January 4, 2008
Jeremy Toeman and Dave Zatz weighed in yesterday on the Netflix announcement that it will be partnering with LG on what it hopes will be the first of “100 Netflix-capable boxes” (putting its aspirational numbers significantly behind the thousand gPhones that Eric Schmidt is pursuing).
Jeremy notes the challenges of bringing a “fifth box” into the living room. It’s true that the standalone home network/broadband content access device has struggled for a number of reasons that I’ve explored in depth elsewhere. The alternative is easier said than done, though. Jeremy writes:
The “smart” marketing of the (rumored) $799 HD/Blu-Ray player will simply label it as having Netflix “built in” or something like that.
Right idea, wrong Trojan horse. The problem is that no amount of smart marketing will dramatically expand the market for a $799 dual-format high-def disc player, which is being hampered by nearly as many problems as Internet set-top boxes. There are standard-definition DVD players, of course, but that market has been completely commoditized.
Tags: broadband content, LG, movies, netflix, subscriptions
Time-shifting terrestrial radio has been around for a while. with standalone products from PoGo Electronics, purveyors of fine windup remote controls, the unfortunately capitalized radio SHARK Mac and PC accessory from Griffin, and the new MP3 player filling station from PopCatcher, taking another stab after the TraxCatcher never came to market.
But now a new wave of Internet radio time-shifters are coming to market. There’s the imminent Slacker Portable and the definitely not portable iShift Internet Media Receiver (check out the introductory video with the pornotronica soundtrack), which packs an 80 GB hard drive. Who needs to record 1,300 hours of Internet radio? in any case, this living room-sized component will be able to sideload its storehouse to the iPod and other MP3 players and uses an Internet recording service from Timeless Radio which looks competitive with the iRoamer service launched a few years back by Aussie firm Torian Wireless.
The MP3 filling station concept, whether it uses FM, Internet radio or some other source, stands to simplify the process of loading up a portable music player.
Tags: internet radio, iroamer, ishift, pogo, slacker, timeless radio, torianDecember 11, 2007
With Blu-ray and HD-DVD being relatively new on the video scene, it’s not surprising that each has a logo to let consumers know that a disc is compatible with its respective formats. The HD-DVD one is an extension of the DVD logo (pictured), which informed consumers that the shiny disc they were considering contained more than just music. Each of the major video game console vendors also brands compatible software with the appropriate logo as well.
Thinking about my Vudu column posted today on Engadget and the news that the company is offering The Bourne Ultimatum in high-definition, I’m wondering how consumers other than Vudu owners might know that the movie is available on the service. Awareness of broadband video services is very low. It would benefit several companies at this early stage to develop some kind of logo signifying that a movie was available for legal digital rental or purchase. There have been a few on-air promotions showing that certain video content is available via iTunes, but I’ve mostly seen these for television shows.
It may be hopeless as, unlike with physical media, many of the video download services (iTunes, Xbox Live Marketplace, Vudu, Fanfare) are vertically integrated. However, a broadband video alliance might also have more leeway in negotiating with studios for better terms, such as the ludicrous 24-hour limit to finish watching a movie once it’s started (not that I’ve been burned by that… twice). None of the services (except maybe Vongo) seem to be competing on usage terms.
Tags: alliance, broadband, video downloadsOctober 8, 2007
There is an alternative way to send short bits of text between mobile phones! Oh, technology, thou art a fickle muse. I think I will start one of these companies and create a product called, ”I Seek You.” Yes, something like that, but catchier. Maybe there’s some way to shorten it.
Actually, this article doesn’t even come close to describing the real threat du jour. As Facebook becomes the growing Web within a Web, this community is going to hit the mobile world like a freight train with more people on it than the carriers themselves have. It is developing more leverage than AOL ever had during its heyday. AOL was a jail; Facebook is the Hotel California.
Tags: Facebook, instant messaging, SMSAugust 24, 2007
I took advantage of a trip down to Atlanta this week to check out the new AT&T Experience store, which promises to bring together all of AT&T’s formidable triple-play assets. In particular, I was interested to check out U-Verse and HomeZone, its home video plays.
I thought I might document the trip with a few pictures, but was accosted by an employee on some kind of cigarette break while I was outside the store, maybe 15 or 20 feet away just taking pictures of the facade. I can — OK, I really can’t — understand companies getting testy about taking pictures inside a store, but outside? Does the store have anti-aircraft artillery on the roof to take down any planes snapping pictures for Google’s or Microsoft’s maps?
July 11, 2007
For years, TiVo seemed caught in a struggle trying to serve three masters that often had conflicting interests — its customers, broadcasters and cable and satellite companies. In the past few years, it has probably de-emphasized working with broadcasters, but it has stepped up efforts with advertisers and its main Internet video partner Amazon.
As Multichannel News reports, the move from Web-based to TV-based movie ordering from the Internet may ruffle the feathers of potential TV service providers as well as its most important cable partner today, Comcast. However, realistically Amazon Unbox and cable VOD are not direct competition yet. There’s still a significant delay before movies are downloaded although the movie selection is much greater, there’s still a fair amount of especially VOD content (particularly from premium channels like HBO).that you can’t get from Unbox. At least for now, you can think of VOD as Amazon Unbox for the masses.
And, hey, you FiOS customers, I heard today from a reliable source that Verizon is working on having 9,000 movies available on demand in the near future. That’s the equivalent of almost four video rental stores.
June 1, 2007
For years now, my Verizon bill has been coming to “Russ Rubin.” Being a sporting guy, I paid for his phone service; yeah, he doesn’t chip in on the electricity, but he mostly keeps to himself. I hardly ever see him, in fact. But, hey, enough is enough, and the last time I was on Verizon’s site, I took advantage of the handy e-mail form to request the long-overdue name change. The e-mailed reply:
I have placed an order to correct your first name to ROSS, confirmation number xxxxxxxx. It may take 1-2 billing cycles for you to see the correct spelling.
Only two months to change one letter, eh? Wow. Using FiOS to send that request? Good thing I wasn’t changing it to Roscommon.
May 29, 2007
At Engadget, Ryan Block writes about Qigo, a system for enabling access to premium online content via physical keys. As Apple has proven with the iPod and iTunes store, it’s still a lot easier to sell atoms than bits, and Computer Associates will soon offer its Internet security software on a 2 GB USB flash drive that pops into a credit card holder.
While most kiddie gadgets are modeled after their adult counterparts, the Qigo concept seems similar to the Tiger Net Jet.
April 23, 2007
To all the not-rich-enough-to-have-a-personal-assistant spendthrifts, I ask this: are personal concierge services a bad idea or is just trying to scale them a bad idea? I remember when a previous incarnation of Root.net tried creating one online and now VOCE is asking $500 up front to participate in a wireless one.
It’s one thing if, say, you’re a Centurion card holder and want to use AmEx’s muscle to help you track down a Wii. But, it seems to me that as Internet access on phones gets better, most of the reference end of this kind of service won’t be as important. What would have value to me would be someone trustworthy to help with errands (a higher end version of the concept behind the possibly returning MyLackey.com) or someone to whom I could delegate complex tasks like, oh, a personal assistant.
VOCE’s home page shows a pearl in a PEBL. Can I also order a pebble in a Pearl?
From BoingBoing via Gizmodo.
April 10, 2007
I received a fair amount of feedback on my Apple TV vs. TiVo column from a few weeks ago, but none on the headline. Come on, people! Doesn’t anyone remember the famous New York Post headline? Anyway, some readers have suggested that Apple TV is really more competition for cable itself than simply TiVo. For that argument, I will consider cable as coming without DVR service, since cable DVRs are unavailable without cable, and we’ve already considered Apple TV vs. TiVo, which is one of the best retail options for those who would want DVR service without cable or satellite.
TiVo’s business model was initially designed to make it an attractive partner for cable, but such is not the case with Apple TV. Apple TV dips its toe into what some regulators have been asking for in “cable a la carte” but goes even further. Whereas cable a la carte advocates would like cable providers to offer only the channels they want, iTunes sells content by the series or even the episode.
Apple claims that it now offers 70 percent of the primetime offerings of major broadcast and popular cable networks such as Bravo. Of course, cable and satellite providers offer over 1,000 hours per week of programmed entertainment, even though we’ve all heard the complaints about there being “500 channels and nothing on.” When asked in an Engadget Mobile interview about broadcasting TV to cell phones a la MediaFLO, Helio CEO Sky Dayton responds rhetorically, “When was the last time you watched linear programming?”
Nonetheless, there’s still a lot on broadcast and cable that isn’t on iTunes, or isn’t on iTunes until the followiong season. As was the case for TiVo, if your tastes don’t wander outside iTunes’ selection (which will certainly grow), buying your content from iTunes may make sense, but for now Apple TV can’t compete with the breadth of cable or satellite television that most consumers value.
