Amazon prepares to launch Android app store

Amazon is expected to launch a mobile app store soon, in an attempt to compete, head-on, with Google's Android Marketplace. A number of Amazon's developers have already submitted some apps to its Appstore Development Portal.

Amazon has also created a Developer Blog and a Twitter account, to promote this launch. Amazon has even have made video postings on YouTube, explaining how to submit apps to its online store.

Rumors indicate that consumers will be able to buy Android apps, from Amazon, on computers, as well as, smart phones and tablets, running Google's Android OS. For Amazon account holders, app purchases will be made using the same account they currently use to make online purchases. To read the full article, please click here.

Smartphone replacing Remote Controls?

The standard TV remote control, lost so many times beneath sofa cushions, may soon be lost to history. Many people are now switching to their smart phones as substitutes to their remote controls.

TV viewing habits are changing as more Internet and on-demand content — YouTube videos, streaming movies, shopping sites, Facebook photos — flows directly onto big screens. Navigating all of that demands more action from the viewer, including a fair amount of typing, which current remotes cannot handle.

There have already been successful attempts to use smartphones as remotes. Sonos, which makes Internet-connected stereos, offers a free iPhone application that replicates every feature of its own $349 touch-screen remote control. Over half of Sonos customers now use the app, which links to the stereo over a Wi-Fi network.

Several television manufacturers, like Mitsubishi and Samsung, are following suit with smartphone remotes, and phone apps are part of both Apple and Google’s TV offerings.

Technology giants like Apple and Google, along with a wave of Silicon Valley start-ups, have a vision for the future that would make channel-surfing seem quaint. Soon, they believe, viewers will choose from vast pools of video without distinguishing between TV broadcasts and content streamed over the Internet.

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PlayOn banned from Roku

PlayOn is client software that turns a game console into a digital video player, allowing consumers to access certain online video sites such as YouTube, Amazon VOD, and others. One site that you won't get access to, however, is Netflix. Here's the article from electronista:

Fearing legal repercussions, Roku Developer Program Manager Patrick announced on the company's official forums that PlayOn-compatible channels have been removed and can no longer be added. Those who already subscribed to the channel may be able to keep it, though for how long isn't known. Roku says this is because neither Roku nor the developer of the channel are affiliated with PlayOn.

For now, Roku remains as a streaming option on PlayOn's website. PlayOn offers streaming content from Hulu, Comedy Central, Spike, PBS, ESPN, CBS, ESPN3, Nickelodeon, TBS and BET. The first year costs $40, with every year after that priced at $20.

Read more.

YouTube gets into live streaming

Last week, YouTube launched an experimental trial with four media partners. The new live streaming platform will be previewed in a two-day trial beginning today but is expected to later grow considerably across the Google-owned website.

Four YouTube partners will participate: the celebrity-focused Young Hollywood; the online television outlet Next New Networks; the how-to guide Howcast; and Rocketboom, the Internet culture vlog.

Verizon's FiOS continues to impress

I had written about some of Verizon's new features through the Media Manager, including access to YouTube. Sunday afternoons during the baseball season are fun for my son and me. If the Cubs win at Wrigley, they play "Go Cubs Go." As they were on the road yesterday (here in Arlington, actually), the Rangers' PA folks weren't gracious enough to crank up the music (even though half the stadium was Cubs fans). So, I found the clip on YouTube, turned on all of the music zones, and we jammed to it after the win.

I've also written about my quest to try to play my favorite Internet radio station throughout the home's speakers. Verizon now gives me that option, although I tried several times to get a couple of the radio stations configured and playing, and so far haven't had any luck.

Finally, we had some fun last night watching my four-year-old follow along to Evolution of Dance. These guys are really raising the bar on entertainment, at least for our home!

Evolution of Dance on my 42" Plasma - Thanks, Verizon!

Verizon introduced YouTube and streaming music access to FiOS TV customers yesterday. They have screen shots and video available for a closer look.

Verizon's Internet Radio and Internet Videos services are both accessible via Media Manager, which already allows subscribers to search and view on their TVs user-generated content from online video-sharing sites blip.tv, Dailymotion and Veoh. In addition, Verizon has expanded the Media Manager service, making it available to all FiOS TV HD customers. Previously, it was available only to DVR customers.

We gave YouTube a try yesterday evening, and it was a fun diversion. I introduced the wife and the four-year-old to "Evolution of Dance." In all, I found the YouTube experience quite good - Verizon has a nice interface, and it was easy to figure out how to use my universal remote controller to get a full screen view of the videos. Searching is an area where I still think these PC-on-TV type of services are going to get stuck. We keep hearing how consumers don't want full-sized keyboards in their living room, but doing one-letter-at-a-time searching for YouTube content is an arduous process. I think that these online services on the TV - Facebook, streaming music, etc. - are fun distractions, but I honestly don't know how many times we'll use the service beyond the introduction last night.

Cable Europe Not Afraid of Over-the-Top

Today the European cable industry spent the afternoon at its Cable Congress in Brussels discussing the impact of OTT content. Through a number of spokespeople, the message was clear: cable is ready and anxious to play a role in over-the-top. Some key points include the following:

Set top box maker ADB reminded the audience that the brand in the hand is the brand that wins. That is, cable companies must provide remote controls which support the set top boxes that support the features most desired by consumers. As soon as consumers move to alternative set top boxes, the cable provider loses the opportunity to provide the superior experience to the consumer.

Telenet’s EVP of Residential Marketing said that her company’s market leadership has enabled the company to test, for some months, a number of over-the-top interfaces in order to be ready before any serious competition provides a superior alternative.

UPC’s VP of Strategy implored the cable industry to work together more closely and suggested that providing a better interface to real time web access as well as a better VoD library will be the keys to accommodating over-the-top experiences.

Kabel Deutschland’s CCO welcomed over the top content as he said access to YouTube and other web portals has fueled tremendous broadband subscriber growth in Germany. When asked if YouTube should be sharing revenues with cable, Virgin Media’s CEO stated that the company has a variety of business models attached to different types of content and that many revenue opportunities will exist within the cable ecosystem.

YouTube EMEA's Director of Partnerships offered that the company was engaging in a number of revenue sharing models with broadcasters and that we will see more branding as a part of YouTube, suggesting that the relationship between aggregator and pipe may become increasingly cooperative.

Connected consumer electronics sales to exceed 100 million units annually by 2013

Consumer demand for digital media and online content will push worldwide annual sales of connected CE to more than 100 million units by 2013, according to the new Parks Associates report Home Networks for Consumer Electronics.

The market for connected CE includes networked TVs, Blu-ray players, game consoles, home media servers, and set-top boxes. Through network and Internet connections, these devices can access and display home network content such as photos and music and retrieve online content such as widgets, games, and video from Hulu and YouTube.

Diverse user scenarios create multiple challenges for technology developers, according to Scherf, including interface design as well as connectivity.

Home Networks for Consumer Electronics covers consumer and technology trends in the connected CE market and provides forecasts for multiple connected CE product categories. For more information, visit www.parksassociates.com/, or contact 972-490-1113, sales@parksassociates.com.

The CONNECTIONS™ conference, June 2-4, features a Connected CE track, including the panels Extending the Reach of Wired Networks and Interfaces and Bringing “Cloud Media” to Consumer Electronics Devices. For registration, or to request a press pass, visit http://www.connectionsconference.com/.

Parks Associates reports social networking users to exceed 95 million by 2013

Expanding population creates new opportunities for advertising and connected TV --

Social networking is moving to the television, driven by a young audience interested in video features such as multiplayer games, chat, and content discovery. This trend will help increase U.S. ad spending in social media to almost $3 billion by 2013, according to Parks Associates.

The international research firm, in its report Social Media & User-Generated Content, finds over one-fourth of broadband users ages 18-24 are interested in social media features on the TV. Key applications include multiplayer gaming, in-program chat, and “most watched” lists. At the same time, 23% of U.S. broadband households want to view content from sites like YouTube and Flickr on their TVs.

For younger consumers in particular, their appetite for social experiences don’t end on the computer screen but are enhanced via their access on TVs and mobile phones. This expansion of social media has implications for service providers, advertisers, and CE manufacturers as well as the networking sites.

Parks Associates forecasts 95 million social networking users by 2013. This diverse population will have a variety of different needs and wants. For example, threats like the Koobface worm, which targets Facebook users, underscore the need for integrated customer support solutions that can address social networking security issues. Service providers could combine these offerings with their network support services to sell a complete protection package.

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LG Expanding Web Video Relationships beyond Netflix

CNET is reporting that LG Electronics will expand online video content relationships in 2009 to include CinemaNow and YouTube. This video will be available at the TV through their connected Blu-ray players.