“]

TV and Mobile Universe's collide [ Nielsen Media Universe

Nielsen’s published this great diagram that compares the TV universe and mobile.  Although these are treated separately, I believe we are in for an exciting evolution of the convergence of TV and Mobile.  This year at CES many of the large consumer TV manufactures have embraced internet TV as the next big wave with their own “Cloud” based frameworks for managing and distributing content.

This diagram shows the different sizes and breakdowns of the market in North America.  It is clear the Google TV and Android coming together is a “strategy” many of the players of the ecosystem need to reckon with moving forward.

Recently, Samsung, Sony, Panasonic, Sharp, Vizio, Toshiba, and LG have all show cased their own unique platforms for interactive TV.  It appears like the big winners that are providing services cross many of these platforms,  NetFlix, Huluplus as well as YouTube ( Google) are all leveraging this new channel to bring interactive content to the large screen.  They also have solutions and apps for the little screen, and this next step of a remote that is in the form of an application is something that will be big in 2011.

Here is an ad from LG’s new offers as well.  They have a great dynamic website that showcases this new interactive TV.  They actually have a separate “remote controller” in this demo, but in my mind it is just months away before we see this completely integrated as well into an application controlling the screen.

iPhone 4 is the most innovative phone in the world, featuring Apple’s stunning Retina™ display, the highest resolution display ever built into a phone resulting in super crisp text, images and video, and FaceTime®, which makes video calling a reality. iPhone 4 on Verizon Wireless will also include new Personal Hotspot capabilities allowing customers to use iPhone 4 to connect up to five Wi-Fi enabled devices.

retail price of $199.99 for the 16GB model and $299.99 for the 32GB model with a new two year customer agreement. iPhone 4 will be available at more than 2,000 Verizon Wireless Communications Stores nationwide, online at www.verizonwireless.com/iphone, at Apple Retail Stores, at the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), at Apple Authorized Resellers.

• As of November, the ratio of iOS to Android users was more than 15 to 1 at AT&T.
• iOS at AT&T has twice the users as Android at Verizon
• Although T-Mobile had the Android franchise to itself for all of 2009, it was overtaken by Verizon within four months
• T-Mobile Android consumption has also been nearly matched by Sprint within a year

In Addition, this extension by Apple and Verizon shows that we are moving into a new era of advanced devices and connectivity that will lead to an exciting 2011 in the ecosystem of mobile internet and cross-media applications.

Given the fact that the Verizon iPhone is still not the LTE 4G device, there is room for the release of the iPhone 5 during this year with an exiting evolution to not only the network capabilities, but also the link to rich-media.

At CES this year, there was a plethora of new innovative 3D services and video delivery systems.  Group video with Skype and being able to consume video at a signal action on the device will only get better and better.  The use of the device as a remote control tied to a users TV set will keep evolving and the ubiquitous nature of having all kinds of vertical applications leveraging real-time communications will make the device more and more personal in our daily lives.  With this growth, there will be all kinds of new business models and we grow more mobile in this next decade.

Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader Digital Books had evolved as separate products with a sweet-spot price below the cost of tablets.  However, the Android OS has enabled a flurry of low-cost devices as low as $75 ( such as Chinese Manufacturer –   www.gajah.com.hk  ) were launched this year at CES.  In the past I was a believer of a separate eBook, but looking at this price degradation, the advances in display technology and the propensity for adding this feature on smart devices,  I would expect quite a bit of turbulance in the eReader market in 2011.

Barnes & Noble has recently launched ( Nov 2010) their Color product that has been based on Android is a clearly focused as a Reader device. However, given the fact  the OS is Android with browser it is only natural additional applications will started to surface.  According to the Nook representative, ” They wanted to keep the other features out as they are distracting.   If a mother were to give her child an eBook, she would probably want him/her to read and not get distracted.  When they donated the Nook to a local public library, they found that by keeping out the other features, students were more focused on reading.” ” Could you imagine if it were a typical Android tablet? the student might end-up playing games instead”. Nevertheless, with the competition for eBooks evolving quite rapidly, “Even  Barnes and Noble is contemplating adding the Android Marketplace to the product”, she said, “However this is was not confirmed.”

An interesting eBook Application from Copia leverages the strength of the smart phone architecture and browser to bring more social networking features into place. With thier patent pending solution around “Collaborative” note taking and commenting, they see the eBook market as more of an Application that spans across devices to leverage the social network as a Book Club.   They believe this will help propel the sale of more books through recommendations via the readers  virtual social network.

This further convergence is just another basic trend that was clearly happening on Android devices at CES.

The home and the ubiquitous tablet- Gemtek android device

At this year at CES we can say it is the rebirth of the docking stands. Motorola’s launch of Atrix 4G was an indication the big US OEM’s are moving in that direction with the connectivity to the PC, but what about the TV and all of your home applicances.

A Taiwan company, GEMTEK is looking to own the home connectivity with direct partnering with the likes of Verizon and the other Network operators to offer turn-key solutions for the home.  Connectivity to your Thermostat, Door locks, Lights, Security.  Leveraging the Zwave, Zigbee formats they will have this first Android Tablet product available worldwide in Q2.  According to  Rick Hwang, GM, Mobile Consumer Electonics BU, GEMTEK Technology, “ They will own the home with this unique different type of Tablet offering.  They work exclusively with Carriers as customers and the overall offer is up to how they want to bring these connected products to market”.

Expect a lot of these hybrid types of Android products to present themselves tied to our daily home functions in the 2011 with both the docking at home and portable options.

The PC world evolved with the massive outsourcing industry thriving with a majority ( >50% of the market)  of the laptops and PC’s in the world being designed ( ODM) and Manufactured ( EMS) by Taiwan and Chinese manufactures.  In the mobile world the ODM’s still have a small share of the overall pie.

At the Intel Booth, although the Atom processors are just making a debut in a very crowed ARM market, a unique company out of Florida designed a product series ( Four products based on the Seasons) called OpenPeak.  Their model is to sell under their partner brand.  Most likely the mobile operators and new MVNO’s emerging. They have done work for Orange and Telefonic they claimed.

A further follow-up is to keep an eye on the large ODM’s out of Taiwan Quanta, Compal, Wistron, Inventec, Pegatron.

It is no coincidence that the term “Smart” TV has started to come into play around the connectivity. Of the Three Screen, it could be that the TV drives smartphone and tablet buying decisions for consumers led by the OEM’s and the Carriers.

Besides, LG, Panasonic and Sony, Samsung presented its own revitalization of the TV market by adding live and on-demand content to its Smart TV and turning mobile phones and tablets into remote controls and guides. The mobile device will become the way to guide, select content in the future and with their announcements with TimeWarner, Hulu and Dreamworks it is clear that the majors are on board with the Samsung smart solution.

The cloud will provide unique storage and access via a connected mobile device that can give the users the ability to search the content and web in a unique way moving forward.

The big industry concern has been around the fragmentation of these different TV formats.  Will users purchase decisions be driven by what TV they purchase to buy a complementary smart phone? or will it be the other way around?

If it were me, I would give away FREE phones ( and specialized data-plan)  if you purchase a TV and package from the Carrier.  This would be a very interesting approach by Verizon and Cable providers.

Skype Acquires leading Mobile Group Video provider on Android- Qik

(Las Vegas)  Introduced today by the New CEO, Tony Baits, Skype’s strategy of ubiquitous communications with strong focus in Group video and mobile was outlined today at the CES conference.

25% of all calling minutes in 2010 were via Skype that was a big jump from the 12% in 2009.  Of that figure they have achieved 190 Billion min a year with 40% being video calls.  As a strategy they are pushing to grow their video capabilities as a core strategy and with the addition of the Qik them they can pursue cross-platform and cross-carrier in the mobile space more effectively.

Although they have not yet to disclosed a video chat feature for the Android Skype clients, during NYE they  had 4 million D/L with over 1M users taking advantage of the video calling feature on their iPhones.

Today  in North America, Skype has partnerships mobile operators such as Verizon and Qik with Sprint and T-Mobile as a pre-load.  This acquisition was intended to give further footing to mobile video calling and group calling.  They will be continuing with the $8.99/month pricing.

The Qik client is pervasive across all of the Android products and has been one of the top Applications in the Android marketplace.   Their products cover the spectrum with ntegration up to Android 2.2 Froyo.

Rick Osterloh, VP Product Management Skype, mentioned that Skype has always been strong with the interaction of the contact book in Android Products. One of the key aspects of Qik was their strong technology at an integration level with the contact book and with cloud contact management.

Further advances to their developer API around SkypeKit will be a key launching pad for Skype to bring new opportunities for its partnership strategy.

There where many exciting announcements today around Android from AT&T, Motorola, Sony, Sharp, Samsung, LG, Panasonic at CES, but the main them was around TV/3DTV and some unique concepts between PC/Mobile and Tablets configurations.  It also seems like there is a new trend of Global releases these days with Android, from companies like Panasonic, Sony instead of the regional launches.

The hot, exciting release today in my mind was from Motorola with Atrix and two other products Smartphone products. The Xoom showed promise to be one of the top Tablets this year.  It really looks like Motorola is making big come backs in the mobile arena.

Motorola Atrix

This was the flagship of the series and the most powerful of the three new Smart Phones. It showed a unique feature to doc into a laptop empty. Specifications include a 1 GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 4 inch qHD pentile display (that’s 960 x 540 pixels), Android 2.2, HSPA+ data support, front and rear facing camera, biometric fingerprint reader, a huge 1930 mAh battery, and 16GB internal storage with the microSD card slot. They announced that AT&T will get the Atrix in Q1 2011

• Small light 4G product
• Worlds most powerful Smartphone
• America’s 1^st Dual Core Smartphone
• Worlds 1^st Smartphone with 1930mAh Battery
• Worlds 1^st Smartphone with 1GB Ram
• Innovative Fingerprint Reader
• The only Smartphone that delivers larger display, keyboard and mouse experience

Droid Bionic

The follower that will launch on Verizon Wireless will be the successor to the much acclaimed Droid X.  Specifications include a fast 1 GHz dual-core processor, 512 MB RAM, 4.3 inch qHD display, dual cameras (rear one is 8 megapixel), and support for Verizon’s new LTE 4G data network. With LTE support this may be the fastest Android device available this year. No pricing or release information was given in the today to the press.

Motorola Cliq 2

This version 2 of the series, the Cliq2 will be on 19 January via T-Mobile. Specifications include 3.7 inch display, support for HSPA+, 1 GHz processor, funky slide-out QWERTY keyboard, and WiFi hotspot capability. It is an Android 2.2 device with a 5 megapixel camera, and MotoBlur.

Motorola Xoom

The Motorola Xoom is powered by a dual-core 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 chipset, Android 3.0 Honeycomb, 10.1-inch capacitive touchscreen with 1280 x 800 resolution, WiFi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1, 32GB of built-in memory, 5-megapixel camera on the back with 720p video recording, and a battery which can handle 10 hours of continuous video

AT&T exciting news that they will have 20 new Smartphones and 12 of them Android products coming has spread through the community that Android is the platform to be reckoned with now moving forward in 2011.  The ran a successful developer day as well in parallel that had some interesting facts on how to best develop for Android from Motorola, with new launches around their Ad network for developers to monetize applications for iOS and Android

Sony’s release of Xperia Arc is the next generation Android ( Google), but even though Sony had a lot of exciting things to show with 3D TV, Gaming and Blue-Ray,  the exciting Qriocity platform that works with Google TV, will not yet be connected completely to mobile. When will we see the real unique connectivity as a remote control between these two different Google platform products with Sony unique offerings?  They did bring on interesting features such as Bravio TV on mobile and the HDMI connector true ubiquitous of the Sony content world is just beginning.  It is going to be an interesting extension to the Xperia series with the product out in the market Q1.  Most likely an AT&T network product, but still not confirmed.

Sharp’s release of Galapagos was part of the highlight, but the exciting update of the new organization in North America that will bring both the eBook and tablet size specifically for the North America later this year as an Android product instead of Japanese Linux version.  They commented that the products would be coming to America, but the specs were not yet announced in full.

Samsung releases today array of Android products.  They are working hard in this category to bring seamless interaction as a strategy.  After the successful release of the Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab in 2010, 2011 will be another showcase year for Android and Samsung. The Samsung representative mentioned that they are the #1 Android providers including Google’s new Nexus S with 2.3 Gingerbread.

They also announced Infuse 4G that was previewed as AT&T’s thinnest device in the Android Category with the super 4.5 inch AMOLED and a 1.5GHz processor.

LG did release two Android devices with the following highlights:

The Optimus Black is an Android phone that weights 3.8 oz, is 0.36 thick and introduces the “NOVA” display. 700 nit. vs. the traditional 450 nit. This is the dual-core phone we’ve been hearing about. This is an Android 2.2 product.

The Optimus  2X  will be the first NVIDIA Tegra 2-enabled “super phone”–a generation beyond the Smartphone, The Optimus 2X, an Android-based which will ship in Korea this month, does not currently have concrete plans to be available in the U.S

They said that due to the ecosystem of the carriers as their main partners they have nothing to announce between the connectivity with their new TV launches.