Verizon to eliminate 1 year Contract Option

Verizon customers interested in signing a one-year contract (as opposed to the standard two) should lock in their selections now; the company has confirmed that it is eliminating the one-year contract option as of April 17.

Verizon claims the policy change is taking place because the “greater majority of customers sign up for a two-year contract.”

The nation’s largest wireless provider (at least until that AT&T/T-Mobile deal is approved) previously offered users the ability to sign one-year contracts or contract extensions in lieu of the standard two-year agreement. Customers who opted for the one-year contract were still able to purchase new equipment at a discount, albeit a lesser discount than the subsidized two-year agreements.

In an email to BGR, Verizon reiterated that its contract-free month-to-month plans would still be available to consumers.

Meanwhile, according to draft circulars obtained by DroidLife, Verizon may be introducing a new month-to-month prepaid plan that offers users unlimited voice and text for $50 a month. Data will cost extra (reportedly $30 a month for unlimited data).

AT&T recently increased the early-upgrade price on some of its smartphones and feature phones.

April 12, 2011
Categories: News you can Use, Technologies, Vendor News . . Author: MyMotorways . Comments: Leave a comment

Google Fiber Marketing Plan; free to schools, available to public in 2012

Google detailed on Wednesday its Google Fiber Internet service, which will launch first in Kansas City, Kan., promising free broadband Web access for schools and speeds 100 times faster than the current average.

“In about 1995, 15 years ago roughly, everyone was living on 56 kilobits, and it was awful,” said Patrick Pichette, Google’s chief financial officer. “And then somebody invented a 5-meg modem, and everybody was saying, what are you going to do with 5 megs. … Think what you’re going to do with a gigabit; 1,000 megabits.”

Pichette spoke before a packed auditorium at Kansas City’s Wyandotte High School about the possibilities for consumers with 1-gigabit, fiber-optic connection. Also on hand were Google’s vice president of access services, Milo Medin; Kansas City, Kan., Mayor Joe Reardon; and Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback.

The anouncement was streamed live on Google’s YouTube channel.

Speaking before a crowd that looked to be made up mostly of adults despite taking place in a high school, Gov. Brownback envisioned doctors at the University of Kansas Medical Center using such high speeds to monitor patients over the Web, rather than having to bring people in for appointments.

Medin and Pichette said the “ultra-fast” connections could lead to technologies not yet developed or even imagined.

Mayor Reardon said his son was excited about the prospect of being able to play video games online with friends without interruption.

“He hugged me; he’s a PS3 gamer, and he said, ‘You mean it’s not going to freeze up on me anymore? You need to get that done tomorrow,’ ” Reardon said, eliciting laughs from the audience.

But although Kansas City, Kan., has been selected as Google Fiber’s launchpad, an exact launch date has not been set, Medin said.

“We’re not exactly sure until we get the engineering and planning done but [are] hoping to offer service in 2012,” he said, likely disappointing the mayor’s son.

One detail Google has yet to get into for its Google Fiber service is just how much it will cost consumers. But once Google does roll out its broadband service, the differences in speed will be impressive, Pichette said.

“Speed matters, speed matters immensely,” he said. “Speed is like oxygen; when you have it you take it for granted. Once you don’t have it, you realize it’s everything.”

Although Kansas City, Kan., is set to be the first to get Google Fiber service, the plan is to roll it out to more cities and get the nation up to broadband speed. Most U.S. homes currently paying for high-speed Internet connections are receiving data at less than 10 megabits a second.

April 8, 2011
Categories: News you can Use, Technologies, Vendor News . Tags: Fiber, Google . Author: MyMotorways . Comments: Leave a comment

iPad2 – What Recession?

iPad2 sells out proving the power of watching customers

iPad2 first weekend sales data
– 400,000 to 500,000 iPad 2s sold this weekend estimated Gene Munster and his team at Piper Jaffray (note: they overestimated first weekend sales of iPad 1 by 100%)
– 300,000 iPad 1s sold in first weekend in 2010
– iPad 2s sold out on day 1 (unlike last year which sold out over the weekend)
– Deutsche Bank’s Chris Whitmore reported his team called 100 stores (50 Apple Stores, 20 Best Buy and Wal-Mart and others) and got same result as Munster’s team at Piper Jaffray – 100% stock out rate

Data on iPad2 buyers
– 70% of iPad2 buyers were new to iPad (that’s significant and testimony to the impact of the user experience of the first iPad)
note: 23% of iPhone 4 buyers were new to the iPhone at launch
– 51%/49% Mac/PC uers (iPad is extending Apple’s reach beyond its own “ecosystem”
note: 74%/26% original iPad 1 Mac/PC user ratio
– 47% buying a 3G model (meaning they had both Wifi and 3G capability to connect)
– 24% own a Kindle
– 63% of those who own a Kindle plan to use both
– 6% plan to read books with their iPad
– The vast majority plan to surf the web, check e-mail and watch video with their iPad (and play games)

So what is next? Stay tuned….

April 2, 2011
Categories: News you can Use, Technologies, Vendor News . Tags: iPad 2 . Author: MyMotorways . Comments: Leave a comment

Avatar 2 – 18 months away before Film Begins….

James Cameron said he is writing the “Avatar 2” screenplay and remains at least 18 months away from filming, it was announced today as part of a technical discussion at the CinemaCon show in Las Vegas.

Cameron plans another innovation for his next “Avatar” installment: shooting at double or more the film speed that has been Hollywood’s standard since the 1920s, a move he says will greatly improve 3-D images.

Cameron’s 2009 sci-fi blockbuster raised the bar for digital imagery and put the 3-D craze on the fast track.

He said Thursday that “Avatar 2” would be shot at 48 or 60 frames a second to reduce an effect called “strobing” that can blur moving images, particularly those in 3-D. For more than 80 years, the norm has been 24 frames a second.

In a film-speed demonstration for theater owners at their CinemaCon convention in Las Vegas, Cameron said he is writing the “Avatar 2” screenplay and remains at least 18 months away from filming.

March 31, 2011
Categories: Events, News you can Use . Tags: Avatar James Cameron CinemaCon . Author: MyMotorways . Comments: Leave a comment

More Interesting Amazon Stats –

Background:

Amazon’s basic stats:
– $34.2 billion in revenue in 2010 vs. $24.5 billion in 2009
– 55% of sales in 2010 were from North America vs. 52% in 2009
– 46% growth rate of sales in North America up from 26% in 2009 (Zappos acquisition also helped a lot)
– 43% of global sales were media – first time media was less than 50%
– 121 million customers worldwide (estimate quoted in Businessweek) – only?

Amazon has doubled its share of online sales in many categories – 26.8% share of power tool accessories in 2010 vs. 12.4% share
in 2005 (according to TraQline)
– 35% share of kitchen electrics in 2010 vs. 17% in 2005
– 36.7% share of portable power tools in 2010 vs. 21.8% in 2005

So how many Kindles are out there? This one remains a mystery….

March 30, 2011
Categories: News you can Use, Vendor News . Tags: Amazon . Author: MyMotorways . Comments: Leave a comment

Amazon cloud Drive Announced….

Amazon on Tuesday launched cloud Drive and Cloud Player for Web and Android—

3 Services that allow you to store music in a repository and play on the Web and smartphones.

Among the key points:

You can upload your library.
Anyone that bought an Amazon MP3 can get 20GB for free.
Mac and PC compatible.
On Android, the Cloud Player is an update to the Amazon MP3 app.
Everyone starts with 5GB of Cloud Drive storage.
Cloud Drive uses Amazon Web Services S3.
Plans start at 20GB for $20 a year and basically run $1 a year per GB.

With the move Amazon gets the jump on other services that are likely from Apple and Google. The Cloud Drive is very easy to use. It’s essentially the consumerization of Amazon Web Services..

More details at:

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/amazon-debuts-cloud-drive-music-industry-whines-the-screen-that-will-end-up-in-court/46704?tag=nl.e539

March 30, 2011
Categories: News you can Use, Technologies, Vendor News . . Author: MyMotorways . Comments: 1 Comment

Comcast starts Universal Executive Suite reorg…

Comcast Corp.’s chief operating officer Steve Burke plans to announce a major reorganization of NBC Universal as early as next week, according to people familiar with the matter, bringing in some new talent while expanding the role of several existing executives.

The new, “flatter” structure would give Mr. Burke—who is slated to be NBC Universal’s chief executive—more direct oversight of the company’s biggest assets: cable and broadcast television networks.

The new structure will also decentralize advertising sales, which have reported directly to the CEO. One executive—NBCU’s Marianne Gambelli—is expected to focus on NBC broadcast sales, while another, Comcast executive David Cassaro, is expected to run cable-network ad sales, the people familiar with the matter said. Mr. Burke also plans to bring in Time Warner Inc. executive Patricia Fili-Krushel in a new administrative role that reports to him and will be in charge of human resources, legal and other functions, those people added.

Full story:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704865704575610942185831902.html?mod=WSJ_newsreel_business

March 29, 2011
Categories: News you can Use . . Author: MyMotorways . Comments: Leave a comment

TV Advertising Still the King

TV Advertising Most Influential

by Jack Loechner, Wednesday, March 23, 2011, 8:15 AM

According to Deloitte’s fifth edition “State of the Media Democracy” survey, 71% of Americans still rate watching TV on any device among their favorite media activities. In addition, 86% of Americans stated that TV advertising still has the most impact on their buying decisions.The survey indicates that the Internet, mobile and social media channels are enhancing the overall television viewer experience, driving people to watch first-run programs and live events during their initial broadcast. And, nearly three-quarters of American consumers are multitasking while watching TV. 42% are online, 29% are talking on cellphones or mobile devices, and 26% are sending instant messages or text messages. 61% of U.S. consumers now maintain a social networking site, where constant streams of updates and discussion forums have made delaying awareness of live TV outcomes a near impossibility.

According to this year’s survey, 33% of American households now own a smartphone, up from 11% only three years ago, and 40% of U.S. consumers that do not own a smartphone are likely to purchase one in the near future. This marked rise in smartphone penetration in the U.S. market is rapidly changing consumer behavior with 56% of smartphone and laptop owners stating that they used their smartphones as a replacement for their laptop while away from home, jumping significantly from 41% in only three months.

See full story at:

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=147033

March 27, 2011
Categories: News you can Use . . Author: MyMotorways . Comments: Leave a comment

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