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Tag: content-providers

  • Can Blu-ray Now Be Regarded As"Mainstream"?


    Sales of Blu-ray discs have climbed to such an extent in Europe that the high-def format is now officially "mainstream".

    At least that’s according to the cross-industry trade body, Digital Entertainment Group Europe(DEGE).

    Funded by the major Hollywood studios, the group says sales of Blu-ray software – which doesn’t include PS3 games titles – has increased five-fold in Europe, from 1.7 million units in 2007 to almost 8.5 million in 2008.

    This has no doubt been helped in part by the falling price of the discs, which are now approaching the level of DVDs.

    But the rising number of Blu-ray disc player owners is also fuelling demand for the software.

    Dedicated deck sales in the UK reached 100,000 in December.

    According to the DEGE, there are now over 2.1 million Blu-ray capable games consoles and standalone players in the UK, almost 1.4 million in France and over a million in Germany.

  • Paid Apps Imminent For Android Market


    Google’s Android Market is expected to begin accepting paid applications this week for the first time.

    The move could provide a much-needed boost to the platform, which currently has around 800 applications.

    This is far below what Apple’s App Store had achieved in its early months. Incidentally, the App Store has just passed the 20,000 mark for apps, with over 500 million downloads.

    While Android Market’s position can partly be attributed to the G1 not being as popular as the iPhone, that’s not the whole story.

    Another key element could be the fact developers haven’t been getting paid to come up with shiny new apps for Android.

    With the incentive of remuneration thrown in, the desite to create software for the G1 and soon-to-be launched handset additions to the Android platform is likely to be much stronger.

    Interestingly, Google is deviating from Apple’s revenue model in that it receives nothing from the downloading of paid apps.

    Both app stores will give developers 70 per cent of the revenue, but whereas Apple pockets the other 30 per cent Google is passing it on to the carriers and to pay settlement fees.

    Anything that gets the Andoid Market rolling has to be welcome, expecially as others – including RIM, Microsoft and Palm – are expected to launch their own app stores very soon.

  • Vudu Halves Cost Of Basic Player


    The cost of VUDU’s basic 250GB VUDU HD player has been halved to USD $150.

    According to the on-demand internet provider the move is not a sign of looming financial problems.

    It stresses that the dramatic price cut is due to positive factors.

    These are cited as a combination of lower component prices, higher movie revenues and increased content demand following strong holiday sales.

    In October, VUDU launched a new video format to rival Blu-ray called HDX.

    It delivers full 1080p at 24 fps to screens 40 inches and up via web distribution using VUDU’s TruFilm compression technology.

    As well as the VUDU HD, the company is reducing the price of its home theater, VUDU XL, to USD $499 and adding in a connectivity pack that previously cost more than $100.

    VUDU’s content library now runs to more than 13,000 movies and TV shows – including what it claims is the world’s largest HD library of more than 1,300 titles.

  • Handset Names Key To US Smartphone Market Share?


    Forget a stylish smartphone packed with cutting edge features – if you want it to sell give it a cool name.

    At least that’s what research by Strategic Name Development (SND) claims in a report that links higher market share with cell phones having names that consumers prefer.

    The study suggests that Nokia’s "clinical-sounding alphanumeric names" are why the Finnish phone giant fails to connect with US consumers.

    Equally, Motorola’s succesful use of 4LTR names – RAZR, ROKR, SLVR, PEBL – eventually became jaded with KRZR and consumers stopped buying.

    The study by SND argues that its claims on the importance of a phone’s name are borne out by both companies’ experiencing a falling market share.

    Between 2004 and 2006, Motorola’s market share peaked at 35 per cent but after it introduced the KRZR in late 2006, this fell to 21 per cent by the second quarter of 2008.

    William Lozito, president of SND, a brand naming consultancy, said names created a distinct sense of identity and personality.

    He said thay also offered a way for people to connect with the product on an emotional level.

    "Names matter," he said.

    Lozito said it was no coincidence that LG and Samsung had identical US market shares of 16 per cent in Q3 2005, and 20 per cent in 2008.

    He said this was because they introduced very similar product naming strategies.

    The researchers praised LG and Samsung’s choices – LG’s Chocolate, Shine and Vu "appeal to the senses", while Samsung’s BlackJack, Juke and Glyde brought "fresh naming innovation" to the category.

    “Conversely, during the same period, Nokia continued a less popular naming convention and its US market share dropped from 16 per cent to 9 per cent," said Lozito.

    For some unexplained reason, the survey only looked at Motorola, LG, Samsung and Nokia – and was limited to the US market.

    And while a great name undoubtedly sets the tone for a phone, can it really condemn a handset to failure?

    We would be really interested to hear how important you think a name is to a smartphone’s success.

  • Google Launches Latitude Friend Finder Service


    Google has launched a new mobile service called Latitude that lets users see the location of friends who opt to share their whereabouts.

    It adds to the existing location-awareness function on Google Maps but is also an iGoogle gadget for a computer.

    The service allows users to see friends’ locations on a map and gives the option to make contact directly via SMS, Google Talk, Gmail, or by updating a status message.

    Google stresses it recognizes the sensitivity of location data, so it’s built privacy controls into the application.

    Users control exactly who gets to see their location, but can also decide the location that they see.

    The service uses cell-phone tower triangulation, GPS or Wi-Fi to find their location.

    As of launch, Latitude is available in 27 countries but Google expects to add to the list shortly.

    It runs on Blackberry, S60 and Windows Mobile, and will be available on Android in the next few days. It is expected to become available for the iPhone, through Google Mobile App, very soon.

  • BSkyB Adds HD Customers And Promises More High Def Content


    BSkyB has added 171,000 new customers in the second quarter and reduced churn to below 10 per cent.

    It will be hoping to build on the interim results for the six months to 31 December 2008 helped by the the news that further investment is to be made in HD programming.

    The announcement that the price of the Sky+ HD receiver is to drop to £49 will undoubtedly provide a massive boost to that ambition.

    Over 50 per cent of BSkyB customers now opt for either Sky+ HD or Sky+.

    The standard definition product is installed in 4,650,000 homes, while 779,000 have the HD receiver.

    As of December 31, 2008, the number of subscribers to the DTH platform in the UK and Ireland stood at 9.24 million.

    BSkyB’s commitment to increasing HD content comes as Apple announces it is making the first HD show available in the UK through its iTunes service.

  • UK Gets HD Programmes For AppleTV


    Apple has announced that the first HD show is available for download from the iTunes store for AppleTV owners in the UK.

    The first offerings in high def are episodes of the current series of ABC’s Lost, which will be sold for £2.49 each.

    This compares to the standard USD $2.99 rates charged for HD downloads on the US version of the Apple digital store.

    A season pass will be £41.99.

    A free five-minute HD trial is available from the store to give UK users a flavor of what’s on offer.

    Apple chief executive Steve Jobs announced the arrival of HD TV shows last September – without mentioning that it would take a bit longer before they arrived in the UK.

    Worth waiting for? Please let us have your opinions.

  • Mobile Firefox Expected On HTC Touch Pro


    A beta version of Mozilla’s mobile Firefox web browser – codenamed Fennec – could be launched on the HTC Touch Pro as early as next week.

    The move is part of Moxilla’s announced intention to move onto Windows Mobile and Symbian platforms.

    A post on Mozilla’s official mobile Firefox wiki said: "We are targeting a Milestone release for the first week of February, targeting the HTC Touch Pro."

    For WinMo developers, Firefox’s inclusion on the HTC smartphone will provide the opportunity to port the browser to other WinMo-based hardware.

    In December, Mozilla’s director of mobile engineering, Christian Sejersen, said the company would look to offer the platform on Symbian-based phones.

    He said this was essential to ensure Mozilla was relevant in the smartphone space.

  • Android App Developers Get AdMob Option


    AdMob has announced that it has launched its first advertising unit for Android applications.

    The move by the world’s largest mobile advertising marketplace will give developers an option for monetizing their applications on the open source device platform.

    The first developers to leverage AdMob’s new Android ad unit in their applications include AccuWeather, Jirbo, and TapJoy.

    AdMob’s presence will add another dimension to Google’s Android Market.

    While it now has more than 800 applications, that figure is dwarfed by Apple’s App Store, which has more than 15,000 apps.

    One reason for the gulf – aside from the fact Android only launched three months ago – is that Apple has the ability to offer paid apps.

    So the flood of developers rushing to the platform following the launch of T-Mobile’s G1 last October never happened.

    This is despite Google being seen as far less restrictive with regard to what apps could be created for Android.

    Android Market’s lack of a payment system is one reason.

    AdMob’s new Android ad unit will also allow brand and performance advertisers to reach consumers engaging with applications on their Android device.

    Advertisers will be able to use these ad units to drive customer actions such as going to the Android Market to download an application.

    AdMob already serves ads on mobile Web sites on the Android platform and received more than 27 million requests in December 2008.

    Building on the initial success of the G1 device, several new devices expected to come to market in 2009.

    More than 6,000 mobile sites and 450 iPhone applications are a part of AdMob’s publisher network worldwide.

  • Skydeck Syncs Mobiles' Calls, Contacts, and Voicemails With Web Browers


    Skydeck has launched a feature-packed beta that syncs what takes place on cell phones to a web page.

    The mobile startup’s offering lists all contacts, received calls, missed calls, voicemails and text messages.

    So much so that the company is calling the new Skydeck "your cell phone, online".

    Previously, Skydeck’s beta used mobile phone bills to display real social network based on numbers called the most.

    Now users can listen to voicemails from their browsers or read a transcribed version of each voicemail (via SpinVox).

    The online service also allows users to search all voicemails and text messages.

    Replies to messages can be sent from a browser, with all the calls appearing to come from the user’s cell phone number.

    It functions best on Blackberry and Android phones with full support for Windows Mobile coming soon, but most of the features work on nearly any handset.

    Currently only available in the US, the service costs from USD $9.95 a month, with calls through a PC costing USD $0.03 a minute, plus USD $0.20 for each transcribed voicemail.

    For USD $29.95 a month users get unlimited PC phone calls and transcriptions.