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Superfast New Apple Notebook

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Apple Computer today launched a 17-inch Intel-based MacBook Pro notebook computer that reportedly delivers up to five times the performance of the 17-inch PowerBook G4.

The new laptop, which will begin shipping next week, features a 2.16 GHz Intel (nasdaq: INTC – news – people ) Core Duo processor, an all new system architecture and a one-inch thin aluminum enclosure.

It weighs just 3.8 Kilo and includes a built-in iSight video camera, Front Row software and a MagSafe Power Adapter that allows mobile users to charge its battery by magnetically coupling the power cord to the computer.

“The 17-inch MacBook Pro delivers the speed and screen area of a professional desktop system in the world’s best notebook design,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing.

The new release also comes just in time for the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show for digital media professionals, which kicked off in Las Vegas over the weekend. NAB is the world’s largest electronics media show.

“[The launch] was no real surprise, but it was timed very well around the NAB show,” said Jupiter Research analyst Michael Gartenberg, who is sure Apple had digital video professionals in mind as a primary target audience for the 17-inch notebook. “This is clearly a powerful and portable editing studio for high-definition video work.”

Blu Ray Kicks Another Goal

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The seemingly never-ending Blu-ray vs HD DVD format war just got bloodier, with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) announcing its support of the Blu-ray Gen-Next DVD format.

The seemingly never-ending Blu-ray vs HD DVD format war just got bloodier, with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) having announced its support of the Blu-ray Gen-Next DVD format.

Post the launch of Blu-ray hardware in Europe, North America and Japan, MGM in co-operation with the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), will release film and television titles from its vast library. Blu-ray is a Gen-X optical disc format, developed for high-capacity software applications and high-definition video. While a single-layer Blu-ray disc can store up to 25 gigabytes of data, a dual-layer Blu-ray disc can hold around 50 gigabytes of data. Blu-ray also incorporates highly advanced copy protection, advanced interactivity, and backward compatibility with current DVD format connectivity.

Harry Sloan, chairman and CEO, MGM Studios, said, “MGM’s focus has always been to provide movie lovers complete access to the world’s largest modern film library, in the most technologically advanced formats. Adopting this new Blu-ray technology, with its expanded storage capacity and increased interactive capabilities, allows us to continue to provide our customers with the best movie viewing experience available.”

Howard Stringer, chairman and CEO, Sony Corporation, said, “This is a tremendous win for movie lovers everywhere. The Blu-ray Disc format provides a completely new viewing experience, and consumers can now look forward to enjoying content from the world’s largest library of modern films, including titles from franchises such as James Bond and The Pink Panther in this amazing new format.”

 

Comment: Whats Wrong At LG OZ?

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COMMENT: The exit of David Brand from LG Australia was well and truly on the cards when the company was exposed by Choice Australia for fudging the truth about their products.Now the Korean company,  who is facing multimillion dollar fines, is undergoing a major shakeout and relaunching LG Australia, after the appointment of William Cho, the former President and CEO of LG Canada, as Chief Executive of LG Australia.

Cho, who was shipped into Australia days after LG Australia was found to have lied about the power performance of their refrigerators, is a tough performance-driven operator with a track record of success in the Canadian market where he headed the company’s operations.

High on his agenda will be improving LG Australia’s profitability. In the 2008/2009 financial year they only managed a $13K profit on nearly a billion dollars turnover.

In Australia, Cho has already taken action to fix the company’s endemic problems with the axing of several key managers. Its been suggested that this is only the start and that several other heads, including several in sales, will be axed as part of the restructure.

This could be a precarious exercise as the likes of Graeme Cunningham, the current sales director of LG Australia, has excellent contacts, is trusted by the retail channel and has often been the glue that has held the LG operation together in Australia.

Among those who have gone from the company since Cho’s appointment  are David Brand, the former Marketing Director, Carli Wilson, the former Marketing Manager of the company’s struggling Communications Division, who late last month was still running what some observers described as “froth and bubble” marketing events for handsets that are going nowhere in the Australia market up against offerings from arch rivals like Samsung, HTC and Apple.  

Cho has already started to stamp his own management style on the Australian operation with the appointment of Kim Barnes as marketing manager of consumer products. Barnes came from LG Canada. He has also hired former Coca Cola executive Mark Van Dyke. He is also on the lookout for a new Marketing Director who will be given a brief to basically relaunch the company.

During the past three years Brand has had one disaster after another from a Scarlet TV launch that went pear shaped, to multimillion dollar phone launches that did little to stimulate sales, to the exposure of LG as a serial offender in the appliance market which resulted in LG being nobbled three times by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for misleading consumers. There was  also the issue of several recalls of LG air conditioners and appliances.

 

The LG slogan “Life’s Good” was well and truly on the nose.

Five years ago under the direction of Paul Reeves, LG’s former Marketing Director, the LG brand was hitting a sweet spot and the slogan Life’s Good really meant something with consumers because it was unique, locally developed and above all in touch with the Australian way of life.

Then along came Brand, who in reality was a puppet of what his Korean task masters wanted.

Killed off  was the memorable local advertising. This was replaced with big budget International advertising that failed dismally. The big budget Scarlet TV campaign came and went along with several other International campaigns.

At one stage Brand was told by his corporate masters in Korea that he had to appoint WPP group agencies in Australia. This resulted in Mindshare taking responsibility for media planning and buying.

George Patterson Y&R was appointed to  handle above-the-line advertising duties, while Publicis Mojo’s digital arm Publicis Digital, were appointed to manage website and digital marketing.

Brand was then forced to call a pitch for public relations. This resulted in several WPP owned PR companies fighting among themselves as to who would get the spoils.

The incumbent, Burson Marsteller, threw in the towel and WPP owned Pulse was appointed to set up a new operation called LG One. This operation was driven out of Korea, with the local management given little opportunity to build the local brand.

In reality LG is a dynamic company. Their display operation is among the best in world, even Steve Jobs at Apple gives them credit for that with the company tasked with the development of new AMOLED and OLED screens for several Apple products.

 

They also make great appliances.

After gaining popularity with their mobile phones in Australia, LG has failed to keep pace with offerings from Samsung, HTC and Apple. Big investments in fluff PR events using the likes of Chris Noth came to nothing.

What LG needs to do is invest in local marketing and not try and feed Australians on a diet of overseas marketing swill.

Their advertising needs to be locally relevant and focused, and this will only be achieved if they empower a local marketing director who is given the choice of either using an International campaign or a locally developed campaign.

The company also needs to talk more about the brand and stop dishing out boring product press release that are more product numbers and specs than brand substance.

They also need to develop their people to be brand ambassadors, talking about LG as a company.

Because, at the end of the day, a brand is remembered long after a product has become obsolete.

Demand For Smart TV’s ‘Booming”

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TVs are getting smarter, and consumers are upgrading to the latest models that deliver Netflix and 4K viewing claim researchers.

In Q4 of 2015 half of all TVs shipped were smart TV’s, In Q1 2016 the demand for Ultra High Definition TV’s has taken off as prices fall and TV technology is pushed to new levels.

According to a new IHS Technology report, 48.5 percent of TVs shipped globally were smart TV models with a large percentage of the 2016 purchases being UHD.

In all, 34.2 million smart TVs were shipped in the fourth quarter, contributing to shipments breaking the 100 million mark for the first time in 2015.

IHS projects smart TV shipments hitting 109 million in 2016, and rising to 134 million in 2020.

In Australia demand for TV’s that deliver Netflix has surged from 36 percent to 54 percent.

The popularity of Netflix and other services is reinforcing demand in Australia and markets like the US and Europe, according to the IHS Technology TV Design and Features Tracker.

“Smart TV will continue to grow at a more gradual rate,” said Paul Gray, principal analyst, IHS Technology.

In Australia the demand for Netflix has also led to consumers upgrading their broadband packages said a Telstra executive.

SanDisk Takes On Apple

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SanDisk has launched a barrage of new “memory” products at this years CES in Las Vegas including two new lines of MP3 players. The Company has also said that it will take Apple head on in the flash MP3 market.


SanDisk has launched a barrage of new “memory” products at this years CES in Las Vegas including two new lines of MP3 players. The Company has also said that it will take Apple head on in the flash MP3 market.

All of the new products will be available in Australia within 3 months according to Josh Veiling SanDisk General Manager for Australia who was at the US launch.The new high end Sansa e200 line come in 2, 4 and 6 GB  versions, promising to hold 960, 1920 and 3,840 songs respectively. SanDisk EVP and general manager Nelson Chan claimed that in the year the company has been in the flash MP3 player market, it has a solid grasp on the number two position in the U.S. with 29% share, trailing only Apple’s 49%.

The e200 also boasts a 1.8-inch color LCD, FM tuner, a microSD expansion slot and a slideshow function for viewing photos and playing music at the same time. The product will be available in March and will be priced at $200, $250 and $300. “The e200 is the most exciting product we are introducing at the show,” Chan said.

SanDisk also introduced the Sans c100 value MP3 player, which comes in 1 and 2 GB models and will sell for $120 and $170.
The other markets SanDisk is focusing with new products includes gaming, USB slots, and handsets. Last year, these markets for SanDisk grew 144%, 27% and 67%, respectively, according to Chan.

The new Cruzer Crossfire USB line addresses the gaming market and is comprised four modules with capacities of 512 MB, 1 GB, 2 GB and 4 GB. Prices range from $65 to $330 and the units will be sold at SanDisk’s 135,000 retails outlets worldwide, Chan said.

On the flash drive side, SanDisk introduced the Cruzer Micro and Cruzer Titanium. Because each supports U3 technology allowing applications to be securely launched, each drive is bundled with four applications including Avast! antivirus, SKYPE VoIP, the SignUp Shield password vault and CruzerSynch to synch Outlook data.

Titanium comes with 1 or 2 GB while Micro has four flavors ranging from 512 MB to 4 GB. Pricing starts at $50 and reaches $300.

Finally, SanDisk rolled out two handset cards – the 1 GB microSD which it claims is world’s smallest flash card and the SanDisk 2 GB miniSD card. Prices range from $120 to $200. Chan claimed the 125 million handsets with memory slots today will shortly grow to 500 million.

Chan opened the press conference touting SanDisk’s accomplishments in its 18-year history and as one of the fastest growing tech companies in the U.S., they are formidable. The Silicon Valley company is nearing $2 billion in revenues and will announce fourth quarter earnings on Jan. 26.

“We are the only company in the world that with the [ownership] rights to make every [flash] memory format in the world under our own brand name,” Chan said.

SanDisk Cruzer USB drive – U3 software – “The Cruzer Micro and Titanium raise the bar for USB flash drives,” said Carlos Gonzalez, senior director of SanDisk’s USB flash drive business unit. “These new drives offer a higher level of freedom and flexibility because they allow you to carry U3-compliant programs and content together on a single U3 smart drive and access them on most Windows-based PCs. The ability to bring your personal workspace with you is very convenient and a great way to boost your productivity when you’re on the go.”
 
 
SanDisk Cruzer micro drive – Portable storage – The new Cruzers are small, 1.875 x 0.75 inches (4.76 cm x 1.91 cm) and easily fit on a keychain. Each features a retractable USB port for protection from dust and damage. The Cruzer Micro easily slips into a pocket or purse or can be worn around the neck with the included lanyard. With capacities of up to 4GB, it can hold the equivalent up to five data CDs, the equivalent of approximately 2,800 floppy disks, or hours of digital music, video or other personal data.
 
SanDisk Cruzer Titanium – Durable and Speed – The Cruzer Titanium USB flash drive combines high performance with extreme ruggedness and durability. It has read and write speeds of 15MB/second, among the fastest available, for speedy data transfers of large files. To physically protect the valuable data of business and power users, its high-strength case is mechanically crush-proof to more than 2000 pounds. It is manufactured with an advanced titanium alloy from Liquidmetal Technologies that is pound-for-pound stronger than steel. The light weight, superior strength, hardness, high corrosion and wear resistance of this unique alloy make it ideal for the Cruzer Titanium.
  
 U3 Smart – Security software – U3 Technology. U3 is a powerful new platform that offers a private, securely protected experience on any PC with Microsoft Windows XP or 2000. These smart drives will be able to launch a variety of U3-compatible (called “U3 Smart”) software programs, including anti-virus, security, synchronization, communications, audio, video, gaming and photo-editing, to name a few. The catalog of U3-compatible software is growing quickly.
 
SanDisk Cruzer preloaded software
– Skype for Voice over IP (VoIP) capabilities
– Avast! Antivirus software
– SignUp Shield password vault
– CruzerSync, which synchronizes with Outlook data
 
SanDisk Cruzer Micro U3 drive – Skype communication – Rather than installing Skype on each computer to make phone calls, a consumer merely plugs the Cruzer Micro U3 drive into the USB port of a Web-connected PC and clicks on Skype from a program menu in the U3 Launchpad. It takes just moments for first-time users to set up a Skype caller name and password. Then, using a headset that connects to another USB port or to the computer’s microphone and earphone sockets, a consumer can make free calls to any other Skype user’s PC on the planet. With SkypeOut, calls to landlines and mobile phones also can be made for a fraction of the normal costs. (Cruzer customers will receive 30 free SkypeOut minutes for free PC to landline calls worldwide to any phone at any time)
 
SanDisk Cruzer USB flash drive – Windows and Macintosh – The Cruzer Micro and Titanium are “plug-and-play” with PCs and the Macintosh due to USB Mass Storage Class (MSC) compliance when used with Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows ME, Mac OS 10.1.2+ and Mac OS 9.2.1+.
 
All pricing is in US dollars. Australian pricing is not yet available.

Dick Smith To Open 30 New Stores Inside David Jones

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As JB Hi Fi was announcing a big increase in sales Dick Smith was announcing a Retail Brand Management Agreement with David Jones, which will see 30 new Dick Smith stores opened inside David Jones stores.

Under the terms of the deal Dick Smith will operate the stores in a move that will see the department store group exit the consumer electronics market.
 
Dick Smith management said that the RBMA allows the restructured group to stretch its network of stores even further.

Under the banner ‘David Jones Electronics Powered by Dick Smith’, the stores will be operational from 1 October, 2013. This strengthens Dick Smith’s already strong retail footprint of 326 stores across Australia and New Zealand, having recently opened Lilydale in VIC and Sydney Central in NSW. Innaloo Westfield in WA is opening today with an additional 14 stores planned for 2014. 
 
Dick Smith CEO for Australia and New Zealand, Nick Abboud, explains, “The RBMA entered into with David Jones is the next step in establishing ourselves as a major player in the market and directly links back to our business strategy to be the leading consumer electronics retailer in Australia and New Zealand.
 
“Forming strategic partnerships with like-minded companies is integral to our growth strategy. We couldn’t think of a better retailer to align ourselves with than David Jones, one of Australia’s most established and iconic brands.
 
“It’s a win-win for both companies. Dick Smith is expanding its network and reaching a wider, high-end customer base, while David Jones is increasing its product and services offering for its customers. It also strengthens Dick Smith’s buying power, which in turn allows for more competitive prices for customers across both stores.”
 
David Jones customers will benefit from more products than they’ve had access to before, such as the Amazon Kindle, as well as the opportunity to purchase mobile phones in store for the first time. The new ‘David Jones Electronics Powered by Dick Smith’ concept areas will have a strong focus on accessories, and will also range higher-end, more aspirational technology to suit the David Jones customer demographic.
 
Dick Smith will continue to roll-out its branded Samsung, Sony and Apple ‘store-in-store’ concepts within the David Jones stores to ensure delivery of the best brands and the best customer service. 
 
David Jones CEO and Managing Director Paul Zahra said, “We look forward to teaming with such a well- established Australian brand such as Dick Smith. Our partnership will deliver many benefits for our customers including a broader range of Electronics products and ancillary services at more competitive prices in a seamless shopping experience for our customers. There is great potential for Sales and Profit upside that both of our companies will benefit from.”
 
Dick Smith will retain all existing David Jones consumer electronics staff and provide them with the training, support and confidence to succeed in their new roles. 

NBN Management Urge Google To Become An ISP & Bid For Sports Rights

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NBN management have met with Google, Fetch TV. Woolworths and Netflix in an effort to convince them to become an ISP on the NBN network, it’s also been rumoured that Apple has been approached to bid for sporting rights.

According to one executive involved in the discussions the NBN has been urging parties such as Google and Apple to consider bidding for TV sporting rights with the content distributed via the new NBN network.

The move comes as NBN management look for additional partners in an effort to generate revenue that was initially built into their budgets for the fibre network. 

The move by NBN management has been welcomed by both the AFL and NRL codes as it delivers an expanded group of bidders for sports rights at a time when free to air TV stations are struggling to hold onto market share and advertisers.

Ten Network boss Hamish McLennan has described rumblings of Google making a bid for AFL or NRL sports rights as “10 out of 10 scary” as the week-old $1.2 billion MCN-Ten Network advertising joint venture declared an all-out assault on Google, Facebook and other hungry online video networks according to Fairfax Media.
In a joint interview after inking the proposed $1.2 billion advertising sales joint venture last week between Ten and Foxtel, Mr McLennan and Multi Channel Network chief executive Anthony Fitzgerald said the new free-to-air and pay TV alliance would simultaneously leapfrog current broadcast TV turf wars and counter rapidly emerging competitors in the online video sector.



The Financial Review claims that the AFL and NRL are both in the market for huge new broadcast deals, with each set to reap somewhere between $1.5 billion to $2 billion for five-year contracts.

Talks are expected to formally heat up in the second half of the season, after several media and football executives take midwinter holidays, with both the AFL and NRL hopeful of resolving new deals by Christmas.

One senior executive who has met with NBN management and has been approached by the sporting codes said.

“NBN management are talking to anyone who could be interested in becoming an ISP. They range from utility Companies to retailers to content providers. I doubt whether Google, Netflix or any third party content provider is going to put up over $1.2 Billion for the rights to a sporting code. It is far too complicated a process and a risk which they don’t need to take”. 

They added” Netflix is not going to do it and Fetch TV is not going to do it so that basically leaves Google and possibly Apple who while they have the money do not have an appetite for sport”. 

“The outsiders could be a Telstra or Optus. BT in the UK has bid for football sporting rights and they could do the same”. 
 
“There’s no doubt [the football codes] are talking to everyone but ultimately what path they go down will come down to cold hard economics,” said one digital media company executive.

AFL commissioner Kim Williams, a former Foxtel CEO, told a Collingwood corporate lunch earlier this month he did not expect the new entrants to play a significant part in the next rights deal, but they definitely would in the one after. “Television as we know it will change completely in the next decade,” he said. 

It was revealed last week that the NRL has spoken to Google, while Singtel-Optus chief executive Allen Lew revealed his company would fight rival Telstra to be part of the next rights deal for either code. 

Both the AFL and NRL have established working committees to gather information and lay the groundwork for what will be intense negotiations. AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan will play a major role, alongside AFL commissioners Kim Williams, formerly the CEO of Foxtel, and SEEK co-founder Paul Bassat and AFL executive Simon Lethlean. Macquarie Capital boss Robin Bishop is also understood to be assisting the AFL. 

The NRL is also understood to be considering as many as 12 Thursday night games in a new deal, while a possible source of additional revenue could be placing a new team in Brisbane to rival the incumbent Brisbane Broncos. It is estimated a new team could add $100 million to $200 million to a rights deal.

COMMENT: Why It’s No Surprise That Ice TV Has Gone Belly Up

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It’s not surprising that Ice TV has gone broke as the use by date for most of their offerings had already expired.

Earlier this week CEO and major shareholder Colin O’Brien was forced to call in the administrators and is now trying to flog a Company whose use by date is well and truly up.

This was a Company that was peddling an Electronic Program Guide, a service that comes free with most TV’s and then when the market was moving away from free to air TV content, to streaming services such as Netflix O’Brien invested in an expensive media centre that skipped advertising but failed to deliver any of the mainstream streaming services. 

O’Brien had big pipe dreams, but despite all his spin he was still not able to deliver a set top box that retailers were prepared to stock or a service that people actually needed. 

ChannelNews became suspicious of Ice TV three years ago when O’Brien said that he had cut a deal with several retailers to launch what is now called the Skippa video recorder. O’Brien told ChannelNews at the time that several retailers were set to stock the new device, the only problem was that not one single retailer we contacted confirmed that they would stock the device which was eventually launched this year in Australia by Ice TV via a direct online sell model.

O’Brien’s claim to fame is his historic copyright fight with the Nine Network. In a landmark decision on Australian copyright law, the High Court overturned a decision of the Full Federal Court and unanimously held that IceTV had not infringed the Nine Network’s copyright in its television schedules.

At the centre of the dispute was the IceGuide, an electronic program guide (“EPG”) first produced by IceTV in 2005, it was installed primarily on media centres and set top boxes which have primarily been replaced by new streaming technology. 

 The IceGuide was a subscription-based service which provided subscribers with a weekly or daily television guide for free-to-air digital television.

 IceTV manually produced the first version of its IceGuide by observing (over a 3-week period) the time and day on which free-to-air television programs were broadcast, and using those observations to predict what a particular week’s television program schedule was likely to be. 

At one stage O’Brien told ChannelNews that he was about to announce several partnerships with European operators for his guide, these contracts also failed to eventuate. 

Now IceTV has called in an administrator following a dispute with the company making its Skippa video recorder. 

Amanda Lott of TPH Insolvency has been appointed voluntary administrator for IceTV. “There is an issue with the supplier where the supplier ceased its Australian operations last week and it has implemented payment terms on IceTV to which the company cannot comply, and which were not originally negotiated,” Lott said.

According to the administrator around 1000 Skippa devices are reportedly held up in a warehouse, despite customers paying for the devices upfront. 

An e-mail sent to pre-order customers this week reportedly said it was highly likely that IceTV would cease trading if a buyer for the company wasn’t found “within the immediate future”. Customers left empty-handed were instructed to register as creditors.

O’Brien who is a keen sailor is now living in the Blue Mountains in NSW after moving out of his Mosman home.  
 
 O’Brien said the company providing the Skippa boxes had ceased trading at midnight on September 30. “It tried to put a tentative distribution arrangement in place which was unacceptable and impossible for IceTV to abide by,” he said.

Rumoured Microsoft Surface Smartphone Described As A “Pig With Lipstick”

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Further evidence has emerged that Microsoft is set to use their Surface brand name in an effort to flog a premium smartphone.

Described by one observer as a “Pig with lipstick”

approach, all past attempts by Microsoft to carve out a major share of the

smartphone market have failed.

The Surface branded Windows 10 based smartphone, is set to

be released in the second half of 2016. Several big brands have refused

Microsoft’s approaches to manufacture a smartphone running the Windows 10 OS

due to a lack of demand by both business and consumers. 

The new Lumia Windows 10 smartphones from Microsoft were

recently reviewed by the Australian, the headline read ‘Microsoft misses mark

with Lumia 950 and 950 XL smartphones”

They went on to say that ” Windows 10 being only a few

months old, there simply aren’t many universal apps to choose from and the app

gap that plagued previous iterations of Windows Phones remains. Performance was

also far from smooth and random app crashes mean that Continuum – the 950 and

the XL’s defining feature – isn’t quite ready for prolonged productivity

sessions”.

The move to a Surface branded smartphone appears to be an

attempted to move away from the Lumia that is more associated with dud smartphones

than a product that actually has consumer appeal,

In the past Lumia smartphones have neither sold well nor

been critically acclaimed.

A phone bearing the Surface name has been put through

benchmark tests, one report says.

The new Surface is said to run on an Intel chipset, Windows

10 and classic Win32 apps as well, turning the phone into a Windows

minicomputer.

Observers claim the the new smartphone,might be timed with the release of Windows 10

Redstone update, which is said to let apps transfer presence from phone to PC.

Users working on an email or browsing the web on a phone,

for example, would be able to switch to their PC to continue working on the

email or continue their browsing from where they left off.

 Users would also be

able to make phone calls from a PC through their phone.