GigaOM » Janko Roettgers

What we’ll see in 2013 in digital media

paidContent — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 19:00:15 +0000

Some big things happened in the media business this year: The government sued Apple for allegedly fixing ebook prices, odd bedfellows the New York Times and BuzzFeed joined forces to cover political conventions, and a phone hacking scandal rocked Britain.

What will next year bring? Everyone loves to look into their crystal ball, and we’re no different. So here are our collective predictions for 2013, from books and video to newspapers and advertising.

This is one of a handful of pieces over the next week that looks at what’s coming down the road next year in the various sectors we cover.

Go to page 2 (of 6) on GigaOM .

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

Android this week: LTE for Nexus 4; Skype 3.0; Google’s AirPlay

Kevin C. Tofel — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 16:01:49 +0000

Many reviewers of Google’s Nexus 4 smartphone have appropriately pointed out the handset lacks support for fast LTE networks. Some have called this a fatal flaw, but as I explained in my own Nexus 4 review, the phone still provides a fast mobile broadband experience in certain coverage areas. It turns out that in very particular regions, the phone actually does work on LTE networks.

A teardown of the phone by iFixit showed a 7-band Qualcomm LTE chip inside the Nexus 4. But the chip alone won’t bring speedy LTE service to the handset that’s otherwise limited to HSPA+. It turns out that there are power amplifiers for one particular LTE band, however.

AnandTech noticed this and did some additional testing: Indeed, on the 1700 / 2100 MHz ranges — AWS or Band 4 — the Nexus 4 does work with LTE when users switch a single setting. That doesn’t really help Nexus 4 owners in the U.S. but some in Canada will benefit as some carriers there use the AWS band for LTE.

While not everyone gains LTE on their Android phone this week, they do get a Skype update. Version 3 improves voice quality thanks to Skype’s SILK codec and tablets gain an optimized interface for larger screens. The tablet version is limited to landscape use only and in my testing I had some issues using the app in portrait mode on my phone, illustrating the challenge to create Android apps that work across the entire range of available devices.

Google can’t do much about that, but it can help Android devices stream media content to large screens. The company is working on an AirPlay-like feature that has already been implemented in part: You can now shoot YouTube videos from a Android device to a Google TV. But there’s more to it than just that as my colleague, Janko Roettgers, explains:

“And it’s not just about remote control functionality and beaming a video from your mobile phone to the TV we are talking about. The new protocol makes it possible for data to flow in both directions, Drayson explained, which would enable developers to build second-screen experiences that correspond to what’s happening on live TV as well. Also on the roadmap: beaming content from your laptop to your TV screen.”

I like the idea of second screen experiences as I often use two, three, or even four screens, when watching sports, for example. Enjoying the actual content is great, but having supplemental content on a phone or tablet can enhance the experience.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

Commutist podcast: The holiday gadget gift guide

Chris Albrecht — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 06:34:22 +0000

Not sure what to get a loved one this holiday (or just want to make sure a loved one gets you the right gadget)? Then sit back and relax for this special GigaOM holiday gift guide episode of the Commutist podcast. Join myself, Erica Ogg, Kevin Tofel and Janko Roettgers as we break down the best gear to buy.

(download)

iTunes

Stitcher Radio

SHOW NOTES:
Today’s episode of the Commutist is brought to you by TriNet – the cloud-based HR partner helping startups and small businesses manage payroll, benefits, and employer related risks.

Products discussed in this episode:

Plantronics Headphones
Samsung Chromebook
iPad mini
Nexus 4
Kindle Paperwhite
Olloclip
Mophie
Gogo 3-Pack

PREVIOUS EPISODES:
War Tweets, Google TV and Nexus 4

Director Jay Duplass on low-fi movies through high-tech

Election Dissection, Ditching DSL and Dumping the iPad

Sandy’s Social, Infrastructure Impact and Forstall

Windows 8 Surfaces, and disruption eruption

iPad Mini, iMac gets skinny

Boxee Cloud DVR, Apple Rumors and Chromebook

Commutist interview: Joy of X author Steven Strogatz

Commutist podcast: Patent trolls, Costco ban and Passbook’s home run

Commutist, meet Nerdist, and interview with Chris Hardwick

T-Metro, Broadband Caps, Remembering Steve Jobs

Apple’s iO-Mess, Dirty Data Centers and Tesla

News from the Mobilize Conference

Paul Tough: How Children Succeed and what you can learn from them

The iPhone 5 Event

Come on, Kindle, Light My 4G Fire

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

Commutist podcast: War tweets, Google TV 3 and Nexus 4

Chris Albrecht — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 00:16:44 +0000

On this week’s episode of our weekly podcast, we bring in Mathew Ingram to examine the fascinating and bizarre concept of Israel live tweeting its military actions. And then on a less serious note, we get all Google-y with Janko Roettgers about what the new Google TV 3.0 means for the future of television and Kevin Tofel talks up the Nexus 4 phone and the state of Chrome OS.

(NOTE: We are aware of the audio scratching noise you can sometimes here. We isolated it part-way through the show and it disappears halfway through the first segment. Thank you for your patience!)

(download)

iTunes

Stitcher Radio

SHOW NOTES:
Hosts: Chris Albrecht and Erica Ogg

0:00 – Israel’s social media offensive

11:37 – Google TV 3.0

26:10 – The Nexus 4 and Chromebooks

34:45 – Parting gifts:

Kevin teaches you how to take a screenshot with a Kindle Paperwhite

Erica likes the Food with Friends app from Foodily in advance of Thanksgiving

Chris wants you know if you were bugged by Skyfall’s hacking scene as much as he was. (email him at podcast at gigaom dot com)

PREVIOUS EPISODES:
Director Jay Duplass on low-fi movies through high-tech

Election Dissection, Ditching DSL and Dumping the iPad

Sandy’s Social, Infrastructure Impact and Forstall

Windows 8 Surfaces, and disruption eruption

iPad Mini, iMac gets skinny

Boxee Cloud DVR, Apple Rumors and Chromebook

Commutist interview: Joy of X author Steven Strogatz

Commutist podcast: Patent trolls, Costco ban and Passbook’s home run

Commutist, meet Nerdist, and interview with Chris Hardwick

T-Metro, Broadband Caps, Remembering Steve Jobs

Apple’s iO-Mess, Dirty Data Centers and Tesla

News from the Mobilize Conference

Paul Tough: How Children Succeed and what you can learn from them

The iPhone 5 Event

Come on, Kindle, Light My 4G Fire

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

Commutist Podcast: Boxee cloud DVR, Apple rumors, Surface and Chromebook

Kevin C. Tofel — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 07:01:40 +0000

Starting today’s audio podcast is a blend of new and old: Janko Roettgers explains how Boxee’s new product works while Kevin shares a bit of HDTV tuner box history. With Apple’s media event next week, now’s a good time for Erica Ogg to share thoughts on the latest possible Apple product news.

Mac mini, Retina Display on a 13-inch MacBook Pro and iMac upgrades are all in the mix but will they take backstage to a smaller Apple iPad? Hopefully, they’ll help folks forget this week’s EPEAT fiasco. And Kevin talks about the different messages Microsoft and Google are sending out about their respective products: Surface with Windows RT and a $249 Chromebook that runs on smartphone-like chips.

SHOW NOTES:

0:00:00 – 0:05:20 — What’s Boxee’s cloud DVR all about and is it worth it?

0:05:20 – 0:11:00 – A roundup of the latest Apple whispers and iPad Mini thoughts

0:11:00 – 0:13:30 – Maybe EPEAT certification isn’t all that after all

0:13:30 – 0:16:30 – Microsoft’s reasons for Surface haven’t really…. surfaced

0:16:30 — 0:21:30– A new Chromebook at a low price could get ChromeOS moving forward

PREVIOUS EPISODES:

Commutist interview: Joy of X author Steven Strogatz

Commutist podcast: Patent trolls, Costco ban and Passbook’s home run

Commutist, meet Nerdist, and interview with Chris Hardwick

T-Metro, Broadband Caps, Remembering Steve Jobs

Apple’s iO-Mess, Dirty Data Centers and Tesla

News from the Mobilize Conference

Paul Tough: How Children Succeed and what you can learn from them

The iPhone 5 Event

Come on, Kindle, Light My 4G Fire

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

Making money on mobile: the YouTube perspective

Jeff John Roberts — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 19:54:50 +0000

It’s no secret that more and more content is being consumed on mobile devices. While this has been a source of stress for some web publishers like Facebook, YouTube appears to be doing just fine at monetizing phones, tablets, Xbox consoles and more.

Shiva Rajaraman, YouTube’s director of product management, joined our video reporter Janko Roettgers at GigaOM’s Mobilize conference to explain the company’s view of mobile.

Screens are everywhere, Pages are dead

According to Rajaraman, 25 percent of YouTube videos are being watched on mobile devices and the number is accelerating rapidly. In some markets, like Korea, that figure is already at 50 percent. Rajaraman attributes this rise to everything from larger screen sizes, more 3G and 4G networks, and consumers turning to tablets over desktops for info and entertainment.

For content makers, this means that creating a video channel page in a “classically desktop” design is folly. Pages with links, browser bars and other desktop architecture just doesn’t belong in a video environment, says Rararaman.

“Pages are dead,” he says. “It’s all about fluidity and a full screen model.. like TV.”

This means that YouTube’s partners have had to adjust to how their content is presented — and where it appears. While the site once let video makers publish to discrete devices, now their only choice for syndication is monetized or non-monetized platforms. The reason for this is that YouTube wanted to put a stop to the “odd experience” where a video shared from a desktop can’t be seen on a mobile device. Rajaraman said the channels must be everywhere in the same way that your friends are always there on a social network no matter which platform you use.

But what about monetization?

Unlike display ads, which have proved a rocky fit on smaller screens, video ads have made a smoother transition. Rajaraman says that YouTube’s plan is to continue scaling its skippable pre-roll ads across all devices where people watch them as part of a fluid package of content.

He also noted that while the format of online video resembles TV, the advertising environment is much less restriced. Ad makers are not constrained by artificial 15 or 30 second windows and that the possibilities for execution are much broader. Rajaraman observes, for instance, that advertisers trying to induce a call to action (like asking a viewer to go to a web page) can try to reach the target with one big splash rather than using conventional TVs tactic of bombarding the target with the same ad.

Audience members asked if the video ecosystem is threatened by phone carriers’ increasingly strict limits on data usage. Rajaraman said that YouTube was looking for ways to “uncap” people but that the company for now is not disclosing how much content is consumed on Wi-Fi versus on phone networks.

He also suggested that YouTube was in the process of developing something analogous to Apple Airplay for Android.

On the broader picture of how consumers will interact with video content in the future, Rajaraman said that TV will be used for display and mobile devices for discovery.

Check out the rest of our Mobilize 2012 coverage here, and the live stream can be found here.

Watch this video for free on GigaOM

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.