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Analysts: While 3G gadgets thrive, only five mobile 'App Stores' will survive

Publié: avril 17, 2009, 11:33pm CEST par Jacqueline Emigh

By Jacqueline Emigh, Betanews
The small subset of software 'app stores' most likely to survive includes Apple's download site, Google's Android Store, and RIM's new BlackBerry App World, according to recent analysis during a webcast featuring Andy Castonguay, Yankee Group's research director.
But outside of downloadable apps, other big differentiators in the increasingly crowded broadband gadget space will include size of the device, connectivity, keyboard, screen, and user interface.
Software apps and slick phone features will help sell 3G/4G services for US mobile carriers, which are counting on text messaging charges as a "cash cow," according to the analyst.
Where Sprint has lagged behind AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and T-Mobile on the whole, the underdog is starting to catch up now, first with the Instinct phone and soon with the Palm Pre, noted Berge Ayvazian, chief strategy officer for Yankee. Sprint's 3G connectivity is also "tremendous" in comparison to competitors, contended Castonguay, who claimed the ability to travel by train from New York to Boston while scarcely dropping a call all the while.
Due to the smoothness of Palm's Linux OS and the phone's easy navigability and search functionality, the Pre will supply an even "crisper experience" than Apple's 3G iPhone, the analyst predicted. For its first two quarters of availability, the Pre will be sold exclusively through Sprint.
T-Mobile's Android-based, HTC-made G1 has "sold tremendously," and the G2 -- a "thinner device" with more connectivity -- is slated for launch during the third week in May.
Meanwhile, RIM's BlackBerry Storm, sold only by Verizon Wireless, is pulling "new customers [into] the RIM space," he said. Conversely, the BlackBerry Bold, available strictly through AT&T, is conveying old-time BlackBerry fans into the 3G era.
Nokia's 3G-enabled N97 will be sold by US carriers, too, and new, non-subsidized unlocked versions will be offered for around $600 in forthcoming Nokia stores, he forecast.
At the same time, although Apple hasn't said so yet, third-party partners are pointing to a June launch for an "iPhone 4G," a video-capable gizmo with a 3.2 megapixel cmaera, 32 GB capability, removable battery, standard headphone jack, and a lot of other new niceties, envisioned as standing 4.5 inches tall and weighing in at 4.4 ounces.
A June rollout of the 4G would coincide with the "Worldwide Developer Conference, iPhone 3.0 software, and expiration of AT&T [iPhone 3G] service contracts," according to the two Yankee analysts.
But as Yankee sees it, the name "iPhone 4G" is actually a "bit of a misnomer" -- since to qualify as a 4G device, a gadget needs a 100 Mbps downlink speed, a level the Group believes the future Apple device won't meet.
Also during their talk, however, Ayvazian and Castonguay mentioned the 4G devices now under way from some 80 manufacturers for Clearwire's broadband network, once the deployment moves past Portland, Oregon.
These devices include USB dongle modems from Motorola and some seven other manufacturers; Intel Echo Peak embedded WiMAX modules; Clear Spot Personal Wi-Fi Hotspots; desktop modems; the Samsung Mondi mobile Internet device (MID); and WiMAX-ready netbooks from Acer, Asus, Dell, Fujitsu, Lenovo, Panasonic, Samsung, and Toshiba.
Mobile carriers are now finding that it's actually cost-effective to subsidize netbooks, Castonguay maintained, citing that AT&T already subsidizes netbooks from Acer, LG, and Dell.
But he also hinted that Samsung's Mondi might fare better than either phones or netbooks in the 4G world, due to its combination of a pocketable form factor, a 4.3-inch screen, and the ability to run real applications and documents on Windows Mobile 6.1.
Also in terms of software, although mobile 3G and 4G phones might only get a lot of use out of three or four software applications each, their users might easily download ten times as many or more, Ayvazian suggested. "If they're $1 or they're free, it's really no sweat," Castonguay agreed.
But just posting the apps in an online store won't guarantee success, the webcast viewers were told. "Many of the announced initiatives will fail," according to the analyst. "What makes a successful app store platform? A large base of devices, a vast developer community, [and] similar device specifications."
On the business side, the list of leading mobile device platforms is somewhat different, Ayvazian observed. While Apple is gaining ground, CIOs are looking keenly at Windows Mobile, RIM, and the "robust" Nokia environment, he elaborated.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2009
Windows Mobile 6.5 to launch at TechEd 2009

Publié: avril 17, 2009, 9:18pm CEST par Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews
Microsoft's annual TechEd conference, which is taking place in Los Angeles this year from May 11 to 15, will play host to the official debut of Windows Mobile 6.5, the Windows Mobile Team Blog said today.
On The opening day of TechEd at 2:15 pm PDT, Stephanie Ferguson, the General Manager of Business Experiences at Microsoft, will lead the launch presentation of the Windows Mobile release that is meant to bridge the gap between old key-and-D-pad-driven interface with the touch-based interface.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2009
Blu-ray Today: An analyst predicts 2009 will finally be its year

Publié: avril 17, 2009, 8:55pm CEST par Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews
The most recent quarterly analysis from Futuresource Consulting estimates that 12 million non-PlayStation 3 Blu-ray players will ship this year, showing the substantial increase in support for the format which from July 2006 to January 2009 shipped only 10.7 million players, according to DisplaySearch.
Futuresource is putting a lot of stock in this year's holiday season, expecting shipments to exceed six million units in the fourth quarter alone.
"In the last quarter of 2008, average retail prices for standalone Blu-ray players fell by 15% in most major markets, and we're going to see them fall by another 25% during the course of this year," said Futuresource Research Consultant Jack Wetherill. "Add to that the raft of movie titles being issued on Blu-ray -- over 1,100 at the end of last year, on track to more than double this year -- coupled with the increase in promotional activity and the continued benefit of growing PS3 ownership, and we'll see Blu-ray continue to gather momentum in all major markets across the globe."
Adams Media Research shared in the Blu-ray optimism this week, noting that 2009's first quarter Blu-ray hardware sales growth was double that of last year, performing well despite persistent economic trauma.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2009
RIM finally distributes BlackBerry System 4.5, enables Pandora

Publié: avril 17, 2009, 8:49pm CEST par Scott M. Fulton, III

By Scott M. Fulton, III, Betanews
The real reason people started buying Windows 3.0 wasn't really because of the wealth of new software made for Windows for the first time. Seriously, that wasn't the reason. By the time people learned about stuff like Lotus 1-2-3G and WordPerfect for Windows -- which were both going to change the world, if you'll recall -- they were already sold on Windows 3.0 for another reason: the smooth on-screen fonts. Because let's face it, Windows/386 looked like it belonged on an 8-bit computer, compared to Macintosh.
Late last night, the BlackBerry System 4.5 upgrade finally came through for users of those older-style units that actually look like BlackBerrys. In it, you'll find relief...in the form of the replacement of the thing that made the 8800s and older units look pale compared to the (slow) Storm, or the iPhone: the disgusting looking default system font.
Okay, so the font file itself is still in the system, but you won't actually use it or want it. The old system fonts looked like something spat out of a Centronics dot-matrix printer, circa 1978. I remember selling dot-matrix printers in the early days, including one of the first to offer a switch that converted you from "sans-serif" to "serif," or in that particular case, from "legible" to "illegible." Until today, we 8800 users had something called "BBClarity" (which at least meant, devoid of junk) and "BBMilbank," which looked like it belonged on one of those programmable highway warning signs, shouting, "BEWARE OF ZOMBIES."
The new fonts in System 4.5 -- BBAlphaSans and BBAlphaSerif -- are both pleasant, legible, and non-offensive. Most importantly, they actually enable the use of some applications that have been either available for multiple BlackBerry models, or waiting around until someone finally gave the word. One of those apps is the mobile edition of Pandora, the original programmable radio stream that learns your musical tastes as you listen. Having Pandora in my pocket is reason alone to own a mobile handset; my friend Angela can have her YouTube, thank you, I'll stick with my own channel of music made by musicians and not machines.
The Mobile Pandora isn't as conversational as the PC edition -- for instance, you can't go into your profile and load up all your bookmarks. You can get an explanation why you're hearing the song you're hearing, and this little feature alone shows you why the System upgrade was necessary -- on the old system, there's no way this information would be the least bit legible in a single alert box.
But this version appears to have been built with the understanding that Pandora users will most likely use their PCs to program their personal stations, not their BlackBerrys. And that's fine, because while we're working out in the gym or riding our bicycles or tuning out the noise of something else purporting to be music, you don't really have that much time to go poking buttons.
BlackBerry users take note: You shouldn't try to upgrade your systems using your BlackBerry Desktop Software for Windows until you've upgraded that too. The only way you can move up from version 4.2.x to 4.5 safely is to use Internet Explorer (not Firefox or any other browser, thanks to the use of an ActiveX control), and link to this address. Download the new version of the ActiveX control, which will then bootstrap a process that will enable you to download the new version of the Application Loader for your desktop. The old Application Loader will not work for this purpose, and you might find that out the hard way unless you upgrade this way. Then be sure to exit IE and unplug your BlackBerry from the USB cable for a moment (the software should tell you when), then reconnect it before starting the upgrade.
The upgrade process will back up your existing calendar, e-mail, media, and personal applications automatically, and will restore them after the new modules are loaded in and verified. The verification process, for some reason, is the longest stage -- be prepared to wait as long as 45 minutes. The process in its entirety could take an hour, maybe a little longer.
Not all your old applications may work in the upgraded system without being replaced. Most surprisingly, BlackBerry App World is one of them. You'll need to manually uninstall it, then reinstall it from this address.
You'll notice some differences right away, some thanks to the new system, others on account of smart users who truly appreciate the low value of farting apps. The catalog is much more pleasant to read, even if -- sadly -- some of the entries haven't changed all that much since App World's premiere earlier this month. The "before" and "after" pictures above tell the story. ("ECOE" isn't very self-explanatory, is it? It's a Ticketmaster application, so you'd think it would have been named something like "Ticketmaster Application.")
Nothing makes a smartphone user happier than not being embarrassed. So much applause to the folks at RIM who, while they've been busy concocting all sorts of new goodies for the Storm (I hear something called speed is in the works), they decide to throw us old-timers from '07 and '08 a bone every now and then.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2009
The Pirate Bay loss: What it could mean

Publié: avril 17, 2009, 6:21pm CEST par Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews
The four men behind the Pirate Bay torrent sharing site were sentenced to one year in prison and fined 30 million Kronor in damages this morning, after having faced charges from the Stockholm District Court of "promoting other people's infringement of copyright laws."
The court's statement to the media said, "By providing a Web site with...well-developed search functions, easy uploading and storage possibilities, and with a tracker linked to the Web site, the accused have incited the crimes that the filesharers have committed."
But the war of ideals in the Internet age rages on, and the real victor in this could be the political Pirate Party.
Daniel Goldberg of ComputerSweden traces the beginning of the Pirate Bay's struggles to March 2005, when the Economic Crimes Bureau and the National Police began to review law enforcement practices in the field of internet software piracy. It wasn't until nearly a year later that the Pirate Party entered the political arena on the platform of copyright and patent reform.
By politicizing the Pirate Bay's trial, the Pirate Party secured a guaranteed outlet for evangelism and party-building rhetoric. For example, calling today's sentence a miscarriage of justice, the head of Sweden's Pirate Party Richard Falkvinge has organized large-scale demonstrations for tomorrow in Stockholm and Lund.
Meanwhile, he says that membership in Sweden's pirate party has "gone vertical at ultrasonic speeds." More members have signed up for the party in the four hours following the trial than have in the last three years of its existence.
"As it is right now," said Falkvinge, "the 'Young Pirates' will be Sweden's largest youth organization when the clock strikes midnight on Saturday, and will probably have more members than the Liberal Party."
Today's ruling and the process of appeals could add significant muscle to the Party as the June 4-7 EU Parliamentary elections approach. There, the Pirate Party's Christian Engström is making an all-or-nothing bid for a seat. The Party is funded only by member donations, has no paid employees, and needs at least 100,000 votes to secure a seat among the 785 Parliamentary representatives in Brussels. The last time the party ran in 2006, it only had 35,000 votes.
If the Pirate Party joined the EU's Parliament, it would be another leftist group to balance out the current right-leaning majority. It would have to contend or ally with majority groups the European People's Party (EPP) and the Socialist Party, which hold 249 and 209 seats respectively.
But really, what does all this have to do with file sharing?
At this point, very little. Think of the impact a major drug bust has on the consumption of illegal substances: While it puts a crimp in the supply chain, the demand is starkly unaffected.
Peter Kolmisoppi, also known as Brokep said on Twitter today, "Stay calm - Nothing will happen to TPB, us personally or file sharing what so ever. This is just a theater for the media."
True. The Pirate Bay was not taken down, and the group is expected to appeal the ruling, which could spin out the hearings as much as another three years. So it has been a media theater indeed, but one that could successfully help the Pirate Party into Parliament, however small an accomplishment that may be in the end.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2009
Sony Ericsson holds on for better days, or until the Idou release

Publié: avril 17, 2009, 3:01pm CEST par Angela Gunn

By Angela Gunn, Betanews
Later this year, perhaps, Sony Ericsson might have some good news -- maybe from the release of its Idou phone, with its rumored 12-megapixel camera. But that better day is a long way off as the partnership posts its third straight quarter of losses on Friday, this time to the tune of $387 million.
Analysts expected losses in about that range after the group gave out preliminary guidance last month, so the effect of bad news on the company's stock was minimal. The announcement that the company would also lay off 2,000 workers probably didn't hurt either.
An acerbic observer, however, finds herself wondering if justice wouldn't best be served by first canning the management that has so utterly fallen down on either getting better Sony Ericsson smartphones to market or finding a market that doesn't care as much. Apple, Research In Motion, Palm, and even Microsoft (in its capacity as owners of the Sidekick handset) are charging toward market with high-end, buzzworthy gadgetry. Nokia, on the other hand, has put a great deal of effort toward establish itself in developing markets -- not a short-term strategy, as those reading the company's Q1 report yesterday will agree, but a strategy nonetheless.
Sony Ericsson, meanwhile, has focused mainly on more developed markets. Analysts have been quoted here and there saying that the firm is refocusing on the smartphone market, but other than the Idou, there's not a smartphone expected from Sony Ericsson for the rest of 2009. Meanwhile, the company's current handset offerings retail for about twice as much as devices from rivals such as Nokia (dropping not at all over the course of the last year), and the company reports that it's lost market share -- down two points to about 6%.
The company further reported that it shipped 14.5 million handsets last quarter, down 9.7 million from the Q4 2008 holiday season and down 7.8 million year-over-year. In an interview with Reuters, CEO Hideki Komiyama said that at least that situation appears to be stabilizing, with the US and Europe showing "signs of correction" for demand. That claim matches up with Nokia's assertions during its quarterly earnings call on Thursday.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2009
T-Mobile kicks off Sidekick pre-sale, announces ship date

Publié: avril 17, 2009, 1:44pm CEST par Angela Gunn

By Angela Gunn, Betanews
T-Mobile, America's sole purveyor of the Sidekick, begins taking pre-orders today for the new LX version of the well-liked, swivel-screen handset. Customers reserving a unit by the end of the month including through this T-Mobile address will receive theirs May 12 -- one day before the device goes on sale to the general public.
Service-provider improvements to the latest version of the Sidekick include 3G support on T-Mobile's HSDPA network and better data-migration options for those switching from another T-Mobile handset. Inside, there's new GPS functionality; integrated Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter support via Skick-customized applications, including the ability to directly upload photos from the camera (now shooting at 3.2 megapixels) to MySpace and video to other social-networking sites; ShoutCast streaming-radio and YouTube video support; upcoming support for Microsot Exchange; and a 3.2" F-WVGA screen with 854x480 resolution.
And friends, they fixed that annoying on-off switch positioning problem. I know. I made a point of checking while I watched a Warren Zevon video on YouTube, flipped the screen up and down, and chattered about the unmistakable hand position of the devoted Sidekick user. Sometimes these companies get more nerd than they bargained for at these demonstrations, you know?
Your reporter is, like many Sidekick owners, a loud longtime fan. I still have a working Sidekick 2 in my gadget stash, and the current LX is literally the first gadget I interact with in the morning, since it also serves as my alarm clock (and first eye on Google News). I also share the Sidekick fan's tendency toward detailed, very precise ideas about how the device ought to change and what will cause me consternation, frustration, and hotly worded comments to the editor at hiptop3.com.
Welcome to Leslie Grandy's world. The vice-president for product development is well aware of the balancing act between attracting new users to the device and keeping the faithful from frothing. She graciously allowed me some quality time on Thursday with a pre-release version of the gadget, and pointed out a number of changes designed to serve both audiences. (She also managed not to panic or laugh when I started chirping with joy about a few tiny adjustments that only a several-hours-each-day user might notice immediately; she's apparently used to that, since Sidekick owners send and receive an average of 600 text messages and over 3,000 IMs each month.) Among the highlights I saw on my playdate:
- The screen is beautiful. At 3.2", the viewing area's a bit larger than that of the current Sidekick LX; at 854x480, it's also brighter, sharper and clearer than many larger and more expensive devices (can you guess which netbooks I'm think of?). Sharp's the hardware provider as usual, and Grandy suggests that that firm views the Sidekick as a nice showcase for what they can accomplish with high-definition LCD tech.
- The keyboard is unharmed. Old-timers will remember the unfortunate decision with the Sidekick 3 to make the keys hard and slippery. The company edged back to the slightly soft, slightly textured model with the Sidekick ID, and returned to more-or-less orthodoxy with the LX, but some of us get very nervous with T-Mobile messes with a keyboard widely considered to be the best ever shipped on a handset. On the other hand, a slimmer device requires adjustments, and T-Mobile's been wrestling with that design imperative for years. I'm pleased to report that the keyboard I used was much like that of the current LX; there's been a slight change in key shape, but otherwise I found thumb-typing to be much the same.
- Social networking is go. The company regularly evaluates what sorts of sites users visit through the browser, and found that two-thirds of all traffic is currently going to social networking sites, generating 15 million requests each day. (Grandy told me that Sidekick traffic on AIM is so heavy that that service can detect a network outage almost before T-Mobile does.) In addition to the usual IM triumvirate of AIM, Yahoo Messenger and Microsoft Live (sorry, kids, no Gtalk), the handset now integrates Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter support. Integrating that support means good things for both performance and presentation -- most obviously in my brief time with the gadget, update notifications right on the status bar, as happens now with mail and IM and such.
- It's curvy in all the right places. The handset continues its evolution to a slim silhouette, and this time around it adds a few beautiful bevels, most notably along the screen where the index fingers go when holding the Sidekick to type. The infuriating on/off switch placement is solved, and some of the assorted jacks and ports have been rearranged around the edge of the device. In informal side-by-side tests, the new LX is several millimeters slimmer than the current model, and even a bit thinner than a G1 we had handy. The case has changed a bit too, with a nicely tactile rubberized coating (something like that on the keys, I thought) making it very pleasant to hold. (A new model means new case colors, by the way -- this time, the choices are "carbon" and "orchid." I'll let you figure out from the photos which is which.)
- Let there be light. There's a slender notification light along the edge of the screen now, a bright blue bar that signals when you've got a message or your browser page has loaded. I noticed that it gives the keypad an subtle, appealing glow as well. The trackball, meanwhile, continues to double as a multicolor signal.
- Seriously, YouTube right there in the conference room. Grandy tells me that battery life is up considerably, to two days' standby. I'll know more about that when I have sustained testing time; when I get that, I suspect I'll be using YouTube to drain that sucker. Repeatedly. Strictly for professional testing purposes, you understand.
I expect to receive a testing unit within the next few weeks, and at that time I'll be looking at a number of other improvements. Among those are the new GPS integration, which should make the handset's Live Search services (currently executed on the device by cell-tower triangulation) faster, more accurate, and more capable. Grandy spoke of new testing procedures that have led to a radical upgrade in strength for the screen's swivel mechanism, and I'll be dropping the device repeatedly to see how that works out for me. (Alas, it probably won't be intentional; your reporter has an unfortunate knack for that sort of thing.)
New personalization options -- sideload a new ringtone or record your own -- are also on my must-see list, and I hope to see some of the fancy case-customization options T-Mobile first explored with last year's Sidekick 2008. And down the road, I look forward to looking at upcoming support for Microsoft Exchange, an addition that should help attract more users to the funky, capable device.
For now, the pre-order period runs until April 30. For pre-ordering customers, the cost of the new Sidekick LX is $199 with a two-year service agreement.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2009
Guilty verdicts in Pirate Bay case

Publié: avril 17, 2009, 12:32pm CEST par Angela Gunn

By Angela Gunn, Betanews
We'll have more on this story later today, but be advised that the Swedish court has returned with four guilty verdicts in the Pirate Bay trial. Founders Frederik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Carl Lundstrom and Peter Sunde have been sentenced to a year each in jail and millions of dollars in damages.
The BBC has an early report, and Sunde, who was made aware of the verdict several hours before its official announcement, tweeted the results and noted that "Nothing will happen to TPB, this is just theatre for the media." Needless to say, an appeal is in the works, as is a press conference by TPB.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2009
Court blocks webcast of RIAA file sharing case against Harvard student

Publié: avril 17, 2009, 12:50am CEST par Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews
Sony BMG, Warner, Atlantic, Arista, and Universal Music Group have been battling an intrepid group of Harvard Law scholars after 25-year old grad student Joel Tenenbaum was hauled into court for alleged copyright infringement through illegal file sharing.
In January, Tenenbaum and his counsel moved to invite the Courtroom View Network in to webcast the trial, feeling that it would be an issue of "keen public interest." While the motion was approved in the District court, the record labels involved in the case took the issue to the Court of Appeals, which today denied the District Court's ruling.
The Appellate Court's opinion today said, "Here, we think that the limits of the district judge's discretion were exceeded; her interpretation of Local Rule 83.3 is unprecedented and, in our view, palpably incorrect."
Of the decision, Tenebaum's counsel said, "We are disappointed by the First Circuit's decision and maintain that Joel is being denied a constitutional right to a public trial in the age of the internet. We believe that Judge Gertner was within her authority to make decisions regarding her own courtroom. We intend to explore every legal option available to Joel."
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2009
Time Warner retreats from plan to test capping subscriber bandwidth

Publié: avril 17, 2009, 12:25am CEST par Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews
After delaying its plan to test capping subscriber bandwidth usage, Time Warner has opted to retreat from the approach altogether.
In a statement today, Chief Executive Office Glenn Britt said, "It is clear from the public response over the last two weeks that there is a great deal of misunderstanding about our plans to roll out additional tests on consumption based billing. As a result, we will not proceed with implementation of additional tests until further consultation with our customers and other interested parties, ensuring that community needs are being met."
Organizations which stood in opposition to the trials, such as Free Press, claim this as a major victory for consumers. Campaign director for Free Press Tim Karr said, "We're glad to see Time Warner Cable's price-gouging scheme collapse in the face of consumer opposition. Let this be a lesson to other Internet service providers looking to head down a similar path. Consumers are not going to stand idly by as companies try to squeeze their use of the Internet. This is a major victory, but the fight for a fast, open and affordable Internet is far from over."
But Time Warner's statement clearly says this was not a response to unified consumer action, but rather a response to widespread consumer ignorance. Before delaying its capping tests, the company tried to break down its tiered pricing scheme to consumers by comparing broadband usage to overeating, and gas consumption, two things Americans have a reputation for understanding quite well.
COO Landel Hobbs said "When you go to lunch with a friend, do you split the bill in half if he gets the steak and you have a salad?"
Moving forward, Time Warner will be providing the "gas gauge" to consumers first, so they can have a firmer grasp on how a tiered billing plan would affect their daily life.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2009
Founders Fund opens nominations for $50,000 TechFellow Awards

Publié: avril 17, 2009, 12:22am CEST par Nate Mook

By Nate Mook, Betanews
Whether it's a new investment tack or simply goodwill to the technology community in a down economy, early-stage venture capital firm Founders Fund is taking a unique approach to the tired award ceremony with TechFellow. Instead of celebrating a product or company, Founders Fund wants to draw attention to those behind the scenes who actually make the innovation happen.
12 fellows will be selected by a panel of 21 judges, which reads like a who's-who of Silicon Valley, including Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, LinkedIn's Reid Hoffman, Flickr's Caterina Fake, MySpace's Chris DeWolfe, former Yahoo CEO Terry Semel, Esther Dyson and Marc Andreesson, among others. Nominations (including self-nominations) will be accepted until May 8, with an awards dinner slated for June.
What does a TechFellow receive for his or her selection? Founders Fund will be providing the individual with $25,000 to invest in a startup of their choice, even if it's their own startup. The firm will also match that figure, bringing the total initial investment to $50,000. Founders Fund calls it "Genius Grants for Geeks," and will request the right to invest another $250,000 if the startup raises another round of capital.
In total, Founders Fund will be devoting up to $3.6 million to the TechFellow Awards. The initiative is being co-promoted by TechCrunch, which isn't contributing financially, but whose founder Michael Arrington will serve as one of the judges. Fellows will be selected based on four categories: engineering leadership, product design and marketing, general management and disruptive innovation.
I spoke to Founders Fund managing partner Sean Parker this afternoon, who was quick to note that the TechFellow Awards aren't really about the money, but about the people. The goal, Parker said, is to recognize the achievements of those who are often overlooked while CEOs and corporate identities receive all the praise (something which Parker -- who was involved in creating Napster, Plaxo and Facebook, but rarely shared the limelight -- knows all too much about). The grants are designed to encourage these individuals to innovate further with their own efforts, or invest in other early-stage ideas they support.
Founders Fund got started in 2005 by bringing together a small group who were at the forefront of technology and investing in companies they felt were on track to become future industry leaders. In a way, the firm is replicating that model with the TechFellow Awards, turning the innovator into the investor.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2009