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Mobile Sports Report TechWatch: Facebook buys Karma

May 21, 2012 by

Lost amid all of the noise about Facebook’s huge IPO was the fact that the company is continuing to address a shortcoming in the mobile app space. It has purchased a company called Karma that has developed an e-commerce platform as part of its overall presence.

The management team at Karma has already developed one successful app and the current focus, on gifting, seems to be a good match since Facebook has a huge amount of personal data on users and can now send alerts about anniversaries etc and recommend gifts and send users to Karma. The terms of the deal were not revealed in the announcement made on Karma’s blog but the company’s founders have had success in creating other successful apps.


Samsung’s Galaxy S3 sees strong preorder demand
Samsung, the leading smartphone developer in the world is about to see a nice spike in sales if reports are correct about pre availability demand for its Galaxy S3. According to a report from the Korean Economic Daily, forwarded by Mashable there is already a 9 million unit demand worldwide.

That is very impressive, especially considering the company’s factories can only crank out 5 million units a month, and I am assuming that is for all handsets not just this model. I hope they have been building the devices for the last few months.

China gives Google a thumbs up on Motorola
The long wait is over for Google with the company finally gaining approval for its $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility. The approval, which came from China’s Anti-Monopoly Bureau, had followed a delay in which the agency had requested more information.

This approval was the last before the deal can go through and give Google access to Motorola’s huge patent portfolio and manufacturing capabilities. According to a report from the AP the deal has a condition- Google must make the Android operating system available for free to mobile device users for the next five years.

Motorola faces possible ban in US
To counter the good news coming out of China, Motorola was on the losing side of a judge’s ruling the Motorola did infringe on a patent held by Microsoft. The ruling came from the US International Trade Commission and has the result of banning Android-powered smartphones made by Motorola from being imported into the US.

While the ban will not go in effect until July, it is likely that Motorola will seek a licensing deal rather than eliminate the technology. With Motorola having recently won a ruling against Motorola regarding different patents they could just sign a cross licensing agreement, but right now no word on what its plans are.

Apple seeks to block Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 in US
If this sounds familiar well… Apple is following up a win in US Appeals Court that said a ban should probably have been imposed on Samsung for copying features from Apple’s iPad, Apple is now once again asking for that ban in the United States.

It could be a negotiating ploy since as has been reported here and elsewhere the two have been ordered into a settlement talks that will feature the top executives from both companies and it appears likely from this piece at Electronista that no action will occur until after the settlement talks are over.

EU regulations will apply to Android and iOS apps
Apps that are downloaded to devices running both the iOS and Android operating system are subject to the European Union’s Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, officials from the Information Commissioner’s Office said.

The rules regulate, but do not prohibit the use of technologies such as cookies and require that users provide informed consent. This will require the apps to inform the user that it is downloading a cookie and provide them with the option to not have them loaded in their device, according to an article in Computing.co.uk

Is a 10-inch Kindle in the works?
Increasingly rumors are surfacing that the next generation of devices from Amazon will include a model with a 10.1-inch form. The move would make it a more direct competitor to Apple’s existing iPads as well as to the rumored smaller iPad that has been talked about for months.

According to DigiTimes the pad is expected in the third quarter of this year and that at the same time the company is likely to kill its 8.9-inch pad that has been on the drawing board. Around this time Google is also expected to bring out a pad to help heighten the competition even more.

Apple loses round in e-book case
A United States District Court judge has denied petitions from Apple and several of its largest e-book publishing partners to dismiss a lawsuit against them. The lawsuit claims that the companies conspired to illegally price fix e-books. This case is similar to, but separate from the one filed by the Department of Justice against the same companies.

New Kickstarter project trying to get light on a dark subject
A company called Scrap Pile Labs has developed a docking cable for iPads and iPhones that has a built-in LED that allows for easy use at night. Called CordLite it is now seeking funding at the site Kickstarter and the developer is seeking to raise $70,000. If it succeeds the company expects to ship the cables in September.

While the initial focus is on Apple’ products the company said that it plans to develop for other platforms as well and has a microUSB cable in prototype but that production costs are scheduling issues it will be some time before that sees the light of day.

Filed Under: Amazon, Android, Apple, Apps, Facebook, FTC, Google, iPad, iPhone, Kickstarter, Mashable, Microsoft, Motorola, Samsung, Startup, Tablets Tagged With: , , , , ,

MLB’s Latest Playoff Move a Head Scratcher

May 18, 2012 by

Major League Baseball has announced its playoff broadcast partners for the year 2012 and 2013, and normally that would seem to be a rather innocuous announcement, until you notice that it will be broadcasting two of the games itself.

Rather the MLB Network, which is a property of MLB, will get two of the games, and not the Wild Card games that have been added to the schedule but two of the more desirable division series games. It has also awarded the Wild Card games to TBS.

I had taken a glance at the release on the playoffs but did give it much thought until it was mentioned by Michael Hiestand over at USA Today. He points out that while the NFL broadcasts some of its own games, they are regular season games and they are shown locally on broadcast TV so that the home town fans can watch.

This strikes me as a very short sighted and backwards move. They risk alienating home town fans by a refusal to follow the NFL’s example of at least throwing a bone to the locals.

But more so is that with the still limited reach of the MLB Network they miss out nationally on appealing to fans. There is really no real incentive for a fan of baseball that is not a fan of the teams involved in the selected games to offer to pay for the privilege of watching two teams that they are uninterested in. I suspect that if the fans had the option of just tuning in on regular broadcasting of the game they likely would.

A last tidbit is that according to the USA Today piece baseball’s national television rights will be up for bid again in 2013, and networks might not want to increase their fees if premier portions of the sport are going to be broadcast by MLB. This will be interesting to see if MLB backs down or alters the plan by the time the playoffs reach us.

Filed Under: Baseball, Major League Baseball, NFL, TBS Tagged With: ,

The All-Star Race is Here. NASCAR Starts its Engines in Charlotte

May 18, 2012 by

Last weekend in Darlington was a bit of surprise for both races, calm at the start and then havoc later on. Ok now that I think of it that is not too surprising. Anyway in the Sprint Cup Bojangle’s Southern 500 Jimmie Johnson came through for Hendrick Sports, winning its 200th race.

Johnson benefited from the late yellow flags to help him overcome fuel issues late in the race and I would like to second the announcers comments about has there been any studies done regarding the turning on and off the engine to save fuel. Does that really work? For Johnson it broke a long cold streak dating to last season.

He seemed to be pressed late by Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch but they did not hold up down the stretch. The top four finishers after hi were Denny Hamlin, Stewart, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr.. For any interested in Danica Patrick, she finished six laps down.

In other track news Kurt Busch was fined $50,000 and placed on probation for speeding through pit road late in the race and then returning and bumping Ryan Newman’s car after the race. Think there fender bender in the race affected this? The probation will last until July 25th. Also next year no more Impalas ranging free on the track as Chevrolet has said that they will be replaced next season by the new Chevrolet SS.

Sprint Cup Standings
1) Greg Biffle
2) Matt Kenseth -2
3) Dale Earnhardt Jr. -14
4)Denny Hamlin -17
5) Jimmy Johnson -39

This Week- The Sprint Showdown
Broadcast
May 19, 7 pm ET on Speed

Twitter Feeds
@NASCAR-Official NASCAR feed
@NationwideNNS-Nationwide Official Twitter
@NASCAR_NNS-NASCAR Nationwide feed
@NASCARONFOX-Fox Sports feed
@AllWaltrip-3 Time NASCAR Champ and Fox announcer
@PRNLive-Performance Racing Network
@EdHintonESPN-ESPN Columnist Ed Hinton

The Sprint Cup is shaking things up a bit this weekend with the Sprint Showdown at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The race will have an altered format this year and will now feature five segments, the first four will consist of 20 laps each and the final segment will have ten laps.

Drivers that win one segment will be at the front for the next segment. Multiple wins enables the second place winner to take the pole position. The ten lap race will only count green flag laps. Also no points but lots of cash!

Nationwide Series
No Nationwide again this weekend, maybe giving Elliott Sadler time to cool down from the tap he received from eventual winner Joey Logano last weekend. Actually Sadler was quite professional about the whole thing in his post race interview, but I have to wonder if a return tap is not in his future.

The bump came with only five laps to go on a restart and wrecked Sadler, also hurting his standings as then points leader. For most of the race Denny Hamlin had been in charge but that changed after one of the earlier yellow flags. He managed to finish second followed by Brad Keselowski, Sam Hornish Jr. and Austin Dillon. Danica Patrick managed a 12th while Travis Pastrana finished a respectable 17th.
No race this weekend so we will see you in Iowa.

Nationwide Series Standings
1) Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
2) Elliott Sadler -23
3) Austin Dillon -35
4) Sam Hornish Jr. -59
5) Cole Whitt -82

Filed Under: Charlotte Motor Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Danica Patrick, Darlington Raceway, Fox Sports, Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch, NASCAR, Sam Hornish Jr., Tony Stewart Tagged With:

Friday Grab Bag: Tons of Tablet Tidbits

May 18, 2012 by

So how many apps are too many?
A recent report from Neilsen called the” State of the Appnation” has some very interesting insights into how many apps users of smartphones have on their devices. With 88% of all smartphones running either Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android operating system the report mainly speaks to this market.

The average owner has 32 apps while over half have at least ten more loaded on their devices. An interesting tidbit is that the more apps you have the more time you spend using your apps. An issue that seems to be at the top of everyone’s list these days also appeared in the study where 73% were concerned about how their personal data was being used.


Wearing Skechers is not a workout-Who would have guessed?
The Federal Trade Commission has dropped the hammer on exercise shoemaker Sketchers over its claims that wearing its products would help tone your lower body muscles and help you in losing weight. Apparently they do not.

The company, after a bit of thought and possibly a great deal of lawyer talk agreed and is now on the hook to payback $40 million in refunds. The Consumerist predicted this last year and you should head over and see its coverage.

Windows Tablets by Thanksgiving?
Cnet is reporting that the first batch of tablets from developers that have adopted Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system should be here in November, and that Intel will be inside. The OS will support multiple operating systems it reported, claiming that it will be able to handle multiple versions of ARM, Intel as well as AMD.

It is interesting that what is also expected is a wave of hybrid systems, tablets that have physical keyboards and probably other iterations. Apple’s CEO Tim Cook took a stab at what he viewed the futility of hybrids during Apple’s most recent earning call.

The Intel-powered devices will use an as yet shipped processor from the company called “Clover Trail” that is a dual core processor in its Atom family.

Source: SCP Auctions

Lied about playing in the Super Bowl? Well now you can get that ring
Sadly Lawrence Taylor’s life continues its downward trend and he is being forced to sell one of his two Super Bowl rings at auction Available from SCP Auctions the ring, from Super Bowl XXV has two large football shaped diamonds surrounded by seventeen smaller diamonds.

The ring also has Taylor designed into as well as his uniform number. At last look the bidding was at $67,000 and is expected to rise significantly before the bidding is closed on Saturday. According to news reports he has not said why he is selling the ring.

Tablet Traffic soaring according to Adobe
A study from Adobe is showing the big and growing impact that tablets are having on web traffic, according to a report from eWeek. The report shows that tablet traffic is already growing 10 times that of smartphones and that it estimates that tablet traffic will represent 10% of all website traffic in two years.

The result of all of this is that it should encourage developers and web site operators to ensure that they have optimized for that traffic since, at least currently, tablet users represent a wealthier portion of the population and so more likely to purchase services and products.

Google to go direct with Tablet?
A report from the Wall Street Journal said that all signs are pointing to Google going direct with next generation smartphones and tablets that are being built for the company. The devices will be available under its Nexus label and are expected to be available in the Fall holiday selling season.

The reason for the move is apparently to eliminate wireless carriers that add their own special sauce so that the devices sold via their sales channels will only work on their wireless networks. The move will likely put it in direct competition with current allies such as Samsung and Amazon.

Facebook’s next goal- Bigger Mobile presence
The Facebook pre-IPO road show is winding down but the message has been delivered-We are going to monetize mobile Facebook its executives have said consistently while talking to investors across the country.

It s mobile app is very popular, just not very cash flow positive and it has said that it will be looking to reverse this as it appears that the mobile version is now fueling a great deal of the company’s growth. The company has recently ramped up its app development efforts

HTC smartphones blocked at US customs due Apple ITC ruling
If you were waiting for the latest smartphone from HTC, say the HTC One X, your wait just became a bit longer as Apple has gotten the US Customs to block entry into the United States the HTC One X and the HTC EVO 4G LTE, a move that could really harm the HTC EVO 4G LTE which is expected to launch today.

This move is the result of a ruling by the US International Trade Commission from last year that found that HTC infringed on an Apple patent and that all devices that used the technology from HTC would be barred. However phoneArena.com speculates that HTC has included workarounds to the patents in these offerings.

Apple also granted a patent
Apple has also been awarded a patent for soft keyboards used with its iOS. The patent is called “Method, system, and graphical user interface for selecting a soft keyboard” and that pretty much explains it, right?

Well according to The Inquirer, Apple has had a related patent for three years and that the current one describes in detail how the soft keyboard relates to user interfaces and how they are used in selecting soft keyboards.

Filed Under: Apple, Apps, Facebook, FTC, HTC, Intel Capital, Lawsuit, Mashable, Microsoft, Nielsen Ratings, Smartphone, Tablets, Wall Street Journal Tagged With: , ,

Sean Weide Travels the Globe on Cycling Beat For Team BMC Racing

May 17, 2012 by

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Sean Weide has worked in communications for nearly three decades — newspaper reporter to publisher, corporate public relations to television producer. His current position as a press officer for the BMC Racing Team is his “dream job.”

Weide travels the world providing updates on the team as it races throughout the year on the international circuit’s top level. The BMC team includes cyclists who compete in events like the Tour de France and World Championships.

For Weide, travel isn’t just about getting from one race venue to another; it’s about experiencing the diverse cultures and landscapes that the world has to offer. Whether he’s navigating the bustling streets of Tokyo or unwinding on the beaches of Hawaii, each destination adds a new layer to his understanding of the global cycling community.

If you too feel the call of adventure and the desire to expand your horizons, Hawaii beckons as a destination not just for cycling enthusiasts, but for anyone with a thirst for exploration and a love for the beauty that our world has to offer.

Amidst the lush landscapes and vibrant culture of Waikiki, scooter rentals in Waikiki provide a convenient means to explore the island’s wonders at your own pace. Whether you’re winding along coastal roads or venturing into the heart of the island, a scooter offers a unique perspective and a sense of freedom to truly immerse yourself in Hawaii’s captivating charm. So, rev up your sense of adventure and embrace the thrill of discovery amidst the breathtaking scenery of Waikiki.

“Sometime during the 2008 season Twitter came along,” said Weide near the team’s training area during the stage 5 time trial at the Amgen Tour of California. “And around the same time I started to use Facebook. A colleague in Europe told me I needed to be on Facebook and said, ‘that’s how we network.’ ”

Sean Weide, BMC Racing Team. Image © James Raia

“I said I thought Facebook was for college kids, but I started doing it and sure enough six months later it caught fire. By 2009, Twitter and Facebook were like YouTube, and it became part of the job. If you weren’t using them, you weren’t doing your job.”

Weide has worked for several cycling teams, but he joined BMC in 2010 and integrated the team into the world of social media.

“I feel like we are always trying to find new ways to connect with our fans,” said Weide. “And social media is a great one-on-one platform.”

“I’m the kind of guy if I wanted to I could ride my bike all day because I work for a pro cycling team,” said Weide. “Unfortunately, I usually go out for a ride and I look at my Blackberry and realize I have some work to do and turn around and head back.”

“I’m one of those guys who is constantly on the move. There’s not much down time. To remain connected these days, to do your job, you have to be truly global. No matter what you are doing, you have to be cognizant of your audience.”

“If you have people in Australia and Europe and in the United States, then you are operating globally on Facebook and Twitter, you are catering to people in different time zones around the world.”

Weide says the team’s fans “reach out” in several ways, including customer service for BMC bicycles. It’s not Weide’s job, but he points the customer toward the appropriate colleague.

Sometimes, fans contact Weide because they’re attending a race in which the team is competing.

“Often times, I will say, ‘great, come see us.’ ” said Weide. “And if they do, I’ll give ’em a hat. It’s another way to make impressions. If I please one fan, they’re going to go on Twitter and Facebook and tell all their followers and I’ve now I’ve made a positive impression on their followers as well.”

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Neva-The Talking Ski Poles may be coming to Your Slopes

May 17, 2012 by

There is another interesting item over at Kickstarter that is seeking funding and I think one of the things that the project highlights is how increasingly easy it is becoming to network everything, even items that you might not have considered such as ski poles.

A company out of Salt Lake City called SlopeScience is touting Neva, which it calls the evolution of the ski pole by adding wireless communications capabilities to so that it can talk with your smartphone and relate information to you while you are skiing, and just as important, so you do not have to remove your gloves.
Seeking to raise $100,000 it has so far gathered 80 backers and raised $12,218 towards its goal. In case you have forgotten if you do not reach your goal you get nothing and the funding round ends June 6.

The poles will feature the ability to display when a call is coming in and a simply swipe can ignore or answer the call, Text messages can also be displayed. It leverages SlopeScience’s capabilities and can show your slope angle and aspect when used with a Google Earth plug-in. The company hopes that future versions will have text to speech capabilities as well.

The basic device includes a low powered Bluetooth adapter for communications with the smartphone, and is capable of talking with both Android and iPhones. There is a 0.96” OLED display that is capable of being read in bright sunlight. The rechargeable battery is good for three days on a single charge.

I have a semi humorous vision of the completely connected athlete of the future. Say that they are a skier. Smartphone securely packed away in a pocket with no need to get it out. They have goggles that provide a clear image of the terrain and can connect to the phone and listen to music.

Then they have on their Pebble watch so that they can connect to the phone, view the menu at the snack bar and see what their friends are texting from the beginning slops. I do believe that with all of the emerging options it will be interesting to see which technologies and products pan out and which ones do not. There is no doubt in my mind that used properly some of these products will certainly enhance the outdoor experience.

Filed Under: Apps, Kickstarter, Outdoor Activities, Recon Instruments, Skiing, Smartphone, Startup
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