Android was everywhere at the 2013 International CES, but the bigger names didn’t offer much this time. Instead, companies like Huawei, ZTE and Vizio showed off new phones. Meanwhile, Dropbox gets a nice upgrade on Android and I share my favorite new Android device from CES. Read more »
Thought iPads and Android tablets were bad for netbooks? Wait until they replace TV sets. Vizio CTO Matt McRae believes that consumers are beginning to choose tablets over small TVs. Luckily, his company is making both – and a new set-top-box that further blurs the line. Read more »
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 »
Korea Telecom in South Korea has taken an interesting twist on network neutrality, and is blocking Samsung’s Smart TVs from access the Internet, according to a large S. Korean daily. That’s right, net neutrality isn’t just for applications like Netflix anymore. Read more »
The Apple TV sold 1.4 million units during the holiday quarter, about half of what Apple sold in the entire year prior. While it’s far from a mass-market device, its sales numbers show that even in a relatively small market, Apple dominates the competition. Read more »
A week ago, it seemed like Google TV was back on track after announcing new partners. But if Google finally is gaining the trust and support of the consumer electronics industry, there was little evidence of it at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Read more »
With the industry in uproar and a good reputation in TVs, Vizio has picked a great (perhaps the greatest?) time in recent PC industry history to try to make its mark on the industry by taking an entertainment-focused, Windows-based approach to laptops and desktops. Read more »
Sony is going to start selling Google TV devices around the world, Google revealed in a blog post today. Google also confirmed we are going to see new Google TV gear from LG, Vizio, Samsung and Sony at CES in Las Vegas next week. Read more »
Connectivity changes everything. That’s the credo driving just about every corner of our day-to-day lives. As human beings, we are now connected to one another through not just our social networks but also our cars, the books we read, the albums we download and even our own health and wellness habits (to name just a few areas). With that in mind, GigaOM Pro has singled out certain areas in the technology industry where we see this shift to constant connectivity taking place most drastically. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Google rocked the mobile world on Monday, August 15, with the news that it will buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, marking a 63-percent premium for the handset manufacturer. It’s a move that ushers Google into the exclusive club of companies that control both the hardware and software elements of their smartphone offerings, and it will enable Google to design handsets that are more closely integrated with Android. However, the deal doesn’t come without its risks, and it remains to be seen just how it will affect other handset makers, competition from Microsoft and the crucial patent issues currently surrounding Google. Companies mentioned in this report include Apple, Research In Motion and Samsung. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Yahoo TV is one of the oldest connected TV platforms still around, but it continues to innovate. Its broadcast interactivity feature offers new ways for broadcasters and advertisers to reach consumers. But with some of its OEMs looking at other platforms, can it fulfill its promise? Read more »
The NBA’s effort to increase the amount of video available to fans in the latest season, with the league reporting more website visitors and video streams watched over the course of the 2010/2011 season and postseason than ever before. 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 »
Microsoft’s recent acquisition of Skype is the largest the company has ever made, and it’s raised many questions in the process. This research note examines Skype’s overall value and where it fits strategically into the world of Microsoft. From Office 365 and Bing to Xbox Kinect and Windows Phone, there are numerous ways in which Microsoft can leverage the functionality of its newest addition — and numerous risks it could incur in the process. Additional companies mentioned in this report include Cisco, Panasonic and Google. For a full list of companies and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Thought Andoid tablets can’t be cool? Vizio begs to differ: The company just introduced an iPad competitor that doubles as a fancy multitouch remote control for any Vizio TV ever sold, plus millions of other CE devices. Features like these could help Android tablets to succeed. Read more »
This week at the Consumer Electronics Show, we’re likely to see dozens of new tablets and smartphones from the usual suspects — and at least one surprise entrant. Vizio will show off a new 4-inch smartphone and 8-inch tablet, both of which are built around Google Android. Read more »
Vizio could give Google TV a lifeline, with a new line of HD televisions that run the operating system combining live TV with Internet apps. But will Vizio’s market heft and integration with new mobile devices be enough to save the Google TV platform? Read more »
Netflix has grown pretty substantially since launching its subscription streaming service. But pretty soon, it might not be the only game in town; companies like OnLive and Vizio are in negotiations with content owners to launch their own streaming services like the one Netflix has. Read more »
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 »
For years, companies that wanted to launch pay TV services had to invest heavily to do so. But now the acceptance of IP video services could provide a way to reach a large and growing audience without a huge upfront ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
TV apps — interactive, web-like applications meant to “enhance” the TV viewing experience by supplementing programming content with additional material and activities — are evolving quickly from a novelty feature on some Internet-enabled HDTVs and a few cable systems to a standard capability. Their rise is driven by rapid growth in the number of Internet-connected devices in consumers’ living rooms, growing consumer familiarity with mobile apps and strategic competitive forces that influence video service providers. In this report, we look at the market dynamics, key players, and provide forecasts for the market, including network-connected televisions, embedded app marketplaces, app downloads, paid TV apps, and revenue from the sale of paid apps to consumers, which will grow from $10 million in 2010 to $1.9 billion by 2015. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Some of the lessons learned from the commercials during Super Bowl 2010: Beer solves lots of problems, pants are optional. Google has Apple envy. NewTeeVee rewinds four top superbowl commercials. Read more »
The 2010 Consumer Electronics Show is history, but plenty of the products on display at the show are still generating plenty of buzz. Much of the talk surrounds all of the 3-D products that were on display at the show — everything from HDTVs and Blu-ray […] Read more »
Take that, Boxee Box! Take that, Roku Player! Sure, those companies are adding lots of content to their broadband set-top boxes through channels or apps developed by third-party content partners. But while those guys are competing to get more apps delivered to the TV through a […] Read more »
Well how about that. We knew 3-D would be a big topic of discussion at CES this year, but with new 3-D capable HDTVs and new cable programming slated for release this year, it looks like 3-D could be the topic of the show. Consumer electronics […] Read more »
