RIM Readying Tablet PC, New BlackBerry OS

Research In Motion Ltd. is  testing a touch-screen smartphone with a slide-out keyboard, the Wall Street Journal reports. The phone runs on a new version of the BlackBerry operating system and works much like an iPhone, letting users swipe through screens and expand images with their fingers. It also has a universal search bar that lets users scour all the phone's data and some data online as well.

RIM is also is reported to be experimenting with a tablet device to serve as a larger-screen companion to its BlackBerry phone. That device, which is in an early stage of development, will connect to cellular networks when tethered to a BlackBerry phone.

The new offerings come as RIM faces increased competition from devices built by Apple and those that run on the Android operating system from Google Inc.

RIM still sells more smartphones globally than any company besides Nokia Corp., and last year grabbed 19 percent of the world market for smartphones, according to  Strategy Analytics. But RIM's share of the North American market is slipping.

RIM's share of the North American smartphone market by shipments dropped to 38 percent in the March 2010 quarter from 54 percent in the first quarter of 2009.

Apple's share climbed from 18 percent to 23 percent over the same period.

The new slate device comes with four gigabytes of storage space and a five megapixel camera, the Wall Street Journal reports.

RIM is also readying a new Internet browser that renders Web pages much faster than the current browser, and allows users to access more than one Web page at a time, people familiar with the device said.

News Corporation Buys Skiff

News Corporation has acquired Skiff, Hearst Corporation’s e-reading platform, designed to deliver premium journalism to tablets, smartphones, e- readers and netbooks. The Skiff platform is designed to deliver visually appealing layouts for newspaper and magazine content.

News Corp. also announced an investment in Journalism Online, the venture dedicated to enabling newspapers, magazines and online-only publishers of quality content to collect revenue from their online readers.

News Corp. apparently believes it will benefit from owning the Skiff e-reader platform, though it doesn't appear to be enamored with the Skiff hardware. News Corp. is purchasing the Skiff software platform, but the device will remain with Hearst.

The purchase, along with an investment in news paywall provider Journalism Online, appears to be part of the larger News Corp. effort to put online content behind pay walls.

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Mobile Web Use: Android Grows, iPhone Drops

Android’s share of mobile Web consumption in North America has gone from just five percent to 20 percent from January 2009 to May 2010, while the iPhone OS has dropped from about 75 percent to 59 percent, according to Quantcast.

The BlackBerry OS accounts for 10.4 percent, and all others combined account for roughly 11 percent.

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iPad Browser Share Already Beating Android, BlackBerry

Though there are only two million iPads in the market, the iPad's share of the global browser market is already bigger than Android, BlackBerry, and the iPod touch, according to Morgan Stanley.

Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty says iPad usage is closer to a PC than a smartphone, which is not really surprising, since it's designed for web browsing. What is shocking is the rapid emergence of the iPad as a web appliance.

CHART OF THE DAY: iPad Browser Share Already Beating Android, BlackBerry

Investors Seem to Say Google Hasn't Found its Next Great Business

Google's stock has taken a beating this year, falling more than 20 percent since January, presumably because it hasn't yet shown investors it has figured out what to do for an encore, after its search business.

Contrast Google's equity valuation compared to Apple. Investors, rightly or wrongly, think Apple knows what it wants to do, and is doing it.

CHART OF THE DAY: Hey Google, Better Figure Out Another Business (Other Than Search)

Starbucks Digital Network Launches

Starting July 1, 2010, Starbucks is enabling free Wi-Fi at its U.S. company operated stores, and launching the Starbucks Digital Network, which will offer unique content, including unrestricted access to paid sites such as the the Wall Street Journal, as well as content from iTunes, The New York Times, Patch, USA TODAY, The Wall Street Journal, Yahoo! and Zagat.
    
Set to debut in the fall, and offered at U.S. company-operated Starbucks stores, Starbucks Digital Network will allow customers free unrestricted access to various paid sites and services including previews, free downloads, local community news and activities.

Developed in partnership with Yahoo! and using AT&T access, the new network aims to create a unique customer experience that also deepens customer engagement.  The new plan further illustrates the public Wi-Fi business model, which frequently "gives away" the access as an inducement to support some other business model.

FCC to Vote on Title II Reclassification Move This Week

The Federal Communications Commission says it will vote Thursday, June 17 on issuing a notice of inquiry that would allow the agency to explore whether to reclassify broadband as a Title II common carrier service.

Wall Street will significantly halt investments in broadband networks if the FCC moves to reclassify broadband access as a common carrier, Title II service, said former Rep. Harold Ford (D-Tenn.), Broadband for America honorary co-chair.

The chairman's proposal will make investors "timid or hesitant to make the kinds of investments needed to expand broadband."

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