Beating the Tin Drum

As far as the consumer is concerned is it the device, or the functionality it enables, or is it the content it can render that is ultimately the decider? Is it in fact cyclical and does the technology always come first, closely followed by the features and functions and the actual content come last, or are we now at a point of change?

Who today would buy, or even want the pre iPhone mobile? Was it purely down to the iconic design and presentation of the iPhone, or the apps it unleashed and app store? Would the device have been enough without the digital content?

We then have the drivers behind the major offers.

Apple’s iPod enabled iTunes to go mobile and was a phenomenal success like the Sony Walkman before it. But the iPod was nothing more than a mobile jukebox and when smartphones started to compete they needed to do more and the iconic iPhone was introduced. This masterpiece of design was king and spawned the lucrative world of apps and multimedia mobile. But again as Android replicated Apple’s offer they had to once again find something different - enter the iPad. The iPad was another winner and the true multi media player of choice but it wasn’t a phone and it wasn’t small enough to put in your pocket. Apart from the telephony the only real difference between the iPhone and iPad was size and in a mobile world the smaller size does matter too many. So when others started to introduce smaller tablets and larger smartphones the world started to change again.

Interestingly, the only real difference between many of today’s offers is the content and how well it renders of the device.

Some suggest that books are different and needed eInk dedicated readers. The reality is there are not and don’t. Amazon, Nook, Kobo have all adopted an increasingly agnostic device and operating system approach. This ‘platform’ approach is not dissimilar to all the major content services across all digital media. Today you can now play music, watch films and TV, play games, deal with emails, perform full office functions, access all media, community services and the internet on a device agnostic basis.

So devices are basically today’s fashion and quickly becoming tomorrow’s scrap. The apps are being developed for all operating platforms of significance, browsers are fully agnostic and content is available from all with everyone trying to mirror each other’s offer across all platforms. We now have the emergence of the super toys in the form of mobile watches, external snap on lenses and glasses, but is there no reason to believe that these will decide who wins and who losses? Some would suggest that they are a mere distraction and that, like so many before them, they do not offer sustainable advantage.

Maybe we are now entering the world where even the availability of media is not enough and it is the commercial package that will decide the winners. Perhaps the winners will not be the tin manufacturers, who as we have seen, now play on an increasingly level playing field, but the content packagers and community hubs who are becoming the ‘must haves’. Perhaps it’s those who have multi-faceted information on their community. This is where Amazon is scoring day in day out and where those who can design a place in their side lines can also survive. Amazon announced when it launched Amazon Matchbox that it had data on every book purchased since 1995 and I bet every search, basket and much more.

The latest rumour is that Amazon is about to launch a smartphone and give it away free within their service community. It isn’t such a farfetched idea and would certainly fire a shot across of the bows of the mobile technology companies who rely on selling units, be it to network providers, or direct. The shift would be from a device centric world where people watch the sales of smartphones to a service centric world where the consumer is attracted to who offers them the most convenience at the best price on whatever device.

As John Lennon once said, ‘ I may be a dreamer but iam not the only one.’

On-demand Media and Sensory Devices will Change Culture

Our dependency on electronic devices has grown over the last decade. We now appear to be entering yet another cycle of the technology escalation and it resulting cultural change. It will like those before it change how we consume media and how we communicate with others.

The ‘I’ era was one of the Pod, Phone and Pad. It enabled mobility and communication but also created the ‘I’ society who often resembled zombies, switch on, tuned out and transfixed through those white earpieces. What it finally gave us was the platform environment which enabled media to be enjoyed across multiple devices. This platform broke the single device was previously tied to single media. No more Walkmen, MP3 only, eink readers, the smartphone and tablet became the do it all devices for all.

Having created the platform we now appear primed to create sensory devices that themselves will enable a more intuitive interface and also delegate the platform to the cloud. Everything will be available online on-demand and will negate the need to have a local copy or download. This change will be significant as it truly starts to change culture from one of ownership to one of rental and subscription.

So we will have the likes of Google’s Glasses, Apple’s watch and many more sensory aligned devices. Speech recognition will become the norm and retina tracking will negate the need to pitch and squeeze and scroll. Mass robotics are still to fully happen and a device is whatever you wish it to be.

What will come first the sensory device, or the cloud on demand media? Some will suggest the technology is here today and they would be right, but they have yet to be mass adopted and in doing so change the culture.

The media industries now need to gear up for a significant change in business models which itself will create new opportunities for new and well as old media. It’s hard to find a music store on the high street today but when you do look at what they are now selling and recognise their business in now online. Add to that the new services that took up the mantle of Spiral Frog and are delivering on-demand media by subscription and we have a culture change that isn’t going back in the box.

In ten years sensory devices may have gone even further than we think possible today and the speed of bandwidth and universal connectivity will make the cloud reality. 

iRadio to iTunes

Apple broke the album mold and introduced us to not back to singles but tracks. It priced these at a point that was attractive and tied it t their iPod, iPhone, iMac, iPad and the rest is history. Now they plan to introduce iRadio to the family and hope to cash in on the move to music on demand.

So how will they fair against the established communities such as Pandora, Google’ ‘All Access’ and Spotify. Will they be able to lure customers away from subscription based services to what is reported to be an advertising paid model? Will consumers accept free with ads even if it links seamlessly to iTunes to buy?

The challenges Apple face in trying to close down on this low margin high volume business is not just consumers and attracting advertisers but also convincing the music producers and publishers that another low margin licence service will work for them. They already have disparity between existing revenue models and Apple are unlikely to want to pay the going rate for their licences. It is rumoured that Apple has signed a deal with the Warner and Universal for their music rights but has still to complete on the latter’s publishing rights. It has still to close a deal with Sony with a few days to go to their launch of the service. All deals are based on Apple paying a fee for the music rights and a separate fee for the publishing rights on music streamed. The interesting aspect is the ratio of the number of times an individual will play the same tune versus the cost to purchase. The user doesn’t care and may play a track 50 times but the meter is running and everyone else will be watching. In Apple’s case they have to either pull in the necessary advertising revenues or sales through iTunes to cover the royalties. But why would a user buy a track when they have unfettered access to play it for free?

The challenge for the music business is grappling with the clear migration from purchase to subscription or ad based licence deals. The music business has a track record of poor transition to new models and technology and only recently has started to see the new shoots of a digital recovery, but this has been on the purchase model which may not prevail as more become switch on to on-demand streamed services.

The challenge to Apple is that they are not leading this market and are coming relatively late to the party. They believe that the tie to iTunes will work in their favour but other will argue that it will further heighten the difference between owning all one’s library of music and merely playing it when you want to at a lower operational cost. 

Peeling an Apple iPod Touch

So you have an iPod Touch and wish it was an iPhone? Now you can with a new device called the Apple Peel 520.



The Peel is a shell that fits around the iPod Touch and contains a battery, dock connector and SIM card that allows voice calls. Users will have to ‘break’ the iPod software to install special software to enable a text messaging function, and to allow the device to properly work with the iPod Touch.

The device doesn’t come from Apple but from Yosion Technology in China and was invented by a student who says he did it, "because I love the iPhone, but it's too expensive in China." The iPhone in China costs between $588 - $740, the iPod Touch some $,235 and the Apple Peel sells for $57.



The Chinese market has problems already with cheaper and greater functional iPhones being smuggled in from Hong Kong and the West. Now these are being sold Taobao.com, a popular Chinese e-commerce site.

So we now can peel an Apple

Get Smart?

An Apple patent application, filed in March of 2007 and published last week, describes a ‘Smart Garment’ that would allow a device to authenticated to a specific garment. When the garment is authenticated, however, unapproved garments would be blocked from being able to use the device. Sounds all sci-fi to us!

Apple however is clearly trying to enforce a DRM like pairing of clothing with technology. The company specifically cites the Nike+iPod system as an example of a system that works with a specially-made shoe, the Nike+ shoe. These have a little crevice cut out under the sole that allows the user to place a transmitter inside the shoe, which wirelessly sends data to your iPod about your walk or run. James Bond’s ‘M’ would be impressed!

Nike+iPod Sports Kit was launched in 2006. Apple argues that the system is more about preventing thieves from taking the device and attempting to use it with unauthorized garments. Some would argue that such secure for a relatively cheap device is a little excessive.

Apple's patent describes using the sensor within the garment itself in order to provide more data to the user, such as the rate of wear of a running shoe. “In this way, by providing a notification that one or both of the running shoes should be replaced, the runner may be better able to avoid injuries related to outworn equipment," writes Apple. With GPS the system could also track location and elevation data providing even more detailed statistics, or it on-the-spot information to where to stop and have a latte!

Some may think this sort of product tie up is cool, we personally think the kids have taken control of the chocolate factory!! Would you embed it in a garment with an ebook reader or would you embed it in duvets and easy chairs?

So What Do You Want For Christmas?

So Septemberfest has begun with everyone in the UK expressing an opinion on the Sony reader, Kindles, ebooks. Waterstones claim thousands of pre orders for the device but the store has a dearth of content, only some 7,000 titles, and at it current price still looks a buy devoid of logic. Even with a projection of 20,000 titles by the end of the year looks a poor consumer proposition. The trade’s organ The Bookseller’s Graeme Neill called the ebook readers one dimensional and poor value.

Not to be undone Apple is being widely reported to unveil new iPod music players at a media event next Tuesday. Reporters have received an invitation to a September 9 event entitled "Let's Rock," with an image of a man jumping in the air while listening to an iPod, with the words "playing soon."

The nature of the market demands an iPod refresh and their iPod Touch now have a higher starting price $299 than its $199 iPhone, which does not make any sense and needs to be addressed. Analysts however expect Apple to refresh its MacBook notebook PCs soon but not on Tuesday.

What’s betting there will be even more ‘major’ digital announcements as everyone vies for the Christmas number one slot.

TV To Go

Television is rapidly changing and the uptake of services such as the BBC iPlayer are redefining our viewing habits. The move away from real time viewing to offline viewing has been happening for some time and the iPlayer has just taken the model one step further. What is significant is the quality of the presentation and although the sound can be limiting sometimes the pictures are not.

Microsoft have now announced that it will follow Apple’s initiative and be offering television shows on its Zune portable media device from NBC Universal. NCB shows such as ‘The Office’ and ‘Heroes’ will available for playback and the service will also include Comedy Central's "South Park" and MTV's "The Hills" available at a pre paid cost of $1.99.

But the Zune will not be alone in this space with NBC also appearing on Amazon.com’s Unbox service and News Corp.'s Fox Hulu service. The question remains whether the iPod and Zune devices can beat the mobile phone players in the portable market and other online services in the home online market?

News , Noise and Old News

Its weird that you see something in the press and wonder where you first read it and then what is behind it. Today we were drawn to an article stating that reading on iPods may soon get a lot easier. You may have seen the article but if not it came from the Hindusania Times which immediately caught our interest as it wasn’t usual source for such stories. The article linked to the Asian News International article which was identical word for word and published 3rd August, 2007. Both articles referred to a Daily Mail Article that was far more detailed and published on the 3rd August, 2007.

There’s obviously no news like old news.

Disintermediation?

We now hear about the coming wars between the iPhone and the new Nokia phone. Both will hit the UK market later this year but both differ in their delivery channel. One says, download onto your PC and then transfer to your mobile, the other, download straight onto the mobile. The difference may seem minor to some but to the consumer may be enormous. Why mess about transferring stuff around when you can get it delivered direct to the device you want to hear it on?

Nokia has unveiled several new wireless devices and services, including a music-download offering to rival iTunes. Nokia has also announced new offerings focused at entertainment, games, along with the Nokia Music Store and the N-Gage mobile gaming service.

Apple is rumoured to be announcing a new iPod on Sept. 5. The new device is also rumoured to be very close to the iPhone in its screen and begs the question why they don’t just cut to the chase and merge the two.

Potter versus iPhone

Forget Harry Potter’s latest adventure and June 21st there is something potentially far larger happening later in the month. After six months of anticipation, three new television commercials for Apple’s iPhone divulged the product’s release date and it will go on sale in the US on June 29, 2007.
Apple has formed an five-year exclusive US alliance with A.T.&T. and has still to announce its international partners.

The first two iPhone models are priced at $499 and $599 for four- and eight-gigabyte storage options, respectively. The phone does not have a hard disk and is based on a basic version of the Mac OS X operating system, comes with a 3.5-inch screen that can be used either vertically as a phone or turned horizontally to display video or still images and is less than half-inch think.
The iPhone has three radios - cellular, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth - and is advertised as having 5 hours of battery life and 16 hours of audio playback when used as a music player.

Innovation is also provided with a technique called "multi-touch," which is based on a series of gestures with one or two fingers. For example, it is possible to shrink or expand a picture on the screen by simply sliding thumb and finger apart or together.

This will set the standards for all to follow and force the pace of device convergence. It is hard to see ebook readers surviving this onslaught and Mr Bezos will have to pull out all the stops if he has any chance of winning the Mobi Vs Adobe, or Jobs Versus Bezos battles.

Suits You Sir!

Nice threads sir! Marks and Spencer have now created the suit for the man with everything!

A suit made from a fabric that transforms the inside lapel into an iPod control panel. Instead of fumbling around to change volume or channel you simply press a piece of fabric. User can also skip tracks and rewind songs. Sounds straight t out of ‘m’s Bond outfitters!

The only problem is when you are squeezed into a busy London tube and your iPod goes out of your control.

iPod News with a Difference

MacNewsWorld threw up two interesting articles on that fashion icon this week.

Invasion of the Killer iPods?

First there is the question of health risk. A study from the Thoracic and Cardiovascular Institute at Michigan State University has raised concerns about the possibility that iPods could cause pacemakers to fail.

The study is questioned on several grounds but the headlines were rather scary and reminisant to those that questioned if mobile phones scrabbled ones brains and the more recent reports on the effect.

A presentation made Heart Rhythm Society's annual meeting in Denver this week heard that electrical interference of pacemakers was found about 50 percent of the time when an iPod was held within several inches of a patient's chest for five to ten seconds. Interfere with the implanted devices was even found when they were held 18 inches away and one pacemaker completely stopped functioning.

Many questions were raised about the study not testing other portable music players, or that the research failed to determined which pacemakers were most affected and of course the impact of all the other electromagnetic field disturbances that surround us.

One wonders whether in the near future we may see a health backlash against some of the technology we take for granted and use today or whether given commercial pressures and ownership we may never really know?

Show me the way to Amarillo

Welsh computer researchers at the University of Wales, Swansea have developed a hybrid MP3 player and sat-nav for pedestrians. Instead of urging listeners to "turn left in 100 yards," the device turns the volume down in one ear to prompt walkers in a particular direction until they reach their destination. The destination can either been preset, or be one that the device knows the user might like.

If the user is heading in the right direction, the music is clear and strong through both headphones. But if the user needs to change direction, the balance changes, with clarity and volume shifting to the left or right ear according to the direction to be taken.

Imagine your device knows that you like coffee, it can give a 'nudge' when they're in the vicinity of a coffee shop. If the user decides to follow the cues to see what the device thinks is of interest, the system will then guide them to the destination. If users ignore the hints, the device will stop nudging until it comes across something else of potential interest. Imagine walking down a busy high street, you may be nudged from pillar to post.

Swansea University's three-year project to look at the navigating MP3 player, which uses GPS (global positioning system) satellite technology, begins later this month.Funded with a grant from the UK's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the research is being undertaken in collaboration with Glasgow University in Scotland.

Apples are good for you?

Has the iPhone positioned Apple as the must have product provider even before it has hit the streets? They now have Apple TV, iTunes, the iPod and those funky Macs PCs that every artist must have. The Macs even now can run under ‘dual boot’ facility and together with its Intel processor can either Windows or native.

What does this all mean? Well integration, portability and most important inter-operability. In other words a one stop shop were compatibility is a given.

Maybe we will see more of those funky screens in the office and the impact of the iPhone is yet to be fully seen but its going to be hard to resist and makes those tired old fashioned and clunky Blackberrys look so unhip

iPods in the Classroom

Last week we spoke about some of the wide range of uses the ubiquitous iPod is being put to.

In 2004, Duke University in the US gave all students iPods as part of a program to determine how iPods could help students learn. This program was successful and gave way to the Duke Digital Initiative, in which faculty encourage students to use hand-held technology such as iPods, tablet PCs and video cameras to collaborate on projects and in other coursework. As a result student are now creating multi media papers and podcasts. This is turn is influencing they way subjects are being taught and learnt.

This year, Stanford University launched Stanford on iTunes, which provides Stanford-specific audio content, including lectures, campus events, book readings, and even podcasts of Cardinal football games. Students at the University of Washington can download lectures and this trend is spreading to others such as the University of Michigan. Mansfield University uses the iPod as a recruitment tool to promote the campus.

As universities and schools start to embrace the iPod and developing technology the question comes back to the provision of the digital content. Importantly this increasingly must fit within a VLE environment that delivers the right material to the meet the right need at the right time.

Come Fly With Me

That iPod we only talked about this week has now found its way into the cockpit of small planes and is about to become a flight data recorder (FDR), more commonly known as "black box."

The Journal ‘Flight’ reports that light aircraft maker LoPresti Speed Merchants is adding the ability to use an iPod as a flight data recorder to its Fury piston aircraft.

The airplane will include an iPod dock connector, and will be able to send data to the iPod for storage. What this systems typically collect includes system monitoring information and data for post-flight analysis. LoPresti describes its iPod FDR as "the first truly portable, personal flight recorder with a huge recording capacity."

No doubt it will be playing Frank Sinatra’s classic as it soars into the clouds..

iPods enter the danger zones

The iPod now is being used to help communication in the war zone that is Iraq, whilst at the same time some are declaring war on the use of iPods on the streets of New York.

U.S. soldiers in Iraq often face a significant language hurdle when trying to communicate with the local population. A software program called VCOM Mobile may provide some relief with a new iPod-ready program that pronounces Arabic phrases and animates appropriate hand gestures. The program comes preloaded with 20 military situations, ranging from vehicle search to patrol, meet and greet and medical triage. Users scroll through those missions and select the appropriate one for access to numerous phrases. The technology is intended as a language assistant, to not only act as an interpreter for troops on the ground but also as a trainer.

Whilst on the streets of New York if you are wearing and listening to an iPod you should still look when crossing the road. Most headphones used with iPods and other portable music players allow the listener to hear what's going on around them. That is unless the music is turned up too loud.

To most New Yorkers the smoking ban was right but an iPod ban? But New York state Senator Carl Kruger, a Democrat from Brooklyn, has proposed a US$100 fine for anyone caught crossing a major city's street on foot or bicycle while listening to an iPod, talking on a cell phone, playing a video game or sending a text message.
Like them or hate them they certainly are everywhere!

Music Wars

Has Apple and its iTunes an unsustainable position with their 70% market share? Many would suggest that they are so far ahead of the pack it is difficult to be caught but perhaps there are some real competitors now appearing and the fashion bubble is about to burst.

We reported in 'Brave New World' about Spiral Frog and their huge potential to turn the tables upside down with their ‘free download paid for advertising model’. We said December and it is still ‘coming’. But they haven’t been sleeping but signing more labels and also hiring some more impressive players to their team. This certainly looks like a service to hit the road running, make significant traction and then sell out for lots of money.

This week we hear of another potential player Omniphone. The UK-based technology company has launched MusicStation, a cheap subscription-based music service for mobile phone users in Europe. It will allow subscribers to download an unlimited number of tracks to their mobiles, from its one million strong catalogue, for a monthly fee of £1.99. For an extra £1 they can listen to tracks via their PC. There are questions on whether the subscriber owns the tracks or merely has unlimited access as long as they continue to pay their monthly fee. However, with around 75% of mobile phones able to download and play music and a price so cheap, its attractive and will the consumer care?

What is clear is that whether the Sprial Frog model, or the Music Station one, steals share, the alternatives are starting to surface. Apple has had it good too long and we can expect some serious tune wars at the end of the year. No wonder Steve Jobs is offering to drop his DRM barrier.