Late Tuesday night Blockbuster formally withdrew its $1 billion acquisition offer for Circuit City, effectively ending the latest chapter in the retailer's struggle toward profitability.

"Based on market conditions and the completion of our initial due diligence process, we have determined that it is not in the best interest of Blockbuster's shareholders to proceed with an acquisition of Circuit City," said Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes in a statement.

So what now?

According to Circuit City head Philip Schoonover it appears to be business as usual, at least for now. On Wednesday he called the exploration of strategic alternatives to enhance shareholder value an "active and ongoing process," stressing that the company will "serve the interests of shareholders by considering every possible alternative to enhance shareholder value."

Translation: Circuit City is still looking for a sale, regardless of the Blockbuster decision.

Approximately half of all U.S. cable subscribers will have access to tru2way-based technologies within the next five years, according to a study released this week by market research firm ABI Research.

But that's doesn't mean it will necessarily be an easy transition. The study also predicted that mainstream success for tru2way would have to overcome many industry-political obstacles and interoperability challenges, calling the technology a "double-edged sword" for operators.

"Consumer electronics manufacturers have been at odds with the cable industry over tru2way for a long time," said ABI Research principal analyst Steve Wilson. "It’s been a pretty contentious era. Vendors say the implementation is too expensive and that it’s overkill for basic services. They point out that many cable operators aren’t even deploying these systems. The cable operators themselves won’t provide forecasts for tru2way STB deployments. They’re not willing to tell the market (or developers) how many boxes they expect to ship over time."

Still, given the long-term opportunities represented by tru2way -- including advanced services and cheaper rollouts -- the technology is expected to make progress in the market.

In an effort to boost sales of its VAIO computer line, CE maker Sony on Wednesday announced plans to incorporate the PCs' high-def capabilities as part of its ongoing HDNA marketing campaign.

On July 15, the company will launch a series of ads touting the fact that its VAIO all-in-one HD PC/TV is "born out of Sony's HD technology." According to Sony, the campaign will encompass multiple media outlets and platforms including newspapers, magazines, TV, online and more.

Whether or not the HDNA tag will help boost PC sales for the company remains to be seen, though it has been making headway in the HDTV space since the campaign launched this past spring.

HARDWARE -- Say goodbye to the 16:10 aspect ratio. According to a report published this week by market research firm DisplaySearch, 90 percent of notebook computer monitors and 67 percent of TVs will be in the 16:9 widescreen format by 2010.

WIRELESS -- Want an iPhone but don't want to be saddled with an AT&T Wireless contract? No problem. The company this week said it would allow users to purchase the new 3G iPhone without a contract for $600, a mere $400 premium over the $199 standard contract price.