Ooma plans CES announcements for its residential phone service and smart security solutions, said CEO Eric Stang on a Tuesday evening quarterly call after results exceeded some analyst forecasts. Ooma sees a big “competitive advantage” looming in smart security from a “wider range of use cases and alerts in combination with more flexible and controllable sensors and a more intuitive integrated overall solution,” he said. The smart-security market opportunity in North America could be 50 million homes, he said. Wednesday, the stock closed up 15 percent at $15.60.

Machine learning startup Phiar got a $3 million seed funding round to develop a computer vision and deep learning navigation app for smartphones, with a 2019 launch date. It displays a driver’s real-world surroundings augmented with a colored path, said the company. Augmented reality overlays, based on computer vision and deep-learning artificial intelligence, can boost surroundings rather than distract users.

Energous announced a receiver chip Tuesday targeted to earbuds, hearing aids and wearables. The DA2223, a four-port RF-to-DC wireless power chip, can be delivered in a single integrated circuit coupled with a matching circuit made from two discrete components and a 2mm x 3mm antenna, making it applicable for small electronic devices "where a coil-based wireless charging system is not practical,” said the company. The chip is produced by Dialog Semiconductor, which has a stake in the wireless charging company.

Baker Bellfield, a U.K. solutions provider for the rail industry, launched a wireless charging system for smartphones using Qi-based Aircharge technology, said the companies Wednesday. On-train wireless charging will debut on refurbished and reconfigured South Western Railway first-class cars as a complimentary service. The chargers work with more than 130 Qi-certified smartphones, including iPhone and Samsung Galaxy models, said the companies. The inductive wireless charging units are the first to be manufactured specifically for the railroad industry and meet required industry standards, they said. The Baker Bellfield chargers can be surface or sub-surface-mounted into tables, seat-back tables, window panels, grab rails and side ceiling panels and are expected to be designed into other rail vehicles in the future.

Best Buy's smartphone and PC category slipped a percentage point in share of overall sales mix during Q3 ended Oct. 28, it reported Tuesday. Despite closing 287 Best Buy Mobile stores in the past year, CEO Hubert Joly said, Best Buy is investing significantly in the mobile segment -- including sales associates -- to streamline the buying process along with carriers as part of its Mobile 2020 initiative. Calling that “complex,” Joly said the company has “menu boards” to help consumers compare promotions and plans from AT&T Wireless, Sprint and Verizon. Having all three carriers is an advantage against other third-party retailers, said Joly, acknowledging carriers’ and Apple’s competitive strength in stores. This quarter, it's adding stores to do Apple screen repair as a service differentiator to meet the trend of longer phone ownership, said Mike Mohan, chief operating officer, Best Buy U.S.

Screen-based devices -- ranging from TVs to smartphones -- will be some of the hottest electronics deals this week, with a heavy focus on cellular, according to Black Friday circulars. Carrier deals on iPhones include $200 off the iPhone X on Sprint with activation and a 24-month contract; Verizon is offering $100 off the X generation phones on an upgrade or $300 off a wide range of iPhones and smartphones from Samsung, Google Pixel, LG, HTC and Motorola with a trade-in, 24-month financing and a new line. Walmart’s opening circular page features a generic smartphone display with the retailer’s app, underscoring Walmart’s emphasis this year on mobile shopping. Target's Black Friday preview advertises a $300 gift card with purchase and activation of a Samsung Galaxy S9 or S9+.

Comcast announced Thursday security camera features to thwart porch piracy of holiday packages. Customers can filter motion-triggered activity by people or vehicles. Customers who buy the $199 Xfinity indoor/outdoor camera and add 24/7 video recording ($9.95 per month) have up to 10 days to view video history, Comcast said. With the company's Universal Pictures’ The Grinch, Comcast engineers added “Easter egg” voice commands allowing subscribers to access still images from their security camera on TV or turn smart lights green. The Grinch character in an Xfinity ad attempts to steal packages from an Infinity Home household but is caught on camera after setting off window sensors.

Billed as an effort to curb porch piracy, Sprint said Wednesday consumers can buy from its website or by phone and pick up the purchases at FedEx counters in Walgreens stores. Deliveries are held at Walgreens for five business days. It's the result of collaboration between the companies for Sprint Express sections in certain Walgreens locations.

Up next for HDMI 2.1 specifications is gaming, with set-top boxes and others to come later, its New York media event was told Thursday. A Microsoft upgrade for Xbox One X is enabling some features, said HDMI Licensing Administrator President Rob Tobias. The 48 Gbps high-bandwidth fixed-rate link signaling technology, a replacement for transition-minimized differential signaling, is under development, he said, and “toward the end of the pipeline.” HDMI 2.1 semiconductor and IP core technologies have been announced by AMD, LG, Lattice Semiconductor, Texas Instruments and others. The chips are “enablers” for TVs, PCs and set-tops to bring next-generation technologies to market, said Tobias. For 2019, he said “brand-name” HDMI 2.1 SoCs supporting set-tops, streaming media sticks and other products are expected to be announced.

The installed base of iPhones in the U.S. reached 181 million units in Q3, a 3 percent increase from Q2 and a 14 percent increase from Q3 a year earlier, said Consumer Intelligence Research Partners Thursday. The installed base is “leveling off,” it said. It estimates more than four in every 10 iPhones in circulation are at least 3 years old: “These phones reflect the huge impact of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, which at the time represented the first new form factor in four years.”