A Big Week for Mobile - Hardware

The last week saw a number of events and stories on the mobile media front.

The last few weeks have seen a number of highly anticipated new tablet hardware releases, leading Laptop magazine to launch the "Tablet World Series."

   Apple announced the release of its highly-anticipated iPad mini, which seemed like a smaller iPad, with all the good (and not-so-good) that implies.  Tech people found it technologically impressive, but still hanging around the top end of the price market.  Apple also surprised the industry press a bit by also announcing a range of other product upgrades.
   While the iPad's main top-end competitor, the Samsung Galaxy Note, has been out a while, Samsung did recently upgrade to the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet.  Samsung seems to have focused on focusing on the tablet as a business productivity tool.
   Microsoft followed the launch of its new "Surface" tablet and mobile-savvy Windows 8.  The Surface tablet has some innovative technology, and is a major shift in corporate strategy (developing its own computing hardware).  If the Surface does well in the tablet market, it could lead the way for further moves into hardware for what's essentially a software giant.
   A bit earlier, Google entered the hardware fray with the Nexus 7 tablet.  The Nexus 7 has been piling up accolades and Editor's Choice awards based on performance and low price (for a small 7") tablet, running the most current Android OS.
   Content-focused tablets from Barnes & Noble (the HD+) and Amazon (Kindle Fire HD) - both improvements over earlier e-readers and tablets, but still missing some features of what could be called "full-service" tablets.  Amazon's also innovating in the wireless broadband service arena, offering free Skype calling on all models, and offering a 4G data plan for $50/yr, (250 MB/month) for its top model.

   The tablet market's exploding with quality entrants offering a range of tablet options at a range of prices - and giving Apple's iPad some serious competition.  That should give potential buyers a range of viable options, and help hasten tablet adoption.  And continue the debate as to whether tablets or PCs will dominate the future of personal computing.

Sources -  With iPad Mini, Apple poised to shake up tablet market.  Again  c/Net
Tablet mania: The battle of the seven-inch tablets,  Washington Post
The New Era of Personal Computing, PC Mag

Time for TV Everywhere Critical Mass?

Jeff Heynen, directing analyst for broadband access and video at Infonetics Research thinks 2012 will be a watershed year for 'TV Everywhere', predicting that cable giants Comcast and Time-Warner will push implementation and diffusion of the service.  The question will then be what impact will 'TV Everywhere' services have on subscriber churn and revenue.

  The prediction is based on two Infonetics Research reports on sales and orders for MVPD equipment and set-top boxes.  Taken together, the two reports suggest that the global video infrastructure market will grow by 8% this year, with sales of more than $875 million.  Much of the growth is expected to be in Asia, with China outspending both the North American and European markets in investment in Video on Demand and video streaming hardware.  The reports also suggested that IPTV growth pushes streaming equipment demand - predicting that IPTV subscriber base doubling in the next four years.

  Infonetics projects set-top box growth to be somewhat slower, generating about $14.7 billion in 2012.  They also see a shift from basic cable and satellite STBs to hybrid models that include IP video capabilities.

"TV Everywhere and other multi-screen video initiatives are fundamentally changing the TV business model, which apps streaming live TV to iPads and telcos and cable companies offering home automation security and video conferencing to subscribers in an effort to make the TV the hub of the digital home," Heynen said. "Demand for digital, HD and premium video content and services will continue to drive revenue growth in the VoD and encoder market."

Source -  Infonetics: 2012 a 'watershed year' for TV Everywhere services,  FierceOnlineVideo

A Digital Rubber Stamp - Printbrush

Post contributed by Zuri Walker -

In 2000, Alex Breton was approached to create an invention by Europe’s largest rubber-stamp company seeking a way to link with the digital world. Rather than creating a new rubber-stamp, Breton produced what is now the world’s smallest handheld printer, the PrintBrush. The device is capable of printing on any surface, does not require paper and weighs less than nine ounces.  It achieves the function of a rubber stamp - replicating content on multiple surfaces anywhere, anytime - while allowing the image or message to be changed instantly.

  While it took ten years to perfect the original model, it quickly provoked interest in Europe. A newer model, A4, which will print color and contain a camera for better printing of images, is set to release 2012.

Source - 2011 Invention Awards: A Magic Wand for Printing,  PopSci.com

They're dreaming of an iChristmas

Post contributed by Alex Aubuchon -

Anyone wondering about Apple's dominance in the tablet computer and phone markets needs to look no further than Nielsen's latest market research into the Christmas wish lists of children aged 6 to 12.
  Apple products took the top 3 spots for popularity – 44% of children surveyed wanted an iPad (compared to 25% who wanted a non-iPad tablet computer), 30% wanted an iPod Touch (with no data reported on a percentage that wanted another mp3 player; assumed to be less than 10%), and 27% wanted an iPhone (compared to 19% who wanted a non-iPhone smartphone and 12% who wanted a basic mobile phone).

  I believe this ubiquity of Apple products on childrens' wish lists is mainly due to Apple's incredibly effective branding and marketing strategies. People just KNOW what an iPad is, what it does, what to expect from it, whereas consumers have to read and carefully compare between other tablet PCs such as the Blackberry Playbook, the Samsung Galaxy Tab, and the dozens of other Android-powered tablets all competing for a share of the tablet market. Because of the wide variety of models for a similar product, no one tablet has been able to market even half as effectively as the iPad (although it should be noted that the Samsung Galaxy Tab was the only Android-powered tablet I could name, due to its aggressive marketing strategy in recent months).
  Nielsen's research also yields some more interesting revelations for holiday shoppers this year – Nintendo's 3DS will likely prove to be a more popular device than initially predicted, with 30% of children adding them to their wish lists. And older Nintendo models still hold lots of clout with the children's market, with older DS models beating out the Playstation Portable 22% to 10%.
  And in the world of motion-based gaming, the Kinect for Xbox 360 is the clear leader, with 23% appearance compared to 11% for the Nintendo Wii and just 10% for the Playstation Move. Due to the lackluster interest in the Move and the vast improvement of the current state of PC gaming hardware compared to the hardware in the current generation of game consoles, I believe a new iteration of the Sony Playstation could be coming sooner than many expect.

Source:  US Kids Looking Forward to 'iHoliday' 2011, Nielsenwire blog

Update - In table format -
Source -  The Apple of Their Eye,  Media Post Research Brief

Interest in Buying in Next 6 Months (% of Respondents by Age Group) Product % of Ages 6-12 Interested in Buying % Ages 13+ Interest in Buying iPad 44% 18% iPad Touch 30 11 iPhone 27 13 Computer 25 20 Tablet computer 25 na Nintendo 3DS 25 6 Kinect for Xbox 360 23 8 Nintendo DS/DSI/DS Lite 22 8 Television set 20 18 Smartphone (non iPhone) 19 19 Sony Play Station3/PS3 Slim 17 13 Blu-Ray player 17 17 E-Reader 17 15 Microsoft X-Box 360 16 9 Other mobile phone 12 10 Nintendo Wii 11 15 PlayStation Move 10 9 PlayStation Portable 10 5 Source: Nielsen, October/November 2011

Even $299 too much for Google ChromeBook

Post contributed by Alex Aubuchon -

Google recently announced that it is dropping the price of its ChromeBook laptop computer to $299, just in time for the holidays.
   The ChromeBook, manufactured by both Samsung and Acer, is essentially a web browser with a screen and keyboard. The computer doesn't have a traditional operating system; instead, its “Chrome OS” pseudo-operating system just runs the Google Chrome web browser, through which the entire computer operates. This means there is no software installed on the computer. Chrome's selection of apps functions as software, all of which is stored through the user's Google account.
   The obvious drawback to this system is that it essentially requires an Internet connection to function. ChromeBooks do support both WiFi and 3G internet, but if you're separated from the Internet for any reason, there's precious little the machine can do – Google has created a Gmail offline app that allows users to read and manage their mailbox while offline; Google Calendar and Google Docs have similar offline functionality, but other than those three applications, there is little a ChromeBook user can do offline.
   Even at $299, the ChromeBook is a tough sell. For around the same price, buyers could get themselves an older model Samsung Galaxy Tab, offering similar functionality with the ability to use Android apps offline. And for just a hundred dollars more, an array of tablet computing options open up, including the industry-leading iPad 2. The Kindle Fire is also in the running as a ChromeBook alternative at only $199. And for $300, a savvy buyer can find themselves a host of true Windows netbooks and laptops, each of which offers infinitely more functionality.
  Google seems to be targeting prospective tablet buyers with this product, offering essentially a tablet with a full keyboard in a single unit. But if it looks like a laptop and has the portability of a laptop, it should have laptop functionality as well.

Sources -  Google drops price of Chromebook,  Washington Post.com
Google product page