EchoStar Technologies will introduce a new video-on-demand solution aimed at smaller cable TV operators. The new "Aria" system features a high-definition digital video recorder with a high-resolution interactive program guide, a video-on-demand service.
The set-tops also will be "SlingLoaded," incorporating the ability to view at-home content at remote locations. The single-server solution supports Apple iOS, Google Android, BlackBerry and Windows mobile devices. The system also provides a remote DVR programming feature.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
EchoStar to Debut Small Cable Operator VOD
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Samsung, LG, Motorola Top U.S. Device Share, comScore Reports
Whatever else you might say about developments in the smart phone market, it has to be noted that Android has succeeded in the marketplace, perhaps beyond what its detractors had hoped for. As recently as August 2010 you could still find some people suggesting Android would not threaten Research in Motion, for example. See http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/08/25/android_to_conquer_all_not/. Before that, people were arguing that little of the actual cost of a smart phone is driven by the cost of an OS license, so Android would not get much traction. Before that, some were arguing that mobile operating systems were more complicated than they seemed, and that Google would struggle to get it right.
In less than a year, those predictions seem to be catastrophically wrong, for RIM. And though the conventional wisdom now is that Apple and Android are the top-two smart phone operating systems to contend with, the conventional wisdom seems to be right. All of a sudden, it seems an arguable point that RIM and Nokia might not make it. Given RIM's historic dominance of the enterprise, and Nokia's prominence globally, both might have seemed unthinkable just a couple years ago.
Apple jumped to the fourth position with 8.3 percent share of mobile subscribers (up 1.3 percentage points), while RIM rounded out the top five with 8.2 percent share.
Google Android ranked as the top operating system with 36.4 percent of U.S. smartphone subscribers, up 5.2 percentage points. Apple also gained share, capturing the number-two position with 26 percent of the smartphone market. RIM ranked third with 25.7 percent share, followed by Microsoft (6.7 percent) and Palm (2.6 percent).
Google Android ranked as the top operating system with 36.4 percent of U.S. smartphone subscribers, up 5.2 percentage points. Apple also gained share, capturing the number-two position with 26 percent of the smartphone market. RIM ranked third with 25.7 percent share, followed by Microsoft (6.7 percent) and Palm (2.6 percent).
Considering that only 32 percent of U.S. subscribers appear to own a smart phone, it is perhaps significant that 39 percent of all phone owners say they use browsers, while 38 percent download apps. About 28 percent use mobile social networking or check out blogs from their mobiles, while 26 percent play games on their devices.
| Mobile Content Usage 3 Month Avg. Ending Apr. 2011 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Jan. 2011 Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens | |||
| Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers | |||
| Jan-11 | Apr-11 | Point Change | |
| Total Mobile Subscribers | 100.0% | 100.0% | N/A |
| Sent text message to another phone | 68.1% | 68.8% | 0.7 |
| Used browser | 37.0% | 39.1% | 2.1 |
| Used downloaded apps | 35.4% | 37.8% | 2.4 |
| Accessed social networking site or blog | 25.3% | 28.0% | 2.7 |
| Played Games | 23.7% | 26.2% | 2.5 |
| Listened to music on mobile phone | 16.5% | 18.0% | 1.5 |
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
Friday, June 3, 2011
U.S. and European SMBs Buying Cloud Services
U.S. and Western European small and medium business technology buyers are allocating a larger proportion of their spending to cloud-based services, according to AMI-Partners research.
About 15 percent of U.S. SMBs were buying cloud services in 2010, but that will grow to 15 percent in 2015, AMI-Partners predicts.
About 15 percent of U.S. SMBs were buying cloud services in 2010, but that will grow to 15 percent in 2015, AMI-Partners predicts.
At the same time, spending by Western Europe’s 11 million small and medium businesses on cloud services is set to grow at a CAGR of 12.6 percent between now and 2015. See http://www.ami-partners.com/index.php?target=news&mode=details&news_id=205.
U.S. SMB buyers are showing a strong inclination to purchase bundled cloud offerings as opposed to a stand-alone application, AMI-Partners says.
“A significant segment of U.S. SMBs prefer to deploy multiple cloud services in order to achieve flexibility, ease of IT management, and lower CAPEX,” says Donald Best of AMI.
The AMI research shows that 38 percent of U.S. SMBs have a strong preference for obtaining software as a service as part of a package or bundle, versus only 11 percent who are interested in a single service. One third of U.S. SMBs are interested in bundling multiple hosted infrastructure and remotely managed services offerings, versus nine percent of firms who only want a single service.
In Western Europe, adoption of cloud services (SaaS, IaaS and Managed Services) will double by 2015. A key contributor to the impetus of the Cloud is the proliferation of mobile devices, AMI-Partners says.
Nearly two thirds of Western European SMBs surveyed by AMI-Partners equip their employees with smart phones for business purposes, and tablet computers are also experiencing very rapid uptake, according to the study. Some eight percent of SMBs plan to purchase over 1.5 million tablets for their businesses in the next 12 months, the study also found.
“The cloud model’s flexible payment model (pay per user per month) makes access to technology affordable for resource-constrained small and medium businesses,” says Hugh Gibbs, VP Research, EMEA.. “But equally important is that the cloud model eases and speeds up implementation of technology."
U.S. SMB buyers are showing a strong inclination to purchase bundled cloud offerings as opposed to a stand-alone application, AMI-Partners says.
“A significant segment of U.S. SMBs prefer to deploy multiple cloud services in order to achieve flexibility, ease of IT management, and lower CAPEX,” says Donald Best of AMI.
The AMI research shows that 38 percent of U.S. SMBs have a strong preference for obtaining software as a service as part of a package or bundle, versus only 11 percent who are interested in a single service. One third of U.S. SMBs are interested in bundling multiple hosted infrastructure and remotely managed services offerings, versus nine percent of firms who only want a single service.
In Western Europe, adoption of cloud services (SaaS, IaaS and Managed Services) will double by 2015. A key contributor to the impetus of the Cloud is the proliferation of mobile devices, AMI-Partners says.
Nearly two thirds of Western European SMBs surveyed by AMI-Partners equip their employees with smart phones for business purposes, and tablet computers are also experiencing very rapid uptake, according to the study. Some eight percent of SMBs plan to purchase over 1.5 million tablets for their businesses in the next 12 months, the study also found.
“The cloud model’s flexible payment model (pay per user per month) makes access to technology affordable for resource-constrained small and medium businesses,” says Hugh Gibbs, VP Research, EMEA.. “But equally important is that the cloud model eases and speeds up implementation of technology."
About 70 percent of European small businesses have no dedicated IT staff resources.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
U.S. Small Businesses Will Spend $36 Billion on Marketing in 2012
Total marketing spending by U.S. small businesses (companies with fewer than 100 employees) will reach $36 billion in 2012, as an increased number of firms invests in advertising and promotional activities, according to Access Markets International Partners.
Spending is expected to be up four percent from 2010 levels.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
74% of Enterprises Use Cloud Computing, Survey Finds
Some 74 percent of 573 enterprise executives surveyed by Avenade are using cloud computing. Of organizations yet to adopt cloud services, three quarters say they will do so in the future.
About 60 percent of respondents say cloud computing is a top IT priority for next year. Among C-level executives, 75 percent report cloud computing as a top priority. Some 43 percent of companies surveyed use private cloud services.
The United States has seen steady cloud computing adoption rates with a 19 percent increase since 2009.
About 60 percent of respondents say cloud computing is a top IT priority for next year. Among C-level executives, 75 percent report cloud computing as a top priority. Some 43 percent of companies surveyed use private cloud services.
The United States has seen steady cloud computing adoption rates with a 19 percent increase since 2009.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
Social Network Musical Chairs
Some of us might say there is a game of musical chairs being played by private social networks that believe now is the time to go public. Valuations are debated, but for those of you who think there is a social media bubble going on, the issue is how long before the bubble bursts and one of the IPOs simply breaks the trend line.
The big social network that is the last to raise money may find it waited too long.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
LightSquared's LTE breaks GPS in New Mexico
LightSquared is going nowhere with its proposed Long Term Evolution unless it can fix the interference problems it seems to cause to GPS systems.
Deere & Co. has reported to the Federal Communications Commission the risk of "severe interference" on tractors using GPS systems from as far as 20 miles away from a LightSquared tower and "a complete loss of service" between four miles and 22 miles distant.
Deere & Co. has reported to the Federal Communications Commission the risk of "severe interference" on tractors using GPS systems from as far as 20 miles away from a LightSquared tower and "a complete loss of service" between four miles and 22 miles distant.
Separately, public safety officials near the testing area reported LightSquared's tower knocked out their GPS systems in some areas, according to Bill Range, New Mexico's E-911 program director.
The frequencies Lightsquare uses are located close to the frequencies used by satellite navigation systems, and GPS users—particularly the military and police—worry the company's plan to install 40,000 antennas around the country will overpower GPS signals.
The frequencies Lightsquare uses are located close to the frequencies used by satellite navigation systems, and GPS users—particularly the military and police—worry the company's plan to install 40,000 antennas around the country will overpower GPS signals.
In principle, frequency filters should work, but there also is the matter of signal strength. GPS signals are quite weak, compared to the cell tower transmissions. And filter performance will drift with temperature.
Unless LightSquared can conclusively prove it really has a durable fix, it will not get final permission to use its satellite frequencies on the ground, to support LTE service.
LightSquared's LTE breaks GPS in New Mexico trial, angers John Deere
LightSquared's LTE breaks GPS in New Mexico trial, angers John Deere
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
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