Cash for Content Online - Pew Research Center

About 65 percent of respondents polled by the Pew Internet & American Life Project have paid to download or access some kind of online or other intangible content from the internet, ranging from music to games to news articles.

Music, software, and apps are the most popular content that internet users have paid to access or download, although the range of paid online content is quite varied and widespread.

In a survey of 755 internet users between Oct. 28 and Nov. 1 2010, respondents were asked about 15 different kinds of online material that could be purchased or accessed after a payment. The online content assessed in this survey includes only 'intangible' digital products such as software, articles and music that need not have a physical form.

Some 33 percent of respondents say they have paid for digital music online, the same percentage reporting they have paid for software. About 21 percent have paid for apps for their cell phones or tablet computers. Some 19 percent report they have paid for digital games.

About 18 percent have paid for digital newspaper, magazine or journal articles or reports, while 16 percent have paid for videos, movies or TV shows.

Some 15% have paid for ringtones, while 11 percent have paid for members-only premium content from a website that has other free material on it. About 10 percent have paid for e-books.

Spending between $1 to $20 a month might not seem like a big deal, but it is a significant amount of spending, especially recurring spending, for any popular consumer service. 

Cash for Content Online - Pew Research Center

Insufficient Battery Life is Just a Fact of Life

Kaufman Bros. equity analyst Shaw Wu has been claiming that the new Research in Motion PlayBook has battery life issues. Wu says he would be “very surprised if PlayBook matches anywhere near the battery life of the iPad at 10 hours unless it uses a larger battery.”

Some of the issues are application related, as has been the case for other categories of devices, such as smartphones.

The PlayBook supports Flash, and Flash is a resource hog, says Wu. “As seen in recent tests for the new MacBook Air, use of Flash can cut battery life in half," he says.

QNX, the operating system on which PlayBook is to run, wasn’t designed for it full mobile use. It was intended for devices drawing power from a wall socket or car battery.

RIM’s implementation of power management is not as well-integrated as that of its rivals–particularly Apple, whose homegrown A4 system-on-chip enables the company to deliver superior battery life, he argues.

To be sure, longish battery life is always a plus for any mobile device. On the other hand, most smartphone users will tell you that if they actually use their smartphones for web-based apps, battery life goes way down. Sure, you can restrict your usage to voice and text only, but then what's the point of having a smartphone?

There might be issues that RIM has to work on. Still, even under the best of conditions, a smartphone is going to run through its charge quickly if much web activity occurs. Tablets have a larger form factor, so can handle a bigger battery. But less than optimal battery life just comes with the territory.

Flash Could Be Hogging RIM PlayBook Battery Life, Analyst Says | John Paczkowski | Digital Daily | AllThingsD

US Tablet Sales Will More Than Double This Year

Forrester Research has revised its estimate for U.S. consumer tablet purchases for 2010 upward to 10.3 million units, and the firm expects sales to more than double in 2011 to 24.1 million units.

Of those sales, the lion's share will be iPads, and despite many would-be competitors that will be released at CES, we see Apple commanding the vast majority of the tablet market through 2012.

One major assumption that changed in the Forrester Research model is the replacement rate, which the firm now believes will be closer to that of MP3 players or iPhones than to that of PCs.

Although they are certainly used for productivity, tablets are proving themselves to be "lifestyle devices" at home and at work, and as such we think consumers will upgrade to newer models more rapidly than they would a more utilitarian device like a PC.

Forrester Research, though originally optimistic about tablet prospects, says it underestimated demand. I'd have to say I was not so sure about them, at first. There typically are two fundamental paths for a PC type device to establish a permanent place in the market. The devices must displace an existing category, or must create a brand-new category. So far, there remain elements of both types of activity.

But the longer term trend seems to be that a new category actually is being created, more akin to MP3 players than PCs. For consumers who mostly want a content consumption device, the tablet can replace a PC.

For users who must create content and "do work," the tablet represents an additional category of devices to own and use.

US Tablet Sales Will More Than Double This Year | Forrester Blogs

2011 Social Media Predictions: Now Social Media Marketing Gets Tough | Forrester Blogs

Though some might disagree, there is a line of thinking suggesting that "social media does not make marketing any easier."

Although it is a powerful tool for marketers to reinforce their brands, energize advocates and strengthen relationships, it is also yet another marketing channel that requires attention, investment and innovation, argues Forrester Research analyst Augie Ray.

In 2011, social media marketing doesn’t get any easier, either, he argues. Primary among those challenges is that social media is becoming an awfully cluttered and noisy space. On top of that, one always can find loads of social media experts who claim to have unusual insight into making social media work. Some of us just think it is a lot of blocking and tackling, more than a matter of strategy, tools and optimization techniques.

2011 Social Media Predictions: Now Social Media Marketing Gets Tough | Forrester Blogs

Sprint Launches HTC EVO Shift and 4G MiFi

Sprint has announced the launch of the HTC "EVO Shift" 4G and MiFi 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot by Novatel Wireless. With these two devices, Sprint has now introduced 17 4G-capable devices for consumers and business, including three phones, a 4G netbook and notebook from Dell, numerous USB modem options, and several mobile hotspots and routers.

“Sprint will continue to set the bar for feature-rich and customer-friendly 4G devices into 2011,” said Dan Hesse, Sprint CEO. “Our proven leadership as a 4G pioneer has allowed our customers to enjoy 4G from Sprint first, and these new products exemplify Sprint’s commitment to put industry-leading performance and capabilities in the hands of our customers.

Sprint Newsroom | Sprint’s 4G Leadership Extends into 2011 with Introduction of Second Generation of Industry-Leading 4G-Capable Devices

How Many 4G Networks are Too Many?

LightSquared could spend between $1.25 billion and $1.5 billion on deploying its LTE network in the United States in 2011, according to Avian Securities LLC .

Catharine Trebnick, Avian's senior research analyst, estimates that LightSquared could start service in initial markets as early as June or July this year with nine Midwest markets expected to be lit up this year as well.

So a reasonable observer might ask "how many national 4G networks are too many?" Given that Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, Clearwire, T-Mobile USA and MetroPCS all plan or are building such networks now, LightSquared would make seven such national networks (whether each network is "4G" now is a marketing question, not a "technology" question, now that the International Telecommunications Union has said all such networks are, in fact, "4G," even if none of them actually matches the ITU's own standards).

Based on past experience, seven national mobile broadband networks is likely an unstable market condition. One might argue that three to four operators is about as many as can profitably exist in the U.S. market. Virtually nowhere are five to seven operators considered viable.

So consolidation is inevitable.

Light Reading Mobile - 4G/LTE - Rumor: LightSquared Ready to Spend Big on LTE - Telecom News Analysis

Clearwire Speculation is Inevitable

Craig McCaw's resignation as Clearwire chairman is bound to raise some questions about the company's future, though McCaw's investment group owns only about four percent of the firm's total equity. Still, a high-profile resignation of this type is bound to provoke questions.

Michael Mahoney, senior managing director for Falcon Point Capital LLC, is among those who think the departure is significant. "He is Clearwire," Mahoney says. "So you sort of think, 'Geez, are they going under?'"

Others will simply suggest that some major change of ownership is coming, and that any new majority or sole owner will name a new chairman. Nor is an ultimate Clearwire sale an unusual thought. Perhaps few analysts would ever have predicted that Clearwire would remain in business, under its own name, as an independent company, indefinitely.

No company Craig McCaw ever has founded has remained independent. Sprint already owns between 54 percent and 57 percent of Clearwire, depending on how one measures. And most observers would say six national 4G networks is an unstable situation.

Clearwire Chair Craig McCaw to Quit Today - BusinessWeek