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Who Will Build a Kindle for Sports? Millions of Fans Await the Answer

January 12, 2012 by

One great comment I heard at CES in Las Vegas this week was that tablet computers are “the killer app for watching video.” To that I would add a caveat: Tablets could also become the complete killer app for watching sports in a mobile fashion, if and only if the leagues, cellular providers and broadcasters could come to some workable agreement on viewing rights. What could make all that happen quickly? Why not something like Amazon’s Kindle, but instead of books, have it devoted to sports?

The real revolution started by the Kindle isn’t the cool technology behind the device itself. Instead it’s the simple pricing and content procurement method which eliminates the need for consumers to care about the cellular connection and simply allows them to pay for the books they want to read. If only sports could be so simple.

In the real world, we know it’s far from easy to get sports content on your mobile device. Just trying to definitively describe how you could get Monday’s BCS Championship game to show live on a mobile device took a weekend’s worth of reporting and numerous email exchanges with the supremely helpful ESPN folks. It’s not all ESPN’s fault that its mobile offerings are so constricted, but the fees ESPN charges cable providers play a part in the snarl of rights and access barriers that make mobile sports viewing such a pain in the rear.

The hope here at MSR is that all parties concerned learn some lessons from the digital music business, where a simple store and powerful simple device — iTunes and iPod — led to an explosion in sales of music, videos, podcasts and now books too. The Kindle is an extension of the iPod/iTunes simplicity to the mobile ecosystem, eliminating the concerns about how much data you’re downloading and whether or not you are exceeding your monthly mobile limits. Why not build one tailored for sports, with the connectivity costs and rights fees built in? If half a million people went through the maze of tasks necessary to watch the BCS game online, what could the size of that audience be if folks could walk down to Best Buy, pick up a “KindleSports” and start watching immediately?

At another CES panel I heard representatives from the major motion picture houses talk about how mobile video is no longer a future thing, but a booming business already grabbing millions of viewers and the associated advertiser interest. It’s time for sports entities to get into the game in a similar big way, and a KindleSports would be a great way to start. I would be just one of the millions waiting in line to buy one.

Filed Under: Apple, Apps, AT&T, BCS, ESPN, ESPN3, iPad, iPhone, Kindle, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, NCAA Football, Tablets, WatchESPN Tagged With: , , , , ,

Intel Aggressively Pushes Smartphone, Tablet Vision at CES

January 11, 2012 by

CEO Paul Otellini brings out Lenovo, Motorola as first smartphone partners

Intel president and CEO Paul Otellini used his keynote speech at the International Consumer Electronics Show to roll out new partners, products and reference designs as the chip company ramps up an aggressive push into tablets, smartphones and ultrabooks.

Paul Otellini

While the company has been participating in all of these spaces, with varying degrees of success for years, this is one of the biggest concentrated pushes from the company and one that appears to be ready to bear some immediate fruit.

Smartphone partnerships
Two key players came on stage to show prototype smartphones that they said will be shipping later this year, possibly by the end of the summer, powered by the next generation Intel Atom processor Z2460 platform, formerly code-named “Medfield,” Atom processors.

The first on stage was Liu Jun, Lenovo senior vice president and president of Mobile Internet and Digital Home where he showed the pending Lenovo K800 smartphone, using the Atom processor. That will run the Android operating system. Expected to ship in the second quarter of this year the phone will run on China Unicom’s 21Mbs network and includes support for HSPA+ the Lenovo LeOS user interface for a localized experience in China.

The second is with Motorola Mobility and is a much more complex relationship. The two have amulti-year, multi-device strategic partnership that will also include tablets. Otellini said “Our long-term relationship with Motorola Mobility will help accelerate Intel architecture into new mobile market segments.”

Atom Processor Z2460

Motorola will be building Android devices using Intel’s Atom processors in both the smartphone and tablet space. The companies will collaborate across hardware, software and services, according to Sanjay Jha, chairman and CEO of Motorola Mobility.

Intel has made several products aimed at establishing itself as a provider of core technology in the cellular handset market over the last decade, with very poor results. However it has never had two major partners like Lenovo and Motorola not only on board but ready to ship products in the near future.

Strategic Reference Designs
Aside from the two key partners Intel has also delivered a pair of reference designs, one for tablets and one for smartphones, in order to help customers quickly build a phone that can also accept any innovation the partner may have internally.

The Intel Smartphone Reference Design features a 4.03-inch high-resolution LCD touch screen for crisp text and vibrant images, and two cameras delivering advanced imaging capabilities, including burst mode that allows individuals to capture 15 pictures in less than a second with 8-megapixel quality.

There is also a tablet reference design. A demonstration on stage had a Clover Trail processor running a tablet that had Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system and Intel said that Clover Trail-based systems would support the Metro user interface from Microsoft as well as be compatible with millions of Windows applications.

Reference designs have long been a staple in Intel’s arsenal, providing a quick easy way for OEMs to enter a new or emerging space using Intel technology. The company faces an uphill climb in this market due to the firm establishment of ARM-based devices in the market already.

It appears that Intel’s long push for energy efficiency, and renewed push on advanced graphics will help it in this space but the battle here will be an interesting one, and one that for the most part Intel has lost the previous encounters.

Ultrabooks Galore
Ukltrabooks, for those that do not know, is a new and emerging class of notebook computers that closely resemble the shape and form factor of tablets but bring much more to the market. While smartphones, and phones in general, is a space Intel has struggled to enter and tablets are still a relatively new market, ultrabooks are right in the company’s wheelhouse.

The concept was introduced just over half a year ago and the company said that there are already 75 models in the pipeline, with virtually all of its major notebook partners involved. Dell showed one that it will be shipping next month, the new XPS 13, a sub-3lb system, that is less than half an inch think at its thinnest point and is powered by Intel’s i7 processor.

However Intel said that future ultrabooks will be powered by its future 22nm 3-D processor codenamed Ivy Bridge, due later this year. If you are wondering what advantage Intel gets by pushing processors down to smaller sizes, one is that they are faster because the signals have shorter distances to travel.

Intel showed a pair of prototypes on stage, one that really caught my eye was the one that allowed a user to flip the display over and turn it in to a tablet system. While I am sure this will not be for everyone I believe that people that need a full keyboard sometimes and want tablet functionality the rest this will be a strong selling point.

I will be very interested to come back to CES next year and see how well Intel has succeeded in getting the tablet and phone OEMs to adopt its technology. We will probably get a good feel for its acceptance later this year at the company’s annual developer forum.

Filed Under: Android, Apps, Lenovo, Motorola, Smartphone, Tablets Tagged With: , , , ,

Rockchip Hopes to Spark Low-cost Tablet Market

January 10, 2012 by

Rockchip Electronics Co., a Chinese company that makes processors for a variety of markets is now focused on the tablet and smartphone market is hoping to create the same type of tablet buying frenzy that accompanied Hewlett-Packard’s TouchPad when its price was slashed and that Amazon is now garnering with its Kindle Fire, but industry wide.

It sees its technology the RK2918 chip that is based on ARM’s processor cores, as the solution to the development and adoption of low cost full featured tablets that are priced in the $100 range, significantly lower that Apple’s immensely popular iPads and the Amazon’s top of the line Kindles.

The company is displaying over 40 prototypes based on its technology at the CES show this week and will even have version that will be running Adobe’s Flash 11.0 technology, which is not standard in the emerging Android standard.

It said that it sees the advent of its low cost chips with the emerging Android 4.0 operating system, code named Ice Cream Sandwich, as the key issues in driving the new sales. (Free Ice Cream Sandwiches are available at the booth at CES)

The company believes that it can succeed in both the 7-inch and 10-inch tablet space and that products will range from $100 to $250. This all comes as some are calling Android tablets a failure. This seems like a bit of overkill but they certainly have not lived up to expectations, for the most part.

There were a few nice products that hung around but they did not light the world on fire as some had expected. This is really to be expected as many companies put their toe in the water with their first generation tablets and hopefully are using it as a learning experience.

Look at Amazon’s Kindle Fire, selling a million or more units a week during the holidays and Amazon’s best selling product for more than three months running. The Kindle Fire showed how accepted a tablet can be when it has the right features and the right price point.Price is important in this space, but more so is the entire environment, and many hope that Android 4.0 helps deliver a better experience for customers.

Rockchip faces a range of challenges. If the Kindle Fire breakdown shows that it cost over $200 to build, where will all of the savings come from? Also it is not alone in developing chips for the Android market that are based on ARM technology. Nvidia, Qualcomm and others have chips on the market or at least a license from ARM to build them. Intel is still touting its Atom technology for this space and is gearing up for a renewed push. Apple of course is going its own way on chips, using its own processors.

Also for experienced visitors to CES and to older, now defunct shows such as Comdex, there always seemed to be a huge number of low cost options for popular products ranging from MP3 players to PCs, and yet few of them managed to hang on. However Rockchip is already established as a technology provider in other market segments so it is not gambling all on this effort.

It would be great to see tablets become low cost items because this will help greatly expand the market for them as an alternative to notebooks as companies will be much more willing to invest in them if the upfront and replacement costs are not prohibitive.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, iPad, Kindle, Tablets Tagged With: , , ,

Mobile Sports Report TechWatch: Solar Powered Cover for Kindle

January 9, 2012 by

SolarFlare develops sun-powered e-reader cover
SolarFlare Technology Co. has unveiled the SolarKindle this week at CES, a lightweight cover that features a built-in solar panel right in the cover. Built with a dual charging reserve battery that can get power from either a USB connection or the solar panel the company claims that it can give a Kindle user 3 moths reading time in the sunlight or 50 hours of reading using the lamp feature.

The integrated leather cover requires only one hour in the sun to fully charge the reserve battery to provide the users with days of use. The device was impressive enough that at the show it was an International CES Innovations Design & Engineering Awards Honoree

Marvell teams with One Laptop per Child for new tablet
Marvell is unveiling its XO 3.0, a low cost, low powered laptop that is designed for classrooms around the globe. The developer of integrated semiconductors has teamed with One Laptop per Child, a non-profit organization whose mission is to help child worldwide gain access to a modern education, to help its mission.

The two announced that they will start shipping a laptop developed by Marvell, the X 1.75, in March and that 75,000 have been ordered for OLPC projects in Uruguay and Nicaragua. The XO 1.75 and the XO 3.0 tablet are both powered by Marvell’s ARM-based Armada PXA618 system on a chip processor.

Windows 8 Tablet on the Horizon for ASUS
According to a report in Netbook News ASUS jumped the gun on CES by revealing that it has a new tablet that will be powered by an ARM processor and run the Windows 8 operating system in the works. However do not hold your breath since it appears that the product is slated for late in 2012.

In the short term the company plans to deliver a 7-inch tablet possibly named the ASUS Memo and a 10-inch tablet at CES and in a few months will refresh its Transformer Prime lineup with a 3G version and enhance some of its features including a more robust GPS unit.

Sony cuts Tablet S price $100
Sony has cut the price of its Tablet S line by $100 and is now offering five free downloadable “Classic PlayStation” games in its PlayStation Store app for new Tablet S owner. The Tablet S features a 9.4-inch display with 1280 x 800 resolution, a 5 megapixel rear facing camera and a 0.3 MP front facing camera and 1GB of RAM.

The version with 16GB of storage is now $400 while the 32GB version has a $500 price tag. Buyers will also receive a free 180-day trial of Sony’s Music Unlimited service, as well as five free rentals from Sony’s Video Unlimited Services.

Nokia acquires phone OS developer Smarterphone AS
Nokia has apparently purchased Oslo, Norway based Smarterphone AS for an undisclosed sum in a move that looks like it is once again going to be delivering a phone with a proprietary technology. Smarterphone reportedly is developing an operating system that will provide smartphone functionality on lower end hardware, according to BGR.

The company currently offers a lineup of smartphones that feature Microsoft Windows Phone operating system and in the past have offered other OSes including Symbian and MeeGo. So far Nokia has not indicated what it plans to do with the company and its technology.

The move comes at a time when some analysts are predicting that Windows Phone will help revive Nokia’s market share. I have to assume that an analyst from Credit Suisse would have at least had an inkling that the Smarterphone purchase was occurring and so sees this as just a personnel grab by Nokia.

The Green Bay Packers are the latest to adopt tablets for training purposes
The Green Bay Packers have taken to using Apple’s iPads along with specialized software so that receivers can watch game film and look for game trends as well as potential mismatches. The team provides its players with a complete look at how opponents play each possession based on down and distance. I wonder how much of a help this was for a team that tied the NFL record of 51 passing touchdowns this year?


This and that…
Apple, after losing its latest round in Germany has received good news in France and Italy, sort of- judges have refused to block sales of iOS devices.

Microsoft to develop Xbox Live games for rival platforms
Business Insider is reporting that Microsoft is planning on developing apps that will enable people that have Android and iOS products to play Xbox Live games.

According to BetaNews Microsoft and its partners including Nokia plan a $100 million ad blitz for the new Windows phones. Or is it $200 million?

Apple is reported to be preparing not one but two iPads for release in 2012, with the iPad 3 in March and the iPad 4 in October.

Filed Under: Amazon, Android, Apple, Apps, iPad, Kindle, Tablets Tagged With: ,

Barnes & Noble May Look to Spin Off the Nook E-Reader

January 6, 2012 by

High production costs may mean partners or a spin-off

After a worse than expected quarter and with the growing realization that developing hardware and keeping it competitive is a costly business executives at Barnes & Noble have indicated that it may seek to separate the e-reader business.

The red ink is expected to continue and the company said that it expects to double its losses this year. According to the Wall Street Journal the company does not appear to be seeking to kill the platform but rather to put it on its own to sink or swim as the market dictates.

With its mainstream book selling business being hurt by digital competitors it has been slow to exploit that space, and ceded it to growing rival Amazon with its Kindle and to other tablet makers’ primarily Apple and its iPad.

It had strong holiday sales, with a 70% increase over last year, but failed to meet expectations in sales over the holiday season and that has had a domino effect on sales of related products that are used with the Nook, the company said.

The Nook Color

Barnes & Noble said in a release that it is in discussions with strategic partners including publishers, retailers, and technology companies in international markets that may lead to expansion of the Nook business abroad.

However the company cautioned that it will create a separate Nook business. William Lynch, Chief Executive Officer of Barnes & Noble said “we have a NOOK business that’s growing rapidly year-over-year and should be approximately $1.5 billion in comparable sales this fiscal year.”

A top rival to the Nook is Amazon’s Kindle Fire, which came out of the door hot and sales have been tremendous since then, with it being Amazon’s top selling product the last 13 weeks. Amazon’s ability to tout the platform every time you visit its web site certainly had to help in the marketing of the platform.

However a tear down by iSuppli, that is the disassembly of the product to determine its component cost, shows that it costs more to build a Kindle Fire than Amazon sells it for, and that does not account for the software engineering and other aspects of the device.

It will be interesting to see how this shakes out in the next year or so. The product appears to be a strong platform that performs as users would want. Right now it seems likely that it will find a system manufacturer to partner with to help shift costs, but only time will tell.

Filed Under: Amazon, Apple, iPad, Tablets, Wall Street Journal Tagged With: , , ,

The Tablet Market Continues to Fluctuate — Dell Flames out, Kindle Still Burns Hot!

December 6, 2011 by

Dell now a two time loser

Dell has quietly withdrawn its Dell Streak 7 tablet from the market, its second failure in the tablet space. The company had previously withdrawn the Dell Streak 5 in August, one of the only, if not the only 5-inch tablets on the market.

The Streak 7 featured a 7-inch display and operated using the Android Honeycomb (3.2) operating system. It came with 16GB of internal storage, Wi-Fi and was powered by a nVidia Tegra processor, had a 1.3MP front facing camera and a 5MP rear facing camera.

It is doubtful that this indicates a permanent departure by Dell from the tablet space. The company said earlier this year that it was working on a Tablet that was capable of operating on Microsoft’s Windows 8 platform. Dell was one of the first to enter the market against Apple’s iPad and Apple still has a tremendously powerful position in the tablet space.

While a solid product at the time of its delivery it failed because at the point it came into the market it was just compared to the iPad. As users become more familiar with tablets, and tablet developers seek to differentiate their products by more than just “speeds and feeds” the market will open up for more players.

People can argue about the Kindle Fire, is it a rival to the iPad or is it not- it certainly seems to be to some extent. Customers that were initially looking at an iPad as a form of e-reader will obviously be a potential cross over group. On the other hand if you want to follow games while on the road the Kindle Fire probably does not fit your usage model.

Fire sales expected to remain strong

The Kindle Fire has had very strong sales, with estimates in the 3.9 million range by the end of the year, making it the number 2 selling Tablet, behind the iPad and ahead of the Samsung Galaxy Tab. Apple sold 11.12 million iPads last quarter so it will take rivals some time to catch it.

The next generation Android products based on Ice Cream Sandwich will likely start eroding Apple’s market share even further, while also growing the market. It will be interesting to see how this shakes out in a year and if we will see additional focused products.

A recent study conducted by the Google’s AdMob shows that the top use for tablets is gaming, with 84% using it for that compared to 78% searching for information and only 51% for music/videos. Why not a tablet designed specifically for this space? I expect we will see one soon.

Filed Under: Amazon, Android, Apps, Dell, Google, iPad Tagged With: , , , , ,
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