Dad, The X-Box WIFI Connection Barely Works

Last night, my son was angry that the WIFI connection was slow and that while he could get online, he couldn't engage in a with his cousin's game.  Don't ask me the specifics, the bottomline was that the XBox was in the basement, the router in the study and he felt the distance made the WIFI unworkable.  He wanted to move the Xbox to another  TV hoping a closer TV to the router would solve his  problem.  The problem may be in the  technology and not the router or the distance.  "Most customers get little more than 50% of the capacity promised by their Wi-Fi routers, says Dr. Alex Hills, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University who built the first big Wi-Fi network. That speed is further slowed if multiple people try to use a network, he says."

With multiple devices using the WIFI, there may be little we can do other than to add a modem to the basement to get him a direct connection.  The WIFI is slow, while a direct connection could solve the problem.  But getting the cable company to provide another  modem may not be ideal.  Other ideas could be a newer router although ours is only a couple year old or a repeater in the basement to try and boost his signal.  "Mr. Boote and his friends, who subscribe to 15 megabits-per-second Comcast broadband in addition to TV, bought two 'powerline adapters,' which extend the range of their Wi-Fi signal by tapping into electrical power lines inside the house.  Devices, like an Xbox or TV, can be plugged into the adapter via a cord to provide similar high speeds to what they would get if connected directly to a router."  I may have to go a similar route to get his Xbox working properly.

Could Google Glasses Be More Dangerous Than Texting

Nice to hear that David Pogue is excited about Google Glass.  "Google doesn’t like the term 'glasses,' because there aren’t any lenses. (The Glass team, part of Google’s experimental labs, also doesn’t like terms like 'augmented reality' or 'wearable computer,' which both have certain baggage.)"

For folks like me that wear glasses, what will my prescription lenses look like?  But seriously, its's bad enough that people are walking and texting, or worse, driving and texting, on their mobile devices.  It sounds even more dangerous if these folks are distracted with their Google Glasses on their head.  And that me the biggest concern as texting and driving accidents are on the rise.  Maybe Google needs to first make driverless cars a reality.

Sirius In, Starz Out, For Liberty Media

John Malone's Liberty Media has a knack for collecting assets, from DirecTv to Discovery, he has accumulated and diversified his portfolio.  In today's news, he seems to want to both acquire and sell; he is accumulating more and more shares of SiriusXM in a move to gain ownership control, while at the same time, laying out notice that it may be time to sell his Starz asset.

"Starz, with 20.7 million subscribers, would offer a media company that operates other premium cable channels synergies that don’t exist for Liberty Media, (Chief Executive Officer Greg) Maffei said yesterday at a Bank of America-sponsored investor conference in Beverly Hills, California." So basic, ad-supported TV like the Discovery Channels work while premium supported, subscription based video services like Starz don't.  I'm just not so sure I can accept this statement as the whole truth, especially since SiriusXM represents another subscription-based service in the audio media space.  Does the rise in cable costs, consumer dropping of premium movie channels, and the trend toward online services have a bearing on the strategy behind this proposed move?  Is there more stickiness driving Sirius subscriptions through the automotive industry have more growth than premium cable? Should a potential buyer of Starz wonder what the long term value of this property should be?

Home Ownership Of TV Declining

The creeping effect of cord-cutting is happening.  It may take a decade or longer to be truly felt, but homes are dropping their TV and favoring other devices for entertainment.  "TV penetration stands at 95.8 percent of households, down from a high of 99 percent two years ago. Last year, Nielsen recorded the first such drop in TV households — defined as those with at least one TV set that receives signals via cable, satellite or old-fashioned rabbit ears."  So in two years, a penetration drop of over 3 percent in what is been characterized as a growing trend.  Should that trend grow annually, in 5 years, TV penetration could drop below 90% within 5 years.

Why could that be true?  Older Americans are TV staples, younger generations are preferring their broadband connection to their TV channel line-up.  This same group also has a growing preference for their Xbox, their You Tube, and their mobile screens.  Still, the TV in the home will not go away.  It's cable or antenna connection will likely be replaced by a broadband feed.  The consumer will have more choice what to subscribe to and what to watch free.  And at the end of the day, the price for an all you can eat cable model will only continue to get more and more expensive.

Apple and Amazon Competition Heating Up

Digital media distribution is being fought on many fronts.  And Amazon and Apple are confronting each other more and more.  In the tablet arena on the hardware side and in the content arena, with video, music, and print.  As e-books soar, Apple and Amazon are ready to use  price as a means to try and build engagement.  "Apple didn’t want to compete with Amazon on ebook prices. But it is already showing that it is more than willing to do so. And if customers are drawn to Apple’s new low prices on ebooks, it’s possible to envision the company’s ebook market share rising."  Does the customer care who they buy their e-book from as long as it works on their device of choice.

It is interesting to note that the article is locked in to Apple and Amazon while Barnes & Noble and their Nook library of content is not even being considered as a pricing alternative.

The iPad may enable readers to see their Kindle library but I doubt that Amazon is enabling its Kindle to read iBooks from Apple.  Apple doesn't like to share its library outside its mobile devices.  The choice of hardware may lead consumers to their particular platform. Still price competition is good for the consumer as they determine how best they want to make their e-book purchase.

Microsoft Could Use Barnes & Noble To Sell Its Tablet

I think the Holiday Season 2012 will be called "Tablet Wars" as companies vie for market share of their tablet.  Yesterday, was Tabeo, manufactured and sold exclusively at Toys R Us.  Now comes news that Microsoft plans to build some quick stores for the holiday season to sell its products with plans to build 200 - 300 more in the coming years.  "Microsoft Stores sell Windows PCs, Windows Phones, Microsoft and third-party software, games, peripherals and more. Microsoft also is going to sell its recently announced Surface PC/tablets through its Microsoft Stores in the U.S. and through select online Microsoft stores, as well." All to catch up to Apple.

But isn't Microsoft missing a big opportunity.  Through their heavy investment in Barnes & Noble, Microsoft has literally at their fingertips a partner with a huge retail presence to support their consumer outreach.  In addition, with B&N in so many college bookstores, they have the opportunity to hit the key age demographic.  So how come no word about using B&N to enable this Holiday retail presence?

Sure tons of malls are on their list; with many store closings there is definitely open space.  Isn't this why we see so many Halloween stores pop up for a month.  Still it takes personal to build the space, manage it, sell from it;  B&N provides the brick and mortar and the personnel to get an edge.  It simply seems odd that Microsoft has not taken advantage of the B&N investment to help their own cause.

Another Competitor Enters The Tablet Wars

The future of connectivity is the tablet and the field of sellers is becoming more and more crowded.  The newest entry will come from the toy retailer, Toys R Us and is called the Tabeo.  Working with the Google Android operating system, " the Tabeo comes pre-installed with 50 different apps that cover everything from games, to educational titles, to ebooks."

As a kid's tablet, it has some challenges.   "With competitors like the MEEP!, Vinci, and LeapPad already targeting kids, this is certainly a sector that might be over-served already."  And as kids become more and more internet savvy, they tend to migrate more quickly to their parents' devices.  A child's tendency may be to install these same apps on mom or dad's tablet and wait to they upgrade to a newer model in order to "inherit it".   At a price point of $150 for a Tabeo, parents might also consider purchasing the Kindle Fire, at a similar price point.  And depending how Apple prices its new mini iPad and lowers the price on older iPad models, Tabeo may have a heard time justifying its positioning.

The solution for Toys R Us is not in offering only the same apps from these other tablets on their devices, it is developing unique apps exclusive to their device that drive purchase behavior.  Differentiation becomes the marketing solution in the tablet market, not low cost.  LeapPad has that in their devices, the Tabeo would need to do the same.  The tablet wars are here and with many competitors competing for share, the competition is getting fierce.

Don't You Love Blind Taste Tests

Blind taste tests are great fun.  The best ones are probably Coke vs Pepsi but I'm sure there were a few soup blind tests and others to disrupt expectations and try to throw the leader off their perch at the top of the hill.  The latest blind taste test is truly unique, comparing search engines.  With Google as the leader and Bing the upstart, a blind taste test is a great way for people to see that sometimes their comfort zones need to be challenged.

"Dubbed 'Bing It On,' the commercials will target a young demographic and run over the next few months on MTV, Fox (including during the premieres of "Ben & Kate" and "American Dad"), The CW, FX, ABC Family and Hulu.




An engaging commercial.  Even Pepsi had a hard time converting people despite their tastes telling them they preferred Pepsi.  Whether it gets people to try Bing for their searches remain to be seen.

Once people have their default search engine, it may be difficult to get them to make a switch.  Perhaps Microsoft has the best chance of getting engagement with Bing is by getting companies to use Internet Explorer where Bing is the default. or convincing Apple to put Bing into Safari.  There may be simply other ways to encourage more use.

Movie Distribution Windows Changing Again

As the physical DVD becomes less desirable, the need is greater to replace this lost revenue through new approaches.  Fox believes it has come up with a winning formula, to recapture that revenue; "the studio plans to offer high-definition versions of its films for sale at newly lowered prices about three weeks before making the movies available on discs and through video-on-demand services, studio executives said in interviews." At the right price point, consumers just might be interested in downloading these films for their tablet and/or computer.

The timing certainly seems smart for Fox.  With new editions of Amazon Kindles coming out and a new Apple mini iPad on its way, the Holiday Season may be seeing tons of sales of these products.  And these devices have an insatiable need for content.  Movies, TVseries, books, and music could see a nice bump as consumers fill the pipeline for content to download.

The one question that Fox and others must face is the desire for consumers to rent or buy.  Do they want to hold onto all this content that they download or simply rent it when they are interested in using it and able to delete it when they are finished or its use expires.  We are generally pack rats, enjoying the feeling of ownership and instant gratification, but  a digital stream rental is virtually instant and may be just as good.  I'm betting on purchase behavior to prevail.