Google pledges $4.6B if 700 MHz is "open"

Google finally put its money where its mouth is, pledging to bid a minimum of $4.6 billion in the 700 MHz auction if the Federal Communications Commission agrees to set aside some spectrum for open access--that is open access the way Google envisions it to be. Earlier this month, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin leaked his draft order for the 700 MHz band. The proposal would allow a level of open access on two 11 MHz blocks in the 700 MHz band. Martin wants any device and application to be able to run on these networks, but he has apparently stopped short from requiring the winning bidder to open its network up on a wholesale basis. That wasn't good enough for Google. It is attaching stipulations to this $4.6-billion potential bid, saying it will only bid if the FCC enables open applications, open devices, open wholesale services and open network access.

In an interview with Dow Jones, Chris Sacca, head of special initiatives at Google, said Google isn't interested in selling service directly to consumers itself, which runs counter to its business plan. Rather, it wants to oversee construction of a new national wireless network and lease out access to third parties. Who might that be?

Meanwhile, after a few days of rumors that AT&T might sue the FCC over the proposed open access rules for the 700 MHz spectrum auction, the carrier surprisingly said it supports Martin's plan.

Check the FierceWireless website later for more on my views about Google's moves in the 700 MHz debate. Website

For more about Google's $4.6-billion commitment:
- take a look at this article from Dow Jones
- check out the letter Google CEO Eric Schmidt sent to the FCC
- look at the official Google blog

IPhone Turns Focus On Greater Wi-Fi Use By Handsets

NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- The Apple Inc. (AAPL) iPhone, which has generated more than enough buzz for itself, is also corralling a lot of attention for wireless fidelity, or wi-fi, networks.

Already in iPhone's short life span, carriers are reporting greater demands on wi-fi as consumers seek a faster connection to the Web. The technology is a double-edged sword for carriers: It provides a short-term benefit by reducing the strain on their cellular networks, but could potentially wrest away their control over Internet service as networks expand. Sporadic availability and an unclear business model have kept consumer adoption muted, but that is poised to change.

"The iPhone is giving the industry a big shot in the arm in terms of imagination over different business plans," said Ron Sege, chief executive of network equipment maker Tropos Networks Inc.

More than laptops - the primary device used to connect to the wi-fi network - cellphones will be the primary driver for the adoption of citywide wi-fi networks. Some devices, like the iPhone, use the wi-fi hotspots as a means to access the Internet, but other true dual-band handsets are designed to make voice calls that can be seamlessly switched between the wi-fi and cellular networks.

So far, only a few devices boast that capability - around 1.9 million around the world - but that total should grow to 186 million by 2010, according to ABI Research analyst Philip Solis.

As more municipalities push for blanket wi-fi coverage - going beyond the hotspots offered by local business - the debate over their deployments gets increasingly tangled by a messy mixture of government, corporate and consumer interests. Local governments see wi-fi as a way to generate revenue while ensuring poor areas receive access to a high-speed Internet connection. Internet providers such as the telecommunications and cable companies view it as a potential threat.

Yet deployments are happening in the face of this conflict. Small towns across the country have installed municipal wi-fi networks that can be accessed anywhere.

"They say that a mayor can't get elected without a wi-fi strategy," said Karen Hanley, senior director of marketing for trade group Wi-Fi Alliance.

On a larger scale, Philadelphia is working with EarthLink Inc. (ELNK) to build a citywide network. But both it and San Francisco have faced delays in their rollouts. Some towns, meanwhile, have found that its wi-fi network has drawn disappointingly low interest, and have struggled to achieve a return on their investment.

Local governments hope that both residents and visitors alike will be more inclined to pay for wi-fi once dual-band handsets become more prevalent. Their portability brings true mobile Internet access compared with laptops, which are relatively stationary.

Some carriers and cable providers have felt threatened by the prospect that cities would offer their own access to the Web. Some have leveled criticism over the economics of such a business model.

"We're still looking at those networks," said Dan Yost, head of product management for Qwest Communications International Inc. (Q). "We haven't yet found an opportunity that makes sense for us to get involved in."

But things are changing. Yost said he doesn't consider city wi-fi networks a threat, since a physical line connection will always be faster and more reliable. On Monday, AT&T Inc. (T) waded into the business with a 3-square-mile deployment of wi-fi coverage to Riverside, Calif.

Near-Term Benefits

For now, wi-fi coverage is primarily accessed through "hotspots" of limited ranges and are used by hotels, restaurants and coffee shops as a way to retain customers. Many of the wi-fi hotspots are supported by big carriers such as AT&T and Deutsche Telekom AG's (DT) T-Mobile USA, as well as smaller private companies such as Wayport Inc. and Boingo Wireless Inc. They typically deal with the upkeep of the networks and take most of the revenue.

Last year, the worldwide hotspot business generated $1.49 billion in revenue, and should more than double by 2012, according to Solis.

The iPhone's slick browsing capabilities have people wandering around town looking for hotspots. Tropos' Sege said that in the week and a half since the iPhone hit the market, an estimated 10,000 unique devices have accessed wi-fi networks his company supports. "People are finding those networks with the iPhone," he said.

T-Mobile has been aggressive in pushing wi-fi as an alternative network for handsets. The company, which supports 8,500 hotspots across the U.S., last month unveiled a service to bring those access points into the home.

The service, called HotSpot @Home, allows for dual-band cellphones to switch networks, so customers wouldn't burn "anytime" minutes while at home. T-Mobile benefits through additional revenue and the chance to move some of its call traffic off of its cellular network and onto the wi-fi one, which is powered by the subscriber's separate Internet service provider.

By reducing the cellular traffic, T-Mobile can reduce the cost of running its network, which is among the higher expenses for a wireless carrier.

"The more they are using wi-fi, the less they are using the cellular network," Solis said. "That reduces congestion on the cellular base stations, and allows them to put off adding capacity until a later date."

AT&T, meanwhile, is using its wi-fi network as another arrow in its quiver of services used to protect its customer base. Last week, AT&T said it would offer free access to its 10,000 hotspots to customers who subscribe to either of the top two tiers of its high-speed Internet service.

Not everyone is jumping on the wi-fi bandwagon. Verizon Communications Inc. ( VZ) shut down its New York area hotspots in 2005 due to little interest and the need for costly upgrades.

"We concluded it wasn't getting a lot of use," said Verizon spokesman Eric Rabe. "Putting money up for an upgrade wasn't justified."

The company may have been a victim of bad timing - wi-fi was just getting its legs when the network was taken down.

Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) has won the contract to build out a WiMax network in France

"Alcatel-Lucent will equip the planned sites in the Ile de France and Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur regions by mid 2009."

The win is nice for Alcatel, but a big secondary winner is Sprint (S). The company is betting a great deal of its future on the WiMax network it plans to have up and running in the US by the end of 2008. The network will cost $3 billion, and is being supported by WiMax champions Intel (INTC) and Motorola (MOT) who have also put money into WiMax IPO Clearwire (CLWR).

The Sprint plan to cover an area that will reach 100 million people in the US has a number of skeptics. WiMax is untried across such a large region. It has been built out in several big cities including Seoul, but whether it can be knitted together to cover a regional that would be a large portion of the US is still open to question.

OpenTV Launches 'Rapid Porting Program'

Program to Focus on Faster Time to Market, Lower Porting Costs and Reduced Operational Expenses

SAN FRANCISCO, June 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- OpenTV Corp. (NASDAQ: OPTV) , a leading provider of solutions for the delivery of advanced television and cross platform interactive services, today announced the introduction of its new Rapid Porting Program (RPP) to provide rapid, high quality ports of OpenTV middleware to a wide range of chipsets and set top boxes.

The goal of the Rapid Porting Program is to bring together the silicon vendors, set-top box (STB) manufacturers, conditional access suppliers, and systems integrators to create full-feature set-top boxes that can be brought to market quickly. By fostering the development of pre-integrated and pre- tested drivers between specific chipsets and OpenTV's Core2(TM) and PVR2(TM) solutions, the Rapid Porting Program will offer significant benefits to network operators.

According to Alan A. Guggenheim, OpenTV's President and CEO, "OpenTV's Rapid Porting Program promotes cooperation among the partners and fosters targeted sales and marketing efforts with our common customers and prospects. The benefits of RPP include bringing solutions to market faster, lowering porting costs, reducing operational expenses and achieving faster issue resolution. No one in the industry is approaching the problem in this way and the response to this new initiative by manufacturers and operators has been positive and gratifying."

The initial launch of the program is focused on efforts with chipset and set-top box manufacturer partners. The charter partners for the program include Broadcom, Conexant, and NXP Semiconductors as well as Philips Consumer Electronics. OpenTV expects other partners to join as the program advances.

"The OpenTV Rapid Porting Program will speed up the introduction of Philips new high definition (HD) set-top boxes and HD digital video recorders (DVRs) into the market," said Philippe Alcaras, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Home Networks at Philips Consumer Electronics. "This new program also delivers on Philips' brand promise of Sense and Simplicity as it will simplify the HD launch for Philips and OpenTV operators and provide high quality innovative solutions to our customers."

"OpenTV's Rapid Porting Program will enable us to meet our customers' desire for fully integrated hardware and software solutions that allow them to accelerate the delivery of complete products based on our advanced HD-AVC SoCs," said Lewis Brewster, senior vice president and general manager of Conexant's Broadband Media Processing business. "We're pleased to be one of the first chipset vendors to support this program, and providing our customers with even greater levels of service and support."

"With its advanced set-top box solutions, NXP Semiconductors is powering developments in the CE market. Our technology allows STB makers to deliver premier products to the market more quickly and at mass market price points. By partnering with OpenTV, NXP can continue to provide revolutionary offerings to the operator market-complete system solutions that boast both state-of-the-art hard and middleware," said Guus Frericks, VP and General Manager, NXP Semiconductors, Business Line Set-Top-Box and Home Media Devices.

"OpenTV's rapid porting program is an ideal way for Broadcom and OpenTV to enable our customers and minimize time-to-market across the industry's widest array of high-performance HD and SD AVC/VC-1 set-top platforms that we each offer," said John H. Gleiter, Senior Director of Marketing for Broadcom's set- top box platforms. "We are excited about working closely with OpenTV and offering this combined solution to the marketplace."

About OpenTV

OpenTV is one of the world's leading providers of solutions for the delivery of digital and interactive television. The company's software has been integrated in over 88 million digital set-top boxes and digital televisions around the world. The software enables enhanced program guides, video-on-demand, personal video recording, enhanced television, interactive shopping, interactive and addressable advertising, games and gaming and a variety of consumer care and communication applications. For more information, please visit http://www.opentv.com/.

About Royal Philips Electronics

Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE: PHG) is a global leader in healthcare, lifestyle and technology, delivering products, services and solutions through the brand promise of "sense and simplicity". Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips employs approximately 121,700 employees in more than 60 countries worldwide. With sales of EUR 27 billion in 2006, the company is a market leader in medical diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring systems, energy efficient lighting solutions, personal care and home appliances, as well as consumer electronics. News from Philips is located at http://www.philips.com/newscenter.

About Conexant

Conexant's innovative semiconductor solutions are driving broadband communications and digital home networks worldwide. The company has leveraged its expertise and leadership position in modem technologies to enable more Internet connections than all of its competitors combined, and continues to develop highly integrated silicon solutions for broadband data and media processing networks. Key products include client-side xDSL and cable modem solutions, home network processors, broadcast video encoders and decoders, digital set-top box components and systems solutions, and dial-up modems. Conexant's suite of networking components includes a leadership portfolio of IEEE 802.11-compliant WLAN chipsets, software and reference designs, as well as solutions for applications based on HomePlug(R) and HomePNA(TM). The company also offers a complete line of asymmetric and symmetric DSL central office solutions, which are used by service providers worldwide to deliver broadband data, voice, and video over copper telephone lines.

Conexant is a fabless semiconductor company that recorded revenues of $970.8 million in fiscal year 2006. The company has approximately 3,200 employees worldwide, and is headquartered in Newport Beach, Calif. To learn more, please visit http://www.conexant.com/.

About NXP

NXP is a top 10 semiconductor company founded by Philips more than 50 years ago. Headquartered in Europe, the company has 37,000 employees working in 26 countries across the world. NXP creates semiconductors, system solutions and software that deliver better sensory experiences in mobile phones, personal media players, TVs, set-top boxes, identification applications, cars and a wide range of other electronic devices. News from NXP is located at http://www.nxp.com/.

About Broadcom

Broadcom Corporation is a major technology innovator and global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications. Broadcom products enable the delivery of voice, video, data and multimedia to and throughout the home, the office and the mobile environment. We provide the industry's broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art, system-on-a-chip and software solutions to manufacturers of computing and networking equipment, digital entertainment and broadband access products, and mobile devices. These solutions support our core mission: Connecting everything(R).

Broadcom is one of the world's largest fabless semiconductor companies, with 2006 revenue of $3.67 billion, and holds over 2,000 U.S. and 800 foreign patents, more than 6,000 additional pending patent applications, and one of the broadest intellectual property portfolios addressing both wired and wireless transmission of voice, video and data.

Broadcom is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and has offices and research facilities in North America, Asia and Europe. Broadcom may be contacted at +1.949.926.5000 or at http://www.broadcom.com/.

Ground-Breaking Study Reveals Online Retail Sites Are More Impactful With Video

36% Of Consumers Surveyed Validate That Video Reviews Enhance Other Forms Of Product Information

ExpoTV’s Videopinions Reviews, A New, More Useful and Trusted Form of User-Generated Content, Poised to Reinvent and Complement Traditional Research Tools

NEW YORK CITY - More than one in three Internet users would find their number one method of product research more impactful if accompanied by video-based product opinions, according to a new study that has the potential to significantly impact the $130 billion e-commerce marketplace.

In ground-breaking research commissioned by ExpoTV, Socratic Technologies, a San Francisco-based research firm, found that when compared with their number one preferred method of researching products and services, 36% found VideopinionsSM reviews more influential.

"We knew from day one that video was the future of word-of-mouth," said Daphne Kwon, CEO of ExpoTV. "Consumer-generated video product reviews combine the best of all worlds by marrying the incredible power of the visual medium to convey vast amounts of information quickly with the authenticity of a word-of-mouth experience. Soon, no product research site will be complete without Videopinions Reviews."

By now it is an accepted industry and research fact that the majority of consumers value user-generated reviews and prefer sites that feature them. But the kind of honesty and true word of mouth that video product reviews provide delivers an increasingly compelling value proposition. The Socratic study shows that seven out of ten surveyed said they found Videopinions reviews an easy source of information to utilize.

"The point of the Socratic research findings isn't that Videopinions reviews will replace trusted tools currently available to consumers." said Bill Hildebolt, ExpoTV President. "Rather, it confirms both the very real appetite consumers have for product information and the incredible impact that a rich media interaction with other consumers can have on the research experience. We witness this daily through ExpoTV's content syndication with Smarter.com and Buy.com."

Research Methodology
The research was conducted by Socratic Technologies. 300 respondents with broadband connections were asked to select their preferred product research technique. Respondents were then shown a Videopinions product review. More than 1/3 of respondents confirmed that Videopinions enhanced their preferred product research tool.

About ExpoTV



Home to a fast-growing community of shopping influentials, ExpoTV's members have contributed more than 60,000 engaging and informative video-based consumer product reviews. These VideopinionsSM reviews demonstrate product benefits from a real-world consumer perspective in an easy-to-understand video format. Covering a broad range of categories including kitchen products, consumer electronics, entertainment and travel, ExpoTV's video review catalog is the largest in the world. Videopinions are distributed online and TV through ExpoTV's popular broadband Web site; via partnerships with the world's largest video portals including Yahoo! Video, AOL Video, Google Video, and YouTube; to leading e-commerce destinations like Smarter.com and Buy.com; and to 25 million digital cable homes, including subscribers to Comcast, Time Warner, and Charter. To experience ExpoTV, visit www.ExpoTV.com.

About Socratic Technologies
Socratic Technologies, Inc. is a leader in the science of computer-based and interactive research methods since 1994. Headquartered in San Francisco, it is a research-based consultancy that builds proprietary, interactive tools that accelerate and improve research methods for the study of global markets. Socratic Technologies specializes in product research for the business-to-business and consumer products sectors.

Clearwire Wins Spotlight Award

Successful Inaugural Eos Awards Highlights Industry’s Best

NXTcomm 2007

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NXTcomm, the only venue where the business and technology of communications, information and entertainment meet taking place this week in Chicago, today announced Clearwire Corporation the winner of the Spotlight Award, an award signifying the “best of” the 2007 NXTcomm Eos Excellence of Achievement Awards.

Judged exclusively by members of the media, the Spotlight Award honors the exhibiting company that has developed the most promising new technology or provided the best new network services and strategic support. All 12 Eos Awards winners were considered for the Spotlight Award.

Clearwire Corporation won the Spotlight Award for its Clearwire Wireless Broadband service. It was selected as the winner for the company’s wireless high-speed Internet service that is simple, fast, portable, reliable and affordable. Customers are free from traditional landlines and cable connections by using Clearwire to connect to the Internet through licensed or secured spectrum. This is accomplished via radio signals transmitted from a tower to a small, wireless modem, which easily connects a user’s computer to the Internet. With its simple plug-and-play installation customers can be on the Internet within minutes of set up. The company’s wireless high-speed Internet service is now available in a total of 38 markets in the U.S. covering approximately 8.9 million people more than 400 municipalities across 12 states. The company also serves international markets in Ireland, Belgium and Denmark.

“Our inaugural Eos Award competition was a great success with contestants representing a broad range of categories,” said Wayne Crawford, NXTcomm Executive Director. “It’s an exciting time for the industry with so many new technologies being introduced. This award gives us an opportunity to highlight the best. We look forward to continuing this tradition at next year’s show.”

Eos Award winners were honored for best new technology or enterprise solution in twelve categories covering the entire range of wireless, broadband, and next-generation technologies and services for both public and enterprise networks. The winners and finalists will be recognized during a special reception on Wednesday, June 20.

NXTcomm, being held this week at Chicago’s McCormick Place, brings together top executives from every segment of the global industry to exhibit, explore new business opportunities and buy the latest technologies driving the converged communications and entertainment industry. Showcasing hundreds of new and innovative products, the NXTcomm exhibit floor reflects the dramatic changes in the industry. The show also features a broad range of educational programming.

NXTcomm, the new industry venue co-owned by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) and the United States Telecom Association (USTelecom) that will feature the business and technology of communications, information and entertainment, comes to Chicago’s McCormick Place June 18-21, 2007. NXTcomm will unite the premier information and communications technology (ICT) industry supplier and technology companies with the world’s leading communications and entertainment companies that are together driving broadband-based innovation around the world. For more information, go to http://www.NXTcommShow.com/.

Microsoft's new IPTV brand: Mediaroom

Microsoft has re-branded its IPTV offerings once again: Mediaroom is the fourth brand after WebTV, Microsoft TV and the recent Microsoft IPTV. Analysts say the new branding is a sign that Redmond does not want to go unnoticed by consumers any longer, and is perhaps looking to take its IPTV offerings outside the "walled garden" approach of set-top boxes and telcos. While the company's plans for Mediaroom have not been specifically laid out, one can infer from Microsoft's executives that a slightly different approach is forthcoming.

Corporate VP for Microsoft TV Division, Enrique Rodriguez said that "there are several reasons why we felt a new brand is instrumental to our success and the success of our customers. With personal media sharing and new Web-based applications, Microsoft brings the consumer television experience to a new level that goes beyond the TV set. With Microsoft Mediaroom, consumers get the best in TV plus all their media in one place, for a truly personalized multimedia experience. With the capability for more connected entertainment experiences, we felt the time was right to introduce a brand that reflected this next generation of television."

Microsoft spokesperson Jim Brady also mentioned to ScreenPlays magazine that the new Mediaroom delivery model uses XHTML on the client side, one reason for the browser-oriented model was to open up the platform to the applications market for IPTV to developers. "Some new apps will be driven by passions and social networking and recommendation. We just don't know what's going to happen," Brady said.

Interestingly, neither Microsoft nor its longtime IPTV partner Alcatel joined the recently formed Open IPTV Forum, which counts AT&T as its most prominent U.S.-based member.

A Wider Area for Wide-Area Data Services

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Riverbed Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:RVBD), the performance leader in wide-area data services (WDS), announced June 14, 2007 the expansion of global operations to Central Europe. The Riverbed Central Europe offices, located in Zurich, will be headed by Gerard Bauer, managing director for Central Europe at Riverbed®. Riverbed’s expanded presence in these markets is in response to growing recognition by distributed organizations of the importance of accelerated application performance.

“The Central European market is characterized by multi-national organizations. With branches and remote offices located worldwide and 24-hour operations, these organizations require remote office application performance that Riverbed and its award-winning Steelhead® appliances can provide,” says Bauer. “With the opening of Riverbed’s office in Zurich, we are now better able to serve our Central European customers and partners.”

Riverbed’s WDS solutions allow remote employees to collaborate as if they were local and reduce the delay and inefficiencies created by distance and time. Today, more than 2000 organizations worldwide have selected Riverbed and deployed the company’s Steelhead® appliances at sites ranging from oil rigs in the South China Seas and submarines in the Atlantic to remote offices and headquarters sites in Vladivostok, Osaka, Seoul, London and New York City. Riverbed recently released the 4.0 version of its Riverbed Optimization System (RiOS™), which is the first WDS solution to securely accelerate encrypted data transmitted via SSL without breaking the trust model.

“Centralized IT infrastructure for global operations is becoming more and more important,” said Marcus Chambers, vice president for EMEA at Riverbed. “But without a powerful and reliable WDS solution, this is very difficult to accomplish while ensuring that employees located across the country or on the other side of the world get the performance they need for their important business applications. As a result, many companies are turning to solutions from Riverbed.”

About Riverbed’s Steelhead Appliances

Riverbed’s WDS solutions enable organizations with more than one office to overcome a host of severe problems, including poor application performance and insufficient bandwidth at remote sites. By speeding the performance of applications between distributed sites by five to 50 times and in some cases up to 100 times between enterprise datacenters and remote offices, Riverbed’s award-winning Steelhead WDS appliances enable companies to consolidate IT, improve backup and replication processes to ensure data integrity, and improve staff productivity and collaboration. Steelhead appliances have been deployed in organizations ranging from the world’s largest corporations with offices around the globe to small companies with a couple of sites that are just miles apart. To learn more, view Riverbed’s demo: www.riverbed.com/pr/jack.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements relating to the expected demand for Riverbed’s products and services, and statements relating to Riverbed’s ability to meet the needs of distributed organizations and grow its business in Central Europe. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that, if they do not fully materialize or prove incorrect, could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties that could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include our ability to react to trends and challenges in our business and the markets in which we operate; our ability to anticipate market needs or develop new or enhanced products to meet those needs; the adoption rate of our products; our ability to establish and maintain successful relationships with our distribution partners; our ability to compete in our industry; fluctuations in demand, sales cycles and prices for our products and services; shortages or price fluctuations in our supply chain; our ability to protect our intellectual property rights; general political, economic and market conditions and events; and other risks and uncertainties described more fully in our documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. More information about these and other risks that may impact Riverbed’s business are set forth in our Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on April 27, 2007. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to us as of the date hereof, and we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

About Riverbed

Riverbed Technology is the performance leader in wide-area data services (WDS) solutions for companies worldwide. By enabling application performance over the wide area network (WAN) that is orders of magnitude faster than what users experience today, Riverbed is changing the way people work, and enabling a distributed workforce that can collaborate as if they were local. Additional information about Riverbed (Nasdaq:RVBD) is available at www.riverbed.com.

Riverbed Technology, Riverbed, Steelhead, RiOS, Interceptor, and the Riverbed logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Riverbed Technology, Inc. All other trademarks used or mentioned herein belong to their respective owners.

Amazon Grocery Beta

More than 22,000 non-perishable items--and growing every day

All items eligible for free shipping

Great everyday prices on your favorite brands

Shipped to your door, just like any other Amazon.com purchase

Learn more

THE CENTURY OF THE SELF

Ads confirm Apple iPhone 6/29 sale date

NEW YORK -- Apple Inc.'s highly anticipated iPhone will be available June 29, according to TV commercials broadcast Sunday night and posted on the company's Web site.

The combination cell phone, media player and wireless Web-surfing device will retail for $499 and $599, depending on configuration. It will be offered exclusively by AT&T Inc.'s wireless division, formerly known as Cingular.

The iPhone, which sports no keypad but instead a touch-sensitive screen, was unveiled with great fanfare in early January by Apple CEO Steve Jobs. He said it would appear in stores in June but gave no specific date.

Sunday night's ads showed off several of the gadget's features and ended with the pronouncement that the phone will be available "Only on the new AT&T" and "Coming June 29." One aired on the CW network before a 7 p.m. broadcast of "7th Heaven."

Apple and AT&T spokespeople did not immediately return phone calls.

In recent months, the company's stock has been served by speculation and excitement over the iPhone. Shares of Apple's stock rose May 25 after a media report said that the iPhone would go on sale June 20. Neither AT&T nor Apple would confirm or deny that date at the time.

Forrester: No Future For Paid Video Downloads

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The paid video download market is a dead end, according to a new report by Forrester Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR). Forrester estimates that paid video downloads will peak in 2007, generating $279 million in revenue, up from $98 million last year. Instead, advertising models will drive the online video market.

In the past year, companies such as Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Wal-Mart have begun offering consumers the ability to download television programs and movies to own or rent. But a recent Forrester survey showed that only nine percent of online adults have ever paid to download a movie or TV show. Furthermore, an analysis of these consumers showed they are a niche of media junkies willing to spend heavily on such content; they do not represent the vanguard of a rush by mainstream consumers. Without mainstream viewers joining the party, the video download market will not grow fast enough to support the ambitions of all the companies involved.

“The paid video download market in its current evolutionary state will soon become extinct, despite the fast growth and the millions being spent today,” said Forrester Research Principal Analyst James McQuivey. “Television and cable networks will shift the bulk of paid downloading to ad-supported streams where they have control of ads and effective audience measurement. The movie studios, whose content only makes up a fraction of today’s paid downloads, will put their weight behind subscription models that imitate premium cable channel services.”

Other implications of such a market shift include:

• Set-top boxes give in to Internet video. Apple will have to rethink Apple TV, shifting it from a closed pay-per-view system to an ad-supported, broadband service provider model that puts YouTube videos as well as ABC.com TV shows directly on the TV. At the same time, Internet-friendly set-top boxes from Cisco and Motorola will give Comcast and Time Warner a way to offer competing Internet-based, ad-supported content.
• Television networks allow ad-supported downloads of prime-time TV shows. New technology such as the recently announced Adobe Media Player will allow consumers to download video for playback without losing the ads that were sold with the video. Expect ABC to go first in 2008, with other networks quickly following.
• Paid video download pioneers CinemaNow and Movielink shift their expertise to partner with satellite and telco service providers provide video-on-demand (VOD) content without a huge investment in VOD infrastructure.
• Streaming of ad-supported TV shows eclipses DVR use by the end of 2008. Advertisers will cheer because this shift thwarts ad-skipping; consumers will applaud this breakthrough because it’s cheaper than a DVR and is more flexible.

“To attract mainstream viewers, media strategy executives must develop new business models and delivery mechanisms to make video downloading ad-supported and geek-free,” says McQuivey.

The report “Paid Video Downloads Give Way To Ad Models” includes recommendations for media executives and is currently available to Forrester RoleView™ clients. It can also be purchased directly at www.forrester.com/Research/Document/Excerpt/0,7211,42291,00.html

About Forrester Research

Forrester Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR) is an independent technology and market research company that provides pragmatic and forward-thinking advice to global leaders in business and technology. For more than 23 years, Forrester has been making leaders successful every day through its proprietary research, consulting, events, and peer-to-peer executive programs.

© 2007, Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. Forrester is a trademark of Forrester Research, Inc.

Joost goes live with advertisers

Joost, the online video site developed by the makers of Skype and Kazaa, went live last week with 31 advertisers and programming from Viacom, CBS and others. Joost has been in beta for months, which meant existing users could invite a limited number of people to join. Now that the site is out of beta, existing users have unlimited invites. Joost claims to have 100 employees across Europe and the U.S., and says it's working with 20 media and brand advertising companies to develop marketing campaigns for its clients. Some of its advertisers include IBM, GM, L'Oreal, Warner Bros., Nokia and Vodafone.

Elizabeth Murdoch considers television in 2015

Television executive Elizabeth Murdoch looks forward to a world of video-on-demand and downloadable programmes that will enable independent producers to compete with broadcasters by offering programmes direct to consumers.

You only need to look back at futurologists’ predictions from five years ago to realise that no one understood the true revolution in mobile technology or the uptake of broadband.

Ten years from now, we will have a decade of programme libraries which will never have been more valuable and we will have a much lower cost of entry to international distribution of our own product.

To read more

First WiMax laptop card approved by FCC, Clearwire says

U.S. regulators have approved the first WiMax wireless broadband laptop PC card to be offered by Clearwire Corp., and it should be available to users later this year, the company said.

The Federal Communications Commission approved a WiMax laptop PC card that fits into a standard Type II laptop card slot and can be used with the Windows Vista and XP operating systems, Clearwire said in a statement yesterday. The card works on Clearwire's WiMax network, which has been built with Motorola Inc. wi4 Expedience wireless networking equipment.

Approval of the high performance WiMax card should propel the use of WiMax by broadening the potential base of customers, Clearwire said.

Laptop PC users were instrumental in increasing the popularity of Wi-Fi, which supporter hope WiMax would replace with its speedier wireless Internet service and wider ranging access. Wi-Fi became popular because it freed people from sitting at home connected to the Internet by wire, and instead allowed them to sip coffee at Starbucks while reading e-mails wirelessly on their laptop PCs.

Clearwire, of Kirkland, Wash., expects the WiMax laptop PC cards to be available in the second half of this year. The company currently offers broadband wireless services in the U.S. and Europe. Its subscribers rose to 206,000 as of the end of last year, from just 1,000 on Sep. 30, 2004, it said when it filed to list on the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC in February. Its subscriber base has grown despite wireline alternatives for users, including broadband cable modems and DSL (digital subscriber line) Internet service.

At the end of last year, Clearwire services were available to 9.6 million people, including 8.6 million throughout the U.S., and 1 million in Brussels, Belgium, and Dublin, Ireland, the company said.

WiMax base stations can send broadband Internet signals to far greater distances than Wi-Fi technology. Although estimates vary on how far WiMax signals can go, in densely populated cities, where users are not likely to be positioned within sight of access points, the distance should be between 2 km and 4 km (1.2 to 2.4 miles).

Well Done Sir Tom

TYCOON Sir Tom Hunter yesterday told of the responsibilities that go with becoming Scotland's first home-grown billionaire.

With an estimated fortune of £1.05billion, he has been named the wealthiest person in Scotland and joint 60th in the UK in this year's rich list.

Ayrshire-based Hunter, 45, sold his Sports Division chain to JJB Sports for £290million. He now devotes much of his time to charity work.

He said: "With great wealth comes great responsibility.

"I've been lucky enough that my first business made money through people in Scotland buying the trainers and so on that I was selling.

"It's only right, therefore, that we would want to give something back."

His Hunter Foundation and the Clinton-Hunter Development Initiative, formed with former US president Bill Clinton, made recent donations of almost £30million.

Last month, Hunter's property consortium took over housebuilders Crest Nicholson for £715million.

It followed the £311million takeover of Wyevale Garden Centres and £1.1billion paid for retirement home firm McCarthy and Stone.

Other Scots high on the rich list include Rangers supremo Sir David Murray (£750million) and Harry Potter author JK Rowling (£545million). The UK's richest person is steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, who is worth £19.25billion.

2006 Canadian Online Advertising Tops $1 Billion

Online Ad Revenue Surges Forward As Variety Of Factors Combine for Growth

TORONTO, April 30, 2007 - The Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada (IAB) today announced that 2006 Canadian Online Advertising Revenues surged to an unprecedented $1.01 billion dollars for the year. The 2006 actuals represent a 26% increase over the $801 million originally estimated by the IAB for 2006; and an 80% increase over the 2005 actuals of $562 million.

Of the $1.01 billion, approximately $208 million or 21% of ad dollars were allocated to the French Canadian Online market, representing growth of 68% over the 2005 actuals of $124 million.

2006 Canadian Online Ad Revenue by Advertising Vehicle, was as follows:

Display advertising (including banner CPM and direct response advertising, plus contests, sponsorship and microsites) - 36%;
Search advertising - 35%;
Classifieds/Directories - 27%; and,
Email - 2%

In actual millions of dollars, 2006 vs. 2005 Canadian Online Ad Revenue by Advertising Vehicle, was as follows:
2006 2005 Change
Display $364M $230M +58%
Search $353M $197M +79%
Classifieds $273M $124M +120%
Email $20M $11M +82%

2006 Canadian Online Ad Revenue by Advertiser Category was also tabulated, and was as follows:

Automotive - 16%;
Consumer Packaged Goods - 14%;
Entertainment (Music, Film, TV) - 9%;
Financial - 16%;
Leisure (Travel, Hotel, Hospitality) - 14%;
Retail - 16%; and,
Other - 15%
What accounts for the 80% jump in 2006 vs. 2005 revenue figures? IAB Canada and Ernst & Young LLP (who tabulated results from the double-blind survey), cite a number of critical factors leading to the increase, including:


Substantial Revenue Growth Across All Publishers:

Small and Medium publishers (who typically net between $500k to $5M/yr.) showed an average revenue growth of 85% vs. 2005;
Large publishers (who typically net between $5M to $30M/yr.) showed an average revenue growth of 155% vs. 2005; and,
Very Large publishers (who typically net between $30M to $100M/yr.) showed an average revenue growth of 62% vs. 2005.



Revenue Growth Within Online Ad Networks:
2006 saw substantial growth in revenue for both US and Canadian networks selling "Canadian eyeballs" aggregated across U.S. and Canadian sites.


More Integration, New Advertisers, New Advertising Choices and New Ad Formats:
More integrated campaigns; more new, blue-chip advertisers entering the market for the first time; more advertising choices for Search; uptake of rich media; and, the addition of video pre-roll advertising to the selection of Online advertising tools, all helped drive the industry forward.
"Add to all of this, results from the 7 CMOST (cross-media optimization) research studies that the IAB has undertaken over the past 4 years, plus the fact that in the past two years alone, over 1,000 senior-level advertiser, agency and publisher representatives have taken the IAB's Intensive One-Day Course in Interactive Marketing and Online Advertising -- and you get a sort of 'perfect storm' that was able to move the Canadian Online advertising dial forward to such an extent," says Paula Gignac, President of IAB Canada.

And there's still more growth to come. IAB Canada's projected total for 2007 Online advertising in Canada, is estimated to be $1.337 billion -- a full 32% more than the 2006 actual of $1.01 billion. "It's interesting," says Gignac. "While it took us 13 years from when the first banner was served on the Internet, until now, to reach the billion dollar mark in Canada, it may only take us another two to three years to reach the second billion. Fascinating times indeed."

About the IAB Canada 2006-07 Canadian Internet Advertising Revenue Report
The 2006 actual revenues and the 2007 estimated revenues were reached after a comprehensive survey of all major Online publishers in Canada. Revenue data was compiled and analyzed by Ernst & Young LLP.

For more information about the IAB Canada 2006-07 Canadian Internet Advertising Revenue Report visit iabcanada.com.

ExpoTV Relaunch their Site

The super-charged ExpoTV is here!

With the help of our passionate members, we burned the midnight oil to bring you an experience that truly celebrates the community. Now with great new Videopinions reviews served up fresh daily! We hope the new ExpoTV helps make everyone Shop Smarter - and for all you creators, make some money while you're at it!

The site definitely has a new look and feel. Plus, we've added the following features to make the Expo experience useful and loads of fun:

• Tons of additional product information and buying resources
• More ways to communicate with members
• Member badges to celebrate your success
  
• The ability to embed videos on personal web pages
• And a new, easier video upload process

Member Profiles -- One of the Coolest New Features!
Now you can select an image that matches your shopping style. It's all in the brand new Member Profile page. Be sure to update your's so everyone will know whether you're a "speedster" or a "gear head".

ExpoTV started it now it's happening on eBay

Things are really starting to move at eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY). You probably figured as much, considering that the company's namesake site helped move $14.3 billion in merchandise this past quarter. However, I'm talking about a different kind of motion -- motion pictures.

An entry in eBay's corporate blog last week indicated that the site is now encouraging sellers to link to videos that showcase their wares. Auctioneers can only go through five of the biggest video-sharing sites -- Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), Google's YouTube, News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) MySpace, Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) Soapbox, or AOL -- but it's an interesting strategy.

Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) isn't on the list. The search-engine giant has been a strategic partner with eBay for nearly a year now. Even if many of the clips available through Yahoo! are actually hosted on smaller third-party sites, it's a slap in the face to ignore a business partner that also runs one of the more popular video-sharing sites.

Still, it could be a revolutionary step for the site. The ability to see items in action -- assuming that the seller has the time to make a clip in the first place -- is far better than text descriptions and the occasional snapshot or two.

However, like any true revolution, this isn't a battle that can be won overnight.

Hitting the pause button
eBay thought this through. It contacted a few eBay members who were handy with camcorders, webcams, and video-editing software packages to showcase six different items on the site. OK, so maybe eBay fibbed as to how dedicated these aspiring filmmakers are to the eBay cause -- half of the listings are from sellers who have zero feedback.

However, you can follow the blog entry to check out the six listings. Some of them are pretty amusing, like the guy trying to sell his acoustic guitar in a highly unorthodox way. He strums along as he brushes his teeth on the guitar neck, makes out with the tuning keys, and even plays a few chords while he's on the toilet. Other ads feature stop-motion prowess in pitching a bike, Lego figures, and a 1996 Saturn.

The clips are slick, as expected. The members all chose to host their videos on YouTube, a good move since it may bring in auction-listing traffic through folks who stumble on the videos first.

But there's a rub, my friend. The six auctions have been running for nearly a week, set to end between today and Thursday. Despite eBay's promotion and the viral allure of some of the clips, the bidding battles just aren't taking place. Let's check into the six auctions, as of last night.

• The humiliated Martin acoustic guitar has just the opening $800 bid.
• The 1996 Saturn, star of its slick stop-action clip, hasn't received a single offer despite its reasonable $999 opening bid.
• A copy-room stapler with a compelling back story has been bid up to only $11.
• The vintage Lego figures have had enough activity to take the bidding up to $45, but the listing's reserve price has not been reached.
• A loaded Apple G4 is fetching just $84.50.
• A Surly Steamroller track bike has failed to nab its $300 start price, perhaps because the Brooklyn-housed bicycle must be picked up locally.

Thinking outside the screening room
Encouraging clips to promote eBay auctions may be a new strategy at eBay, but it isn't an original move. Intuitive YouTube users are already using video to direct traffic to their listings.

Val's Art Diary, the woman behind it is an oil painter who works her craft on canvas, documenting the artistic process with a camcorder along the way. She then auctions off the paintings on eBay. The promotional video diary clips are available through Apple's iTunes and her own website, but it was only after she was featured on YouTube that her cottage industry really took off.

The entrepreneurial spirit is starting to creep into the seemingly noncommercial YouTube site. Someone who was featured after demonstrating a self-stirring coffee mug quickly edited the video description to include a commissionable link to where the mug can be purchased.

Most people don't see YouTube that way. The legitimate video resumes aren't getting the kind of page views that the ridiculous, over-the-top ones are garnering. Clips of cars for sale will never draw in users the way fender-benders do. That's just human nature, but I still think that more and more people will begin tapping into the free multimedia promotion that is available through sites like YouTube.

What is getting in the way right now? A big factor may be a lack of education when it comes to shooting and editing videos. The learning curve isn't all that steep. A Windows-powered PC has the free Movie Maker editing application, and Apple users have access to even better editing software packages.

For investors, this trend will open up portfolio opportunities. Stocks like Logitech (Nasdaq: LOGI) and Adobe (Nasdaq: ADBE) that will thrive in a video-friendly future. Logitech is the webcam leader, while Adobe is the star of publishing software, as well as the company behind the Flash platform that the leading video-sharing sites use.

Will eBay buy ExpoTV?

Amazon profit doubles on 32% rise in sales

Shares jump in after-hours as results beat Wall Street's estimates

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Amazon.com Inc., the world's largest Internet retailer, late Tuesday reported that first-quarter profit more than doubled and sales jumped 32% as the Seattle-based company sold more goods through its Web site.

For the quarter ended March 31, Amazon (AMZN :

Amazon.com, Inc

News , chart , profile , more

Last: 44.75-0.02-0.04%
8:00pm 04/24/2007
Delayed quote data

AMZN44.75, -0.02, 0.0% ) reported a profit of $111 million, or 26 cents a share, compared to the $51 million or 12 cents a share a year ago.

Sales rose 32% to $3 billion, compared to the $2.28 billion from a year ago.

Wall Street was expecting earnings of 15 cents a share on sales of $2.92 billion, according to consensus estimates from Thomson Financial.

Shares of Amazon rose 12% in late trading to $50.05. The stock has risen about 20% since the company last reported quarterly results.

Amazon benefited mainly from a 5% surge in traffic to its retailing sites, which during its first quarter grew at a rate second only to eBay Inc.

EBAY33.76, +0.24, +0.7% ) in the electronic-commerce sector, according to an analysis from Bear Stearns.

More traffic translated into more purchases, according to Nielsen//NetRatings, which on Tuesday said the number of items purchased on Amazon jumped 12% from the same period last year, to 23.1 million from 20.6 million.

The results also got a boost by stronger sales of electronics, which jumped 48% to around $947 million, and increased to 31% of worldwide sales, compared to 28% a year ago.

Sales outside the United States jumped by 35% to $1.4 billion, while domestic sales grew 30% to $1.62 billion.

Amazon.com Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos said, in a statement, that the results were also boosted by growing traction for Amazon Prime, which is the company's first-subscription based feature that offers lower shipping rates, and easier checkout.

A jump in interest income also benefited Amazon's bottom line.

One of the most watch Amazon metric its margins, which is a measure of how much it profits from the sale of an item.

According to Citigroup analyst Mark Mahaney, Amazon's operating margin for the quarter was 5.9%, which is "materially higher" that what Wall Street expected and the result of a more positive contribution from Amazon.com's international sales.

"This marked the first quarter of year-on-year margin expansion since the second quarter of 2004," Mahaney said, in a note to clients. He rates Amazon as a sell.

Goldman Sachs analyst Anthony Noto, also commenting about margins, called the results the "first clear positive for the shares." He rates Amazon shares as "neutral."

Amazon also tried to soothe investor concerns about Amazon's capital spending, which has helped to contribute to the company's relatively high margins.

In a conference call following the earnings release, Bezos said capital spending is sure to increase in 2007, as Amazon invests in new features such as its Unbox video store, but at a rate far less than last year.

"As we move forward, certainly still working very hard for further cost improvements," Bezos said, on the conference call.

The company also somewhat tightened its guidance for its second quarter, now projecting revenue in the range of $2.7 billion to $2.85 billion. The company previously had projected revenue in the range of $2.8 billion to $3 billion.

Analysts, meanwhile, had been expecting revenue of $2.69 billion for the second quarter.

The revenue forecast represents growing sales from its aggressive pricing and promotions, and tempered by a postal-rate increase to go into effect in May.

For the year, Amazon said it expects sales of $13.4 billion to $14 billion, representing an annual growth rate of between 25% and 31%. The range is slightly higher than the $13.37 billion predicted by analysts.

Amazon also increased its operating income projection for the year to between $463 million and $593 million. The operating income projection includes about $170 million in what Amazon describes as amortization of intangible assets.

The company said previously that operating income would come in be between $355 million and $505 million, or ranging from a decline of 9% to a gain of around 30% growth.

Amazon also said Tuesday that its board had approved a $500 million share buyback, which will take place over the next two years.

"The $500 million in buybacks should be an additional positive for the shares," said Goldman Sachs' Noto.