CONNECTIONS Blog

New Blog Address

2011-03-25T16:30:00.002-05:00

Thank you for following the CONNECTIONS Conference and Industry News. We look forward to you joining us at our new blog address. Please click here to be re-directed to the new site.

Thank you again!

Cloud Media tops CONNECTIONS 2011 Agenda

2011-03-17T11:02:00.006-05:00

Parks Associates released the preliminary agenda for the 2011 CONNECTIONS Conference, featuring the core topic areas of mobility and communications, entertainment and content, connected consumer electronics, and cloud-based value-added services.

The three-day event, June 28-30 at Santa Clara, Californina, offers a unique mix of market research presentations, trending data, insight from industry leaders, and discussion of the current strategies and future challenges in providing connectivity and technology services for consumers.

Cloud media is an important topic at this year’s CONNECTIONS due to the challenges for this market in reaching its tremendous potential. Parks Associates research finds consumers are highly interested in the cloud concept, notably the prospect of having anytime, anywhere access to their media. However, less than one-third of U.S. broadband households see the value of the digital locker concept specifically for music, photo, or video content, due in large part to current fragmentation of the market.

For more information, visit www.connectionsus.com.

Yahoo prepares newest version of Connected TV platform

2011-03-16T15:38:00.007-05:00

In November 2010, Yahoo announced that an expansion of their Connected TV program would allow developers to build fee-based widgets for TVs that use the Yahoo application platform. Unfortunately, Yahoo’s online widget application store has had a delay in opening the store to consumers. Originally scheduled to open early this month, Yahoo is working hard to keep their promise to consumers.

Yahoo is continuing its progress to distribute their updated version of the Connected TV platform. This update will include software for the Connected TV store, available to select OEM partners, hopefully by the end of March.

Gain Visibility. Generate Leads. Strategize & Network.

2011-03-14T14:56:00.002-05:00

Sponsor CONNECTIONS U.S. this June and gain visibility, generate leads, and strategize and network with fellow speakers and attendees.

Sponsor packages include booth space, free and discounted passes, marketing benefits, and unique opportunities for promotion, including on-site videos.

There are also multiple custom opportunities, to ensure that you have the necessary tools and benefits to accomplish your unique sponsorship goals.

Contact sales@parksassociates.com if you like more information.

AwoX Extends DLNA support for Android

2011-03-10T16:41:00.010-06:00

Recently, AwoX support for Android has been extended to include additional DLNA components. Since the announcement of AwoX's MediaCTRL for Android, AwoX has since developed and released support for local media discovery and playback.
These new DLNA components also support digital media player capability, on Android mobile devices, and tablets. The recently added support for DLNA download capability allows users to grab their content directly from a DLNA-certified server (NAS, PC) in the home, and carry that content with them, on-the-go. This freedom of mobility allows the user to playback content on their mobile device’s media player, or on another DLNA-certified playback device.

HCL Launches ACETM SmartCare(c) Solution

2011-03-09T15:43:00.014-06:00

HCL Technologies Ltd., is a leading global IT services provider. Recently, HCL launched ACTIVE CARE EXCELLENCE (ACE) SmartCare Clinical Decision Support solution.

ACE SmartCare is a patient-centered, real-time care management solution. This treatment dramatically improves patient care as soon as patients arrive at the hospital. This vehicle of care is provided through automated, continuous clinical surveillance and care measures delivered via alerts to physicians. This efficient delivery system of care and compliance also results in significant savings for health care provider organizations.

SmartCare is an extremely customizable mobile device-enabled solution, which features unified messaging through voice, data alerts and notifications, across clinical environments. SmartCare provides the ability to plug in to an EMR clinical IT system, which decreases the Providers' delivery time to their patients.

Please click here to read the full article.

Nexon Giants, MapleStory, KartRider, Enter the Mobile Social Game Space

2011-03-08T09:11:00.011-06:00

Nexon is entering the mobile and social gaming markets with versions of two of its most popular worldwide titles, KartRider and MapleStory. Nexon plans to publish KartRider Rush on iOS and Android platforms, and is set to launch later this month. They also plan to publish MapleStory Adventures on the Facebook platform, later this year.

KartRider Rush will be a mobile version of Nexon's KartRider, and is going to be a free app on iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, as well as on Android devices, later this summer. KartRider Rush will allow KartRider's more than 200 million registered players worldwide to race up to four players against each other in both battle mode and time trial mode. Single player mode will allow players to compare their scores against friends using Facebook Connect.

MapleStory Adventures will be available on Facebook this summer, taking the original 2D side-scrolling adventure, and adapting it to a simpler interface. It will allow Facebook users to participate in quests and challenges, while having the ability to invite friends to help in combat. The game will also follow Nexon’s microtransaction-based model, which allows players to play all of MapleStory Adventures for free, with the option to enhance the gameplay experience by purchasing in-game items. Nexon was not only the world’s first game developer to successfully commercialize microtransaction games, but with the release of MapleStory in 2005, Nexon has also led the way in using the microtransaction business model in the U.S.

To read the full story, click here.

Sony Ericsson will tilt more toward U.S., China

2011-03-07T14:31:00.017-06:00

According to Sony Ericsson's Chief Executive, Bert Nordberg, the company is open to joint ventures in China's gaming industry, and plans to sell its Xperia Play (their new cellphone-and-videogame device), in the country. Mr. Nordberg, declined to give a timeline for the device's launch in China, but said the handset maker will need at least three months to make preparations.

In recent years, Sony Ericsson, a 50-50 joint venture between Sony Corp. of Japan and Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson of Sweden, has struggled with losses and falling market share in the competitive smartphone race. Its focus now is on higher-end devices, like Xperia Play, running on Google Inc.'s Android OS, in a bid to improve its margins and raise its share of global market revenue. The company unveiled Xperia Play at the Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona last month.

Xperia Play is a crossover of PlayStation Portable gaming console and a cellphone. This is the first attempt in years by a major manufacturer to combine cellphone and full gaming capabilities in the same product. Mr. Nordberg said he expects the device to reach U.S. stores early April, using network operator V erizon Wireless, and then Western Europe. China is on track to become the company's biggest market for mobile phones around 2013-14, as Sony Ericsson ranked fifth in smartphone sales in China in the fourth quarter, according to Beijing research firm Analysys International.

To read the full article, please click here.

Accedo selected as Preferred Developer Consultant for Facebook Platform

2011-03-07T09:25:00.004-06:00

Accedo Broadband, the leading provider of app stores and applications for IPTV and Connected TV, recently announced that it has been selected as a Preferred Developer Consultant for Facebook applications.

Facebook launched Facebook Platform in May 2007 to enable developers and entrepreneurs to access the core features of Facebook through a set of powerful APIs. Facebook Platform enables companies and developers to build apps or integrations that can potentially reach an audience of more than 500 million people.

Accedo is working with TV operators, CE manufacturers, TV platforms and media companies to create advanced TV applications, which integrate with Facebook. Applications are both stand-alone apps and integrated apps with contextual functionality and are compliant with all major IPTV middlewares and Connected TV solutions.

Rovi to Deliver Digital Entertainment Advertising Program for Toyota

2011-03-03T14:01:00.003-06:00

Rovi Corporation recently announced that it is collaborating with Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. to launch an interactive TV advertising initiative for the Toyota Tundra on the Rovi Advertising Network. Rovi’s product offering gives Toyota the ability to bring an innovative advertising experience to consumers and enables viewers to learn more about Toyota’s products through rich and dynamic content made available through advanced portals on the Rovi Advertising Network.

The Rovi Advertising Network offers advertising on Rovi guides—the ‘home page’ of the television where consumers go to find out what’s on TV—and on third-party interactive TV platforms, including set-top boxes, TVs and Blu-ray players. Rovi guides provide advertisers with a unique platform for reaching and engaging viewers via consumer destinations, or portals, while they are actively looking for new programming and in ‘decision-mode.’ Rovi guides represent a highly-trafficked area on TV: 87% of monitored households access the guide weekly; guide users on average visit the guide nine times daily; and users spend 13 minutes in the guide daily.

Because users of the Rovi platform are not limited to :30 second commercials, Toyota is able to offer consumers the opportunity to dive deeper and learn more about the Toyota Tundra. By accessing Toyota banner ads on Rovi guides, consumers can use their remote controls to view videos, photos and other Tundra product information.

Rovi launches search engine website + acquires SideReel.com

2011-03-02T11:44:00.006-06:00

Rovi, a behind-the-scenes force in everything from metadata to copyright protection, recently launched AllRovi.com, a search-and-recommendation engine for entertainment content, and bolstered that effort with the acquisition of SideReel.com, a leading source of links to TV content online.

What’s different about this Rovi move is that its core product, electronic programming guides, is essentially getting some exposure on the open web as opposed to the connected devices that has been its focal point to date.

Rovi is going to be a strong player given the depth of content and personalization technology they bring to the game.While AllRovi.com has plenty of film and music content to bring to the mix, Sidereel will have them covered on the TV side.

To read more about this, click here.

Accedo Broadband Selected by LG Electronics to keep Facebook and Twitter users connected

2011-03-01T14:07:00.004-06:00

Accedo Broadband, the leading provider of Connected TV applications, has announced that LG Electronics selected Accedo to develop Facebook and Twitter applications for LG Smart TVs.

Facebook and Twitter for LG Smart TV are now available in over 100 countries and 30 languages on 2010 and 2011 LG Smart TVs. Facebook users can see the latest updates, photos and videos from their friends. Twitter followers can see the latest tweets and send their own updates via the onscreen keyboard.

Google Opens Android Web Store

2011-02-09T08:00:00.003-06:00

Google Inc. launched a new Web-based store for applications that run on mobile devices powered by its Android software, one of several moves by the Internet company to keep up with rival Apple Inc. in the wireless sector.

Google's new app market, available at Market.Android.com, is aimed at letting users discover new apps more easily from their computers, as well as to see recommendations by friends and download apps to their mobile devices. That could help level the playing field with Apple, which has had an edge over Android because it allowed users to find apps and buy them through the iTunes program on their computers.

Google also said developers could create Android apps that charge users for in-app purchases of virtual goods in games, among other things—a feature already available on apps running on Apple devices. Google said developers could set prices for their apps in foreign currencies, which previously they had been unable to do.

Google's new moves come as Android overtook Nokia Corp.'s Symbian as the most widely used operating system globally in the fourth quarter, based on the number of devices shipped. Apple came in third, those studies showed.

For the complete article, please click here.

Accedo Broadband working with Telstra to develop Live TV Apps for Connected TV

2011-02-07T11:03:00.002-06:00

Accedo Broadband, the leading provider of app stores and applications for IPTV and Connected TV is working with Telstra to develop BigPond TV applications for multiple TV and blu-ray platforms.

The applications launched in January and are delivering seven Telstra BigPond TV channels to LG and Samsung Connected TV sets and blu-ray players across Australia.

The channels include several designed for sporting fans including football, rugby league, racing, supercars, and a sports news channel. It also includes a news channel and a music channel.

The channels are being streamed using Google’s Widevine adaptive streaming technology, meaning a seamless and truly immersive experience for consumers.

Accedo and Telstra are working on a number of application projects and has previously developed an innovative Game Analyser for TV devices, which is a first of its kind on demand sporting experience. It combines full match replays with intricate game statistics of all NRL rugby matches.

BMW sees car keys not phones as next NFC wallet

2011-02-07T10:11:00.004-06:00

The car key is about to go head on with the mobile phone in the battle for which one will become your new wallet.

BMW believes you’ll be paying for things when out an about not with your wallet, or your phone, but with your car keys.

Mobile phone companies embrace not keys but mobile phones, following Google’s move to include NFC (Near Field Communication) support in its latest Android operating system: version 2.3.

While that means company’s like Samsung, Nokia, and Sony Ericsson are adding the functionality to their next generation of handsets already, and many more like HTC and Apple are rumoured to be doing so, BMW feels that it can get in on the action too with a connected car key and its next generation of cars.

For the complete article, please click here.

CONNECTIONS U.S. - Call for Papers Extended

2011-02-03T08:05:00.000-06:00

The CONNECTIONS: The Digital Living Conference & Showcase has extended their Call for Papers until next Friday, February 11th.

The 15th annual CONNECTIONS U.S. will take place June 28-30, 2011, in Santa Clara.
This event hosts 700+ executives, highlights consumer and industry research from Parks Associates, showcases key players and new technologies, and delivers insight and recommendations for new business models and opportunities.

We are accepting submissions on the following topics:

*** Entertainment Platforms & Value-Added Services ***
-- Customer and Technical Support
-- Service and Device Management
-- Set-top Boxes and Residential Gateways
-- Applications as Drivers
-- Broadband Value-added Services
-- New Roles and Functions for Devices
-- Virtualized Services and Applications/Software
-- Digital Music “Cloud Locker” Services
-- Internet TV Services
-- Video on Demand

*** Mobile ***
-- Mobile Entertainment
-- Encoders and Content Management for Mobile Video
-- Mobile Internet Devices
-- Smartphones
-- Web Devices and the Cloud
-- Convergence in Voice Services: FMC/Femotcell/Voice beyond Commodity

*** New Media and Digital Content ***
-- Social Media
-- Content Management: DRM
-- Emerging Business Models for Digital Media Monetization
-- TV Advertising Technologies
-- Contextual and Behavioral Ad Targeting
-- Online Video
-- Publishing Content for Three Screens
-- Cloud Encoding
-- Content Storage

*** Consumer Electronics ***
-- Connected TVs
-- 3D TV
-- Home Networking Requirements
-- Gaming
-- Game Consoles
-- Retail Experience
-- User Interfaces
-- Shifting Content

*** Home Systems & Controls ***
-- Home Area Network
-- Service Providers - Home Management and Controls
-- Appliances & Smarter Energy Management
-- Wireless and Powerline Controls
-- Entertainment Networks & High-end Media Servers

Click here to submit to speak at the CONNECTIONS U.S. event.

Verizon keeps unlimited data plan for iPhone--for now

2011-01-26T15:13:00.002-06:00

Verizon Wireless will keep its $30 unlimited data plan for the iPhone, Lowell McAdam, chief operating officer of Verizon, said today at the company's quarterly investor meeting.

But the unlimited plan will not last for long. The company clarified its position on the unlimited data plan after its investor conference, stating that the iPhone unlimited data plan will be available for a "limited time." Verizon representatives declined to provide details about how long the window would last. But after the offer ends, Verizon will be moving to a usage-based billing model that is similar to what AT&T offers today. Verizon still hasn't disclosed pricing for its 4G LTE handsets, which are set to hit store shelves in the first half of 2011.

As for how long customers will get to keep their unlimited data plans, according to a Verizon spokeswoman, the unlimited plan will only be offered for the contract period. After the contract expires and customers buy a new device, they will be subject to whatever rate plans are available when they upgrade their phones.

For the complete article, please click here.

How 4G LTE Will Change Home Control

2011-01-26T09:00:00.001-06:00

4G LTE could be the biggest thing in home automation since the iPad, ADT and Z-Wave. The evidence was at the Verizon Mobile booth during CES 2011.

There, Verizon demonstrated how its new Home Monitoring and Control system, powered by Motorola's 4Home platform, might utilize a 4G backbone and integrate with 4G-embedded devices such as surveillance systems and home health solutions.

It is that 4G integration that could give Verizon an edge in mass-market home control – a market that is increasingly crowded by the likes of ADT today and Comcast, AT&T and other service providers in the near future.

For the complete article, please click here.

Amazon will acquire the rest of Lovefilm

2011-01-25T08:00:00.002-06:00

Online retail giant Amazon brought an end to months of speculation by announcing that it was to buy DVD-to-games rental and download service LOVEFiLM.

Amazon already owns a 42% minority stake in LOVEFiLM International, which operates in the UK, Germany, Sweden and Denmark. It will now buy the remaining 58% share for an undisclosed sum. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of this year and may mean international expansion for LOVEFiLM in line with Amazon’s own European operations.

LOVEFiLM, which has been operating for seven years, offers its 1.6m members a choice of more than 70,000 titles via DVD, Blu-ray, video games, and digital streaming through the LOVEFiLM player, which is used through the PC, PlayStation3 and streamed direct to TV.

For the complete article, please click here.

World's First Terrestrial 3D TV Service Starts in Italy

2011-01-19T08:00:00.003-06:00

The world's first terrestrial 3D TV service officially went live last week, following a successful trial by Italian broadcaster Mediaset.

The service, known as 3VOD, runs on Motive's Bestv set top box, offers subscribers the ability to view films from a selection of around 50 films. It was originally offered as a limited trial to subscribers from late last year.

Previously 3D TV was limited to high-bandwidth pay-tv on satellite and cable platforms. The problem with 3D TV is its very large filesizes—with two images per frame, films are literally twice the size of 2D shows.

What 3VOD does is to trickle the movie file to the Bestv set-top box throughout the day and night. The box stores the film on its hard drive. Trickling small amounts of data allows the broadcaster to extract the maximum value out of any under-used bandwidth. Typically broadcasters transmit up to seven TV channels in what is known as a “multiplex”.

Although it describes itself as video on demand, 3VOD is not a conventional VoD service like the U.S. Netflix. Instead users are able to watch from a limited set of choices. Unlike true VoD services where the files are stored on a remote server and streamed in real-time to the user, 3VOD stores the files locally on a set top box.

For the complete article, please click here.

Verizon Unwraps iPhone

2011-01-17T15:14:00.002-06:00

Verizon Wireless finally told the world that it will start selling the iPhone, but the carrier toiled in secret with Apple Inc. for two years to make it happen.

The country's largest wireless carrier said it would have the iPhone in stores on Feb. 10 starting at $199, the same price charged by rival AT&T Inc., which has had the phone to itself since its launch in June 2007.

The move will give Apple an important new source of sales in its biggest market for the iPhone and help it compete with rival Google Inc., which had made inroads for its Android operating system by teaming up with Verizon to develop high-end smartphones.

It also will shake up the U.S. wireless market, ending a deal that has driven much of AT&T's subscriber growth and forcing smaller carriers like Sprint Nextel Corp. and T-Mobile USA to compete against bigger rivals armed with an immensely popular phone.

For the complete article, please click here.

The Tablet Is Changing the Face of TV

2011-01-17T11:29:00.002-06:00

iTunes offers a handful of apps that allow subscribers to watch live TV on their iPhone or iPad. But just browsing through the selections, and more importantly the reviews, it seems live streaming TV to a mobile device has not yet been perfected! Most apps are aimed at niche audiences, require additional hardware to view the video or simply provide an inferior playback experience due to unreliable bandwidth to properly stream the video.

I’d argue the biggest impediment to perfecting these apps is content. The biggest impediment to gaining the rights to content is content security. And who already has access to high-quality content and conditional access (CA) / digital rights management (DRM) systems in place? Digital TV operators. We believe the cable, satellite and IPTV operators that already have the rights to broadcast premium content are in the cat bird seat to offer the best live mobile TV experience.

The demand is clear. According to Sandvine, real-time entertainment, including video streaming, now accounts for about 43% of North American Internet traffic, up from 10% in 2008! And for the first time in history, the number of households paying for TV subscriptions is falling, in part due to the rise of Internet TV and over-the-top (OTT) services.

The technology is finally catching up to this demand when you consider what adaptive rate streaming can now enable.

Now, in this new OTT world, the issue of content rights is complicated. Take companies like Ivi and FilmOn.com for example. They have developed technology that captures over-the-air broadcast signals and streams them to mobile devices – without consent from the networks.

Clearly these broadcasters are not thrilled with the so-called loophole that they found in the U.S. Copyright Act. Both of these companies are already in an embattled legal fight with content owners to see if they have the right to do this. According to some attorneys, the law is on the side of the networks.

We recently launched our ViewRight LIVE app in iTunes, which enables secure distribution of premium pay-TV services via WiFi and mobile wireless networks – of live TV. The app provides subscriber/device registration and device-level authentication. ViewRight LIVE also allows operators to customize and brand their mobile TV channel to match the look and feel of their traditional channels.

So with the content rights, technology infrastructure and now the security available to enable a superior live mobile TV experience, digital TV operators have a tremendous opportunity. I’d say it is better to beat fledging online TV operators in the marketplace rather than the courtroom.

What are your thoughts?

--content submitted by Verimatrix--

Kindle app becomes available at the Mac App Store

2011-01-12T10:41:00.002-06:00

Amazon has revealed that its Kindle app is now available from the Mac App Store, the relatively new application store for Apple computers.

The Kindle app may feel more at home on a portable device, but it seems that it is popular on other devices too, being that it is already the fifth most popular app on the store.

Amazon has been strengthening its Kindle brand for some time now. The physical ebook reader is the best-selling product ever on Amazon and its app has found its way onto many a mobile device.

Macs have had access to the Kindle service since last year but it has now been given a home on the Mac App Store and can lay claim to being the first ebook reader available on Jobs' shiny new service.

For the complete article, please click here.

Gesture recognition, smart home services, energy management solutions, and multiscreen video services among top trends from 2011 CES

2011-01-11T10:17:00.004-06:00

Parks Associates anticipates 2011 will mark the resurgence of the Smart Home concept following a series of CES announcements as well as research showing U.S. consumers value energy management as a lifestyle choice as well as a cost-saving measure.

CES 2011 featured several significant announcements for connected home systems and services, smart appliances, and broadband-enabled home monitoring services, including Verizon’s Home Monitoring Control offering, which featured applications for a web camera, lighting control, outlet modules, and a communicating thermostat. Consumers are starting to see energy-efficient products and services as a means to improve their home and personal comfort as well as for cost savings, which opens the market for a variety of solutions from utilities, service providers, and manufacturers.

Parks Associates will further explore the opportunities and implications of residential energy management at the upcoming Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer, January 24-26, in Austin, Texas.

CES 2011 also featured a variety of sophisticated gesture-recognition and multiplatform connectivity solutions.

Other key CES 2011 innovations center on solutions that link mobile and portable CE such as smartphones and tablet computers to the television so consumers can move seamlessly between platforms and even "flick" video from an iPad to an Internet-connectable TV. The use of complementary video viewing devices has significant implications on how interactive television and TV Everywhere concepts will evolve.

Soundbites from Analysts at CES

2011-01-10T14:46:00.002-06:00

Some of the Parks Associates' analysts were captured highlighting the significant new products at CES 2011.

Featured analysts include:
Stuart Sikes, President
Farhan Abid, Research Analyst
Bill Ablondi, Director, Home Systems Research
Laura Allen Phillips, Research Analyst
Brett Sappington, Senior Analyst
Harry Wang, Director, Health & Mobile Product Research

The connected home (including refrigerators), the smart grid and personalized video were among topics mentioned by these industry experts.

To view these sound bites, visit: http://www.viodi.tv/2011/01/10/ces2011-analysts-views/