The Rise Of The Netbook
Piers Fawkes writes on electronics & gadgets for Good Ideas Salon. Here is his piece on Netbooks:
An article by John Gapper in the Financial Times argues that US tech companies ignored the netbook as they didn’t want to cannibalize the market for larger laptops and PCs. As he charts the rise of the hardware, Gapper says they ignored signals of netbook use in Japan and the early indication given by the popularity of the idea behind the One Laptop Per Child project; and that they even still have the arrogance to think that they can steer the market.
[The development of the netbook] took a long time because some companies preferred netbooks not to succeed. The three-way alliance among Microsoft, Intel and Dell instead preferred laptops to become more powerful and run on fancier versions of Windows….The big US companies would only produce tiny tablets and miniature keyboard devices because they did not want to undermine laptop sales. Netbook-sized devices thrived in Japan but were expensive.
It took Asustek to break the oligopoly’s grip by making what I – and many others, it turns out – wanted. As soon as it did, all the other computer makers, from Acer to Dell and HP, surrendered.
This coincided with Microsoft’s moment of hubris with the bloated and troubled Windows Vista, which required lots of memory and a powerful chip. To beat off Linux, Microsoft had to let netbooks run Windows XP instead.
Microsoft and Intel are still trying to corral netbooks by defining them as a third type of device in addition to desktops and laptops. Intel popularised the term netbook and Microsoft sets strict memory and screen limits for licences.
Consumers are not listening. An IDC study in May found that netbook owners, far from regarding them as devices for connecting to the internet and little else, do not differentiate. “People are using them almost identically to traditional laptops,” says Mr O’Donnell… Consumers must be given a choice, however, before they can express their preference. For providing it, the Asus Eee wins my prize.
http://www.psfk.com/2009/07/the-rise-of-the-netbook.html
CMS Report: Mobilities Project
Mobile broadband laptop and netbook users to consume 1.3 exabytes of video per month worldwide by 2017!
By Real_Wire
Newly released forecasts by technology and media specialist Coda Research Consultancy show that portable laptop and netbook users will access 1.3 exabytes of video content per month by 2017 – a sixty fold increase over 2009.
This figure will account for nearly three quarters of all global traffic via mobile broadband portables. The top region for video consumption will be Asia Pacific, which will account for just over half (53%) of all video traffic globally. To contrast, Europe will account for 26% of all global video traffic, and North America 14%.
The prominence of Asia Pacific represents its overall broadband traffic consumption via portables. Just under half (46%) of all global traffic via portables will be consumed in Asia Pacific, due in part to mobile broadband being the sole vehicle for many people to access broadband in developing countries. To compare, Europe will account for 26% of all global traffic, North America for 15%, Middle East and Africa for 5%, and Central and South America for 8%.
Among other forecasts, the report shows that two thirds of global traffic via portables will be via Long Term Evolution (LTE) come 2017. Asia Pacific will consume just under half (45%) of global LTE traffic via portables. However, Europe and North America will be ahead in terms of LTE take up. 80% of traffic via portables in Europe will be via LTE, and three quarters of traffic in North America will be via this specification.
Commenting upon the research, Steve Smith, founder of Coda Research Consultancy stated: “Clearly, LTE is going to win out over other specifications. However, service providers, content owners and rights’ holders should be greatly concerned about forecasts for video content consumed illegally in Asia Pacific. This contrasts with most developed countries, where legal video will tend to dominate mobile broadband traffic. Overall, the sheer amount of traffic people will consume worldwide will put pressure on operator revenues and network capacity, necessitating radical efficiency drives.”
“In the short term, we also foresee increased frustration with bandwidth and speed. In parts of western Europe for instance, as many as three quarters of users are dissatisfied with the speeds they receive. Government inaction is partly to blame. By falling behind in passing adequate legislation, many governments have hindered operators from keeping up with the behaviour and expectations of the majority of consumers. LTE will help meet consumers’ demands once it begins to impact the market, but this will not be until 2013.”
Laptops and Netbooks: Mobile Broadband Traffic Across Regions 2009-2017 is essential reading for device and component vendors, mobile network operators, consultants, financial analysts, application, content and service providers, and anyone else with an interest in the future of mobile broadband. It presents 35 pages of forecast tables, charts and commentary up to and including 2017, split by traffic type and region: (Europe, Asia Pacific, North America, Latin America, and Middle East and Africa). It contains separate traffic forecasts for LTE (Long Term Evolution).
This report is the second output from Coda Research Consultancy’s 2009 ‘Mobilities’ project.
To find out more about this report and its costs, and to read further highlights, visit www.codarc.co.uk, or email steve.smith@codarc.co.uk.
BMW launches world-first: personalized mobile video advertising campaign in China
GoMo new reports that BMW has selected China for a world-first in advertising – personalized video messages delivered directly to cell phones. The targeted messages, distributed Dec 21-24, 2009 in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, address individual customers with a holiday greeting that is uniquely tailored to a specific individual.
Technology for the campaign was provided by Clip in Touch. The company provides a platform for sending advertising campaigns via MMS. The uniqueness comes in allowing users to personalize, edit and add their own voice, video and text to any advertising campaign.
Initial response to the campaign has been very positive, generating more test drives in a three day period than at any time this year.
Read the full article at http://www.gomonews.com/bmw-launches-world-first-personalized-mobile-video-advertising-campaign-in-china/
World Tech Update, CES Special
This week’s World Tech Update comes to you from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas where -
- Samsung unveils new TVs, a 3D home entertainment system, e-readers and an app store.
- Microsoft announces Project Natal availability.
- Intel officially releases its next generation chips.
- Mobile TV hopes to catch on in the US.
- Lenovo shows off a laptop that splits in two.
- iPhone controlled helicopter mixes the physical and virtual worlds.
The Future Of Mobile Augmented Reality
By Justin, Mobile Marketing Watch.
The concept of augmented reality (AR) is still very much in its infancy, but the opportunities it presents in the areas of mobile marketing , commerce and gaming is more than plentiful. How far have we come in bringing AR to fruition and what does the future hold for the concept?
A new report from Juniper Research projects the technology combining the physical world with virtual imagery and information will generate only $2 million in revenue next year, but the projection is set to increase dramatically to nearly $714 million by 2014. By then, most of that revenue will be derived from things like paid application downloads, subscription-based services and advertising, according to Juniper.
Most analysts predict that mobile gaming will be the primary driver behind increased interest in mobile AR, with location-based search coming in at a close second. That location-based relevance will make AR-based ad-networks more attractive to brands and advertisers as well, as the networks can charge higher CPC and CPM rates because of it.
To get to the point of widespread mobile AR functionality, mobile devices have to become able to facilitate the advanced functions that bring AR to life. Growth will be driven by wider adoption of Android phones and the iPhone as well as the spread of technologies like digital compasses and accelerometers that help to power mobile AR. As smartphones become smarter, AR inches closer to becoming a reality.
Another so-called “digital strategist,” Jeremiah Owyang of Altimeter Partners, predicts mobile is where AR is mostly likely to go mainstream. ”Expect Google to develop a product that maps physical products with their online information, making them yet the middleman for Internet Advertising — again,” he wrote in a recent post. ”Furthermore, it gets really interesting when a brand can ‘hijack’ another company’s brand by creating augmented reality experiences on the boxes of their competitors.”
For now, we can only speculate as to what AR will do for mobile marketing and the mobile industry as a whole, but it will undoubtedly be a game-changer.
Smartphones Driving Adoption of Mobile TV
Via Cellular News.
Consumer demand for mobile TV and VOD is being driven by the ability of smartphones to deliver personalised and targeted content that can be accessed immediately. The recent Olswang ‘Digital Convergence’ Survey of UK consumers revealed that ownership of an iPhone encouraged 37% of users to substitute their home TV viewing by watching VOD services on their device.
MobiTV, a provider of live streaming and VOD services, believes that devices like the iPhone have transformed the experience of watching TV on a mobile handset and support the view that smart phones will continue to drive consumer adoption of mobile TV services.
Jan Olin, European Managing Director for MobiTV, believes that the iPhone has changed the perception of watching live TV and VOD on a mobile device altogether, educating users to the possibilities that the mobile platform can offer. MobiTV itself has developed a range of live streaming and VOD applications that are compatible with all the major smartphone platforms including the iPhone, Android and Windows Mobile.
Read the full article at http://www.cellular-news.com
VideoActive Report
VideoActive Report:
Hulu Adds Search and Analytics, Apple TV-Service Proposal Gets Some Nibbles, Branded Virtual Goods Are Presents for Marketers, Too, Tribal Fusion’s 100-Percent Engagement Guarantee.
How soon till mobile TV really gets going?
By Saad Fazil, DigitalBeat.
Mobile TV has analysts excited. ABI Research estimates that mobile TV will have 43 million subscribers by 2013, and research firm TeleAnalytics estimates 50 million mobile TV users in North America by the same year. But so far mobile TV has not nearly lived up to the hype. Qualcomm’s FLO TV, the technology used behind the current market leaders — AT&T’s Mobile TV and Verizon’s V Cast — still isn’t making money. For this holiday season, Qualcomm launched a new product, FLO TV Personal television, to turn the situation around. Could this be a new beginning for mobile TV?
Read the full article at http://digital.venturebeat.com
Live programming more desirable than on-demand.
Via eMarketer.
Nearly one-half of US mobile users are interested in watching live digital television on a mobile device, according to an Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC) survey conducted by Frank N. Magid Associates. Interest was highest, unsurprisingly, among millennials and early technology adopters.
When asked the narrower question of how likely they were to actually watch mobile TV, more than one-third said they probably would.
Programming with a strong local element, such as emergency reports of school closings or severe weather, weather forecasts, and local or regional news, saw especially high interest from overall respondents as well as younger adults ages 18 to 29.
News and weather content was overall the most appealing live mobile programming, with almost nine in 10 respondents interested in watching. Entertainment and sports ranked lower among adults of all ages.
Notably, young adults’ interest in local news programming on mobile was very strong compared with on conventional television. The report suggests mobile is a better fit for the times and places younger users want this content.
The study also found that one-half mobile users say they will “watch (not just tolerate) advertisements” in exchange for free live mobile programming. Young adults (61%) and early tech adopters (71%) expressed the most willingness to see ads in exchange for content. More than one-third of respondents also said they would pay for premium content.
View the full article at eMarketer
Sky’s Tim Hussain on mobile advertising
Tim Hussain, head of mobile advertising at Sky, talks to “Meet the Boss TV” about the health and promise of the mobile advertising industry.