Microsoft Wants to Invade Your Living Room with Xbox One

It connects, it’s alive, and will always remember you. It is the Xbox One, the next gaming console for Microsoft. Today, Microsoft revealed this next generation Xbox in an event titled Xbox Reveal via Xbox Live. The majority of the presentation was centered on the connection Xbox One will have to the users and it’s new look. The users voice will power on the console. The gestures of the user provide remote-less entertainment. The Xbox One will remember user history, trends, and favorites. It can connect the user with his/her friends, mostly through Skype, which is owned by Microsoft. It also contains “intelligent TV”; Users can watch live TV while using other apps included on the system and receive personal recommendations based on use. Intelligent TV caught my eye as it competes with TV services from competitors. Microsoft didn’t give substantial information about “intelligent TV”. I wasn’t sure if this was the official name or just a description on the upcoming Xbox TV. In order to provide live TV that is enticing enough to not use cable, Xbox would have to create a cable/TV subscription service (such service wasn’t mentioned).

Steven Spielberg has partnered with Xbox to create a live action series based on the popular game, Halo.  NFL also partnered up, allowing Xbox to provide more interaction during live games, including updating fantasy football stats.  The Kinect is more sensitive as its 1080p resolution interacts better with body and hand gestures. As the user becomes the controller and the console works to provide specific personal entertainment, Xbox One will collect 2 Gb of data every minute on its user to better know and build an entertainment guide for them.  Of course, Xbox also plugged its phone and tablet – both can interact as remotes to the console if hand gestures are too much.

Instagram Pulls Inline Pics from Twitter

Battle of the social media companies is ongoing. Adrian Covert of Cnnmoney.com reports “Instagram voluntarily pulled the plug on its Twitter photo integration Wednesday”. It means before Wednesday Instagram photos would “appear inline with the tweet” and Instagram claims the feature will no longer appear. The article reports the initial assumption was that Twitter made the move against Instagram. However, Kevin Systrom, Instagram founder, has taken responsibility and emailed a statement to CNN Money (statement in the article) basically stating that due to Instagram’s bigger web presence and capabilities, it doesn’t need Twitter anymore and wants people to look back to Instagram for more features.

With Facebook having purchased Instagram and Instagram making this move, this heats up the social media back-and-forth between Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. However, I’ve been able to see Instagram photos on my Twitter timeline; yet again, I use apps such as Tweetcaster from my phone and Tweetdeck from my mac. I’m not sure the effect is complete from the official Twitter app or website. The article reports the Instagram move “means Twitter users have to make one extra click to view an image” – not much of an inconvenience unless one follows many people with great Instagram profiles.

Apple and HTC to End Legal Battle

This Saturday, Apple Inc. and HTC Corp agreed to a settlement in their legal battle. “Apple and HTC settle global patent battle” by Dan Levine of Reuters.com reports both agreed to a “10-year licensing agreement that ends one of the first major conflagrations of the smartphone patent wars”.

This comes a few months after Samsung lost to Apple in one of their patent legal battles. Tim Cook has expressed to media outlets that he offered licensing agreements to Samsung and other companies before pursuing legal efforts. Samsung’s $1.05 billion loss and the cost of fighting a multi-year international case likely encouraged HTC to settle rather than continue the case. The article reports Apple had been able “to actually disrupt the flow of products into the crucial U.S. market”. With the licensing agreement, HTC should be able to bring more products into the market.

AT&T's 4G is Not Real 4G

Yesterday AT&T had an update “courtesy of Apple’s new iOS 5.1 software update”.  With this update comes a surprise for iPhone 4S users. Their phones will display their speed as 4G. However, according to “For Apple iPhone 4S Owners, 4G the Easy Way” by Andrew Dowell of WSJ.com, it’s not an upgrade in speed just a change in name. This “4G” is actually 3G under a new name.

According to article the update actually states that this is an “Updated AT&T network indicator”. The article also states this as legal: ”the International Telecommunications Union, a standards body, a standards body, said techologies like AT&T’s HSPA-plus could be labeled 4G.”

After AT&T’s consumer battle over reducing customer’s speed without reasonable notification, you would think AT&T would stray from more bad press. Apparently, they believe they’re invincible and can’t suffer from bad publicity. Regardless that it is legally allowed to state that their speed is 4G, AT&T is basically changing the name of a product to act as if they have benefited their customers. They are lying to current and prospective customers. Maybe when AT&T had the iPhone exclusively this would make sense. However, AT&T no longer has exclusivity over the iPhone or iPads and their recent actions with customers is going to be perceived as if they could care less to lose subscribers once contracts are up. How exactly is this a winning move against their competitors?

When I see a 4G indicator on my phone, I believe I have 4G (by the way, I am not an AT&T customer). My phone indicates it and so does my contract. AT&T has proven they don’t heed their contracts and now their phones are lying to you. Maybe someone in marketing/ public relations needs to sit down with executives of the company to teach common sense and plan for exodus when contracts are up.

Is Cable the Next Step for Netflix?

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings believes cable might be the future for the company. “Netflix Said to Be Aiming for a Cable Partnership” by Amy Chozick from NYtimes.com reports, “Over the last several weeks, Mr. Hastings and his top lieutenants have met with major cable operators to discuss a way for Netflix to appear on monthly cable bills”. The article reported Hastings saying "We are more and more a classic cable network".

This “partnership” would essentially be your cable provider offering Netflix as a service via your cable box and then having the charge appear on your bill. The article points out partnering with cable would offer Netflix millions more subscribers - currently they have 21.7 million.

Cable seems like an awkward next step considering the cable industry was not friendly with Netflix. Players within the cable industry blamed Netflix for “cord-cutting” and felt the company was getting content at “cheap” prices compared to what cable companies paid. Nonetheless, others jumped on to streaming; Amazon, HBO, and Comcast have streaming service. These competitors come with lots of cash, which can outbid Netflix for content.

Is Google and Amazon in a price war?

Last night, I decided to check Amazon for their monthly $5 album deals. Amazon is very notorious for offering books and music at lower-than-normal prices for the sake of gaining sales. While I saw an album or two I might get, something caught my eye - an album for $0.25. That's right 25 cents. Considering the album, "Tha Carter IV", is by Lil Wayne a popular artist, I decided to search the reason Amazon would sell an album so cheap. I think the cheapest they sold an album was for $3.99 and that was a week promotion for a new release. Well, I found the reason.

This week Google changed Android Market into Google Play. To promote the brand name change, Google is offering an album a day for $0.25. They (as of last night when I wrote this) were also offering the same album for $0.25. It seems Google and Amazon are in a price war. Well, the deal has clearly worked for Amazon. According to Amazon stats (as of 2:32am), "Tha Carter IV" with digital booklet has jumped to #1 with a 122,890% increase. 

With such deep discounts throughout the week, I guess Amazon and Google are willing to risk lots of profit for the sake of customers. Or this is their way of showing they have so much money they can actually offer products for less a dollar. With all this money to throw around, what else can we look forward to?

Mobile News: Security, Spectrum, and Mergers

Lately in the news, there’s been heavy talk about the mobile industry. News reports have generally been on these topics: hacks/security flaws, spectrum, and mergers. Tech blogs and websites have to been reporting different experiments and studies on the security flaws of either Android or iPhones. Technolog previously reported that paperclips could unlock iPhones and magnets could unlock iPads. While CNBC recently reported about an Android Bug that is released via a link opened from a spam text or email.

As far as spectrum, we are all being warned that, at some point in the not-too-distant future, data will slow tremendously from overuse of radio spectrum. While cell carriers may offer unlimited data, reaching a certain point will slow your data. For example, T-mobile slows data from 4G/3G to a G after 2gbs of data has been used within a billing cycle. This speed reduction or the use of limited data plans is to prevent congestion on wireless spectrum, which causes slow networks.

The other solution to congested spectrum is to acquire more of it. Some media entities have spectrum to sell.  Right now, Verizon Wireless is trying to buy spectrum from Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Brighthouse Networks. If that deal is approved, Verizon Wireless would walk away with better and more spectrum placing them at a greater advantage then their competition. Another way to acquire spectrum is to merge. AT&T and T-mobile attempted to merge, but the government disapproved on the basis it could deplete competition.

Barnes & Noble to Lower Prices to Better Compete

To better compete with Amazon, Barnes & Noble is reducing the price of the Nook. “Barnes & Noble sales rise, launches cheaper Nook” by Phil Wahba of Reuters.com reports the company “lowered the price on its Nook Color e-reader to $169 from $199” and will introduce a Nook tablet that will cost $199. That new Nook will carry 8gb of memory, half of the current standard memory for their current tablet.

Along with the announced prices, the company reported increasing sales for the Nook business and printed business. The Nook business “rose 38% to $542 million during the holiday quarter… physical book sales at its 720 superstores rose 4.2% in the first holiday quarter since rival Borders Group shut down”. Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch claimed yesterday that the company “now had 27 percent to 30 percent share of the U.S. digital books market”.

However, the company has previously admitted that the Nook business is costing too much.  Advertising and manufacturing is taking a toll on the company who recently (last month) stated they might spin off theNook into its own separate business or sell it. With a price cut, analyst Peter Wahlstrom is quoted stating “It’s hard to maintain the same profitability if you keep lowering prices”. 


It seems Barnes & Noble doesn't have the monetary ability to stay competitive in the tablet/e-reader market. Amazon is notorious for taking major price cuts to lure customers to their site for books and music, and it comes as no surprise that the company was able to sell the Kindle Fire at $199. On the contrary, Barnes & Noble doesn't have the financial capacity to keep their advertising at the level it is now and still manufacture tablets/e-readers. Reducing the Nook price might be great for customers but it won't help to increase profit.

Microsoft to Introduce Mango phones

Microsoft plans to launch a line of phones called Mango. According to “Microsoft to launch Mango smartphones with Nokia, Samsung soon” by Lee Chyen Yee and Jonathan Gordon, Mango handsets could include Nokia, Samsung, and HTC phones. Andrew Lees, president of Microsoft’s Windows phone division alludes to the fact that Google’s purchase of Motorola has many worried about Google’s plans to enter the phone manufacturing market. With that in mind, Microsoft wants to try again before the next competitor enters the game.

The targets for the Mango phones are the U.S., Europe and China. According to Lees, “As the price comes down, emerging markets do become a huge opportunity, but also the existing markets in western Europe and the U.S., because as the price point comes down, more people will get into the smartphone market”. Mango phones are expected in China next year and in the U.S. and Europe next week. There is currently a Mango phone in Japan.  Unfortunately, the article doesn’t say anything about the features of the Mango line or the ways in which Microsoft plans to compete effectively with Apple or Android phones

Amazon Fire Causes Feud Between B&N and DC Comics

The yet-to-be-released Amazon Fire is causing a spat between Barnes & Noble and DC Comics. “Barnes & Noble yanks Kindle exclusive comics from its shelves” by Matt Stuart and Stacy Cowley reports that DC comics recently announced that 100 of their titles would be digitally available exclusively through Amazon. The titles will be digitally released November 15, the release date of Amazon Fire, the Amazon tablet. Barnes & Nobles decided they would ban those 100 titles from their stores.

Jaime Carey, chief merchant of B&N is quoted in the article saying:

“Regardless of the publisher, we will not stock physical books in our stores if we are not offered the available digital format… To sell and promote the physical book in our store showrooms and not have the e-book available for sale would undermine our promise to Barnes & Noble customers to make available any book, anywhere, anytime.”

Netflix and Starz Deal is Dead - Netflix Will Lose Starz Content

The same day that Netflix’s 60% price hike took effect Netflix lost Starz. “Starz to pull content from Netflix as talks fail” reports that the two companies were in talks to renew their current deal. The deal expires February 28.

Starz not only carries content from its channel, but also “exclusive rights to first-run Sony Corp and Walt Disney Co movies”. The bad news sent Netflix shares down in after-hours trading. The article states that a “source familiar with the negotiations” reported that Netflix offered $200 to $300 million and Starz was not pleased with the amount.   

Starz’ statement concerning the breakup:

“…a result of our strategy to protect the premium nature of our brand by preserving the appropriate pricing and packaging”

Apple vs. Samsung: Samsung Delays Product Debut to Prevent Product Ban

After previously having their Galaxy Tab banned in Europe (except the Netherlands), Samsung has a new strategy for escaping other possible bans: delaying sales. “Samsung delays tablet launch in Australia on Apple suit” by Miyoung Kim of Reuters.com reports Samsung is planning to “delay the launch of its latest Galaxy tablet computer in Australia until after a court ruling in September in its ongoing global dispute with Apple.”

The article reports the disputes started in April. So far, it has resulted in bans on the Galaxy Tab and three of the Galaxy smartphones. The theory behind the patent suits is “Apple seeks to rein in the growth of Google’s Android phones by taking [direct] aim at the biggest Android vendor, Samsung”. Samsung is also successful in selling the Galaxy tablet, which is probably the only other substantial competitor to the iPad.

Apple claims Samsung has stolen the style of the iPhone and iPad and thus, infringed on its patents. But Samsung is fighting the Apple suits, especially in Australia, where the Galaxy Tab has yet to debut. Samsung’s statement regarding their counter-suit:

iPhone 5 Coming to Sprint but Could Help AT&T

Sprint is joining Verizon and AT&T as a carrier of the iPhone. According to “Sprint to Get iPhone 5” by Joann S. Lublin and Spencer E. Ante of WSJ.com, Sprint will debut the iPhone 5 in October.

Sprint is the “third-largest carrier” and is experiencing a loss of subscribers. Their recent subscription report, 52 million, doesn’t come close to the volumes of Verizon and AT&T, 106 million and 99 million, respectively. The addition of the anticipated iPhone 5 is sure to bring more subscribers towards Sprint. Sprint will also get the iPhone 4, which should attract customers who do not wish to pay the price tag of a newly released iPhone.

But, according to the article, there is a caveat to having the iPhone 5…

…“the deal could also hurt Sprint by helping AT&T improve its chances of winning approval from regulators for its $39 billion purchase of T-Mobile USA”.  The AT&T – T-mobile merger would create the largest cell carrier. Sprint has worked hard to prevent the merger, including submitting their own research to the government allegedly proving that AT&T could improve and expand without using T-Mobile.  Sprint uses the argument of competition to fight the merger but honestly, they are more fearful of being pushed to the bottom or out of the market by the future AT&T- T-mobile entity.

The article didn’t go into detail about the reasons the Sprint iPhone would help AT&T. But considering the merger could be approved if AT&T could argue that it doesn’t reduce competition, the iPhone could be used as a means to support the idea that Sprint will not suffer from the merger because the iPhone is increasing competition.

Google Entering Mobile Manufacturing with Plans to Buy Motorola Mobility

Yesterday, Google announced it is buying Motorola Mobility. Motorola Mobility is the recent result of a split of former Motorola into the mobile division and Motorola communications earlier in the year. According to “Google agrees to buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion” by Nathan Olivarez-Giles of LAtimes.com, the paid price mentioned is reported as “a premium of 63% over the closing price of Motorola Mobility shares on Friday”.

Larry Page, CEO of Google, Inc. is hoping the purchase will be approved and completed by the end of this year or early next year.  Google would become a mobile manufacturer competing with Apple in both manufacturing and software. The article reported that Motorola Mobility would function as a separate company.

The most important aspect of this deal is patent ownership. Google will own Motorola’s patents and Page believes it will benefit competition:

“Our acquisition of Motorola will increase competition by strengthening Google’s patent portfolio, which will enable us to better protect Android from anti-competitive threats from Microsoft, Apple and other companies”.

Recently, patent/trademark disputes by Apple have resulted in Samsung getting their Galaxy Tab booted out of the EU, except the Netherlands. Google has a point that patent stealing accusations are too close to anti-competitive behavior.  They will be able to defend their placement in the mobile game and stretch their power into manufacturing. Google will also compete with other manufacturers that use their Android platform. Despite plans to keep Motorola Mobility as a separate entity, Google will function as both business partner and competitor with many other companies.

Fashion Designer Louboutin Sues YSL over Trademarked Signature and Loses

Apple can sue Samsung (and has won a big victory in the EU) over similarities between Samsung Galaxy tablet and the iPad, Best Buy can go on suit-spree against any entity that uses the word Geek, but a fashion designer cannot win over a signature use of color. Christian Louboutin makes high luxury shoes all with red soles. The red-sole signature is internationally known in the fashion industry and widely accepted as some in the industry refer to the shoes as “red bottoms”. In 2008, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) trademarked the red soles. Given this status Louboutin sued Yves Saint Laurent (YSL), another fashion design company, as they started to premiere shoes with red soles. Unfortunately,  “Color Wars: Luxury Makers Battle Over Red-Soled Shoe” by Ray A. Smith and Ashby Jones reports a Judge has shut down Louboutin’s request to stop YSL’s red-soled shoes.

Judge Marrero is quoted as stating:

“Because in the fashion industry color serves ornamental and aesthetic functions vital to robust competition, the court finds that Louboutin is unlikely to be able to prove that its red outsole brand is entitled to trademark protection”

The lawyer for YSL responded with “No designer should ever be allowed to monopolize a color”

Is this a monopoly of a color, a company protecting a well-known trademarked signature, or both? The article gives examples of fashion companies (e.g., Louis Vuitton, Levi-Strauss, Burberry) with trademark protection on their designs. We all are aware that the blue from Tiffany & Co. is trademarked as “Tiffany Blue”. So colors and signatures have been trademarked and protected.

Apple vs. Samsung: Samsung Galaxy Tablets Banned in the EU

Apple can claim a victory in their legal battle with Samsung. Apple has various “multi-country patent infringement” suits against Samsung claiming the Samsung Galaxy tab and line of Galaxy smartphones are replicas of the iPad and iPhone. “Apple blocks Samsung from selling Galaxy tablet in EU” by Hyunjoo Jin and Poornima Gupta of Reuters.com report a German court has banned Samsung from selling their tablet in all areas of the European Union, except the Netherlands.

The response from Samsung:

“The request for an injunction was filed with no notice to Samsung and the order was issued without any hearing or presentation of evidence from Samsung”

While Apple is a customer of Samsung, purchasing their mobile chips, Samsung is becoming one of their substantial competitors as the Galaxy tab and phones are enjoying success. Samsung’s tablet has also gotten good reviews compared to other non-Apple tablets. Nevertheless, Apple is still the market leader.

Brian White, an analyst, was quoted as saying “if Samsung is violating Apple’s IP (intellectual property) rights, we believe Apple could enjoy even further success in these markets in the coming years”. Whether believing Samsung to have intentionally copied Apple products or Apple trying to stop the only other successful tablet in the market, the legal battles could cripple Samsung; It would leave Apple's position as market leader secure. I like competition between manufacturers, I think it’s one of the reasons that Apple continues to push out products even when their current products are highly successful. But Apple could be right, and only future legal rulings can prove them wrong.

Comcast Sues DirecTv for False Advertisement and Stealing Customers

In a move to fight their competitor, Comcast is suing DirecTv for false advertisement. “Comcast sues DirecTv, says false ads lure NFL fans” by Lianna B. Baker of Reuters.com reports that Wednesday Comcast filed their suit with the accusation that DirecTv is “misleading consumers by promising ‘free’ broadcasts of [NFL] games”.

The suit claims that DirecTv is recruiting prospective Comcast customers with promises of free NFL Sunday ticket games without “[disclosing] that the offer requires customers to sign up for two-year contracts that cost hundreds of dollars, with hefty fees for early termination”. Such advertising is “disparaging [Comcast’s] cable services” and Comcast calls the advertisement  “an outright lie” from a “serial false advertiser”. The lawsuit is asking for “alleged improper profits, as well as punitive damages and a halt to the ads”.

DirecTv gave a simple response stating that Comcast allegations are false and they will defend themselves.

According to Comcast, all DirecTv failed to do was disclose about having to sign up for a contract in order to get a promotion. Companies cannot give false information but we all know from our experiences, they can and do leave out information from major advertisements. This suit seems to be Comcast’s way of fighting a good advertisement that is working to steal customers, but it could bring more marketing oversight to the entire cable industry leaving Comcast with no industry supporters on their side. Consumers are going to have a hard time supporting Comcast because they (Comcast) have made it clear their focus is getting back expected lost profits and punishing DirecTv for gaining subscribers.

How exactly does Comcast quantify the amount of consumers they should have had? The assumption is any subscriber gained from the promotion was destined to become a Comcast subscriber, which is an arrogant assumption unless supported by hard facts. Comcast might just have to live with the reality that sometimes a competitor’s promotion works and Comcast should instead spend their money on their next big advertisement.

Competition against Netflix May Lead to Higher Media Content Prices

Netflix is enjoying their sweet position as the leader of media streaming. Now companies are entering the streaming business, movie studios are embracing this new industry, and studios are expected to charge more for their content. “Netflix’s vanished Sony films are an ominous sign” by Julianne Pepitone of CNNMoney.com reports, when Netflix’s contracts run out the cost of content will “increase more than tenfold”.

Netflix recently lost Sony content because of a streaming cap in Sony’s contract with Starz. The article reports that the Disney catalog could possibly suffer the same fate. These contractual problems are leading to the fact that studios see the value of their content in the streaming industry.  With Google, Amazon, and Hulu getting into the industry, studios see reasons to charge more. The article reports analyst Michael Pachter “predicts Netflix’s streaming content licensing costs will rise from $180 million in 2010 to a whopping $1.98 billion in 2012” and he goes on to say,

“The content owners realize they can’t give Netflix all the leverage… Netflix had the power when they were the only bidder. But you don’t have as much leverage when you suddenly have competition”

If at First You Don't Succeed... Google Introducing Another Social Network

If at first you don’t succeed, try again? At least that’s what Google believes. “Google making another attempt at social networking” by Jessica Guynn of LAtimes.com reports Google is going to introduce Google+, a social networking platform. This will be another Google venture in social media; their previous venture, Buzz, was gravely doomed as it automatically added Gmail contacts as friends and had privacy issues.  While previous CEO Eric Schmidt admits failure and disappointment trying to break into social networking, current CEO Larry Page is making it a priority.

Google is still one of the most significant successful parts of the Internet but their biggest threat is Facebook’s popularity. According to the article, “people are spending more time on Facebook, according to research firm ComScore. The average U.S. visitor spent 375 minutes on Facebook in May compared with 231 minutes for Google”.  Google+ is not only a way to compete with Facebook (although Google would not admit in the article they are trying to compete) but to maintain their place as the most popular spot online.

Microsoft Releases Office 365 to Compete w/ Google Apps

Today, Microsoft begins to sell Office 365. This Office is “a cloud-based version of Microsoft’s e-mail, whiteboard collaboration software and word processing, spreadsheet and presentation programs”. According to “Microsoft Takes to Cloud to Defend Its Office Business” by Steve Lohr of NYtimes.com, the emergence of this cloud service should be viewed as a direct response to Google Apps. Google Apps is a cloud, “web-based alternative” and many businesses are beginning to embrace it.

The article begins with comments from a company who switched from Microsoft to Google, leading into the main point that Google Apps is now a competitor to Microsoft. The article reports 30 million active users of Google Apps. Other major transitions mentioned: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, State of Wyoming, and the McClathy Group. The subscription renewal rate is about 90%.