always felt dissatisfied and uninspired with the various ways to monitor and track his blood sugar levels and trends, finding them either over complicated and involved, or pedantic and & ‘boring’. Now 24 years old, Alfred’s professional expertise in the field of computers, networking and Internet technology/programming provided the foundation from which he developed for himself an engaging, informative, time saving and means to effectively address his diabetic management needs. From his personal quest, SugarStats.com has now emerged to support Internet-accessible diabetics the world over an alternative means to effectively address, control and ultimately improve their health.

Alternate Contact: Daerick Lanakila at dlanakila [@] sugarstats.com SugarStats POB 909 Volcano, HI 96785

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Need a screenshot of what a diabetic would see on their personal SugarStats page along with more info regarding SugarStats is available at http://www.sugarstats.com/tour

CONTACT: Marston Alfred at 619-573-4071
SugarStats
PO Box 909
Volcano, HI 96785
http://www.sugarstats.com

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MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–meebo, Inc., the popular web-based instant messaging (IM) provider, today announced that over the past three months the company doubled registered users to more than one million, collaborated with leading platforms for distribution and secured $9 million in funding from venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ). The investment is a Series “B” round of funding for meebo and includes previous investor Sequoia Capital. Tim Draper, DFJ Founder and Managing Director, joins meebo’s board of directors.

meebo continues to catch on with new users across the globe. After announcing 500,000 user-accounts just three months ago, meebo doubled its registered users to 1 million; including 4.5 million unique screen names signing-in monthly. Additionally, meebo has more than 1.2 million daily logins and exchanges 75 million messages per day with average sessions of 70 minutes. On the business development front, meebo continues to collaborate with leading web platforms including Windows Live Spaces, netvibes, WordPress and SixApart as well as social networks Amie Street, Traineo, ChickAdvisor and Schmedley.

“It’s been an incredible year for meebo. In addition to securing this new round of funding and forming some great distribution relationships, we’ve also expanded our user base. With more than a million daily logins and users spending more than 165 years with us every day, meebo is quickly becoming the place to be for instant communication on the web,” said Seth Sternberg, CEO and co-founder, meebo. “We are thrilled to have Tim and DFJ on board, and with past successes like Hotmail and Skype, they have shown a knack for building disruptive communications companies.”

meebo is a web-based instant messaging service that allows users to access all of their IM buddies from any computer with a web browser, anytime, anywhere. Using AJAX technology, meebo creates a “software-like” experience on the web, requiring no software downloads or installs. Known for engaging their large user base in site development and refinement, meebo encourages feedback from users and built a simple and highly-robust platform to address changing IM needs.

“We see in meebo the same qualities we’ve seen in our past successful investments: viral growth, passionate users, defendable technology and a super-dedicated team,” said Tim Draper, Founder and Managing Director, Draper Fischer Jurvetson. “meebo is positioned to completely change the communications game on the web.”

meebo Expands its Platform

Since launching in September 2005, the company has expanded and built upon its core platform. Some recent highlights include:

• August 2006: The meebo me^TM widget—extends meebo’s IM communications platform beyond meebo.com and into any web page. The meebo me widget has two main features: it enables site-owners to privately chat with anyone visiting their website; and it offers real-time presence information for site-owners to see visitors on their page. The meebo me^TM widget is easily integrated with social networking sites, blogs, commerce sites and more.
• November 2006: meebo 1.0 “full release”—crossed off several major requests from meebo’s users. With this release, upgrades and features included: new visual design, pop outs, optimized performance, skinning, updated chat logs, buddy list management, individual account management, improved localized UI and AIM profiles.
• February 2007: meebo will shortly support a meebo me application programming interface (API)—a simple mechanism for partners to seamlessly push meebo me to their users. Partners are able to use all of the functionalities of meebo me, but customized for their sites, i.e. setting the size and colors of the widgets to match their website design.

meebo and the meebo me^TM widget work with Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari and almost any other web browser. The meebo services are free. For more information visit www.meebo.com.

About meebo Inc.

meebo is the first Web-based instant messaging service that gives users, no matter where they are, a hassle-free way to connect to every major instant messaging service using only a browser. With meebo, there is no need to download and run multiple software products. meebo’s investors include Sequoia Capital, Draper Fisher Jurvetson and other individual investors. More than 1,200,000 meebo sessions are initiated daily. The company is based in Mountain View, CA, and offers its free service at www.meebo.com.

About Draper Fisher Jurvetson

Draper Fisher Jurvetson is the only venture capital firm with global presence through a network of affiliated funds, with offices in more than 30 cities around the world and approximately $4 billion in capital commitments. DFJ’s mission is to identify, provide capital for, and serve extraordinary entrepreneurs anywhere who want to change the world. Over the past twenty years, DFJ has been proud to back approximately 300 companies across a myriad of sectors including such industry changing catalysts as Hotmail (acquired by MFST), Baidu (BIDU), Skype (acquired by EBAY), United Online (UNTD), Overture (acquired by YHOO), Interwoven (IWOV), 411 (acquired by YHOO), Parametric (PMTC), and Digidesign (acquired by AVID).

Apple unveiled its new iPhone at the MacWorld show in San Francisco Tuesday with a streamlined user interface that is sure to cause rumbles in the handset manufacturing community.

Featuring a large 3.5” display and only one button, all of the controls will be virtual and operated through an advanced touchscreen interface.

Apple has clearly issued a challenge to other manufacturers regarding user interface and input technology. Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs referred to the current crop of smartphones as “hard to use” and described the problem as being in the bottom 40% of the handset, “keyboards that are there whether you need them or not.” Apple has determined that the best alternative is to remove the keyboard entirely. This will allow for a far more flexible user interface that will be driven by the application being accessed. The iPhone virtual interface will be driven by a modified version of Apple’s OS X operating system, already seen by many as an archetype for consumer friendly interfaces.

Although it is certainly innovative and exciting, it is unclear how well the iPhone interface will stand up to the rigors of daily use. While the “big-screen” concept may work well for viewing multimedia and web content, in theory, having to constantly clean off fingerprints, makeup, and smudges may prove irritating to consumers. In addition, the daily punishment of being tossed into a purse or thrown into a pocket with car keys may prove problematic. Apple has already faced some criticism in this area with the introduction of iPod Nano, whose first generation was plagued by complaints of easily scratched and damaged polycarbonate screens. And, while an iPod screen can be easily protected by a case, it is unclear how easy it will be to shield a touchscreen from, well, contact.

Despite these concerns, the iPhone appears to be an early hit with both consumers and investors, even taking into account the fact that the first unit will not ship for another six months.

IMS Research Analyst, Bill Morelli, commented, “Apple has changed the dynamics of the handset market just with its entrance. Regardless of the impact the iPhone has in terms of unit sales, the impact on handset design and user interface will be felt for years to come.” He continued, “It is a certainty that devices offering similar design features will start cropping up from other manufacturers, similar to the influx of RAZR imitators that started appearing on the market in the latter half of 2006.”

Handset navigation has long been a source of frustration for consumers. Handset manufacturers and operators have struggled with the challenge created by squeezing more functionality into the handset without making the operation too complex. Apple has moved this debate front and center with its bold proclamation of a leapfrog device that will revolutionize the handset market.

Yahoo is not saying what it paid for Mybloglog, but knowledgeable sources said it cost a little over $10 million for the company, which first offered the service in July. Bradley Horowitz, vice president of product strategy at Yahoo, said Mybloglog will likely remain branded as a separate entity, but Yahoo users will be able to register on it with their Yahoo password. The reader communities will soon be able to access Yahoo services, like the Flickr photo site or the Yahoo Answers information service, to their groups.

“This closes the loop between readers and publishers,” he said. “Every publisher wants to know his readers, and the readers want to find out about each other. It’s the power of implicit networking.”

Web advertisers, of course, want to know about everybody. Mybloglog is currently available on about 45,000 blogs, according to company chairman Scott Rafer, and has registered the photos and personal information (like the address of their blogs) of about 33,000 readers. Rafer also said it looks at about 1 million readers of blogs a day. Its most popular blogs are, not surprisingly, on technology subjects, but also on real estate – making the user information valuable to multiple advertisers.

The social network is the more valuable thing for future growth, according to both companies. “The biggest thing in blog search is ego search – my name, the web sites I love,” says Rafer, who will work for Horowitz, promoting his service to Yahoo’s many properties. “People search Google and Wikipedia for information; with blogs, people look for cool things and serendipity.” And, by watching what readers look at, and learning overall behaviors, companies like his can sell to advertisers information about what products should be advertised where.

That information will become even more valuable, of course, if Yahoo can grow the business to a significant percentage of its hundreds of millions of monthly users, and add to the functions. “I have gigantic plans for this project,” said Horowitz. “This is a playground where readers can talk to each other…think about community photos, community answers, Yahoo groups or meeting services.”

One thing Yahoo will not do, he added, is actively market the site with Web advertising. “The thing is growing like a weed in the viral pattern you want,” Horowitz said. In other words, Web advertising is for some products, and selling it is for others. — Quentin Hardy

Story was found at: http://blogs.forbes.com/forbespecial/2007/01/yahoo_snaps_up_.html

SAN FRANCISCO, CA. November 15, 2006 – Feedtext Inc., a content provider based in San Francisco, proudly announces the launch of their company’s website (http://www.feedtext.com) donning a new look and the birth of their corporate blog, The Feedtext Blog (http://blog.feedtext.com).

Feedtext.com now serves like a portal to all the products and services the company is offering to their market. The products found on their current roster are SMSJock (http://www.smsjock.com), a web-based application for radio stations geared to increase radio-listener interaction, and Moblabber (http://www.moblabber.com), a web to mobile broadcast tool, which aims to provide users with a venue to discuss their common interests online and mobile.

There are products seen on the site but are still in the works and will soon be launched, Hobnobster (http://www.hobnobster.com), and Ringtone Deck (http://www.ringtonedeck.com).

The Feedtext Blog, the official blog of Feedtext Inc., will be a place for customers, business partners and industry players to educate, speculate and mingle among themselves. It also aims to share information on company movements, key industry news, and a relatively large dose of commentary on key areas within, but not limited to, the web and mobile services industry, managed by their corporate blogger, Sasha Manuel.

“We recognize the importance of communication, that’s why we are in this business,” Vince T. Yamat, CEO of Feedtext, Inc., explains. “By creating different avenues wherein we can interact with all our customers, adapting a mentality that this company is fueled by the passion to communicate, gives us a sense of satisfaction that we can address their needs better, effectively improve our product and services and, hopefully, rightfully exceed their expectations.”

Feedtext Inc. is a web and mobile entertainment company that develops consumer and business applications for media companies and wireless carriers in North America. The company also offers other services such as chat, community applications, interactive TV applications and mobile entertainment storefronts.

For more information, please visit the website at www.feedtext.com or call +1 415.839.0091.

Media contact:

Vince T. Yamat
Email: vince.yamat@feedtext.com
Phone: + 1 415.839.0091