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  • App 'market' for Google's Android mobile platform

    Google has opened up about its plans for Android content – only don’t call it an app store


    Google is to offer an applications “market” for its Android open mobile platform but has sought to distance itself from Apple’s iPhone app store.

    Eric Chu, a member of the Android team, said on his Android Developers’ Blog that they would be offering “an open content distribution system that will help end users find, purchase, download and install various types of content on their Android-powered devices”.

    Stressing that it was to be the Android Market, he added: “We chose the term ‘market’ rather than ‘store’ because we feel that developers should have an open and unobstructed environment to make their content available.”

    Describing the Market, Chu drew camparisions with YouTube. “Content can debut in the marketplace after only three simple steps: register as a merchant, upload and describe your content and publish it,” he said.

    “We also intend to provide developers with a useful dashboard and analytics to help drive their business and ultimately improve their offerings.”

    Earlier this month, Google announced that it was expanding the Android team, with openings for designers, engineers, and developers.

    Due out in the US this fall, the first Android handsets are to offer a beta version of the new Market.

    “At a minimum you can expect support for free (unpaid) applications, “ said Chu. “Soon after launch an update will be provided that supports download of paid content and more features such as versioning, multiple device profile support, analytics, etc.”

    Chu promised to share more details in the coming months as they become available.

  • Blu-ray is an unstoppable train

    Europeans told to learn from US retailers in order to convert consumers to Blu-ray and drive it into the mainstream

    Why upgrade to Blu-ray when the old DVD player still manages to churn out a pretty good picture?

    That appears to be a question many people have been asking themselves, especially when prices for Blu-ray players and discs remain high.

    Not for much longer, however, according to various speakers at the Blu-ray Disc Association’s (BDA) press shindig at the IFA electronics trade show in Berlin.

    They were keen to dispel any concerns that the format will never quite make it into the mainstream – though it was conceded that more work is necessary before Blu-ray finally puts DVD to the sword.

    Jim Bottoms, managing director of Futuresource Consulting, told the IFA conference that DVD’s market penetration had reached a point in the 1990s when it could be described as an “unstoppable train”.

    He said that was now the case for Blu-ray in the US and within 6-12 months it would also be true for Europe.
    “At this stage it’s too early to make that call for Europe but we are only six months away from it,” he said.

    “In the US, that call can be made now. It will be pretty much impossible to stop Blu-ray becoming a mass market product in the US.”

    He added: “We are moving forward to a situation where Blu-ray really is growing with its own momentum to become a train that is unstoppable.”

    Work remains to be done in Europe

    Things aren’t hurtling along quite so forcefully in Europe, though, where BD sales will reach 12 million discs this year, according to Bottom.

    This only accounts for around 2 per cent of total video sales, although he expects the share to climb to 5-6 per cent next year – and keep rising swiftly.

    However, by 2012 DVD will still lead in the UK, 56 per cent to 44 per cent. BD will do better in Germany – it’ll take 46 per cent of the market – but less well in Spain and Italy – 43 per cent and 39 per cent, respectively.

    To encourage the market along, Bottoms said Europe had to learn from the US, particularly from retailers there who have got behind Blu-ray by promoting it in stores and demonstrating the format’s superior quality.

    He said there was evidence that some consumers had been “turned off” HD based on only viewing broadcast HD programmes.

    They hadn’t found the quality sufficiently superior to judge it worthwhile paying to upgrade from their existing DVD players.

    Demonstrating Blu-ray at point of sales areas had been shown to be very effective in persuading people about the format’s quality.

    Initiatives such as improved retail support would ultimately help close what Bottom described as the HD content gap in Europe.

    He said this situation had arisen because currently around a third of households had HD screens but only 2 per cent could get high def content.

    This was compared to the US, where 50-60 per cent of households had HD screens and around a third could access high def content.

    Frank Simonis, chairman of the Blu-ray Disc Association’s European Promotions committee, not surprisingly agreed that Blu-ray had reached the point of going mass market.

    He said the European market would start to accelerate in the autumn, adding: “You will see a lot of good things this fall. European consumers are hungry for high def.”

    Simonis defended the lag in the release of European movies compared to the US and the higher price of European Blu-ray discs – a huge sore point with many consumers.

    He said Europe, despite being a similar sized market to the US, had 15 different languages and individual markets in each country – making it a very different proposition to the US.

    “We have to work on an individual country basis for each launch plan,” he said. “So it’s one year behind the US. It’s not something we like but something that’s due to the nature of the European continent.

    “So we are not doing that badly – in fact, if you put Europe on the same timeline as the US, Europe is faster.”

    How would you describe the Blu-ray Express – hurtling unstoppably or trundling along? Please let us know your comments.

  • Flat-screen TVs highlight undimmed consumer confidence


    The IFA consumer and trade fair got underway today with the opening focus very much on flat screen TVs. 

    Launching the event with a decidedly European spin – well it is in Berlin – much was made of strong consumer confidence despite reports to the contrary. 

    Hans-Joachim Kamp, chairman of ZVEI, the German electrical and electronic manufacturers´ association, said healthy growth in flat-screen TV sales globally suggested consumer restraint was over-stated. 

    He added that, with the exception of the UK – where a devalued pound and the failure to qualify for Europe´s major football championship had had a major impact – European sales were strong. 

    Four European countries, including Germany, had enjoyed double-digit growth with average set prices of EURO 690. 

    “The major growth driver in Europe is flat-screen TVs,” he said. “I am more optimistic than others and more optimistic than the figures suggest.” 

    Among the highlights coming up over the next few days are Sony and Samsung demonstrating OLED TVs and product announcements from major manufacturers such as Toshiba, Panasonic and Sharp.

  • Full HD broadcasting claims mislead consumers

    The Blu-ray Disc Association has taken issue with announcements from satellite and cable providers that they offer “full HD” programming – but report says Blu-ray not threatened by full HD broadcasting

    Satellite and cable providers on both sides of the Atlantic have recently claimed they are offering full HD – or 1080p – programming.

    These assertions have annoyed the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) – not least because the publicity material has stated video quality matches that of Blu-ray.

    The BDA is objecting to these claims of equality, suggesting the comparisons are irresponsible and misleading.

    It argues that satellite companies cannot technically match the Blu-ray experience and it will do whatever it can to prevent consumers receiving incorrect information.

    However, a report from Strategy Analytics suggests that satellite providers are competing primarily with cable and IPTV companies, and not with the Blu-ray Disc format itself.

    It states that Blu-ray content providers and device vendors have little to fear. Instead, they should focus on developing emerging Blu-ray business models and improving the availability of Blu-ray content and devices.

    Despite this, a statement from the BDA said advertising by companies claiming their products deliver high definition picture and sound “equal” to that delivered by Blu-ray Disc are “irresponsible and are misleading to consumers”.

    “Up conversion and satellite broadcast cannot provide a true Blu-ray high definition experience, as neither is technically capable of producing the quality delivered by Blu-ray players and Blu-ray discs,” the statement said.

    The BDA said it was exploring these claims further and will take “appropriate action”, as necessary, to prevent consumers seeking the ultimate in high-definition home entertainment from being misled.

    David Mercer, principal analyst at Strategy Analytics, said 1080p, or Full HD, is the video quality benchmark set by the Blu-ray Disc format.

    “It was inevitable that television service providers would seek to emulate this standard, but their aim is primarily to increase the pressure on rival services, rather than compete with Blu-ray itself,” he said.

    DirecTV and Dish Network in the US, as well as cable operator Numericable in France, have recently introduced Full HD programming in the 1080p format.

    However, according to Strategy Analytics research, many consumers are confused by HDTV services. In the company’s most recent survey, 15 per cent of European consumers believe that they are receiving HDTV service, whereas in reality the figure is only 2 per cent.

    Mercer said that one of the main objectives of Blu-ray Disc developers was to set a benchmark in video quality that would provide sufficient encouragement for DVD owners to upgrade.

    It was also to provide a challenge that few, if any, alternative video distribution platforms could hope to match, at least in the foreseeable future.

    “Those assumptions are now being questioned by recent announcements from broadcasting service providers on both sides of the Atlantic,” he said.

    “These claims have clearly struck a sensitive nerve within the Blu-ray community, which, given their strategy as outlined above, is perhaps not surprising.”

    Mercer said that instinctively he agreed with the BDA because he didn’t believe that DirecTV or Dish would actually be offering programming at the same level of quality of BD.

    But he added that the technical arguments to prove the claim that they are not “technically capable” of doing so could be very difficult to prove one way or the other.

    “In the end, these new Full HD initiatives are more of a statement of competitiveness against rival service providers than against BD itself,” he said.

    “As has often been the case in the past, the satellite providers in the US are battling against cable companies, and now IPTV providers, to set new benchmarks in quality and customer experience.

    “The 1080p story is just another phase in that competitive battle, but it is unlikely to seriously affect Blu-ray’s potential.”

    Is the BDA right to get stroppy? Will this end up in the courts? Please let us know your thoughts.

  • DISH Network first to offer all HD programming in MPEG-4

    Competition among US TV providers continues apace as satellite networks’ claims to be first to offer all programming in MPEG-4

    Dish Network is claiming a pay-TV industry first with its announcement that it is to transmit all standard and HDTV programming in the MPEG-4 Advanced Video Coding Standard.

    Always keen to stress any competitive advantage over its rivals, the satellite provider asserts this is just the latest in a series of market-leading offerings.

    Recent announcements have included its latest HDTV expansion; the launch of TurboHD, the only 100 per cent HD service; the availability of movies in Blu-ray Disc quality 1080p resolution and the commitment to offer up to 150 national HD channels by the end of the year.

    DISH officials said that new customers in 21 designated markets in the eastern half of the country who sign up for any Dish Network HD package will be the first in the nation to receive the advanced delivery system on all televisions connected to Dish Network service.

    This includes all SD and HD programming broadcast in MPEG-4 via Dish Network’s MPEG-4 HD and HD DVR receivers.

    To maximize the benefits of MPEG-4 TV, new customers can sign up for Dish Network’s recently introduced TurboHD, the only packages in the industry featuring 100 per cent HD, MPEG-4 programming, starting at US$24.99 per month.

    TurboHD is available in three separate tiers and comprises special “turbo-charged” features and benefits that include what the company says is the highest quality HD available including 1080p where applicable, and the most-watched HD channels that may be viewed on any TV—analog, digital or high definition.

    Current Dish Network customers can get a “turbo-charged” HD package from US$10 more per month.

  • Millions will wear video glasses for mobile viewing

    Screen size limitations on smartphones and UMPCs hamper users’ ability to fully enjoy mobile video, TV or the internet, according to Kip Kokinakis, president and CEO of Myvu.


    smartphone.biz-news.com spoke to him about Myvu’s Crystal video glasses and his prediction that millions of people will soon be wearing them for mobile viewing.

    Why watch a movie, play a video game or browse the internet on a tiny screen when you could be doing so on a 40” one?

    The answer would invariably be because there isn’t any real alternative for anyone on the move with a smartphone, UMPC or MID.

    Kip Kokinakis begs to differ. But since he is president and CEO of a company that designs and manufactures video eyewear for mobile entertainment, you would expect him to.

    The Westwood, Massachusetts-based firm’s latest offering is the Myvu Crystal, video glasses that connect to any media device with video out functionality – including the iPhone, Nokia N Series and most Samsung models.

    The premium model gives users something akin to a DVD-quality experience on a 40” screen, with built in ear-buds and the ability to “see around” the floating image when on the go.

    Spotting someone in an airport departure lounge watching a movie on a pair of Crystals may still seem a mite outlandish – but Kokinakis doesn’t believe it will be for long.

    “Within three years millions of people will be using these things,” he said. “All sorts of information and data can be translated to the glasses. It’s becoming natural to be out and about with them on.”

    What will influence uptake?

    Two factors that will undoubtedly emphasis the need for improved screen quality and size are the take-up of mobile TV and web browsing.

    This is already expanding rapidly in many markets around the world – just recently T-Mobile in the UK announced it was upgrading the download capability of its HSDPA 3G network to 7.2Mbps – and the pace of growth is set to continue.

    So too will the smartphone market, with research from ABI Research indicating that handset manufacturers will continue to push many high-end features further down their product lines, so increasing usage of mobile video, TV and the internet.

    And while Kokinakis admits that “wonderful things” are being done with smartphones and UMPCs in terms of computing power, there is only so much you can do with a small screen.

    “One thing you can’t do with a 4” screen is replicate a 50” screen,” he said. “You can’t keep evolving the screen on a hand-held device.
    “Video glasses are really the most cost effective way of getting a big screen on a small device.”

    Viewing technology will keep pace with content developments

    While the Crystal is described as providing the highest pixel density and sharpest resolution for any videowear of its size, Kokinakis insists the product is “a long way from being done”.

    He believes the technology is at a “tipping point” and over the coming year we can expect to see developments offering more pixels, near HD quality and a larger screen size.

    “By the end of next year we will have products so far beyond anything we thought of when we first demonstrated video glasses,” he said. “Everyone will be excited.”

    Kokinakis said that as optical quality improves and the number of pixels rises, the eyewear would become thinner and lighter while being able to display images as if on a 70” screen.

    While competing technologies, such as flexible displays, which can be folded or rolled, hold great potential, he doesn’t believe they will usurp video glasses.

    Speaking from Singapore, a center of excellence for material science and where he spends around 70 per cent of his time, he said: “The need for an optical system is there. Others are coming….but nothing replaces plastic at a price.”

    Another viable opportunity for video glasses is augmented reality, which Kokinakis believes will be feasible within three or four years.

    Who will be buying video glasses?

    While video eyegear might appear to only have appeal for those enduring lengthy commutes or frequent long-haul flights – especially in the US, Kokinakis believes the market and appeal is much broader.

    He points especially to the European and Asian markets, which have demographics more suited to video glasses because of wider use of mass transit and the fact people generally live in smaller living spaces.

    “We see a day when it’s not just about watching a movie, but people are watching TV while others are web browsing – all on a 50” screen,” he said

    Not so long ago people wearing headphones in public were scoffed at – imagine!
    Do you see video eyewear such as Crystal glasses becoming the norm for mobile viewing? We would be interested to hear your comments.

  • Yahoo and Intel aim for internet on HDTVs

    Yahoo and Intel launch project to build the internet into HDTVs

    A new partnership to create what has been called the “Widget Channel” has been announced by Yahoo and Intel.

    The pair want to build support into HDTVs that embed Web-enabled “channels” that run alongside TV shows.

    Unveiled at the recent Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, the initiative will offer a television application framework developers can use to deploy Internet-based applications designed to be viewed alongside television content.

    Powered by Yahoo’s Widget Engine, and run on Intel’s new C3100 chips, which are due in the first half of 2009, the project is specifically aimed at consumer electronics devices.

    There are currently no shipping products implementing the hardware and software stack demonstrated in San Francisco.

    However, Yahoo and Intel expect consumer electronics-related companies to evaluate the stack over the next year for possible inclusion in products shipping next decade. Those currently backing the Widget Channel include cable operator Comcast.

    Eric Kim, senior VP of Intel’s digital home group, said TV would fundamentally change how viewers talk about, imagine, and experience the Internet.

    “No longer just a passive experience unless the viewer wants it that way, Intel and Yahoo are proposing a way where the TV and Internet are as interactive, and seamless, as possible,” he said.

    Developers will be able to tap into HTML, Flash, XML and JavaScript to create their applications, which will appear in a corner of the screen much like a picture-in-picture frame.

    The companies say the Widget Channel will also feature a Widget Gallery that will enable developers to publish their Widgets to both Widget Channel-enabled televisions and other consumer electronics devices.

    Intel and Yahoo propose widgets that enable users to tap into existing Internet services like email, eBay, Yahoo Sports, and video rental services, as well as social networking services like Twitter.

    What would you like to see appearing on the Widget Channel? And what are the implications for issues such as the spread of viruses to TVs from Yahoo’s announcement? Please send us your comments.

  • iPhone app developers target of VC funds

    The success of Apple’s App Store is encouraging venture capitalists to invest in smartphone software start-ups

    A  venture capitalist with a US$100m fund to invest in start-ups specializing in iPhone applications has told the New York Times he expects to tap into the success of Apple’s App Store.

    Matt Murphy, who oversees the iFund created earlier this year by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, has received 2,500 business plans for potential iPhone application start-ups this year and has invested in four.

    He tells the Times that until the iPhone emerged, finding hot mobile start-ups was difficult – largely because control over what was on a cellphone was controlled by the wireless carriers, not entrepreneurs.

    That changed with the launch of the App Store, from where iPhone owners have already downloaded more than 60 million applications.

    This, and the emergence of smartphone software opportunities, such as Google’s new Android operating system, has sparked a creative boom among software developers.

    Now other investors and phonemakers are looking with increasing interest at potentially lucractive investments in innovative developers.

    The Times report says Research in Motion is expected to announce soon a fund for developers who want to create applications for the BlackBerry.

    JLA Ventures, which is based in Canada, along with RBC Venture Partners, is co-managing the US$150 million BlackBerry Partners Fund.

    Google announced a US$10 million challenge for software using its Android operating system.

    Are app developers are a good financial bet? Please send us your comments.

  • Samsung expands lead over global TV makers

    North America enjoys strong Q2 TV shipments growth in Q2, helping global TV shipments to improve by 11 per cent Y/Y to 47.5M units

    Samsung is the leading global TV brand in revenue terms for the tenth straight quarter, expanding its market share to a record 22.8 per cent.

    This puts it more than 10 share points higher than the second placed manufacturer, Sony.

    The Korean electronics giant, which enjoyed a robust 52 per cent Y/Y revenue growth, also had the top ranking on a unit basis and led both LCD and MD RPTV on a unit and revenue basis.

    The results are contained in DisplaySearch’s latest Quarterly Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report.

    It showed Sony in second placed on a revenue basis for the fourth straight quarter with very strong Y/Y growth, but declining in share slightly to 12.5 per cent.

    LGE remained in third place with their share nearly unchanged at 11.5 per cent, and they led in global CRT shipments.

    Overall global TV shipments improved by 11 per cent Y/Y to 47.5M units in Q2’08, which was up 3 per cent Q/Q, with better than expected shipment growth in North America.

    LCD TV was once again a hot technology, rising 47 per cent Y/Y to 23.7M units. Plasma TV exhibited even stronger growth, rising 52 per cent Y/Y to 3.4M units, thanks largely to the reintroduction of 32” into the North American market and wider availability of 1080p models.

    North America enjoyed particularly healthy growth in Q2 with total TV shipments surging 28 per cent Y/Y after just 5 per cent Y/Y growth in Q1’08 and negative growth during most of 2007.

    The strong shipments in North America reflect introduction of new, lower-cost, flat panel TV models to the US market by top-tier brands in the latter part of the quarter and a consumer that was very receptive to these lower price points.

    Samsung has now attained nearly one-fifth of the North American LCD TV market with 18.3 per cent of the market for April to June.
    That’s up nearly five percentage points, and puts them way out in front of Sony, which now sits at around 11.7 per cent.

  • Apple sued over iPhone's 3G issues


    Tech-Ex reports in his blog that Alabama resident Jessica Alena Smith has filed a complaint against Apple.

    He says that although the lawsuit hasn’t been granted class action status yet, he believes it will, eventually.

    According to Tech-Ex, Jonathan Kudulis, an attorney with Birmingham, Alabama-based Trimmier Law Firm, representing Smith, said:
    “Apple sold these devices on the promise that they were twice as fast as the pre-existing phones and that they would function suitably, or properly, on the 3G network. But, thus far, Apple and the phone have failed to deliver on this promise.”

    The blogger explains his own experience of what he describes as an almost complete “3G outage”.

    “I work at a company that works on mobile phone software, and any of our other 3G phones work just fine, with full bars of coverage, at work, while the iPhone has one bar at best,” he said.
    “Additionally, while some try to pin the problem on AT&T, complaints from other carriers in different countries indicate it’s not a network issue.”

    Tech-Ex says he doesn’t believe Smith is looking for a rich payday. Instead, he suggests she is trying to get Apple to fix the issue, if necessary by recalling and repairing existing phones.

    He concludes by saying that after calling AT&T, they refunded him an entire month on his data plan – which seems to have satisfied him.

    What have your experiences been with your iPhone? Please let us know.