Blog articles from 01/2009

Thanks to the folks at Syabas , who reached out to me at CES and set up a briefing. We've known Syabas as a company in the "CE middleware" space that provides media server and DLNA-based softare. We covered them in our 2008 report Home Servers and Consumer Storage: Analysis and Forecasts. Syabas has some interesting solutions in the connected CE space that are focused on the delivery of premium Web content to a variety of consumer electronics devices. As you'll recall, I...

I think that 2009 could be the year of significant development of "place-shifting" solutions for the television service providers. First, EchoStar unveiled the DVR 922 at CES, which includes the SlingLoaded technology to place-shifted recorded content. Second, DISH Networks has reportedly acquired a Sling.com license for Viacom's content . Third, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Cox Communications are reported to be in discussions with programmers on new terms to...

Interesting that complaints were raised both in the U.S. and the U.K. this week regarding the broadband deployment strategies (or lack thereof) of the respective federal governments. Although the current economic stimulus packages in Congress include $6-$9 billion in broadband-related funding, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that a number of mid-sized operators are indicating that this won't cover the costs of deploying infrastructure to underserved areas, which is supposed...

Jeff Bezos' claim that Amazon.com had its best holiday season ever was not overstated, it would appear. And, the Kindle appears to be a hit. Amazon.com reported an 18% increase in net sales in Q4 over last year (that's North America; their international segment sales were actually up 19%). From The Wall Street Journal: Amazon has also broadened its offerings with its own products, such as the Kindle ebook reader. But the company has struggled to meet demand for the device, which...

If you're a fan of sweaters and haggis (and looking for work), BSkyB is hiring! We resolved this week that we would do our best to report on some positive news coming from the digital lifestyles industry. Let's face it - this past week has been a beat-down, with news of more job shedding taking place. Certainly, 2009 is starting rough, but we think that there are some positive things to note. BSkyB's latest earnings report contained some good news. The satellite service...

When I posted my last blog about Android’s market traction, I left out a name: Dell Computer. According to today’s Wall Street Journal, Dell is close to completing the design of an Android-based smartphone. Dell’s spokesperson declined to comment on specifics, saying the company “hasn’t committed to anything.” Should Dell count on smartphones to revive its sales and brand? The smartphone is a hot product category, but Dell is a newcomer to the mobile phone space. It...

At the NATPE conference, ABC.com shared new research data (conducted in partnership with Nielsen Media Research) that shows online TV viewers would tolerate double the current online ad placements. The research also revealed that increasing the number of brands as well as the commercials in an online TV program is not only effective but increases ad recall. The first thing that comes to mind is…Really? I’m a big proponent of understanding what ad types and placements are most...

The Sonos team sent out an update on their progress yesterday. From all counts, the business of selling high-quality multi-room networked audio systems is good for the company. Is the introduction of the Cisco Wireless Audio system a threat? Well, you have to admire the moxie of the Sonos team. They view Cisco's entry as "an opportunity to educate even more music lovers about the Sonos experience. With any nascent market, competition is a good thing as it exposes more consumers to a...