Following in the footsteps of Target, Walmart will no longer sell Amazon Kindle e-readers or tablets.
The company says the decision reflects its overall merchandising strategy, and that it will continue to sell other tablets — including Apple’s iPad, Barnes & Noble’s Nook, Google’s Nexus 7 and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab — along with e-readers and accessories.
Analysts speculate that Walmart’s decision arose from its retailing competition with Amazon. “Owners of Kindle tablets such as the new Kindle Fire HD can shop on the devices for millions of items beyond digital books. This allows Amazon to compete with stores on more lines of merchandise,” Reuters reports.
Also, Amazon is believed to receive thin profit margins on its Kindles, and as such cannot offer retailers much in the way of financial incentive.
Although Best Buy and Radio Shack have confirmed they will keep selling Amazon’s products, Target and Walmart are significant losses. “Now, with two large chains no longer selling Kindle, speculation has grown that the dominant online retailer could open its stores where shoppers could try out and buy Kindles,” the article states.
Amazon recently released multiple new Kindle Fire tablets with various screen sizes, display resolutions and hardware capabilities.
To ensure a rich app experience and protect against fragmentation, Amazon has added a new tool called “device targeting” that allows developers to build multiple versions of their apps for various devices.
“Developers could simply try to manage the variances from within a single application so that their software automatically works in the proper combination of resolution and screen size, but Amazon is now supporting the ability to create apps specific to the different hardware combinations,” GigaOM explains.
Amazon says the new device targeting support offers better search relevancy for your app, reduced customer confusion and device-specific feature optimization.
“From a consumer standpoint, this should improve the Amazon Appstore for Android experience, and not just on Amazon’s Kindle Fire,” suggests the post. “Any Android device that has the Appstore loaded will benefit, which could in turn lead to more app sales for developers along with additional app revenues for Amazon.”
Many U.S. food companies are advertising to children in a new, interactive way — by creating product-infused games for smartphones and tablets.
“The mobile games demonstrate how new technology is changing U.S. commerce, drawing tighter bonds between marketers and young consumers,” reports the Wall Street Journal.
Games like “SuperPretzel Factory” and “Icee Maker” are selling successfully in the Apple App Store.
“Kids are our No. 1 consumer,” says Susan Woods, Icee’s marketing chief. “The fact that they may think about getting an Icee next time they see an Icee machine is a lot more likely if they’ve engaged themselves with something to do with Icee.”
“Makers of snacks, sweet drinks and candy have long been under government and public pressure to limit advertising to minors on TV and the Web,” notes the article. “They are now finding the unregulated medium of mobile devices an effective substitute to trigger demand and cinch brand loyalty.”
While the FCC regulates commercial time during weekend cartoons to 10.5 minutes per hour and prohibits product placement, there are no such rules in place on the Internet.
This upcoming holiday season will see more tablets for the “older-than-toddlers but not-quite-teenagers” demographic. The market was formally dominated by learning-based tablets aimed at toddlers.
Tablets like Lexibook, Kurio and Meep “are educational and entertainment devices, and they are targeting the 6-to-12-year-old demographic,” writes Forbes.
But will these youngsters want these tablets, or would they rather just have the real thing, like an iPad?
According to a Forrester Research survey of 4,750 U.S. adults, “29 percent of tablet users say they let their children older than six use their tablet.”
While Apple indisputably dominates the tablet market, the Toys”R”Us strategy is based on differentiating itself by being kid-specific. Toys”R”Us will sell a number of $149 Android tablets featuring seven-inch screens and wireless access — including its own Tabeo (pictured here).
“In the Forrester survey, 26 percent of parents said they’re concerned about their children accessing inappropriate content on their tablet,” explains the article. “On all of the kids’ tablets, however, parents can control the content children can access with a one-time setup and set limits on how long they can use it, something they can’t do on the iPad or Kindle.”
The kids’ tablets are also less delicate, built to withstand damage. But as Forbes points out, that won’t mean much unless the kids want them.
Fifteen months ago, Specific Media purchased MySpace, with Justin Timberlake taking an ownership stake in the flailing social network.
Following months of relative quiet — with the only major news being a new Panasonic partnership announced at CES 2012 — the new Myspace (now fashioned with lower case ‘s’) has finally been revealed in a Vimeo post.
Timberlake tweeted a link to a video that gives a sneak preview at the new service. Included in the Mashable post, the video makes the new Myspace look “clean and attractive.”
It shows a new login using Facebook or Twitter that allows users to bring photos or other information from the other networks. Status updates feature large photos with comments showing up below.
“There is a large music component to the service, which includes a way to browse albums, find popular songs and artists and more,” the post explains, noting that it is still uncertain whether Myspace is “building its own music service or if it has partnered with a provider such as Spotify, Rdio or Rhapsody.”
“The biggest question I have about the new Myspace is whether or not the brand is worth anything,” writes Christina Warren for Mashable. “I’ve argued in the past that the biggest asset of Myspace is also its biggest liability. What the new owners will have to do — celebrity investor or not — is prove to users why this Myspace is worth a user’s time.”
“Cybergeddon,” a new digital movie from Anthony Zuiker, starring Olivier Martinez and Missy Peregrym, premieres today online.
The film follows two special agents and a hacker as they attempt to save the world from cyber-attacks launched by e-terrorists.
“Cybergeddon” is debuting exclusively on the Yahoo! Screen video site in more than 25 countries and 10 languages. It is broken down into nine chapters, three of which will be released over the next three days.
A custom site features a more in-depth look at the characters, on-set photos, behind-the-scenes clips, and interviews with the cast and crew.
As reported earlier on ETCentric, producers turned to Norton by Symantec to consult on issues related to online security. The film’s site hosts a special section in which users can learn more about cyber-crime. The company also plays a significant role in the story.
“This isn’t the kind of product placement in which a company’s car or navigation system is used by the heroine — this is the kind in which a sponsor is turned into a heroic character,” reports The New York Times.
Coinstar’s Redbox and Verizon Communications plan to launch their Netflix competitor, Redbox Instant by Verizon, in time for the Christmas holiday season.
The new service aims to take on Netflix and Amazon with a monthly subscription plan, the option to digitally rent or purchase movies or get them from any Redbox kiosk.
Movie fans will be able to stream the content on multiple connected devices, as the joint venture (65 percent owned by Verizon) plans to launch mobile apps for iOS, Android and other mobile operating systems.
Redbox and Verizon say they will pay content providers based on number of subscribers, rather than Netflix’s model of paying a fixed amount for streaming rights over specific time periods.
“The U.S. market for subscription streaming rose fivefold to $1.1 billion in the first half of 2012 from a year earlier, according to data from the Hollywood studio-backed Digital Entertainment Group,” reports Bloomberg.
“Verizon Communications Inc. agreed to pay more than $510 million to end patent-infringement suits filed by TiVo Inc. and ActiveVideo Networks Inc. that targeted features of its FiOS TV service,” according to Bloomberg.
Verizon is expected to pay TiVo at least $250 million to end the dispute over DVR services. The New York-based company will also pay CloudTV developer ActiveVideo more than $260 million over the VOD feature.
As part of the agreement, Verizon will also pay license fees for “every Verizon DVR subscriber beyond a predetermined level.”
The trial was scheduled to start in a Texas federal court next week. TiVo was claiming three patent infringements, including one involving the time warp system that was the basis for the legal battle with Dish, settled last year.
Had TiVo won the case, Verizon could have been forced to remove DVR service from FiOS TV (Dish had been ordered to remove the function prior to its settlement).
“[Verizon] reported having 4.5 million FiOS Video connections at the end of the second quarter,” notes the article. “The wireline division, which includes the FiOS TV, phone and Internet services, generated $40.7 billion in sales last year and FiOS accounted for 65 percent of that division’s profit.”
California has the largest state population and one of the lowest rates of voter registration in the country. More than 25 percent of California’s eligible voters are not registered, according to the California Voter Foundation.
In an effort to change this for the November presidential election, the state has launched online voting registration.
“Under the new system, which saw 3,000 Californians use it in its first 12 hours of existence, an online system matches a state identity card or driver’s license with date of birth and the last four digits of a Social Security number,” explains Ars Technica. “Once a voter’s identity has been confirmed, she or he can click a button to authorize the digital signature that the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles already has.”
The online approach takes mailboxes out of the equation and significantly reduces registration time.
“We’re hoping that this new system will encourage more young people to get registered,” says Kim Alexander of the California Voter Foundation. “This is going to make the process more accessible to more people.’’
Lab126 is where Amazon’s Kindle e-reader and Kindle Fire tablets were designed. A year ago, there were 500 Lab126 employees listed on LinkedIn, a number that has since increased to 937.
The research and design center could soon be getting a new influx of workers if the new 500,000 square-foot complex that Amazon has leased in Silicon Valley is any indication.
The online retail giant recently leased an office complex in Sunnyvale, California, which is expected to accommodate more than 2,500 employees. Amazon also applied for a permit to develop the interior of one of the buildings.
“Lab126’s expansion suggests Amazon is stepping up efforts to design more mobile devices, increasing competition with Apple, the maker of the iPhone and iPad,” reports Reuters.
“If you can bump up staffing 40 or 50 percent, the question is what’s it for?” notes Scott Tilghman, an analyst at Caris & Company. “Part of it could be tied to on-going evolution of the Kindle line of devices.”
PayDragon initially targeted L.A. food carts when it launched earlier this year as a mobile payment and order pickup solution for those wanting to avoid lines. Now the mobile payments app is going national with its one-click shopping tool called Checkout.
“Checkout gives PayDragon users the ability to buy grocery store items and non-perishable goods that hit the doorstep two days later, with no shipping fees and no minimum order requirement,” explains Digital Trends.
“We started with food trucks and beating that line,” says CEO and founder Hamilton Chan. “It’s called internally displaced purchasing.”
Users can scan an item with Checkout’s barcode reader and order it (there’s also a search feature if the barcode isn’t readily available). “Chan describes it as a great reorder method,” notes the post. “See that almost-empty toothpaste container in your bathroom? Scan, order, and it’ll be on your front step in two days.”
More than 40 L.A. restaurants and food carts are already using the app with a reported 60 percent return rate. PayDragon sees sports stadiums as a logical next step, where fans can use the app for ordering from their seats and avoiding lines. But first, the primary objective is increased consumer traction.
“We feel like people haven’t cracked the nut about mobile payments, so we just want to get people to use mobile to buy everyday things,” says Chan. “We intend to make money longer term, and use that consumer affinity to move products for brands and manufacturers.”
“Between 10 percent and 15 percent of all user reviews on social media sites will be paid for by companies selling the products,” CNET reports, per new research from Gartner.
“With over half of the Internet’s population on social networks, organizations are scrambling for new ways to build bigger follower bases, generate more hits on videos, garner more positive reviews than their competitors, and solicit ‘likes’ on their Facebook pages,” notes Jenny Sussin, senior research analyst at Gartner.
“Many marketers have turned to paying for positive reviews with cash, coupons, and promotions… in order to pique site visitors’ interests in the hope of increasing sales, customer loyalty, and customer advocacy through social-media ‘word of mouth’ campaigns,” she adds.
The research firm says this practice could be costly for brands in the near future, suggesting the Federal Trade Commission will pursue lawsuits against companies who pay for social media reviews.
Already, Cornell University researchers have created a solution that is 90 percent effective. The group developed software to detect fake reviews, “easily beating the average person, who identifies a fake review only half the time,” the article states.
When Magnify.net launched in 2007, it offered “digital publishers the opportunity to offer their own video channels populated by video from the video aggregators, user-generated or not,” reports TechCrunch. Since then, it has faced economic hardships and competition from the likes of Brightcove, Ooyala and YouTube.
“Many sites can’t afford their own studio, or to hire a video production and camera team,” explains the post. “Instead, Magnify gives them the opportunity to offer curated video experiences, along with providing them with the tech to upload and share videos, create playlists, offer commenting, reviewing, content controls, analytics, and monetization options.”
Now the company has teamed up with AOL to take advantage of a library of almost 420,000 videos.
“In the end solutions like Magnify are only valuable if they can help your site offer quality video that people actually want to watch,” suggests TechCrunch. Here’s where the AOL partnership is key, offering more diversified sources of video for Magnify, which currently powers more than 90,000 video channels for publishers and brands.
“We’re always looking for new ways to gain additional exposure for our content and drive advertiser value, and this partnership helps us deliver on that mission,” explains AOL, “and we’re also big believers in the power of curation, which makes Magnify’s approach to online video a natural fit for us. We see this as an important step in the evolution of how publishers and audiences will engage with online video.”
The amount of video uploaded to the Internet has increased exponentially in recent years. “Video curators, which have become critical to discovering, organizing, and contextualizing content, will play an increasingly important role,” the post states.
As Web video viewing increases, it would make sense to see a shift in ad dollars from traditional TV to Internet video. “Go where your customers have gone,” Google chairman Eric Schmidt told advertisers earlier this year.
But TV advertisers haven’t made the switch and, “it doesn’t look like [TV ad spending] is going anywhere,” AllThingsD writes.
“Year in, year out, advertisers have been dumping around $70 billion into TV, and the Web video guys really haven’t captured any of it,” the article states. “The growth they have seen comes mostly from ad dollars moved out of other Web properties.”
The post includes a chart created by an investment banker Terry Kawaja and entrepreneur Dave Morgan. It shows that the amount spent on advertising is expected to increase in the coming years, both in television and online video. But measured as a percentage of the total, the money spent on online advertisements will actually decrease.
Big tech players like Apple and Google are expected to shake up the TV industry with new distribution methods.
“But that’s different from disrupting the TV ad business,” the article notes, adding, “if those guys get in, the ones likely to lose out are the existing TV distributors, like Comcast and Time Warner Cable. Then again, any TV Of The Future still needs to get delivered to your home via pipe, and the pipe guys can’t be budged…”
“The future of Microsoft’s Xbox appears to be moving briskly toward interactive TV, based on a high-profile hire of CBS Entertainment’s former television chief and the launch of two interactive TV ‘programs’ that tap into Microsoft’s Kinect peripheral,” reports ReadWriteWeb.
Former CBS executive Nancy Tellem will run a dedicated Xbox content studio under her new position as president of Microsoft’s Entertainment & Digital Media.
“According to analyst Richard Doherty, Tellem will be responsible for luring new content to the Microsoft Xbox platform, competing with Google’s YouTube and Netflix in what he characterized as a bidding war,” notes the article. “She also will be tasked with working with content providers to help develop content like the two new Kinect programs, ‘Kinect Sesame Street TV’ and ‘Kinect Nat Geo TV.'”
Tellem knows content. According to the article, she greenlit CBS hits such as “CSI,” “Everybody Loves Raymond” and “The King of Queens” — and helped create “Friends” and “ER.”
The Xbox has evolved from a gaming console to an all-inclusive entertainment hub. “Tellem’s role appears to be designed to make sense of this combination of original programming, interactive television and interactivity,” suggests ReadWriteWeb.
