An open letter to Research In Motion senior management reportedly written by a “high-level RIM employee” gives a frank description of what’s wrong and makes startling recommendations.
The letter starts with: “I have lost confidence.”
It suggests there is a need to focus on the end user instead of strategic alignments, partner requests or legal advice.
It also recommends focusing on a few projects as Apple had to do when Jobs returned — and calls for a “new, fresh thinking, experienced CEO.”
Developers, not carriers will “make or break us.” Also, reach out and get input from the employees.
Plizy is a new cloud-based discovery and recommendation platform for Internet video.
The company currently offers an iPad app and will soon roll out to other devices.
The app makes recommendations from 300 Web “channels” based on an individual’s video habits, interests and social graph.
It downloads content for later viewing where they have agreements with owners.
The company is signing deals with content owners for quality content.
“You can enjoy TED, YouTube, Vimeo, Twitter, Facebook at the same place. And we are adding something new in the coming days, which is the ability to download some content, so you will be able to download TED videos [for example] and watch them on the plane or the bus or in a train. So we’re trying to push the experience, the discovery, and the access to the best content,” explains Jonathan Benassaya, founder and CEO of Plizy.
The Olympus PEN series extends its successful Micro-Four-Thirds lineup to include upgraded technology in its higher-end models in addition to the new pocket-cam and entry-level E-PM1.
The E-P3 is the new flagship PEN that “brings the series up to DSLR quality with new sensor and processor technology.” Features include a 3-inch 614K pixel OLED touchscreen, 2-1/4000 second shutter speed, and 12.3-megapixel Live MOS sensor. The E-P3 will be available in August for $900.
The most notable addition to the E-PL3 is “its tilting, 3-inch, 460K pixel LCD display,” and like the E-P3 includes 3D capability. It also includes a 12.3-megapixel Live MOS Image Sensor, that “addressed some of the low-light issues holding back former PEN units.” Price and availability have not been announced.
The pocketable six-inch E-PM1 — designed for consumers who have outgrown their point-and-shoots — promises a simplified UI for beginners, 12.3-megapixel MOS, and 3-inch LCD display, but no tilt or touchscreen. Again, price and availability have yet to be announced.
ETCentric reported earlier in the week that social networking site MySpace would be sold to Irvine-based advertising firm Specific Media for $35 million in cash and stock.
Although News Corp. has claimed that its Google ad deals helped curb MySpace losses over the recent years, others suggest a darker picture.
The sale of MySpace for a mere 6 percent of its original $580 million purchase price may be yet another chapter in a disappointing tale, one which started with a failed attempt to build an all-service media empire.
Ars Technica suggests that when considering the entire picture, including the operating losses over the years, the MySpace acquisition may have cost News Corp. well over $1 billion (read the article for a breakdown of the math).
Specific Media, with Justin Timberlake as a backer, is expected to focus on music for MySpace’s new direction.
Only 2 percent of U.S. homes will have a 3D TV by year’s end, and the market is expected to only improve slightly to 5 percent penetration in 2012.
However, SNL Kagan reports that these figures will jump to 21 percent in 2015.
Internet-enabled TVs are currently more popular, projected to go from 14 percent penetration this year to 51 percent in 2015.
The report also concludes that a lack of 3D content has been a problem thus far, but growing interest in 3D sports and films should help sustain the technology in the future.
Social blogging network Tumblr announced the release of its Tumblr iPhone 2.0 mobile app this week.
According to Digital Trends: “Users can now manage multiple Tumblogs, reply to messages and save drafts — important functionality that was completely lacking from the first version.”
Another positive addition includes the ability to sign up directly through the mobile app, rather than on the Web.
Digital Trends offers a positive review and suggests: “If you’re on Tumblr (and have an iPhone), definitely download this app right now.”
Apple may soon “amp up competition with Android” by offering its iPhone 3GS for $0 (with a qualifying service contract).
The iPhone 3GS was launched in the U.S. in June 2009.
RBC Capital Market analyst Mike Abramsky suggests the free phone will be made available the same time that Apple releases its successor to the iPhone 4, providing options for different demographics.
Abramsky also forecasts the free 3GS could “expand the iPhone’s worldwide marketshare from some 64 million users to more than 150 million users.”
Google’s Android is currently the top-selling smartphone platform in the U.S.
Hewlett-Packard will start selling its new TouchPad on Friday, entering the tablet market currently dominated by the iPad 2.
The new tablet, starting at $500, features a 10-inch screen with “a slick, distinctive software interface.”
Walt Mossberg likes TouchPad’s UI but downgrades it for poor battery life, a small number of apps, and an operating system that is buggy and requires regular rebooting.
The TouchPad will initially be available in two versions (16 or 32 gigabytes of storage) and will only offer Wi-Fi connectivity.
Mossberg: “At least for now, I can’t recommend the TouchPad over the iPad 2.”
MediaMall, the group behind the popular PlayOn media software, announced this week a closed beta of an online service that allows users to record online video for later viewing (including offline).
PlayLater works similarly to a DVR, allowing “recording” of online video from sites such as Hulu, Netflix, Amazon and major networks.
Early reporting suggests playback of DRM protected files only on approved programs running on PC (using Windows Media Player), Android, iOS, Google TV, game systems, etc.
PlayLater is expected to eventually be available for $5/month, or $50/year.
CrunchGear reports: “Believe it or not, the term DVR is actually appropriate here. I’ve used the service and it actually records the programming and wraps the video file in a DRM-laced .plv container that’s only playable on approved programs.”
Videogaming events today attract hundreds of thousands of simultaneous streaming video viewers.
A recent “League of Legends” competition drew more than 200,000 simultaneous viewers, according to game provider own3D.tv (the Austria-based company has more than four million unique viewers per month).
95 percent of the viewers watch in HD.
Early numbers suggest this is a global trend (only 15-18 percent are U.S. viewers).
Others are getting on board; live streaming provider Justin.tv created TwitchTV to offer e-sports as a live sporting event.
Google quietly launched WDYL.com this week, a new site that presents search results across 20 different products/widgets on one page.
The acronym asks the question: “What do you love?”
WDYL.com was launched without fanfare or marketing, and while little more is known about it at this time, a box at the bottom of each search result suggests: “More coming soon.”
According to TechCrunch: “The most striking thing about the new site is that it seems pretty well designed — not always a given with Google.”
SMPTE recently held its 3D Conference for Media and Entertainment in New York City.
One significant outcome resulted from scientists who are studying how the brain processes visual images.
They suggest that Hollywood needs an improved academic understanding of stereoscopic 3D to avoid making viewers uncomfortable.
It was recommended that content creators and vision scientists get together to evaluate different demographics, 2D-to-3D conversion, potential harmful effects, eye fatigue and much more.
“The problem is that we’re looking at this from a top down perspective instead from the bottom up. With HDTV, it took us more than 20 years to get the science right. Here [with 3D] we’re starting with the screen and working backwards. That doesn’t seem right,” suggested Joseph Flaherty, senior VP of technology at the CBS Network.
The Zynga Game Network, maker of online video games, is expected to file for its initial public stock offering this week.
The company’s games, including “Cityville” and “Farmville” are immensely popular on Facebook, with 270 million active users.
The stock sale is expected to value the company between $15 and $20 billion, making it one of the largest technology offerings since Google’s IPO in 2004.
News Corp. is in the process of selling once-popular social networking site MySpace to Specific Media, an Irvine-based ad network.
The cash and stock deal is reportedly valued at $35 million — a mere 6 percent of the $580 million News Corp. paid for the site in 2005 (although News Corp. claims it made back its investment earlier from a Google ad deal).
The one-time leading social networking destination, MySpace was decimated by the global popularity of Facebook.
Specific Media is expected to return MySpace to its music roots as a location to discover new bands and songs.
The sale comes in the same week that Google announces its own new networking service, designed to directly challenge Facebook for dominance in the space.
Facebook is presently valued at more than $70 billion.
