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Sonos Ships Digital Music System After spending nearly three years developing the thing, Sonos Inc has started shipping its Sonos Digital Music System, a multi-zone system with a wireless controller that lets consumers play their digital music in any or all rooms in the house and control it all from the palm of their hand. Unveiled last June, the system comprises the ZonePlayer and the Controller. The ZonePlayer has a built-in amplifier and accesses and plays music from PCs, Macs and network attached storage devices; it can access music from up to 16 networked devices. Consumers can network up to 32 ZonePlayers in the home and manage them all from the same Controller. The ZonePlayer supports MP3, WMA, AAC and WAV files as well as Internet radio streams.
Sonos Controller User Interface The Controller has a full-color LCD screen and touch-sensitive scroll wheel. Users pick a zone, pick a song and hit play to start the music in any room - unrestricted by line of sight. The Sonos system can play the same song in every room, different songs in different rooms or any combination of the two. Users can queue-up favorites or set the system to randomly pick songs to play. The LCD shows what is playing in any zone at any time, including available album art. The Sonos Digital Music System is available now from the company's Web site (www.sonos.com) and will appear on retail shelves across the US over the next few weeks. Sonos plans to sell the system internationally later this year. Sonos is offering an introductory bundle of two Sonos ZonePlayers and a Sonos Controller for $1,199. Additional ZonePlayers retail for $499 and additional Controllers are $399.
Sonos ZonePlayers and Controller "After nearly three years
of hard work, we are proud to offer digital music fans the
first product that allows them to enjoy their digital music
library throughout their entire home and control it all from
the palm of their hand," said Sonos CEO John MacFarlane.
"At a quarter of the cost of traditional analog
whole-home stereo systems, we make multi-room audio available
to a much larger audience." Back
to Headlines Labels, Studios Bet All on Supreme Court Ruling; Roll Out Big Guns in Appeal The record labels and movie studios rolled out all the guns they could muster this week in order to persuade the US Supreme Court that the P2P networks should be held liable for the copyright infringement activities of their users. Last April 25th Los Angeles Federal District Judge Stephen Wilson ruled that two P2P networks, Grokster and StreamCast, accused of aiding and abetting copyright infringement, couldn't be held liable for what their users did. According to the judge, the networks don't control what their users do any more than VCR makers can control what their users do when recording and duplicating tapes. The reference was prompted by the Supreme Court's ruling many years ago that Sony, which made the Betamax VCRs, could not be held liable for the actions of Betamax users. The thinking was that VCRs have legitimate uses other than just duplicating copyrighted material. Oddly, Judge Wilson did not give Sharman Networks, the third defendant in the trial, and the then largest P2P network, the same blessing he gave Grokster and StreamCast. The San Francisco Appeals Court unanimously upheld Judge Wilson's ruling, thus prompting the labels and studios to appeal to the nation's highest court to overturn Wilson. Eight international trade associations, representing hundreds of thousands of copyright and other right owners in 100 countries outside the US, this week filed a "friend of the court" brief that urges the Supreme Court to reverse the lower courts' decisions. What is at stake for the labels
and studios cannot be overstated - it's their future. Their
very business model would be shattered if the Supreme Court
were to uphold the lower court's decision. The consequences
would be: The ruinous consequences that would come to the labels and studios if they lose the Supreme Court decision are immense. Their revenue streams would drop abruptly. The studios have not yet felt the impact of P2P file sharing to the extent that the labels have because it takes so long to download large movie files. However, broadband speeds are increasing and will zoom upwards as fiber optic connections increase. Decreasing revenues will result in job losses and reduced salaries, bonuses and royalties for everyone else from employees to stars to suppliers. Only the lawyers and lobbyists would see their "take" increased. Everyone associated with the movie and music industries would be negatively affected - from the company that prints their letterheads to the video distributor that rents DVDs. The two industries, realizing the potential results from a negative ruling, are pulling out all the stops in gathering support for their appeal to the Supreme Court. By gathering the international associations to join them in the fight, the movie and music industries will be able to present a stronger front when they take their case to the Supreme Court. The summary of the internationals associations' filing is that the lower courts' decisions: - Affect not only US rights
holders. The brief argues that Grokster and StreamCast have a history of urging and assisting their users to share copyrighted files and that their services are used overwhelmingly for copyright infringement MPAA president and CEO Dan Glickman said that the industry welcomes advancing technologies with the resulting ability to "reach new audiences, more conveniently, more economically….We will not welcome, however, theft masquerading as technology," he said. RIAA chairman and CEO Mitch Bainwol said that a broad consensus had emerged around the conclusion that the Sony-Betamax ruling was never meant to provide cover for Grokster-style theft. "Theft is theft," he said. "A business model predicated on theft can't stand. The Groksters of the world are not innovators. Far from it. They are parasites who hide behind technology as they steal." Republican lobbyist that he is, Bainwol said that the Supreme Court is in a position to "unleash a wave of investments in legitimate Internet distribution models by establishing clear legal rules of the road and a balanced playing field that respects both creative and technological innovation." The Brief Against the P2P
Outfits - Their services contribute to
copyright infringement on a massive scale. What do the labels and studios do if the Supreme Court rules against them? Well, it wouldn't do to be standing in the entrance to the office of any congressman because the lobbyists will be stampeding through them. The only, and final, recourse for the two industries to save their business model and revenue and expense structures is to get the Republican dominated Congress to pass legislation and the Republican president George W Bush to be automatic, but the odds would favor the labels and studios. Hardly any actual products are made in America these days. Its biggest export and money earner is its intellectual property, stuff ranging from patents to works of art to software. The biggest revenue producer will soon be its intellectual property. Making it legal to copy the stuff would hardly be in the US's best economical interest. The worst possible results for the music and movie industries was described by the MPAA's Glickman: "No business can keep its doors open, its employees paid and its customers satisfied if pirates are allowed to run ramshackle over the basic protection of the right of individuals to the ownership of their creative expression, and to benefit from those expressions and that ownership." In short, there ain't no free lunch. Opponents might argue, however, that lunch could be cheaper in the digital media age, but it's still not going to be free. Chronology April 25, 2004 - Los Angeles Federal District Judge Stephen Wilson rules that Grokster and StreamCast cannot be held liable for the copyright infringement activities of their users. August 19, 2004 - The San Francisco Appeals Court unanimously upholds Judge Wilson's decision. October 8, 2004 - The copyright holders, led by the music and movie companies, ask the Supreme Court to review the two lower courts' decisions. November 6, 2004 - The RIAA, international organizations representing copyright holders, 40 state attorneys general and other interested parties filed a "friends of the court" brief urging the Supreme Court to review the matter. December 10, 2004 - The Supreme Court agrees to hear the appeal. January 25, 2005 - Eight international trade associations representing copyright holders filed a "friend of the court brief" urging the Supreme Court to overturn Judge Wilson's decision. March 29, 2005 - Supreme Court
is scheduled to hear oral arguments in the
case. Back
to Headlines Adam Curry, an ex-MTV host, and Dave Winer, the podcasting guru, are developing a network at www.ipodder.org that will make it easier to distribute and download audio programs - called podcasts - to PCs and portable players such as iPods, according to Fortune magazine. The network will feature podcast highlights. Some folks credit Winer with
developing the Weblogs that TV talk-show hosts fell in love
with during last fall's US presidential election. Winer's
podcast "Daily Source Code" has rallied software
developers to up with better tools for producing podcasts. The
betting here is that podcasting will become more popular than
blogs. Unlike blogs, you can take 'em with you - and
"everyone" will soon have an iPod or equivalent
either in their pocket or in the car. Back
to Headlines Michael Powell, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission since 2001, has resigned. A Republican through and through, Powell oversaw the sometimes controversial easing of media ownership laws and tightened enforcement of so-called decency laws. Richard DalBello, president of the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association said, "Powell has great passion for communications and telecommunications technologies and under his steadfast direction these technologies have advanced greatly and benefited the American public." Robert Sachs, president and CEO of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, said "Whether jump starting the digital TV transition or creating a regulatory environment that has allowed broadband Internet services to flourish, Michael Powell has been a major force in bringing the benefits of new technology to the American people." Two Republicans remain on the
commission: Kathleen Abernathy whose term expired June 30,
2004, and Kevin Martin, whose name has been mentioned as a
possible Powell replacement. Back
to Headlines Real Reaches Q4 Profitability - Minus Expenses RealNetworks experienced another record quarter to end 2004. In the December quarter - its 10th consecutive quarter of revenue growth - Real saw revenues of $72.5 million, up 34% over $54.1 million in 4Q03. The company also crowed that it achieved its goal of profitability in Q4, excluding costs relating to its antitrust fight with Microsoft. Net income excluding the antitrust litigation expenses reached $2 million, or a penny a share. Including the expenses, the company lost $3 million, or two cents a share, in the quarter. CEO Rob Glaser credits the growth in the company's consumer business, specifically music and games, for the solid numbers. Last year the company put most of its efforts into building its consumer-oriented products and services and it apparently paid off. Quarterly revenues from the consumer side of the business grew 47% year-over-year to $60.8 million. Music revenues grew 172% to $21.6 million and games sales and subscriptions grew 156% to $10.1 million. Video, consumer software and other revenue was down slightly to $29.1 million. Revenue from business products and services was $11.8 million, down 8% from the prior year's quarter. RealNetworks Consumer Business
Revenue RealNetworks Consumer Business
Revenue
(in millions) German Library Gets Right to Circumvent Copy Protection Deutsche Bibliothek, the German
national library, has negotiated a license with the German
Federation of the Phonographic Industry and the German
Booksellers and Publishers Association to legally circumvent
copy protection mechanisms on CDs, videos, software and
e-books, according to EDRI. Under the agreement, the library
will be able to fulfill its legal obligation to collect and
make material available for long-term archiving purposes. The
library will be able to break digital locks on books and music
for the scientific purposes of users, collections for school
or educational purposes, instruction and research as well as
on works that are out of print. Back
to Headlines Regulation of Internet Content Debated An early attempt to control
content on the Internet was debated by the UK's Internet
Service Providers' Association (ISPA), according to the BBC.
What led to the debate is the blurring of the lines between TV
and broadband for delivering content. One suggestion was that
regulators apply to ISPs the same rules that they apply to TV
services, rather than creating new regulations. The opposing
thought was that ISPs use self-regulation. Back
to Headlines Yahoo Media Group Expands; $100m LA Office Lease Yahoo keeps moving further into
the digital media business. This week it leased new facilities
in Los Angeles that'll be used by its newly formed Yahoo Media
Group that former ABC TV chairman Lloyd Braun will head. Yahoo
Media Group will oversee the company's news, sports, video
games, movies and music services. The Los Angeles Times said
the estimated $100 million lease of offices in Santa Monica
was one of the largest commercial real estate deals in Los
Angeles County in the last year. Yahoo will hire in the Los
Angeles area and relocate employees from its New York and
Sunnyvale operations to staff the new facilities. Under CEO
Terry Semel, a former Warner Bros head, Yahoo has increased
its digital media offerings - from entertainment to news. It
has acquired online ad service Overture Services and online
music services Launch and Musicmatch. It hired Wall Street
Journal Online founder Neil Budde to head its online news
division. Back
to Headlines Time Starts Now "Time starts now." - Steve McQueen to Jacqueline Bisset in the 1968 movie "Bullitt," whose car chase is generally regarded as one of the best ever. The time to catch up on the week's happenings in digital media starts every Friday with The Online Reporter. Start your subscription now. Call 225-769-7130 or e-mail Introductory and group rates
available.
Britain's Video Networks is upgrading all three tiers of its
broadband Internet services on February 1. Its new HomeChoice
Internet speeds will be: Ofcom Launching 3 New Digital Media Impact Studies UK regulator Ofcom will investigate changing trends for media consumption, including new digital products and second-generation broadband services under its 2005-06 annual plan. It will launch three studies into new broadband services, digital multimedia platforms and broadcasting production. The investigations will compare British adoption of new media against what is being done in other countries and the impact of digital services such as 3G mobile phones and PCs on the distribution of UK-produced content. The impact of digital media on all forms of entertainment, information and CE gear is prompting Ofcom's actions. Trends that did not exist a few years ago are becoming dominant - record sales of digital music players such as the Apple iPod, digital radios, the popularity of legal music downloads, booming online shopping and rapidly increasing broadband access in the home. Ofcom says its goal is to help the new markets to develop and reduce regulations. Formed a year ago by merging
several regulatory agencies, Ofcom says it has lowered
operating costs and has 25% fewer - about 300 fewer -
employees than the five agencies it replaced. It reduced its
recurring budget expenses by about 5%, although one-time
start-up costs added almost £10m to the total budget.
Back
to Headlines SBC Targets Cable TV Users with $29.95, 3 Mbps Deal SBC dropped the monthly rate for its 3 Mbps DSL broadband to $29.95, from $36,99, with a one-year commitment and bundled with SBC's local and long distance service. SBC is the largest US DSL provider with 5.1 million subscribers, but it trails overall broadband leader Comcast. SBC made clear in its announcement that it's targeting users of cable TV broadband who typically pay $40 to $50 a month for similar speeds. "We're urging consumers to do the math," said SBC senior VP of consumer marketing Scott Helbing. SBC, which is reportedly in talks to acquire AT&T, also offers its DSL subscribers free access to its more than 6,000 Wi-Fi hotspots. The phone part of the bundle provides unlimited local and nationwide direct-dial long distance calling, Caller ID, voicemail and the choice of two SBC calling features for $48.95 a month. Customers will also receive either a free DSL modem or a wireless home-networking gateway for $50 after a $99 instant credit. SBC Yahoo's DSL Express offers
download speeds of up to 1.5 Mbps for $19.95 a month with a
one-year agreement and when purchased with the phone service.
Back
to Headlines Broadband Pay TV Comes to Malaysia Malaysia's Cuzzy Advanced Convergence Laboratories expects to sign up 50,000 subscribers in the first year for its broadband-based digital pay TV service, XBB.TV. It estimates the total potential market at three million subscribers by year-end 2008 and up to 20 million by 2012. "Cuzzy's rollout of XBB.TV services will go a long way towards accelerating broadband uptake in Malaysia and helping to achieve the national broadband plan targets," said a government official. XBB.TV offers a selection of channels via broadband for $9.95 per month or a three-month prepaid fee of $22.99. Additional revenue is expected from subscription fees, advertisements, content sponsorship, public relations campaigns and infomercials. Cuzzy CEO Jeffery Paul Raj said
the company intends to go public on the Mesdaq Market this
year to raise funds for content development and marketing of
its Internet-based TV broadcast services.
Back
to Headlines Broadband/Mobile JV Launched in China Hong Kong's PCCW and the
Chinese government-owned phone company China Netcom are
launching a Chinese telecommunications venture that will focus
on mobile phone and broadband services. China Netcom recently
acquired 20% of PCCW. PCCW chairman Richard Li said the
venture could increase his company's revenues by 25% within
three years. Back
to Headlines BellSouth Adds Record 224,000 Broadband Subscribers BellSouth added a record 224,000 net DSL broadband customers in the December quarter and ended the year with 2.1 million broadband subscribers. It said the growth was driven in part by its long-term strategic move to offer additional incentives and new pricing for FastAcces DSL. The price for the first six months is $9.95 a month. It was also helped by its
bundling of DirecTV services. The year-end count was more than
200,000 DirecTV subscriptions, up from 90,000 at the end of
the third quarter. The BellSouth triple play bundle includes
voice (phone), data (broadband access) and entertainment
services (DirecTV). Back
to Headlines Widevine Signs Alcatel to Worldwide Deal Widevine Technologies, developer of content security solutions for the xDSL and Fiber to the Home (FTTH) markets, has done a worldwide deal with Alcatel. In conjunction with Widevine, Alcatel will sell, service and support the Widevine Cypher technology - Virtual SmartCard and Application Level encryption. Widevine says its Virtual SmartCard solution is the most deployed content security solution in the TV over DSL and FTTH markets. The company claims that Virtual SmartCard lowers the costs of securing content over video networks while raising the bar on piracy protection. The Widevine technology offers service providers a fully integrated, end-to-end video security solution. "Alcatel has shipped
millions of DSL lines to leading service providers around the
world - almost four times our closest competitor," said
Ivan Verbesselt, VP of Alcatel's information, communication
and entertainment business activity. "Service providers
today require the flexibility to deliver video over any access
architecture while fully protecting that content from
end-to-end. We believe that Widevine greatly strengthens
Alcatel's product portfolio and fully complements existing,
best of breed 'Alcatel Connected' partnerships."
Back
to Headlines Orca Upgrades Chunghwa Telecom Order Orca Interactive has sold Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan's largest operator of domestic and international telecom services with about three million ADSL subscribers, an additional 10,000 licenses of Orca's RiGHTvT IPTV middleware to accommodate growth in what it says is one of the world's largest multimedia-on-demand (MOD) deployments. It is the second expansion from Orca in less than six months, and brings the total number of Orca middleware licenses at Chunghwa Telecom to 40,000. Orca's open-architecture IPTV
middleware is integrated with Pace 4000 and IP420 set-top
boxes, Alcatel Open Video server, Widevine security solution
and Chunghwa Telecom's billing and CRM systems. Chunghwa
Telecom offers a variety of services including broadcast TV,
video-on-demand and games-on-demand. Back
to Headlines RCN Adds Home/Work Monitoring Service RCN has added a new service called WebWatch that the company says is a "first-of- its-kind" home monitoring system that allows customers to remotely view real-time video of their home or business through any broadband-connected PC. "RCN is using its fiber-rich network to bring peace of mind to its customers with remote monitoring based on innovation and our high bandwidth infrastructure," said RCN CEO Pete Aquino. "This service allows homeowners, business owners, mothers and fathers to watch their homes or businesses while they are not there." Customers place up to four small wireless cameras throughout their homes or businesses and log into a secure Web site to view real-time, streaming videos. The video can also be recorded for later viewing. RCN is initially making the
service available to its Boston customers, with other markets
to follow. Back
to Headlines Video Networks Reaches 15,000 Subscribers UK start-up broadband service Video Networks (VNL) plans to double the size of its Phase 1 footprint from 1.2 million to 2.4 million homes. The first new homes will come online in March 2005, with the remainder being passed by June 2005. During 2004's last quarter, VNL was responsible for one in five new DSL net additions in its initial launch territory of 1.2 million homes. Since launching its telephone service in November, 85% of all new subscribers have chosen VNL's HomeChoice to provide all three services - digital TV, broadband Internet and phone calls. HomeChoice now has 15,000 subscribers. HomeChoice will be available to over 2.4 million London homes by June 2005." Roger Lynch, chairman and CEO
of VNL, said "The concept of broadband delivered TV and
video-on-demand is very new to the entertainment buying public
and to already have 20% market share of new DSL subscribers in
our coverage area so soon after our launch is a great
achievement." Last August, HomeChoice signed a deal with
BSkyB enabling VNL subscribers to watch Sky Sports and
selected Sky Movies channels on the service. The company also
offers phone service and will soon launch a music download
service that will allow HomeChoice customers to buy
downloadable music tracks as they appear on screen.
Back
to Headlines Deutsche Telekom's T-Com DSL
operation had 6.1 broadband customers in Germany and abroad at
year-end, an increase of two million. Back
to Headlines Spanish 'Triple Play' Service to Attract Millions Spanish phone company
Telefonica expects its Imagenio "triple-play"
service to have over 200,000 subscribers by the end of 2005,
according to Telefonica cable CEO Mariano Sotillos in a Dow
Jones Newswire interview. The Imagenio service currently has
7,000 customers. It offers TV and high-speed Internet access
through DSL connections. It has to offer voice separately
because of Spanish government regulations. The company expects
the Imagenio service to be available to over 80% of Spain's
population by the end of the year. It is currently available
in Madrid, Barcelona and Alicante. Sotillos said the service
would attract "millions" of customers within a few
years. Back
to Headlines
EarthLink, SK Telecom JV To Take on US Mobile Market Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, Sprint and Cingular, which became the largest mobile operator in the US thanks to its purchase of AT&T Wireless, along with slew of smaller wireless carriers, will soon have another major player to contend with as they fight for control of the mobile consumer. EarthLink, the second-largest dial-up ISP in the states, and SK Telecom, the top mobile operator in South Korea, have decided to form a joint venture and stake their claim in the US wireless market. The new SK-EarthLink is a 50-50 joint venture, with each of the partners kicking in $220 million over the next three years million to capitalize the new company. It will operate as a so-called mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), a wireless provider that leases network capacity from other providers rather than control its own network. EarthLink founder and director Sky Dayton, who resigned as EarthLink chairman earlier in the week, will serve as CEO of the new company. Dayton, who also founded hotspot aggregator Boingo Wireless in 2001, left his post as CEO of Boingo in November. As to why he is behind the idea of SK-EarthLink, Dayton noted that, "The wireless and Internet worlds are colliding, and neither will be the same again. In South Korea, kids on the street are using their mobile phones to listen to music, watch TV, video conference, locate their friends and access the Internet - as well as make voice calls - as opposed to the US where the mobile experience is primarily about talking on the phone," he said. "Americans are living in the past. Utilizing emerging 3G networks and harnessing the explosive growth of Wi-Fi, SK-EarthLink will take the wireless experience in the US to a new level." The new venture will focus on the higher-end of the cell phone service market, targeting business users and consumers who are interested in more advanced data services, such as mobile TV streaming and music downloads. Given SK Telecom's experience in providing such services in South Korea where it owns about half the mobile market, SK-EarthLink has a pretty good chance of at least initial success. "This partnership reflects 30 years of combined experience that EarthLink and SK Telecom have gained anticipating and delivering innovative Internet applications and wireless services," said EarthLink president and CEO Garry Betty. "SK-EarthLink has the potential to reshape the mobile communications market by meeting the growing demand of US customers who are currently underserved by existing voice-oriented wireless operators." Like all parents, EarthLink and SK Telecom have high hopes for their baby. They expect the new venture to boast some three million net subscribers and $2 billion in revenue by 2009. The details of what services
SK-EarthLink will offer will be revealed over the next few
months. Back
to Headlines INgrooves Dances to the Mobile Beat Digital record company INgrooves, which markets and distributes dance and electronic music online, has pulled out the wires and launched a mobile music label. INgrooves Mobile Music is chartered with distributing music content including exclusives and custom ringtones, through a variety of wireless operators and mobile content providers. The new mobile distribution outlet has already signed a number of indie labels including V2 and D-Block as well as artists such as The Crystal Method, Thievery Corporation, Grandaddy and Felix da Housecat. INgrooves expects to add to its catalog of available mobile music in the near future. Artists and labels can sign up with INgrooves for Internet distribution, mobile distribution or both. Dwango Wireless, 9 Squared and
Hudson Entertainment have already agreed to offer INgrooves
content through their mobile storefronts. Back
to Headlines Fox Unit Creates Original Mobile Serials TV program production and distribution outfit Twentieth Television, a unit of News Corp, and Verizon Wireless have teamed up to deliver two direct-to-mobile series to Verizon Wireless subscribers. The agreement calls for Twentieth Television to product 26 one-minute episodes each of serial dramas "Love and Hate" and "The Sunset Hotel." The original "mobisodes" are designed specifically for V CAST, the new multimedia service from Verizon Wireless and the 3G Live service from Vodafone. Both Verizon Wireless and Vodafone will distribute the mobisodes to their customers. Twentieth Television is also producing promos for each series as well as a separate mobisode on the making of "The Sunset Hotel." According to Bob Cook, president and COO of Twentieth Television, "In today's multiplatform environment, it is important to identify new and creative ways to supply the ever-growing list of avenues through which content can, and will be, delivered. We feel that the production of these serialized soap operas is a unique way to further bolster Verizon Wireless' and Vodafone's strong product offerings to global markets while creating a value proposition and additional revenue streams for all parties involved. Lucy Hood, senior VP of content and marketing at News Corp, said that her company is "extremely excited" about the wireless space. News Corp is already working on an episodic series inspired by the hit Fox TV show "24." "'Love and Hate' and 'The Sunset Hotel' are further testament to our company's commitment to unite innovative Hollywood creativity with breakthrough technology." "Love and Hate" introduces a new production approach Twentieth Television calls "manipulated reality," in which cast members work without a script and involve everyday citizens in their improvised performances and the show's storyline. "The Sunset Hotel"is a completely scripted melodrama. No word on when the mobisodes
will premiere or how much they'll cost.
Back
to Headlines PhoneBites Gets $3m in First Round Financing Siemens Mobile Acceleration (SMAC), which invests in early-stage wireless companies, led a $3 million financing round in mobile entertainment and technology start-up PhoneBites. Cardinal Venture Capital and Garage Technology Ventures also anted up for the San Francisco outfit's first round. PhoneBites will use the money to launch its core product, the RAZZ, which lets subscribers insert sound bites into their phone conversations, outgoing messages, voicemails and photo messages. With the patent-pending technology, users press a couple keys on the handset to add an audio clip into a phone call without interrupting it. The effect, says PhoneBites, is a "powerful and very funny entertainment tool." The available tones range from sports and political satire to holidays, birthdays and everyday humor. PhoneBites sees this new mobile entertainment category as allowing content owners to repackage existing content for new revenue streams, enabling carriers to increase ARPU and providing consumers with a novel form of entertainment. Over the coming year, PhoneBites plans to launch an additional suite of interactive content and voice productivity applications. PhoneBites says that initial
trials for the RAZZ have garnered interest from several mobile
operators, handset manufacturers and consumers.
Back
to Headlines Cingular Launches MobiTV Service Mobile television network MobiTV has gone live on the Cingular Wireless network. The new service lets Cingular subscribers with compatible handsets watch live news, sports, music, comedy, fashion and other entertainment programs on 22 channels. Content providers include MSNBC, CNBC, ABC News Now, NBC Mobile, Fox Sports, Discovery, TLC and C-SPAN among others. MobiTV launched on the AT&T Wireless mMode service in October, before AT&T Wireless became part of Cingular. Sprint PCS and Midwest Wireless also offer the live mobile TV service. At launch, Cingular subscribers with the Nokia 6620 or Motorola V3 (RAZR) or V180 can access MobiTV. It will soon be available on the Motorola V400 and V600 as well. Cingular customers can
subscribe to MobiTV for $9.99 a month. There's a free
three-day trial so users can check out the service before
shelling out the monthly fee. Because MobiTV uses data, not
voice, minutes, Cingular suggests that its customers avoid
unexpected charges by also subscribing to one of its MEdia
Works Packages. Back
to Headlines DIC, SmartVideo Create Mobile Channel for Kids DIC Entertainment, which creates, develops, produces, distributes, markets and merchandises entertainment products for kids, has given its audience even more reason to bug Mom and Dad for a cell phone. The company has partnered with SmartVideo Technologies on the "DIC Kid's Network" animation channel for mobile phones and wireless devices. Now, using SmartVideo's technology that is supposed to recreate the "true television experience, even over low-bandwidth connections," the DIC library will be available for viewing on mobile phones around the world. SmartVideo's turnkey digital media solution manages and distributes live, on-demand or downloaded play of high-quality video to mobile devices. DIC has accumulated a library
of some 3,200 half-hour animated segments from 100 different
programs. Its content includes characters it created such as
Inspector Gadget, acquired properties including "Sonic
the Hedgehog" and "Super Mario Bros" and
licensed brands such as Trollz and Strawberry Shortcake.
Back
to Headlines Uphonia Frees Up Mobile Valentines SmartServ Online is getting ready for Valentine's Day by giving away free Valentine-themed cell-phone screensavers at its Uphonia.com mobile content Web site. It has created a special page with romantic images that can be sent to a sweetheart's mobile phone. "Uphonia.com is adding a bit of romance to the mobile phone for Valentine's Day," said marketing VP Dan Wainfan. "Now you can surprise your Valentine with a mobile Valentine's card sent right to the screen of their cell phone." Screensaver images include a
dozen roses, valentine's chocolates and a variety of colorful
"candy" hearts with special expressions of love
printed on them. In addition to the free content, Uphonia
Valentine content also includes special ringtones including
popular love songs from Rod Stewart, OutKast, the Beatles,
Trisha Yearwood, n'Sync, Kylie Minogue and others for $2 each.
Back
to Headlines Sorrent, Fox Team on Mobile Games Mobile entertainment provider Sorrent Inc and 20th Century Fox have forged a two-year worldwide deal that gives Sorrent exclusive rights to publish mobile games and content based on select upcoming Fox movies. First up is a mobile game and additional mobile content from the soon-to-be-released computer animated feature "Robots." The mobile game will be released at the same time the console version from Vivendi Universal Games debuts. Other films whose content is
included in the partnership include "Kingdom of
Heaven," "Mr and Mrs Smith" and "Ice Age
2: The Meltdown." Back
to Headlines Nutrax, Weight Watchers Mobilize Nutrition Tracking Dieting is never easy. It usually isn't fun, either. Two companies this week unveiled mobile applications designed to make it a little more of both. Nutrax.com has come out with a program that lets consumers snap a picture of their meal with a camera phone and send the photo to an online food diary. It then provides the tools to help users learn "the good, bad and ugly" of any diet. The system gets smarter with each photo sent. It predicts the contents of the photo, aids the user in planning a meal or workout and sends personalized alerts, tips and suggestions. "Tracking what you eat is essential for results, but most people are too busy for a diet log," according to Leslie Bonci, the nutrition expert behind Nutrax. "Nutrax is something you can actually stick with." Nutrax offers customizable subscription goals to fit every user's goal, whether it's weight loss, athletic training or living a healthier lifestyle. For the "do-it-yourself" customer, Nutrax offers a $2.95-a-week subscription including photo logging, a database with 26,000 food items and all of the tools needed to understand the user's diet. For those wanting more support, the $8.95-a-week plan adds regular photo diary reviews and 24x7 availability from a personal nutritionist. Weight loss maven Weight Watchers passed over mobile phones in favor of PDAs with its new mobile food tracker. Weight Watchers On-the-Go for handhelds works in conjunction with a dieter's WeightWatchers.com account, letting users follow the program online and add the mobile product to the monthly subscription cost. "We like to think of our new mobile product as a global positioning system for weight management," said Scott Parlee, director of product development for WeightWatchers.com. "Our customers told us they want tools to help them stay on course when they're at a restaurant, the grocery store or the gym, so we found a way to put our weight-loss tools in the palm of your hand." Weight Watchers followers either track point values for food and activity or use the no counting plan that lets them eat from a core food list. The new mobile product delivers food lists with over 25,000 items, including brand name groceries and menu items from national restaurant chains, a tracker to keep tabs on food and exercise and a POINTS calculator. It synchs entries between the handheld and Web-based accounts so food doesn't get counted twice. Weight Watchers On-the-Go is
compatible with most Palm OS-based handhelds from
manufacturers such as Handspring, Palm and Sony.
Back
to Headlines In-Fusio Bolsters US Presence with Thumbworks Buy In-Fusio, which provides mobile games and gamer community management, has acquired Thumbworks, a mobile entertainment content publisher. The deal gives In-Fusio, which is headquartered in France and has offices in the US, England, Russia and China, a stronger presence in the states. The addition of Tustin, California-based Thumbworks will also help In-Fusio speed up development and broaden the range of applications it can provide. The combined company can offer mobile games, including 3D and multiplayer titles, as well as high-end products and services such as multimedia for 2.5G and 3G broadband. In-Fusio will also combine its ability to manage the games channel for European and Chinese mobile carriers with Thumbworks' infrastructure in order to build community-oriented mobile entertainment for the North American market. "Anyone who has a cell phone is inherently 'connected,' but we want to go further than that," said Thumbworks president Craig Holland, who is taking the helm of In-Fusio's US operations. "We have joined forces with In-Fusio and have already started to develop compelling, potentially market-shifting applications dedicated to creating community-related mobile entertainment. We are working to ultimately build connections for the mobile user that render meaningless the current distinctions between wireless, online and traditional media." Thumbworks also contributes
such games as Jeep Off-road Jam, Suzuki Motocross Challenge,
Etch-A-Sketch, Element Surfing and Tennis by Wilson as well as
the recently launched CellToons streaming animation channel,
which is available on the Sprint PCS Network.
Back
to Headlines Verizon Wireless Chooses Windows Media for V CAST Verizon Wireless has selected Microsoft's Windows Media format to power its new V CAST 3G consumer wireless broadband multimedia service. Launching February 1, V CAST runs over the wireless operator's high-speed 3G EV-DO network and lets subscribers stream and playback audio and video clips using Windows Media technology. The service also employs technology from PacketVideo and thePlatform for Media. The first three V CAST-enabled mobile phones come preloaded with PacketVideo's media player and content catalog. The PacketVideo player has integrated Windows Media playback and lets users rewind or fast forward streams, download clips for local playback and navigate among video segments. thePlatform media publishing and aggregation system will let V CAST subscribers set their preferences for favorite content, receive SMS alerts as new content becomes available and view new video clips. It also lets users get a summary of their video purchases through their monthly statement. V CAST multimedia content will
be available to Verizon Wireless customers for $15 a month in
addition to the cost of their regular wireless plan.
Back
to Headlines UK Mobile Phone Ownership Exceeds One Per Person There is now more than one
mobile phone in use per person, according to the Mobile Data
Association (MDA). It said that based on contract and pre-paid
subscriptions, mobile phone penetration in the UK now exceeds
100%. Many UK customers now own more than one handset in order
to separate voice and e-mail applications or business and
personal communications. The 100% milestone was reached 11
years after digital mobile services were first launched in the
UK. Italy, Iceland, Portugal, Sweden and Luxembourg also
exceed the one-per-person rate with Luxembourg at a 133%
mobile penetration rate. Back
to Headlines Movielink Takes to the Skies with Southwest Movielink and Southwest Airlines want to make it easier for Southwest customers to enjoy their flights. The two have launched a co-branded movie download site where folks who fly with the airline can download Movielink flicks to their notebooks to watch while in the air, waiting at the airport or relaxing in their hotel room. Available exclusively to Southwest customers in the US, the co-branded service, at www.southwest.com/movielink, provides access to Movielink's entire library of more than 1,000 films from most major movie studios and several independents. Additionally, Movielink will offer new users a coupon for a free first download as well as offer Southwest flyers special deals throughout the year exclusively via the co-branded site. Movielink downloads require a broadband connection. Once the download is complete, the PC doesn't need to be connected to the Net in order to watch the movie. "Whether taking a short hop or a flight across the country, entertainment plays a key role in the travel experience," said Movielink CEO Jim Ramo. "Through this relationship, we provide Southwest travelers with a convenient, easy and legal way to download movies that they can take with them and view anytime, anywhere." Customers can browse through
the trailers for free and then register and pay for their
rental via credit card. Downloads range from $1.99 to $4.99.
Movielink's Movies in Minutes feature lets folks start
watching a movie two-10 minutes after it starts to download.
Once viewing starts, the customer can watch the film over and
over again within the 24-hour viewing period.
Back
to Headlines GreenCine, DivX Launch Online Film Festival GreenCine, which offers a DVD-by-mail rental program as well as downloads of arthouse and other esoteric films, has teamed with DivXNetworks to launch an online film festival. The GreenCine Online Film Festival gives filmmakers a chance to present their work to a much larger audience than at traditional festivals. A jury made up of production executives, film journalists, talent agents and video technologists will screen all submissions. The festival features two categories of competition - narrative features and documentary features. Ten finalists in each category will be available online for download in secure DivX format. Folks who choose to download the films can vote for their favorites as part of the "Audience Award" in each category. The judges will vote on the top prizewinners, which will be screened theatrically in San Francisco. Winning films will be available for download in their entirety in secure, DVD-quality DivX video. Viewers can watch the films on a PC, TV or any of the 20 million DivX Certified consumer electronics devices available from most major CE manufacturers. Filmmakers will get a percentage of the revenue GreenCine makes when their films are downloaded. To participate in the festival,
filmmakers either pay a $20 fee per submission or become a
GreenCine member. All submissions must be postmarked no later
than April 30. The online festival itself will take place from
June 1-26. Rules, regulations and other info can be found at http://filmfestival.greencine.com.
Back
to Headlines
Broadband TV Comes to Hong Kong Television Broadcasts (TVB) and phone company Hutchison Global Communications Holdings are expected to start pay-TV services in April in Hong Kong. TVB will have access to one million homes through Hutchison's broadband network. It will be Hutchison's first entry into the television sector. Named New TV, the all-digital multi-channel satellite subscription service is designed for the Hong Kong audience and includes five exclusive Chinese channels supplied by TVB as well as two new exclusive Chinese movie channels. Back to Headlines
Two Easter Eggs in Supreme Court Filing The filing that the
international copyrights associations made this week in the
Grokster/StreamCast case contained two items that raised a few
eyebrows: The record labels, and perhaps the movie studios, have been working with several companies that are developing filtering technology for use by P2P networks. Shawn Fanning, Napster founder and technology guru, started a new company called SnoCap in 2002 specifically to develop such filtering software. Sources say that the SnoCap product is due to be completed next week. 2. MPAA president and CEO Dan
Glickman said that the industry welcomes modern technology and
its ability to help the industry reach new audiences more
conveniently, more economically. It is unclear whether
"more economically" means that consumers will pay
less or whether the studios will pocket the savings. Making a
new movie available on a server connected to the Internet
requires very little "start-up" costs. There is no
doubt that the Net substantially reduces distribution costs -
no inventory, no DVDs to buy, print and ship, no pricey jewel
boxes or covers to buy, no warehouses, no trucks, no gasoline
and such. Back
to Headlines Bertelsmann Hoping to Settle Remaining Napster-based Lawsuits Last week's decision by Michigan record label Bridgeport Music to settle its Napster-based suit against Bertelsmann gives the parent of major label BMG Music hope that EMI, Universal and the music publishers that sued it will also settle. The suit was based on Bertelsmann lending something on the order of $85 million to the then-renegade Napster, which was operating a P2P network used to trade music tracks for free. Under then-CEO Thomas Middelhoff, Bertelsmann was Napster's biggest funder, putting money into the P2P pioneer in the form of a secured loan. Napster hired Bertelsmann's Digital World Systems (DWS) operation to craft its security layer, so in a sense some of the money went back to Bertelsmann. Major suits such as this one have a wearing effect on the executives, taking both time and energy. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said, after settling the suits the government brought against the software, that it had been a major drain on the executives. These top-level folks end up spending their "creative" time thinking about the lawsuit and its consequences rather than what the company could do to increase its business. Perhaps that, and the horrible legal fees, prompted Bridgeport Music to settle. Bertelsmann, no doubt, hopes that similar motivations will bring EMI and Universal to the settlement table. The labels certainly have enough other major obstacles, such as the enormous "spillage" that the P2P outfits still make possible. Surely the music industry would be better served fighting the P2P outfits and building up their online business rather than spending so much time, money and energy trying to damage each other. EMI and Universal, but not the music publishers, also have a case pending against VC firm Hummer, Winblad because of Hummer's investment in Napster. Warner Music and Sony Music never joined the suit against Bertelsmann. The music publishers, including the songwriting team of Leiber and Stoller, argue that Bertelsmann's investment in Napster helped facilitate the pirating of their copyrighted works. The suit, filed in US District Court in Manhattan, alleged that Bertelsmann "made a deliberate and calculated business decision to continue the infringing service in order to preserve Napster's valuable user base for Bertelsmann's own benefit." The lawsuit says that in throwing Napster a lifeline, Bertelsmann "remarkably, did not condition its funding on Napster's stopping its infringement" of publishers' rights. The claim is that Bertelsmann extended the life of Napster with its funding. The claim for damages is based on the German company's "willful participation...in the widespread infringement of copyrighted music works." Subsequently, of course, Napster, the P2P version, went belly up and Roxio, surprisingly, acquired its assets from the bankruptcy court. Roxio resurrected the Napster name with a legitimate online music service. Roxio has now sold off all its non-Napster assets and renamed itself Napster. Back to Headlines
Major Internet-based Obstacles Facing the Music Industry - P2P networks still flourish. Usage is at record highs. - The labels have been unable to successfully launch new CD technology that can deter copying. - Every PC comes with a CD player today, making it easy to copy the music tracks on a CD to the PC's hard disk. - Most every PC comes with a CD recorder, simplifying copying tracks to multiple PCs. - Once a music track is copied from a CD, it's simple to send copies by e-mail, P2P networks, instant messaging and file transfer software such as AOL's ICQ. - Music fans have refused to accept any of the currently available digital rights management schemes. The labels will have to find less intrusive, more user-friendly technology to protect music. - Although Apple's iTunes is considered wildly successful, particularly when compared to the competition, it sells many times fewer music tracks than are still being downloaded for free on the P2P networks. - Portable digital music players such as those from Apple, Creative and iRiver, come with hard drives that hold up to 20GB of music files. Spending 99 cents a pop to download thousands of songs from digital music stores to fill the player would run up a much larger tab than most consumers are willing to spend. Consequently, users turn to illicit copying and downloading to fill up their music players, exactly as Microsoft's Ballmer said recently. - A US judge has ruled, and an
appeals court upheld, that Grokster and StreamCast, two of the
major P2P players, can't be held liable for the copyright
infringement activities of their users. If the US Supreme
Court upholds the ruling, the financial foundations of the
music and movie industries will be destroyed. The two
industries should be thinking about contingency plans were
that to happen, not about suing each other. Otherwise they
might find themselves in the same situation as the lawyer and
his client in John Grisholm's Rainmaker - a win in court but
against a bankrupt defendant. Back
to Headlines What's the Hurry? It's Only Killing the Digital Media Business The US Congress House Commerce Committee this week said that it is making anti-spyware legislation a top priority. It expects to get a bill out of committee and before the full House some time in the next two or three weeks. "This is on the fast track, and we hope to be marking this bill up in the very near future," said Committee chairman Joe Barton (R-Texas). Spam, spyware, adware and viruses are the four horsemen of destruction that are sabotaging the emergence of PCs and networks as home entertainment devices. Unless the four evils are corralled, the promise of the digital home will never be fulfilled. People don't want to have to reboot their stereo, find their home media server destroyed by viruses, watch unwanted pop-up ads appear when they're watching a program recorded on their DVR and find that some hacker has been poking around their entertainment PC. Industry leaders including Microsoft, Intel, |
