Wednesday, 29 October 2014
App Annie, an analytics company that monitors and reports on app downloads and revenue, released on Wednesday lists of the top US apps in the Google Play store and Apple's App Store, the primary shops for apps on the two biggest operating systems for smartphones. For both downloads and revenue in September, Pandora and Spotify come out No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. But players like Beats Music are relatively low in the listing for top apps by downloads. Beats placed ninth, below iHeartRadio, SoundCloud and Apple's own GarageBand.
Given that Apple bought Beats for $3 billion in a high-profile deal earlier this year, that may come as a surprise. With 250,000 subscribers as of May, after four months operating with a high-profile partnership with AT&T, versus Spotify's 10 million paying members, it may not be that surprising that Beats is ranked so low.
Beats may not continue long in its current form, as Apple is widely believed to be integrating its streaming service into iTunes next year.
The lower download ranking may also reflect the fact that Beats Music has no free, ad-supported model; people must pay for the service to use it at all. Rivals like Pandora and Spotify have the option of listening free with commercials on mobile devices.
Despite Beats' lower ranking by downloads, it is relatively high for revenue, at No. 3. App Annie's revenue measurements include payments made to download an app and payments made within the app itself but don't capture revenue from sources like advertising.
Marcos Sanchez, App Annie's vice president of global corporate communications, said the firm has observed Apple-related apps perform well on revenue elsewhere.
"We have seen consistently in the US for sure that folks on the Apple platform tend to monetize better," he said. "It's a premium product, it's not cheap. You're probably going to have a demographic with more to spend."
The rankings come from App Annie Intelligence, analytics data based on estimates calculated with the company's proprietary algorithm. The algorithm uses data from App Annie's more than 55,000 analytics users and provides estimates on absolute download and revenue numbers.
Other big money-makers that may come as a surprise are music "creation" apps Magic Piano and Sing Karaoke by Smule. Though perhaps overlooked amid the fervor over streaming-music listening services, Smule has been rapidly increasing its number of users and revenue.
"We noticed that [music creation apps] are becoming increasingly popular, and people are starting to use them more," Sanchez said. "This is probably a reflection of how games have always been an enormous seller in apps...Music creation can almost mimic games."
Plus, he said, "everyone wants to be rock star."
They include less plastic waste in the world, a push-button applicator that makes one-hand application easier and reduces stains on clothes, and an internal microprocessor that delivers the same, precise amount every time.
"The one-hand application feature makes deodorant application much easier for those with mobility issues that are caused by various physical limitations," said Carla Bahri, co-founder of ClickStick, in a release.
Bahri created ClickStick along with Gilad Arwatz -- both are graduate students in Princeton's mechanical and aerospace engineering department, so yes, ClickStick is actually designed by rocket scientists.
Naturally, any smart device needs its own app, and ClickStick also delivers here. The app gives advice on which setting you should use to adjust the amount delivered with each press of the button, and also provides reminders and data on usage. The app can also be used to order refills, or not. Interestingly, ClickStick's "Green Green" Kickstarter option comes with two refillable pouches that allow you to use your own deodorant gel or other personal care product with the systemSo if you're still not sold on the benefits of entering the bold new world of connected deodorant application, consider that ClickStick also lights up, so there's potential for awesome drunken deodorant lightsaber bouts when you come back home to freshen up at 2 a.m. before heading back out to the after-party. (Of course, always remember that drinking and deodorizing don't mix with driving, kids.)
So far, over 500 backers have pledged more than $27,000 toward the campaign's $55,000 goal during the two weeks since ClickStick's Kickstarter went live. I haven't yet decided if I'll be one of them.
Posted on Wednesday, an open letter from CEO John Chen touted the upcoming new BlackBerry Classic phone as a way to prove that the company is far from dead and buried in the mobile phone market. Formerly known as the Q20, the BlackBerry Classic is the company's attempt to return to its roots with a physical QWERTY keyboard, a row of navigation keys and a trackpad.
Announced in February, the BlackBerry Classic is a Foxconn-designed phone that's geared toward big business and government and due to launch by the end of the year. Avoiding the highly competitive consumer market may be a wise strategy, but BlackBerry will still face an uphill battle trying to lure corporate customers back into its fold. Even businesses and government agencies have been gravitating toward Apple's iPhones and devices running Google's Android operating system.
Chen's letter strikes a tone of going against the grain, of offering a "classic" phone unlike the "trendy" iPhones and Androids. In that respect, the CEO is attempting to appeal to former and perhaps still loyal BlackBerry customers as well as potential new buyers:
It's tempting in a rapidly changing, rapidly growing mobile market to change for the sake of change -- to mimic what's trendy and match the industry-standard, kitchen-sink approach of trying to be all things to all people.As a mobile phone maker, BlackBerry has been all but written off in some circles. BlackBerry's global mobile phone market share is expected to drop to 0.8 percent with shipments estimated at just 9.7 million for 2014, according to research firm IDC's May Mobile Phone tracker report. IDC expects the news to get even worse.
But there's also something to be said for the classic adage, if it ain't broke don't fix it.
BlackBerry Classic reflects that. It is classic BlackBerry -- complete with a top row of navigation keys and a trackpad. It's the device that has always felt right in your hands and always felt right in your busy day.
Of course, we've made quite a few enhancements around the edges and on the inside. The screen is bigger and sharper. Our application catalogue is growing. The BlackBerry 10 operating system incorporates all the best productivity and collaboration features on any mobile device, including the BlackBerry Hub and our all-new BlackBerry Blend.
"IDC continues to reduce its BlackBerry forecast across the board with volumes expected to drop 49.6 percent in 2014, equivalent to 9.7 million units," the research firm said in May. "Looking forward, volumes are expected to continue to decline to 4.6 million units in 2018. The question of whether BlackBerry can survive continues to surface, and with expectations that share will fall below 1 percent in 2014, the only way the company will be viable is likely through a niche approach based on its security assets."
But BlackBerry is still in the game. In September, the company released its BlackBerry Passport phone equipped with the familiar physical keyboard and an odd, square design. BlackBerry must at least be hoping the Passport will generate some buzz among people who may have otherwise already discounted its devices.
With the BlackBerry Classic, the company is courting business customers who still crave the familiar BlackBerry look and feel enough to consider the phone a viable choice. BlackBerry has already set up a sign-up page where people can register to learn more about the Classic.
"We are committed to earning your business -- or earning it back, if that's the case," Chen said. "In the weeks ahead, BlackBerry will be sharing more details about Classic that we think you'll like."
Sunday, 12 October 2014
A German YouTube video shows you how to access Hyperlapse's settings. To do so, launch the app and then perform four quick taps on the screen with four fingers. It may take a few attempts before you get the hang of it. I found that your fingers should not be too close together and the taps should be quick and not too deliberate.
Let's start with the most exciting-sounding option: Hyperlapse Extreme. It adds two extra playback speed settings: 24x and 40x, which you might find useful for very long videos.
The resolution setting lets you change from the default 720p to 1080p, while the frame rate settings lets you move from 30fps to 24fps.
The Background Save+Library setting saves unstabilized videos to a Raw Hyperlapse album in your camera roll. As for Calibration Mode, it appears that it lets you tweak the exposure level without saving the test video to your phone.
Below these settings are a number sliders to adjust a number of sound levels, but be warned: they are in great number -- with seemingly purposefully vague descriptions -- so adjust them at your peril..
Bose and Apple's Beats have agreed to settle a patent lawsuit related
to noise-canceling headphones that was filed by Bose in July. In a court filing in the US District Court for the District of Delaware, attorneys for the companies said "they have settled their respective claims" and want to dismiss the case. Both parties will be responsible for their own costs, expenses and attorneys' fees, they said.
The companies didn't disclose any information about the settlement.
Apple declined to comment. A Bose spokeswoman said "the issue has been resolved, and terms aren't being disclosed." She declined to provide any further information.
Headphone and speaker maker Bose filed suit against Beats in July,
accusing the (at the time, soon-to-be) Apple company of infringing
five patents related to noise-canceling headphones. The accused products
included the Beats Studio and Studio Wireless headphones, and Bose
asked for financial damages and an injunction to ban the sale of
infringing Beats products.Bose said in its complaint, lodged with the US District Court in Delaware and with the US International Trade Commission, that it had "suffered and will continue to suffer damages, in an amount yet to be determined, including due to loss of sales, profits, and potential sales that Bose would have made but for Beats' infringing acts."
It added that for almost 50 years, it has "made significant investment in the research, development, engineering, and design of proprietary technologies" used in its products. Its current line of noise-canceling headphones, for instance, uses inventions protected by at least 22 US patents and 14 pending patent applications.
Apple, meanwhile, in May agreed to buy Beats for $3 billion, giving the electronics giant a popular headphone business and subscription streaming music service. The acquisition brought Beats co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre to Apple's management team, and Apple said it would continue to use the Beats brand. Beats controls about 60 percent of the $1 billion premium headphone market, according to NPD Group, and it has proved popular with everyone from celebrities to tweens.
The deal closed at the beginning of August, and Apple has started promoting the music service with current iTunes users and prominently featuring the headphones in its online store. However, the company may change the Beats brand for the music service, instead folding the streaming offering into its iTunes product.
Meanwhile, Apple blog MacRumors on Friday reported that Apple planned to remove Bose products from its stores.
Apple declined to comment about the report. Bose didn't immediately respond to requests for comment about the issue.
The two companies' feud has spilled over to professional sports. The NFL, which has a deal with Bose, recently banned football players from wearing Beats headphones. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick revealed that he was fined $10,000 for wearing his pink Beats to last Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Tuesday, 7 October 2014
The South Korean electronics giant on Tuesday unveiled its first entrée into services, called Samsung 360 Services for Business. The operations will allow it to support enterprise customers using everything from smartphones to printers -- and the devices don't even have to be made by Samsung. It will be a one-stop-shop for enterprise customers who need tech help as more of their employees bring their own devices to work and as the company supports more technology vendors.
Businesses are "looking for somebody who can come to the table and bring expertise in different areas and [be] that one partner they can work with," Robin Bienfait, chief enterprise innovation officer for Samsung Electronics, said in an interview. But they're not looking for "one partner that's just going to come in there and say, 'hey, for this to work, you need all of my stuff.'"
With its move, Samsung is taking on some of the biggest companies in tech, namely Apple and IBM. The two giants in July unveiled plans to work together to push Apple's products with business users. IBM operates a sizable consulting and services business, and it also will optimize its cloud computing services, such as device management, security and analytics, for Apples iOS mobile operating system.
Samsung is taking a slightly different track. It plans to utilize more than 10,000 of its worldwide employees -- including many new hires, though it's not revealing details -- to help deploy devices, migrate companies to new software, integrate systems, troubleshoot problems and provide an end-to-end security assessment of all of a company's technology.
"We want to own the strategy and have a direct relationship with our enterprise customers in such a way where they see us as a true business partner as opposed to someone who manufactures the most desirable glass on the planet," Tim Wagner, senior vice president of Samsung Telecommunications America's enterprise business unit, told CNET.
The services move comes as Samsung struggles in its core mobile business. The company on Monday revealed its operating profit likely fell 60 percent year-over-year in the third quarter amid higher market costs and lower device selling prices. It's being pressured by Apple on the high end and vendors such as China-based Xiaomi on the low. As growth slows in Samsung's core mobile operations, the company has looked to new markets to boost its profits. In particular, business users have become a big focus for Samsung over the past several years.
The company first launched its enterprise business in 2010 and since that time, the operations have grown exponentially. Samsung doesn't provide sales figures, but Wagner said the company's business operations "went from a several hundred million [dollar] organization to a multibillion [dollar] organization over four years." And that's just in the US. That has allowed Samsung to rank No. 2 in enterprise market share, Wagner said. He expects Samsung to be the top vendor in 2015 or early 2016.
"We're on a hockey stick, up and to the right from a revenue perspective," he said.
Still, success isn't guaranteed. Providing support for a wide variety of devices and software can be tricky, which is why few other companies have attempted it. By supporting items Samsung doesn't build on its own, it could run into troubles with other vendors and finger pointing over who's responsible for problems. It also could get expensive for Samsung to hire the employees needed to provide support, as well as carry out the various fixes needed.
Samsung's big business push
Samsung in 2011 launched Samsung for Enterprise, or SAFE, in an effort to make Android more secure for employees to bring their own devices to work (known as BYOD). At the time, businesses weren't providing Android devices to employees but instead opted for BlackBerrys and Apple devices, which they viewed as more secure. Samsung counted on BYOD as its entrée to the enterprise, and SAFE's many features included encryption, VPN connectivity, and mobile device management capabilities such as remote wipe.Samsung then followed that up in 2013 with the launch of its Knox security platform to make its devices secure enough for the US Defense Department and other organizations. The software debuted on Samsung's flagship Galaxy S4 smartphone, and as of May, Knox had 1.8 million active users out of more than 87 million Knox-enabled devices in the world.
Currently, Samsung is one of only two companies whose devices have been approved by the US National Security Agency for use with classified documents. The other is the Boeing Black smartphone, a device that can erase all data and deactivate when it recognizes attempted disassembly or hacking.
Samsung a year ago also introduced the "Samsung Solutions Exchange," a sort of app store for business programs. And in June at Google's developer conference, the Internet giant announced that Knox would be integrated into the next version of Android, codenamed "Android L."
"Samsung continues to be challenged by Apple, yet appears to have a solid enterprise or [business-to-business] team that has grown tremendously over the past year," said Stephanie Atkinson, CEO of tech consultancy Compass Intelligence. "The device itself is no longer going to be the primary product to differentiate, so the services approach is exactly what Samsung needs to do to push further into the B2B market."
One-stop shop
With the Samsung 360 Services for Business, companies will be able to call Samsung for help even when they have issues with technology from other providers, such as printers from Hewlett-Packard or software from Microsoft. The company will serve as a single point of contact, which will then coordinate with other providers to fix the problems.
The partnership between Apple and IBM was "a first step forward" to provide business-wide mobility services, she said, but it's still exclusively focused on supporting Apple's products. Samsung takes it a step further, she said.
"The fact they're going to serve as a single point of contact at least removes some of the complexity," Stergiades said. "When something goes wrong, companies can start with Samsung."
It's unclear, however, whether Samsung also will provide support for Apple's devices or whether those products will be excluded from its list of covered items.
Samsung kicked off the services project when Bienfait joined the company in January. Previously, she worked as chief information officer at BlackBerry from January 2007 to the end of 2012 and also worked at AT&T's global services business for about 22 years.
The company currently is performing pilots with 25 companies. It will officially launch the service program in the first quarter in the US and then expand to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific later on. While Samsung will provide the services on its own, it also will work with partners when needed. Samsung declined to name any companies in the pilot program or make them available for comment.
But the company said it plans to expand its services offering quickly.
"The way to continue the level of success we're having today is by providing truly differentiated software and services and by leading the strategy discussions," Wagner said. "We can't just do that at the Fortune 1500. ... We also have to own the midmarket and have to get into small business as well. You're going to see substantial evolutions of the Samsung brand and Samsung offerings."
Samsung services include:
-Technical support and service desk
-Application support
-Security support
-Deployment support
-Samsung MobileCare for Enterprise
By the end of its next fiscal year, which will end in October 2015, HP expects to officially become two companies. The first, which will include the company's enterprise services, software, and servers, will operate as Hewlett-Packard Enterprise. The other will be made up of its PC and printing businesses and will be known as HP Inc. The latter will retain the current logo, while the enterprise entity will receive completely new branding.
One key goal outlined for the new HP Inc. -- to invest in "growth markets such as 3D printing and new computing experiences."
HP CEO Meg Whitman will play a role in both companies. She will head up Hewlett-Packard Enterprise as president and CEO and serve on its board. She will also be non-executive chairman of HP Inc.'s board. Dion Weisler, current executive vice president of HP's Printing and Personal Systems business, will take over as HP Inc.'s chief executive.
On Sunday, the Wall Street Journal had reported on the breakup plans, saying they could be announced as early as Monday.
Wall Street firm Cantor Fitzgerald, responding to the Journal's report, hailed a potential breakup as "a bold and smart move" for the venerable Silicon Valley company.
"In our view, the enterprise IT market is becoming increasingly competitive and the PC market has been in a downturn since the iPad was unveiled in April 2010 but has shown improved trends this year," wrote Cantor Fitzgerald analysts Brian White and Isabel Zhu. "Given the challenges in managing a company the size of HP, the negative, long-term secular trends in the PC market that discourage investor attention, and the need for HP to focus more on the cloud (e.g., as Oracle did last week), we believe a separation into two companies makes sense, as we have suggested for quite some time."
In an investor presentation, HP also said Monday that it expects previously announced job reductions to be greater than anticipated, now likely reaching to a total of 55,000. That's up from the 45,000 to 50,000 the company had projected earlier this year.
HP shares rose after the stock market opened, edging up about 5 percent to nearly $37 a share.
A battle between HP and Lenovo
While Hewlett-Packard remains a major player for both consumer and enterprise dollars, in the PC market it has slipped to second place in worldwide shipments behind Lenovo. The move to split into two companies has been viewed by some as a way for HP to quickly focus on its core businesses and regain its top spot in the PC market from Lenovo.Responding Monday to HP's news, Lenovo emphasized that it is "continuing to gain share in the $200B PC market ... [T]he market can expect we will launch more and more exciting PC, mobile, enterprise and ecosystem products in the near future and in the long term; and as we are consistent and clear with our strategy, which after we close both the IBM System X and Motorola deals, will give us 3 growth engines - PC, Mobile and Enterprise."
Whitman kept the finer points of the decision close to the vest in a statement on Monday, saying only that the move allows the company to "more aggressively go after the opportunities created by a rapidly changing market." She added that the decision to split into two companies "underscores our commitment to the turnaround plan."
It's rather surprising to hear Whitman say that a split is part of her turnaround plan. When she took over the company in 2011, she began a "multiyear journey" to revive the ailing HP brand. While the company was still financially healthy, it was experiencing a revolving door in the C-suite, with former CEO Mark Hurd resigning amid a scandal in 2010 and his replacement, Leo Apotheker, forced out as CEO in 2011.
Apotheker had announced plans in 2011 to spin off HP's PC division, which was quickly rejected by investors. Not long after, he was pushed out over the decision -- investors viewed the idea as reckless. When she became HP CEO in 2011, Whitman reassured investors that she would remain committed to the company's PC division. In three short years, that tune has changed.
In response to HP's news, PC rival Dell said the move will likely benefit shareholders more than customers.
"HP's decision to break apart its business is complex, distracting and appears to benefit HP and its shareholders more than its customers, which is ultimately the wrong priority," Dell said in a statement. "The HP separation will be complex and it takes time to unwind the commingled businesses and customer accounts. Other large separations like this have often taken years to complete."
HP's printing and personal systems division, which is essentially made up of PCs and printers, generated about $55 billion in revenue during the company's 2013 fiscal year. It posted a net earnings of $4.8 billion. HP's enterprise business, which comprises servers, cloud solutions, big data products, and other IT services, generated about $60 billion in revenue and $6 billion in net earnings.
Analyst: Breakup 'fueled by weakness at HP'
While those numbers appear sound, Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi Jr. told investors Monday that the move appears to be one born out of anxiety more than confidence."The news underscores our belief that HP and CEO Whitman appear increasingly uncomfortable with the status quo and believe that a material shake-up/change at HP is needed going forward," the analyst wrote. "While on one hand the desire to drive change and incremental value creation is positive, on the other, the potential spin-off appears fueled by weakness at HP rather than strength."
If the announcement is approved by the board and the split occurs, current HP shareholders will retain ownership in both companies. Those shares will ostensibly be pro-rated based on the exact split between the firms and how much ownership investors currently have. According to HP, both firms will have enough cash and strong investment grade credit ratings that will allow them to operate independently.
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