last100

I’m really liking 3’s MiFi, mobile broadband turned WiFi hotspot

Steve O'Hear — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:38:35 +0000

I’ll admit that when I first heard about 3UK’s MiFi offering and similar devices from other mobile networks, I didn’t really see the appeal.

The tiny gadget – about the size of a typical candy bar phone – uses its own built-in 3G modem to create a mobile broadband-powered WiFi hotspot, which, optionally, several devices can connect to. In my experience, however, mobile broadband isn’t the quickest (not helped by the fact that I sit in front of a fiber-optic connected laptop most of the day), so it’s not something that I’d instinctively want to share. But…

Now that I’ve actually used the MiFi, I totally get it.

It’s not just about sharing a single 3G connection with others – though at times this could be a life saver – but the flexibility the MiFi offers through the ability to add mobile broadband to devices that aren’t compatible with a USB 3G dongle but that do have support for WiFi.

Apple’s iPod touch is a great example of one such device. It’s even referenced in the included instructions (see below). Other examples include the PlayStation Portable (PSP) and Nintendo DS Lite or Sony’s latest WiFi-enabled Walkman.

As more and more non-PC devices add support for WiFi – eBook readers, media players, MIDs etc. - a device like the MiFi will become infinitely more appealing than a single purpose 3G dongle.

Generally, the MiFi is dead easy to use and the accompanying instruction cards do a good job of walking you through the set-up. The only real complaint or shortcomings are the overly minimalist LED indicator lights, which don’t give you any idea of 3G signal strength and battery level, aside from telling you when you’re nearly out of juice. And battery life itself. The MiFi packs a 1500mAh battery, large for a cellphone but could be larger still for the job in hand. It should give you about 5 hours max of 3G to WiFi goodness, although you can also power the MiFi over USB or using a mains adapter.

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TechCrunch Europe: Voddler, the Spotify-for-movies; BlinkBox partners with the BFI

Steve O'Hear — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:39:54 +0000

Over at TechCrunch Europe where I’ve been helping out over the last two weeks (that’s why it’s been a quiet around here) I’ve covered two Internet TV-related stories that maybe of interest to last100 readers.

Voddler, the Spotify-for-movies, partners with Paramount and Disney

Voddler is beginning to garner quite a lot of buzz in Europe, having been widely described as the “Spotify for movies”. It’s also been called the Hulu of Europe. The Internet TV service offers add-supported streaming of movies and TV shows as well as premium paid-for content through its own desktop client and is currently only available in a closed beta in the company’s home country of Sweden. However, following content deals with Paramount and Disney, Voddler is beginning to open up and has plans to expand into other European countries. On being compared to Spotify and Hulu, I comment:

… a more apt and less flattering comparison might be the largely defunct Joost or another European video startup, Babelgum. Both services have struggled to secure enough compelling mainstream content and, in hindsight, forcing users to download a desktop app would seem to have been a mistake. A big one.

BlinkBox goes all arty, signs deal with British Film Institute

I’ll admit, BlinkBox wasn’t an online video site I was overly familiar with even though it’s a UK offering.

The film and TV aggregator has signed a content partnership with the British Film Institute (BFI) — bringing the total number of British TV and film titles on offer to over five hundred and the total number of “premium” titles available on the service to just under six thousand.

The service already has licensing deals with a number of studios including Warner Brothers, Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Aardman Animations. Discovery Networks and FremantleMedia.

If you’re in the UK, I suggest you check out BlinkBox as there’s actually quite a lot of good quality free content available, along with plenty of paid-for offerings.

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Streaming Media West conf. and expo: Get a $200 discount

Steve O'Hear — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:15:15 +0000

Last100 readers – Streaming Media West - the leading online video industry conference & expo – is offering a $200 discount to attend Streaming Media sessions. Click here to take advantage of these savings. If you can’t buy a conference pass, you can still sign up for a free expo pass which this year includes access to two separate, open-bar networking receptions!

Streaming Media West is November 17-19 at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center. The Exhibit Hall opens on November 17 at 5pm.

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Sony Ericsson “explains” Satio battery discretion

Steve O'Hear — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:48:06 +0000

And I believe in the tooth fairy.

Some stories are best left alone but that hasn’t stopped Sony Ericsson (or me) from following up on my original story — Is Sony Ericsson short changing Satio users? — regarding why the company’s flagship Satio smartphone appears to be shipping with a smaller battery than the one in the possession of Anders Westin, Sony Ericsson’s Head of Software Relations, Symbian Software.

On Friday a Sony Ericsson PR rep called (and emailed) to explain that there had been a misunderstanding. Apparently Anders’ Satio does have the same sized battery as the retail version — 1000mAh — but that the “first ‘0′ had been scraped half off, so it looked like a ‘3’.”

Ahh, that explains it then.

Although I’m sure I recall Anders saying it was a 1350mAh not a 1300mAh, which would require two numbers to have been defaced. And, as one colleague pointed out, it’s pretty hard to scratch a battery that spends most of its life living under a battery cover. But what do I know?

(Wish me luck next time I request a Sony Ericsson review unit.)

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Zatz Not Funny: FlipShare TV, Netflix on PS3, Roku, Slacker

Steve O'Hear — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:13:52 +0000

A periodic roundup of relevant news from our friends at Zatz Not Funny…

Introducing Cisco’s FlipShare TV

Dave Zatz: Recorded video, accessed on a computer via FlipShare software, is wirelessly streamed via the FlipShareTV USB stick to the small FlipShare TV set-top box.

Roku Adds Hardware, Pandora & Flickr On Tap

Dave Zatz: Roku expands their digital media streaming hardware lineup. Joining the $100 HD Roku box, is a new lower-end SD unit ($80) and a slightly higher-end Roku HD-XR model ($130).

Netflix Streaming Arrives on PS3 Next Month

Dave Zatz: By way of the official Playstation blog, we learn that those Netflix surveys did indeed foreshadow the end of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 streaming exclusivity. Beginning next month, Netflix-subscribing PS3 owners will be treated to instant video streaming from their gaming console.

Slacker Gives Up On Dedicated Hardware (G2)

Mari Silbey: I love my Slacker G2 device, but apparently too few other people are buying the hardware to make it a profitable endeavor. The company is shutting down production.

[@davezatz Great job at covering some significant announcements that I've not had time to report on, and a scoop too!]

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TwitterPeek: a device for tweeting and nothing else

Steve O'Hear — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:29:54 +0000

I love me some Twitter (follow me @sohear) and I have a thing for mobile QWERTY devices too. That said, the TwitterPeek is probably taking these two obsessions just a little too far. It does one thing and one thing only: Tweet.

Building on the company’s original email and messaging-only concept, users put down a one-off payment for the TwitterPeek (available in the US-only) and get a lifetime’s worth of tweeting, with no additional data charges. Unless the company goes bust of course.

[Update: Unlike the original Peek messaging device, it's not a lifetime's service. "Includes 6 months of service, $7.95/month thereafter".]

Put a camera in this thing and dead easy support for Twitter-based services such as TwitPic and maybe, just maybe, for less-tech savvy celeb types who have a large base of Twitter followers to please (or their PRs operating on their behalf) there could be some appeal for a single purpose device. What do readers think?

(via Engadget)

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Free Sat Nav! Google Android 2.0 sticks it to TomTom, Garmin, Navigon and others

Steve O'Hear — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:47:46 +0000

The next version of the Googe-led mobile OS – Android 2.0 – is already encroaching on the work of HTC, INQ, Palm, Motorola and others in the universal address book space, and now we learn that the search giant has an even bigger target in its sights: Satellite Navigation systems.

TechCrunch has published a short video of Google showing off the upcoming Google Maps Navigation, which offers free turn-by-turn navigation, along with other features such as text search, voice search, and sat nav versions of Street View and Satellite View. The app will only be available on phones running Android 2.0 or at least that’s what Google tells TechCrunch.

Update: Much more info over at the official Google Mobile blog.

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Video: Android 2.0’s cloud-savvy address book and more

Steve O'Hear — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:28:51 +0000

The Google-led Android mobile OS continues its rapid development with version 2.0 nearing release. A 2.0 milestone is rarely insignificant and Android doesn’t disappoint. Perhaps the biggest enhancement isn’t an end user feature as such but a new API that will enable handset makers and other third-party developers to add additional ‘Cloud’ syncing capabilities to Android’s contact application, taking it far beyond the existing support for Google Contacts. This could be Facebook or any social network or web app and to the end user will feel very much like the contacts element of Palm’s Synergy feature, Motorola’s MotoBlur, the work that INQ have done or HTC Sense on the Hero and Tattoo, two existing Android-powered devices.

In other words, this whole cloud-savvy universal address book concept is already in wide circulation and now Google just made it even more pervasive.

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NewTeeVee Live: Join CBS, Cisco, Viacom, Netflix, Comcast, Adobe and more

Steve O'Hear — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:32:07 +0000

I’m interrupting normal transmission to remind readers one last time of the upcoming NewTeeVee Live 09 conference being run by our friends over at NewTeeVee, part of the excellent GigaOM staple of blogs.

Last100 is a media sponsor of the event and once again, readers who wish to attend qualify for a discount.

More info after the jump…

NewTeeVee Live: When an $86bn market transitions online, opportunities are created. Join CBS, Cisco, Viacom, Netflix, Comcast, Adobe and more

NewTeeVee Live Conference

Nov. 12, 2009

Mission Bay Conference Center
San Francisco, California

Your exclusive $50 discount is available now!

In the wake of the huge TV industry transition there are increasing opportunities for entrepreneurs, producers and technologists. Find your opportunity first.

NewTeeVee Live, now in its third successful year, is designed to answer the biggest questions about the future of television. The conference has assembled the most important industry leaders to share their views and visions. Join leaders from CBS, Comcast, Adobe, Microsoft, Cisco and Netflix to name a few. Additionally, we will feature 10 of the most exciting companies with most potential to change the industry, selected by Liz Gannes and Chris Albrecht, editors of NewTeeVee.

Catch the analysts from GigaOM Pro in the breakout panel, “Extreme Infrastructure: Taking Video Delivery to the Next Stage,” to discuss how the video delivery network will evolve to take greater advantage of new technologies across cloud computing, VOD, CDN and P2P. Large-scale news events this year, such as President Obama’s inauguration and Michael Jackson’s funeral, pushed current generation Internet video delivery networks to their limits. No doubt, as more consumers go online to satiate their video viewing appetites, online delivery networks will need to evolve to handle these million-viewer events.

All NewTeeVee Live attendees will receive a free copy of the GigaOM Pro Market Research Report, “TV Everywhere.” GigaOM Pro is a revolutionary approach to market research, created to give you essential information about emerging tech trends. GigaOM Pro breaks down the wall between business and analysts and lets you create conversations around our top-notch research. Get your GigaOM Pro subscription for only $50 when you sign up for the NewTeeVee Live and GigaOM Pro bundle.

Television industry leaders speaking at NewTeeVee Live include:

* Amy Banse, president, Comcast Interactive Media
* Reed Hastings, co-founder and CEO, Netflix
* Quincy Smith, CEO, CBS Interactive
* Kevin Lynch, CTO, Adobe Systems
* Marc Whitten, general manager of Xbox LIVE, Microsoft
* Andy Mitchell, VP of Digital and Development Marketing, CNN
* Erik Flannigan, executive vice president of Digital Media, MTVN Entertainment Group
* Randi Zuckerberg, director, Market Development, Facebook
* Avner Ronen, CEO and co-founder, boxee
* Anthony Wood, CEO, Roku
* Matthew McRae, VP and GM, Advanced Technology Products, VIZIO
* Sam Blackman, CEO, Elemental Technologies
* Bill Gurley, general partner, Benchmark Capital

Some of the questions being investigated:

1. What is TV Everywhere, and does it impact everyone?
2. Is advertising a model that will continue to provide revenue?
3. Is existing copyright law at odds with the needs of modern commercial online video?
4. Will the body that controls online identity be the ultimate winner?
5. Are independent artists better able to exploit the new distribution mechanisms?
6. Will users find value in amateur-generated content, or will they pay for professional content?
7. What are the new opportunities in home platforms?
8. Which new formats are popular?
9. Who are the faces behind the evolution of the industry? What are they planning next?
10. Will there be only one video player for the world?

Five hundred industry executives will explore the future of the planet’s favorite media: television. If you wish to join them Nov. 12 in San Francisco, register for your ticket now.

Full details can be found at our event web site: http://live.newteevee.com/

To hear more about our speaker additions as they happen, follow us on Twitter @newteeveelive
Standard tickets cost $595, but we’re offering a saver rate of $445. Hurry to lock in your savings.

http://newteeveelive.eventbrite.com/?discount=MPLAST50

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Is Sony Ericsson short changing Satio users?

Steve O'Hear — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:29:20 +0000

I’ve just got back from the Symbian Exchange and Exposition (SEE09) at London’s Earls Court where I had a one-on-one press briefing with Anders Westin, Sony Ericsson’s Head of Software Relations, Symbian Software.

We had an interesting chat about the company’s “commitment” to Symbian, whether or not Sony Ericsson can continue to afford to support a multi-platform smartphone strategy (Symbian, Android and Windows Mobile), and the issue of app store fragmentation. I was quite direct in my questioning and Westin kindly played game.

However, it was when I raised some of my criticism of the company’s flagship Symbian smartphone, the just-released Satio, that things turned a little odd.

I asked a very simple question: Why did Sony Ericsson ship such a small capacity battery – 1000mAh – with the Satio, a 3.5 inch touch screen device with serious Internet ambitions and one that sports a power-hungry 12.1 megapixel camera? Battery life on the Satio isn’t great.

“1000mAh?”, Westin replied. “Don’t you mean 1350mAh?”.

At which point he pulled the back cover off of his Satio to reveal a 1350mAh battery inside.

To say I was stumped would be an understatement. I’ve had access to a retail version of the Satio bought from Carphone Warehouse here in the UK for a couple of weeks now and I was sure that said device ships with a 1000mAh battery. Maybe I was wrong.

After leaving the briefing I bowled up to the Sony Ericsson stand on the exhibition floor where the Satio was on show and inquired about battery capacity. “1000mAh” was the reply. When I returned home, I also checked our Satio again.

Yep, 1000mAh.

Is this a case of Sony Ericsson not eating their own dog food? And if the Satio has room for a much needed higher capacity 1350mAh battery, why isn’t the company shipping it with one?

All theories welcome.

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I’ve published my full UK Palm Pre review over at Mobile Industry Review

Steve O'Hear — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:42:43 +0000

I’ve posted part two of my Palm Pre UK (GSM) review over at Mobile Industry Review. Here’s the intro:

It’s been just over a week since I took loan of a Palm Pre, a device that bears the weight of Palm’s future success on its shoulders. Or so the story goes.

And it’s far too good a story for most pundits not to have written, me included. The truth, of course, is a little less dramatic but significant nonetheless.

While the Palm Pre is undoubtedly the company’s comeback device, the big bet is the accompanying webOS that powers the Pre along with the subsequently released Palm Pixi. In fact since the second device running webOS was unveiled, Palm have announced that, moving forward, they’re dumping Windows Mobile to pursue a single OS strategy. Thanks Redmond for easing the transition away from the dying PalmOS to the newly born webOS. But make no mistake, that’s all you were good for.

It’s in this context that when reviewing the Palm Pre it’s more tempting than usual to consider the phone’s hardware as separate from the operating system it runs on. So that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

(Spoiler: The hardware is OK but webOS is where things get really exciting.)

Click over to Mobile Industry Review to read the full post, and if you have any further questions, leave a comment here or on MIR and I’ll try to answer them before I return the device.

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3 and Spotify point to the future of music purchasing

Steve O'Hear — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:45:58 +0000

UK carrier 3 has teamed up with Spotify to offer a mobile tariff that includes a premium subscription, no ads and mobile usage, for the popular European (US launch pending) music streaming service. While the offer in itself is news worthy – it’s quite an attractive deal (more below) – perhaps more interesting is that the model may well point to the future of paid-for music.

Prior to 3’s offering, those wanting to utilize Spotify’s service on their handset were required to take out a premium subscription costing £10 per month in the UK. That’s quite high when competing against “free”, such as ad-supported offerings (including Spotify’s own, which prohibits mobile access) or illegal file downloads and the like.

However, by burying the premium subscription within a user’s monthly mobile tariff the service begins to enter the needed “feels like free” territory that self-proclaimed media futurist Gerd Leonhard has been talking about for years.

For £35 a month over 24 months, alongside an upfront fee of £99 for the handset (the very nice Android-driven HTC Hero – see my review) here’s what 3 are offering:

Unlimited Spotify Premium for 24 months (worth £240 at the non-bundled price of £10 per-month)
750 minutes to other mobiles
Unlimited texts
Unlimited 3 to 3 calls
Unlimited email, internet browsing and Facebook
Free Skype to Skype calls

Aside from paying an upfront cost for the HTC Hero, I think that’s a pretty good deal. My only real reservation is that I don’t like the move towards 24 month contracts, not because I particularly like to switch carriers but, being the early adopter I am, I like to upgrade my handset as soon as possible. On the other hand, for many users, a 24 month contract maybe a little easier to swallow while the music keeps playing. 3 have also hinted that the Hero is only the first handset to be offered with a bundled subscription to Spotify, and with a Symbian/S60 mobile app for the service just around the corner, I expect a range of Nokia phones on 3 to soon to be included.

As for the whole ‘feels like free’ mobile music space, 3 and Spotify’s offering will inevitably be compared to Nokia’s Comes With Music, which hasn’t exactly set the world on fire. However, CWM doesn’t offer a free version to hook users in and utilizes DRM in a much less user-friendly way. While Spotify does employs DRM, because it’s cloud-based (either streamed or cached rather than traditional downloads), the service can much more easily be used across multiple devices, Windows PC/Mac and on supported handsets.

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