Rich Greenfield, a media analyst at BTIG, makes predictions about “virtual” cable companies that he expects to become available online by next year.
These companies will differ from VOD services like Netflix or Hulu in that consumers will subscribe to “real” TV delivered over the Web in real time.
The contracts will not be a la carte and the virtual cable companies will probably have razor-thin profit margins — after paying higher-than-market rates for big TV channels/programmers.
Although networks might shy away from virtual cable companies so as to not threaten their current deals with existing cable companies, the virtual programming may be beneficial to providers like Time Warner Cable, which will continue to offer broadband, where the profit margin is larger.
Greenfield expects companies that aren’t yet involved in the video business to be the first viral cable providers as they look for another platform to expand their business. Companies such as Amazon, Google or Verizon might also be among the first to sign on.
Faced with little interest from potential buyers, Hewlett-Packard is making its mobile operating system, webOS, available for free, allowing individuals and companies to make improvements (with certain guidelines).
When HP purchased webOS with Palm Inc. in July last year for $1.2 billion, it was “a highly regarded technology, but one that had failed to gain much traction with consumers,” according to The Wall Street Journal.
HP plans to continue enhancements to webOS and keep the 600 or so employees involved with the system. CEO Meg Whitman said HP may build devices with webOS in the future, but not in the next year.
The mobile operating system is “a fabulous technology that we don’t want to have go away,” explained Whitman in an interview, further noting that the decision to go open source is “a great answer.”
Google just hit the 10 billion mark for Android app downloads and is seeing one billion downloads per month.
However, The Arora Report found that some app developers make 1000 percent or more revenue from Apple than they do with Google.
“It appears that iPhone buyers are more amenable for paying for apps whereas Google buyers typically look for free apps,” explains Forbes. “Capitalism indicates that developers will continue to focus first on Apple and then on Google. It makes sense for the developers to go first where the money is.”
The article suggests Apple buyers prefer top of the line products whereas many Android consumers buy cheaper phones.
To further entice buyers, Google is now offering 10 popular Android apps for $1, with plans to cycle new apps every day.
Researchers have developed a new form of light-emitting crystals, known as quantum dots, that will be used to create thinner, flexible displays.
“The tiny crystals, which are 100,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair, can be printed onto flexible plastic sheets to produce a paper-thin display that can be easily carried around, or even onto wallpaper to create giant room-size screens,” reports The Telegraph.
The first commercial products to use the technology are expected to be flat-screen TVs with improved color and thinner displays, available by the end of next year. The flexible versions should take at least three years to become commercially available, although the technology may appear on small personal devices earlier.
“Something else we are looking at is reels of wallpaper or curtains made out of a material that has quantum dots printed on it,” explains Michael Edelman, chief executive of Nanoco,a company set up by the scientists behind the technology at Manchester University. “You can imagine displaying scenes of the sun rising over a beach as you wake up in the morning.”
According to Edelman, Nanoco is currently working with major Asian electronics companies on flat-screen TVs that incorporate the quantum dot technology.
Amazon has established a $6 million fund called KDP Select aimed at gaining 90-day book exclusives for Kindles from publishers and independent authors.
Digital Trends explains how it works: “$6 million is allocated each year and split into $500,000 per month. That $500,000 is awarded to publishers based entirely on how many purchases that author’s books generated during the month as compared to all books enrolled in the KDP Select exclusivity program. So, according to Amazon, if 100,000 books sell during a month and your book sells 1,500, you will earn $7,500 in additional royalties for the month.”
Authors who opt in will get “special tools” like the ability to offer their book for free, to better market their books on Amazon. Amazon says there will hopefully be more tools to come in the future.
The program may become less appealing as more authors join — especially popular authors — since the fixed $500,000 amount could potentially split more times. “The minute a really popular book joins that plan, all other participating members will see their royalties sliced by huge proportions,” suggests the post.
TechRadar offers its predictions of what to expect at January’s CES.
OLED: new production techniques are making the technology affordable; Samsung and LG will likely show 55-inch prototypes.
The majority of TVs 32-inch and larger will be 3D capable, Smart TV will probably see a boost and 4K panels will provide high resolution sets.
The Nintendo Wii U or an updated prototype will likely make an appearance along with — maybe — the Xbox 720.
Computing will see more from Microsoft on Windows 8 (which will hopefully discuss ARM backwards compatibility); Intel will showcase its die-shrink successor, Ivy Bridge; and ultrabooks will flood the conference.
Tablets may be revealed from Acer and HTC. There may also be multiple phone premieres: Samsung Galaxy S III, LG Optimus U1, HTC Edge and/or Ville, and the Xperia Arc HD from Sony Ericsson.
The article details potential camera reveals from Canon, Nikon and Sony. It also talks about more compact system cameras (CSC) that may be coming out in 2012 following Panasonic, Olympus, Samsung, Sony and Nikon models released this year.
Mitsubishi has been named a CES Innovations 2012 Design and Engineering Awards Honoree for its 92-inch 3D DLP Home Cinema TV.
According to the press release: “Mitsubishi’s 92-inch TV includes a 16-speaker, fully immersive Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound system; new Clear Contrast Screen; Perfect Color; Perfect Tint; and the same 3D DLP technology used by 90 percent of 3D movie theaters.”
The company claims its $6,000 3D DLP model (WD-92840) is “the largest mass-produced TV on the market, covering a surface area greater than four standard 46-inch TVs combined.”
More details are expected during January’s CES in Las Vegas.
Intel announced that smartphones and tablets powered by the company’s Medfield Atom processor and running Google’s Android 4.0 OS could hit the market next year.
Intel has been working with manufacturers to ensure compatibility of its chipsets with several versions of Android.
“We’ll see products next year on Gingerbread, Ice Cream Sandwich and Honeycomb,” said Alec Gefrides, head of the Google Program Office at Intel. “Every OEM has to put a stake in the ground to get a product delivered.”
In a related post from Product Reviews, rumors suggest we may see some unannounced Ice Cream Sandwich handsets at CES in January.
Samsung may be unveiling an ICS device for the Sprint network that is powered by Intel.
Intel is reportedly choosing a manufacturer to produce its device, which would run Android 4.0 ICS on Intel’s Atom processor.
“Could Intel be the brand new player in 2012 that is set to give NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 chip a run for its money?” asks Product Reviews. “It certainly seems that way based on these rumors and more choice in the market is obviously a great thing from a consumers perspective.”
UltraViolet’s Web channels are now live and will be going global, with launches planned in the UK for the end of December, Canada in 2012 and additional locations in 2013.
“Sony, Universal and Warner began shipping UV-enabled Blu-ray and DVD titles to U.S. shelves in October,” reports paidContent. “In the last few days, the first three online exponents — SonyPictures.com, UniversalHiDef.com and Flixster.com — went live, allowing owners of the new discs to also stream the same movie on those sites for free.”
In the UK, Tesco’s Blinkbox VOD service will launch an individual version of the same concept, but “Blinkbox will also be plugging in to UltraViolet in 2012.”
“Against a backdrop of piracy and the rise of subscription access services like Netflix and Spotify, UltraViolet is a defensive ploy to build online value around the same model entertainment has known for decades — ownership,” suggests the article.
There’s a new rumor making the rounds that Microsoft may resurrect a file-sharing technology it first introduced with the Zune in 2006, which failed to gain traction initially due to the device’s lack of adoption.
“Beaming” is reportedly based on Zune’s “squirting” concept (sharing music with other Zunes over Wi-Fi). Microsoft is believed to be working on the beaming feature for its Windows 8, Windows Phone 8 “Apollo” and Xbox platforms.
Beaming will utilize NFC, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi direct pairing. The feature may be used to beam users’ Windows 8 profiles, for example, or possibly even stream movies from an Xbox console.
“As always, take this rumor with a grain of salt, but to some degree, it fits within Microsoft’s vision of a unified experience across the three screens: PC/tablet, smartphone and console,” reports tech blog Tom’s Hardware. “Perhaps we’ll hear more about Beaming next month during CES 2012.”
The post includes a video showing a user “beaming” a presentation from his phone to an HDTV and a document from his phone to a tablet.
We should expect to see a major push regarding Google TV in the coming months, according to Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt.
“By the summer of 2012… the majority of the televisions you see in television stores will have Google TV embedded in them,” he predicted while addressing a crowd at the LeWeb conference in Paris.
While Logitech has stepped away from the project, PC Pro reports that LG and Samsung are rumored to be debuting Google TV products at CES in January.
However, The Guardian warns that “Google TV is going to face an uphill battle: it may well be installed in lots of TV sets sitting on the shelves, but people may well be keeping their hands in their pockets; few people need to buy a new television. The market is saturated. TV sales look set for a dramatic slowdown in 2012.”
The Guardian agrees that Schmidt’s contention may be accurate, but adds: “…there’s a long way from that to people buying them, and taking them home, and engaging the Internet capability, and enjoying the experience more than they do through some other channel such as their laptop, tablet, or games console. Let’s check back in a year.”
Ross Nanotechnology has developed a new silicon-based spray that may save users buckets in cash by water-proofing electronics.
NeverWet has a very high contact angle, a way of measuring hydrophobicity or water resistance. The product is long-lasting and can also be used as an anti-icing agent or antibacterial shield.
“When water hits a NeverWet-coated product or item, it simply beads and rolls off the surface just like the proverbial duck’s back,” reports Digital Trends. “It’s not just water it repels either, as the silicon-based spray sees everything from oil to ketchup instantly fall away.”
NeverWet was applied to an iPhone that continued to operate successfully, despite being submerged underwater for a half hour.
The post includes two compelling videos showcasing the capabilities of the technology.
Verizon is planning to launch a TV and movie streaming and download service by May 28th, with a beta expected as early as April. The company is rumored to have partnered with RedBox to include physical disc rentals in the service.
The service, called Project Zoetrope internally, will stream in SD or HD to a variety of platforms — iOS, Android, Xbox and others — and video storage will be enabled for mobile devices and tablets.
“RedBox is immediately recognizable and synonymous with simplicity and value,” which will help Verizon with its lack of branding in the movie/TV world, TechCrunch writes. “RedBox, however, has little in the way of TV shows, so Verizon is probably doing much of the heavy lifting on that side, and of course on the delivery infrastructure front.”
“Pricing is expected to be monthly and credit-based, e.g. $5.95 per month for 6 credits, which could be used to rent X movies or Y shows,” adds the post. “There will be several tiers and some will include physical disc rentals, and of course there will be ways to purchase more shows if necessary.”
Westinghouse Digital announced it will showcase new television products, including its new 70-inch LED HDTV, at CES in January.
The 70-inch UW70T9VZ touts 1080p full HD, a 120Hz refresh rate and 8ms response time.
The company will also showcase smaller screens such as the 46-inch “ultra-slim” LED HDTV “that’s so slender, it probably disappears if you look at it side-on,” jokes Engadget.
Additionally, Westinghouse will demo its first ever Bluetooth Soundbar. “The WSB-N20BW Series Soundbar with Wireless Bluetooth will feature powerful sound and a sleek, clean design, offering 2×12 watts, a class D amplifier, and a frequency response of 85Hz – 20Khz, with enhanced bass, reports HotHardware.
Usability expert Jakob Nielsen says the current version of Amazon’s Kindle Fire offers a poor user experience.
The “fat finger” problem is quite evident on a 7-inch screen, especially for full websites. The Fire is also heavy and unpleasant to hold for extended periods, “unless you have forearm muscles like Popeye.”
Magazine reading is “miserable” since the content is not tailored for the device. “Page View is unreadable and Text View has the worst layout I’ve seen in years,” he writes. “Illustrations are either too big or too small and are usually located far from the place they’re discussed in the copy.”
Moreover, screen updates tend to be slow, which breaks the illusion of direct manipulation.
Nielsen suggests that for 7-inch tablets to succeed, service and content providers will have to design specifically for these devices.
