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Oonagh Reidy

Bye Middle Man: JVC Sells Direct Online

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Japanese giant is selling direct to the consumer on new bells and whistles website.


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Pictured: JVC Portable iPod docking system, which can now be bought from its site.

The newly unveiled site, jvc.com.au, comes complete with product demos, shopping carts and a line up of products including audio, car, projectors, and cameras, all of which Aussie consumers can purchase on the spot.

The brand has already been selling online for sometime, a JVC spokesperson told ChannelNews, although this new site looks to be a serious onine business.

JVC joins the likes of Sony, who also already sell direct via its Style stores as it the flagging brand looks to gain market share and other large vendors have also hinted of moves to follow suit online.

Payments for JVC goods can be made via PayPal or credit card and all orders over the $100 mark get free shipping to their homes.

However, it also allows browsers locate its nearest JVC store by typing in their postcode.

The revamped site also contains new links to social networks Facebook and Twitter as well as links to YouTube product demos.

 

JVC is distributed here by Hagemeyer.

Harvey Norman Boss Buys Up As Sales Go Flat

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One of Harvey’s top bosses has bought 7,450 shares in the retailer.


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Harvey’s Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary, Chris Mentis, now holds 7,450 shares and 1,000,000 options, the ASX said yesterday.

The total value of this transaction was $19,891.50.

This comes as the retail giant, which has been beseiged by flat retail period, falling margins and profits, which in February fell 16.5 per cent.

This less than spectacular perfomance was blamed on price deflation in key categories, driven by
the strong Australian dollar, a challenging retail environment and
also the extreme weather.

However, it is looking to turn this around and looking to take its business online to restore growth prospects, already jumping on the group buying bandwagon with its Harvey’s Best Buy’s, which it kicked off in March last.

And considering Mentis is the top financial dog, he must know what he’s doing.

Prices of the retailer’s shares has dipped from a high in September last year of $3.95 to an all time low of $2.63 recorded this month.

Fujitsu Bags $100M NBN Deal As Telstra Fed Carrots

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Fujitsu Australia is NBN Co’s “prime alliance partner” it said today.

The ICT giant and construction partner ServiceStream, will provide managed services including network design, construction and installation works in new housing developments.

The duo will work alongside working NBN Co’s operations team.

“Fujitsu has the capacity and scale of operations to meet NBN Co’s unique requirement for the deployment of fibre to a large number of discrete locations across the country simultaneously,” NBN Co CEO Mike Quigley said today.

The latest agreement, tipped earlier this month, described by Quigley as a “key milestone ” is worth $100 million a year to Fujitsu and comes after much protracted talks with other construction companies bidding for work including Telstra, which were halted following accusations of price gouging.

Read Plan B: Fujitsu & Optus Cut NBN Deals here

The national broadband network is set to cost $36billion to complete, at current estimates. 

Since January 1, the new broadband provider has received more than 1,480 applications from housing developers, meaning  133,000 premises are to be connected to the fibre network across the nation.

 

However, the fibre deployment will be spread over a period of up to three years, “due to different construction timeframes and housing demand,” NBN Co also revealed.

“We are proud to be part of one of the biggest infrastructure projects ever undertaken in Australia, bringing digital services to the nation,” said Mike Foster, CEO of Fujitsu.

The awarding of this contract followed what was described “an extensive procurement process that started with requests for tenders in December 2010.”

And with one major milestone out of the way, the government and Communications Minister Stephen Conroy are trying to achieve another – to  speed up the signing of the deal with Telstra to transfer its copper fibre network and give access to its infrastructure over to the NBN Co.

Federal budget papers released this week reveal the government could be set to give carrots to the telco to sweeten it up ahead of the $11bn deal sign off, by providing financial backing and guarantees.

 

“The government is considering the provision of financial support arrangements to facilitate the finalisation of the agreements,” the budget papers state.

Yes: Optus Mob Users Hit 9M As Vodafone Suffers

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Optus celebrates “strong” Aussie growth as more customers say ‘yes.’The Singtel owned telco today reported a massive lift mobile performance signing on 151,000 new users in the postpaid bracket alone in the first three months of the year.

Its mobile customer base showed an increase of more than half a million customers (582,000) compared to a year ago, with total post-paid users for the No.2 telco now standing at 4.77 million.

Pre tax earnings (EBITDA) also rose 4.2 per cent for the first quarter of the year, “driven by contributions from all its segments,” it said today.

Telstra signed on 1.2 million new mobile users for the same quarter, while Vodafone lost 224,000 post paid subscribers.

Vodafone Hutchinson Australia, besieged by widespread consumer discontent at its poor service and the gains made by both Optus and Telstra appear to be symptomatic of users fleeing the service in rapid numbers.

However, it did manage to add 94,000 on its prepaid service.

Optus also grew on mobile 3G broadband customers, with numbers jumping to 5.09 million – a lift of 5 per cent year-over-year.

1.28 million of this figure accounts for wireless broadband users. Its consumer fixed line revenue also jumped 91 per cent, and lively take up of phone and internet bundles including its Fusion plans, pushed fixed line broadband user numbers to 960,000.

Optus revenue for its latest fiscal quarter to 31 March was $2.32bn – a hike of 4.1 per cent compared to the same period a year ago.  Net profits also jumped 15 per cent to $261m while for the year hit $776m.

 

It attributed its success to its new products including controversial Femtocell service, a device which enhances broadband coverage in the the home as well as its cloud technology for back up of Smartphones and PC’s.

Total group revenue for the year end 31 March was $9.28m – a 3.7 percent jump for Singtel, which also saw a lift in local operations in Singapore, said to be delivering “strong performance.”

“In a highly competitive environment, Optus delivered EBITDA growth, improved cash flow and strengthened its market position with our mobile customer base growing to 9 million for the first time,” CEO Paul Sullivan said in a statement. 

The news comes just days after Optus announce its hook up with IPTV provider FetchTV, which will put it head to head with Telstra’s T Box and other services.

Read Optus Nab FetchTV For IPTV As Telstra T Box Battle Looms here

World First: ViewSonic 27″ High Speed PC/TV LED $599

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ViewSonic 53 Series has mixed business and pleasure with TV and PC monitor in one.


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The newly launched LED’s monitors are a “partner and a player in one” with double HDMI interface, 30,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, built-in SRS speakers on a detachable book stand.

Useful in the office or home, the series comes in four sizes ranging from 27″ to 21.6″ and dont hit the pocket too hard, starting at just $249.

The ultra slim 27 inch model boasts a 1 millisecond response time – a world first – and comes with full HD (1920×1080 res) 1080p LED monitor, says its makers.

The VX2753mh 27 inch screen is highly responsive with 16:9 aspect ratio adjustable screen displays 30,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and LED screen technology restores correct proportions to images, videos, games, websites making images larger than life.

The “all round image display centre”, with HDMI and VGA allows it to connect with connected to devices like PCs, laptops and consoles bringing movies and other multimedia to a larger screen.

It also boasts eco mode, which can can reduce power by up to 50% and won’t emit annoying electromagnetic radiation either.

“ViewSonic 53 Series LED monitor range displays every scene at work and outlook in life in the proportion that most resembles the real size,” says the California based TV maker.  

 

Price wise, the 27 inch VX2753mh will set you back $599, 24 inch ($299), and 21.6 inch $249.

Gagging Orders: Twitter Cant Talk As Giggsy Named

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It’s official: Twitter breaks down as super injunction scandal goes into overdrive.


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Following the naming and shaming of Manchester United footballer Ryan Giggs (pictured) as the man behind the super injunction that has divided Britain, Twitter may be getting more than it bargained for. 

Punters wishing to log on this morning have been met with this greeting: “Twitter is over capacity. Please wait a moment and try again.”

Its visitor numbers spiked more than 22 per cent at the weekend according to Experian Hitwise figures as the public flocked to the site to determine the identity of the footballer behind the super injunction against the social network. Giggs’ lawyers served a banning order against Twitter last week.

This marked the busiest day in history for the site with “Ryan Giggs suing Twitter” the fourth most popular search keywords.

This traffic was 10 per cent higher than its previous busiest day, May 9th, when a site purporting to name all celebrities currently holding super injunction emerged.

One SmartAlec, posing as Chelsea footballer, Frank Lampard, wrote on the site: “Ryan Giggs is suing Twitter. I can’t Imogen why.”

Giggs, whose name had already been published around 75,000 times to date as the identity behind the injunction, was seeking to prevent Twitter from publishing his name any further as the married man who allegedly had an affair with former Big Brother star Imogen Thomas.

Thomas, who had already been publicly revealed by media, was not covered by the super injunction.

 

However, the revelations could bite Twitter where it hurts as UK politicians are to review the regulations surrounding social media, pledging a “balance between privacy and freedom of expression” as celebrities seek to protect their privacy despite the advent of free speech and uncensored sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Considering social media is still a new  phenomena It could also work in its favour and prevent celebs like Giggs seeking to muzzle it in the future.

The sex scandal also sent fury thorough British media, who were prevented from uncovering the scandal, following the granting of the super injunction by British courts.

However, Giggsy’s lawyers need not have wasted their time as British Liberal Democrat MP, John Hemming, publicly named and shamed the footballer yesterday in the House of Commons using parliamentary privilege.

Samsung Galaxy II $5 On Optus, Release June 1

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Telco offering Samsung’s much awaited smartphone on pre order on $59 cap since Friday.


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The high powered Galaxy update, running on Android Gingerbread 2.3 and weighing in at 116g boasts a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and Super AMOLED Plus 4.3 inch touchscreen and 8Mp camera.

The phone will set back Galaxy fans $5 per month on a $59 cap or else for free on $79 plan. It also has two other pricier options on a ‘timeless extreme’ plan.

The phone is to be released “across all major networks and retailers” in Australia although a Samsung spokesperson failed to disclose the precise date when quizzed by ChannelNews last week.

However, Optus may have left the cat out the bag and its website indicates the release date is June 1st.

“Pre-order before 28 May and we will aim to deliver your phone on 1 June 2011, the day Samsung Galaxy S II is released in Australia,” Optus states.

The $59 plan comes with 2GB Data, “unlimited standard SMS and MMS” unlimited access within Australia to Facebook, Twitter and other social media, within Australia. The package is valued at $700.

 

Optus is also sweetening the deal by giving a bonus desktop dock for first 200 customers and appears to be the first off the mark with Galaxy II with none of the other carriers offering the device, including Telstra and Vodafone as yet.

The telco declined to say how pre sales of the device were going, which has been available online since Friday last.

LinkedIn Gold Rush As Value Soars $8.5B. Is Dot Com 2.0 Here?

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Shares opened on its first day of trading yesterday at $83 – almost double its initial IPO price of $45.


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The market frenzy that ensued following opening of New York Stock Exchange, what the Wall Street Journal has called the “outsize demand” for a company which is now valued at, $85bn, despite making a modest profit of just over US$15 million (on $243 revenue) last year.

 In 2009, it made a loss of $4 million. But what a difference a year makes. By the time the NYSE closed at 4pm, shares were worth an eye watering $94.25 – a 109% lift – which must have made traders gasp into their PC screens as it means the company is now worth a phenomenal $8.9 billion.

This exceeded all expectations for Reid Hoffman 2002 online start up, which had been tipped to float for around US$3bn-$3.3bn value and initial prices were as low as $32-35 per share.

“If anybody thinks that the tech investing sector didn’t change today, they’re absolutely crazy,” Lee Simmons, editor of IPO research service Hoover’s told the Silicon Valley Times. “Today is going to be a benchmark of how these stocks enter the market in the future.”

However, another respected industry figure muttered the messianic share rise “is like a movie I’ve seen before,” referring to the previous dot com bubbles that crash landed.

 The Silicon Valley giant plans to sell 7.8m shares in total, although its chief isn’t getting too excited, attributing the rise to the vagaries of the market, rather than the kick off of dot com 2.0, which many analysts fear.

 

“This isn’t necessarily indicative of anything. The market will do what it will do,” said Jeff Weiner, LinkedIn CEO.

Many in Wall Street also believe the professional social network has benefitted from being the first of the online startups to hit the trading floor and had say Facebook gone first it would be a very different story.

It is the biggest market debut for a tech company since Google floated back in 2004 for $85 a share which then hit $100 soon after.

One of the oldest social networkers around, the company founded in 2002, has morphed into the biggest social network/ head hunting service for employers and recently began charging for some of its services with 100 million registered users.

It has also open the floodgates for its counterparts including the darling of social networks, Facebook, which has a currently value of $79 billion on private exchange SharesPost, and seven time the user numbers with 700 million and counting, to follow suit. 

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg will sleep soundly tonight.

Others like Twitter and even Groupon (which Google bid $6bn last year) may also go public and this enthusiastic response from Wall Street is giving them a strong indication of what’s to come. 

 

So who were the big winners? Reid Hoffman who still retains over one fifth of the company (20.1 per cent) as wel as current CEO and employees as well as several venture capital outfit. 

IPTV Coalition: FetchTV To Nab Top Telstra Rivals, TPG Next

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FetchTV is cosying up to some of Telstra’s top rivals in a bid to challenge T Box.


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Just last week IPTV provider FetchTV announced a deal with its biggest rival, Optus, set to kick off on screens later this year.

However, now it seems it is looking to pen deals with every one of its top ten rivals including the likes of TPG, to build a “coalition” against its biggest rival Telstra, CEO Scott Lorson revealed this week.

And it is also in talks with at least two or three other internet providers to help build a team of IPTV rivals against Telstra’s T Box TV and movies on demand service which have 120,000 customer base between its box and Big Pond movie service.

Big Pond services are also available on a stream of new Smart TVs including Samsung and LG sets which could prove a major boost to its user numbers.

However, its latest sign on is FetchTVs biggest feat yet.

“I think the fact that we’ve been able to nab the number two, number three and number five providers in the country bodes very well for the rest of the others,” said Lorson.

Some of the smaller ISPs including Internode, and iiNet were two of the first to hook up with Fetch services last year. Adam Internet is currently trialling the service.

 

The new Optus service “is part of [its] broader TV strategy to develop a suite of converged video services.. at home or on the move,” it said, and should give the IPTV provider some major consumer muscle, analysts believe.

“This time we have to get it right” Optus CEO Paul Sullivan admitted last month. Undoubtedly, the No.2 telco could prove a major IPTV service and offer competitive pricing.

FetchTV service, which usually costs under $30 a month with a set top box, offers world channels, pay and free digital TV as well as movies, games, and Facebook applications.

Internode already has two variation of the service Fetch Lite and Full and is said to have over two thousand subscribers.

Fetch TV, which is 47 per cent owned by Malaysian company Astro All Asia Networks and 53 per cent by its senior managers.

Reports: Apple Slim SIM For iPhone 6?

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Apple MicroSIM is to become MicroSLIM, according to reports.
The tech giant’s SIM cards are to shed some pounds in a bid to shape up – possibly for iPhone 6 which is tipped to be out mid next year.

Well, the slim down is mainly to help Steve Jobs’ engineers build smaller and thinner devices. The revamped SIMs could be available as early as next year.

Apple SIMs got their first major overhaul last year with installation of the MicroSIM for the iPad but now it seems it is set for a further cut down.

MicroSIM for iPad is essentially the memory chip but without the added plastic, and measures up to a minuscule 12 x 15mm.

“We were quite happy to see last week that Apple has submitted a new requirement to (European telecoms standards body) ETSI for a smaller SIM form factor — smaller than the one that goes in iPhone 4 and iPad,” Anne Bouverot, Orange’s head of mobile services told Reuters.

“They have done that through the standardisation route, through ETSI, with the sponsorship of some major mobile operators, Orange being one of them.”

However, what is also interesting about this development if it comes to pass is that Apple SIMs will be non transferrable to other devices and will be pulling away from the industry standard, unless others follow suit.

It also means iPhone users with 4 or older models looking to upgrade will have to purchase new SIM cards.

 

This also means phone unlockers’, who have made an industry out of unlocking iPhones, number could be up.