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BetaNews.Com (6 non lus)

Clear's board shakeup a possible sign of T-Mobile deal

Publié: octobre 1, 2010, 10:45pm CEST par Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

In a surprising move said to address antitrust law change concerns, all Sprint executives nominated to Clearwire's board stepped down late Thursday. Sprint CEO Dan Hesse, president of strategy and corporate initiatives Keith Cowan, and network operations and wholesale chief Steven Elfman have sat on the board since 2008's merger of Xohm and Clearwire.
Sprint had also nominated four others, but those appointees would keep their board seats. The wireless carrier did however reserve the right to appoint new people to those positions "at a later date." While that may indeed be true, some believe the move could be an effort to clear any concerns over a possible deal with T-Mobile.
T-Mobile and Clearwire have been talking for several months over a possible partnership. The WiMAX provider needs money, and teaming up with the nation's fourth largest wireless carrier makes sense. T-Mobile is spectrum-strapped and needs bandwidth: Clearwire is not using a large portion of its spectrum holdings.
With the company testing out LTE, and T-Mobile already saying its eventual goal is the same, a deal seems smart. Sprint's board members are opposed to the deal however, and the removal of its executives from the board may clear some of the opposition (Sprint owns a 54 percent stake in the company).
Although Sprint may be opposed to a T-Mobile partnership, there are benefits to such a deal for that company, too. Sprint remains committed to building out the rest of it and Clearwire's WiMAX network, and a cash infusion from Deutsche Telekom (the parent company of T-Mobile) would go far to accomplish that goal.
The end result would be a win-win solution for both companies: T-Mobile would get a leg up on competitors on LTE, its 4G solution of choice, and Sprint would be able to complete its own 4G rollout based on WiMAX.
Neither Sprint nor T-Mobile commented on the reports beyond Thursday's announcement.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Clearwire - WiMAX - T-Mobile - Sprint Nextel - Deutsche Telekom
New plugin turns Adobe InDesign into Amazon Kindle publishing tool

Publié: octobre 1, 2010, 10:30pm CEST par Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Amazon on Friday launched the beta of a new plugin for desktop publishing software InDesign which converts InDesign project files (.indd and .indb) into Amazon Kindle books.
The plugin lets InDesign book and document files keep their font styles, and text and paragraph alignment after being converted to Kindle Format, and allows links, images, tables, and lists (bulleted or numbered) to be embedded as well.
"Our aim is to make it simple, fast and cost-effective for publishers to create Kindle books," said Russ Grandinetti, Vice President, Kindle Content said in a statement Friday. "The release of Kindle Plugin for Adobe InDesign is another step toward this goal. We look forward to feedback from publishers on how we can improve and what additional features they'd like to see."
Rather than simply trying to attract consumers to the Kindle platform, Amazon is also trying to attract independent publishers. Last June, Amazon announced a 70% royalty option to entice publishers to use its Digital Text Platform, this plugin is another step forward in that effort.
Amazon hosts the plugin on its Kindle Publishing site, and has versions supporting InDesign CS4 and CS5 on Windows (XP, Vista, 7) and Mac OS X (10.5, 10.6.)
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Adobe InDesign - Amazon Kindle - Desktop publishing - Mac OS X - Adobe Systems
Samsung bets on Windows Phone 7 as it phases out Symbian

Publié: octobre 1, 2010, 9:10pm CEST par Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

Samsung said Friday that it had committed to Microsoft's new Windows Phone 7 operating system, planning to release "several" devices in the US, Europe, and Asia by the end of the year. The Wall Street Journal also indicated that the first Samsung WP7 phone would be released on AT&T on October 11, citing sources.
The Korean phone manufacturer's announcement coincides with its phasing out of Nokia's Symbian platform. Developers registered with the company received an e-mail this week alerting them that Samsung planned to drop support completely for the platform, yet another blow to the now aging OS.
Samsung did not provide details on the actual phones themselves, nor were any official release dates announced. Even though the WSJ report has given a date, other press reports have placed launch dates as far away as November 8 of this year.
While Symbian holds a little under half of the market share for smartphones sold worldwide, much of its success has to do with the fact that Nokia has been able to convince its competitors to use its platform. Losing a major manufacturer like Samsung is sure to speed its decline.
"Samsung's new Windows Phone 7 based smartphones will play a key role to reinforce Samsung's leadership in [the] smartphone market," Samsung product strategy chief WP Wong said in a statement.
WP7 is also equally as important to Microsoft. The company's mobile phone division has been struggling at best over the past few years, and has been unable to compete against RIM, the iPhone, and now Android. If Redmond's latest try doesn't succeed, it could spell trouble for its future plans in the space. "Windows Phone 7 is an important release," OEM chief Steve Guggenheimer said.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Windows Phone 7 - Microsoft - Nokia - Wall Street Journal - iPhone
Microsoft says Motorola's Android phones are patent infringers

Publié: octobre 1, 2010, 9:02pm CEST par Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Microsoft has filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the Western District of Washington against Motorola, Inc, a statement from Horacio Gutierrez, Microsoft's deputy general of IP and Licensing said today.
The suit accuses Motorola of infringing on nine Microsoft patents with its Android-based smartphones.
"The patents at issue relate to a range of functionality embodied in Motorola's Android smartphone devices that are essential to the smartphone user experience, including synchronizing email, calendars and contacts, scheduling meetings, and notifying applications of changes in signal strength and battery power," Gutierrez said on Friday.
We'll follow up with more as the story develops.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Microsoft - Motorola - Android - Smartphone - Lawsuit
Blu-ray faces a solid five years of growth thanks to 3D, says research

Publié: octobre 1, 2010, 7:24pm CEST par Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Blu-ray player sales for the full year 2010 will total 24 million, well over double the total sales of 2009, Futuresource Consulting said in its annual Blu-ray and DVD Hardware Performance report today, and the growth is only expected to continue.
These figures suggest that Blu-ray still has a solid footing, despite the growing chorus of dissenters who think that Blu-ray has no future. In an interview last week, Microsoft UK executive Stephen McGill said, "Blu-ray is going to be passed by as a format. People have moved through from DVDs to digital downloads and digital streaming, so we offer full HD 1080p Blu-ray quality streaming instantly, no download, no delay. So, who needs Blu-ray?"
Blu-ray's sustainability isn't about being a high definition format any more, Futuresource says. But instead, it's about being a vehicle for 3D content in the home. Because of the advent of 3D technologies, Futuresource is predicting five years of growth for Blu-ray.
"Sales of HD-capable and 3D-capable TVs, coupled with dramatic reductions in BD player prices are continuing to fuel interest," Jack Wetherill, Research Consultant at Futuresource said today. "Add to that the burgeoning 3D Blu-ray market segment, and we'll see the format continue to gather momentum in all major markets across the globe."
Futuresource estimates at least 10% of all Blu-ray players shipping this year are 3D-capable, and next year, that total will rise to 25%. By 2014, the research company estimates 40% of homes in the US, Western Europe, and Japan will have a 3D Blu-ray player, recorder or home theater.
Interestingly, Futuresource does not even tally the PlayStation 3, which is not only the most prominent Blu-ray player, but also the only vehicle for 3D gaming currently available to consumers. 3D Gaming, according to the Consumer Electronics Association is a cornerstone to 3D home adoption, potentially more important than 3D broadcast television. In a survey released in March, the CEA found consumers were actually more likely to use a 3D TV for playing games than for watching 3D TV shows.
In June, Sony released a firmware upgrade to its PlayStation 3 console that added support for stereoscopic gaming. At E3 2010, the company listed more than 15 games that will be released in 3D next year.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

PlayStation 3 - Microsoft - Blu-ray Disc - DVD - Consumer Electronics Association
If iPad isn't cannibalizing Mac sales, what about Windows PCs?

Publié: octobre 1, 2010, 7:03pm CEST par Joe Wilcox
By Joe Wilcox, Betanews

That was my first question after reading a press release about NPD's new report "iPad Owner Study." This is why analysts aren't reporters: The report title has about as much reader appeal as a cardboard box (Maybe Bing or Google search will scoop it up). But, hey, people paying for the report want the data, not flashy titles. As to my question, Stephen Baker, NPD's vice president of industry analysis, succinctly told me: The iPad "is cannibalizing nothing in the PC business."
Oh yeah, then why does NPD's press release, issued today, state that "13 percent of iPad owners surveyed bought an iPad instead of a PC." Baker had a good answer for that: "13 percent is a bite, not a cannibal, and just because sales are slowing when iPad is showing up doesn't mean the two are related; and just because everyone sees all these people using iPads doesn't mean they didn't buy a PC now. It may mean that in the future but the numbers argue that Windows 7, tough comparables, flat pricing, weak economy are much more to blame."
Like I've repeatedly asserted, iPad is the cheapest Mac you can buy. That raises the question: Is there really no Mac cannibalization? I ask because of some of the interesting data points NPD revealed today. During iPad's first 60 days, half of purchasers were existing Mac owners; the number later dropped to 45 percent. By comparison, 53 percent were Windows PC owners. Among U.S. households, 11 percent have Macs and 75 percent Windows PCs, according to NPD. Data cited from the NPD study is for the United States
Mac or Windows PC cannibalization would make a great headline, and it's one way to interpret the data. But there's another way: Early iPad adopters appear to be early tech adopters in general. For example, 38 percent of iPad buyers own an iPhone and 24 percent displaced a planned e-book reader purchase. Baker said that most iPad buyers are making "incremental" -- adding more technology devices -- purchases rather than replacing something they already have or would upgrade (e.g., Mac or PC).
In a blog post, Baker said that NPD divided iPad buyers into two groups -- early adopters who purchased within the first 60 days and everyone else. He writes:
Almost 80 percent of early adopters were very satisfied with their iPad versus 65 percent of those who bought it after launch. What makes those numbers so intriguing is that they feed into some very interesting usage numbers. Early adopters are now using their iPads for more than 18 hours/week, and for almost one-third of them that time is increasing.
Some interesting stats about early adopters compared to everyone else:
- "38 percent more likely to be reading e-books"
- "44 percent more likely to watch YouTube videos"
- "50 percent more likely to watch movies"
- "60 percent more likely to watch TV shows"
More generally, "20 percent of users' time with the iPad was spent with it in bed," Baker blogged. "It is obvious that the iPad form factor makes people feel warm and cuddly." That, I will add, is something competitors had better get. People aren't buying iPad for features (its analytical appeal) but high emotional quotient.
Baker also identified U.S. consumers' favorite features:
- Portability
- WiFi easiness
- e-book reading
- Applications availability
Baker expressed something else quite interesting when referring to the aforementioned usage scenarios and also reading in bed: "That type of iPad usage behavior is a dagger at the heart of the usage model for netbooks and secondary notebook computers." Oh, really now? So iPad is cannibalizing or will cannibalize sales of something after all.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Apple - iPhone - IPad - Windows PC - YouTube