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Friday Grab Bag: Global Signs 5 More NFL Teams to iPad Program

March 23, 2012 by


Velocomp’s iBike Coach App has won the Communication Arts Magazine’s 18th Annual Interactive Award in the Information Design category. The app enables an iPhone user to convert the phone into a multifunctional training tool.

The phone becomes a GPS-based bike computer that enables a user to not only track cycling speed, distance, and time, but also includes social media features, videos, and maps, as well as access to music and the phone capabilities of the device.

The app was only just released and was a winner in a contest that drew a total of 1,194 entries. It is available for download at the Apple iTunes store.

Apple develops new SIM — will others support it?
Apple has proposed a new SIM card technology for adoption by the mobile industry but it will be interesting to see how, if at all, the mobile industry adopts a technology that would push out their competing efforts

The new technology is called a nano-SIM and is smaller than the micro-SIMs that is common in current cell phones. This one will have increased functionality as well as the tradition job of holding a users personal information such as contacts and phone number.

That sounds great until you consider that Motorola Mobility, Nokia and Research in Motion all have rival efforts. However Apple has presented it to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute to get accepted as a standard and has some carrier support. It will be interesting to watch this fight.

Toshiba provides peek at 13-inch tablet
Toshiba has provided a peak at its next generation large screen tablet, and yes it will be large with a 13.3-inch form factor. The prototype, going by the name AT330 has an Nvidia Tegra quad core processor, 32GB of storage, a full sized SIM card slot and it has an HDMI connector. It may have a high end 1920 x 1200 LCD panel but that is unsure at this time.


Facebook bolsters patent defense with IBM patent purchase
Bloomberg is reporting that Facebook has purchased 750 patents in areas such as networking from IBM as part of an effort to strengthen its position in its looming case with Yahoo. Yahoo has sued Facebook over the alleged misappropriation of Yahoo patents by the social media giant.

NFL use of iPad continues to grow
Global Apptitude has added five NFL franchises to its list of customers for its Playbook for iPad technology. The company has announced that the Dallas Cowboys, St. Louis Rams, Seattle Seahawks, Indianapolis Colts, and Detroit Lions for their Playbook for iPad and other related player development tools.

Global is adding content to its Playbook series which are designed to be used as player preparation tools and said it expects to sign additional teams in the near future.

The iPad has also been a hit with other major league sports teams including most recently Major League Baseball, with team executives, players and scouts all using the tablet for a variety of reasons.

Ads a threat to your data?
A report from North Carolina State University casts additional concern about the security of the data stored in your Android phone. Researchers at the school have found that adverts, those annoying in game or application apps that are often the price to pay for free apps. They found that one example, MobClix, a 3rd party ad exchange company gains access to calendaring, contacts and call logs. These programs get permission when you provide permission to their host app.

Ematic delivers sports focused MPS/Video player
Ematic has delivered the eSport Clip, a small formfactor portanble media player that is designed for the active lifestyle. The eSports Clip features a 4GB of storage and has the ability to play MP3 files ad well as play back video.

The 1.8-inch device easily clips to clothing and it can store as much as 3200 songs or 20 hours of video for playback on its color display. It includes a 5MP Digital Camera and comes with a video and voice recorder.

China delays Motorola/Google deal approval
Motorola Mobility has reported that China has extended its examination of the proposed $12.5 billion purchase of the company by Google. It reported in a regulatory filing that China’s Anti-Monopoly Bureau has expanded the second phase of its investigation.

This is one of the last regulatory approvals needed for the deal to be finalized, with it having already gained approval around the globe including in the United States and in Europe. There has been no reason given for the extension of the investigation.

Are Kindle sales falling?
Chad Bartley, an analyst with Pacific Crest has said that the company believes that sales of Amazon’s Kindle “is significantly weaker than expected” in the first quarter. He reported that Amazon has slashed component orders by 75% from levels in January.

He attributed the decline to slower adoption as well as market cannibalization caused by the Kindle Fire. The Kindle family is the second most popular tablet, after Apple’s iPad.

Apple loses Android info motion
Judge Richard Posner has denied Apple’s request to have Google and Motorola Mobility hand over information on the development of Android.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Baseball, Cycling, Google, iBike, iPad, Major League Baseball, NFL, Tablets Tagged With: , , , ,

Acer Takes the Wraps off Iconia Tab A510 Tablet

March 22, 2012 by

Acer is the latest to being a quad-core tablet to the American market with its release of the Iconia Tab A510 tablet, a device that should be well positioned to function as both a work and home entertainment device.

The Acer Iconia Tab A510 is a special Olympic Games Tablet Edition of the Acer Iconia Tab line that will include the Olympic logos on the chassis to celebrate the company’s sponsorship of the upcoming 2012 Olympic Games.

The heart of the 10.1-inch tablet is the Nvidia quad-core Tegra processor that is touted as having a fifth, battery-saver core that is designed to help handle low-power tasks like active standby, music, and video, and is transparent to the OS and applications. In active use the four cores handle activities such as video streaming, music and a host of other activities. In addition the tablet uses an Nvidia performance 12-Core GeForce graphics processor.

The tablet features the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system and comes with a 10.1-inch capacitive screen that features 1280 x 800 resolution and supports 720p video. It also includes Dolby Mobile 3 audio. The company claims that the use of the Tegra processor enables the tablet to be able to support 12 hours of video playback.

Other nuts and bolts of the Acer Iconia Tab A510 include 1GB of RAM, 32GB of storage that can be doubled using a 32GB Micro Card. It includes a micro HDMI port for streaming video and features a micro USB 2.0 port. It has both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and has a 1MP front facing camera as well as a 5MP rear facing camera.

I think that Acer is smart in trying to position the A510 as a business tool as well as a top entertainment device. It includes a comprehensive suite of productivity apps so that a user no longer has to worry about using the tablet as a tool at meetings or just away from the office.

The key to this is inclusion of the full suite of Polaris Office 3.5, a software package that is compatible with Microsoft Office and allows reading and editing of various document formats for mobile devices. It also includes Acer Print, so customers have a convenient and seamless way to print wirelessly from their tablet and includes HDMI to VGA support for quick connection to projector for business presentations.

It has Evernote, a personal assistant program that enables users to capture and save web pages, photos, ideas and documents and then store them to the cloud, where they can be later accessed from a variety of devices including PCs.

This looks like a well rounded system and one that is designed to fit in more than one usage model. So many keep trying to either attack Apple or Amazon rather than seek to establish their own niche or product persona. With a starting pre-sale price of $450 it stands a good chance of doing just that.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Olympics, Tablets Tagged With: ,

Mobile App Startup Fund expands to New Platforms

March 22, 2012 by

For developers looking to break into the market for sports apps, or any other type of app, and that are looking for funding there is a new financial resource available as ATP Capital has expanded into new markets with its latest effort.

Some might remember ATP as the company that manages a fund that is seeking to help cultivate an ecosystem of developers on behalf of Research in Motion BlackBerry via its Blackberry Partners Fund program. While RIM goes through some painful issues right now both internally and externally Capital is looking to expand its reach in the app space.

With that in mind it has refocused its efforts on a new fund that will be platform agnostic and look to invest in startups in not only the BlackBerry space but also look for new companies that have Android, Apple iOS and Windows 8 developments underway.

As a first step the company, which aside from the BlackBerry fund also manages Clairmont Capitol and JLA Ventures, has rebranded itself and will now be called Relay Ventures and along with the new name is a new $150 million fund, which will go by the name of the BlackBerry Partners Fund II. The new fund will continue to be an independently managed, platform agnostic, early stage venture fund with a singular focus on mobile computing.

The funds lead investor is Northleaf Capital Partners and includes partners Corus Entertainment, Thomas Rueters and of course Research in Motion. ATP has had success with its efforts in funding mobile app startups, with 32 having received some level of funding and six have already been acquired.

Relay Ventures is also uprooting itself from Toronto and is moving to new offices in Menlo Park, Calif. This reflects on the fact that the company has made almost half of its investments in startups from that area.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Research in Morion, Startup Tagged With: , , , ,

Archos targets Cost Conscious Tablet Segment

March 20, 2012 by

Apple’s latest iPad has created a feeding frenzy at its stores, with an estimated 3 million tablets sold in three days- numbers that top what most of its rivals have sold in the last two years.

Yet while everybody keeps asking the question of when the next iPad killer will be released and if it will be a Windows 8 or an Android product, they seem to lose sight of the larger issues.

Amazon’s Kindle Fire took off because it met a pent up need in the market, not because it was an iPad killer. Others are also looking at selling into distinct segments- some will go head to head with Apple and I am sure that in the future we will see some of them succeed.

Looking for a tablet but do not want to wait in line at the Apple store for a budget busting product? Well Archos may have what you are looking for as the company has delivered a pair of tablets looking to appeal to the thrift consumer. While looking around at rivals to Apple I noticed that last week the company had upgraded its products with the Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) operating system and now seems like a good time to take a look at what it is offering.

Archos has been targeting this space for some time but still works to deliver high quality products and this looks to be the same. The latest two offerings are the Archos 80 G9 and the Archos 101 G9 with prices starting around $300.

The Archos 80 G9 is powered by a Texas Instruments 1.5GHz dual core OMAP processor and comes with an 8-inch touch screen display with 1024 x 768 resolution with full support for 1080p video. It has a variety of storage options allowing users to have from 8GB of flash storage or a 250GB hard drive. The hard drive version features 2GBs of flash cache so that it limits the amount of time the system needs to access the hard drive.

The tablet features a 720p front facing camera that can be used with Google Talk for video chatting with an individual or with Google+ Huddle for group chats. It also features Picsel Smart Office preinstalled so you can read and edit your Word, Excel and PowerPoint files.

The Archos 101 G9 has very similar specifications to the 80 G9 with some slight differences. It has a 10-inch display with 1280 x 800 resolution and features the option of a 1GHz processor as well as the 1.5GHz offering. Storage, camera and apps are relatively the same.

While it does not have the flash that Apple offers with its iPads such as the very high resolution display or the tailored apps that Apple has created for use with the iPad, it also does not have the price tag involved. For a solid entry level tablet Archos looks to have a solid offering for users that understand what they need in a tablet and buy based on that

While it does not have the flash that Apple offers with its iPads such as the very high resolution display or the tailored apps that Apple has created for use with the iPad, it also does not have the price tag involved. For a solid entry level tablet Archos looks to have a solid offering for users that understand what they need in a tablet and buy based on that.

Filed Under: Amazon, Android, Apple, Apps, iPad, Kindle, Tablets Tagged With: , , , ,

Mobile Sports Report TechWatch: Mostly Apple Edition

March 19, 2012 by

Flush from releasing its latest iPad, its stock price hovering near $600 and with billions in cash in the bank, Apple has announced plans to launch a dividend and share repurchasing program. The two programs will result in the company spending approximately $45 billion in three years.

The plan calls for Apple to spend $10 billion in a share repurchase program that will begin in September 30, 2012. Its goal is to help neutralize the impact of dilution from future employee equity grants and employee stock purchase programs. This program has already been approved by the company’s Board of Directors.

The second program calls for a quarterly dividend of $2.65 per share sometime in the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2012, which begins on July 1, 2012. This is still pending approval by Apple’s BoD.

Apple loses key ITC ruling
After a strong winning streak in its patent battles Apple is starting to lose a few again. The latest comes with an Administration Law Judge at the International Trade Commission ruling that Motorola Mobility did not infringe on three Apple patents. Apple had appealed an earlier ruling on the topic, and will now likely take the issue to court, so it is far from over.

Conde Nast to give advertisers viewer data
Conde Nast is finally relating the information it has been harvesting from readers of its iPad edition of its magazines. For the last 2 years a variety of its publications have been available on the tablets and I has been tracking a variety of information including basic data such as how many readers it has, the breakdown between paid and single issue sales and how long readers view articles and ads.

I would love to hear what some of this information and home the publisher will reveal some details to the public about what impact tablets have had on its business model, both pro and con. Publishers will start receiving data on specific issues 10 weeks after it hits the stands.

Windows 8 Tablets on the Horizon.
There seems to be a lot of breathless talk that when Windows 8 is released a slew of tablets will be released and crush Apple’s iPad, returning the tablet market to the righteous. Who cares? I hope that the tablets are good and have the options I want, not how they compare to Apple. But I digress.

There is a lot of talk about who is going to have tablets when Windows 8 is available, and a list of probables and a few features is included in this piece by the International Business Times. No real surprises, Hewlett-Packard, Nokia, Dell and some others but worth a look so you have an idea of what is on the way.

Kindle and Nook in for a fight from new Nexus tablet?
The site Android and Me is reporting that a Nexus tablet from ASUS is a done deal and expects that the tablet will come in at a very nice $149. It is reporting that Google has selected ASUS to produce the next generation Nexus tablet and that it will have a 7-inch form factor and that all other details are unknown at this time.

However this will go directly against the two popular e-readers out there, from Amazon and Barnes & Noble, which currently are the second and fourth most popular selling tablets. A good price war is always popular with consumers and I am looking forward to what they do if this turns out to be true.

Americans willing to pay for tablet content aside for news
A recent Nielsen study on tablet content purchases found some interesting facts about European and American users. Americans are willing to pay for almost all types of content, with 62% having purchased music, 58% purchased books and 51% have purchased movies, but only 19% paid for news.

That is not too far out of line with the European countries surveyed about news, aside from Italy which had 44% purchasing news content. The Europeans showed they were much less likely to buy books, movies and music than Americans.

Filed Under: Amazon, Android, Apple, Apps, Barnes & Noble, Dell, Google, iPad, Kindle, Lenovo, Motorola, Nielsen Ratings, Tablets Tagged With: , , ,

Sunday Sermon: Bleacher Report’s Team Stream Shows Us How to Share Content

March 18, 2012 by

I have seen the immediate future of sports content sharing, and if it’s not the ultimate winner than Bleacher Report’s Team Stream feature will be something others will quickly copy. The main reason why I think it will be so successful? The best part of Team Stream is B/R’s willingness to embrace content that isn’t solely its own, to better serve the fans. That sharing attitude is going to make Team Stream a go-to feature that may eventually be more popular than any single site’s collection of reporters and columnists.

If you haven’t seen Team Stream yet, just go to the B/R site and set up a “stream” for yourself. It works either online, in an email newsletter, and most importantly, on mobile devices. The basic premise is, B/R’s team of web-watching editors sifts through everything that is out there and sends you a bundle of content centered around the teams or sports you are most interested in. The key is that unlike other media outlets, some of whom won’t link or mention competitors, B/R provides links to anyone and everyone, from major content creators to bloggers and tweeters. That’s the secret sauce that will make Team Stream taste great.

A screen grab of a Bleacher Report Team Stream newsletter on golf.

My blogging mentor, Om Malik, had one big rule for creating content — don’t waste the reader’s time. Team Stream embodies that ideal perfectly. Instead of me having to maintain links to multiple web sites, follow multiple people on Twitter, I can just “stream” the best stuff for my teams and save myself a lot of hunting time. And after visiting the B/R offices last week to see their energetic, massive bench of editors engaged in finding the best content out there I’m pretty confident that they’re going to serve up enough good stuff every day on my teams and topics to keep me from needing to go everywhere else.

So far I’ve been following the Chicago Bulls and Golf Team Streams as a test, and I can say right off the bat the golf one is a champ. Today’s newsletter, for example, gives me links to stories from Bleacher Report itself, but also from Yahoo Sports, from PGA.com, from Golf.com and from the AP — a much better mix than any traditional newspaper or sports site, which primarily include content only from their own staffs or partner “wire services” like AP. And I haven’t yet tried the new iPad version of Team Stream but I can only guess that the bigger screen size will make activities like watching video replays just that much easier.

Keep your eye on Team Stream, and see how many folks try to copy what Bleacher Report is doing. The power of sharing and smart editing is a winning combination.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, bleacherreport, iPad, iPhone, Sharing Sports Media, Sports Social Media Tagged With: , ,
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