February 1st, 2009 | Posted in last100 weekly wrapup | 
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Here’s a summary of the last two week’s digital lifestyle action on last100. Note that you can subscribe to the weekly wrapups, either via the special weekly wrapup RSS feed or by email.
Internet TV
Amid layoffs, Vudu concedes its future lies outside of its own set-top box
Despite making its own range of set-top boxes, including two high end devices aimed at home theatre enthusiasts, Vudu’s future ultimately lies outside of building its own hardware, says the company. Continue reading »
February 1st, 2009 | Posted in ZNF | 1 Comment
A periodic roundup of relevant news from our friends at Zatz Not Funny…
The future of SlingPlayer Mobile
Dave Zatz: While I’m not quite ready to speculate on Sling Media’s future retail presence and hardware initiatives, in light of recent defections, we do have a few clues as to their current mobile strategy.
Dave Zatz: We’ve finally seen some definitive proof that Sirius XM will begin charging for online streaming ($3/mo), Pandora has brought audio advertising into their web player/experience, and Apple, along with their studio partners, is implementing variable track pricing. Obviously, there’s also a sizable contingent of people who feel free to help themselves. In light of this, I’m wondering what folks think is a reasonable cost for music.
A sneak-peek pic from FrameChannel
Mari Silbey: Chances are reasonably high that you’ve never heard of FrameChannel. Wireless photo frames are still new in consumer adoption terms, and the idea of a content provider for these frames is a bit counter-intuitive. (Aren’t you just supposed to put your own pics on them?) Nonetheless, FrameChannel is expanding rapidly.
Todd Barnard: Some of the most influential people in social media recently attended a DiSo meeting to discuss the future of how their users’ activity will be published. One of the points discussed during the event was that activity streams are not just generated by people but that machines can also broadcast what they’re doing.
January 29th, 2009 | Posted in Mobile | No Comments
If 2008 was the year of the Netbook, is it too late for Nokia to jump on the bandwagon? Mikey Bee of NokNok.tv doesn’t thing so, noting that while the company talked up its recently announced N97 smartphone for its Netbook-like qualities (despite featuring a comparatively small 3.5 inch screen), it also fazed out the WiMAX version of its rather long in the tooth N810 Internet Tablet, perhaps paving the way for a new Nokia device designed primarily for surfing the web.
See also: Hands-on: Nokia’s N810 Internet Tablet
How might a Nokia ‘Netbook’ shape up? Were the company to release such a device, I’d expect it to follow many of the design lines of its existing Internet Tablet range, powered by the Linux-based Maemo OS but featuring a larger screen (topping out at 7 inches). Rather than a slide out keyboard, I think a more traditional clam shell design should be incorporated, a major part of the appeal of existing Netbooks (as apposed to less popular tablet PCs or UMPCs). Software-wise, the device would tie into all of the company’s web services, including Share on Ovi, along with support for third-party social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, which could easily be added through widgets on the home screen, just like the existing N810 User Interface and that used on the upcoming N97. Continue reading »
January 28th, 2009 | Posted in Net TV | No Comments
The new ‘premium’ film channel announced last April as a joint venture between Viacom (Paramount), MGM and Lionsgate now has a name and a launch date, but, interestingly, no traditional distribution. At least not yet.
Instead, the US-only ‘channel’, now named “Epix”, will debut online in May — five months before its planned TV launch in October — and will use a subscription-based rather than Pay-Per-View model. The initial film lineup will feature “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, “Iron Man”, and “Pink Panther 2”, along with other titles, including classic Bond movies, from the studios’ 15,000 strong combined libraries. Continue reading »
January 27th, 2009 | Posted in Net TV | 1 Comment
As readers of this blog will know, I’ve been very impressed with how Netflix is transforming itself into an online video offering or at least becoming less reliant on its core DVD rental subscription business. In particular, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the pace at which Netflix has managed to get its ‘Watch Instantly’ streaming service embedded into third-party consumer electronics (CE) devices, including networked Blu-ray and DVD players, Internet-connected TVs, set-top boxes and Microsoft’s XBox 360 games console.
The strategy appears to be paying off, with the company announcing strong Q4 results attributed in part to subscriber acquisitions resulting from the CE partnerships and related marketing and press.
During the Q4 earnings call, CEO Reed Hastings gave further insight into the thinking behind Netflix’s video streaming efforts. Here are some of the key takeaways… Continue reading »
January 26th, 2009 | Posted in Net TV | 2 Comments
Despite making its own range of set-top boxes, including two high end devices aimed at home theatre enthusiasts, Vudu’s future ultimately lies outside of building its own hardware, says the company.
“We’re a software company first and foremost,” Vudu co-founder Tony Miranz tells CEPro.com. The set-top movie box service had to design and manufacture its own hardware in order to sell the concept to third-party consumer electronics companies, says Miranz. The plan now is to “try to piggyback on TVs, DVD players and other classes of devices.” Continue reading »
January 26th, 2009 | Posted in Mobile | 1 Comment
It’s an honest yet unwelcome admission: rushing devices to market with buggy and unfinished software is the “new reality” in the smartphone space, RIM’s co-Chief Executive Jim Balsillie tells the Wall Street Journal. When the company released its iPhone competitor, the Blackberry Storm, it met its Black Friday deadline by “the skin of their teeth”, only for the device to be widely slammed by critics for its many software glitches, most of which, RIM claims, have now been addressed by a firmware update.
RIM’s story isn’t an isolated one. The majority of smartphones that I’ve tested over the last year, admittedly some were “pre-production” models, had issues with the software on which they run on. The problem should be addressed in a forthcoming software update, I’m almost always told, and more often than not it is.
Eventually.
And there lies the biggest problem.
While “release early and release often” might be the new smartphone reality, timing is everything. Here’s some free advice for smartphone makers… Continue reading »
January 25th, 2009 | Posted in ZNF | No Comments
A periodic roundup of relevant news from our friends at Zatz Not Funny…
Yahoo’s Internet TV widget platform
Dave Zatz: The biggest story of CES, given our focus here at ZNF, was the unveiling of Yahoo’s Internet TV platform. Of course, just as meaningful as the technology itself, are the multiple heavy hitting partners signed to deploy it beginning this spring.
Dave Zatz: The Boy Genius is out with his top ten iPhone annoyances. While several can be filed as minutiae that won’t bother most folks to any great extent, I’ve yet to meet the perfect handset. The iPhone is no different, possessing a variety of quirks and limitations.
Boxee, finally living up to square name?
Dave Zatz: The Boxee team, flush with cash and excellent exposure, is seeking feedback on the prospect of directly embedding their experience into a hardware platform.
Mari Silbey: Tech specs are still fuzzy, but what we do know is that this is a POTS-based cordless phone system with a touchscreen for Internet access and integration with Verizon wireless and VoIP phone services. It’s meant to act as a digital photo frame, note board, family calendar, and widget station all at once.
January 22nd, 2009 | Posted in Mobile | 10 Comments
When the iPhone first launched at Macworld in 2007, I distinctly remember Apple CEO Steve Jobs boasting that the company had over 200 patents on this thing. At the time, that boast stuck out like a sore thumb as I couldn’t recall Apple making such a fuss over patents before.
Attempting to ‘protect’ one’s intellectual property through patent applications is something that large tech companies do every day. But the fact that Jobs felt the need to highlight this in relation to the iPhone told its own story: Apple was onto something big and it fully expected others to copy many of the iPhone’s ‘innovations’, such as the device’s multi-touch User Interface and related gestures to manipulate content.
Two years on and although we’ve seen many so-called iPhone “killers” from the likes of Google, Nokia, Samsung, HTC and RIM, none of them have dared to go as far as implementing a multi-touch UI.
Until just over a week ago, that is, when Palm unveiled its new Pre smartphone and accompanying webOS, which includes a capacative multi-touch display and relies heavily on gestures for navigation. None of which has gone unnoticed by Apple. Continue reading »
January 21st, 2009 | Posted in Audio, Mobile | 2 Comments
It won’t be popular, yet Pandora’s decision to introduce audio ads is almost certainly necessary to keep the service running and, therefore, something I welcome. Especially if it helps bring the service back to the UK.
Rolled out with little fanfare, besides an acknowledgment on the company’s Twitter feed, the music streaming service has started serving audio ads, reports TechCrunch. While they do interrupt the music, the ads are “fairly sparse”, says Jason Kincaid. And I’ll have to take his word for it. Continue reading »