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Friday Grab Bag: Kindle and iPad Drove Q4 Tablet Sales

March 16, 2012 by 5 Comments

Global tablet sales surged in the 4th quarter of last year, driven by the demand for Amazon’s Kindle and Apple’s iPad tablets. An IDC study as reported by Cnet shows that overall tablet shipments grew by 56% on a sequential basis in the fourth quarter of 2011, to 28.2 million units, and a 155% increase from the same period in 2010.

The top players in this sector were led by Apple with a 55% market share with 15.4 million tablets. Second was Amazon’s Kindle Fire at 4.7 million in the quarter, good for a 16.8% market share. Samsung trailed with a 5.8% share and then Barnes & Noble with a 3.5% share.

IDC has upgraded its estimation for worldwide tablet sales in 2012 to 106.1 million, up from its previous estimation of 87.7 million. I wonder what percentage of those sales would have gone to PCs a few years ago?


Did the NFL collude against the players?
The NFL’s very odd decision to fine the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys a combined $46 million in cap space could turn out to be a major mistake, if the league actually goes through with its decision, multiple outlets are reporting.

Dallas and Washington’s crime was apparently spending more money during the uncapped year than the other owners wanted, giving them an ‘unfair advantage’ by actually investing in their teams rather than simply pocketing the money.

It looks like the owners of the two teams are now considering suing the league, a move that looks like it might then result in an additional lawsuit from the players union as it would show collusion and violation of antitrust. While the league has limited antitrust immunity, it does not cover this kind of action. Baseball did the same thing some time back and was expensively slapped by the courts. I suspect the NFL may quietly backtrack on this issue.

Apple and Motorola talked cross licensing–last year?
A series of talks between Motorola Mobility and Apple last year regarding a proposed deal to cross license their patent portfolios, or portions of them, has come to light as part of the EU’s discovery process on the Google/Motorola merger.

It looks like Motorola was demanding that it gain access to Apple’s entire patent portfolio in order for Apple to get access to Motorola’s standards-essential patents (SEPs). It was noted in The Register that usually SEPs are cross licensed for other SEPs, not the entire portfolio.

They did discuss the ‘scope of a possible settlement’ after Google announced its purchase of Motorola for $12.5 billion. According to Foss Patents, Motorola wanted to broaden the scope of the deal to include all Android licensees while Apple wanted it between the two companies.

Yahoo sues Facebook over patents
Yahoo has dropped the other shoe in its face-off with Facebook and has filed a lawsuit contending that the social media giant has violated Yahoo patents that cover a range of features including news feed generation, social commenting and advertising.

The issue initially emerged a few weeks ago and many thought that the effort by Yahoo was just part of a positioning move by the company to show that it has a valuable patent portfolio as it seeks a buyer. The timing of the move is interesting because it coincides with Facebook’s IPO.

Now it looks like it may get the chance to prove that contention via court filings and possibly rulings on its patents. Yahoo is seeking unspecified damages, and has requests that any such amount be tripled due to Facebook’s willful actions.

Sony’s Xperia smartphone features ‘floating touch’ technology
Sony, using something that sounds like it came from a Geisha house has incorporating ‘floating touch’ navigation that allows a user to browse the web without touching the screen, simply by hovering a finger above the screen and moving it to move the cursor.

The phone also features a 1GHz dual core processor, Android 2.3, upgradeable to 4.0 later this year, and a 3.7-inch Reality Display.

Nokia working on Windows 8 tablet
Nokia, one of Microsoft’s strongest supporters in the Windows smartphone market has said that it will be joining Microsoft in the tablet space in the near future. Reuters reported that the company’s design chief is spending a third of his time developing the tablet and that the company is seeking to take a different approach from rivals in creating a product that will challenge market leader Apple and its iPad.

Intel invests in eye-tracking company
Intel Capital has invested $21 million in a third funding round for Swedish company Tobii, that has been working on eye-tracking technology that can be incorporated with laptops, tablets and other hardware. Tobii said that the investment will give Intel a 10% stake in the company.

Tobi has previously raised $14 million in 2007 and an additional $26.8 million in 2009. It said that the investment will help the 12 year old company maintain a steady research and development schedule. Tobii recently unveiled its latest eye-tracking device last week at CeBIT, the Tobii IS-2 Eye Tracker.

It is interesting that Intel is investing in this type of technology. Over a decade ago I saw a demonstration of eye tracking technology at an Intel Labs demonstration and have wondered why it has never seen the light of day. I guess it was red lighted and so the company is now looking to outside sources.

Going to London for the Olympics? Free Wi-Fi!
Well at least it will be free in the Tube, or subway system. The service will run from July 27 to August 12 and will be provided by Virgin Media. After the Olympics end the service will be available to Virgin subscribers.

USC football players live for Twitter
Interesting read at CBS Sports about Twitter and specifically on how a pair of USC athletes use it. Shows how prevalent that technology is becoming.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Athlete to Follow, Barnes & Noble, CBS Sports, Intel Capital, iPad, Microsoft, NFL, Olympics, Samsung, Tablets, Twitter Tagged With: , , , ,

Where to Watch the NCAA Tourney, TV or Online

March 15, 2012 by 1 Comment

Here’s the Mobile Sports Report quick guide to watching the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament, either on TV or online.

TV: The games will be broadcast on either CBS, or on one of the Turner cable channels — TNT, TBS, and something called TruTV (channel 65 here on Comcast in the Bay area). You need to check a schedule to see which game is on which network. We refer you to this excellent Deadspin post which has all Thursday and Friday games listed.

Online: Here is where it gets confusing. You can watch all CBS broadcast games for free at CBSSports.com, and Turner broadcasts for free at the Turner websites, as long as you are a cable subscriber. When you click “watch now” you should get a screen like the one to the left asking you to select your cable provider to log in with your cable subscription credentials. Good to check these before leaving for work.

Note: The free online games are ONLY the games being broadcast at the time. If you want to watch something else, you need to get the March Madness app for $3.99.

If you want to watch on a phone or tablet you need to pay $3.99 for the March Madness app, which you only need to pay once and then can watch on multiple devices with the login you create.

COMCAST CUSTOMERS: Here’s a handy schedule of all the games available for streaming. HT to Todd Spangler at Multichannel News for the link.

Filed Under: CBS Sports, NCAA Hoops, TNT, truTV, Turner Sports Tagged With: ,

CBS and Lowe’s Team for March Madness Cube Contest

March 9, 2012 by 1 Comment

Do you have one of those so-called Super Fans in your office? You know the type- they always come in with a hangdog expression when their team loses a game. Some are one sports fans but most almost always include support for the NCAA March Madness Tournament.

Now all of their years adding team pennants, photos of their favorite coaches and pinning up headlines from newspapers talking about epic wins can pay off due to an event from CBSSports.com and Lowe’s.

They have launched an event called March Madness Cube Mania for the 2012 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship that rewards a few select fans with the most rabid cubicle. The event runs from now until March 25th and calls for fans to decorate their cubes with their favorite teams’ colors and logos.

Once the decorations are finished all a fan has to do is take a tasteful photo of the cube and post it at the CBS Sports page on Facebook (Facebook/CBSSports).

In addition fans are encourage to share the images over social media such as Facebook and Twitter and to try and get their friends to vote. It would be good to ensure your friends are rooting for your teams first — or at least open to bribes.

The images will be sorted in a variety of manners including by most popular, teams represented and participating companies. After the closing day for submitting photos, March 25th, the polls open and will remain open from March 26 to March 30, 2012.

Three winners will be selected by a combination of public votes, and judging by the Social Media department at CBSSports.com based on originality and creativity. Grand prize winner’s photo will be announced on March 31, 2012 during The Final Four Show on CBS and receive a $300 gift card to Lowe’s. Two secondary winners will receive $150 Lowe’s gift cards.

In addition the grand prize winning photo will be announced on CBS during The Final Four Show prior to the Men’s Final Four semifinal games on March 31, 2012 so your efforts will receive a brief national note. So as they used to say in Chicago ‘Vote early and vote often!’

Filed Under: CBS Sports, Facebook, NCAA Hoops Tagged With: , ,

March Madness coming to a Tablet or Smartphone near you

March 7, 2012 by 4 Comments

Selection Sunday is just a few days away and the day after is National Bracket Day (sadly not a day off where I work), two important days as fans prepare for the annual March Madness; the NCAA Basketball Tournaments are upon us!

There are of course a wide range of viewing options available for a fan, starting with calling in sick and staying home, but for many that will not be a viable option, but what is an option is to buy into March Madness Live- formerly March Madness on Demand and watch the game anywhere, on tablet, phones or computers.

The goal of this program, launched by the NCAA, Turner Sports and CBS Sports is to make available for viewing every minute of all the games in the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship Tournament.

Viewing options will range from smartphones, both Apple iOS and Android powered, as well as iPod Touch and iPads as well as broadcast the games on-line so that viewers in an office can catch the action.

While a quick glance online the day of games will tell a fan that is staying home what is on and where, the online and mobile world is a little different, and has a price tag attached as well.

The Turner Sports Interactive produced NCAA March Madness Live is a suite of live products that are designed for those without the luxury of watching from home or the local watering hole. Starting today, Wed. March 7, it will make available to subscribers access across multiple screens and devices including online, iPad, iPhone and iPod touch app and, for the first time, on Android phones, all for $3.99.

Even if you have the ability to watch at home you can subscribe and stream a version, an alternate games, over Wi-Fi. Live video is not all a user will gain. The app also features video highlights from games, game alerts and a radio option from Westwood One/Dial Global Radio Network, for all 67 games.

The app will feature live streaming video of every broadcast for the 2012 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship as they are televised by TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV, starting with the NCAA Basketball Selection Show on Sunday, March 11, and continuing through the Men’s Final Four and National Championship Game from New Orleans on March 31 and April 2.

For years I have seen articles written around this time of year cited some massive number as the amount of productivity that American businesses lose due to the NCAA Tournament. Most of them I just discount because people simply shift their goof off/idle time at work from one area to another rather than cease work. This year it could be different!

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, CBS Sports, iPad, iPhone, Live sports via mobile, NCAA Hoops, Smartphone, Tablets, truTV, Turner Sports, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Video Streaming Tagged With:

ESPN Answers CBS With API Push to Developers

March 5, 2012 by 1 Comment

Could mobile applications be the next big “network” for sports content? Nobody knows yet, but Monday’s news about ESPN opening up its programming application interfaces to independent developers is another sign that the current content kings want to make sure they’ve got their hooks into any possible innovation that might dethrone them.

In non-geek terms, what ESPN announced today was a way for developers of applications to add features like ESPN headlines and stats to whatever new app they develop. Early partner Foursquare is a good example, with an app that gives fans access to ESPN headlines when they “check in” at a stadium using Foursquare. On one level, ESPN’s well-thought move seems to be a bit of a response to a decision made earlier this year by CBS Sports to similarly open up its fantasy-league content to developers, who might combine whatever innovation they can dream up with the network’s extensive sports information.

Though these initiatives are all in very early days, on one level it seems to make a lot of sense for a developer, especially a small firm, to take advantage of whatever free goodies it can reap from the worldwide leader or from CBS. From a quick look at ESPN’s developer FAQ it appears that developers wouldn’t have to start paying any royalty fees until they started selling a lot of apps or driving a lot of traffic. In that case, pretty much everybody is happy because they are simply sharing a bigger pie of revenue.

For ESPN and CBS, the moves are an easy way to keep potential competitors close to the vest, by offering them assistance with the parts of the business (sports newsgathering and compilation) that is often beyond the reach of most resource-constrained startups. So far, there hasn’t been a sports app to surface that was significantly different or disruptive to what the big players have been able to put out themselves. But by allowing developers to include their content APIs, ESPN and CBS seem to be taking no chances, allowing innovators to become part of the Borg if they so choose.

Filed Under: Apps, CBS Sports, ESPN Tagged With: , ,

United Way Seeks to Leverage NFL’s Social Media Strength

February 20, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The United Way, one of the largest charities in the United States is partnering with the NFL in an effort to leverage the football league’s huge social presence into heightened awareness of the charity and what it does.

The two entities are already long term partners, having worked together for almost four decades and it has been a common sight during NFL broadcasts to see one star or another stand up and talk about how he is working with the charity for the good of the community.

In addition players volunteer to work in the community one day a week performing a number of services including encouraging kids to stay in school, serving meals to the elderly, and helping to build homes for low-income families.

Now the United Way is seeking to take the relationship to another level, as the NFL’s success has helped it establish itself as a huge presence not just on the airwaves but also online and in a variety of social media outlets.
The charity is currently hiring people that it will call player promoters, and they will be assigned to promote specific NFL players, according to a piece in Mashable.

The NFL Player Promoter program will couple a promoter with a player in an effort to drive increased traffic to that player’s specific social media accounts. The players’ accounts will of course have a United Way message and so it will enable the charity to reach additional fans. According to Mashable the NFL has 4.6 million Facebook friends and 2 million Twitter followers.

Of course some players also have significant following in one or both of these places as well. Steelers’ Troy Polamalu has 2 million Facebook fans and 400,000 following him on Twitter, while Chad Ochocinco has a combined following of over 5 million, according to FanPagelist.com

However it should be noted that not all are United Way spokesmen. It is interesting to look at who are the most recommended accounts to follow on Twitter by CBS and to see how heavily followed some of the analyst and news sites are as well.

I believe that we will start seeing a fight in the future for additional partnerships, both charity ones such as the United Way as well as advertising ones in not only the NFL but in all major sports. Social media is an excellent way to reach fans, especially ones on the go, and it will be interesting to see how the leagues manage to monetize this trend.

Filed Under: Athlete to Follow, CBS Sports, Facebook, Mashable, NFL, NFL Network, Social Media, Twitter Tagged With: , , ,
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