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Friday Grab Bag: Kindle and iPad Drove Q4 Tablet Sales

March 16, 2012 by

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: , , , ,

Kwarter Seeks to Meld Social Apps and Sports with FanCake

March 14, 2012 by

Kwarter, a San Francisco-based startup that is focused on developing mobile apps that will serve as a melting pot that blends social media, sports viewing and fan interaction has delivered its first product, FanCake, just in time for March Madness.

FanCake boils down the essence of what many fans do today using multiple applications and technologies. FanCake combines it all into a single app. Instead of tweeting groups, texting individuals and logging into the Internet to follow individuals, make predictions and look up trivia, it is all here, and more.

The company touts the app as having the ability to turn a televised sporting event into a interactive event with connected fans around the country. Fans can focus on players or teams and compete by predicting the next play, among other activities. The app will support all of the games during the Men’s NCAA Hoops March Madness tournament and will have an in-app contest for participating fans with a variety of FanCake related awards available.

Create your own ‘Game Rooms’

There are several components to the FanCake app. Possibly first and foremost is the creation of game rooms. A game room is a chat room and one can be created for each FanCake event. This is where the fans interact with each other. They are all public venues and while in one, information on the live game as well as contests will be broadcast in all game rooms, keeping everyone up to date on what is going on.

It features a live, in-game leader board that has storable features enabling fans to find or focus on information that is relevant to them. Click on any player and it is a live button that reveals details about the individual.

The overall goal of FanCake is to not just to create online communities built along team, player or sporting events, but also around fan participation and the creation of fan communities that actively interact with each other. The app is fully integrated with Facebook and Twitter.

The free app is now available and is available at Apple’s iTunes store for iPod Touch, iPad and iPhone users.

Kwarter has managed to deliver the app in a relatively short time and with minimal outside investment, receiving $950,000 in seed money in October 2011 as its sole infusion. The company is led by co-founder and chief executive officer Carlos Diaz who has founded three previous startups and served as CEO at all of them, including Kwarter. The other two were Reflect Digital Agency that was acquired by Emakina group in 2007 and BlueKiwi Software in 2006. Sam Hickmann is co-founder and head of product at Kwarter and has worked at several other startups including peetch.com and twit, both as CEO.

Filed Under: Apps, NCAA Hoops, Social Media, Sports Betting, Twitter Tagged With: , ,

Tweet for Cash: Belmont Bruins Have an NCAA Twitter Contest

March 13, 2012 by

I am guessing you will want to be living in the Nashville area or be a Belmont alum to be interested — but the 14 seed Belmont Bruins are celebrating their return to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament with a Twitter contest that will give tickets and other schwag worth $300 to the fan who “produces the most creative (as well as clean and positive) Tweet while Belmont is alive in the NCAA tournament.”

Since the 27-7 Bruins drew traditional powerhouse Georgetown in a Friday opener, you might want to sharpen up those keyboard skills and get tweetin’ since Belmont may be a one-and-done. Rules? You gotta follow the Belmont Twitter account, @BelmontMBB, and include the hashtag #itsbruintime to enter. More rules and prize information available here. I am pretty sure I have the Bruins going out quickly in my bracket, but maybe you know better?

Filed Under: NCAA Hoops, Twitter Tagged With: , ,

Fab Melo Blows Up Twitter; Should You Blow Up Your Bracket?

March 13, 2012 by

That smoke you are smelling is the aroma from ESPN’s website servers, cooking at full temperature as everyone changes their brackets to downgrade Syracuse after the Fab Melo news today.

Even before the tournament has started, it’s clear that Twitter will be the de facto “news wire” for updates of all kinds: scores, injuries, missed shots and inevitably, academic eligibility questions like Melo’s, which just adds to a very weird year in upstate New York.

The question is, how will Syracuse be affected by Melo’s absence? They got beat by Notre Dame during the season when Melo missed three games due to “an academic issue” but he only averages 7.8 points per game. But then he also averages 5.8 rebounds and possibly most important, 2.9 blocks per game. So can Syracuse survive without its signature big man? Will they become the first first seed to fall in a first-round game? Or will they complete the strangeness of the season and take the title?

Carmelo Anthony’s not walking through that door. And Fab Melo’s walking out of it. See ya, Syracuse.

March 13, 2012 12:10 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite
@jimrome

Jim Rome

Whatever happens… we know we’ll hear about it on Twitter first.

UPDATE from the New York Times which says Melo is probably out at Syracuse. Love the throwaway line at the end of the story: “The announcement is likely to force some late scrambling in office pools.” ya think?

Filed Under: NCAA Hoops, Twitter Tagged With: , ,

Can ‘Gridiron Grunts’ Grow? App That Lets Players Talk to Fans Getting Pictures, Videos for 2nd Season

March 6, 2012 by

After a self-proclaimed successful rookie year, the team behind the “Gridiron Grunts” app — which lets NFL players and fans talk to each other via recorded voice messages — is beefing up for its second season with plans to add picture- and video-sharing capabilities.

According to ex-NFL lineman Jeb Terry Jr., who is co-founder and CEO of Grunts parent company Gridion Ventures Inc., adding picutre and video sharing is just another way of adding value to an app that was “built just to talk about football.” If you’re not familiar with the Grunts app, a “Grunt” is a short (less than 45 seconds) audio message that can be recorded from a phone to the app.

The big attraction are “Grunts” left by NFL players, though fans who download the app can send Grunts to players, as well as “Grunt” to other fans. Fans pay 99 cents per month to listen to grunts of a specific player, or $4.99 a month to listen to all pro grunts. Fan-to-fan grunting is free, and the app is available for both iPhone and Android devices.

The “Grunt” label comes from the way football players talk on the field, a language Terry and his co-founder Ryan Nece used often as teammates on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. “We used to knock heads in practice and then go out and have steaks afterward,” said Nece, who was a linebacker for Tampa from 2002-07.

After leaving the NFL following the 2008 season Terry went back to school to get an MBA, and then hit his old training partner with an idea for bringing fan-player interaction to a wider audience.

“It’s all about giving the fans the ability to engage with a player at their convenience,” said Nece. Terry said the pick-up-a-phone-and-grunt also makes it easy for players to participate.

“It’s convenient and easy to do, and gives players another way to control their own brand,” Terry said. “And fans can listen to a grunt at their leisure. You can’t always listen to radio talk shows when they are on the air.” The Grunts app can also deliver alerts to a fan’s phone when there is a new grunt to listen to.

Nece added that Grunts is a way for players who aren’t Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers to get some air time.

“There are a lot of players like we were, with shares of the limelight that were pretty small,” Nece said. “You could be a big fan of a certain player but never hear from him on ESPN. Now everyone can develop their own personality.”

According to Terry the Grunts app kicked off the season with just 15 pros participating, but ended with almost 80 players at the end of the season. One grunter who Terry really liked was Green Bay Packers breakout star Randall Cobb, who scored on both a kickoff return and a punt return last year.

“After that first game when he scored on the kickoff return he was very engaging, with some great postgame grunts,” Terry said. “He was perfectly candid and very excited for the fans.”

The Grunts team said it attracted 20,000 paying customers during the first year, a “beta” season total that Terry is happy with. For this year, after adding photo and video sharing later this spring, the Grunts team is still considering where to expand next, with perhaps a Grunt website and other sports on the drawing board. But first and foremost, the Grunt app will remain simple and powerful, like a blitz: A place to talk and listen football.

“Twitter is fun but tweets might be from friends or associates [of an athlete], so you never know,” Terry said. “We built our app to talk about football, and not about shopping or going to the club. We just wanted to erase the clutter and bring fans content that’s strictly from the players.”

Filed Under: Apps, ESPN, iPhone, NFL, Social Media, Sports Social Media, Twitter Tagged With: , , ,

Twitter Shows Boost for @keselowski During Daytona 500 Fire-Tweet

March 1, 2012 by

How many Twitter followers did Brad Keselowski, aka @keselowski, gain during his on-track tweeting from the Daytona 500, when the track-drying truck fire caused a two-hour delay? The folks at Twitter put out a handy graphic to show the meteoric rise, when he added more than 100,000 new followers before the checkered flag was waved:

That’s what viral is all about. Anyone else doubting that Twitter spreads like wildfire? Or that it is the way sports personalities will “talk” to their fans going forward?

Filed Under: Daytona 500, Twitter Tagged With: ,
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