CES 2012: The Empires Strike Back

Last year’s CES saw an invasion of mobile converged devices. With smartphone launches spurred by the introduction of Verizon’s LTE network (and joined by HSPA+ expansion by AT&T and T-Mobile) and a wall’s worth of tablets seeking to head off the iPad 2, it seemed as though consumer electronics were tied to the state of the slate.
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CES 2012: Procrastination, Products, and Person-Based Pricing

For years, mobile carriers have recognized the need to create new plans that revolve around people rather than devices, but it was easy to procrastinate in a world where the idea of consumers owning multiple wireless broadband devices was a far-off future scenario. Indeed, holistic (and flat-rate) service pricing was one of the original ideas behind Xohm, the first incarnation of 4G service from Sprint. But it, like the rest of Xohm, vanished into the clear.
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Multiroom Goes Multichannel

At any point in time, my nonagenarian uncle wouldn’t know what to do if you set a PC before him. In the ’80s, though, he was an early adopter of something few Americans have today — multiroom audio. His three bedroom Upper East Side apartment — large by Manhattan standards but smaller than many houses with multiple floors — had ceiling speakers that delivered Sinatra tunes from vinyl, tape, and FM to nearly every room in the dwelling.
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The WiMAX climax

Sprint’s announcement last Friday that it would begin offering LTE-capable handsets next year as a first step toward migrating to the 4G standard signaled the beginning of the end of WiMAX in the U.S. Starting out as an underdog against a global LTE commitment, Sprint’s rollout of the first 4G network was marked by numerous delays and false starts (such as XOHM) during a time when the carrier was struggling financially. After initially first touting the superiority of WiMAX, Sprint soon shifted to the practical argument that it was supporting the technology because it was available and LTE was not.

Sprint’s time-to-market advantage, however, varied by municipality. In New York City, for example, its lead was particularly short. The Big Apple was one of the last cities in which Sprint rolled out WiMAX, but it was one of the first cities in which Verizon rolled out LTE, resulting in a head start of only a few months.

As noted in today’s press release, based on NPD Mobile Phone Track data, Sprint’s WiMAX efforts were not in vain. The carrier’s early adoption of 4G resulted in relatively high adoption of smartphones that delivered what had been the fastest wireless broadband speeds available. Indeed, Sprint was the only carrier for which 4G handset purchases accounted for the majority of unit sales. That’s particularly impressive given the relatively easier evolutionary path to 4G afforded by T-Mobile’s and AT&T’s HSPA+ networks.

Sprint notes that it will continue to offer WiMAX handsets throughout next year, which likely ensures that its WiMAX network will remain in operation for some time to come. Eventually, though, the company will be able to tap into the greater global scale afforded by LTE, scale that have proven compelling to its two larger domestic competitors.

Galaxy S II Charts a New Course

They may be “vibrant” and even “epic,” but will they “captivate” and “fascinate”? It’s certainly no surprise that the Galaxy S II smartphones — the successor to Samsung’s breakout cross-carrier handsets — exceed their predecessors in nearly every specification. The Galaxy S II has a newer version of Android OS, double the number of processor cores, twice the RAM, higher digital-still and video-capture resolution, a larger screen, and a thinner profile. But there are other differences in the lineup that are not so quantifiable. Read more »

Bat wings in the cloud

Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility represents not the beginning of Google competing with Android licensees, but the exponential increase of it. From the time that Google launched the Nexus One, Google was signaling to its licensees that it was not afraid to stir the pot of conflicting interests. Read more »

“Quietly brilliant” . . . but with a pumpin’ bass

Last week’s news that HTC would purchase a majority stake in Beats Audio represents another step in the company’s quest for differentiation, which is a growing challenge in the Android mobile phone handset space. HTC’s main thrust up to this point has been its Sense “user experience” layer that pours on the visual eye candy. But with music and video playing a bigger role on cell phones, HTC clearly sees an opportunity to improve on the audio experience. Read more »

Active shutter alliance has green dreams, Bluetooth

Since the debut of the first 3D TVs using active shutter glasses, concerns have been raised regarding the incompatibility among different companies’ glasses; these have been compounded by different means of synchronizing them to sets. Some companies have tried to work around this particular hurdle. Mitsubishi, for example, designed its 3D LaserVue sets to be compatible with Samsung glasses. Last week, though, leading active-shutter TV brands Sony, Samsung and Panasonic — along with technology provider XPAND 3D — announced that they would create a “Full HD 3D Glasses Initiative,” to be based on Bluetooth. This commitment to work together should help retailers more successfully market products aftermarket active shutter glasses, as well as solidify the role of Bluetooth in the television category. (The latter development might also have implications for future remote controls.) Read more »

A Point of View on Connected Camcorders

Apart from the Eye-Fi card, and a few forays over the years from the likes of Kodak, Sony — and more recently Samsung — digital cameras have proven resistant to connectivity. Most have shunned Wi-Fi and cellular radios despite smartphone-based sharing providing increasingly tough competition. Digital camcorders have clung even more closely to their islands. Rumors abounded that the plug was pulled on Flip, just before it debuted its first Wi-Fi-enabled products. Indeed, putting aside smartphones, the most popular Wi-Fi camera and HD camcorder on retail shelves today is the iPod touch. Read more »

Spotify, Hulu and the Connected TV

It was once said that the U.S. arms of big music labels would never agree to support a service like Spotify. But in doing so, they have helped to produce a service far more compelling than homegrown free music download effort Spiralfrog that spiraled downward in 2009. For years Spotify and Hulu have been two of the most beloved streaming entertainment services available; however, now that Spotify is finally available stateside, the freemium music service provides an interesting contrast with Hulu. Read more »