Barnes & Noble’s e-reader entry was supposed to have one big advantage over the Kindle–you could buy one at the retailer’s stores. But it has been a long time coming, and in the meantime, you may have heard about another compelling e-reader heading to market.
Google got a second ad for free last night: A Vizio ad that promoted YouTube, along with a slew of other Web services. But the ad did a lousy job of promoting the company’s Internet-connected TVs. Pity, because it actually has something cool to pitch.
Apple has some 140,000 apps for its iPhone users. People who use phones with Google’s Android operating system have much less choice.
But here’s a consolation prize: Android users do get to use the coolest app in New York City. At least, according to the NYC Big App competition, which awarded its Grand Prize last night to WayFinder NYC, an Android-only app.
Little Boxee, the much hyped Web video service, played a cameo role at today’s Congressional hearings on the Comcast-NBCU deal. And as sometimes happens when Boxee and big media intersect, controversy ensued.
It’s a pretty standard chain of events: New platform opens up, investors try to attach themselves to developers who want to exploit it. Thus, the AppFund, which says it will invest up to $500,000 in iPad-specific apps.
Meet another set of investors funding New York-based Web start-ups: Lerer Media Ventures, run by Huffington Post co-founder Ken Lerer and his son, Thrillist co-founder Ben Lerer. Their backers include familiar names like Ron Conway and Arianna Huffington.
DVD sales are collapsing, nearly as quickly as music sales did over the last decade. Just ask MGM, which saw sales drop off a very steep cliff in just a couple of years. And remember this when you hear talk of Hollywood’s resurgence or the coming boom in 3-D.
It is all Apple, all the time in techland this week. Except at Reddit, where the social news site’s users spent most of yesterday obsessing about something else: A rogue ad.
Interesting footnote in AT&T’s earnings this morning: The carrier everyone loves to hate has quietly become the carrier of choice for e-book readers from Amazon, Sony and Barnes & Noble. They generated a million new subscriptions last quarter, and now the iPad will bring more.
Investors took a look at the Apple iPad yesterday and decided they didn’t really know what to think. Not a terrible conclusion: We won’t really know what this thing can do until we see the software Apple’s partners deliver.
As predicted, Steve Jobs showed off a new multimedia device today. One thing he didn’t show off, though: Much in the way of new media.
Bill Gates dropped by “The Daily Show” last night to chat up Jon Stewart. He did pretty well! And certainly much, much better than on his last trip, when he was peddling Windows Vista. Compare for yourself.
I got a great glimpse of the future of magazines last week. It’s the March issue of Wired, transformed into a digital edition that takes full advantage of the Apple tablet we’re going to see on Wednesday. But you’re not going to be able to buy a tabletized Wired for some time: Condé Nast, like most would-be Apple media partners, simply doesn’t know that much about the device yet.
Don’t know if this qualifies as a parable. But at the very least, it’s interesting: An iPhone app developer has figured out how to combat the burgeoning problem of iPhone app piracy–by embracing the pirates.
Eric Schmidt’s tender feelings for Apple won’t stop Google from competing directly with Apple’s iPhone: The company spent much of the time on its Q4 earnings call discussing its large mobile ambitions–without talking about specifics, of course. Meanwhile, the search giant posted a big jump in quarterly revenue. But not enough for twitchy investors, who are pushing shares down in after-hours trading.
Peter Kafka has been covering media and technology since 1997, when he joined the staff of Forbes magazine. Most recently, he has been the managing editor of the tech and media Web site, Silicon Alley Insider. Read more »
Here is a statement of my ethics and coverage policies. It is more than most of you want to know, but, in the age of suspicion of the media, I am laying it all out.
D is unlike any other executive conference. Since its debut in 2003, D has brought to life the energy and excitement of the digital revolution in an unscripted, upfront and unparalleled way. Read more »
Don't miss a post! Sign up for our Daily Email and get AllThingsD.com delivered each day.
Get columns, blogs and video from D and All Things Digital on your iPhone. Download now »
