Nook Color will get Froyo update, become a "real tablet"

Barnes & Noble plans to introduce an Android-powered color e-reader, the Nook Color. The device will have an seven-inch screen, as did the earlier device running Android 2.1.

The Android 2.2 update for the device which should give users access to the Android Marketplace as well as a more typical home screen, potentially making it one of the cheapest Android tablets on the market.

If the device retails for about $250, it would undercut pricing of somewhat similar devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

If you had any doubt that parts of the e-reader market would overlap with the tablet PC market, this move should eliminate those doubts.

Nook Color will get Froyo update, become a "real tablet"

Comcast Tests New Service That Combines Internet, TV

Comcast Corp. is testing a new service that combines linear television and some Internet content. The new set-top device combines digital video recorder functions with the ability to watch some web-delivered video and search for programs.

(click on image for larger view)

But it isn't just the ability to protect themselves from Netflix, Apple TV and other competitors. Typical cable set-top boxes are a bit underpowered in terms of supporting elegant user interfaces.

Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt admits that over-the-top services have better user interfaces.

"I would not sit up here and say our user interface is really good," Britt said recently. "It's not as good as theirs."

Edward Rogers, deputy chairman and controlling shareholder of Rogers Communications also pointed out that set-top evolution in the cable industry has not kept pace with other developments in consumer electronics. "We realize that the evolution of these boxes has been a little slower than what we need," Rogers said.

Comcast Tests New Service That Combines Internet, TV - WSJ.com (subscription required)

http://www.cable360.net/technology/MSOs-Blame-Set-Tops-For-Their-OTT-Problems_44366.html

Will The Internet Displace TV?

Turner Broadcasting's Jack Wakshlag cites numbers saying the average American watches 32 hours of television a week while spending only 20 minutes on the web.

Meanwhile, Hulu CEO Jason Kilar has this opposing view. "If you talk to most human beings, they'll give up food and shelter before they'll give up their high-speed Internet connection," he says.

DEBATE: Will The Internet Kill Off The TV Set?

Google Launches Personalized Voice Search

Google Voice Search now enables personalized voice recognition. If you opt into personalized recognition, Google will begin to associate the recordings of the words with a user's Google account. Google then automatically will use these words to build a speech model specifically for a particular user. This speech model enables Google to deliver greater recognition accuracy. Although subtle, accuracy improvements begin fairly quickly and will build over time.

The first time a user accesses Voice Search, that user will be presented with a dialog to turn on personalized recognition. Users can enable or disable personalized recognition at any time.

The personalized recognition functionality is currently available for English in the United States.

To enable it, a user must have Android 2.2 or higher, and download the latest version of the Voice Search app from Android Market.

Official Google Mobile Blog

Will Financial Industry Need Underwater Data Centers?

Recent advances in high-frequency financial trading have made light propagation delays between geographically separated exchanges relevant,” write MIT professors Alexander Wissner-Gross and Cameron Freer.

The MIT researchers have done detailed calculations about where trading networks can locate data center infrastructure to capture additional microseconds. They first mapped out the locations of major global exchanges, and then charted the optimal placement of servers to create “chains” that could accelerate the transmission of pricing data and execution of trades. Many of the locations are under oceans.

read the paper here

Verizon Wireless to Sell iPhone: Only Issue is How Many

Among the longest-running "dramas" in the mobile business has been the question of when the Apple iPhone would be for sale by a second U.S. mobile provider. The betting generally has been that it would be Verizon Wireless. Here's a discussion of the potential differences, based in part on the different air interfaces and networks AT&T and Verizon Wireless operate.

Dish Wants to Buy a CLEC

Dish Network wants to acquire a competitive local exchange carrier, Liberty-Bell Telecom, that would give Dish the ability to bundle telephone service in 10 states, the Denver Post reports.

Liberty-Bell serves 6,000 residential and 4,000 business customers in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. More important though, is that it is licensed to offer services in 10 states and has applications pending in four other states.

The historic take on the satellite TV providers has been that they might suffer as telcos and cable companies offered triple-play services. But Dish Network and DirecTV appear to be taking clear moves to alleviate that concern, in part. Dish would have to file applications in other states and acquire business rights to common carrier voice services in those additional areas to offer voice services on a wider basis.

Dish looks to acquire Liberty-Bell telecom - The Denver Post

No Current Plans to Acquire Clearwire, Sprint Says

Sprint has no current plans to acquire the rest of Clearwire, the company says. The statement, and other actions recently taken by Clearwire's owners, seem aimed at reassuring Sprint investors that the company would not be affected by any Clearwire default on its debt obligations.

The company does have the right to acquire more "exchangeable notes" in Clearwire, an option exercisable up to Jan. 2, 2011, that could be converted into more Clearwire shares.

But Sprint says "no decision on whether to exercise its preemptive rights has been made."

Sprint says it continues to hold discussions with Clearwire regarding further investment in the company but "has no plans at present to acquire Clearwire."

Sprint also said that the shareholder's agreement has been amended to permit Sprint, at any time, to unilaterally surrender voting securities to reduce its voting security percentage below 50 percent. That's important because some observers have worried that Sprint could be affected by any potential financial default on Clearwire's part.

Sprint now has additional flexibility to avoid any risk that Sprint incurs a default under its debt agreements because of its voting interest in Clearwire. Any reduction would only affect Sprint’s voting shares in Clearwire. Sprint’s economic interest in Clearwire would not be affected.

Sprint Newsroom | Sprint Statement on Closing of Clearwire Debt Offering

Google Voice for the iPad & iPod Touch

Google Voice now is available for the iPod Touch and iPad, Google says. Users can download a new version of Google Voice that lets them use all the features of the app on these devices, such as sending and receiving free text messages, with the exception of direct mobile calls.

While users can’t use their iPods or iPads as phones, they can use it to initiate Google Voice calls with your phones, as would be the case for many other Google Voice use cases, as when Google Voice is used to create a call session between two actual phones, with Google Voice as the set-up intermediary.

Google Voice Blog: Google Voice app now supports iPad & iPod Touch

Where is Innovation in the Telco Space?

Dave Michels asks Craig Walker, Google Entrepreneur in Residence where the innovation is now at telecom companies, either established or startups.

"Tough question," Walker says. "I think there's a lot of innovation on the mobile side with regards to the network, devices and applications."

"As for telephony services and features themselves though, most of the innovation seems to continue to come from the non-traditional providers like Google, Digium" and others.

In part, that is partly because most of the newer ways of providing voice services using fixed lines have something to do with web-based feature integration. Mobility, on the other hand, has the advantage of faster introduction and replacement of multi-function devices, more on-board processing and memory, video and multimedia features that are difficult to replicate on the wired networks.

That same sort of difference also occurs even on the fixed network. If you were trying to create something new, would you design for a PC with web browser and broadband Internet access, or a telephone? Pretty much the same sort of decision making might inform an entrepreneur's decisions about distribution channels as well.

Would you rather create an application that can be served up from any web browser, or an app that requires telco permission to offer or sell?

Also, there is the sheer matter of opportunity. As big and important a business as voice communications is, would you rather develop apps that create new businesses and markets, or take some part of what already exists?

In other words, creativity increasingly is deployed elsewhere for all sorts of good reasons.

No Jitter | features | Craig's Wild adVentures

U.S. Army May Make Smartphones Standard Issue

The U.S. Army wants to issue every soldier a smartphone, both for training and in-the-field operations. According to the Army Times, approved devices might include iPhone or Android devices, and it is possible each soldier will have a choice of preferred device.

The Army also is looking at paying some portion of monthly phone bills for the troops.

Lt. Gen. Michael Vane, director of the Army Capabilities Integration Center said the Army would issue these smart phones just like any other piece of equipment a soldier receives.

Army sees smart phones playing important role - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Do Consumer Electronics Trends Tell Us Anything About Content Consumption?

Best Buy has reported "difficult" third-quarter earnings. Best Buy Co. reported a 4.4 percent drop in fiscal-third-quarter profit on weak sales trends on Dec. 14, 2010.

The company also reduced its per-share profit forecast for the year to $3.20 to $3.40, below the level it had seen before raising the view to $3.55 to $3.70 in September.

Market share shifts might explain some of the activity. Maybe it explains nearly all of the weakness. The company said it was facing market share pressure, and one would have to think Wal-Mart and Amazon are factors.

But broader industry data on retail sales for November 2010 suggests electronics are not selling as well as other categories, which might seem curious in light of strong demand for tablet PCs, e-readers and smartphones. Electronics sales in November were were up 0.9 percent from November of last year, while total retail sales were up 7.7 percent from last year. Sporting goods were up 12.3 percent from last year. Clothing was up 7.5 percent. Food and beverage sales were up 3.2 percent.

One has to wonder if the sales weakness, notwithstanding strength in tablet PCs and smartphones, suggests something about changing consumer demand for products that support some content consumption modes. Some think the newer devices are enabling consumer use of "non-traditional" content applications and services.

By way of example, more people choosing to watch movies on their tablets or PCs or smartphones might mean less demand for big-screen TV displays. Online delivery might be cutting into demand for Blu-Ray players.

It's Official: The Traditional Electronics Industry Is Getting Thrashed

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704694004576019272298673158.html (subscription required)

Facebook World

This visual shows ten million pairs of Facebook friend relationships. As is the case for many other sets of data, the visual also shows that activity occurs where people live.

Some will interpret the data as evidence of the borderless world of Facebook. Aside from that observation, the data also reflect that fact that people do things, make things and consume things where they live.

This visual also is evidence of where network-connected people live, not just where they communicate with, and are conntected to, "friends."

Facebook | Visualizing Friendships

Android And iOS Lead Smartphone Impression Share

Android tied with iOS as the largest Smartphone OS on the Millennial Media network for November 2010, with both mobile operating systems sharing 38 percent of ad impressions on the network.

Millennial’s ads reach 63 million of a total of 77 million mobile web users in the U.S., or 81 percent of the U.S. mobile web.

Millennial: Android And iOS In Deadlock Again For Monthly Smartphone Impression Share

NBC/Universal, Sprint Feature Mobile Content to Create Uniqueness

Amy Randall, VP of creative partnerships and innovation for NBC/Universal, posed a simple question recently at the L.A. Mobile Entertainment Summit: “There’s a lot of things you can do [to market content] with a mobile phone. Our question is: What should you be doing?”

For “Heroes” in 2009, NBC/Universal and Sprint rolled out a 10-week story arc for a character in the series, offering Sprint customers the chance to watch the episodes a full 24 hours before anyone else got to see them.

One angle here is the creation of a unique experience for Sprint users. Given that some marketers believe there is much more room for creating experience differentiators using content, the campaign points to how that can be done.

Mobile Experts Mull Future | homemediamagazine.com