European Release Date For HTC Magic Set At May 5th - "HTC's second Android handset looks as though it's been subjected to its last delay, with a listing for a May 5th release on Vodaphone UK's website.
Expect Google supported by T-mobile to push Android in the same direction as the iphone in terms of content delivery, make lots of apps, low cost and accessible. Question is can the others keep them from talking over.
TRIP HAWKINS TALKS iPHONE
I have cut through the waffle and highlighted the main points he made.....
'Trip' Hawkins III left Apple when he left in 1982 to form EA Arts which became the world's largest video game publisher. He left EA in the early '90s to form 3DO which, thanks to Sony and the Playstation, was a venture of rather less success.
Hawkins formed Digital Chocolate in 2003. The now 350 person company has developed on multiple ombile platforms and won numerous awards.
Four of the five iPhone games DC has released since December have hit No. 1 in the App Store
Hawkins quote "the iPhone presents a rare opportunity for Digital Chocolate and that it is really incomparable as a game platform to the myriad of mobile handsets on the market"
It’s by far our most effective platform. We make as much money with these games on one device as we do putting a game on 100 different cell phone platforms. Between the iPod Touch and the iPhone, I think the platform is freaking out Sony and Nintendo. Apple has sold 30 million units so far and it has created tremendous awareness. It has taken ground all over the world. But it has only penetrated one half of one percent of its total market.
Verizon Wireless 4G specifications for developers
Verizon Wireless released its initial set of technical specifications for devices that will run on its Long Term Evolution (LTE) fourth generation (4G) wireless network. The specifications are available for download at http://www.verizonwireless-opendevelopment.com
AT&T doubling 3G capacity
AT&T is in the process of doubling the capacity of its 3G networks, using software enhancements to squeeze one last boost in bandwidth from its current generation networks before it begins its migration to evolved 3G and eventually 4G. AT&T is increasing the downlink capacity on its high-speed packet access (HSPA) from 3.6 megabits per second to 7.2 Mb/s through software upgrades at the base station, said Scott McElroy, AT&T Mobility vice president of technology realization.
Internet Ad Spending Increase Stands Alone in 2009 Forecast (click for full story)
current ad expenditure forecasts predict a steeper decline in North America and Western Europe, with all regions joining in the general decline. The report forecasts global ad expenditure to shrink by 6.9% over the course of 2009.
Entering Q2, 2009 says the report, there is limited long-term visibility in the market as most advertisers wait until the last moment to confirm their spending commitments. Many are treating advertising as a discretionary expense, and one they find convenient to cut. Unprecedented economic problems and events affecting the predicted 6.9% decline in global ad expenditure in 2009 include:
* Lack of quadrennial events (Olympics, elections) creates tough year-on-year comparisons for markets like the US
* Poor corporate confidence means very limited visibility in the market
* Consumers are putting off big purchases and shifting consumption from premium to value products, opening opportunities for advertisers with value to offer
* Consumers are spending more time at home, consuming more media, particularly television and the internet
* Search is driving internet growth as consumers use it to find bargains
Here is WHY!
Ad expenditure correlates strongly with corporate profits, acknowledges the stuey, and the ad market is unlikely to start its recovery until profits start to pick up again. The current barriers to recovery include lack of trust in the credit markets, and low confidence in prospects for short-term growth. In addition:
* Consumers are spending less, saving more, and spending more time at home. (great for the games industry)
Consumers are putting off the purchase of big ticket items and shifting their consumption habits from premium products to budget brands
* In the retail sector premium stores are bringing in value lines and advertising their presence
* In the finance category, corporate advertising has fallen off quite sharply, but consumers' increased appetite for saving and risk aversion means that savings accounts and certain types of insurance are still growing
* Spending by CPG advertisers has generally held up well; There has been a clear shift from premium to value products as companies respond to consumer demand
* The automotive industry is suffering from long-term problems that the downturn has exposed and exacerbated, but not caused. Regulations, high labor costs and other structural problems left auto manufacturers with very thin margins. In France and Germany, however, government incentives have led to increased sales in the short term, and increased automotive advertising. Smaller, generally foreign, brands have managed to gain market share by promoting their value proposition
* Businesses have cut back their travel expenses, causing a large drop in premium traffic for airlines. But leisure travel is still popular to countries where exchange rates now look very favorable to consumers spending in euros or US dollars. Airline advertising to consumers is still active in markets with strong exchange rates
The strategists at Take-Two have a problem on their hands. They made the best-reviewed game ever for the Nintendo DS. And no one seems to care.
There's a major disconnect here. Take-Two's "Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars," the newest game in the franchise, was released a month ago for the Nintendo DS. According to numbers released yesterday, the game sold under 90,000 units. For anyone unaware of the nuances of game sales figures, let me translate: the game flopped. Big-time.
What's interesting has been the commentary about why it's flopped. Most are saying it was remiss to release a "GTA" game on a platform primarily targeted at children. However, I'm not so sure I agree. The sheer numbers of DS systems out there suggest at least a few million. If only 20% of the Nintendo DS audience consisted of "core" gamers, that's still an audience of over six million in the U.S. I think the central issue is one of conflicting brands.
Sun Microsystems directors have approved Oracle Corporation’s bid of $7.4 billion ($9.50 a share) or $5.6 billion after including debt.
I.B.M. recently concluded talks with Sun after I.B.M. lowered it’s offer from $10 to $9.40 a share.
Oracle Chief Executive Larry Ellison said in a statement:
“The acquisition of Sun transforms the IT industry, combining best-in-class enterprise software and mission-critical computing systems. Oracle will be the only company that can engineer an integrated system – applications to disk – where all the pieces fit and work together so customers do not have to do it themselves. Our customers benefit as their systems integration costs go down while system performance, reliability and security go up.”
The company added that the acquisition of Java “is the most important software Oracle has ever acquired.”
federal broadband stimulus program is already churning up activity among lower-tier carriers that had previously fallen into malaise, according to Adtran, the access equipment vendor that reported first-quarter earnings exceeding Wall Street expectations today.
On an earnings call this morning, Adtran Chief Executive Officer Tom Stanton reported seeing a “change in tone” among tier-two and tier-three carriers attributable to anticipation over broadband stimulus funds. “The amount of activity in that space has gone up dramatically,” Stanton said. “I’m not saying orders. I’m saying planning.”
Initially the passage of broadband stimulus legislation put a chill on the market as carriers mulled how their existing and future plans could be affected by the program. “That’s easing to some extent,” Stanton said. “Every month it gets better.” When the government further clarifies the terms and criteria it will use to award funding, he added, activity should increase further.
IPTV looking robust, wards off expected nosedive
Published Wednesday, April 15, 2009
More than 35 new IPTV operations began trials or deployment across the globe in the past six months, suggesting opportunity in the market despite the economic downturn and rise of alternative options for video. Only two trials took place in North America, with the majority occurring in emerging markets, but the US has done better than originally expected, according to Gary Schultz, chief executive officer of analyst firm Multimedia Research Group. MRG actually had to increase its forecast for global IPTV subscriber growth, which it had lowered back in August when it last published ..
TOYS, APPAREL, VIDEO GAMES AND CONSUMER ELECTRONICS DROVE SALES FOR KIDS DURING 2008 HOLIDAY SHOPPING SEASON
2008 Bucked Traditional Shopping Trends as Black Friday Week Generated only 15 Percent of Total Holiday Sales
PORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, April 07, 2009 – According to Spotlight on Kids: Understanding Cross-Category Purchasing, the most recent report from leading market research company, The NPD Group, products within the toys, apparel, video games and consumer electronics categories were the most sought after for kids during the five weeks leading up to the 2008 holiday season.
Teens Are Changing How They Interact With Music
U.S. Teens Listening to More Music in More Formats, but Buying and Sharing Less
PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y., March 31, 2009 –According to The NPD Group, a leader in market research for the entertainment industry, teens (age 13 to 17) acquired 19 percent less music in 2008 than they did in 2007. CD purchasing declined 26 percent and paid digital downloads fell 13 percent compared with the prior year. In the case of paid digital downloads, 32 percent of teens purchasing less digital music expressed discontent with the music that was available for purchase, while 23 percent claimed to already have a suitable collection of digital music. Twenty-four percent of teens also cited cutbacks in overall entertainment spending as a reason for buying fewer downloads.
The downturn in paid music acquisition was matched by a downturn in the quantity of tracks downloaded from peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, which fell 6 percent in 2008. The number of teens borrowing music, either to rip to a computer or burn to a CD, fell by 28 percent.
”While we expected to see the continued decline in CD purchasing among teens in NPD’s music tracking surveys, it was surprising to see that fewer teens downloaded music from P2P sites or borrowed them from friends,” said Russ Crupnick, entertainment industry analyst for The NPD Group. “These declines could be happening due to a lack of excitement among teens about the music available, but it could also reflect a larger shift in the ways teens interact with music, given that so much music is now available whenever and wherever they want it.”
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