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Monday’s Tech Tidbits-AT&T loves Wi-Fi!

October 24, 2011 by

Looking for a Wi-Fi hotspot? Well according to AT&T the number has been growing by leaps and bounds as users made 301.9 million AT&T Wi-Fi connections in the third quarter. The biggest growth areas? Stadiums and hospitality facilities.

Motorola Mobility seeks to reestablish Razr with the new Droid Razr, an LTE Android smartphone expected to be released next month. Can the company regain its pre-iPhone glory?

I feel old this morning. Apple’s iPod turned 10 years old last Sunday.

Google delivered Ice Cream Sandwich last week replete with a host of features-the first product with the new OS is Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus. I wonder how developers like it compared to the rival iOS or earlier Android versions?

Looks like Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 7 Plus tablet is headed to the US. Expect it to cost around $400 for the 16GB version and be available Nov 13th from Best Buy and Amazon, according to Gizmodo.

Apple’s iPad market share has peaked. Apple’s iPad market share is growing. Who do you believe? Speaking of bad iPad news stories are emerging that you can partially hack an iPad2 with a simple magnet.

Microsoft says that it will target the mid-market smartphone segment with future releases of its Windows-based phones. Rumor is that a platform code-named “Tango” is in the works, following up on its current “Mango” release.

Continued bad news for BlackBerry– a study by Enterprise Management Associates shows that 30% of RIM users in enterprises with 10,000 employees or more plans to switch to a different platform.

Filed Under: 4G LTE, Android, Apps, AT&T, BlackBerry, iPad, iPhone, Samsung, Tablets, Wi-Fi Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Friday Grab Bag: Mostly Football Issue

October 21, 2011 by

Get your vote in for Straight Outta Stockton
The good folks at Awful Announcing have added a new bad announcer category. For regulars on the site they are already familiar with the “Pammies” named after Pam Ward and given to the worst college football announcer have been joined by a weekly award for the NFL broadcasting corp. The new award is called “Straight Outta Stockton” in honor of Dick Stockton. The winning comment in its first week was “The Lions undefeated season is over… for now” – Scott Hanson (via Real_DWM).


NFL Games DVDs now widely available from NFL Films
Have some gaps in your home library of great games by your favorite NFL team? Well the league has taken steps to fix that by offering the entire NFL Films DVD catalog for the first time. Approximately 115 titles can now be purchased from iTunes, Best Buy Cinema and Vudu as part of a distribution deal between the NFL Films and Vivendi Entertainment. The videos will range from Super Bowls, team histories and a range of classic games. The deal helps NFL Films aggressively push into the home entertainment market for the first time. In the past limited films were available.

Android app market continues to see strong growth
The number of apps available for the Android platform continues to grow, and has reached the half a million market in September, compared to Apple’s iOS 600,000, according to market research firm Research2Guidence and forwarded by readwriteweb. This shows that the huge lead that Apple once enjoyed is getting narrower by the month as a solid influx of apps for the Android continue to hit the market. The one downside for the Android space, according to the report shows that 37% of apps are removed from Androids while 24% for the iOS.



Fox wins TV rights to 2018 and 2022 World Cup
Fox Sports has won the TV rights to the 2018 World Cup to be held in Russia and the 2022 World Cup that is scheduled to be held in Qatar. This gives the sports network all FIFA events from 2015 to 2022. Telemundo won the Spanish language broadcasting rights in the United States. The amount has not yet been announced but the company outbid ESPN and Univision which had the rights to the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, and had gained those broadcasting rights with a $425 million bid. Not sure how well Fox Sports will do here, but ESPN had seemed to be putting an effort in its soccer coverage in the last few years and I now expect it to disappear from the network. My one hope is that Joe Buck does not feature on Fox’s broadcasting team.

Filed Under: Android, Apps, ESPN, FoxSoccer, iPad, iPhone, NFL, Soccer Tagged With: , , , ,

Sling Media provides enhanced remote viewing for fans

October 19, 2011 by

Sling Media delivers SlingPlayer for Tablets
Paying a bundle to get a sports bundle on your home entertainment unit and not willing to double dip to get it on a mobile device as well? Then maybe Sling Media may have the solution for you in its SlingPlayer platform.

SlingMedia has taken the next step in delivering streaming media to mobile users with the latest release of its $29.99 SlingPlayer platform. The SlingPlayer for tablets is designed to support tablets that run the Android operating system 3.0 or later and enable a user to basically watch home TV while on the go and is an enhancement on its previous offering for Android-based phones.

This is great news for sports fans that are seeking a method to gain access to the packages that they may already be paying for at home while on the road, and is a major step up for Sling Media’s offerings in this space.

There is more to the deal than simply paying $29.99 for the app and suddenly getting all of your home sports and other programming on your Android-based tablet. You must first pony up for a Slingbox device, which start at $180 and go up from there.

The program gives users control as if they were at home, with features that include being able to set a DVR at home, channel surf and browse content while still watching TV anywhere a user has an Internet connection.

The existing SlingPlayer application for Android Phones will continue to work on tablets in “Compatibility Mode” on tablets at no extra charge but it provides video at a much lower resolution than the tablet specific platform.

There is also available a SlingPlayer Mobile offering for Apple’s iPhone and iPads that also provide remote control over home TV and DVR and is available for $29.99

Filed Under: Android, Apps, iPad, iPhone, Live sports via mobile, Sling Media, Tablets Tagged With: , , , ,

Nielsen Says Men Multitasking with Smartphones, Tablets In Record Numbers to Check Sports

October 18, 2011 by

While most experts point to immersive television as the future of the sports viewing, consumers are edging toward the experience slowly. Right now, consumers are mostly multitasking on smartphones and tablets when they sit in front of the television, according to  a recent report from The Nielsen Company.

Nielsen found that 40 percent of tablet and smartphone owners in the United States watch television and use smartphones or tablet devices at the same time on a daily basis.

Checking sports scores ranked higher than checking television listings, couponing or looking up product information with 30 percent of all respondents, 44 percent of males and 17 percent of females saying that’s what they did with their smart phones and tablets when watching television.

Email was the top activity that people engaged in with 60 percent of respondents saying that’s what they did when they used their smartphones or tablets in front of the television.

Sports programmers take note, ZDNet says

According to a ZDNet report, the Nielsen data has a good takeaway for television programmers. ZDNet said the Nielsen data indicates that smartphones and tablets are not much of a threat to television, but it would be a good idea for programmers to continue to experiment with ways to reach the smartphone and tablet audiences, and use the medium to their advantage.

Consumer predicts cable company trouble

A comment by Tmc8tmc on The Nielsen Company’s website predicted a seismic shift:

You’ll find more consumers actually watching tv on the devices themselves through streaming (wifi, not the price gouged so-called unlimited data plans). Cable companies are in trouble.. Their business model will erode starting in 2012 to serious subscription loss by 2015.

Account for mobile, marketing services company says

One spin on the Nielsen data came from integrated content marketing services company Brafton, Inc., which said marketers of all kinds need to pay attention to tablets and smartphones replacing laptops as a primary computing device. It said location-based marketing, which falls squarely in the sweet spot of sports social media, will rise as people rely more heavily on smartphones and tablets for access to the digital domain.

Here is what  Brafton, Inc. said:

The survey results demonstrate that web marketers must ensure their plans account for the growing use of mobile devices. Search marketing campaigns typically include aggressive keyword strategies, and are also tailored to the search algorithms. However, mobile operating systems come with specialized search applications that field searches differently, factoring location into results. SEO strategies must adjust, especially in consumer-facing businesses, to include geographical elements that may drive mobile search traffic

For marketers, keyword strategies must adjust to tailor to on-the-go consumers. While the desktop PC is still the primary access point for the Internet, Brafton reported last month that experts expect this to change by 2015, when the mobile web is primed to reign supreme.

More Nielsen numbers

eReader owners were far less prone to double teaming data and entertainment than smartphone and tablet owners. Just 14 percent reported using their eReader while watching television.

Few consumers are totally abstinent from multitasking. Only 12 percent of tablet owners and 13 percent of smartphone owners say they have never used those devices while watching TV.

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: iPad, iPhone, Nielsen Ratings, Sports Social Media Data Tagged With: , , ,

yap.tv to bring immersive television experience to USA Network

October 17, 2011 by

In a deal that could bump up the social media for US Open Tennis and WWE Raw, start-up yap.tv will deliver a branded social TV guide application for NBCUniversal’s USA Network.  

Initially, the deal will focus on such USA Network television shows as “Burn Notice,” “White Collar,” “Suits” and other original programming, but US Open Tennis and WWE Raw are among USA Network’s sports offerings, and could be part of the mix.

yap.tv will deliver to USA Network a branded app for Apple iOS devices that allows people with iPhones, iTouch devices or iPads to interact with a visual TV guide, including seamless integration with Twitter and Facebook. The application could create for USA Network a significant captured audience, who would create buzz for programming and enhance audience, according to a report in The Hollywood Reporter.  The deal follows a report by Nielsen that confirmed a 10 percent lift in social media activity lead to an increase in ratings of roughly 1 percent increase.

By landing USA Network, yap.tv establishes itself as a major player in the market for social TV guide apps for mobile devices. The deal with USA is one of the first times a major television network has tapped an independent company to develop a custom-branded social media application, as most networks prefer to rely on in-house development — a tactic that usually leads to less-than-leading-edge functionality. 

Social media television guides hold huge potential for sports marketers. Simply, if a user base considers any one application the go-to resource for the viewing experience, it unlocks the potential for advertisers and sponsors to present that captured audience with advertising and direct marketing tailored to their current activities and location.

yap.TV is less than two years old, has venture capital backing from Javelin Venture Partners and Bloomberg Capital, and is advised by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.  It competes with such companies as AdaptiveBlue, Inc., which developed GetGlue.

Filed Under: iPad, iPhone, Sports Social Media Tagged With: , , , , ,

Monday’s Tech Tidbits: Apple iPhone Edition

October 17, 2011 by

Samsung and Apple still claiming patent violations
Samsung has quickly struck at Apple’s new iPhone 4S, a product that sold 4 million units since last Friday, by asking for an embargo in Australia and Japan on the product, claiming patent violations. Apple and Samsung are both claiming that the other is violating its patents.

Apple to unlock iPhone?
In other iPhone news the report is that Apple will be offering an unlocked version of the phone in the next few weeks. The good news is you can add SIM cards in countries to avoid the ridiculous roaming charges, the bad news is that it will be expensive, and only GSM compatible.

Google kills unpopular products
Google continues to clean house-product wise. The company plans to focus on its successes such as Android and Google +. The latest two to be cut are the lamentable Google Buzz, its poorly thought out social networking program and Jaiku.

Google seeks to defrag Android development
Look for Google and Samsung to deliver Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) this week, after delaying its debut due to the passing of Steve Jobs. ICS is an effort to unify the Android ecosystem after it has been under increasing criticism for increased fragmentation and slow updates. Be interesting to see how well it works.

Samsung will also expand its Smartphone lineup
Following the ICS news Samsung also has a new Android-based smartphone that it plans to drop onto the market this week as well. The company is maintaining a very hard driving stance in the market both in regards to new products and aggressively taking on Apple.

Is the market waiting for a Microsoft OS for tablets?
That is what the Boston Consulting Group is claiming in a recent report. A survey found that a majority of consumers would prefer Microsoft’s Windows over Google’s Android or Apple’s iOS. Really?

Android app downloads to be tops by Summer
Xyologic, a startup that tracks and indexes the App Store claims that the monthly Apple iOS app downloads will be surpassed by the monthly Android app downloads by June 2012. Aren’t there already more Android-based devices out there?

Filed Under: Android, Apps, Boston Consulting Group, Google, iPhone, Samsung, Tablets Tagged With: , , , ,
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