Author: Brad Reed

Samsung has Apple completely outgunned in advertising spending

Samsung (005930) will likely sell a lot of Galaxy S4s this year thanks in no small part to its gargantuan advertising budget that dwarfs the advertising spending of even the world’s most valuable technology company. Asymco’s Horace Dediu on Tuesday posted a chart on his Twitter account comparing the sales, general and administrative expenses for both Apple (AAPL) and Samsung, and it revealed a remarkable spending disparity between the two companies.

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April 2, 2013
Google may launch an Android-based laptop this year

Since Google’s (GOOG) Chromebook initiative has so far failed to turn the PC market on its head, the company may be planning to shake things up even more by releasing a notebook based on its hugely popular Android operating system. The latest rumors from Digitimes indicate that Google is building an Android-powered notebook PC that “may show up at the end of the third quarter or early in the fourth quarter.” Digitimes suggests that the “Androidbook” will be the handiwork of Sundar Pichai, the longtime boss of Google’s Chrome division who recently took over for longtime Android chief Andy Rubin as head of Google’s mobile operating system.

April 2, 2013
AT&T bringing HD Voice to its LTE network this year

AT&T (T) is planning to follow in T-Mobile’s footsteps by deploying HD Voice technology over its LTE network by the end of the year. Per AllThingsD, AT&T senior VP Kris Rinne said that “HD Voice is part of our voice over LTE strategy” and that the company would have it up and running sometime in 2013. HD Voice, which T-Mobile said would be available on its recently launched LTE network, is a type of voice technology that aims to deliver clearer voice calls and eliminate most background noise by using an algorithm that significantly increases the number of voice frequencies transmitted.

April 2, 2013
Nuance plans talking smartphone ads that deliver ‘Dear Abby’-style personal advice

What could be more annoying than overly intrusive mobile ads that take up excessive space on your display? How about intrusive mobile ads that are capable of talking to you. AllThingsD reports that speech recognition software company Nuance Communications (NUAN), which is best known for its Dragon NaturallySpeaking software, is announcing a new initiative aimed at bringing Siri-style voice recognition technology to mobile ads. According to AllThingsD, Nuance is conducting the venture with several “advertising agencies, ad networks and publishers” to determine whether “ads that feature voice interaction might prove more engaging and effective than traditional banner ads.”

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April 1, 2013
Leaked screenshots show how Facebook plans to take over Android home screens

We started hearing word last week that Facebook’s (FB) new “home” for Android will be preloaded software that will essentially let Facebook take over your smartphone’s home screen with your friends’ status updates, pictures and more. Android Police has got hold of a system dump containing a pre-release version of Facebook’s new Android overlay that the site says looks like HTC’s (2498) Sense skin after being “attacked by a mutant Facebook app.” Android Police couldn’t get too many details on how the app will look in its final form because the leaked pre-release build requires an employee account and password to access. The site does say, however, that it looks like everything in the new software “seems to be focused on the Facebook app” and that it doesn’t look like Facebook is building its own Amazon-style Android skin.

April 1, 2013
Apple CEO apologizes to China amid fears that propaganda will hurt market share

Apple (AAPL) CEO Tim Cook has gotten used to apologizing recently. In addition to his formal apology to iPhone users over iOS Maps, Cook has now delivered an apology to Chinese consumers “for any concerns or misunderstandings” stemming from its “repair and warranty policy,” Street Insider reports. Cook’s apology to Chinese consumers comes after around a week after China’s state-sponsored media attacked Apple over its warranty policies for both smartphones and computers. Per Barron’s, Citigroup analyst Glen Yeung says that even this apology may not be enough to overcome “the impact of this propaganda on Apple’s China market share” and notes that “if Apple were to lose as much as 50% of their China market share, this would equate to ~$13.1B/$3.62 in revenues/EPS.”

April 1, 2013
Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Instant show how cable could die by a thousand cuts

Survey after survey shows that America’s major cable companies are among the least-liked businesses in the United States, but The Houston Chronicle’s Dwight Silverman sees hope for everyone out there who wants to watch top-notch programming without overpaying for cable television. Silverman notes that once Comcast (CMCSA) boosted his speeds for Internet service, he found that he could more easily rely on third-party over-the-top providers such as Netflix (NFLX), Hulu Plus and Amazon (AMZN) Instant Video to get his television fix for a fraction of what he was paying for his AT&T (T) U-Verse television service.

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April 1, 2013
Dell admits being a PC maker is a dead end in new SEC filing

There’s a good reason Dell (DELL) wants to go private and back out of the traditional PC business: Because it thinks selling computers based on Microsoft’s (MSFT) Windows operating system is quickly becoming a dead end. Forbes points us to a recent proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission where Dell outlines the risks of remaining a private PC manufacturer and paints a very grim picture for the PC industry overall.

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April 1, 2013
Patent retrial could help Apple squeeze even more money out of Samsung

Samsung (005930) knows that it’s pushing its luck by asking for a full retrial of its patent case with Apple (AAPL). FOSS Patents points out a recent Samsung court filing that acknowledges seeking a new trial against Apple could lead to Apple seeking “even more damages on these products” than the $1 billion that it originally won in the previous patent trial. Samsung’s acknowledgement of potential risks in seeking a retrial comes just weeks after Judge Lucy Koh substantially reduced the damages the company had to pay to Apple down to just under $600 million. All the same, it seems the company is willing to roll the dice if it opens up the possibility to paying Apple nothing in the ongoing patent dispute.

April 1, 2013
Facebook’s modified Android reportedly called ‘Facebook Home’

It seems that Facebook (FB) has given a name to its new version of Android that will purportedly clog home screens with status updates. According to 9to5Google’s sources, Facebook is calling its new Android initiative “Facebook Home,” which fits in well with the notice the company sent out last week inviting people to “come see our new home on Android.” We still have no definitive word on precisely what this new “home” will entail, although The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Facebook is planning “new software for mobile devices powered by Google’s Android operating system that displays content from users’ Facebook accounts on a smartphone’s home screen.” Facebook’s event is scheduled to take place this coming Thursday.

April 1, 2013
Google’s augmented reality game inspires players to duel one other in ‘Braveheart paint’

Don’t get freaked out if you see people dressed up like William Wallace trying to zap each other with their Nexus 7 tablets — they’re just playing Ingress, Google’s (GOOG) experimental augmented reality game that first launched last November. AllThingsD reports that since its debut last fall, Ingress has developed a small but loyal cult following around the world that has helped players build bonds with one another as they travel to real-life landmarks and engage in virtual fights with rival factions. Ingress creator John Hanke tells AllThingsD that one recent outing involved roughly 100 Ingress players converging on the monument of William Wallace in Scotland with some showing up “in Braveheart paint with Nexus 7 tablets to play.”

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March 29, 2013
Microsoft mulls using accelerated 3D graphics standard for next Internet Explorer

It looks like Microsoft (MSFT) is considering following Google (GOOG) and Mozilla in supporting the WebGL standard for accelerated 3D graphics for the next version of its web browser. CNET has found that the leaked build of Windows Blue features an early build of Internet Explorer 11 that contains “some infrastructure in place to support WebGL” but that also “lacks actual support at this stage.” CNET also notes that supporting WebGL would represent an about-face for Microsoft, which had previously criticized the standard over alleged security risks. WebGL is one of the standards that Mozilla is using in its efforts to port Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 3 onto its Firefox browser.

March 29, 2013
Survey: Samsung takes the lead from Nokia, BlackBerry in key emerging markets

One of the big stories to follow in 2013 will be the intensifying competition among smartphone vendors for market share in important emerging markets such as China, Brazil and India. Forbes points us to a new survey from mobile marketing firm Upstream showing that Samsung (005930) is the most popular smartphone brand for prospective buyers in Brazil, Saudi Arabia and India, while Nokia (NOK) holds onto the top spot in Nigeria, where Samsung didn’t register on the survey. The survey also contained some potentially troubling news for BlackBerry (BBRY), which only registered double-digit interest from prospective buyers in Nigeria while falling below 10% in the other three countries. Upstream founder and CEO Marco Veremis tells Forbes that BlackBerry and Nokia tend to do well in African nations because they provide “easy access to social networks and the Web” and, especially in Nokia’s case, they offer superior battery life.

March 29, 2013
Apple said to be ‘pushing hard’ for ‘iRadio’ launch this summer

Apple’s (AAPL) long-rumored music-streaming service doesn’t have quite the mythic status as its “iTV,” but it’s certainly a product that we’ve been hearing rumors about for a long time without getting any confirmation of its existence. An unnamed music industry insider tells The Verge that we may not have to wait much longer, however, because Apple is “pushing hard” for an “iRadio” launch sometime this summer. When last we heard about Apple’s would-be Pandora killer, Apple was supposedly bargaining hard with record labels and insisting that it pay half the royalties that Spotify currently pays for the rights to stream music to its listeners.

March 29, 2013
$99 Ouya game console set for June 4th release

While Sony (SNE) and Microsoft (MSFT) prepare to roll out their next-generation gaming consoles, gamers will also soon have the option of paying just $99 for the Android-powered Ouya console that’s set to launch in retail outlets on June 4th. Engadget reports that the low-cost console, which began as a Kickstarter project, will ship to its financial backers this week before becoming available to the general public this summer. The Ouya console features a 1.7GHz quad-core Tegra 3 processor, 8GB of internal storage, 1GB of RAM, a USB port and microUSB port, a wireless controller, and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Ouya has signed up several big-name retailers to sell the console, including GameStop (GME), Best Buy (BBY), Amazon (AMZN), and Target (TGT).

March 29, 2013
Apple patent filing shows experimental iPhone design with no buttons, ‘wraparound’ screen

While it’s unlikely to ever see the light of day, Apple (AAPL) has apparently been experimenting with a radical new design for the iPhone whose casing looks much more like a fourth-generation iPod nano than a typical smartphone. A recently published patent filing spotted by The Telegraph shows that Apple has been toying around with a device that features a curved display with no side bezels and no buttons anywhere on its case. Apple envisions that the curved display will be made from flexible material that can present “an illusion of depth perception” capable of “mimicking a 3D experience.” Apple also says that users would be able to control the volume on the phone “by holding a finger over the volume indicator” and “expanding the volume control over the entire left side of the device,” thus eliminating any need for a volume button.

March 29, 2013
WSJ: Facebook plans to clog up Android home screens with status updates

Mercifully, it seems that Facebook (FB) has no plans to produce its own smartphone. What it is planning, unnamed sources have told The Wall Street Journal, is “new software for mobile devices powered by Google’s Android operating system that displays content from users’ Facebook accounts on a smartphone’s home screen.” So in contrast to your typical Facebook app that exists as a compact icon that must be clicked to be used, the new Facebook app will act as more of a widget that gives you access to Facebook status updates directly from your home screen. Or as one source tells The Wall Street Journal, the new initiative is about “putting Facebook first” on Android smartphones.

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March 29, 2013
Unlike AT&T, Verizon reportedly putting promotional muscle behind BlackBerry Z10 launch

BlackBerry’s (BBRY) Z10 launch got off to a shaky start last week amid widespread reports that AT&T (T) retail outlets were doing little to promote the device to customers and that many of its staff members were unprepared to answer questions about the device. The good news for BlackBerry is that Verizon (VZ) seems to have significantly stepped up its game because Barron’s reports that employees at a Verizon flagship store in Manhattan were able to give knowledgeable explanations about BlackBerry’s Hub and Balance features as key differentiators from other devices. Barron’s also says that while “the store was not filled with BlackBerry promotional materials… there was a brightly lit, large sign above a row of smartphones that showed the image of the Z10.” In all, it sounds like Verizon is making more of a push to make the Z10 successful than its top rival has made so far.

March 29, 2013
New Windows 8 hardware guidelines suggest 7-inch Windows tablets on the way

One thing has been missing from Microsoft’s (MSFT) foray into the tablet world so far: A cheaper, smaller tablet that can go toe-to-toe with the Kindle Fire HD and the iPad mini. ZDNet reports that recent changes to Windows 8 hardware certification guidelines suggest that Microsoft is giving OEMs more freedom to make 7-inch tablets since “the new guidelines relax the minimum resolution for Windows 8 devices to 1024 x 768 at a depth of 32 bits.” ZDNet says that OEMs need to justify to Microsoft why they’re using lower resolutions, however, so it doesn’t give them carte blanche to release big-screen devices that have inferior displays. Microsoft said in releasing the guidelines that “partners exploring designs for certain markets could find greater design flexibility helpful,” so it certainly sounds as though we’ll be seeing some low-cost Windows 8 tablets in the near future.

March 29, 2013
‘Facebook Phone’ rumors again flare up after Facebook sends out event invitation

Facebook (FB) on Thursday sent out invitations for a press event that promised to show off the company’s “new home on Android,” which naturally led to fresh speculation about the company’s intention to produce its own Facebook-centric smartphone. Unnamed sources have told 9t5Google that Facebook plans to show off its own modified version of the Android operating system, a move that’s similar to the way Amazon (AMZN) has heavily modified Android for its own Kindle Fire HD tablets. 9to5Google’s sources also indicate that Facebook is working with HTC (2498) to produce a smartphone based on Facebook’s modified Android that will be sold “as a lifestyle brand, not specifically for its hardware or software.”

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March 29, 2013