Posts Tagged ‘Amazon’
Tuesday, January 10th, 2012
 Phishing campaigns once again proved to be among the most significant threats, with scammers targeting Chase and Barclays customers, as well as launching malware attacks against Amazon shoppers expecting holiday packages, according to GFI Software’s December VIPRE Report, a collection of the 10 most prevalent threat detections encountered during the month
“The threats we uncovered last month illustrate the consistent reuse of tried-and-true attack methods slightly modified to target new groups of potential victims,” said Christopher Boyd, senior threat researcher at GFI Software.
Attacks use old techniques
“Most cyber-attacks at any given time rely on old techniques deployed with a new disguise. The reason we see them again and again is quite simply because they work, and we anticipate 2012 to bring many fresh takes on old scams.”
In a continuing trend highlighted in the last VIPRE Report, bank related phishing is increasingly becoming a common threat. Barclays customers received messages from a free Yahoo email address claiming that their account had been suspended due to incorrect login attempts.
The phishers employed scare tactics by insisting information had to be provided to reactivate the account within a certain amount of time. Once the victim’s identity was submitted, they were redirected to the official Barclays website in order to further mask the crime. Chase clients were targeted by a similar phishing campaign last month as well.
Online shoppers a target
Online shoppers also continue to be a popular pool of potential victims. Emails disguised as messages from Amazon fooled users into clicking a link to infected websites hosting Black Hole Exploit Kits.
These kits are designed to take advantage of unpatched Windows operating systems and software. An infected PDF file is then downloaded to the victim’s computer which exploits a vulnerability in Adobe Reader and loads malware onto the system.
Another familiar cybercrime tactic that continued to gain momentum in December was scareware—fake antivirus software and system utility programs—that warn infected users of completely false threats to their computers. GFI Labs document several new variants of these rogue programs on its Malware Protection Center blog.
“Most malware is avoidable,” continued Boyd. “Knowing how cybercriminals operate and understanding how to recognize common attacks are the first steps toward keeping your PC clean and your personal information safe. Most cybercrime requires the victim to aid in the process. A little caution and common sense can go a long way in helping users avoid becoming unwitting accomplices.”
Top 10 Threat Detections for December
GFI’s top 10 threat detection list is compiled from collected scan data of tens of thousands of GFI VIPRE Antivirus customers who are part of GFI’s ThreatNet™ automated threat tracking system. ThreatNet statistics revealed that Trojans still dominated the month, making up half of the top threats detected.
| Detection |
|
Type |
|
Percent |
| Trojan.Win32.Generic |
|
Trojan |
|
34.41 |
| FraudTool.Win32.FakeRean |
|
Rogue Security Program |
|
2.82 |
| Yontoo (v) |
|
Adware |
|
2.36 |
| Trojan.FakeAlert |
|
Trojan |
|
1.52 |
| INF.Autorun (v) |
|
Trojan |
|
1.24 |
| Exploit.PDF-JS.Gen (v) |
|
Exploit |
|
0.93 |
| Trojan.Win32.Ramnit.c (v) |
|
Trojan |
|
0.89 |
| Trojan.JS.Obfuscator.w (v) |
|
Trojan |
|
0.87 |
| Yontoo |
|
Adware |
|
0.84 |
| GameVance (fs) |
|
Adware |
|
0.82 |
Tags: Amazon, bank related phishing, Barclays, Chase, Christopher Boyd, GFI Software, phishing, top malware threats
Posted in Amazon, Internet/New Media, IT, Security, Studies, surveys, reports, TechLife | Comments Off
Monday, December 12th, 2011
By Allan Maurer
 A Kindle Fire tablet computer Kindle Fire users will receive a software update in about two weeks that is aimed at correcting persistent problems reported by users, such as erratic touchscreen performance and an occasionally slow browser, the New York Times reports.
We experienced the touchscreen problems on our Kindle Fire – most users apparently have. It will react to accidental touches on the side, discombobulating the screen and at times seems to react to merely hovering a finger over the screen, yet be slow to respond to actual intentional touches.
The update is also intended to correct the slow browser response some users have experienced. We haven’t had that problem, but that may be because we often use the Pulse app to browse many of the sites we visit, ranging from the New York Times to Boing Boing.
In addition, the update will allow users to adjust privacy settings.
A disappointing experience?
The Times piece quotes a Silicon Valley consultant and usability expert who says the Kindle Fire offers a “disappointing experience.”
We’re not sure what the people who have reported these negative experiences with the Fire are doing. We’ve had our difficulties with the virtual keyboard and touch navigation, but we’ve had those problems with many digital devices we tested, including several Android phones and the 10-inch Galaxy tablet.
But we’ve found the device useful for laying abed and checking email or web sites, playing games such as Angry Birds and chess, and even watching a movie using the month-long free Amazon Prime membership you get buying a Kindle Fire. We also predicted that the company would address some of the complaints about the Fire in our first review of the device.
Good buy for the money
We still think it is a good buy for the money, although at least one competitor is launching a $99 tablet that could be serious competition to other 7-inch devices if it performs as advertised. The usability expert consulted by the Times suggested that if you have “fat fingers” you might find using the device frustrating, and we admit, we have small hands.
We admit, that as many others have noted, reading on the original Kindle e-reader with its non-glare, paper like E-ink, is still preferable to reading on any LED screen.
We were pleased to discover we could use the Kindle Fire as another Internet Radio with the Pandora app and one of the free radio apps. We’re fans of sites such as the French “Classic and Jazz” Internet station and our own Pandora mixes. It would be helpful to have a physical volume control and even at high, we find the volume occasionally low without using headphones. But you can’t have everything for $200 – yet.
Tablets of all types have proved extremely popular and many consumers would prefer a table to a laptop as a gift this season.
Amazon says an improved version of the device is planned soon, probably by spring, while a larger version that may be a real competitor to the iPad is also in the works.
Personally, we wouldn’t mind if the digital equipment makers we buy from – Amazon included but not only them – would offer to upgrade hardware as well as software when they introduce improved models within months of a launch.
Tags: $99 tablet, Amazon, Amazon Prime, complaints about Kindle Fire, fat fingers and Kindle Fire, iPad, Kindle Fire browser, Kindle Fire reviewed, Kindle Fire touchscreen problems, Kindle Fire update coming, New York Times, tablet computers
Posted in Amazon, Internet/New Media, IT, Mobile, Tech Culture | 1 Comment »
Thursday, December 8th, 2011
 LivingSocial, the DC-based daily deal site that is the second largest player in the space after Groupon, has raised $176 million in new funding, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
JP Morgan, Lightspeed Ventures and Amazon.com participated in this round, which Venture Beat reports is the first tranche of a $400 million raise.
The company has raised a total of $808 million. It has spent about $353 million to acquire SocialMedia.com, TicketMonster and Urban Escapes.
It delayed a planned $1 billion initial public offering of stock earlier this year.
LivingSocial presented at TechMedia’s 2009 Southeast Venture Conference (SEVC). The next SEVC is coming up in Tysons Corner, Va, Feb. 29-March 1.
For an overview of the daily deals space in 2011 see this infographic.
Apple job announcement hints at changes to Siri
After testing a number of smartphones and tablets, we’re convinced that voice control of these devices is the way to go. Typing on virtual keyboards may get better like all manual skills as one practices, but it’s never going to be an ideal way to use electronic devices.
Now, Apple has posted jobs for two iOS engineers to help develop an API for Siri, the voice personal assistant on the iPhone 4S. The API would extend the applications users could run with voice commands.
The jobs are for a junior engineer and a senior engineer and the postings explain what Apple wants from them.
New xxx domain names selling fast
ICM Registry sold more than 55,000 xxx domain names in a matter of hours, with a total of 159,000 plus sold by noon yesterday.
Many of the domain names will not be adult sites, but rather were registered by non-adult firms to prevent adult sites from sullying their brands.
Amazon launches $6M fund for indie Kindle authors
Amazon has started a new fund called KDP select, with $500,000 available for December to encourage authors to publish works exclusive on the Kindle for 90 days.
Russ Grandinetti, vice president of Kindle Content said,“By choosing KDP Select, independent authors and publishers have an opportunity to make money in a whole new way and reach the growing audience of Amazon Prime members, for KDP Select authors, and we hope to add more such tools over time.”
After the 90 days, the books will then go to the Kindle Owners Lending Library, which allows users to check out books for free, although Amazon will pay authors a fee. The Kindle lending library has stirred up some controversy among authors’ groups and publishers, but that’s nothing new for Amazon.
All this comes on the heels of Amazon’s quite successful launch of its 7-inch tablet, the Kindle Fire, which reports say may already be second to the iPad in tablet sales. We wonder if that will continue to hold true as other inexpensive tablets hit the market, such as the new one announced by MIPPS Technology.
Tags: $99 tablet, Amazon, Apple job posts reveal Siri direction, daily deals sites, Groupon, KDP Select, Kindle Owners Library, LIvingSocial, MIPPS, SEC, smartphones, tablets, venture capital raise, voice operated devices, xxx domain names selling fast
Posted in Events, infographic, Internet/New Media, IPOs, IT, Money, Potomac, Washington, DC | Comments Off
Tuesday, December 6th, 2011
 Online retailers who want to move even more goods might do well to remember this admonition: keep it simple. While shoppers rank online retail as the simplest industry, Internet retailers basking in record sales on Cyber Monday can achieve even stronger results through less complex return policies and by providing ways to easily identify the highest quality items.
Also, it’s a bad idea to take an essentially simple offering such as Netflix’s and gum up the works with new complications, as the cinema site learned the hard way.
Those online shopping brands that offer increased simplicity in their communications and experiences stand to capture more than $1.1 billion in revenues.
These are among the findings from global strategic branding firm Siegel+Gale‘s second annual Global Brand Simplicity Index, which surveyed more than 6,000 consumers across seven countries to uncover perceived points of complexity and simplicity in people’s lives.
Amazon, Zappos, iTunes are leaders
Within the Internet retail industry, Amazon, Zappos and iTunes are among the leaders in providing customers with simple interactions and experiences online. Consumers benefit from easy price comparison, free shipping and a streamlined selection process funneled through customized communications.
Of the top 10 simplest brands in the U.S., the first three are Internet companies: Netflix, Google and Amazon. Netflix was picked as the simplest brand in the survey after it announced price hikes but before the announcement of the formation of Qwikster, which was subsequently reversed. In the wake of these missteps, mass subscriber departures followed.
“Netflix has built its company around a unique brand voice that highlights simplicity and accessibility, but now its customers are confused and disappointed by the company’s inability to communicate clearly and honestly,” said Howard Belk, Siegel+Gale co-CEO and chief creative officer.
“This survey demonstrates that brands that put a premium on simpler and more transparent user experiences and interactions inspire confidence and generate customer loyalty.”
Also among the top-ranked simplest brands are retailers Target, Publix, Whole Foods Market and shipping giant UPS. Rounding out the top 10 are fast food purveyors SUBWAY, McDonald’s and Pizza Hut, which were among the leaders in the 2010 survey.
Tags: Amazon, Google, Howard Belk, keep it simple, McDonalds, Netflix, online retail, Pizza Hut, Publix, Qwikster, Siegel+Gale, simplest brands, SUBWAY, Target, UPS, Whole Foods Market
Posted in Business advice, Internet/New Media, Marketing, Studies, surveys, reports | Comments Off
Thursday, December 1st, 2011
 The way we shop is rapidly being influenced by scores of innovative young companies who are helping retailers, brands and consumers fundamentally reshape how goods and services are bought and sold. A new report says mobile, online and in-store shopping are quickly converging and startups are disrupting the traditional retail ecosystem.
Architect Partners, the M&A advisory firm exclusively focused on Internet, mobile and digital media clients, today published “The Evolution of Shopping“. ”Shopping is at the early stages of profound change,” according to Eric Risley, managing partner of Architect Partners.
“Our newest report, The Evolution of Shopping, highlights why this evolution is happening, offers a framework to describe a very complicated ecosystem and features some of the most innovative companies making things happen.”
Consumer centric strategies emerging
“Retailers and brands are leveraging these changes to devise and implement strategies that are more consumer-centric. An entire infrastructure is emerging to support their efforts,” according to Dr. Phil Hendrix, Director of IMMR, a research consultancy and contributor to The Evolution of Shopping.
“We stepped back to the fundamentals to help us understand the innovation we’re seeing,” explained Steve Payne, Partner with Architect Partners. “We crafted a seven step framework describing how products are bought and sold. We then mapped over 300 companies against this framework.”
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. retail sales exceeds $4 trillion annually. Much of this spending is likely to be influenced by this evolution.
Incumbent suppliers to retailers and brands such as SAP, Oracle, IBM, Microsoft, NCR, Epicor, Visa, Mastercard, American Express and many others have major stakes in the outcome.
Disruption is emerging from a new set of competitors such as eBay, Amazon, Salesforce.com, Google and Apple. Many emerging companies will also be important disrupters.
“Marquee M&A transactions have already occurred within this area, according to Tom Brehme, principal with Architect Partners. “I’d highlight eBay’s M&A appetite which has included the acquisitions of Hunch, Zong, Magento, WHERE and GSI Commerce for a total of over $3 billion just in the past year.
“We’re aware of over 75 significant M&A transactions under the theme, evolution of shopping, announced since the beginning of 2010.”
Entering the holiday shopping season tangible signs of this evolution are clear. IBM’s Cyber Monday Report 2011, demonstrated online shopping continues to register strong growth, up 33% from 2010. Also, mobile device initiated purchases are beginning to become meaningful, representing 6.6% of Cyber Monday 2011 sales.
Access to The Evolution of Shopping presentation is available on Architect Partners’ website.
Tags: Amazon, American Express, Apple, Architect Partners, Bay, Epicor, Eric Risley, Evolution of Shopping report, Google, IBM, M&A activity, Mastercard, Microsoft, NCR, Oracle, Salesforce.com, SAP, Tom Brehme, Visa
Posted in Acquisitions, Amazon, Apple, Internet/New Media, Marketing, Studies, surveys, reports | Comments Off
Monday, November 28th, 2011
 For the holiday season-to-date, $12.7 billion has been spent online, marking a 15-percent increase versus the corresponding days last year, according to digital measurement firm comScore.
Black Friday (November 25) saw $816 million in online sales, making it the heaviest online spending day to date in 2011 and representing a 26-percent increase versus Black Friday 2010. Thanksgiving Day (November 24), while traditionally a lighter day for online holiday spending, achieved a strong 18-percent increase to $479 million.
2011 Holiday Season To Date vs. Corresponding Days* in 2010
Non-Travel (Retail) Spending
Excludes Auctions and Large Corporate Purchases
Total U.S. – Home & Work Locations
Source: comScore, Inc. |
|
Millions ($) |
| 2010 |
2011 |
Percent Change |
| November 1 – 25 |
$11,093 |
$12,737 |
15% |
| Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 24) |
$407 |
$479 |
18% |
| Black Friday (Nov. 25) |
$648 |
$816 |
26% |
*Corresponding days based on corresponding shopping days (November 2 thru November 26, 2010)
“Despite some analysts’ predictions that the flurry of brick-and-mortar retailers opening their doors early for Black Friday would pull dollars from online retail, we still saw a banner day for e-commerce with more than $800 million in spending,” said comScore chairman, Gian Fulgoni. “With brick-and-mortar retail also reporting strong gains on Black Friday, it’s clear that the heavy promotional activity had a positive impact on both channels. We now turn our attention to Cyber Monday, a day that Shop.org says will see eight-in-ten retailers running special online promotions. Last year, Cyber Monday was the heaviest day of online spending ever, with sales exceeding $1 Billion, and we fully expect to see another record set this year.”
Black Friday Bargains Boost Web Browsing Behavior
As the online channel increasingly influences offline shopping behavior, consumers turned to Black Friday sites on the web to conduct research in advance of the day’s events. comScore analyzed several Black Friday deal sites for the five days ending Black Friday (Nov. 21-25, 2011) compared to the corresponding days last year, finding that bfads.net led the pack with 3.9 million unique visitors, up 51 percent versus last year. TheBlackFriday.com followed with 3.2 million visitors while also posting the strongest year-over-year growth at 137 percent.
Unique Visitors to Selected Sites Featuring Black Friday Deals
Nov. 21-25, 2011 vs. Nov. 22-26, 2010
Total U.S. – Home & Work Locations
Source: comScore, Inc. |
|
Unique Visitors (000) |
| Nov. 22-26, 2010 |
Nov. 21-25, 2011 |
Percent Change |
| bfads.net |
2,607 |
3,926 |
51% |
| theblackfriday.com |
1,364 |
3,234 |
137% |
| blackfriday2011.com* |
1,612 |
1,854 |
15% |
| blackfriday.com |
668 |
621 |
-7% |
| blackfriday.fm |
399 |
532 |
33% |
| gottadeal.com |
270 |
424 |
57% |
*Site was known as BlackFriday2010.com in 2010
Amazon Ranks #1 Among Online Retailers on Black Friday
Fifty million Americans visited online retail sites on Black Friday, representing an increase of 35 percent versus year ago. Each of the top five retail sites achieved double-digit gains in visitors vs. last year, led by Amazon. Walmart ranked second, followed by Best Buy, Target and Apple.
Most Visited Retailer Properties on Black Friday
Excludes Auction Sites (e.g. eBay)
Black Friday 2011 vs. Black Friday 2010
Total U.S. – Home & Work Locations
Source: comScore, Inc. |
| Retail Property |
| 1 |
Amazon |
| 2 |
Walmart |
| 3 |
Best Buy |
| 4 |
Target |
| 5 |
Apple |
“Each of the top online retailers generated significantly greater Black Friday activity compared to last year,” added Mr. Fulgoni. “Amazon.com once again led the pack, with 50 percent more visitors than any other retailer, while also showing the highest growth rate versus last year. However, it is telling that the top multi-channel retailers also showed strong growth in visitors, demonstrating the importance of the online channel to the retail industry as a whole.”
Tags: Amazon, Apple, Best Buy, Black Friday 2011, online retailers, online sales, Target, Walmart
Posted in Amazon, Internet/New Media, Marketing, Studies, surveys, reports | Comments Off
Thursday, November 10th, 2011
 Amazon has purchased Charlotte-based speech-recognition firm Yap, according to a report in The Atlantic. Citing an SEC filing, the magazine notes that neither company announced the merger of Yap with Dion Acquisition Sub, which lists a Seattle Amazon building address.
The magazine says that “The acquisition is particularly interesting given the prominence of Apple’s voice efforts and the depth of Google’s.’” It speculates the acquisition may be Amazon’s step into the voice control field. Amazon has steadily moved from being primarily a retailer to being a tech company selling ereaders, tablets and cloud services.
Yap’s technology, which goes beyond the voicemail-to-text service it shutdown recently, may be Amazon’s first move in developing a rival to Apple’s Siri on the new iPhones.
Yap, which presented at TechMedia’s Southeast Venture Conference and was profiled here, raised a $6.5 million A financing round from SunBridge Partners in 2008. The sixth annual SEVC is just around the corner, February 29 – March 1, 2012 at the Ritz Carlton in Tysons Corner, VA.
“Yap is truly a leader in freeform speech recognition and driving innovation in the mobile user experience,” said Paul Grim, general partner at SunBridge Partners in a statement following the funding. “It is increasingly clear that the fastest, easiest, and safest way to interact with services on a mobile device is using your voice, and Yap makes this both possible and intuitive.”
Founded in 2006 by brothers Igor and Victor Jablokov, the company raised $1.5 million from individual investors in May 2007.
Tags: Amazon, Apple, iPhone, mergers, SEVC, Siri, Southeast Venture Conference, speech recognition, Yap
Posted in Acquisitions, Amazon, Carolinas, IT, North Carolina | Comments Off
Wednesday, November 9th, 2011
 Mark Cuban has invested in a mobile gaming apps firm. See below. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has received commitments from most of the large U.S. cable compaies to provide low introductory broadband service to low income households that have not had it before.
The initiative will provide service at $9.99 a month, well below what most households pay for broadband access from cable firms now. Comcast started offering the deal to low income households this year – which it promised to do after acquiring NBCUniversal.
The initiative, aimed at low income households with a child enrolled in the national school lunch program that are not current or recent broadband subscribers, provides the $9.99 service for a two-year period.
Also through the initiative, a tech company is providing refurbished computers to low income households for $150 and Microsoft will offer software, while Morgan Stanley is helping develp a microcredit program to help families pay for the computers.
The initiative is slated to begin in the spring.
Amazon Kindle line available in retail stores
A Kindle Fire tablet computer Amazon.com today announced that over 16,000 stores across the U.S. will be selling the new Kindle family starting November 15.
Customers will be able to visit any Best Buy, Target, Walmart, Staples, Sam’s Club, RadioShack, Office Depot, as well as several other retailers, to experience and purchase the $79 Kindle, the $99 Kindle Touch, the $149 Kindle 3G and the $199 Kindle Fire. The all-new $79 Kindle has been available in stores around the world since shortly after it was introduced.
H’mmm. Will retail availability boost Kindle sales? One of the speakers coming to the Internet Summit in Raleigh, NC, next week says 90 percent of shopping is still done within 50 miles of home at retail stores.
Mark Cuban invests in Mention Mobile
Hi-tech billionaire and entrepreneur Mark Cuban has invested $250,000 in Mention Mobile, creator of innovative social gaming apps,. Cuban, owner of the NBA champion Dallas Mavericks, will be given a minority equity stake in the company.
Specializing in apps infused with Facebook content, the investment will fund the development of Mention Mobile’s new single title apps that utilize the social networking site’s public information to customize games and create personalized content based off the user’s friends, preferences, interests, etc.
The Los Angeles-based Mention Mobile currently has two apps, Trivia Friends and Doodley, which have attracted over 150,000 users in less than three months. Cuban’s investment will fuel the creation of eight to ten new apps beginning with the release of Version 2 of Trivia Friends which is due out in the next week.
“Mention Mobile’s creativity, fun factor and advanced Facebook integrations skills are a great combination that I’m excited to be part of,” said Cuban.
Tags: $79 Kindle, Amazon, Best Buy, FCC broadband initiative, gaming apps, inexpensive broadband for low income homes, Kindle, Kindle 3G, Kindle Fire, Kindle Touch, Mark Cuban, Mention Mobile, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Office Depot, Radio Shack, Staples, Target, Walmart
Posted in games, Government/Defense, Internet/New Media, IT, Marketing, Mobile, Money, Telecommunications | Comments Off
Tuesday, October 18th, 2011
Only eight companies earned “very strong” ratings while 26 earned “very weak” ratings in trust, according to a new research report published by Temkin Group, 2011 Temkin Trust Ratings, examines the level of trust that consumers have in 143 large U.S. companies. The research is based on a survey of 6,000 U.S. consumers, who rated their recent customer service interactions with companies across 12 industries.
“Most companies have not earned a great deal of trust with consumers and it’s a pervasive problem in several industries,” states Bruce Temkin, author of the report and Managing Partner of Temkin Group.
The research uses the Temkin Trust Ratings to gauge consumer feedback for airlines, banks, credit card issuers, health plans, hotels, insurance companies, insurance carriers, investment firms, Internet service providers, retailers, TV service providers, and wireless carriers.
USAA, Amazon.com, Costco, Edward Jones, Hyatt, Sam’s Club, TriCare, Kohl’s, Walgreens, and Lowe’s earned the top ten ratings. Three companies show up twice in the bottom of the ratings: Comcast, Charter Communications, and HSBC. The other companies in the bottom 10 of the 2011 Temkin Trust Ratings are CIGNA, Time Warner, U.S. Bank, and Anthem.
The research also examines overall results for the 12 industries. Retailers and investment firms received the top scores, with an average rating of “strong.” The bottom two industries, Internet service providers, and TV service providers, earned an average rating of “very weak.”
According to Temkin: “In some industries like TV service and Internet service, the lack of trust is a pervasive problem. Without trust, those companies will find it nearly impossible to build lasting relationships with customers.”
This report can be accessed from the Temkin Group website at www.temkingroup.com or from the blog, Customer Experience Matters, at http://experiencematters.wordpress.com.
Data from the ratings can be accessed at the Temkin Ratings website. The Temkin Ratings portfolio includes consumer-based ratings for customer experience, loyalty, forgiveness, Web experience, trust, and customer service.
Tags: Amazon, Amazon.com, Bruce Temkin, Charter Communications, CIGNA, companies rated for trust, Costco, Edward Jones, HSBC, Hyatt, Kohl's, Lowe's, omcast, Sam's Club, Temkin Group, Time Warner, TriCare, U.S. Bank, USAA, Walgreens
Posted in Amazon, Internet/New Media, Studies, surveys, reports | Comments Off
Monday, October 10th, 2011
 Two Hollywood scriptwriters are in talks with Zynga to adapt the Farmville game as a movie.
Alec Sokolow and Joel Cohen, who wrote “Toy Story” and “Garfield,” disclosed the talks. The game debuted on Facebook in 2009 and was a major hit for Zynga, even if it did annoy many Facebook users when their friends sent numerous Farmville requests (a problem that persists with Zynga “Mafia Wars” players on Facebook).
Rumors say Zynga is also interested in developing a “Mafia Wars” game, which seems a more likely movie inspiration than “Farmville.”
Netflix keeping its DVD service after all
Well, that didn’t last long: Netflix told its customers it is abandoning plans to spin off its DVD division as Qwikster and will keep both services bundled on its home page and customer accounts.
Netflix also says it is beefing up its streaming service, adding AMC’s popular “Walking Dead” series to its streaming service. The way Netflix has been stumbling around lately, you have to wonder if it doesn’t have some zombies stalking its halls. The first season is available now, and it will also be offering past seasons of AMC’s other original series, “Breaking Bad,” and “Mad Men.” 
The company stumbled when it essentially doubled its price for customers who have both its streaming and its DVD service. Many users cancelled and the company’s share price plummeted 60 percent since that announcement in July. The company apologized, but that didn’t satisfy disgruntled customers.
Our columnist Joe Procopio had this to say:
Why I’m breaking up with Netflix
Amazon trademarks Kindle Fire under different company name
A Kindle Fire tablet computer
H’mm, now what does this mean? Amazon Inc. has trademarked its new Kindle Fire tablet and related products under the a separate company name, Seesaw LLC.
The online retail giant makes a handful of Kindle’s now with more to come. A new version sells for only $79.
Personally, we love our Kindle WiFi, but we’ve ordered a Kindle Fire. We’ll likely continue to do most of our reading on the eInk WiFi Kindle, which is as easy on the eyes as words on paper, but could use a light connected tablet. We found the 10-inch Galaxy tablet from Motorola too bulky (and overpriced), but this 7-incher from Amazon may do the trick.
We’ll let you know after we try it out. — Allan Maurer
Tags: Amazon, AMC, Breaking Bad, facebook, Farmville movie, Kindle Fire, Mad Men, Netflix Streaming, Netlfix, Qwikster, The Walking Dead, zombies, Zynga
Posted in Amazon, Facebook, Farmville, games, Internet/New Media, Marketing | Comments Off
Wednesday, September 28th, 2011
A Kindle Fire tablet computer Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) says it will sell its new Kindle Fire tablet computer, the subject of much Internet speculation, for $199, undercutting Apple’s cheapest iPad, which is $499.
The device has, as predicted, a 7-inch screen and runs on Google’s Android operating system. It lacks a camera and a microphone, offers WiFi but not 3G, and boasts what early reviewers say is an easy-to-use interface on top of the Android OS.
Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, is the only competitor with media offerings similar to what Apple has, analysts say.
Here’s Bloomberg’s report on the Kindle Fire and its potential to disrupt the tablet market, affects on relevant stocks and on Amazon itself. Some analysts think the 7-inch model of the new Amazon device is a “tweener,” and a device will need at least a 10-inch screen to compete seriously in the tablet market. Do you agree?
A larger, 10-inch screen version of the new Kindle Fire is expected in the first quarter of 2012.
Personally, I love my Kindle (and Amazon just unveiled a new, $79 model) but I haven’t been impressed with any of the tablet computers I’ve tested. They’re too heavy to hold comfortably for photography or reading and working with virtual keyboards doesn’t light my fire.
I wouldn’t mind having some additional features on the Kindle: an easier way to scroll through a book’s text or move around in the book itself, especially for those saved as text or Word docs rather than as Kindle (Mobi) docs. Color would be nice sometimes, but a color LED screen is going to take a toll on the battery and one of the regular Kindle’s most endearing qualities is that the battery charge lasts weeks.
But we’ll withhold any judgement calls on the new Kindles until we get to try one. –Allan Maurer
The Associated Press weighed in with this report.
Tags: $79 Kindle, Amazon, Apple Inc., ereaders, iPad, Kindle Fire, tablet computers
Posted in Amazon, Apple, IT, Marketing | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, September 21st, 2011
 One out of five eBook publishers generate more than 10% of their revenues from eBooks, according to Aparta’s third annual eBook survey. This is a strong statistic for an early-stage market. Considering the increasing rate of consumer sales projections, it confirms that the eBook market still has plenty of room for growth.
This is a strong statistic for an early-stage market. Considering the increasing rate of consumer sales projections, it confirms that the eBook market still has plenty of room for growth. Ebooks and ereaders have implications for digital marketing, device sales, digital advertising and magazine and newspaper publishing as well.
Representing more than 1,300 book publishers from the Trade, Education, Professional, and Corporate markets, the report documents eBook trends, challenges, and strategies that have emerged since Aptara’s first survey in 2009.
Findings from the survey include:
- Trade, more than any other publishing market segment, has aggressively increased its eBook pursuits. Trade publishers’ rate of eBook production rose from 50% to 76% in two years.
- Two out of three eBook publishers have not converted the majority of their backlist (legacy) titles to eBooks. With higher profit margins than frontlist titles, these digital assets hold significant untapped revenue potential.
- Amazon still dominates distribution . . . but by a steadily decreasing margin. Publishers still rely most heavily on Amazon for distribution, but do so less and less. This trend is more attributed to the proliferation of other platforms and channels, particularly EPUB-based, than a decline in actual sales for Amazon. The result is a larger eBook sales and distribution market.
- Amazon generates the most eBook sales for Trade publishers, even though a comparatively small percentage of Trade content is distributed through Amazon. Despite Trade publishers using all of the main eBook online retailers, Amazon is the one producing sales—and, presumably, revenue—by a disproportionate margin (43%).
- Publishers’ own eCommerce sites generate the greatest percentage of sales for all publishing market segments other than Trade. Despite a decrease in publishers’ reliance on their own eCommerce sites for distribution, these sites are producing the most sales for publishers by a significant margin (up to 18%).
- Most eBook production still follows outdated print production models at the expense of improved operational efficiencies. Publishers are slow to transition from traditional print-based production to more flexible digital workflows that produce output for mobile devices, PCs, and print–all from a single content source.
“In the midst of a turbulent market, the most valuable lessons often come from taking a step back,” said Dev Ganesan, Aptara’s President and CEO. “The data collected from exploring publishers’ evolution from print to digital during the rise of eBooks and mobile devices puts into perspective just how quickly publishers have mobilized to respond to market demand and highlights the opportunities for taking production, and revenues, to the next level.”
View the full results and analysis of Aptara’s Third Annual eBook Survey, 2009 – 2011.
Tags: Amazon, Aptara eBook survey, ebooks, ereaders, future of publishing, future of reading, Kindle, publishing
Posted in Amazon, Internet/New Media, Marketing, Studies, surveys, reports | 1 Comment »
Friday, September 9th, 2011
 High-profile launches from players such as Amazon, Google and Apple are expected to galvanize the growing market for consumer cloud mobility services, generating revenues reaching almost $6.5 billion per annum by 2016, a new report from Juniper Research has found.
According to the report, while initial consumer deployments in the cloud were focused primarily on the social networking space, music and video storage/acquisition services such as Amazon’s Cloud Drive and the forthcoming Apple iCloud are expected to gain rapid traction with substantial adoption over both smartphones and tablets.
Both services are geared to migrating end users’ music collections onto the cloud as well as enabling the purchase and storage of additional tracks, while Amazon also offers a cloud-based delivery mechanism with its Cloud Player.
Further opportunities in social media, security solutions
However, mobile social media services are also expected to benefit as providers increasingly seek to develop revenue streams based around virtual goods: the report highlighted the success of Zynga’s Farmville, and suggested that growth in this sector should receive a particularly strong boost as consumer tablet adoption accelerates.
While the report claimed that the increasingly competitive storage sector meant that the provision of consumer storage in isolation was unlikely to generate substantial returns in the longer term, it identified bundled storage and security solutions as a key growth area. According to report author Dr Windsor Holden, “The handset is now the repository — in many cases the sole repository — for data such as photographs, videos, address books, games and music; when the device is lost or stolen, that data may be irreplaceable. Hence, the facility to offer remote back-up becomes increasingly attractive.”
Other findings from the report include:
- Enterprises need to develop policies to cover the use of consumer smart devices in the workplace
- Cloud offers network operators the opportunity to develop double-sided revenues from PaaS solutions for enterprise and consumer markets
The Mobile Cloud White Paper is available to download from the Juniper website together with further details of the study ‘Mobile Cloud: Smart Device Strategies for Enterprise & Consumer Markets 2011-2016.’
Tags: Amazon, Apple, Cloud Drive, Dr. Windsor Holden, Farmville, Google, handset as digital storage repository, iCloud, junjiper research, mobile cloud consumer services, music & video cloud services, Report, virtual goods, Zynga
Posted in Amazon, Apple, Cloud, Farmville, games, Internet/New Media, IT, Mobile, Studies, surveys, reports, Telecommunications, video, Zynga | Comments Off
Thursday, September 1st, 2011
 Innovation Works, an early-stage high-tech investment firm in China that invests in and coaches young entrepreneurs as well as provides complete services to help these start-ups, has successfully raised $180 million U.S.
The Innovation Works Development Fund (IWDF) is the first U.S. dollar-based fund raised by the firm to be specifically focused on the Chinese Internet. This new fund was over-subscribed, validating Innovation Works’ early successes and reflecting continued global confidence in the future of Chinese Internet companies.
“Innovation Works has incubated and invested in about 34 project companies, and nine of them have successfully obtained sizable Series A financing from third-party VCs. Our unique ‘incubation + investment’ model has not only produced a pipeline of high-quality projects, but also enabled local early-stage start-up teams to grow quickly with the help of our 360-degree mentoring services, in effect creating the ‘entrepreneurial academy’ for Chinese start-ups,” said Kai-Fu Lee, the CEO and Chairman of Innovation Works.
Venture Beat offers this interview with Lee on the “Parallel universe” of Chinese startups.
Globally renowned corporations, family funds, and top institutions have participated in the fund. Investors include WI Harper, Silicon Valley Bank, Baillie Gifford, Sequoia Capital, IDG-Accel, Foundation Capital, Mohr Davidow, Chunghwa Telecom, Singapore Telecom, Mediatek, Foxconn, New Oriental, SAP, Bertelsmann, Motorola, Autodesk, pension funds from the U.S. and Canada, investment luminaries including Ron Conway and Yuri Milner, as well as executives and former executives from top Internet companies like Yahoo, Google, YouTube, Facebook, and Amazon.
Yuri Milner, who has invested in Facebook, Zynga, and Groupon, said, “Kai-Fu’s Innovation Works is the top very-early-stage fund in China. We are proud to be an investor, and hope that IW will help to produce in China companies on the scale of Facebook, Zynga, or Groupon.”
Tags: Amazon, Autodesk, Baillie Gifford, Bertelsmann, Chinese entrepreneurs, Chinese Interent, Chunghwa Telecom, facebook, Foundation Capital, Foxconn, Google, IDG-Accel, Innovation Works, Mediatek, Mohr Davidow, Motorola, New Oriental, SAP, Sequoia Capital, Silicon Valley Bank, Singapore Telecom, WI Harper, Yahoo, YouTube, Yuri Miller
Posted in Internet/New Media, Money | Comments Off
Wednesday, August 17th, 2011
A new study of global retail and auctions sites online from comScore found that Amazon Sites reached the largest global audience with more than 282 million visitors in June, or 20.4 percent of the worldwide Internet population.
Other top brands in the study included eBay, which reached 16.2 percent of global Internet visitors, China’s Alibaba.com Corporation (11.3 percent reach), Apple.com Worldwide Sites (9.7 percent reach) and Japan’s Rakuten Inc. (4.2 percent reach).
“While retail e-commerce has already grown to become a $150+ billion annual industry in the U.S., it still presents enormous upside opportunity across much of the globe,” said Gian Fulgoni, comScore co-founder and chairman.
“Technology has changed the way consumers behave, and increasingly they are opting for the convenience and pricing advantages offered by the online channel. Several global retail brands have already capitalized on this global consumer trend, and many other retailers are sure to pursue their share of the pie.”
Amazon, eBay and Alibaba See Largest Global Audiences
In June 2011, Amazon Sites had the largest global audience among the retail and auction sites analyzed, with more than 282 million visitors, representing 20.4 percent of the worldwide audience age 15 and older accessing the Internet from a home or work location.
eBay was not far behind with 223.5 million visitors (16.2 percent reach), followed by China’s Alibaba.com Corporation, which includes sites such as Taobao, Alibaba.com and Alipay, with 156.8 million visitors (11.3 percent reach). Apple.com Worldwide Sites saw its global audience eclipse 134 million visitors, representing nearly 10 percent of all Internet users, while Japan’s Rakuten Inc. reached nearly 57.8 million visitors in June (4.2 percent reach).
Select Retail and Auction Sites Ranked by Unique Visitors (000)
June 2011
Total Worldwide Audience, Visitors Age 15+ – Home/Work Locations
Source: comScore Media Metrix |
|
Total Unique Visitors (000) |
% Reach |
| Total Internet : Total Audience |
1,383,098 |
100.0% |
| Amazon Sites |
282,233 |
20.4% |
| eBay |
223,520 |
16.2% |
| Alibaba.com Corporation |
156,780 |
11.3% |
| Apple.com Worldwide Sites |
134,296 |
9.7% |
| Rakuten Inc |
57,785 |
4.2% |
| Wal-Mart |
44,650 |
3.2% |
| Hewlett Packard |
38,491 |
2.8% |
| MercadoLibre |
33,481 |
2.4% |
| Otto Gruppe |
31,779 |
2.3% |
| Groupe PPR |
31,686 |
2.3% |
*Excludes visitation from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.
Geographical Visitation Analysis for Retail and Auction Sites
Analysis of the geographic composition of visitors to these select retail and auction sites revealed a mix of both globally distributed audiences and more regionally concentrated audiences. Amazon Sites and Apple.com Worldwide Sites showed more globally distributed audiences compared to most other brands in the study.
Amazon Sites attracted 35.4 percent of its audience from North America, while Europe contributed 31.8 percent of visitors and Asia Pacific accounted for 24.1 percent. Similarly, Apple.com Worldwide Sites attracted 32.0 percent of its visitors from North America, while Europe contributed 29.6 percent of visitors and Asia Pacific accounted for 24.9 percent.
On the other hand, China’s Alibaba.com Corporation (85.7 percent) and Japan’s Rakuten, Inc. (72.7 percent) reach sourced the vast majority of their traffic from the Asia Pacific region. Of the 10 selected sites, MercadoLibre showed the strongest concentration of visitors from a single region with 93.3 percent of its audience from Latin America, where it ranked as the top retail player in the region.
German retail site Otto Gruppe also had a heavy single region concentration with Europe accounting for 92.3 percent of its audience. Wal-Mart had the highest concentration of North American visitors at 83.4 percent, while 45.1 percent of Hewlett Packard’s audience was North American.
Regional Audience Composition Analysis of Select Retail and Auction Sites
June 2011
Total Worldwide Audience, Visitors Age 15+ – Home/Work Locations
Source: comScore Media Metrix |
|
Percent Composition of Unique Visitors |
|
North America |
Europe |
Asia Pacific |
Middle East – Africa |
Latin America |
| Total Internet |
14.9% |
26.7% |
41.1% |
8.7% |
8.6% |
| Amazon Sites |
35.4% |
31.8% |
24.1% |
4.5% |
4.2% |
| eBay |
34.6% |
46.9% |
11.7% |
4.0% |
2.8% |
| Alibaba.com Corporation |
4.5% |
5.3% |
85.7% |
2.5% |
1.9% |
| Apple.com Worldwide Sites |
32.0% |
29.6% |
24.9% |
8.0% |
5.6% |
| Rakuten Inc |
5.3% |
19.8% |
72.7% |
1.5% |
0.7% |
| Wal-Mart |
83.4% |
8.9% |
0.7% |
0.5% |
6.4% |
| Hewlett Packard |
45.1% |
26.4% |
14.3% |
6.7% |
7.5% |
| MercadoLibre |
1.7% |
4.5% |
0.4% |
0.2% |
93.3% |
| Otto Gruppe |
4.3% |
92.3% |
1.0% |
2.1% |
0.2% |
| Groupe PPR |
16.1% |
74.4% |
2.2% |
4.7% |
2.6% |
*Excludes visitation from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.
Tags: Alibaba, Amazon, Apple, comScore, ebay, retail site traffic online June 2011, Walmart
Posted in Amazon, Apple, Internet/New Media, Marketing, Studies, surveys, reports | Comments Off
Wednesday, August 17th, 2011
 ATLANTA– Kabbage, Inc., a provider of working capital for online merchants, today announced it has secured $17 million in Series B funding, led by Mohr Davidow Ventures. Existing investors participating in the round include BlueRun Ventures, David Bonderman, founder of TPG Capital, Warren Stephens, CEO of Stephens Inc., and the UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund.
Several individuals also participated in the round including Jim McKelvey, co-founder of Square. Kabbage will use this funding to pursue additional marketplaces, distribution relationships, new financial products and international expansion.
“All businesses, but especially those online have an unquenchable thirst for capital to grow,” Kabbage Chairman Marc Gorlin told the TechJournal in an interview. “That thirst is not being quenched by the banks. They don’t understand the data for online businesses, and even if they did, they’re not in a position to provide advances or loans under $100,000 profitably.”
He adds, “Kabbage is doing what banks don’t.”
Thousands of online merchants advanced working capital
“Thousands of online merchants have obtained working capital and grown their businesses since our push into the market in April 2011,” said Rob Frohwein, Kabbage Founder and CEO. “Although small business fuels the majority of growth in the U.S., it is extremely difficult and time consuming for these businesses to apply for and actually receive financing from a traditional bank. Kabbage fills this need by providing money to these businesses in a quick, easy and painless way, helping them to further grow their businesses and boost the economy.”
Kabbage currently supports merchants operating on eBay, Amazon and Yahoo! platforms and over the next six months will add support for merchants operating on or through a variety of other channels including Facebook, Etsy, Shopify and Marketplace at Sears.com.
Gorlin points out that the company has advanced funds to online retailers such as a woman selling refurbished boots and an Atlanta seller of toy trains who does business on eBay and Amazon. “He had a truck coming back from Boston to Atlanta that $15,000 from Kabbage helped him fill for the return trip. “He since doubled his money,” Gorlin says. “Payback to Kabbage has been unbelievably good.”
Kabbage uses automated data sources to analyze the health of an online merchant’s business including transaction history, customer traffic and reviews, and products to deliver working capital within seconds of the merchant’s completed application. With Kabbage’s release of profile building in May, merchants can now proactively add information to their Kabbage account to immediately increase their access to capital.
“Small and medium businesses are the growth engine of the economy and more and more of these businesses are operating online,” said Bryan Stolle, General Partner, Mohr Davidow Ventures. “By using rich, multi-source data and advanced analytics to more fairly and accurately assess business performance, we believe Kabbage’s financial products will enable more businesses to expand inventory, hire new employees, and grow, thereby helping the economy get back on track.”
“There is a rapidly growing delta between small-to-medium businesses’ need for working capital and its availability from traditional sources. The knowledge gained from working with companies like Kabbage helps UPS refine its strategy of enabling global commerce,” said Joe Guerrisi, VP of Corporate Marketing at UPS.
Gorlin said Kabbage wasn’t looking to raise new money, but a number of funds approached the company after seeing what it was doing and the customers and data it was pulling in. “We thought it wise to go ahead and secure the capital now,” he said, “to get into more marketplaces faster.”
He continued, “Not a day goes by when some international company doesn’t contact us.” While Kabbage has yet to fund an international online retailer, the company plans its first several trips abroad in the next six weeks.
In addition to the funding news, the United States Patent & Trademark Office recently granted U.S. Patent No. 7,983,951 to Kabbage, entitled “Apparatus to provide liquid funds in the online auction and marketplace environment.” [Please see today’s announcement “Kabbage Issued U.S. Patent”.]
Tags: Amazon, BlueRun Ventures, David Bonderman, ebay, fianancing, Kabbage, Marc Gorlin, Mohr Davidow Ventures, online retiailers, Rob Frohwein, UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund
Posted in Amazon, Georgia, Internet/New Media, Marketing, Money | Comments Off
Wednesday, August 10th, 2011
 Hagens Berman, a consumer rights class-action law firm, has filed a nationwide class-action lawsuit claiming that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and five of the nation’s top publishers, including HarperCollins Publishers, a subsidiary of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA), Hachette Book Group, Macmillan Publishers, Penguin Group Inc., a subsidiary of Pearson PLC (NYSE:PSO), and Simon & Schuster Inc., a subsidiary of CBS (NYSE:CBS), illegally fix prices of electronic books, also known as e-books.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the lawsuit alleges that the publishers and Apple colluded to increase prices for popular e-book titles to boost profits and force e-book rival Amazon to abandon its pro-consumer discount pricing.
According to the suit, publishers believed that Amazon’s wildly popular Kindle e-reader device and the company’s discounted pricing for e-books would increase the adoption of e-books, and feared Amazon’s discounted pricing structure would permanently set consumer expectations for lower prices, even for other e-reader devices.
“Fortunately for the publishers, they had a co-conspirator as terrified as they were over Amazon’s popularity and pricing structure, and that was Apple,” said Steve Berman, attorney representing consumers and founding partner of Hagen Berman. “We intend to prove that Apple needed a way to neutralize Amazon’s Kindle before its popularity could challenge the upcoming introduction of the iPad, a device Apple intended to compete as an e-reader.”
Suit says publishers forced Amazon to discontinue discounts
The complaint claims that the five publishing houses forced Amazon to abandon its discount pricing and adhere to a new agency model, in which publishers set prices and extinguished competition so that retailers such as Amazon could no longer offer lower prices for e-books.
If Amazon attempted to sell e-books below the publisher-set levels, the publishers would simply deny Amazon access to the title, the complaint details. The defendant publishers control 85 percent of the most popular fiction and non-fiction titles.
Berman noted that while Amazon derived profit from the sale of its Kindle and related accessories, likely allowing the company to discount e-books, Apple was steadfast in maintaining the 70/30 revenue split it demanded with its App Store.
“Apple simply did not want to enter the e-book marketplace amid the fierce competition it knew it would face from Amazon and its discounted pricing,” Berman added. “So instead of finding a way to out-compete Amazon, they decided to choke off competition through this anti-consumer scheme.”
Complaint cites Steve Jobs interview
The complaint notes that Apple CEO Steve Jobs foreshadowed the simultaneous switch to agency pricing and the demise of discount pricing in an interview with The Wall Street Journalin early 2010. In the interview, he was asked why consumers would buy books through Apple at $14.99 while Amazon was selling the same book for $9.99. “The prices will be the same,” he stated.
While free market forces would dictate that e-books would be cheaper than the hard-copy counterparts, considering lower production and distribution costs, the complaint shows that as a result of the agency model and alleged collusion, many e-books are more expensive than their hard-copy counterparts.
“As a result of the pricing conspiracy, prices of e-books have exploded, jumping as much as 50 percent,” Berman said. “When an e-book version of a best-seller costs close to – or even more than – its hard-copy counterpart, it doesn’t take a forensic economist to see that this is evidence of market manipulation.”
Berman pointed out that The Kite Runner, for example, costs $12.99 as an e-book and only $8.82 as a paperback.
“What is most loathsome about the behavior of Apple and the publishers is that it is stifling the power of innovation, the very thing Apple purports to champion,” Berman added. “A few big-business heavyweights are taking a powerful advancement of technology that would benefit consumers and suffocating it to protect profit margins and market share.”
According to the lawsuit, Apple and publishers were concerned that Amazon’s $9.99 uniform pricing for bestsellers would create market pressures for other e-booksellers – including Apple – to do the same, cutting into profitability.
The lawsuit goes on to claim that because no publisher could unilaterally raise prices without losing sales, they coordinated their activities, with the help of Apple, in an effort to slow the growth of Amazon’s e-book market and to increase their profit margin on each e-book sold.
Ebook buyers may be able to join the class action
The lawsuit claims Apple and the publishers are in violation of a variety of federal and state antitrust laws, the Sherman Act, the Cartwright Act, and the Unfair Competition Act.
The named plaintiffs, Anthony Petru, a resident of Oakland, California, and Marcus Mathis, a resident of Natchez, Mississippi, each purchased at least one e-book at a price above $9.99 after the adoption of the agency pricing model.
Once approved, the lawsuit would represent any purchaser of an e-book published by a major publisher after the adoption of the agency model by that publisher.
The lawsuit seeks damages for the purchase of e-books, an injunction against pricing e-books with the agency model and forfeiture of the illegal profits received by the defendants as a result of their anticompetitive conduct, which could total tens of millions of dollars.
Hagens Berman invites potential plaintiffs to contact the office at ebooks@hbsslaw.com or by phone at 206-623-7292.
You can learn more about this case by visiting www.hbsslaw.com/ebooks.
Tags: Amazon, Apple Inc., CBS, class action suit, ebooks, Hachette Book Group, Hagens Berman, HaperCollins, Kindle, Macmillan Publsher, Penguin Group, Steve Jobs, U.S. District Court Northern California, Wall Street Journal interview
Posted in Apple, Internet/New Media, Legal | Comments Off
Wednesday, July 13th, 2011
 Ryan Allis of iContact, the email marketing firm based in the Research Triangle, NC, landed at number 6 on PeekYou’s PeekScore list of under 30 “Internet Hotshots.” Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook tops the list, followed by Pete Cashmore (Mashable founder), Matt Mullenweg (WordPress), Andrew Mason (founder, CEO, Groupon), and David Karp (Tumblr, Senduit), Allis, Gurbaksh Chahal (gWallet.com), Naveen Selvadurai (co-founder, Foursquare), Justin Kan (justin.tv), and Matt Mickiewicz (flippa.com, 99designs.com).
As is obvious, most are founder/CEOs of the most used social networks.
PeekYou also did a list of tech and Internet luminaries 31 and older. Steve Balmer of Microsoft heads that one, followed by Larry Page, Steve Jobs, Evan Williams, Carol Bartz, Larry Ellison, Michael Arrington, Jeff Bezos, Paul Otellini, and John Donahoe.
Dropbox raising $200 to $300 million round at $5B valuation
TechCrunch reports that the cloud storage and sharing service Dropbox is raising a new round of $200 to $300 million in funding valued at $5 billion.
The service, which had a security glitch that exposed user passwords to all and sundry for several hours last month, currently has 25 million registered members (including us). Dropbox lets users place files in the cloud and access them from any device with Dropbox installed. Users can also create password protected shared folders, which make collaboration easy. It’s really handy for making documents available on different computers.
Based in San Francisco, the company was founded in 2007 by Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi. It has raised $7.1 million in venture backing from & Combinator, Accel Partners, Sequoia Capital and others.
Angry Birds ‘always looking foir funding”
 GameBeat reports an exchange with Wibe Wagemans at the GameBeat 2011 conference in San Francisco that suggests that Rovio, maker of the popular Angry Birds game, may be seeking additional funding. Wageman, Rovio’s head of global brand advertising said on stage that the company “was always looking for new funding.”
The company closed a $42 million funding round in March. Based in Finland, the company has expanded rapidly on the success of Angry Birds.
Evernote jots down $50M in new funding
Evernote, maker of another program we use daily for note-taking online and in general, has raised $50 million in new venture backing in a round led by Sequoia Capital with Morgenthaler Ventures participating. The valuation, according to TechCrunch, is at least $1 billion. The company previously raised about $40 million from those two investors and DOCOMO Capital and Troika Dialog.
Like Dropbox, Evernote can be installed on multiple digital devices, making your notes available and searchable from wherever you work, if its installed. It is available in both a free and a premium edition with advance features. So far we haven’t needed to upgrade to premium, but we use it so often, we can see a time when we might.
Other fundings:
It looks like a red-letter day for the funding of Internet centric companies. San Francisco-based MoPub, a mobile ad startup, has raised $6.5 million in first round funding from Accel Partners. Badgeville, a Menlo Park, CA-based provider of a social loyalty platform raised $12 million in a B round from Norwest Venture Partners and El Dorado Ventures.
Tags: Accel Partners, Amazon, Angry Birds, Apple, Badgeville, CA, Carol Bartz, cloud storage, David Karp, Dropbox, Evan Williams, Evernote, facebook, flippa, Foursquare, GameBeat, Gorupon, Gurbaksh Chahal, gWallet, icontact, Jeff Bezos, John Donahoe, Justin Kan, Larry Ellison, Larry Page, Mark Zuckerberg, Mashable, Matt Mickiewicz, Menlo Park, Michael Arrington, Microsoft, mobile ad startup, MoPub, Naveen Selvaduai, Oracle, Paul Otellini, Peek You, PeekScore, Rovia, Ryan Allis, San Francisco, Sequoia Capital, social loyalty platform, Steve Jobs, TechCrunch, Tumblr, Wibe Wagemans, wordpress, Y Combinator
Posted in Facebook, Google, Internet/New Media, IT, Microsoft, People | 1 Comment »
Monday, June 20th, 2011
The growing success of tablets is leaving many to question the viability of the e-reader market’s sustainability, says market intelligence firrm In-Stat. E-readers still offer the truest reading experience and appeal most to avid readers, but a broader market of consumers are demanding multimedia functionality, like web browsing, video and gaming, in their next mobile device.
Tablets, like the Apple iPad, are optimized to deliver this kind of multifunction experience, and therefore, represent a stronger opportunity for suppliers and manufacturers alike. As a result, In-Stat (www.in-stat.com) is forecasting that tablet shipments will outpace e-reader shipments by the end of this year.
“Of the two, the tablet market is the stronger and more sustainable opportunity,” says Stephanie Ethier, Senior Analyst. “In fact, e-reader manufacturers will soon begin adding tablet-like devices to their lineups in order to take advantage of the tablet frenzy. Barnes & Noble already offers the Color Nook, which is often compared to a tablet, and Amazon, the leader in the e-reader space with its Kindle, will likely launch a tablet device later this year in an effort to compete head-to-head with the iPad.”
At TechJournal South we have tested the Xoom tablet and use a Kindle. While we understand the general users desire for more functions on a tablet-like device, those added features can come with drawbacks such as added weight, screens hard to read in the sunlight, and decreased battery life.
Personally, we prefer a dedicated e-reader, although we suspect we’ll end up with both the light, easy-to-carry Kindle-like readers and a more tablet-like device eventually. The key for us would be a device that uses an E-ink technology like the Kindle’s rather than a backlit LED screen for just reading. Also, a non-reflective screen is essential. It does seem like a good idea right now to wait until the more advanced units hit the market.
Additional market and survey data findings include:
Of the 1,000 US respondents to In-Stat’s latest end-user survey, 38% own a tablet as compared to the 26% who own an e-reader.
Fueled by low prices and continued expansion of e-book content, global e-reader shipments will reach 40 million by 2015.
Tablet shipments will outpace e-reader shipments.
The total semiconductor opportunity for tablet suppliers will reach $13.8 billion in 2015.
The total semiconductor opportunity for e-reader suppliers will reach $1.6 billion in 2015.
Over 60% of future tablet purchasers plan to buy a tablet equipped with both Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity.
By 2015, 15% of all tablet shipments will go into business markets.
–Allan Maurer
Tags: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Color Nook, forecast, In-Stat, iPad, Kindle, mobile devices, Nook, semiconductor opportunity, tablet computers, tablet market, Xoom
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Friday, May 20th, 2011
 Michael Levin By Michael Levin
The publishing world gathers next week in Manhattan at BookExpo America, its annual trade show, but the one subject attendees won’t be discussing is the coming collapse of publishing and the inevitable disappearance of books.
It’s not just that books are going to Kindles and iPads. It’s that books are going away, and the publishers have no one but themselves to blame.
The traditional New York publishing business model—publish a ton of books, fail to market most of them, and hope that somebody buys something—worked well when publishers had a hammerlock on the distribution and marketing of books. Publishers essentially faced no competition and enjoyed complete control of what books people could publish and sell.
Who needs New York?
In today’s world, however, anyone from John Grisham to John Doe can put up a book online with Smashwords, Lulu, or Kindle Direct, and bypass publishers—and bookstores—all together. Authors can use Google AdWords or social networking strategies to market their books far more effectively than publishers ever could. So who needs New York?
Yes, Kindle and iPad are game-changers. When you read books on a device, a few things change. You’re moving into an environment where you typically don’t pay for content—almost everything online is free. So publishers won’t be able to charge $10 or $12 for an entire book when people only want a chapter’s worth of information. So much for ebooks as a revenue stream for the publishing houses.
Blame Amazon for the colapse
Publishers can also blame Amazon for the collapse of their industry. When you went into a bookstore, you typically browsed and bought a handful of books, each from a different department. Amazon killed browsing. You go on, you find the book you wanted, you pay, and you leave. So instead of buying five books, you buy just one.
But the real reason why books are going to vanish is the remarkably un-businesslike business model of the publishers. Think of General Motors—decades of inefficiency, but without the federal bailouts.
In no other industry do producers actually wait passively to see what products are suggested to them, instead of doing market research to see what people really want to buy. Yet publishers seldom generate book ideas; instead they wait for literary agents to submit proposals. Houses decide which book to publish based on little more than a gut feeling that says, “I think we can make money selling this!”
Yet the books that publishers choose are almost entirely of zero interest to actual bookbuyers. After 9/11, there were a ton of books about 9/11, which nobody bought. Same thing with the Iraq War, the rise of Obama, the economic meltdown, and even, inexplicably, the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Rehashed business lessons, motivational cliches
Or the books are rehashed business lessons, religious truths, sports clichés, motivational babble, exercise fads, weight loss techniques, or pandering to the political left or the right. Who wants these books? Almost no one.
Most of the major publishers today are owned by international conglomerates who, at some point, will awaken to the realization that English majors in their employ are spending millions of dollars on books that no one wants to read.
As a result, few trade books earn real money for the publisher (and certainly not for the author!). That’s because the publisher bears the entire risk of buying, editing, printing, and shipping copies of the book to bookstores all over the country on a 100% returnable basis. If your local Barnes & Noble doesn’t sell a particular book, it goes right back to the publisher, at the publisher’s shipping cost, for a full refund. Especially in the Internet era, you can’t make money putting books on trucks and hoping someone buys them.
At BEA next week, the attendees will solemnly discuss the latest trends, discuss how to get 70-year-old authors to use Twitter, and generally party like it’s 1989. But for traditional publishing, the party’s over. They just don’t want to realize that it’s time to turn out the lights.
Michael Levin is an eight-time best-selling author, a former member of the Authors Guild Council, and a prolific and highly admired business writer (www.BusinessGhost.com). He has written with Baseball Hall of Famer Dave Winfield, football broadcasting legend Pat Summerall, FBI undercover agent Joaquin Garcia, and E-Myth creator Michael Gerber. He has written for the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CBS News, the Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, and many other top outlets.
Tags: Amazon, Are books about to disappear?, Barnes & Noble, BookExpo America, books an endangered species, collapse of the book industry, ebooks, iPads, Kindle, Michael Levin, Nook, publishing, Twittter
Posted in Columns, Internet/New Media, Marketing, Mobile, social media | Comments Off
|
