Hulu Blocks Google TV Access

Hulu apparently does not allow Google TV appliances to grab Hulu content.

Tablets, Cloud Computing are at Hype Cycle Peak

Media tablets, private cloud computing, and 3D flat-panel TVs and displays are some of the technologies that have moved into the Peak of Inflated Expectations, according to the 2010 Emerging Technologies Hype Cycle by Gartner.

Click on the image for a larger view. 

That virtually guarantees there will be a period of relative disillusionment coming for tablet devices and cloud computing. That is not to say they will not be important, only that the wave of hype now is cresting.

Gartner's 2010 Hype Cycle Special Report Evaluates Maturity of 1,800 Technologies

Top Mobile Behaviors Vary by Region

A cross-market analysis of mobile activities in Japan, the U.S. and Europe by comScore shows significant differences among consumers by geography. Mobile users in Japan were the “most connected” of the three markets, with more than 75 percent using connected media (browsed, accessed applications or downloaded content) in June, compared to 43.7 percent in the U.S. and 38.5 percent in Europe. I suspect nobody would be surprised by those findings.

About 59.3 percent of the Japanese users made use of their browsers in June and 42.3 percent accessing applications. Abou percent of mobile users in the U.S. and 25.8 percent in Europe used their mobile browsers, with 31.1 percent in the U.S. and 24.9 percent in Europe using applications.

Europeans were the heaviest text messaging users, with 81.7 percent sending a text message in June, compared to 66.8 percent in the U.S. and just 40.1 percent in Japan. Japanese users exhibited the highest reach in the email category at 54 percent, while consumers in the U.S. were most likely to use instant messaging services on their mobile (17.2 percent).

U.S. mobile users were the heaviest blog and social media users. About 21 percentr of users do so. Some 17 percent of Japanese users do so, while 15 percent of Europeans do so.

Japanese users were most likely to capture photos (63.0 percent) and watch TV/video (22.0 percent) on their mobiles, while Europeans were most likely to listen to music (24.2 percent) and play games (24.1 percent).

more detail here

Will amazon and bestbuy start app stores?

http://www.bizjournals.com/mobile/news/sanjose/2010/10/04/daily85?ana=from_rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%253A+industry_7+%2528Industry+Technology%2529&utm_content=Google+Reader

DMA: Mobile marketing: UK users prefer browsers to apps

Browsers are better than apps for some operations.

http://www.dma.org.uk/news/nws-dmitem.asp?id=6067&t=Mobile+marketing%3A+UK+users+prefer+browsers+to+apps

How Do You Pitch an Angel Investor?

Basically, you pitch an angel investor in the same way you have to pitch anything: clearly, quickly and with obvious emphasis on value for the buyer.

Cloud Computing: the Revenue Model, Not the Technology

Cloud computing has immediate revenue implications for hosted service providers now. Down the road, it is going to create new revenue models for all sorts of companies that used to sell in a "location-limited" manner. Whether you want to consider this "over the top everything" or just the extension of browser-based and Internet-based application delivery is sort of a matter of taste and your own preferences. But is will be a big deal. Here's one practical look at the matter.

PayPal To Launch Micropayments

PayPal will be launching a payments technology for micropayments.

According to the company, the new product will include specialized payment support for micropayments for online video, music, games (including the sale of virtual goods and currencies), paid content, books and software.

PayPal To Launch Micropayments Product

Apple iPhone Will be Available on Verizon Wireless in 2011

Verizon Wireless will be selling the Apple iPhone in 2011, the Wall Street Journal now reports, potentially ending the seemingly-endless speculation about whether that would happen.

The new iPhone would be similar in design to the iPhone 4 currently sold by AT&T.

As with the ramped-up Long Term Evolution deployment plan Verizon Wireless also has announced, Verizon getting the iPhone would close a window, ending AT&T's years-long exclusive on the device.

With Verizon Wireless also saying it will activate 4G networks in 38 U.S. cities before the end of the year, Verizon is ending the relatively-brief window of time when Clearwire and Sprint Nextel could claim to operate the only nationwide 4G networks.

Consumers Like Video Content from New Sources but Few Are Ready to “Cut the Pay-TV Cord,” According to Survey | Press Release | ABI Research

A recent ABI Research consumer survey of 1005 consumers revealed that about 32 percent of those surveyed are interested in watching Internet video on their TV, nearly double the number who expressed the same interest in a similar 2008 survey.

In 2008 only 13 percent said they would consider cancelling their pay-TV services and receiving video content just from the Internet, rentals or off-air broadcast television.

According to ABI Research practice director Jason Blackwell, “The alternatives to pay-TV — online services from Netflix, Hulu and the like — are decentralized and can be complicated to negotiate.”

Of course, the question might not suggest as much current interest as might seem to be the case. If you ask people whether they'd like something, in the abstract, without including price and content availability, they might say "yes" because there is no cost to the answer.

If you ask whether a user would spend $200, be able to access YouTube video, movie trailers and some content, you'd get fewer people reaching for their wallets. If you then asked whether access to popular content, time shifted a bit, would be available for additional payments ranging from about a dollar to $3, you'd get fewer hands reaching for wallets.

The survey results are not surprising. They just don't predict actual behavior very well.

Consumers Like Video Content from New Sources but Few Are Ready to “Cut the Pay-TV Cord,” According to Survey

Android a serious threat to iPhone and RIM, study suggests

Sometimes a story has to be retold only to emphasize and confirm what you already know, pointing out that something still is a trend. This is one of those types of stories.

http://latestgeeknews.blogspot.com/2010/10/android-serious-threat-to-iphone-and.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LatestGeekStuff+%28Latest+Geek+Stuff%29

Equinix Revises 3Q, Full-Year Guidance 2.2%

Equinix expects 2010 third quarter and full year revenues will be below the company’s previous outlook, and it expects 2010 third quarter and full year adjusted EBITDA will be above the Company’s previous outlook, both provided on July 28, 2010.

Equinix now expects third quarter revenues to be in the range of $328.0 to $330.0 million, the midpoint of which is 2.2 percent lower than the midpoint of its previous outlook, and total revenues for the full year to be approximately $1,215.0 million, which is 1.2 percent lower than the midpoint of its previous outlook.

This updated guidance is due to underestimated churn assumptions in Equinix’s forecast models in North America, greater than expected discounting to secure longer term contract renewals and lower than expected revenues attributable to the Switch and Data business acquired in April 2010.

http://www.equinix.com/news/press/na/2010/Equinix-Revises-2010-Third-Quarter-and-Fiscal-Year-Guidance/

Internet Traffic up 62% in 2010

Global Internet traffic has grown 62 percent in 2010, after logging 74 percent growth in 2009.

The growth in traffic is coming from non-mature markets likes Eastern Europe and India, where traffic growth between mid-2009 and mid-2010 was in excess of 100 percent, says Telegeography notes.

In the Middle East, traffic rose just under 100 percent. Traffic in mature markets also is growing rapidly. Western European international Internet traffic increased 66 percent, and the U.S. and Canadian international Internet traffic climbed 54 percent.

In some ways, the growth rates are not news. What would be news is if the amount of traffic demand did not grow about 60 percent.

Opera launches Open Mobile Ad Exchange

It has to tell you something about the browser business,at least the mobile segment, when this happens.

http://www.opera.com/press/releases/2010/10/05/

comScore Introduces Mobile-Optimized Tagging for Publishers

http://blog.comscore.com/2010/10/comscore_mobile_optimized_tagging.html