Author: Brad Reed

Study: Megaupload shutdown boosted movie sales

It looks like the entertainment industry may have gotten its money’s worth after law enforcement officials shut down Kim Dotcom’s Megaupload last year. The Wall Street Journal reports that movie sales increased significantly after Megaupload went offline, according to new study conducted by Wellesley College assistant professor of economics Brett Danaher and Carnegie Mellon University professor Michael D. Smith. The two researchers say that “shutting down Megaupload and Megavideo caused some customers to shift from cyberlocker-based piracy to purchasing or renting through legal digital channels,” contradicting earlier studies that suggested shutting down the site did little to lessen online piracy.

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March 7, 2013
Dell threatened with ‘years of litigation’ over buyout plan

There are probably days when Michael Dell regrets ever taking his company public. AllThingsD reports that famed activist investor Carl Icahn says that there will be “years of litigation” ahead for Dell (DELL) if it goes through with its current buyout plan without making substantial changes. In particular, Icahn wants Dell to “pay a special dividend of $9 per share” to investors if they decide to vote down Dell’s proposed plan to go private later this year. Icahn says that this “proposed $9.00 special dividend gives Dell shareholders a total value of $22.81 per share, representing a 67% premium to the $13.65 per share price proposed” in the original plan. Of course, increasing the potential cost of the buyout by 67% would greatly complicate things for Dell, which has inked a delicate agreement with Silver Lake Partners, Microsoft (MSFT) and several banks who are financing debt for the transaction.

March 7, 2013
Apple reportedly low-balls record companies, wants royalties to be half of Pandora’s rates

Apple (AAPL) didn’t get to be the world’s most valuable tech company by paying other companies premiums for their products and services. The New York Post reports that Apple has once again taken its hard-bargaining approach to the recording industry, as unnamed sources claim that the company wants to pay record labels just $0.06 per every 100 songs users stream over its yet-to-be-announced music-streaming service. To get some perspective on just how cheap this is, consider that Pandora pays double this rate at $0.12 per 100 songs and that Spotify pays around $0.35 per 100 songs. Of course, neither of those companies has the enormous clout of Apple, which the Post’s sources acknowledge “could tap a whole new revenue stream for them” with its own music service. All the same, it would be surprising if the record companies in the end agreed to accept half of what the current lowest payer on the market is offering.

March 7, 2013
Microsoft exec says shoddy OEM products have hurt company’s reputation

It’s no secret that Microsoft (MSFT) decided to build the Surface on its own because it wanted to set a benchmark for its OEMs to follow when creating their own Windows-based tablets. And now The Verge reports that Microsoft chief research and strategy officer Craig Mundie this week said bluntly that the company had made a mistake by giving OEMs a free rein over design without providing any sort of input or feedback. The result, he said, was that users had wildly different experiences with Windows-based devices based on the device they bought, which hurt Microsoft’s reputation for delivering a consistent experience across all devices.

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March 7, 2013
Windows RT dubbed ‘a lemon’ that consumers are ‘avoiding in droves’

The signs of doom are all aligned for Windows RT, which looks like it could soon inhibit the same plane of oblivion currently occupied by Microsoft Bob. Ars Technica’s Peter Bright has written a thorough pre-obituary for the current incarnation of Microsoft’s (MSFT) first attempt at creating a tablet-centric operating system, which he calls “a lemon” that consumers are “avoiding… in droves.” Bright lists several reasons for Windows RT’s failure so far, but most of them boil down to the fact that the operating system as it’s currently built has no reason to exist.

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March 7, 2013
Apple reportedly slashes 9.7-inch iPad orders due to iPad mini cannibalization

The iPad mini might be a much hungrier cannibal than Apple (AAPL) had anticipated. Unnamed sources have told Digitimes that Apple has drastically cut its 9.7-inch iPad shipment estimates from 60 million to 33 million in 2013, due largely to the unanticipated popularity of the iPad mini. According to Digitimes‘ sources, Apple is ramping up iPad mini production and has boosted its projected shipments from 40 million to 55 million this year. However, Apple’s supposed new estimates also show a possible drop in overall iPad demand since it now projects to ship 88 million iPads and iPad minis this year, down from the 100 million reported earlier.

March 7, 2013
How graphene antennas could pave the way for terabit wireless data speeds

While gigabit Wi-Fi seems to be all the rage these days, some researchers at Georgia Tech are working on new technology that makes even the fastest wireless networks look like dial-up in comparison. Technology Review reports that Georgia Tech’s broadband wireless networking laboratory has been experimenting with making antennas out of graphene, a two-dimensional “super-material” that measures just one atom thick and has been described by Nokia (NOK) as the “strongest material ever tested, having a breaking strength 300 times greater than steel.” But while a lot of attention has been paid to graphene’s potential for manufacturing incredibly thin and light gadget casings, the researchers at Georgia Tech are using it to create an antenna capable of transmitting data at a rate of a terabit per second.

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March 6, 2013
Dell scrambles to push buyout plan as investors revolt

If Michael Dell really thinks he can save his company by taking it private, it looks like he’ll have to go through one of the world’s most famous activist shareholders first. CNBC’s David Faber reports that investor Carl Icahn has bought up a 6% stake in Dell (DELL) and who may block the company’s proposed leveraged buyout plan. Faber says that Icahn likely “is going to come out against the deal and urge the board to lever up to provide a special one-time dividend” to compensate shareholders. Icahn’s actions come after Bloomberg reported earlier on Wednesday that Dell had started an aggressive campaign to justify the terms of the LBO to its shareholders and explained that it had “considered options including a leveraged recapitalization, changing the dividend policy and shedding some business units” as alternatives.

March 6, 2013
T-Mobile-MetroPCS merger clears major hurdle after DOJ files no objections

T-Mobile’s proposed merger with prepaid wireless carrier MetroPCS (PCS) got a little bit closer to becoming a reality on Wednesday after the United States Department of Justice declined to file any objections within the waiting period required by U.S. antitrust laws. Fox Business reports that the merger still needs “approvals from the Federal Communications Commission, the Committee on Foreign Investment and MetroPCS shareholders” to go through, so the deal still has a way to go before being finished. Getting MetroPCS shareholder approval could be particularly tricky since some shareholders last year filed a lawsuit to block the merger while accusing the companies of “cheating shareholders” by “drastically” undervaluing MetroPCS’ worth.

March 6, 2013
Citi: ‘Softer demand for iPhone 5′ and iPad mini cannibalization hurting Apple growth

Apple (AAPL) may not be “doomed,” but it certainly is dealing with some of the toughest competition that we’ve seen in a long time. CNET points us to a new note written by Citi analyst Glen Yeung claiming that demand for the iPhone 5 has softened and that the iPad mini is cannibalizing sales of the 9.7-inch iPad, thus limiting Apple’s ability to sell larger tablets. As a result of this, Yeung has cut his iPhone sales estimate to 34 million from 35 million this quarter, while also slashing his total June-quarter iPad sales estimate from 19.6 million to 19 million.

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March 6, 2013
Why Marissa Mayer’s decision to pull Yahoo employees back to the office was likely the right call

Like a lot of people, I was initially skeptical of Yahoo (YHOO) CEO Marissa Mayer’s decision to bar her employees from working at home and to force them to work at the office. After all, I work from home and I find that it’s actually made me more productive in many ways than I’ve been in previous jobs — for instance, the fact that I don’t have to commute means that I can start work around an hour earlier than I did at my last place of employment. But every organization is different and after learning the reasons why Mayer made her decision to end working at home, I think she deserves the benefit of the doubt in this particular case.

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March 6, 2013
iOS gains on Android in January as Windows Phone remains stagnant

Although you wouldn’t think it after reading some gloomy recent analyst assessments, Apple (AAPL) is still a pretty popular company. And the latest numbers from comScore show that the launch of the iPhone 5 has helped Apple’s iOS gain some ground on Google’s (GOOG) rival Android operating system. According to comScore, iOS took a 37.8% market share in January 2013, an increase of 3.5 percentage points from its 34.3% market share in October 2012. Android, meanwhile, saw its market share dip slightly from 53.6% in October 2012 to 52.3% in January 2013, while BlackBerry’s market share continued its pre-BlackBerry 10 tumble from 7.8% in October 2012 to 5.9% in January 2013.

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March 6, 2013
Samsung reportedly pulls Windows RT tablets from Germany, cites weak demand

It seems that the Surface isn’t the only Windows RT tablet that’s proving to be a tough sell. German website MobileGeeks reports that Samsung (005930) will no longer sell its Windows RT-based ATIV Tab in Germany and other European countries due to a lack of demand. In particular, MobileGeeks says that Samsung has found it hard to sell Windows RT tablets to consumers since they don’t pack the full power of Microsoft’s (MSFT) Windows 8 operating system and aren’t priced low enough to be compelling alternatives to the iPad. Samsung earlier this year cancelled its plans to sell the ATIV Tab in the United States, so it seems the company is finding it hard to move Windows RT devices in markets outside of Europe as well.

March 6, 2013
The Pirate Bay admits North Korea move was a hoax, chides fans who cheered it anyway

Yes, it turns out that the Pirate Bay’s alleged virtual move to North Korea was indeed a hoax and the infamous file-sharing website isn’t too happy with any fans who cheered a potential move to what it called “the most hated dictatorship in the world.” On the Pirate Bay’s official Facebook page, the group said that people needed to be more critical and that no one should support the group relying on a government such as North Korea for hosting.

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March 5, 2013
LTE handset shipments surged by a ‘phenomenal +1100%’ in Q4 2012

2012 will likely go down as the year when LTE became a standard smartphone feature rather than a luxury. Strategy Analytics has put out new research this week showing that the fourth quarter of 2012 “witnessed phenomenal +1100% annual growth for LTE handset volumes, led by Apple (AAPL) and Samsung (005930) in developed markets.” 2012 was certainly a banner year for LTE in the United States after Sprint (S) finally got around to launching its own LTE services and both Verizon (VZ) and AT&T (T) continued expanding their LTE networks to cover the majority of major markets throughout the country. With much of the U.S. now covered, carriers’ next big milestone will be deploying Voice over LTE (VoLTE) services that will let users make calls over LTE and thus potentially end the need for separate voice and data plans.

March 5, 2013
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 on sale from Verizon starting March 7th

Anyone who likes having LTE connectivity with their tablet may want to check out Samsung’s (005930) LTE-capable Galaxy Note 10.1 that will go on sale at Verizon (VZ) stores starting on March 7th for $600. The Note 10.1, which Samsung unveiled three separate times last year, features a 1.4GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, a 10.1-inch WXGA LCD display, a 5-megapixel rear camera, a secondary 1.9-megapixel camera for video chats, Samsung’s S Pen stylus and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Verizon says that customers can add the LTE-capable Note 10.1 to their Share Anything data plans for an additional $10 a month.

March 5, 2013
Investors told to show patience while Apple faces ‘significant and competent competition’

One of the things that has made Apple (AAPL) such a success over the years — that is, its quiet focus and its general refusal to overreact to investor noise — has recently got the company into trouble. Why? Because some Wall Street analysts want Apple to respond more quickly to the challenges being presented by the rise of Samsung (005930) as a legitimate force in the smartphone market. But Barron’s points us to a new research note from UBS analyst Steve Milunovich, who says that investors will need to be patient and not expect the sort of explosive growth that the company exhibited last decade because it is facing more “significant and competent competition” in the consumer electronics realm than it has ever faced before.

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March 5, 2013
Minnesota senator plans bill to make cellphone unlocking legal again

Just one day after the White House got behind efforts to make unlocking cellphones legal again, Senator Amy Klobuchar (D — MN) vowed to introduce a bill this week that will “get rid of the ban on unlocking cell phones.” Both Klobuchar and the White House were responding directly to an online petition that urged the government to reverse a decision made by the Librarian of Congress last fall to deny consumers the right to unlock their phones and bring them to different carriers. In announcing her new legislation, Klobuchar said that “consumers should be free to choose the phone and service that best fits their needs and their budgets” and that “we need to make sure consumers are getting a fair deal and today’s announcement is a welcome step towards implementing consumer-friendly policies in the wireless industry.”

March 5, 2013
Samsung executive defends sticking with plastic for its smartphone casings [updated]

With all of the money that Samsung (005930) has made over the last year, some of its fans have been hoping that the next-generation Galaxy S IV model would use higher-quality building materials for its casing instead of the plastic used for the Galaxy S III. Unfortunately, all rumors indicate that the Galaxy S IV will have the same plastic build as its predecessor and that Samsung is for now eschewing materials such as aluminum or even higher-quality plastics such as polycarbonate. In an interview with CNET posted Tuesday, Samsung mobile business executive vice president YH Lee said that the company decided to remain with its plastic build because it was a very durable material and because it was much easier to manufacture on a large scale.

UPDATE: A Samsung representative chimes in to say that it’s incorrect to infer from the CNET story — which contains the headline “Why the Galaxy S4 won’t be shedding its plastic roots” and includes a line about “Samsung’s plastic GS4” — that the Galaxy S IV will have plastic casing because the Samsung executive in the interview never specifically mentions the Galaxy S IV and only talks about Samsung’s general design philosophy and its reasons for its continued use of plastic for its major devices. The representative also claims that it’s incorrect to refer to an unannounced Samsung device as the “Galaxy S IV” because that device may or may not exist, the person can or cannot confirm. We’ll know for sure if the device-that-shouldn’t-be-referred-to-as-the-Galaxy-S-IV has plastic casing in less than two weeks when Samsung may or may not unveil it in New York.

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March 5, 2013
Apple will reportedly launch new iPad next month, iPad mini sequel possible as well

April may not be the cruelest month for iPad fans this year. Unnamed sources have told iMore’s Rene Ritchie that Apple (AAPL) plans to release the next iPad as soon as this April, which will presumably include both the fifth-generation 9.7-inch iPad and perhaps the second-generation iPad mini. Ritchie says that while he’s fairly confident that Apple will launch a redesigned version of the 9.7-inch iPad next month, he’s not as confident that Apple is yet ready to take the wraps off a Retina-equipped version of the iPad mini.

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March 5, 2013