Amazon has been adding all kinds of features to attract enterprise users to its cloud computing platform, but with it’s new caching product, it’s returning to web developers. Perhaps with an influx of platforms and OpenStack, Amazon realizes it needs to concentrate on its core. Read more »
Europe’s web scene is now thriving, and we’ve compiled a list featuring some of the best and brightest European web startups — what we’re dubbing the GigaOM Euro 20. Depending on how closely you watch Europe’s online scene, some of these companies may be familiar to you. Others you may not have heard of. But all of them are worth watching closely. In this report, we profile the 20 startups that we feel best represent Europe’s current tech scene. We have organized our list around perception, and as lists go, it is intended to be a guideline rather than a rule book. It’s not exhaustive, and clearly, with such a diverse and vibrant continent as our playing field, it never could be. Companies mentioned in this report include GetJar, Huddle, Made.com and Songkick. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
In the latest sign of the disruption of the book-publishing business, John Locke — who earlier this year became the first self-published author to sell a million e-books — has signed a deal with Simon & Schuster that shows how the industry is having to adapt. Read more »
The demise of the HP TouchPad explains much about timing in the tablet market: Consumers won’t buy devices solely for their potential, at least not at full price. Tablet makers still playing catch-up to the iPad’s functions and features better be prepared for a long-term commitment. Read more »
Is broadband one step in the economic value chain or the only step? ISPs have decided it’s the only value and want to charge based on usage. A better model might recognize it is just one element and rethink how it’s offered. Read more »
Without thinking about the SLA it’s impossible to compare costs between clouds. An enterprise gigabyte comes with a whole host of services around it, while Amazon’s does not. So while it seems like cost per gigabyte is a good measure, it’s not. Here’s why. Read more »
Amazon announced today that it has more than 100,000 titles available for rent in its online video-on-demand library. That’s a big number, but it’s not really a threat to Netflix’s subscription streaming service. After all, bigger isn’t always better, and people love all-you-can-eat services. Read more »
Macheen, a company that wants to build a broadband cloud that can provide device makers and retailers with connectivity, has signed a deal with Sprint to deliver 3G service in the U.S. It is now working with Dell in the U.S. and Germany. Read more »
A class-action lawsuit alleges that Apple conspired with the book industry to implement the “agency model” of pricing, which has kept e-book prices high. But was this an actual conspiracy, or just an attempt by Apple and publishers to compete with Amazon’s dominance in the market? Read more »
If you are or have ever been a college student, then you probably know that textbooks are the biggest racket going. Amazon Student, a new official iPhone app put out by Amazon.com, should help you find better prices than you would at your school bookstore. Read more »
At the recent Comic-Con convention, one theme that came up on virtually every author panel was how much things are changing in the publishing industry. Three authors took the time to speak with me and share their hopes for the future of publishing. Read more »
I’m not sure if Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has been sniffing too much eInk from Kindles, but he has a patent for smartphones with airbags and springs. Ridiculous! Anyone who has dropped buttered toast knows a falling smartphone with airbags will land on the non-protected side. Read more »
Boxee’s new iPad app aggregates videos from your Twitter and Facebook contacts, plays videos files stored on your computer and beams videos straight to the Boxee Box or an Apple TV. Check out a detailed walk-through in this week’s episode of Cord Cutters Read more »
At the recent Comic-Con convention, one theme that came up on virtually every panel was how much things are changing in the publishing industry. Three authors took the time to speak with me and share their views on the changing face of publishing. Read more »
Collaborative consumption refers to a class of new businesses that use the web to enable the sharing and bartering of goods and services — from cars to apartments to office space. The market evolved out of the first generation of general-purpose P2P marketplaces such as Craigslist and eBay and is now tied to the way we use the Internet and cell phones. GigaOM Pro conducted a survey of GigaOM readers to gauge the popularity of the collaborative consumption movement, which services readers are using and the impact certain security concerns will have on the growth of industry. This research note examines the survey’s results and provides analysis on the current state and future of the web-sharing market. Companies mentioned in this report include Zipcar, RelayRides, thredUP and Airbnb. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free GigaOM Pro trial subscription. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Amazon’s new browser-based version of its Kindle e-book app is designed to get around Apple’s restrictions on in-app purchasing, but it is also a great example of how media companies should be looking beyond the world of apps to the future of the browser-based web. Read more »
Apple no longer allows e-book sellers to link out to their stores, which is likely why Amazon introduced a new web-based app that works outside of Apple’s official software distribution channel on Wednesday. Here’s a look at the new Kindle Cloud Reader, and its integrated store. Read more »
Mobile payments — payments initiated by a phone for a transaction at a physical point of sale or online — will total over $750 billion worldwide by 2015, and many predict they will soon begin to replace a typical credit card transaction. This report analyzes and forecasts the mobile payments industry, from its current technologies to the companies implementing them and the trends we can expect in the coming months. Much of the near-term growth of mobile payments will be driven by near-field communication (NFC) technology, but QR and 2D bar codes, mobile POS systems and SMS transactions are also important platforms for companies to consider when creating business models and strategies. Meanwhile, services from the likes of MasterCard, Nokia, Amazon and Google offer examples for others to follow and clues into the future of the industry. Additional companies mentioned in this report include Research in Motion, T-Mobile, Zong and Groupon. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Four out of five people are aware of the terms “personal cloud” or “digital locker” according to a new survey. But consumers want such services to be secure, convenient and they don’t want to pay a lot for them. Surprised? Read more »
In addition to enhancing privacy, dedicated circuits will generally result in more predictable data transfer performance and will also increase bandwidth between your data center and AWS. Jeff Barr, evangelist for Amazon Web Services, sees plenty in the company’s new Direct Connect product that will interest […] Read more »
More than 45,000 Verizon workers are striking this morning. People are concerned about what the strike could mean for telecom equipment vendors, but a better question is how much will Verizon’s legacy employees drag down the company as it competes against more modern IT companies? Read more »
On Thursday Amazon announced three enhancements to its cloud computing offering. These include improvements to existing virtual private cloud and identity management solutions as well as a new option to directly connect enterprise networks to machines in Amazon’s Virginia data center, as Derrick Harris recounts and Amazon’s Jeff Barr ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Marrying ecommerce with solar isn’t a new idea, but in Japan, the nuclear disaster in March this year has inspired one Internet giant to not only start selling solar panels online but also offering financial options. Read more »
Cloud-computing insurance has long been posed as a solution to the problem of cloud users assuming too much risk of failure in the wake of things such as lengthy outages, data breaches and Lulzsec attacks. But it seems the idea of off-loading some of that risk ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
As a free app in Amazon’s Appstore, Shifty Jelly’s Pocket Caster Android app, benefitted hugely from the exposure. Sales jumped from 20 per day to 101,491 sales on the day Amazon offered it at no charge. But there’s one problem: The company didn’t make a dime. Read more »
The economic impact of AWS is much bigger and wider than most think, as it is crucial to the startup revolution. In order to push that philosophy, Amazon holds an annual contest, the AWS Startup Challenge, which is now back for its fifth year. Read more »
Nicolas Rapp, who just started as the director of infographics for Fortune magazine has put together this awesome chart that highlights the efficiency of the online distribution model. Amazon and Netflix are two of the most visible examples of companies that are ascendant. Read more »
With an expanded content library and a new key asset acquired to play in the consumer electronics market, Amazon is becoming more aggressive in its pursuit of Netflix. And it couldn’t have happened at a better time, with Netflix approval at all-time lows. Read more »
European startups have a long history of trying to break the American market — a move that works for some but not all. Now the CEO of print-on-demand website Photobox says that Europe’s entrepreneurs should learn from history if they want to build strong companies. Read more »
In 1991, Walmart reported revenue of over $44B, an increase of 35% over the prior year. In 2011 Amazon.com will report revenue of $49B, an increase of 43% over the prior year. Amazon.com is the Walmart of our era (vendor dislikes and all.) Read more »
Last week’s Verdantix and AT&T report on the energy and carbon emission savings to come from cloud computing is the latest in a long line of studies stating the obvious: Shifting computing from inefficient, dispersed data centers to highly efficient, centralized cloud data centers should save ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The second quarter of 2011 was a fast-paced one for the connected consumer segment, with every sector of the digital media landscape — music, e-books, online video and gaming — experiencing significant events and changes. Media consumption, purchase and management continued its shift towards the cloud, ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The future of coupons is moving toward digital and mobile, something that startup SavingStar is taking full advantage of. The company told me it has hit half a million users since it launched its ecoupon product in April, putting it on a faster pace than Groupon’s. Read more »
Apple’s new rule preventing e-book apps from linking to outside storefronts appears to be in effect. Developers are pushing out updates to their apps that bring them in-line, and Google Books is just gone. But what will Amazon do, and how will it affect iOS? Read more »
As the disruption of the book industry continues, media companies are showing an increasing interest in “format shifting” by publishing their own e-books using content that they have already created, moves that are taking them into the growing market between full-length books and magazine articles. Read more »
Open-source cloud computing project OpenStack turned one this week, and cloud backup provider Backblaze freely shared detailed specifications for a storage device capable of holding 135 terabytes of data. Open-source options for everything from servers and data centers to clouds and application platforms are growing more robust. ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
It’s been clear for years now that cloud storage technology is hot — even Amazon, Google and Apple have made big moves into the area. But judging by the latest funding news out of storage startup CX, heavyweight investors are still bullish about newcomers to the space. Read more »
Whole seasons of a number of popular TV shows are coming to Amazon’s Prime Instant Video subscription service, thanks to a licensing agreement between the company and CBS. The deal brings the total number of videos available through Prime to more than 8,000. Read more »
Amazon Web Services announced on Tuesday afternoon that its Simple Storage Service (S3) now houses more than 449 billion objects. The rapid pace of S3′s growth is a microcosm of both AWS’ overall business as well as cloud computing in general. Read more »
