Google is developing a home entertainment system that would stream music wirelessly. The device, which would be available later this year, would be Android-based and controlled using a smartphone or tablet.
Google is seeking to make Android the operating system for the home that will not only control music — but TV, home appliances, lights, heating and other devices. It’s a vision they call “Android@Home.”
“The new Android device, along with Google’s pending purchase of device maker Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc., also ups the ante in its ongoing tussle with rival Apple Inc., which also controls both the software and hardware process,” reports the Wall Street Journal.
In related news, Google is nearing launch of a new cloud-based storage service called “Drive.” The service will be free and is expected to begin in weeks or months.
Users can use an app to upload files, photos, and videos which will be available from any Web-connected device. The service may be added to Google Apps.
Facebook is addressing the biggest threat to its IPO: getting revenue from the rapidly expanding — and thus far unprofitable — mobile platform by pushing “featured stories” from sponsors.
These sponsored stories keep users within the Facebook app rather than directing them to an advertiser’s Web page. The solution will hopefully minimize clutter on the mobile screen that often results from display advertising.
“Mobile display ads can be tricky because they create any number of rendering problems among the myriad of different phone browsers on the market and could drive up consumers’ data plan fees — neither are good bases for a marketing relationship,” reports GigaOM.
Facebook is expected to include sponsored posts in the news feeds of its mobile apps in March, prior to its $5 billion IPO.
Nikon has announced the newest addition to its professional DSLR offerings. The D800 features a 36.3 megapixel sensor, high ISO shooting capabilities, high definition video modes and a 51-point autofocus system.
“Where the D800 primarily differs from the D4, at least as far as performance is concerned, is in its 36.3MP, 7360 x 4912 pixel, full-frame CMOS sensor,” reports Ars Technica. “Nikon has chosen to emphasize raw resolution instead of extremely high ISO capabilities. Like the D700, the D800 can go up to 6400 ISO sensitivity, or can be ratcheted up to 25,600 in an extended ‘Hi 2’ mode. The D4, on the other hand, captures 16.2MP, but can shoot at a mind-boggling 204,800 ISO when pushed to its limits.”
Nikon hopes the D800 takes off in movie making and live video broadcasting with its ability to shoot at various resolutions and frame rates, and its audio inputs, monitor output and HDMI control to monitor live while recording.
The D800 comes equipped with a Compact Flash slot as well as an SD card slot, but won’t be compatible with the new XQD cards.
It is set to launch in late March for $2,999.95 — with a special D800E version for studios and scientific applications available in April for $3,299.95.
Disney is considering imposing a 28-day wait before making content available to Redbox and other DVD services, according to CEO Bob Iger.
“We are in discussions to go to the 28-day window — to not sell directly our physical goods to these entities unless they adhere to a 28-day window,” he told analysts on Tuesday.
Other studios — including FOX, Universal and NBCUniversal — already have a 28-day window in place and Warner Bros recently extended its window to 56 days.
“Iger said during the question-and-answer period on a conference call to discuss quarterly earnings that Disney’s studio hadn’t imposed a delay on the likes of Redbox before because ‘it was not seeing any effect from these dollar-rentals on their sell-through business,'” according to The Hollywood Reporter. However, soft DVD sales may now be the result of these services.
“[The studio] decided to take a step in the direction of further protecting the initial window of the sell-through,” Iger said.
Even though desktop computer sales have been down, monitors continue to proliferate as more and more people adopt multiple screens. The New York Times reports that 179 million monitors were sold worldwide last year compared with only 130 million desktop computers.
Monitors are now bigger, cheaper, and slimmer, making the multiscreen approach more accessible and attractive. New communication tools (such as social media) also drive the monitor sales, allowing for improved levels of multitasking.
One study conducted by the University of Utah showed people are more productive with two screens when working on editing tasks. Having more monitors cuts down on the time it takes to toggle between windows, saving users about 10 seconds every five minutes of work.
However, some psychologists argue the opposite, saying productivity declines when you can’t focus on one screen and are constantly scanning multiple views.
Apple will host its first live stream tonight on Apple TV, featuring a free live performance from Paul McCartney promoting his new “Kisses on the Bottom” album.
Could this be a preview for how Apple plans to challenge traditional TV on the Web?
“The company ‘announced’ via a banner on iTunes that the stream would take place at 7pm PST on February 9 both on iTunes (for Mac and PC) as well as the Apple TV — the first livestream of its kind for Apple’s set-top box,” reports Ars Technica. “This isn’t the first time Apple has streamed live (usually music-related) content via iTunes, but it will be the highest-profile and the first available to Apple TV users.”
Ars Technica suggests Apple will be watching its viewer numbers as this event may serve as a test for the company possibly challenging traditional TV delivery methods.
“There has been buzz that Apple might try to launch its own TV subscription service, while others believe Apple is more likely to begin allowing third-parties to create ‘apps’ for the Apple TV that will let them stream their own live content with ads,” according to the post.
According to a recent report from Strata, a provider of ad systems for media buyers and sellers, Facebook continued to dominate the social media advertising sector with 89 percent of advertisers planning to incorporate the social network into their clients’ campaigns.
Facebook is followed by Twitter at 39 percent, YouTube at 36 percent, LinkedIn at 21 percent and Google Plus at 18 percent.
Strata reports that mobile advertising rose 39 percent from Q3 to Q4, with 83 percent of agencies targeting the iPhone.
“Many advertisers are confident that their business and the economy will return to a strong period by midyear. That sentiment, coupled with strong numbers from the political race, provides an overall positive barometer for advertising in 2012,” explained John Shelton, president and CEO of Strata.
In a related story posted by The Next Web, Hitwise reports that Facebook accounted for 1 in every 5 page views during January, adding that the average visit time was 20 minutes.
“The scary part is that as more people start setting up their Timeline on Facebook, the time on site will increase even more…If that trend continues, people will literally spend hours of their time just giving Facebook every piece of data they have on themselves,” suggests TNW.
According to comScore, Amazon’s fourth quarter growth of 35 percent more than doubled the overall e-commerce market growth, which increased 14 percent in Q4.
The comparison is slightly skewed because Amazon’s results include international sales and mobile phone purchases, which comScore doesn’t track. Even so, Wall Street had estimated a 40 percent growth from the 2010 fourth quarter.
AllThingsD posted several notable findings from comScore’s report:
“The fourth quarter represented the ninth consecutive quarter of positive year-over-year growth, and fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth rates.”
“For the entire year 2011, U.S. retail e-commerce spending reached a record $161.5 billion, marking a 13 percent increase from 2010.”
“The categories that grew by at least 18 percent year over year: Digital content and subscriptions, jewelry and watches, consumer electronics, toys and hobbies, and computer software.”
“10 days in Q4 surpassed $1 billion in online spending.”
“52 percent of e-commerce transactions included free shipping, representing an all-time high.”
U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan denied a preliminary injunction requested by EMI which would have shut down ReDigi, a site that “resells” digital music.
The ruling means that this case will go to trial and most likely test the concept of digital reselling that ReDigi claims is protected under the “First Sale” doctrine (the doctrine is typically used for the sale of CDs, vinyl records, DVDs and other physical media).
ReDigi scans a user’s hard drive and deletes the music the individual wants to sell. However, the CEO acknowledges there’s no way to know if the person has a copy on another drive.
EMI asserts that ReDigi must make digital copies of the music, which is unauthorized and a violation of copyright law.
If the court rules that it is legal to resell music, it could lead to the reselling of digital movies as well.
Panasonic has announced two new compact cameras designed for rugged conditions.
“The baby of the two is the Lumix TS20, a slimline 16.1-megapixel camera that also offers 720p video recording, is waterproof to 5 meters, shockproof to 1.5 meters, dustproof and even freeze-proof to temperatures as low as 14 degrees F/-10 degrees C,” reports Digital Trends.
The Lumix TS4 is Panasonic’s “top-of-the-line” rugged digital camera, priced at $399 (available in March).
“For this you get a 12.1-megapixel Leica DC Vario-Elmar lens with a 4.6x optical zoom, plus the advanced LSI Venus image processing engine,” explains the post. “The TS4 offers 1080p video recording, a panorama mode and a cool time-lapse setting for recording something changing over a longer period of time.”
Digital Trends asks if this is the direction camera manufacturers should take in order to differentiate their compact cameras from the new crop of smartphones that feature improved camera capabilities. “While there are several rugged smartphones — the Motorola Defy for example — they don’t offer the same degree of camera performance as the TS20 or TS4. [Last week] Sony also announced several new compact cameras, choosing to upgrade the sensors and software without increasing the prices.”
As promised during January’s CES, Vizio is getting ready to launch its new line of ultrawide LCDs.
Vizio’s XVT 3D CinemaWide LCD TV will start at $3,499 for the 58-inch HDTV model (50-inch and 71-inch models are also scheduled).
The new set will feature “its trademark 21:9 aspect ratio (compared to a traditional HDTV’s 16:9) and 2560×1080 resolution,” says Engadget. “It also has an array of specs, measuring the 120Hz Edge LED lit screen at 56.7-inches wide by 29-inches high and 1.8-inches deep.”
Good news for college basketball fans: Vizio says the first set will launch prior to March Madness.
The post includes a 1-minute video promo for Vizio CinemaWide HDTV.
Reuters has launched a new social media dashboard called Social Pulse for following its reporters and providing readers with social data.
“The new tools…connect readers directly with journalists, rank CEOs in social media based on their ‘influence,’ track online discussion of top public companies and pull together the outside content being shared with Reuters’ staff,” reports Advertising Age.
“We really wanted to highlight the great work our journalists are doing on Twitter, so we built a directory that lets users find our reporters, bloggers and editors by category and location so you can drill down to business journalists in India or tech writers in the UK,” explained Alex Leo, director of new products at Reuters.
Sharing content and following reporters on Twitter have become must-have features for news outlets, but Reuters hopes its new Social Pulse tools will provide more than that by powering editorial products.
“Our audience is made up of sophisticated news users, who are not just interested in what’s trending on Twitter but how social can inform their business lives. We set out with the goal of using social media in a way they would find both innovative and addictive,” Ms. Leo said.
Wildfire Interactive surveyed 700 marketers and found that 97 percent say social media marketing delivers positive results for their brands.
According to the survey, 88 percent said social media helps boost brand awareness, 85 percent cited an increase in customer engagement, and 58 percent said social tools generate sales and partnerships.
“It has opened up this whole public communications channel, where we can get great feedback,” said Lindsay Tiles, director of corporate public relations at Charles Schwab. “We’re trying to get people out of the mindset that social media is just for pushing your messages out. It is about communicating, but it’s also about listening.”
“While marketers look at the overall benefits of social media, they are also drilling deeper to determine the value of Facebook fans in particular,” suggests eMarketer. “Among respondents to Wildfire’s survey, 44 percent said Facebook fans are valuable because they help with new customer recruitment. Additionally, 18 percent said Facebook fans have higher conversion rates and another 18 percent noted that they make more frequent purchases.”
“Of those surveyed, 24 percent said they measure the ROI of social media by looking at increases in revenue,” adds the article. “Additionally, 38 percent said they count increased ‘likes,’ comments and interactions on Facebook.”
CNET provides a helpful overview of 4K resolution technology and what we should expect for future TVs. “As if LED and 3D TV weren’t confusing enough, 2012 and beyond will bring an HDTV technology called 4K. It’s being heralded as the next high-def, and manufacturers are already lining up to bring you products.”
The article is quick to point out consumer 4K content is not yet available, but that doesn’t stop the industry from describing the technology as “the last resolution you’ll ever need.”
“Though there are several different standards, ‘4K’ in general refers to a resolution of roughly 4,000 pixels wide and about 2,000 pixels high,” reports CNET. “That makes it the equivalent of four 1080p screens in height and length.”
The article addresses Digital Cinema, 4K standards in theaters and the home, the potential for an improved 3D experience, and expectations for the future of 4K.
CNET concludes: “Even with reference-quality native 4K material, however, a 4K-resolution TV or projector won’t provide nearly the visible improvement over a standard 1080p model that going from standard-def to high-def did. To appreciate it you’ll have to sit quite close to a large screen — sort of like being in the front few rows of a movie theater. But whether it’s 4K or 8K, you can bet that manufacturers haven’t run out of cards when it comes to trying out the next ‘must-have’ feature in the coming crops of televisions.”
The post also includes a video report from CES: “TV technologies that you’ll want next.”
Steve Appleton (51), chairman and CEO of memory chip maker Micron Technology (which makes products under the Lexar and Crucial brands), passed away Friday after his plane crashed at the Boise Airport in Idaho.
“According to the Idaho Press, Appleton was flying alone in ‘an experimental fixed wing single engine Lancair’ aircraft. Just after takeoff from Boise Airport, Appleton told air traffic controllers that he needed to return,” reports Digital Trends.
He announced he was turning back to land, just before losing control of the aircraft and crashing.
Appleton began at Micron in 1983 and was named CEO in 1994. At 34, he was the third youngest CEO in the Fortune 500.
“He lived life to the fullest, and while he enjoyed great success in business and in life, he never lost his intensity or his drive,” said Idaho governor Clement Otter.
Mark Durcan, Micron’s president and chief operating officer, will take on Appleton’s responsibilities until the company’s board of directors appoints a successor.
