Blog articles from 10/2010

There were a couple of announcements today that point to an expanded role for connected TVs beyond "over-the-top" video. Instead, the connected TV can also serve as a gateway for managed video services. Companies such as Verimatrix, Clearleap, thePlatform, Cisco, Motorola, ActiveVideo Networks, Alcatel-Lucent , Nokia Siemens , and Ericsson have all made recent announcements in this area. Now, ADB has joined the fray, offering a solution called the Virtual Gateway ....

This week at their user conference in Palm Springs, FL, Sonus named a new CEO. Ray Dolan, a former telco (Bell Atlantic and Nynex) and industry technology (Qualcomm and Nextwave) exec is taking over the position from Richard Nottenburg, who will step down as president, CEO and director. Sonus has faced business challenges in recent years, made worse by the pull back in service provider spending during the economic downturn. The competitive playing field in the carrier VoIP market...

Sony's Internet TV products were showcased its Google TV™ products on Tuesday, including both TVs and a Blu-ray Disc Player/"smart TV adapter" box (like the Logitech Revue), priced around $400 (the Revue is priced at around $300). Given consumers' hesitancy to add yet one more box into their main entertainment console, I wonder if they would be more receptive to the idea of an integrated Blu-ray Disc player/smart TV adapter compared to a stand-alone box? $400 is a big...

Parks Associates is supporting DiscoveryBeat 2010 on October 18th 2010 in San Francisco, CA. DiscoveryBeat 2010 is an event focused on the “secret recipe” for application discovery and monetization. We’re gathering the movers and shakers in the emerging app discovery ecosystem to take an in-depth look at these issues, and why their strategies are working. The event will attract 300+ mobile and social developers, major platform providers, advertising players,...

The Apple iPad is proving to be one of the most successful consumer electronic devices of all time. Despite much derision at its time of launch, the iPad is now selling faster than the iPhone and leading the way in the worldwide tablet revolution. At this rate, the Apple iPad is not only flying of the shelves faster than the iPhone, but is also far ahead of entire categories of tech products like the 350,000 DVD players that sold in the first year. The iPad will reach sales of...

After an exciting week at GDC Online, the online game developer's conference (Oct 5 – 8, Austin, Texas), I must confess that I am both exhausted (they are a very social set) and impressed with where the industry is headed. Although the misconception is still alive for some, online gamers do not all look like escapees from a Wayne’s World casting call. Au contraire; most online gamers look like, well, you and me. Depending on the gaming genre, you may now find yourself rubbing elbows...

It's interesting that two different releases crossed my desk this morning, both related to interactive television services in developing markets (Malaysia and Latin America), but with different approaches. Oregan Networks and Telefónica announced a collaboration whereby Oregan's Web hardware an software solutions will be used to bring online video and other Web content to Telefónica's customers via a set-top box. Although 64% of Telefónica's subscriber base is in Latin America,...

Parks Associates is supporting GridWeek , on October 18th 2010 in Washington, D.C. Globally recognized as the must-attend Smart Grid gathering, GridWeek is the only event with a proven history of attracting the complete diversity of global Smart Grid stakeholders to explore Smart Grid’s impact on the economy, utility infrastructure, consumers and the environment. Planned by a representative committee of industry stakeholders, GridWeek’s agenda is focused on the most...