Versatile Amphibian

I’m of the belief that participants in the TMT industry need to read widely in order to understand the present and future dynamics of the market. To that end, this post is a collection of the articles that have caught my eye. This week: Amazon goes Dickensian, films in the living room, social effects of the NHS robot leg and Star Wars takes on Star Trek Digital media I’m yet to be convinced that audiences are presently ready for Zeebox’s brand of second screen, but in case they are, Zeebox have partnered with Chyron to offer polls, sampling and other measurement tools on their application. http://thenextweb.com/media/2012/09/10/zeebox-integrate-new-tools-allowing-broadcasters-interact-directly-users-via-second-screen-app/ Tablet use does, however, increase linear TV viewing, 39% of users say they watch more versus 15% who watch less. http://www.rapidtvnews.com/index.php/2012091224033/ipad-kindle-fire-and-other-tablets-drive-greater-tv-viewing.html Kindle Serials is a really i...

I’m of the belief that participants in the TMT industry need to read widely in order to understand the present and future dynamics of the market. To that end, this post is a collection of the articles that have caught my eye. This week: I’m sad for Facebook and Onlive, Sony move mobile, Samsung launch dozens of products but lose out to Apple and retro nukes over Vegas Digital media I feel sorry for Onlive – the cloud-based console – in that they have great technology but have hit the market too soon to make much of an impact. Now Sony and Gaikai are together the writing is rather on the wall. To the detriment of early investors, such as HTC. http://www.zdnet.com/htc-loses-40m-in-onlive-restructuring-7000002856/ I also feel sorry for Facebook. Their earlier swagger is really being knocked out of them post-IPO. Here’s an article slating their Android app. http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-android-app-employees-2012-8 2/3 of the top grossing mobile applications are free to...

It seems that the new iPhone is getting a larger screen - a bump in size from 3.7" to 4" to bring it a little closer to the mammoth devices being launched by Samsung, HTC et al. 4.8" is the norm for these manufacturers at the pinnacles of their phone ranges. If the rumour mill is to be believed, then Apple will also launch a 7" version of the iPad to address an untapped market in (a) poorer people (!), (b) commuters & other mobile users. So what I wonder is whether we've reached an apogee in phone screen size. As one of my colleagues likes to point out, you'd need giant hands to find a 4.8" screen device comfortable to use . And the benefits for media consumption are marginal when judged relative to even a 7" tablet. Part of the reason why I'm more convinced than ever about 7" tablets is that people are becoming more comfortable with the benefits of the tablet for consumption (as opposed to creation). But the 10" tablet ...

$388Mn of new African telecoms infrastructure investments were announced in March 2012. It’s too early to tell whether this is a sign of any kind, but the first quarter of this year has been the weakest for African telecoms investment for 3 years. On the flip side, it could just be that investment opportunities are now more difficult to come by – both MTN and Maroc Telecom made announcements this month that they were seeking to invest billions more in “bolt on” operations in African countries in which they don’t currently operate, however with nearly $8Bn of M&A done in the last 3 years targets are getting bigger and more expensive (and that doesn’t include the $10.75Bn Airtel spent on Zain, because it was officially done in Kuwait). The standout deal was actually the smallest. Movicel in Angola spent $10Mn to buy a stock of 100,000 3G enabled tablets from Datawind. By my estimation, there are fewer than half a million PCs in Angola, so this one order almost certainly means that Da...

I’m firmly of the belief that participants in the TMT industry need to read widely in order to understand the present and future dynamics of the market. To that end, this post is a collection of the articles that have caught my eye. This week – $50k the price of ideology, Airforce, NOAA dispense with RIM, Amazon beats up HMV and forces Indian retail consolidation while Netflix “destroys” TV New business models Fascinating – ideological hacking has replaced criminal hacking as #1. Also worth noting the rise of attacks originating in Asia. No corporate can overlook this threat to their externally facing web properties. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/02/08/ddos_attack_trends/ Although extorting $50k doesn’t seem particularly ideological. Slightly amusing that the torrent got malware infected within hours of being uploaded. No honour amongst thieves! http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/02/07/pcanywhere_shenanigans/ Bye bye RIM. Even government doesn’t think security is enough of a differe...