Now that all of the Harry Potter movies have been released, Warner Bros. has seen fit to slide them together in one truly epic set. Harry Potter Wizard's Collection spans 31 discs including the theatrical version of each movie, extended cuts of the first two flicks, 3D versions of the last two, Ultraviolet digital copies and several bonus discs with ten hours of new to disc bonus content and 5 hours of never before seen extras. Of course, we should also mention the incredibly detailed box it all comes in, seen in the CG video above. Of course, you can't always have everything, and some fans are upset about what this collection doesn't include -- extended versions of the last six movies. Those still interested can preorder the $499 MSRP set (currently selling for $349 on Amazon) for delivery September 7th, and get an early preview of one of the special features embedded after the break.

Continue reading Harry Potter Wizard's Collection brings home all eight movies on a ridiculous 31 discs (video)

Harry Potter Wizard's Collection brings home all eight movies on a ridiculous 31 discs (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 25 Mar 2012 10:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apptio, which offers enterprise SaaS for managing IT and operations to large companies looking to stay abreast of the latest advances, has raised yet more money from a familiar roster of investors. This $50 million round, their fourth, was led by “certain investment strategies” at T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., augmented by continuing investment from Andreessen Horowitz, Greylock Partners, Madrona Venture Group and Shasta Ventures.

This brings their total funding raised to $91 million since their Series A in 2007 with Greylock and Madrona.

A slight change in the lineup saw board member Tom Bogan appointed as Chairman, and the company hired over a hundred people in 2011; they now employ 250 people.

The press release also reveals that the company has passed the $100 billion mark in “IT spend under management,” which is to say the combined IT budgets of the many companies they work with. The list of companies includes such major players as Boeing, Facebook, JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft, and Cisco, which is an investor.

No specific use for the new money was mentioned, it is likely to be used for continued scaling, hiring, and the expansion of services being offered.

PayPal has been helping us pay for those impulse purchases for a long time, but now its forthcoming Digital Wallet could see it popping up on our bank statements a whole lot more. Speaking with eBay Ink, PayPal's Sam Shrauger gave a quick demo of some of the new features. As well as the regular payment handling, you'll be able to register gift vouchers, coupons, loyalty points and store credit cards all under one account. This sounds tidy, but more interesting is the ability to change how you pay for something (say, from credit to debit card) up to seven days after the fact. If you want to keep those big purchases on the Amex, that's no problem either, with configurable rules letting you assign different cards to different spending situations, including setting your own custom payment plans. It's not all about buying either, with savings also getting the digital treatment, that's if you haven't doled it all out on gadget rarities. The service is expected to land in May, in the meantime see the new features via the videos after the break.

Continue reading PayPal's Digital Wallet lets you decide how you empty yours (video)

PayPal's Digital Wallet lets you decide how you empty yours (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Editor’s Note: This guest post is written by Doug Pepper, who is a General Partner at InterWest Partners where he invests in SaaS, mobile, consumer internet and digital media companies. He blogs at dougpepper.blogspot.com.

IPOs are hot again. Naturally, the press is focused on high-profile offerings like Facebook’s. But, I think there is a more important group of companies going public: Smaller, less sexy Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) startups. Think of it as the Sexy IPOs versus the SaaS-y IPOs.

They aren’t household names, but the most recent SaaS IPOs (Cornerstone, Jive, Brightcove and Bazaarvoice) are doing better in the public markets, on average, than the Sexy IPOs of LinkedIn, Groupon and Zynga.

But it isn’t just their performance that matters — the recent IPOs of those cloud-based software companies (plus earlier ones from Successfactors, Netsuite, and Concur) are harbingers of several important trends:

Healthy Valuations with sub-$100M in Revenue

The SaaS companies have gone public with annual revenue in the range of $50-$100M and are valued at anywhere from $500M to $1B at IPO. Several are now trading well above $1B. VCs have been waiting for 10 years for the public markets to consistently accept new issues with less than $100M in revenue. This is an important development as it means VCs can exit companies sooner in the investment cycle.

Strong Trading Performance since IPO

As a group, Cornerstone, Jive, Brightcove and Bazaarvoice are up 64% since their IPOs. Earlier SaaS IPOs like Concur and Netsuite are up 375% and 88%, respectively, since their debuts. Finally, don’t forget that Successfactors went public at $10/share and was recently acquired by SAP at $40/share!

Implications: The SaaS IPOs are training public market investors that they can generate strong returns when they invest in the IPOs of VC-backed companies with sub-$100M in revenue. And, these companies are being valued highly enough so that VCs who invested early can make excellent returns. In many cases, these IPOs are “fund-makers” for the early stage VCs. And when they trade up in the aftermarket, it is a win-win for both VC and public market investors.

Of course, Linkedin, Groupon, and Zynga are absolutely phenomenal for the VCs involved. I wish I had been an early stage investor in any or all of these. And, they have proved to LPs that VCs can, once again, generate serious returns for them. But, just like Google didn’t ignite a rush of IPOs starting after 2004, I don’t think the sexy IPOs will launch a huge wave of IPOs. Why not? First, there just aren’t enough companies at that scale to expect VCs to have a consistent inventory of them. Second, several of these companies have gone public too late in their growth cycles to generate good long-term returns for public investors (my opinion). So, public investors may not be clamoring for more of them.

So, why are SaaS companies so attractive to public market investors and trading up in the aftermarket? I asked that question of a friend at a hedge fund that invests in IPOs. Here is his response (I bolded what I believe are his key points):

SaaS companies are driven less by media hype and more by the investor appetite for attractive recurring revenue business models offered by the SaaS platform. These companies are growing rapidly as a result of customers shifting functions away from in-house solutions to more flexible and enhanced platforms that help increase revenues, improve productivity and reduce costs. Investors are not concerned by the lack of GAAP earnings, because there is a comfort driven by the 90-95% customer retention rates and an understanding that investing capital back in the business makes sense during the early phase of adoption. These factors lead to more defensible businesses that make for attractive takeout candidates.

In a nutshell, he is reiterating what Bill Gurley noted in his excellent post about what constitutes high quality revenue. In this case, SaaS companies solve critical problems for enterprises and generate sustainable and predictable recurring revenue with rapid growth.

The good news for the VC industry is that we have significant inventory of companies that fit this profile ($50-100M revenue and rapid growth). For example, companies like Demandware, Box.net, Workday, Yammer, Badgeville, GetSatisfaction and Marketo should all reach critical mass in the next 12-24 months. And, there are many others.

I know from experience because my firm, InterWest, is an early investor in several companies in this category including Marketo, GetSatisfaction, Spredfast, Varolii, Cloud9, Aria Systems and Cubetree (acquired by Successfactors). These businesses take time to build and require experienced leaders to grow them. Not incidentally, we believe they also require patient VCs that are laser focused on this business model.

Image from GetApp.com

Here she is -- the iPad HD! Er, new iPad. Breaking away from the numerical tracking system used before (and still used in the iPhone range), Apple has decided to highlight the most major change in its newest slate by simply dubbing it "new." By and large, the new guy is the same as the old guy (Home button included), but with a few nice amenities that could very well convince OG iPad owners to upgrade. Upon touching the HD variant, it's not the overall form factor that grabs us -- it's the screen. Given that we're unashamed Pixel Density Enthusiasts 'round these parts, seeing a 2,048 x 1,536 resolution display in the same area as the prior 'Pads is stunning. Nearly two months ago to the day, ASUS wowed our entire CES trailer with a reported 1,920 x 1,200 display on the TF700T; this, however, is something that really needs to be ogled to truly appreciate. In fact, the first viewing conjured up familiar feelings -- ones that came to light when placing the iPhone 4 beside the iPhone 3G for the first time.

Unsurprisingly, Apple has managed to produce something that's truly beautiful to look at, and while we've yet to see the full potential of having this many pixels on a 9.7-inch slate, we're guessing a cadre of game developers are already hard at work in order to remedy that. Beyond being dazzling from a density standpoint, colors are sharp and accurate, and viewing angles are predictably ridiculous; even taking a peek from an extreme side angle gives way to a fairly solid image with next to no washout.

Gallery: Apple new iPad hands-on!

For more coverage of Apple's iPad event, visit our hub!

Continue reading Apple new iPad hands-on (update: video!)

Apple new iPad hands-on (update: video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Mar 2012 14:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember when the amalgamation of Super Mario Bros and a Portal gun seemed like the most amazing, yet impossibly lucid pipe dream? As it turns out, the cake named "Mari0" by developer-house Stabyourself actually wasn't a lie. But lest you thought this just a redo of Super Mario Bros with a skosh of Aperture science thrown in, you'd be oh-so-wrong. How's about four-player co-op, in addition to a level editor and a bevy of hilarious modes that'll put a new twist on an old favorite. And could it get any better than available for the sweet sweet price of free? If that's not a ringing endorsement, we don't know what is. If you're still reading this, we're unsure why you're still here -- get your game on at the source link below.

Worlds collide as Super Mario Bros and Portal become Mari0 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 04 Mar 2012 23:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With companies like Tesla and Ford replacing tactile, in-dash systems with touchscreens and gizmos, the National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration wants to set "distraction guidelines" for how automakers implement factory-installed in-car electronics. Nearly a year after discussing the possibility of bringing restrictions to in-car information, US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood unveiled phase one of a (potential) three-part, "first-ever federal proposal" loaded with suggestions for keeping driver's eyes and attention on the road. Notably, these voluntary guidelines take aim at "communications, entertainment, information gathering and navigation devices or functions that are not required to safely operate the vehicle." According to Reuters, though, the Alliance of Auto Manufacturers claims that "elements" of the guidelines have been in practice for nearly ten years.
The ideas range from ensuring that one hand is always left free for steering and restricting the entry of text, such as an address, unless the your car is in park, to limiting in-dash text prompts to "no more than 30 characters of text unrelated to the driving task" so that your eyes can't wander off of the road for too long. Vehicles under 10,000 pounds are said to be the primary focus, with the NHTSA noting that electronic warning systems will not be under the radar as they intend to help drivers, well, drive. Before the proposal spins into action, beginning in March it will be up for public comment for 60 days L.A., Washington D.C. and Chicago. Depending on how the phase one guidelines pan out, phase two will focus on devices brought into vehicles, like cellphones, while phase three would set its sights on voice controls. If you're curious about all of the specifics, you'll find more info in the press release after the break and the full proposal draft at the source link below.

Continue reading NHTSA issues "distraction guidelines" proposal for in-vehicle electronics, MyFord Touch frets

NHTSA issues "distraction guidelines" proposal for in-vehicle electronics, MyFord Touch frets originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Feb 2012 06:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Barclays Bank has unleashed Pingit, an iOS, Android and BlackBerry app that lets you send up to £300 ($470) a day to family, friends or technically-aware muggers. UK mobile number and bank account holders can get started in minutes as long as they've got one of the Barclays-branded PINSentry tools. You'll be asked to come up with a five-digit code that will lock the app to anyone but yourself (or, you know, that mugger) and then you can start spreading your cash around, baller-style. We set up our own account through the app and if you're curious about our impressions, you can find out what we thought after the break.

Gallery: Barclays Pingit iOS App

Continue reading Barclays releases Pingit mobile payments app, we go hands-on

Barclays releases Pingit mobile payments app, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Feb 2012 19:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Thirty-six megapixels. That's the native resolution of Nikon's long-awaited FX-format digital SLR. The D800 was designed with all professional photographers in mind, but with 36.3-megapixel captures (yes, that also means 36.3 megapixels in RAW, or 15.4 in DX format), the Japanese camera maker's latest DSLR output is likely to far exceed the needs of many. It also limits low-light shooting capabilities -- the D800 is a full-frame camera, but even so, with a standard sensor capturing 36.3 megapixels, its high-ISO performance is unlikely to match the likes of the D4, or Canon's new 1D X. It's for this reason that Nikon limited the camera's top native sensitivity to ISO 6400, or 25,600 in Hi2 extended mode. Want to see more? Thumb through the gallery below and jump past the break for a closer look at the latest full-frame DSLR to hit the market.

Gallery: Nikon D800

Continue reading Nikon confirms 36.3-megapixel D800, we go hands-on

Nikon confirms 36.3-megapixel D800, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There has been much debate about what the post-PC era is, when it will arrive, or whether it’s already here. But key pieces of new data, emerging last week, are making the case that we crossed the imaginary line from the “PC” era to the “post-PC” era at the end of 2011. According to analysts at Canalys, two major computing milestones were achieved at the end of this year: smartphone shipments outpaced PCs for the first time ever, and Apple became the world’s largest PC maker, if you count iPads as PCs (as well you should).

Combined, what these numbers tell us is that the post-PC era is happening now. Right now. And maybe we need to think about how we define “PC.”

In Q4 2011, vendors shipped 158.5 million smartphones, up 57% on the 101.2 million units shipped in Q4 2010. For the year, there were 487.7 million units shipped, up 63% on the 299.7 million units shipped in 2010. Meanwhile, the global PC market grew just 15% in 2011 to 414.6 million units. The smartphones have won.

The funny thing about that PC shipments number is that, on its own, it doesn’t paint the most accurate picture of today’s PC landscape. There weren’t 414.6 million desktop, notebook and netbook computers shipped in 2011 – those were at 112.4 million, 209.6 million and 29.4 million, respectively. The 414.6 million number includes 63.2 million in “pad” shipments, Canalys’s preferred term for tablets. That means 15% of the “PC” shipments in 2011 were tablets, largely Apple’s iPad. In Q4, tablets were 22% of the total PC shipments. And the tablet segment of the market grew 274.2% year-over-year.

Also in Q4 2011, Apple became the leading worldwide “PC” vendor (if you count the iPad as a PC) with 15 million iPads and 5 million Macs shipped, representing 17% of the total 120 million client PCs shipped in Q4. It overtook HP (now #2), Acer, Dell and Lenovo in the process.

Overall, the PC market grew 16% year-over-year, Canalys noted last month. Without tablets, it declined 0.4%.

Of course, there’s still the question of whether or not tablets should be broken out into their own computing category, positioned against the traditional “PCs” when tracking device shipments. For what’s it worth, I think it’s fine to count tablets as PCs – after all, PC means “personal computer,” not “machine running Windows.” The fact that we still equate the word with a desktop, monitor, keyboard and mouse combo is a testament to the empire Microsoft built, and is now losing.

Case in point: netbook shipments dropped 25.3% from 2010 to 2011. Desktops grew a paltry 2.3% and notebooks grew just 7.5%. This is end of the “PC” era in action. While the 209.6 million notebook shipments still make that the largest category of “PCs,” the growth trends here, if sustained, dictate that’s its only a matter of time before the shift to tablets becomes even more pronounced.

Think about it: what’s the first “PC” you’re going to buy for your kid, as a new member to the post-PC computing generation? If you respond “notebook,” I’d say you’re lying. That kid is getting an iPad, even if they end up stealing yours. If not an iPad, then they’re getting a phone.

And smartphones are PCs, too. The most affordable ones.

This past quarter, smartphone shipments overtook PCs, a hugely important milestone that speaks volumes about the state of modern-day computing. The computer-in-your-pocket has moved from being “a niche product segment at the high-end of the mobile phone market to becoming a truly mass-market proposition,” explains Canalys of the change.

In Q4, Apple broke records by shipping 37 million iPhones – the most ever shipped by a single vendor in a quarter. Previously, Nokia held the record with 28.3 million phones shipped in Q4 2010. What a difference a year makes.

But Canalys cautioned that it expects to see smartphone market growth slow in 2012, as vendors exercise “greater cost control and discipline” to focus on profitability. This is the only discordant note to the report. Smartphone growth slowing? No offense to the analysts, but I’ll believe that one when I see it. Just watching Apple’s sales alone, it’s clear you can’t underestimate its power to deliver record-breaking numbers. In addition, just because vendors like HTC and Motorola are going to launch fewer smartphone models in 2012, that doesn’t (necessarily) mean they’ll sell fewer overall phones. If anything, the companies are hoping that their increased focus on “hero” devices will help them increase sales.

One thing is clear, however: that post-PC era everyone’s been talking about since the day the phrase slipped off Steve Jobs’ lips has arrived. We’re living it. Anyone who wastes their time debating its existence (tablets are PCs! phones are PCs!) is arguing semantics. The shift itself, whatever you want to call it, is happening.

So perhaps “post-PC” isn’t the best terminology. If everything’s a PC, then maybe what we’ve achieved is something more akin to “PCs Everywhere.” Not as catchy, though.

Photo credit top: Lokesh Dhakar, flickr; bottom: agirregabiria, flickr