Reuter site - After game-changing run, Santorum quits White House race

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After game-changing run, Santorum quits White House race

Tue, Apr 10 19:50 PM EDT

By Patricia Zengerle

GETTYSBURG, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - Rick Santorum ended his improbable run for the White House on Tuesday after leading a Republican tilt to the right that could dog the more moderate front-runner, Mitt Romney, in November's election.

Trailing in polls and fundraising, the conservative former Pennsylvania senator suspended his campaign and cleared the way for Romney to clinch the nomination to face President Barack Obama in the November 6 general election.

A staunch social conservative with a penchant for sleeveless sweaters, Santorum was the underdog who clawed his way to near the top of the Republican race and won the first 2012 nominating contest in Iowa by a thread.

His rise forced the issues of birth control and the role of Christianity in public life to the forefront of the campaign, frustrating Romney, a former private equity executive who sought to keep the focus on the economy.

During his exit speech on Tuesday, Santorum again reached out to the working class and the Republican Party's right wing, which he had courted throughout the campaign with his focus on manufacturing, religion and conservative family values.

"Over and over again we were told, 'Forget it, you can't win.' We were winning, but in a different way, we were touching hearts, we were raising issues that frankly a lot of people didn't want to have raised," Santorum said at a news conference in a hotel near the Civil War battlefield site of Gettysburg.

Santorum's exit leaves the stage free for a two-man fight between Romney and Democrat Obama for the presidency.

That contest intensified on Tuesday when Obama's campaign accused the multimillionaire Romney of not paying his "fair share" of taxes, and tried to paint the Republican as an elitist.

Santorum proved to be a more formidable opponent to Romney than many expected, especially in light of a historic 18-percentage point defeat during his Senate re-election bid in Pennsylvania in 2006.

His vocal opposition to gay marriage and abortion offered Republican voters a stark contrast with former Massachusetts governor Romney's more moderate record.

Romney moved to the right on social issues to try to outflank Santorum. Now Romney, and Republican congressional candidates, could have some difficulty in November, when the overall electorate will be more moderate.

"When voters are interested in the economy, Rick Santorum was talking about socially conservative issues ... and that would take us off message. That would take the whole party off message," said Republican strategist Ron Bonjean.

Santorum lagged Romney in opinion polls and in the fight for the 1,144 party delegates needed to win the Republican nomination. He was facing the possibility of an embarrassing defeat in his home state of Pennsylvania on April 24. Romney has 659 delegates to 275 for Santorum, according to a CNN estimate.

A devout Catholic, Santorum failed to stretch his appeal far enough beyond conservatives and some blue-collar Republicans to overtake Romney.

Santorum spoke to his main rival on Tuesday but did not endorse the front-runner or either of the two other Republican candidates, Texas Congressman Ron Paul and former U.S. House speaker Newt Gingrich, both of whom are way behind Romney in polls.

"Mr. Santorum brought excitement to the race, and helped the GOP mobilize voters earlier in the season," Hunter College Political Science Professor Jamie Chandler said.

"Now much of the electorate will tune out until the fall. His delegates will now be open at the convention, but will likely support Mitt Romney."

Disappointed Santorum supporter Felicia Collie, 29, of Gettysburg, was not ready to throw her vote to Romney.

"I don't really want to because Romney is the same as Obama," she said. "Santorum is the only one (of the Republican candidates) who is a clear contrast."

Santorum has been the only serious Republican challenger to Romney in the last six weeks, and he won victories in nominating contests in Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri, Kansas, Louisiana and Colorado.

But he failed to take big Rust-Belt states such as Michigan and Ohio, despite portraying himself as a blue-collar guy and playing up his roots as the grandson of an Italian immigrant coal miner.

Santorum also could not compete in campaign funding.

Romney's allies in the Restore Our Future "Super PAC" have spent nearly $41 million on advertising that consisted mostly of attacks on Gingrich and Santorum, portraying the latter as a supporter of big spending during his 12 years in the Senate.

"It's no surprise that Mitt Romney finally was able to grind down his opponents under an avalanche of negative ads," said Obama's campaign manager Jim Messina.

"But neither he nor his special-interest allies will be able to buy the presidency with their negative attacks. The more the American people see of Mitt Romney, the less they like him and the less they trust him," said Messina, who heads a campaign that has a stronger fundraising operation than Romney's.

Santorum leaves a legacy of harsh statements on social issues that alienated many voters, including Republicans.

He upset fellow Catholics in February when he said that late President John F. Kennedy's 1960 speech praising the separation of church and state made him want to "throw up." Santorum later said he regretted the comment.

When Santorum criticized gay rights and birth control, the media highlighted a 2008 speech in which he declared that "Satan" was attacking great U.S. institutions by means of "pride, vanity, and sensuality."

The father of seven children, Santorum's decision to quit was partly influence by a serious illness suffered by his three-year-old daughter, Bella. She was hospitalized over the long holiday weekend with Trisomy 18, a rare genetic condition that hinders a child's development.

(Additional reporting by Alina Selyukh, Andy Sullivan and Jeff Mason; Writing by Alistair Bell; Editing by Mary Milliken and David Brunnstrom)

Reuter site - Factbox: Lure of Facebook "social commerce" for VCs

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Factbox: Lure of Facebook "social commerce" for VCs

Thu, Apr 05 07:09 AM EDT

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The potential of e-commerce on and around Facebook Inc's giant social network has inspired a rash of investments from Silicon Valley venture capitalists and even Wall Street outfits. Here are 10 recent examples.

- BeachMint, which sells apparel, jewelry, shoes and other accessories through Facebook, has raised about $70 million from investors including Accel Partners, Goldman Sachs, New World Ventures and Millennium Technology Value Partners.

- Buddy Media, which helps brands manage their Facebook presence, raised $54 million in August from GGV Capital, Institutional Venture Partners, Bay Partners and Insight Venture Partners.

- Fab.com, a seller of designer goods that is built around Facebook and other social networks, has raised more than $50 million from venture capital firms including Andreessen Horowitz, Menlo Ventures and First Round Capital.

- OpenSky, a shopping website that lets consumers get recommendations from celebrities through social networks including Facebook, raised $30 million in October from Providence Equity Partners, Highland Capital Partners, Canaan Partners and The Raine Group.

- Oodle, which runs a classifieds marketplace on Facebook with more than 3 million unique monthly users, has raised more than $20 million from venture capital firms including Greylock Partners and Redpoint Ventures.

- Yardsellr, which links buyers and sellers through Facebook, raised $5 million in late 2010 from Accel Partners and Harrison Metal Capital, which had previously seeded the business with $750,000.

- Lockerz, a social shopping network, has raised more than $50 million from investors including venture capital giant Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

- Payvment, which runs thousands of Facebook stores for small merchants, has raised $8 million from investors including Sierra Ventures and BlueRun Ventures.

- Wrapp, a social gifting service, has raised more than $10 million from investors including Greylock Partners and Atomico, a venture capital firm run by Skype co-founder Niklas Zennström.

- Minted, a social commerce startup focused on stationery, invitations and greeting cards, raised $5.5 million in November from Benchmark Capital, IDG Ventures and Menlo Ventures. Marissa Mayer of Google and Jeremy Stoppelman of Yelp also invested.

(Reporting By Alistair Barr; Editing by Gary Hill)

Reuter site - Analysis: Facebook e-commerce: the next big thing?

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Analysis: Facebook e-commerce: the next big thing?

Thu, Apr 05 07:05 AM EDT

By Alistair Barr

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A group of e-commerce start-ups, backed by some of the tech world's most pedigreed financiers, are betting that Facebook Inc can become an e-commerce powerhouse to rival Amazon.com Inc and eBay Inc.

As the world's largest social network hurtles toward a $5 billion initial public offering, it will come under more pressure from Wall Street to find new sources of profit growth and reduce its reliance on advertising, which accounted for 85 percent of its 2011 revenue.

Some entrepreneurs and investors increasingly think "f-commerce" - meaning e-commerce on Facebook - is the answer. Start-ups such as BeachMint, Yardsellr, Oodle and Fab.com are coming up with novel ways to persuade Facebook users to not just connect with friends on the social network, but to shop as well.

Backed by tens of millions of dollars from venture capital firms like Accel Partners and Andreessen Horowitz, and other big investors like Goldman Sachs, these start-ups are pushing out shopping apps, hosting online garage sales and testing out new business models on Facebook.

"E-commerce is a huge category with very strong tailwinds and it's a natural move for Facebook," said Sam Schwerin of Millennium Technology Value Partners, which owns Facebook shares and has a stake in BeachMint.

Amazon revolutionized online shopping by crunching lots of customer and purchase data to come up with relevant, personalized recommendations. In the same vein, Facebook's combination of data, analytics and payment technology could fuel the next generation of e-commerce, Schwerin said.

Facebook declined to comment, but investors said the company understands the importance of having an e-commerce strategy.

"It's a big imperative for them," said Theresia Gouw Ranzetta of Accel Partners, an early backer of Facebook. "They understand it's an important strategic benefit for them to make e-commerce players successful on the platform."

FACTBOX-Social commerce on Facebook

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>

BIG BRAND STORES FLOP

Facebook had 845 million monthly active users at the end of 2011, far higher than Amazon's 164 million active accounts or the eBay online marketplace's 100 million active users.

But despite that huge base, Facebook is primarily a way to connect with friends, and not an online shopper's first destination. Big retailers including J.C. Penney, Gap and Nordstrom had previously set up stores on Facebook but shut them after generating few sales.

That has not stopped venture capital firms from pouring money into rookie companies they think have cracked the code.

There is a lot of buzz about Fab.com, a one-year-old company that has amassed 2 million users who broadcast their purchases via a "bought" button that advertises their shopping habits to friends. Fab built its user base in part by offering $5 a month to those who sign up - Chief Executive Jason Goldberg said "tens of thousands" opted in.

BeachMint co-founder Diego Berdakin said his company had set up a live video event called StyleMint.tv last holiday season featuring a brief appearance by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's sister, Randi Zuckerberg. For about two hours, they showcased BeachMint products that people could buy with one click.

More than 50,000 Facebook users watched the show and a "huge percentage" bought something, Berdakin said, adding, "At the time, it was the biggest day in our history in terms of sales."

Yardsellr, started in 2010 by former eBay manager Danny Leffel, organizes people into 3,000 communities, or "blocks," based on common interests. When someone posts a product for sale, it is sent to the news feeds of people in that block and purchases can be made with a few clicks.

Gross merchandise sales, a measure of the value of products, has been growing about 30 percent a month, according to Leffel. "Social commerce could be bigger than eBay," he argued.

Then there's Oodle, a start-up headed by Craig Donato, who runs Facebook's official marketplace, which boasts more than 3 million unique monthly users. When buyers and sellers post items, their Facebook identities are attached, giving users more confidence in the transactions, Donato said.

MAKING MONEY

For now, Facebook is making money mostly by selling ads to merchants trying to target potential customers. But many experts say it is a matter of time before the eight-year-old social network will ask for a cut of shopping transactions, or seek other ways to profit.

They point to Facebook's relationship with online games developer Zynga Inc as an example. Facebook takes a 30 percent cut of revenue generated from the sale of virtual goods used to play Zynga games.

Gamers pay for those virtual goods using Facebook Credits, a virtual currency that could eventually be used to buy physical goods, according to some Internet entrepreneurs.

"Facebook has a huge opportunity to monetize e-commerce," said Christian Taylor, chief executive of Payvment, a startup that operates thousands of Facebook stores. "They have the infrastructure and team to pursue that."

Others downplay the potential for Facebook Credits, saying physical goods offer much thinner profit margins than virtual products.

"The 30 percent model is great for products with near-zero cost of goods sold," said Kevin Hartz, head of ticketing start-up Eventbrite, which works closely with Facebook. "But selling a TV with thin margins, that model will just not apply."

Nevertheless, if e-commerce on Facebook takes off, many expect the social network to find a way to make money off it.

"When you build on top of a platform like Facebook, there is always the risk that the platform provider decides to change the rules later on," said Laura Valverde of Beetailer, which runs more than 3,000 stores on Facebook.

"We have seen this with Facebook Credits and games. So, once social commerce fully takes off, it will only be natural that Facebook tries to benefit one way or another from it."

(Editing by Edwin Chan, Tiffany Wu and Bob Burgdorfer)

Reuter site - After Jobs Act, Case turns focus to immigration

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After Jobs Act, Case turns focus to immigration

Thu, Apr 05 16:01 PM EDT

By Sarah McBride

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As he gathers with other movers and shakers at the White House on Thursday afternoon to witness President Barack Obama's signing of the Jobs Act, AOL Inc co-founder Steve Case is already thinking ahead to the next cause he can help champion behind the scenes: immigration reform.

"Our work's not done," Case told Reuters in an interview, adding that he would still pause to celebrate the passage of the Jobs Act, intended to help start-up companies raise money and hold initial public offerings. Case lobbied heavily for the new law, milking his connections in the Washington area to build consensus around the legislation.

Now that the Jobs Act is completed, making it easier for highly skilled immigrants to work in the United States is one of the most important issues facing the startup community, said Case, who runs Revolution LLC, a Washington-based venture investment firm. Revolution focuses on Internet plays and has backed companies ranging from deals company LivingSocial to short-term car-rental service Zipcar Inc.

Like many entrepreneurs, he favors legislation that would focus solely on skilled immigrants rather than trying to wrap in the contentious issue of illegal immigration.

Case believes there is a chance Congress could act before the November elections, given the success of the Jobs Act.

"The biggest battle was around the skepticism anything could get done in Washington in an election year," he said. "Momentum begets momentum."

But a narrowed bill may be controversial among some groups. Many constituents including Hispanic voters do not want to separate the issues of highly skilled immigrants from illegal immigrants, believing that pairing the two is the only way that action will be taken on the more difficult issue of illegal immigration.

Despite Case's optimism, Congress remains highly divided, with many members reluctant to pass anything that could be seen as a boon to Obama.

Immigrants founded or cofounded almost half of the 50 top venture-backed companies in the United States, according to a December study by the National Foundation for American Policy.

Of those 50 companies, 23 had at least one immigrant founder, the study found. In addition, 37 of the 50 companies employed at least one immigrant in a key management position such as chief technology officer.

Companies with immigrant founders include some of Silicon Valley's hot startups, such as textbook-rental service Chegg, founded by Indian Aayush Phumbhra and Briton Osman Rashid; online craft marketplace Etsy Inc, founded by Swiss entrepreneur Haim Schoppik; and Web publisher Glam Media, founded by Indians Samir Arora and Raj Narayan.

The countries that supplied the most founders included India, Israel, Canada, Iran and New Zealand, the study found, and the immigrant-founded companies created an average of 150 jobs.

The study looked at the top 50 venture-backed companies as measured by research firm VentureSource, based on factors such as company growth and the amount of capital raised. VentureSource considered only companies valued at less than $1 billion.

Case, who stepped down from the board of what was then called AOL Time Warner in 2003, rules out any eventual run for office. He said he sees his role as a bridge-builder between the political parties and investors.

"Revolution is really the main event," he said. "That's my core competency."

(Reporting By Sarah McBride and Laura MacInnis; editing by Matthew Lewis)

Reuter site - Two more execs leave BlackBerry maker in shake-up

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Two more execs leave BlackBerry maker in shake-up

Fri, Apr 06 17:41 PM EDT

TORONTO (Reuters) - Blackberry maker Research In Motion Ltd is losing two more senior executives as the money-losing company embarks on a strategic overhaul that its new chief executive says could result in its sale.

Alan Brenner, a senior vice president for the BlackBerry platform, will leave after a transition period, and Alistair Mitchell, a vice president for the BlackBerry Messenger instant messaging product, has already left, RIM spokeswoman Tenille Kennedy said in an email on Friday.

A stream of executives have left RIM in the past year as its once-dominant market share has slipped amid fierce competition from Apple Inc and phones running on Google Inc's Android. RIM shares have dropped more than 80 percent from a peak of almost $70 in February 2011, to $12.67 on Nasdaq on Thursday.

Last week, RIM said it would stop issuing financial forecasts and that it was reviewing strategic options, such as entering partnerships and joint ventures or licensing its software.

CEO Thorsten Heins, who took the reins in January when longtime co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie resigned under pressure, would not rule out a possible sale of the company.

Several senior executives announced their departures in last week's earnings report - including Balsillie, who stepped down from the board. RIM posted a net loss of $125 million after booking writedowns on its legacy BlackBerry 7 phones and goodwill.

RIM last recorded a loss under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) in the fiscal 2005 fourth quarter, when it booked tax expenses and paid to resolve a patent infringement case that had threatened to shut down its U.S. operations.

The Waterloo, Ontario-based company is seeking a chief marketing officer and a chief operating officer.

In July RIM slashed 2,000 jobs, or about 11 percent of its workforce, to cut costs as sales and profit fell. [ID:nL3E7IP251] Its developer relations and sales and marketing teams were particularly hard hit.

Head of marketing Keith Pardy left in March 2011, just before RIM launched its PlayBook tablet, which fared poorly. Two of his staff later moved to Samsung Electronics.

Chief Operating Officer Don Morrison resigned in July after taking medical leave. A second COO, Jim Rowan, left last week along with Chief Technology Officer David Yach.

Jeff McDowell, senior vice president for platform marketing and alliances, left RIM last July and Tyler Lessard, a senior vice president for global alliances and developer relations, left in September.

(Reporting by Alastair Sharp in Toronto; Editing by Richard Chang)

Reuter site - China's Alibaba tests social shopping with Pinterest clone

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China's Alibaba tests social shopping with Pinterest clone

Fri, Mar 30 13:08 PM EDT

By Melanie Lee

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - It is a marriage made in heaven for shopping addicts. Social shopping, the merger of social networking and e-commerce which has hooked millions of users in the United States, has now captured the attention of China's Internet giant.

Alibaba Group's social shopping platform Fa Xian (http://faxian.etao.com), launched on a testing basis four weeks ago, is already luring 60,000 viewers a day.

"Over the long run, social commerce in China has the potential to be bigger than the United States," said Hans Tung, managing director of venture capital firm Qiming Ventures.

Social shopping websites allow users to post photos of items on virtual pin boards, which others can comment on. Some sites allow users to purchase some of the items by clicking on the photos.

The business model originated in the United States in the mid 2000s when firms such as Kaboodle first set up shops. Others have emerged since then, including Fab.com and most recently Pinterest.

In China, the home of world's largest Internet population with nearly half a billion users, social shopping websites, such as Mogujie, LinkChic and Xinxian, have been launched over the past year.

Alibaba, 40 percent owned by Yahoo Inc, is looking to incorporate these rivals into Fa Xian, which means discovery in Chinese. Unlike other U.S. social shopping websites, all the items on Fa Xian can be purchased through its two e-commerce websites, Taobao Mall and Taobao Marketplace.

"We have about 10 partners right now. At the end of the year, I hope to see if we can achieve 100 partners, because this year China's social shopping industry is very hot," Chen Lijuan, director at eTao, Alibaba's search unit that operates Fa Xian, Fa Xian also plans to expand to include other e-commerce vendors outside the Taobao ecosystem, such as Jingdong Mall.

Cao Xiaolei, a 30-year-old office worker who has been using Mogujie since last July, said she can spend up to an hour looking through the website for items she likes.

"The products on the website have been selected and that can save me time and give me inspiration," she said.

($1 = 6.2997 Chinese yuan)

(Editing by Kazunori Takada and Ron Popeski)

Reuter site - Sultry French pop song gives 'Mad Men' a new star

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Sultry French pop song gives 'Mad Men' a new star

Mon, Mar 26 19:54 PM EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Mad Men" returned to television with bumper ratings, an unusually happy Don Draper and a new star, courtesy of Draper's sexy young wife, Megan.

And it's all because of a sultry performance in Sunday's 5th season premiere of a 1960s French pop song, "Zou Bisou Bisou" (Oh you, Kiss, Kiss).

Megan, played by Canadian actress Jessica Pare, was the talk of the town on Monday for her rendition, in French, of the song during a surprise birthday party for Draper and for a racy bra and panties sex scene in Sunday's new season premiere.

"In just a few scenes, she becomes 'Mad Men's' most watchable new asset," The Washington Post declared. In an unusual move for the show, the single was released on iTunes.

Pare, 29, said on Monday she had little professional singing experience but was thrilled with how her two big scenes had worked out.

"I like to sing around the bonfire, in my car and in the shower, and that is about it," the actress told reporters on a conference call.

"It was a lot of fun to do. Certainly a lot of the awkwardness and embarrassment (of the character) was definitely felt. It takes a lot of courage to do something like that. I am not sure I would gear up for it myself," she added.

Cable network AMC said 3.5 million U.S. viewers tuned in for Sunday's two-hour premiere, making it the most-watched episode ever of the Emmy-winning drama. The show had been off the air since October 2010, partly due to a contract dispute.

Pare, who began her career in Montreal at age 17 and has had small parts in movies like "Hot Tub Time Machine", was cast in "Mad Men" midway through season four as new secretary Megan Calvet at the 1960s ad agency. By the end of the season, actor Jon Hamm's suave but conflicted Draper had proposed.

Pare said she had no idea she would be thrust into the limelight in the new season until she was handed the script.

"At the time I just was like, I can't believe I am on the show, and the first thing I have to do is an entire song and dance routine for the whole cast of 'Mad Men.' That is a bit intimidating so I just focused on getting through that day," she said.

The season premiere was filmed in August 2011, and like the rest of the "Mad Men" cast, Pare was sworn to secrecy about the plot by creator Matt Weiner.

"I have been waiting for last night for months. I am really excited about it! I am really proud of the work that I did. I could not be more thrilled or honored to be part of such an incredible show," she said, describing her new role as "life-changing."

(Reporting By Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Reuter site - Whitney Houston drowned with cocaine in system: coroner

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Whitney Houston drowned with cocaine in system: coroner

Thu, Mar 22 18:30 PM EDT

By Dan Whitcomb

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pop star Whitney Houston died of accidental drowning due to the effects of cocaine use and heart disease, a Los Angeles County coroner's spokesman said on Thursday.

The 48-year-old singer, who spent years battling addiction to drugs including cocaine, was found submerged in the bathtub of her Beverly Hills hotel room on February 12, the eve of the Grammy Awards.

An autopsy into Houston's death found that the cause of death was accidental drowning with atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use listed as contributing factors, Los Angeles County Coroner's spokesman Craig Harvey said.

Harvey said toxicology tests also turned up marijuana, an anti-anxiety medication, a muscle relaxant and an anti-histamine in Houston's system.

Those drugs were not found to have contributed to her death, and no trauma or foul play were suspected, the coroner's office said. A final report was expected to be made public within two weeks.

"We are saddened to learn of the toxicology results, although we are glad to now have closure," Patricia Houston, the pop superstar's manager and sister-in-law said in a statement on Thursday.

Houston soared to the top of the pop charts in the 1980s, best known for a string of hit songs including "I Will Always Love You." But her career declined as she battled personal issues that included drug addiction.

Patricia Houston told Oprah Winfrey in an interview this month that she had believed the pop star's worst days of drug abuse were behind her.

Members of the family told Winfrey that Houston was found face down and naked in the bathtub, and that attempts by her staff to revive her proved fruitless.

Houston was last in rehab in May 2011. But celebrity media reported that she was seen drinking heavily and behaving erratically in the three or four days before her death.

Sales and downloads of Houston's best-known songs, including "Saving All My Love for You" and "My Love is Your Love" soared around the world after her death.

(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Xavier Briand)

Reuter site - Apple's new iPad making waves in video game market

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Apple's new iPad making waves in video game market

Fri, Mar 09 21:57 PM EST

By Liana B. Baker

(Reuters) - Apple Inc's <AAPL.O> faster and sharper-looking new iPad is drawing the notice of the traditional video game industry, as developers are envisioning games for it that have more in common with the visceral 3D shooter "Call of Duty" than "FarmVille."

The company is also setting itself up to take on Microsoft <MSFT.O> and Sony <6758.T> on their home turf of game consoles.

From Electronic Arts to "Crysis" developers Crytek, industry executives are figuring out ways to migrate graphics-intensive so-called hardcore games to the iPad. Epic Games and Namco Bandai <7832.T> took the stage at Apple's iPad unveiling this week to show off what they can do with an iPad that has a faster quad core processor.

With more than 55 million iPads sold to date, including 15.43 million last quarter, the tablet is quickly catching up to the number of consoles on the market: the PlayStation 3 has sold 62 million units and Xbox 360 has moved more than 65 million units. That growing user base is drawing developers who want to see their games played on as many devices as possible.

"Apple is definitely building their devices as if they care a lot about 'triple-A' games," said Mike Capps, president of Epic Games, the studio behind "Gears of War" for consoles and "Infinity Blade" for the iPad.

The "triple-A" moniker is bequeathed to only the highest-quality video games -- those with the best graphics and that cost in the tens of millions of dollars to produce. So far, not many "triple-A" titles appear on mobile devices.

Capps, who has appeared on stage at all three of Apple's iPad launches, said he is trying to push the console manufacturers, Sony and Microsoft, to come out with more powerful devices so they do not get left behind. On Wednesday, he told the crowd in San Francisco the new iPad has better screen resolution and more memory than Microsoft's Xbox and Sony's PlayStation.

While gamers today might still prefer to play shooter games at home on big screen TVs with a handheld controller, that could soon change, Capps said, especially if a bluetooth controller is developed for the iPad.

"It is quite easy to imagine a world where an iPad is more powerful than a home console, where it wirelessly talks to your TV and wirelessly talks to your controller and becomes your new console," Capps said in an interview.

Meanwhile, the industry is bracing for change. Frank Gibeau, president of Electronic Arts' Labels <EA.O>, who oversees the company's biggest games such as "Battlefield 3" and "Star Wars: The Old Republic," said the company is eyeing Apple's moves closely.

"When the iPad gets to the processing power that's equal to an Xbox 360 and it connects to a television, that's no big deal to us. We'll put the game through the iPad and have it display through the television." Gibeau said.

BRING ON THE GAMES

EA has already brought some games from its marquee franchises to the iPad: "Dead Space" and "Mass Effect".

For publishers, "it used to be, oh hey, it's just the Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft show, but that's not the case anymore," Gibeau said.

Germany's Crytek, which developed "Crysis 2" for consoles and PCs, is working on its first game for the iPad, due out in the spring. While that game will be puzzle-based -- minus the free-wheeling pyrotechnics -- the company said it could one day bring that genre of hardcore games to the device.

"As more people come to these platforms, we have to follow our fans," said Kristoffer Waardahl, a Crytek studio manager.

While speedier iPads will soon be getting into more gamers hands, Jeremy Parish, editor in chief of gaming blog 1UP.com, said it does not necessarily put pressure on console makers to come out with a new product any faster. The Xbox 360 launched in 2005 and the PlayStation 3 came out in 2006.

"For the console makers, it has got be a little bit of an embarrassment to say that this tablet has more power and better screen resolution. But at the same time, this will not be the motivating factor to get them to jump into a new generation of consoles," Parish said.

Yet the industry is counting on a new wave of gaming hardware in the near future. Nintendo will release the "Wii U," its first console with high-definition graphics, later this year.

For now, experts are divided as to whether the new iPad will make a dent on consoles but at least one investor said he does expect sales of rival gaming products to be hurt.

"While consoles won't cease to exist, it does create pressure on them by hurting their growth and taking away some of their customers," said Michael Yoshikami, CEO of Destination Wealth Management.

Sony spokesman Dan Race said "the PlayStation 3 business is having its strongest year ever" and the "PlayStation $249 price point is resonating with gamers and families alike."

Nintendo's U.S. executive vice president of sales and marketing, Scott Moffitt said "Regardless of the device, consumers have repeatedly demonstrated that they care more about the experience than the tech specs."

Microsoft declined to comment.

Apart from the iPad, Apple's fledgling TV product is also being watched closely by video game companies. Hudson Square analyst Dan Ernst said he doubts the iPad will affect console sales, but said an Apple TV with an app store could one day pose a viable threat.

(Reporting By Liana B. Baker, Editing by Edwin Chan and Bernard Orr)

Reuter site - Japan mourns tsunami dead; grapples with aftermath

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Japan mourns tsunami dead; grapples with aftermath

Sun, Mar 11 09:16 AM EDT

By Yoko Kubota

OFUNATO, Japan (Reuters) - With a moment of silence, prayers and anti-nuclear rallies, Japan marked on Sunday one year since an earthquake and tsunami killed thousands and set off a radiation crisis that shattered public trust in atomic power and the nation's leaders.

The magnitude 9.0 earthquake unleashed a wall of water that hit Japan's northeast coast, killing nearly 16,000 and leaving nearly 3,300 unaccounted for. The country is still grappling with the human, economic and political costs.

In the port town of Ofunato, hundreds of black-clad residents gathered to lay white chrysanthemums in memory of the town's 420 dead and missing.

"We can't just stay sad. Our mission is to face reality and move forward step by step," said Kosei Chiba, 46, who lost his mother and wife in the disaster.

"But the damage the town suffered was too big and our psychological scars are too deep. We need a long time to rebuild."

The country observed a minute of silence at 2:46 p.m. (0546 GMT), the time the quake struck.

Residents of Ofunato gathered before a makeshift altar with a calm, sun-flecked sea behind them. Ofunato paused again 33 minutes later -- the time when a year ago a 23-metre (75-foot) tsunami engulfed the town of 41,000.

Just a kilometer (half a mile) from Tokyo Electric Power Company's (Tepco) wrecked Fukushima plant, where reactor meltdowns triggered the world's worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl, residents of the abandoned town of Okuma were allowed back for just a few hours to honor the dead.

"It was a wonderful place. If it wasn't for all that has happened, I'd be able to come back. But thanks to Tepco, I wasn't even able to search for the bodies of my relatives," said Tomoe Kimura, 93, who lost four members of her family in the tsunami, two of whom were never found.

Authorities have imposed a 20-km (12 mile) no-go zone around the plant and residents may never be allowed back.

"My home is in Namie town, so we can't go home," said Katsuko Ishii, who had to flee from the exclusion zone.

"There are really no words for it," said Ishii, attending a memorial service with her 3-year-old daughter in Iwaki City, Fukushima prefecture.

Along the northeast coast, police and coastguard officers, urged on by families of the missing, continue their dogged search for remains despite diminishing chances of finding any.

RESOLVE AND ANGER

The prevailing mood in tsunami-hit communities was one of solemn reflection and resolve to move on despite frustration with the confused official response and slow pace of rebuilding.

In contrast, those who felt betrayed by Japan's "nuclear village" -- the powerful nexus of utilities, politicians and bureaucrats that promoted nuclear power as clean and safe -- were less forgiving.

"We are angry at Tepco and came here to show our anger," said Tomoe Suzuki, 65, a restaurant owner and chef.

"The earthquake was something that was unavoidable because it was a natural disaster, but you can't stay quiet about Fukushima because it's a man-made disaster," she said, marching with about 12,000 other protesters to form a "human chain" around the parliament building in the capital city Tokyo.

The protest was one of several around the country including in Koriyama City, where some 16,000 people gathered to express their pain and anger.

The Japanese people earned the world's admiration for their composure, discipline and resilience in the face of the disaster, while its companies impressed with the speed with which they bounced back.

As a result, the $5 trillion economy looks set to return to pre-disaster levels in coming months with the help of about $230 billion earmarked for a decade-long rebuilding effort agreed in rare cooperation between the ruling and opposition parties.

Emperor Akihito, recovering from coronary bypass surgery last month, attended a memorial service in Tokyo's National Theatre and urged people to work together, echoing his unprecedented televised address five days after the disaster.

"I hope all the people will keep the victims in their hearts and work so that the situation in the disaster-hit areas improves," the 78-year-old monarch said.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, who took over in September from Naoto Kan -- who was premier at the time the disasters struck -- pledged to work for recovery:

"Our forebears who built this country's prosperity have emerged from each crisis even stronger. We will fulfill our historic mission of realizing the rebirth of this nation."

"FOURTH DISASTER"

Yet many people are increasingly disillusioned about the political establishment's ability to tell the truth and rise to the occasion, a deep lack of trust that one commentator called "the fourth disaster of March 11".

Politicians and bureaucrats drew fire for the chaotic response to the Fukushima disaster and disappointed many with their failure to seize the moment to tackle the ills which have plagued Japan for over two decades.

After a brief truce, parliamentary squabbles resumed, giving Japan its sixth leader in five years and now threatening to block an important tax reform and stall other business, including the launch of a more independent nuclear watchdog.

Tepco, criticized by many for its failure to prepare for the disaster, issued a fresh apology.

"Each and every member of our company and its group remembers March 11 and will work with our all hearts to solve challenges with safety as our first priority," Tepco President Toshio Nishizawa, who marked the anniversary at the plant, said in a statement.

Slow progress in drawing up plans for the tsunami-damaged and radiation-contaminated region is deepening the misery of survivors, about 326,000 of whom are still homeless, including 80,000 evacuated from the vicinity of the Fukushima plant.

While the government declared it had reached "cold shutdown" in December, the nation lives under a cloud of anxiety over the long-term health effects of radiation. It also faces the huge financial burden of dismantling the plant and cleaning up an area the size of Luxembourg -- a task that will take decades and technologies yet to be developed.

Taxpayers, who face proposed sales tax increases to help fund the country's debt, will also need to pay tens of billions of dollars to prop up the still politically powerful Tepco.

($1 = 81.4000 yen)

(The story corrects the location of demo to Koriyama City from Fukushima City)

(Additional reporting by Chris Meyers in Okuma, Yuriko Nakao in Koriyama City and Antoni Slodkowski and Taiga Uranaka in Tokyo; Writing by Tomasz Janowski; Editing by Linda Sieg, Robert Birsel, Daniel Magnowski)