Can Microsoft "Freeze" the Tablet Market?

Back in the "old days," suppliers often would try to "freeze" markets by announcing upcoming new products, in the hope that buyers then would hold off purchasing a rival's product, until the supplier "pre-announcing" had time to get its own model to market. 


It used to work. So some now speculate on whether Microsoft is trying to freeze buyers by announcing its own branded tablet. Some of us doubt that old tactic will work. There simply are too many tablets available, and too little distinctiveness, for many to wait.


Unless, of course, the wait is a couple of months for a brand-new version of the Apple iPad. Both installed base and "plan to purchase" forecasts suggest Apple has a commanding lead in the tablet space, and that any Microsoft move in unlikely to shift much demand away from Apple, no matter what Microsoft does.


There could be some benefit with respect to other tablets running Android, though. 
 

23% of U.S. Internet Users Already Own a Tablet

Today’s tablet users represent  31 percent of Internet users, up from 12 percent in 2011. Moreover, tablet ownership is expected to reach 47 percent of Internet users by 2013, according to a study conducted by Frank Magid Associates and sponsored by the Online Publishers Association. 


Accessing content and information was found to be the dominant activity on the device (94 percent), followed by accessing the internet (67 percent) and checking email (66 percent). 


The study also revealed that tablet users’ primary content-related activities include: watching video (54 percent), getting weather information (49 percent), and accessing national news (37 percent) and entertainment content (36 percent).


An earlier study had found 12 percent of the U.S. Internet population using tablets, the Online Publishers Association earlier found. 


As other studies have suggested, tablets are primarily content consumption devices. Some 87 percent of tablet users use their tablets to get access to content and information, the study found.


The earlier 2011 study suggested users now are broadly familiar with app downloads. Some 93 percent of tablet users have downloaded apps and the average tablet user has downloaded 20 apps.


Some 79 percent of app downloaders have paid for apps in the last 12 months, and 26 percent of all apps downloaded are paid apps. 


On average, those who have downloaded apps on tablets have spent $53 on apps in the past 12 months. 

Vonage Says VoIP Providers Should Get Direct Access to Numbers

Vonage has asked the Federal Communications Commission to allow it and other VoIP providers direct access to phone numbers, a move Verizon and AT&T say they support, so long as VoIP providers are subject to the same rules as the incumbents are. 


Competitive local exchange carriers object, on the grounds that VoIP providers would gain business advantage if the FCC were to grant the request. As typically is the case, the changes are viewed as conferring business advantage to some contestants, compared to others. 

Canadian Broadband More Expensive Than U.S. Broadband

Canada’s broadband fees were lower than those in the United States in 2007 to 2009, but as a result of large increases in usage during the past two years, and generally small usage caps, the average Canadian broadband subscriber paid 3.9 percent more in 2011 than the average U.S. subscriber did,  PwC report says.


Differences in average prices between nations and regions are not unusual, in any segment of communications. But the study does suggest that growing usage, smaller caps and the need to upgrade to bigger tiers of service are having an impact in the Canadian market. 

Medical Personnel Conflicted about Mobile Health Apps and Services

A recent consumer survey conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit found consumers more convinced of the value of mobile health technologies than health providers.

Roughly half of consumers predict that within the next three years, mobile health will improve the convenience (46 percent), cost (52 percent) and quality (48 percent) of their healthcare.

But 60 percent of consumers said they believe doctors are not as interested in mobile health as patients and technology companies are, PwC reports.

About 64 percent of doctors and payers said that mobile health business models are unproven. And some would say that apparent consumer interest does not translate well into actual sustained usage. The study found that more than 66 percent of consumer respondents who have used mobile wellness or fitness applications with manual data entry discontinued it after the first six months.

Some 13 percent of physicians actually discourage use of mobile health apps. Also, some 42 percent of doctors worry that mobile health options will make patients “too independent.”

Also, it appears that mobile heatth might actually reduce patient visits, which has negative revenue implications for health professionals.

Among consumers who already are using mHealth services, 59 percent said they have replaced some visits to doctors or nurses. Also, although more convenient access to their doctor or healthcare provider is seen as a mobile health advantage by 46 percent of respondents, some 43 percent believe it w2ill reduce out-of-pocket healthcare costs. That means less revenue for health professionals.

Burger King Corp. Tests Closed Loop Mobile Payment App

Burger King Corp. has launched a pilot program to test its new mobile payment application in select restaurants in the Salt Lake City, Utah, area., using a closed loop approach similar to what Starbucks does, signing up users to a branded prepaid card, then linking linking the mobile app to the card. 


The "BK Mobile Crown Card" program will be tested at about 50 restaurants in Salt Lake City, Utah area. The test will use quick response codes as the communication method between iOS and Android devices and the point of sale terminals. 


All such experiments are early versions of what might someday be more elegant in approach. The difference between scanning a prepaid card, a standard credit or debit card, and using a mobile that does the same thing, might not be so compelling that most people will want to do it. But the behavior is probably the key reason for using such approaches.


Getting people used to the idea of using a mobile as a payment mechanism is a habit that will have to be created. 

Tablet Gamers are Older

The average age of a U.S. or U.K. mobile device owner who has played a game on the device in the past month (”mobile gamer”) is 39.5, while among those only playing games on a tablet, the average age is 44.7, according to PopCap. That is not too surprising, if you assume older people can afford a tablet more easily than younger consumers. 


Some 16 percent of mobile gamers are 55 or older, while roughly two thirds are less than 45 years old.