App developers are the cornerstones of the multibillion-dollar app market, but the overall community remains largely unknown. As app downloads increase, organizations that can bring tools, resources, and a collective voice to this group will be an important factor in the evolution of mobile-app development. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Whether it’s the iPhone 5, the importance of LTE, or BYOD trends disrupting the enterprise, there are always technologies, trends, and companies changing the way we define mobile. Here are some noteworthy segments to watch in the coming months, from location-based shopping to apps to wireless networks. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The adoption of tablets, social media and new interfaces and the changing nature of the TV itself mean the digital living room will continue on its path of rapid change, thanks to new ways of creating, viewing, bundling, distributing and selling content. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
From SOPA to Microsoft’s expanded Xbox live platform to cloud-based content storage from Apple and Google, the fourth quarter in consumer electronics and media was all about the continued battle for digital living room dominance. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
TV gaming startup PlayJam has raised a $5 million Series A funding round from GameStop Digital Ventures, Adobe Ventures, Endeavour Ventures, London Venture Partners and others. The financing comes as PlayJam sees a massive opportunity to bring new games to connected TV platforms. Read more »
New connected devices are making the same type of granular reporting and targetability that is available on web-based video ads also available on the TV. San Francisco-based startup adRise wants to be the platform to enable those ads to be delivered across multiple devices. Read more »
Epix once had an edge over other cable networks, with a streaming offering to go along with its linear cable feed. But now that everyone’s on the TV Everywhere bandwagon, Epix continues to innovate, adding original programming and making videos available on a number of devices. Read more »
When it comes to Google TV, you have to wonder if Google went too big too soon. And while the company wasn’t wrong to try and own the TV interface, here are some lessons it should take into account as it fine tunes its platform. Read more »
Best Buy is treading carefully into the connected TV space, introducing two new models of TVs that rely on a TiVo-powered user interface and Chumby apps for additional content. But savvy buyers might be disappointed by the lack of streaming services available on the new TVs. Read more »
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 »
Linear TV still rules the ad market, with $160 billion spent worldwide last year. But a growing number of connected TVs will soon disrupt the TV ad market, by combining reach with all the interactivity, targeting and analytics advertisers expect from web video ads. Read more »
If TV OEMS are going to embrace smart TVs, they need a business model that fits this new paradigm. Up-front, one-burst revenue models are being replaced by longer-term, services-oriented relationships. The key to success in this new world is ensuring that new smart-TV owners are connected and […] Read more »
While streaming is all the rage these days, Netflix hasn’t given up on DVDs entirely: The company has quietly launched a new page where users can sign up for an unlimited DVD-by-mail package that matches the $7.99 price of its unlimited streaming offering. Read more »
CE manufacturers are creating universal search applications to find content on across platforms. But the Holy Grail for content discovery will be a user interface that lets users find content they’re looking for, while also serve up a stream of videos relevant to their interests. Read more »
At the IEEE Technology Time Machine Symposium last week I listened to the world’s leading academics, engineers, executives, and government officials project what the world will look like in 2020. The future brings technology together for everything from enhancing the human experience to improving environmental sustainability. Read more »
Showyou is updating its iPad and iPhone apps to make the consumption of videos shared on social networks easier. In particular, Showyou gets “watch later” capability, as well as its own website and a bookmarklet for video sharing. Next up for Showyou: an Android app. Read more »
OnLive is a few steps closer to bringing its streaming video game service to new TVs and Blu-ray players, thanks to a partnership with Intel to add its service to chip sets and the release of a universal controller designed to work with various connected devices. Read more »
Blinkx rolled out a new channel for Roku devices, making its index of premium videos available through the broadband set-top box. The video search and ad company is expanding to reach the big screen, taking videos from its content partners and displaying them on connected devices. Read more »
Comcast could soon make its video services over IP, EVP of Strategy & Development Sam Schwartz wrote in a blog post. The Xcalibur initiative, as it’s called, could revolutionize the way that Comcast customers browse, search and discover content. Read more »
Vizio is adding a Vudu button to remote controls for its connected TVs and Blu-ray players. The button provides easier navigation to the service, but it also highlights the struggle publishers face when trying to reach viewers on connected devices where dozens of apps compete. Read more »
Pay TV subscribers have been frustrated for years by set-top boxes that are difficult to navigate and discover new content on. But that could soon change, with set-top boxes disappearing altogether and being replaced by connected TVs, Blu-ray players, game consoles and other CE devices. Read more »
Vudu has rapidly expanded the number of devices that offer its video on demand service. But the one place you couldn’t find it was in your web browser. That changes today, as full video streaming of all titles will now be available on Vudu.com. Read more »
When it comes to looking at Microsoft’s long journey to become a key player in the digital home, most of the digerati remain skeptics. But recently the company has been swinging a hot bat, with its Xbox 360 and a legitimate holiday hit in the ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The television business is on the cusp of the biggest technological upheaval since the introduction of cable TV. The addition of Internet connectivity to living room devices will enable new functionality around programming services, program discovery, social networking, ad targeting and measurement — aspects of the TV viewing experience that have remained largely unchanged for decades. These trends have the potential to become the foundation for new economic models around how viewers pay for video service and how program creation is financed. In this report, we examine the leading contenders’ strategic positioning, relative strengths and weaknesses, and provide the early line on their odds of success. Companies mentioned include Google, Apple, Boxee, Roku, Vudu, Samsung, Microsoft and Sony. To see a full list of companies and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
With DVD sales plummeting and Blu-ray and digital sell-thru unable to make up the gap, Hollywood continues to struggle with the digital revolution. Among the countless strategies under consideration to reverse this trend is making titles available for rent on or near the day they premiere ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Apple has a go-to-market problem with respect to the digital living room, but we believe an eventual push into the living room by Apple is both inevitable and necessary. The question for Apple is how to get ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Google unveiled Google TV at its I/O conference on May 20, promising to revolutionize the TV ecosystem by giving people “the power to experience what they love on TV and on the web on a single screen,” while turning the living room “into a new platform for innovation.”
It’s a promise made by others (including no-less formidable innovators such as Microsoft and Apple) but never delivered on. Much has changed since Microsoft failed with Web TV, however, and even since Apple introduced (and has since largely ignored) its Apple TV. The amount of premium video content available on the Internet has grown exponentially, while faster broadband connections have made delivering high-quality video over IP networks feasible. In this research note, we look at why the time is ripe for Google’s offering to succeed, what it si, and its potential impacts on the TV ecosystem, including users, hardware providers, app stores, content providers, distributors, and competitors (including Apple, Microsoft, and independent IP video platforms). Read more at GigaOM Pro »
