Travel site Orbitz has segmented its website into Mac and PC users based on the fact that Mac users will typically be willing to pay $20 to $30 more per night for a hotel room, reports the Wall Street Journal.
“The sort of targeting undertaken by Orbitz is likely to become more commonplace as online retailers scramble to identify new ways in which people’s browsing data can be used to boost online sales,” notes WSJ.
Forrester Research places the average household income for Mac computer owners at $98,560, as compared to the $74,452 average income for PC owners.
“From an analytics perspective, targeting by operating system and pricing accordingly may not be such a bad idea,” adds CNET. “The bonehead move of the century is Orbitz yapping about it. Orbitz did note that pricing by OS is just an experiment.”
Execs at Orbitz point out that the experiment is merely highlighting different offers to Mac and PC visitors, not offering the same room to different users at different prices. According to Orbitz CEO Barney Harford, the news has been misinterpreted since the full story was hidden behind the WSJ pay wall for many readers.
“[It’s] nonsense that we’d charge Mac users more for the same hotel, which is unfortunately the incorrect impression that many readers seem to be drawing from this article’s ‘subscriber content preview,'” he writes via email to NPR. “However, just as Mac users are willing to pay more for higher end computers, at Orbitz we’ve seen that Mac users are 40 percent more likely to book 4 or 5 star hotels as compared to PC users, and [that’s] just one of many factors that determine which hotels to recommend a given customer as part of our efforts to show customers the most relevant hotels possible.”
After a month of beta testing, Mozilla has released its official Firefox app for Android.
The app “sports a slick new interface, incredibly fast startup and browsing speeds, support for Adobe Flash, and new HTML5 features,” reports VentureBeat.
The Firefox app functions with Android 2.2 devices and higher, while Google’s Chrome beta app only works on Android 4.0 devices. “That gives the new Firefox a potential market of around 94 percent of Android devices, while Chrome only has 7 percent of the market running Android 4.0 or newer,” according to the post.
“The new Android Firefox app isn’t just fast, it’s also gorgeous,” notes VentureBeat. “When you first launch it, you’re presented with a start screen that features your most recently and frequently visited sites. There’s a new tab interface that’s a far leap beyond the previous Firefox app, and the mere act of scrolling through websites feels smoother.”
Although Firefox claims to operate up to two times as fast as Chrome, the hands-on review suggests that the two services on average operate at similar speeds on most sites.
ETCentric previously reported that a new GPS-based Facebook feature called “Find Friends Nearby” was coming out of development and would be available on smartphones running iOS and Android.
Also called “Friendshake,” the app was quietly made available on Monday. We have an update to this story.
Just hours after launching the new app, Facebook took it down, telling Wired magazine: “This wasn’t a formal release — this was just something that a few engineers were testing. With all tests, some get released as full products, others don’t.”
The app quickly received the nickname the “Stalker App,” because as The Hollywood Reporter notes, “When an app uses GPS to tell strangers that you’re nearby, it’s going to raise privacy concerns, the same ones that surfaced about other geographically social apps like Glancee, which was acquired by Facebook two months ago.”
Facebook is emphasizing that this app release was only a test, not a product launch.
Zynga is attempting to provide its 290 million players a better chance at syncing up with others to play games on various devices and platforms.
At the company’s second annual Zynga Unleashed event in San Francisco, it unveiled “a unified platform to bring players together across portals such as the Web, Android and iOS, Facebook and Google+,” reports AllThingsD.
The idea was created around the Zynga message center, which contains “a player’s friends list, an activity feed of friends’ gaming statuses, and a list of gaming suggestions based on what games you and your friends are already playing,” explains the article.
The more social the games can become, the better it is for engagement, which is precisely what Zynga and developers want.
“Players can also connect using the newly launched real-time multiplayer feature which, just like it sounds, allows multiple players across separate devices to play with — or against — one another simultaneously,” according to AllThingsD.
The platform is set to start rolling out in the “near future” on Zynga’s website, Facebook and mobile devices.
Apple has released a standalone app for podcasts ahead of its scheduled release of iOS 6.
The free app is called “Podcasts” and works on iOS devices running 5.1 or later, including both iPads and iPhones. It will sync with iTunes on a Mac or Windows PC, so long as they’re updated to iTunes 10.6.3.
“It expectedly offers a variety of ways to browse and discover podcasts among the thousands available (including a new Top Stations feature that groups select podcasts by category), as well as the ability to either stream episodes or download them for offline use,” details Engadget.
“The Podcasts application for iOS also includes the ability to share shows or specific episodes with other users via e-mail, Twitter or text message,” notes Apple Insider in a more detailed hands-on review. “Presumably with the launch of iOS 6 this fall, Facebook integration will also become part of the Podcasts application.”
Verizon and T-Mobile have agreed to an Advanced Wireless Services spectrum swap that would add LTE capabilities to T-Mobile’s network, reports CNET. The deal must first secure approval from the FCC, and then would allow T-Mobile to begin building its LTE support.
“For iPhone users, this deal is particularly interesting, especially if you’ve already been using Apple’s smartphone on T-Mobile’s existing HSPA+ network,” notes the post. “T-Mobile already offers tremendous support for the iPhone on its network even though it is not officially part of Apple’s sales partnership.”
Current iPhone models do not support LTE connectivity, although the long rumored iPhone 5 would presumably include this technology. T-Mobile is clearly preparing for this release.
“By adding 4G speeds, T-Mobile would have to be high on Apple’s partner list (and high on the lists of iPad owners looking for cheaper data plans), though no official deals have been announced” explains CNET.
The trailer for “Breaking Dawn – Part 2” — the final installment of the “Twilight” series — has broken the Yahoo! Movies record for unique streams with over 7 million views in 24 hours.
“Yahoo! Movies attracts over 27 million unique users a month, so 7 million streams is a sizable achievement for a single day,” explains a Yahoo! spokesman.
“Twilight” studio Summit released its trailer on Wednesday in an exclusive window partnership with Yahoo! Movies for 24 hours. The previous record-holder was “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1.” Even though the trailer is no longer an exclusive, its viewing numbers are holding strong.
In October 2011 users downloaded “The Avengers” trailer on iTunes 10 million times in one day. In December 2011 the trailer for “The Dark Knight Rises” received 12.5 million downloads in a single day.
“It’s possible that the discrepancy may be the size of the different platforms — ‘Breaking Dawn – Part 2’ was, after all, a record breaker for Yahoo! — or simply a commentary on the ways in which different audiences interact with material offered to them, but it’s also a strong possibility that, in this year’s conflict between superheroes and vampire romance, it’s the guys in the skintight suits who’ll emerge victorious,” comments Digital Trends.
“Apple is making potentially significant changes to the search algorithm in the App Store, at least according to some app developers,” reports TechCrunch.
“If you’re a developer or publisher counting on a well-chosen name to help with visibility, things could get tougher from here on out. But if you’re a popular and well-reviewed app, things might be looking up,” notes the post.
Apple acquired app discovery start-up Chomp in February, but developers are just beginning to see the results of its topic detection.
Developers report changes in Apple’s search algorithm which seems to now focus more on downloads, ratings, and themes rather than simple keywords.
“Chomp’s proprietary algorithm learns the functions and topics of apps, so you can search based on what apps do, not just what they’re called,” explains Chomp.
TechCrunch uses the BestParking app as an example, noting that this app is now displayed as the top result for searches such as “chicago parking” and “sf parking.” The post notes that this change benefits generalized apps that serve multiple geographies and possibly hurts app developers who focus on local markets.
Start-up CloudMine originally envisioned developing a sophisticated data sync and storage app solution.
Over time, its efforts transitioned to the development and launch of a new back-end platform designed to streamline the app development process for others.
“CloudMine wants to take the back-end focus away from engineers so they can focus on the part users actually interact with,” reports Digital Trends. “To be specific, tasks like data storage, user account management, password encryption, any sort of permissioning, dealing with public and private data, and scaling.”
During its beta period, the service charged for pay-as-you-go API usage until CloudMine learned that approach made its clients nervous. Now clients have the option of paying 5-cents per active user or working with CloudMine to create a custom pricing plan.
“CloudMind is a product of Startup Weekend (which it’s now a global sponsor of), and though it’s in its infancy, it’s already home to about 1,500 clients who have made about 1,500 apps with its service,” explains the post. “They range in shape, size, and form — from college kids building weekend projects to creative agencies working as third party builders-for-hire to Fortune 500 companies.”
Needham & Co. released a report on Friday — “The Future of TV: the Invisible Hand” — that helps explain how the television industry has so far weathered the digital storm that has affected other media segments.
“TV offers one of the best price/value ratios of any consumer product,” note media analysts Laura Martin and Dan Medina in the report.
For the average U.S. monthly cable bill of $75 a month for 135 TV channels, “consumers pay about 30 cents for every hour of TV they watch. Compared with other forms of leisure time, this looks inexpensive.”
“Today, the Internet content creators cannot create perfect substitutes for TV content, owing to the enormous content costs,” write Martin and Medina. “For example, broadcast networks — ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC — typically spend $2 billion to $3 billion each year, equating to about $2 million to $5 million per hour of prime-time programming.”
“The primary reason that TV networks can commit to these enormous production budgets is because the business model of the ecosystem raises money before anyone knows which channels and shows will be hits,” adds the report.
More than three-quarters of network revenues is derived from the upfront advertising market. “Advertisers this month agreed to shell out $9 billion for prime-time commercials on the major television networks,” reports the Los Angeles Times.
Search giant Google doubled its global ad and promotion spending to $1.5 billion last year. “Factor in 2011 ad spending for just-acquired Motorola Mobility Holdings, and Google is now a $2.1 billion global advertiser,” reports Advertising Age.
Google receives most of its revenue through advertising, with 96 percent of its $38 billion revenue in 2011 coming from advertising.
Ad Age notes that Google is also a big ad buyer: “Google’s stated worldwide advertising and promotion spending doubled in 2010 and doubled again in 2011. Ad and promo spending as a percentage of revenue reached 4.1 percent in 2011, up from 2.6 percent in 2010 and 1.5 percent in 2009.”
“Estimated U.S. ad spending for Google and Motorola topped $1 billion in 2011, placing the combined company No. 34 on Ad Age‘s ranking of the 100 Leading National Advertisers,” adds the article. “This marks Google’s debut on the list.”
According to Google: “We expect that sales and marketing expenses will increase in dollar amount and may increase as a percentage of revenues in 2012 and future periods as we expand our business globally, increase advertising and promotional expenditures in connection with new and existing products, and increase the level of service we provide to our advertisers … and other partners.”
Reviews for Google TV have been less than complimentary. Hands-on reviews from CNET and Gizmodo have commented on its “kludgy integration,” and “overly complex and buggy software.”
“What makes sense works poorly, and what works well shouldn’t be available at all, pulling together all the worst possible parts of using Android together and putting them on the biggest screen you own,” suggests Gizmodo.
Forbes questions the wisdom of the two-sided remote and notes there may not be enough third party content deals yet to make Google TV attractive.
Nevertheless, Google is rolling out Google TV in the UK next month. And later this year, it will be available in Canada, Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Mexico and the Netherlands on two new Sony set-top boxes.
Rather than provide an overly complex system for users who want to watch everything, everywhere, anytime; most users would settle for a curated a la carte selection that matches their interests and use patterns.
The question is whether Google can attract sufficient developer support to create the apps that provide that kind of experience. We’ll see if there are any significant Google TV announcements at the I/O Conference on Wednesday. If not, there will be more interest in an Apple TV.
Facebook announced it will replace its Facebook Credits system with a payment system that allows global users to pay in their local currency.
The move signals the beginning of a payment rivalry between Facebook, PayPal, Google Wallet, and iTunes, reports VentureBeat.
Facebook explained the move, saying that it makes “it easier to reach a global audience of Facebook users who want a way to pay for your apps and games in their local currency” because “you will be able to set more granular and consistent prices for non-U.S. users and price the same item differently on a market-by-market basis.”
VentureBeat contributor Rocky Agrawal noted that “Facebook is PayPal on steroids, with the strength of a billion members.”
Perhaps this move, and not advertising, is the most effective way for Facebook to monetize its massive user base.
Over the past week, Facebook introduced a new Timeline feature that creates an @facebook email address while it also hides your existing email address.
The new settings options make it unclear which address is being shared with the outside world. This change was made by default meaning millions of users may likely be using their new addresses.
This is part of a major effort by Facebook to replace existing communication systems and increase the “stickiness” and use of Facebook.
So how does Facebook describe the change? “As we announced back in April, we’ve been updating addresses on Facebook to make them consistent across our site,” explains the press release. “In addition to everyone receiving an address, we’re also rolling out a new setting that gives people the choice to decide which addresses they want to show on their Timelines.”
“Ever since the launch of Timeline, people have had the ability to control what posts they want to show or hide on their own Timelines, and today we’re extending that to other information they post, starting with the Facebook address,” adds the release.
One can only imagine how Facebook will use your email contacts (and perhaps even the messages too)!
Following weeks of speculation, Microsoft has announced it will purchase enterprise social networking start-up Yammer for $1.2 billion.
The deal marks Microsoft’s largest acquisition since the $8.5 billion Skype deal.
“The acquisition of Yammer underscores our commitment to deliver technology that businesses need and people love,” said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. “Yammer adds a best-in-class enterprise social networking service to Microsoft’s growing portfolio of complementary cloud services.”
“Yammer operates like a gated Facebook: A business can set up a private network where employees can post announcements, share files, create events, swap messages and more,” reports CNNMoney. “It also offers more traditional corporate features like a content management system and an ‘extranet’ that businesses can use to communicate with outside contacts like customers and vendors.”
Microsoft is betting that corporate America is ready to integrate social networking tools with traditional office and enterprise tools.
“Yammer will become part of the Microsoft Office Division, run by Kurt DelBene, though the Yammer team will continue to report to [CEO David] Sacks,” reports AllThingsD in a related article. “The plan calls for Yammer to stick to its current track of developing its own service, while Microsoft pushes ahead to nudge further adoption alongside SharePoint, Office 365, Microsoft Dynamics and Skype.”
Travel site Orbitz has segmented its website into Mac and PC users based on the fact that Mac users will typically be willing to pay $20 to $30 more per night for a hotel room, reports the Wall Street Journal.
