Main Stories
o Micropayments Provider BitPass Raises $11.75 Million
o Samsung to Release Cell Phone With 1.5GB Hard Drive
o Report: 30% of Visits to Music Retail Sites Originate From Search Engines
o Sirius Radio Hits 600,000 Subscribers; Expects Million by Year's End
o Online Games Firm Perpetual Raises $6.5 Million, Wins "Star Trek" License
o Finnish Mobile Gaming Firm Fathammer Raises $4.8 Million
o Chinadotcom Invests $3.2 Million in Chinese Game Developer 17game
o Report: Internet Use in U.K. Surges in the First Half of 2004

o Briefly Noted: IDG's GamePro - NPD Group, Thomson - DirecTV Latin America, ESPN2 HD, N2 Broadband - Discovery Communications, XM Satellite Radio, ClearSky Mobile Media - American Red Cross, MobiTV - C-SPAN, Atari Flashback Classic Game Console, Sony Online Entertainment, Gizmondo, Airborne Entertainment - Anne Geddes, THQ, Majesco, Micropaymentsg
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Palo Alto, Calif. -- BitPass, a provider of online micropayments technology, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $11.75 million in its second round of venture capital financing. Participating investors included Worldview Technology Partners, Disney's Steamboat Ventures, RRE Ventures, Garage Technology Ventures, Cardinal Venture Capital and Amicus Capital. The company also announced that former American Express chairman James Robinson III will join its board of directors. The company's technology is used by providers of digital content like music, video, photos and news to sell their wares in small quantities and for small amounts to consumers with credit cards. Recent research by TowerGroup estimates the market for Internet and mobile micropayments in the U.S. will reach $11.5 billion in revenues by 2009, up from just over $2 billion in 2003. Palo Alto, Calif.-based BitPass will use the funds to expand sales and marketing efforts, make additional product enhancements, and build additional customer service infrastructure to support its merchant partners and members.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040907/sftu004_1.html 
http://www.bitpass.com 
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o Samsung to Release Cell Phone With 1.5GB Hard Drive

Seoul, Korea -- Consumer electronics manufacturer Samsung, the world's third-largest maker of cell phones, announced on Tuesday that it will begin selling the first mobile phone with an embedded 1.5GB hard disk drive in Korea later this month. The phone will feature a mexapixel digital camera, 2.2-inch display and MP3 player. It will also offer an enhanced microphone, and dual speakers that create the feel of 3D sound. The company did not provide pricing details or announce plans for a North American release for the hard drive phone, which could spur more interest in downloading music and video over wireless networks.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?P3BA22C39 
http://www.samsung.com 
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o Report: 30% of Visits to Music Retail Sites Originate From Search Engines

New York -- Over 30% of visits to U.S. music retail websites in July resulted directly from search engines and directories, compared to 19.2% for the overall retail category, according to data from Australia-based market research firm Hitwise. The number of visits to music retailers from search engines also grew 49% in July versus the same period a year ago. Of the top 100 search terms that resulted in visits to music retailers, Hitwise said 50% were brand related (i.e. "BMG Music"); 21% were navigational, including a URL (i.e. ColumiaHouse.com); and 29% were generic keywords (i.e. "music downloads"). "For music shoppers, search engines and directories offer an effective and comprehensive means for locating music products and seeking the best deals," said Bill Tancer, Hitwise vice president of research. "For the music retailers, a major new customer-acquisition platform has arrived. And with the increasing popularity of the Internet for music distribution and listening, retailers have no choice but to engage it."
http://www.hitwise.com 
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o Sirius Radio Hits 600,000 Subscribers; Expects Million by Year's End

New York -- Sirius Satellite Radio, a provider of satellite-delivered digital radio programming, announced that it has passed the 600,000 subscriber mark, and says it still anticipates counting one million subscribers by the end of the year. New York-based Sirius said it acquired 64,000 subscribers in August, the most of any month in company history, and added that partnerships with Radio Shack, DISH Network, Wal-Mart and Chrysler will help it reach its 2004 goal. Rival XM Satellite Radio currently counts 2.1 million subscribers.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040906/nym001a_2.html 
http://www.siriusradio.com 
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o Online Games Firm Perpetual Raises $6.5 Million, Wins "Star Trek" License

San Francisco -- Online game developer Perpetual Entertainment announced on Tuesday that it has raised $6.5 million in its second round of venture capital financing. Softbank Capital led the investment round; Manitou Ventures, Mobius Venture Capital and Chengwei Ventures also participated. The company said it will use the funds to develop online games and online game technologies, such as its Perpetual Entertainment Platform -- a solution for developing, hosting, monitoring and operating networked online games. San Francisco-based Perpetual also said that it has secured an exclusive license from Viacom Consumer Products to develop a massively multiplayer online game based on Paramount Pictures' "Star Trek" franchise. The license encompasses all motion pictures, the original TV series, and spinoffs such as "The Next Generation," "Deep Space Nine" and "Enterprise." Perpetual said the game is expected to enter beta testing in 2006 with a launch to follow by early 2007.
http://www.perpetual.com 
http://gaming.startrek.com 
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o Finnish Mobile Gaming Firm Fathammer Raises $4.8 Million

Helsinki -- Fathammer, a Finnish mobile gaming firm, said on Tuesday that it has secured 4 million euro ($4.8 million) in venture capital. Fathammer's flagship product, X-Forge 2, is a game development system used for creating high-quality 3D mobile games. Nexit Ventures, a venture capital firm focusing on 3G technologies, and existing investor 3i, the largest private equity and venture capital firm in Europe, co-led the round. Fathammer said it would use the funds to step up its international sales and marketing efforts, especially in Asia. "Fathammer's core strengths include a thorough understanding of mobile devices and how to optimally harness their power in games," said Nexit Ventures partner Pekka Salonoja.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?Z58C32B39 
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o Chinadotcom Invests $3.2 Million in Chinese Game Developer 17game

Hong Kong -- Chinadotcom Corporation, an enterprise and mobile software developer, announced on Tuesday that it has made a $3.2 million investment in online game developer Beijing17game Network Technology (17game). The company's HongKong.com unit has also acquired a small minority interest in 17game, with the option to ultimately acquire 100% of the company. The funding will be used as working capital for 17game, which is currently developing "Travia," a 3D fantasy massively multiplayer online roleplaying game embedded with 3D EAX sound effects. The company expects to open beta testing in October and launch "Travia" by the end of the year.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040907/hktu006_1.html 
http://www.corp.china.com 
http://www.17game.com 
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o Report: Internet Use in U.K. Surges in the First Half of 2004

London -- The latest study by market research firm NOP World shows that the number of new Internet users in U.K. has surged to its highest level since the boom of 2001. Nearly 2 million Brits used the Internet for the first time during the first half of this year, the biggest increase in new users in almost three years. The study also found that more than half the U.K. population, nearly 27 million people, connected to the Internet at home or work over the same period and that more than 40% of the population used broadband connections to do so. NOP World attributed the surge in both ADSL and cable connections mostly to sharply falling fees for Internet access.
http://www.nopworld.com/article.asp?go=technology 

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(Oakland, Calif.) IDG Entertainment, publisher of GamePro magazine, announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with The NPD Group, a provider of monthly video game sales data, to publish up-to-date monthly gaming charts for video game consumers. The "Chartbusters" feature in GamePro magazine and on GamePro.com will provide NPD data on the top-selling PC and console games beginning in October.
http://www.npd.com 
http://www.idg-entertainment.com 
http://www.gamepro.com

(Paris) Set-top box manufacturer Thomson said on Tuesday that it has expanded its agreement with DirecTV Latin America, and will now provide set-tops that will deliver satellite TV throughout all of DirecTV Latin America's 28 serviced countries.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040907/75599_1.html 
http://www.directvla.com 
http://www.thomson.net

(Bristol, Conn.) Sports cable TV network ESPN announced on Tuesday that it will launch a second HDTV channel, ESPN2 HD, in January 2005. The network will launch as a simulcast of ESPN2 and will offer over 100 live telecasts in its first year, including college football, men's and women's and college basketball, the Little League World Series, Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League.
http://www.espn.com

(Atlanta) N2 Broadband, a provider of video-on-demand delivery technology to cable TV operators and content providers, announced on Tuesday that Discovery Communications will use its technology to support the production of video-on-demand content for the U.S. market. Discovery operates 60 TV networks, including Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and TLC.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040907/cltu034_1.html 
http://www.discovery.com 
http://www.n2broadband.com

(Washington) XM Satellite Radio, a provider of satellite-delivered digital radio programming, announced on Tuesday that it has added Big Ten Conference football to its live audio coverage of college sports. The company also broadcasts ACC and Pac-10 games.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040907/dctu010_1.html
http://www.xmradio.com/collegesports

(Orlando, Fla.) Wireless application developer ClearSky Mobile Media on Tuesday launched a nationwide charity relief effort for victims of the Florida hurricanes. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the company's $5 wallpapers for cell phones will go to the American Red Cross of Central Florida to support the relief effort. The wallpapers will be available through more than a thousand Clear Channel radio station websites and its ClearTonz.com site.
http://www.cleartonz.com

(Berkeley, Calif.) MobiTV, a live TV streaming service for cell phones developed by Berkeley, Calif.-based Idetic, announced on Tuesday that it has added political coverage from C-SPAN and C-SPAN2 to its network. The company's service is currently available on select Sprint PCS Vision handset models.
http://www.c-span.org 
http://www.mobitv.com

(Beverly, Mass.) Video game publisher Atari announced on Tuesday that it will release a standalone, plug-and-play unit called the Atari Flashback Classic Game Console, which will come embedded with 20 classic Atari game titles. The company said the $44.95 device, also slated for release in November, was designed to resemble a smaller replica of its Atari 7800 console. The company also said it will release "Atari Anthology," a collection of 85 vintage Atari arcade and 2600 game console titles, for PlayStation 2 and Xbox in November. Games titles will include "Asteroids," "Battlezone," "Missile Command" and "Pong."
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040907/75181_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040907/75182_1.html 
http://www.atari.com

(San Diego) Sony Online Entertainment said on Tuesday that it plans to soon open beta testing for its "EverQuest II" massively multiplayer online roleplaying game, the sequel to its 2 million unit-selling online PC game launched in 1999. Initial closed beta testing in the U.S., as well as for the German and French localized versions of the game, began in July. "EverQuest II" is scheduled for a simultaneous release in North America and Europe later this year.
http://www.sonyonline.com

(London) Gizmondo, developer of a multi-functional, handheld video game device, announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with Playcom Software Vertriebs, which will serve as the exclusive distributor of the Gizmondo device in the German and Austrian markets. U.K.-based Gizmondo plans to begin distributing the devices in 2005.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040907/ukm014_1.html 
http://www.gizmondo.com

(Montreal) Wireless entertainment publisher Airborne Entertainment said on Tuesday that it has signed an agreement with photographer Anne Geddes to publish her successful baby photos as wallpapers for mobile phones.
http://www.airborne-e.com 
http://www.annegeddes.com

(Calabasas Hills, Calif.) Game developer THQ said on Tuesday that its "Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War" PC title has gone gold, and will ship to retailers on Sept. 20. The game is being developed at THQ's Vancouver-based Relic Entertainment studio, and is based on the tabletop war game created by U.K.-based Games Workshop.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040907/75436_1.html 
http://www.games-workshop.com 
http://www.dawnofwargame.com

(Edison, N.J.) Video game publisher Majesco on Tuesday shipped its "Dragon Ball GT Vol. 1" for Nintendo Game Boy Advance to retailers. The title is based on the Japanese anime import that has sold 20 million home videos and $3 billion in related merchandise worldwide.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040907/75453_1.html 
http://www.majescogames.com

(San Francisco) CNET News.com on Tuesday reported on the resurgence of micropayments, or miniscule payments for items such as individual songs that can be charged to users' credit cards. Past attempts to provide micropayments during the dot-com era resulted in the closure of firms including Beenz, Flooz and DigiCash. However, growing sales figures for services that accept micropayments -- such as Apple's iTunes Store -- may bolster revenue for micropayments providers like BitPass, eBay's PayPal and Peppercoin.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?W2D935C39 
 
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