CrunchGear |  |
- Total Mobile eBook Sales Forecast To Reach $10B By 2016; Now Close To 1 Million Books In Kindle Store
- Daily Crunch: Structure
- The Narwhal Bacons On Your Phone: BaconReader Is A Reddit Reader For Android
- The First Ice Cream Sandwich Android Tablet Surfaces In China
- Classic Gaming Mag And Site GamePro Buys The Farm
- Another Study Shows Data Caps Are Likely Ineffective, Address Wrong Problem
- TechCrunch Gadgets Webcast: The Standing Desk
- Welcome To The Future: Every Instrument In This Song Is From An iPad App
- Sony’s Latest Retail Strategy: Follow Apple’s Lead
- Ray Bradbury Finally OKs Digital Version Of Fahrenheit 451
- Quadcopter Art Project: The Robots Are Building Forts
- Acer’s New Monitor Turns 2D Into 3D Automagically
- Xbox 360 Still Selling Like Console-Shaped Hotcakes
- The LandingZone: A Dock For Your Air, Handsome And Bold
- HP’s Meg Whitman Acknowledges Apple Could Surpass HP In 2012, Says 2013 Will Be HP’s Year
- Sonos Update Adds Social, New Android Tablet Version
- Daily Crunch: Face Recognition
| Posted: 01 Dec 2011 04:43 AM PST  With this morning’s addition of 16,000 Italian-language ebooks, and 22,000 Spanish-language books, Amazon has updated the total number of digital books it claims to offer through its Kindle Store. The company says the new Kindle Store now offers over 900,000 titles in English and other languages, and indeed, the eBooks section actually turns up 950,000+ search results. For the record: this is eBooks only – all in all, there are more than 1 million books, newspapers, magazines and blogs available for Amazon Kindle today, the company professes on this page (see ‘Massive Selection’) and elsewhere. Conveniently, Juniper Research this morning released a new report on mobile eBook sales, which it forecasts to reach close to $10 billion ($9.7b) by 2016, up from $3.2 billion this year. The research firm says the expected jump in eBook sales for portable devices can be attributed to the growing number of dedicated eReader devices on the market, an upsurge in usage across smartphones and tablet computers and the rise of brand bookstore apps like Apple’s iBookstore and, of course, Amazon’s Kindle Store. Juniper Research says the increasing demand for tablets means that such devices will account for nearly 30 percent of all eBook downloads by 2016. Perhaps surprisingly, the firm claims smartphones are not, and are unlikely to become, a primary reading device in markets other than Japan (due to the manga comics phenomenon there).
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| Posted: 01 Dec 2011 01:00 AM PST  Here are some of yesterday’s stories on TechCrunch Gadgets: Welcome To The Future: Every Instrument In This Song Is From An iPad App Quadcopter Art Project: The Robots Are Building Forts Another Study Shows Data Caps Are Likely Ineffective, Address Wrong Problem TechCrunch Gadgets Webcast: The Standing Desk
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| The Narwhal Bacons On Your Phone: BaconReader Is A Reddit Reader For Android Posted: 30 Nov 2011 09:27 PM PST  Folks who use iOS devices can enjoy the fine, fresh flavor of Reddit any time day or night with the official Reddit app. But what about Android users? What are they, chopped bacon? BaconReader is a new Android reader produced by OneLouder. It is, as you’d expect, heavily text-based but it allows you to view your own account and submit news to Reddit as well as browse image links like a champ. Why Reddit doesn’t have their own iReddit version for Android is beyond me, but there you have it. The free version includes ads but you can upgrade to ad-free for $1.99. Most important is this simple line that many wouldn’t notice in the product description and that I think shows the care and diligence these folks put into the app. - Rageface and look of disapproval support There are plenty of Android Reddit readers out there but this one looks to be a bit more polished, with color coded comment threads and full inbox support. Sure, it may not get you a date with I_am_the_cheese or highlight stuff that’s already been on 4chan, but it’s a native Android Reddit client and I’m sure it will go more than OK.
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| The First Ice Cream Sandwich Android Tablet Surfaces In China Posted: 30 Nov 2011 06:05 PM PST  Right now the only way to officially taste Ice Cream Sandwich on a device is on the Galaxy Nexus. Google stated that it would eventually hit tablets. Well, the wait is over. Somewhere in the bowels of China the first ICS tablet has appeared. It’s a Xoom clone powered by slightly-dated hardware but it’s running 4.0.1. That’s all that counts. The story goes that the tab shown here (and in the video after the jump) is the first 4.0.1 tablet. As Shanzhaiben and GizChina notes, the 10.1-inch tablet is a bit of a Xoom knockoff but sports respectable internal components. 1GB of RAM and a Tegra 2 chip powers the device. There’s 16GB of storage, dual cams, GPS, HDMI, a 7000mAh battery, and a 3G SIM card slot.
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| Classic Gaming Mag And Site GamePro Buys The Farm Posted: 30 Nov 2011 04:15 PM PST  Gamers of the 8- and 16-bit generation will fondly remember GamePro, one of the leading publications covering and reviewing the growing games market during the console salad days of the 90s. But like so many publications before it, and surely many to come, the modern age was too much for it. Even after shifting to quarterly publication and focusing on an online presence, the venerable magazine is finally being shelved for good. Owner IDG has confirmed that ad revenue wasn’t enough and the whole operation is being rolled up, complete with layoffs. The brand will remain, both as a games-focused subsite at PCWorld and as a custom content publisher for events and such, known as GamePro Custom Solutions. So they may yet have a modest future as a trade show and private print producer. They put up a valiant fight and tried to change with the times, which is more than can be said of some “legacy” publications, but times are tough and that’s that. As a former GamePro reader and colleague in the business, I wish the company and employees all the best.
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| Another Study Shows Data Caps Are Likely Ineffective, Address Wrong Problem Posted: 30 Nov 2011 02:00 PM PST  Data caps on your broadband, while in principle sound troublesome, are at least understandable. Bandwidth is a limited resource and we all have to share it, and presumably if we all were maxing our connections out all the time, we’d tax the system beyond its capacity. But who uses the most bandwidth and when is a more practical thing to investigate, as knowing that could prevent congestion at peak hours and so on. Some studies and theories have suggested that so-called bandwidth or data hogs, in other words people who use the entirety of the product they paid for, aren’t really a great source of congestion, and the data caps intended to prevent such users from maxing out all the time aren’t an effective countermeasure. The guys at Diffraction Analysis examined data from “a mid-size company from North America” that was interested in understanding its consumers’ use patterns. Good for them, by the way. The data they submitted was bandwidth consumption throughout the day, with five-minute granularity. The study’s aim was to determine whether a small subset of users (the hogs) could indeed affect the quality of others’ service, and whether caps were an effective deterrent. The conclusions, briefly stated, were that while heavy users do in fact consume far more data in aggregate than the average (288GB vs. 9.6GB in this study), their contribution to congestion during peak hours, and when the network is at 75% of its capacity or above, is in fact not much greater than the average user. What the statistics bear out is this: during peak hours when service is most likely to be affected by overcrowding, heavy users only make up a small percentage of those consuming bandwidth – 14.3%, to be precise. And of the heavy users, only half of them were on the fastest connection, further driving home the fact that while they may consume more in total, they are not contributing more than anyone else to the actual problem, which is slowdown in peak hours. So why the data caps? Clearly a limit of, say, 300GB a month (or lower) won’t prevent peak usage from affecting service quality. In fact, if people are limited by draconian data caps, they are likely to limit their usage to peak hours: streaming a movie in the evening, or browsing YouTube when they get home from work. This would in fact contribute even more to the problem of peak crowding. What’s the solution? Bandwidth caps seem more important, and advertising a range of values instead of a maximum would be both more honest and indemnify the ISP against slowdowns. If a dynamic bandwidth cap let you download at 30Mbps in the middle of the night but limited you to 5Mbps during peak hours, it’s the best of both worlds and nobody has to worry about overage charges. And how would you make money to replace those overages, not that they amount to much? Sell a limited number of premium accounts that aren’t limited during peak hours. Since the ISPs control the number and width of the pipes, they can calculate how many premium and how many standard they can offer. This seems much more logical than imposing a total data limit that’s a pain for some and immaterial to others, though both contribute equally to the problem ostensibly being addressed. The whole report is available for purchase here for the sum of €750, though the executive summary provided by the author is illuminating as well.
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| TechCrunch Gadgets Webcast: The Standing Desk Posted: 30 Nov 2011 01:02 PM PST This week we bring you the Fujifilm X10, the Galaxy Tab 8.9, and my new standing desk. The standing desk, incidentally, is my second desk, which puts me firmly in the 1% camp when it comes to home workstations. I write a little about my standing desk here but generally it’s a FREDRICK desk from Ikea set up so I have my keyboard and mouse at waist level and monitor by my head. We also talk about Devin’s favorite camera this week, the Fujifilm X10, and my favorite Android tablet this week, the Galaxy Tab 8.9. I’ve included MP3 downloads and RSS feeds for your listening pleasure.
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Welcome To The Future: Every Instrument In This Song Is From An iPad App Posted: 30 Nov 2011 12:20 PM PST  I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t tried my hand at making music with various iPad apps. I’d also be lying if I said any of that music sounded even halfway decent. Imagine someone getting into a fist-fight with a duck. Add some reverb and a terrible bass track. It generally sounds like that. That’s clearly a limitation of my own musical abilities, though, as dudes like the one in this video are managing to make entire songs with nothin’ but the iPad, a handful of apps, and their own golden pipes. There’s at least a dozen or so apps in play here, with the likes of Garage Band on the guitar/drums, Animoog on the bass, and a bunch of Smule apps (MadPad, Magic Fiddle, Magic Piano, etc.) making up the rest of the orchestra. Total cost? Probably around $100 bucks. You might be able to find one of these instruments in decent (but definitely used) shape for that much. We’re entering a new era here, folks. One in which people can not only simulate just about any instrument in the world, but in which they can do so without battling an unnatural user interface (thanks to touch input). Want to play a guitar? Done. Want to play a moog? Sure, why not! It’s by no means a substitute for the real deal, but it opens up a world of possibilities to people who never would have even tried before. The future is wonderful. Update: Another (arguably more awesome) video in the same vein, though the iPad instruments are joined by traditional instruments in the end. Thanks to commenter Jason Allen King for the heads up:
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| Sony’s Latest Retail Strategy: Follow Apple’s Lead Posted: 30 Nov 2011 11:15 AM PST  Sony is making a big push in retail, as COO Phil Molyneux outlined this morning at a press conference in New York City. As he explained Sony’s retail plans, in that lovely British accent, one thing kept popping up in my mind: Apple. Sony’s retail strategy, in many ways, seems to be taking cues from Apple’s in-store success over the past few years. That’s not to say that Sony is straight-up copying Apple by any means. Even from a business perspective, Sony’s focus is shifting toward products that support its media platforms, which is just what Apple does. Still, Sony seems to be following Apple’s example (whether in business or retail) in its own individual way. In April, Sony opened the doors to its first official “Sony Store” (as opposed to the Sony Style stores, which are being replaced by, well, Sony Stores) in Century City in Los Angeles. To put it succinctly, it’s pretty damn beautiful. It’s also strikingly similar to the approach Apple took in its retail stores. Products are displayed on a relatively open floor, interrupted only by plain white tables and a row of massive floor-to-ceiling displays. From the outside, you can see just about every corner and crevice through an entirely glass store-front, and in the back you’ll find a dedicated little module in which you can get the full Sony Home Entertainment experience. In many ways, this follows Apple’s strategy in-store. Most poignantly, Apple uses a huge amount of glass for every store it builds, whether its in the store-front or the staircases. In fact, I spoke with the architect behind Apple’s retail stores, Peter Bohlin, who said that Apple brought in highly specialized engineers to make the glass used in stores as minimalistic and seamless as possible. Obviously, many store-fronts feature glass-paneled displays, but to go big on the glass front is classic Apple. Then, of course, there’s Sony’s open air layout. Apple can’t necessarily take credit for this floor plan, so I wouldn’t say that Sony is imitating that style directly. But if you really think about it, there are very few electronics makers that have a strong self-branded retail presence (other than Apple and now Sony, of course). That said, there are really only two models to choose from: the Best Buy style layout (where products are cluttered together in a row on a shelf) or Apple’s layout (which is a thing of beauty). As we all do when we’re trying to create something new and original, Sony likely took from what it already knew in the design process, and Apple’s retail strategy clearly had an impact, whether it was a conscious one or not. But a store is more than glass store-fronts and giant rooms filled with gadgetry. A successful retail store has unbeatable customer service — again, an area where Apple thrives. Sony’s plan is to offer premium services to customers, what Molyneux calls the “walk out working” concept. This includes setup and education for customers who’ve purchased new Sony gear before they ever leave the store, device personalization, activation of any wireless service, technical PC and IT support, along with in-home consultation, delivery and installation. Sound like anything familiar? Like, oh I don’t know, Apple’s Genius Bar? When I first converted over to Apple a few years ago and got myself a MacBook Pro, a so-called “genius” started asking me a few unexpected questions. The first was: “would you like me to set this up with your username and password?” The second question was: “I see that you’ve purchased Pages, Keynote, and Numbers. Would you like me to install those for you real quick?” He went on to give me a quick tutorial about personalization, how to care for my new gem, and the best ways to be efficient in OS X. Again, I’m not saying that Apple invented good customer service in the electronics industry, but before I got my MBP I didn’t even know what to do when my PC freaked out. Do I just call some random computer whiz in the yellow pages? I could send it back in to the manufacturer for a check, but how long will that take? After the conversion to Apple and its genius bar, things like this were no longer a problem. Future Sony consumers will feel the same way. But Sony has a few unique tricks up its sleeve, too, including something called a “Golden Store.” Now the term Golden Store isn’t going to be something you’ll see in a banner across a storefront, but rather an internal term used at Sony that designates which stores have special sales executions. For example, certain big box retailers that carry Sony products will now have dedicated Sony sales reps wandering about to help customers, and train the retailer’s staff on the best way to educate consumers about Sony. Another example of a golden store would be one with one of those dedicated home entertainment modules. In short, Sony seems to be learning from Apple’s success and building off of it in a way slightly Sony. This is pretty good news for Sony because, according to Bohlin, Apple really can’t be topped in terms of architectural design. “I see [Apple's design] as an attitude and belief. People can mimic it, but I doubt they’ll drive it to that level of perfection. That perfection is not easy to achieve. You should do it so brilliantly that it seems easy.” Sony currently has 46 retails stores open, both Sony Stores and outlets. You can check out the full list of locations here.
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| Ray Bradbury Finally OKs Digital Version Of Fahrenheit 451 Posted: 30 Nov 2011 10:57 AM PST  91-year-old Ray Bradbury has finally agreed to make his books, most notably Fahrenheit 451, available in digital format after Simon & Schuster released his body of work back into his name. Bradbury has complained that the Internet is a distraction, at best, and has thus far refused to allow his books to appear on ereaders. The e-edition costs $9.99 and is available on the Kindle and Nook. In a 2009 New York Times interview, Bradbury railed against ereaders, saying they “smell like burned fuel” "Yahoo called me eight weeks ago," he said, voice rising. "They wanted to put a book of mine on Yahoo! You know what I told them? 'To hell with you. To hell with you and to hell with the Internet.' However, to be fair, thanks to the Internet no one will ever be able to burn – or ban – a book ever again.
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| Quadcopter Art Project: The Robots Are Building Forts Posted: 30 Nov 2011 10:38 AM PST  Our favorite manhacks, the Quadcopters, are currently building a 1,500 piece styrofoam sculture in the FRAC Centre in Orleans. The robots follow a pre-set plan but can sense each other in space and assess which pieces have already been placed, resulting in a ballet of tiny, flying machines that are about as smart as a barn sparrow. Called “Flight Assembled Architecture,” this demonstration shows how far we’ve come from the early days of quadcopters and how much smarter these things are getting. I’m honestly waiting for the day when these things can swarm, piraña-style, and pick our grapes, apples, and occasional enemies of the state. No video yet but if someone in Orlean can head over there and check it out, we’d be eternally grateful. It looks insane.
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| Acer’s New Monitor Turns 2D Into 3D Automagically Posted: 30 Nov 2011 09:25 AM PST  Slowly but surely, the world is turning 3D. The Acer HR274H is a 27-inch 1080p 3D display with a trick up its sleeve. Using an internal, chip-based system, the monitor can convert most 2D content into (arguably poor) 3D. This will, in short, pop the moving objects to the front of the scene while making the background look further away. It uses a single HDMI cable to carry video from a console, Blu-ray player, or set-top box. It uses polarized, passive glasses instead of the more traditional battery-powered active glasses. It’s available now for $599.
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| Xbox 360 Still Selling Like Console-Shaped Hotcakes Posted: 30 Nov 2011 07:47 AM PST  Microsoft just posted some impressive sales stats: this week they sold 980,000 Xbox 360 consoles and 750,000 Kinect sensors, both “standalone and bundled.” The sales week is probably due in part to the perfect storm of titles hitting the platform, including Skyrim and Batman: Arkham City, as well as Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales. The 360 is seven years old and is expected to get an updated Metro-like UI on December 6, turning the console from a primary games machine into something that resembles a set-top box. That the hardware and software are both standing the test of time is a testament to the investment and importance Microsoft places on the console. To quote from the Gruber: Amazing how popular a closed system — where the hardware and software are designed by a single company — can be. [Image: Marie C Fields/Shutterstock]
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| The LandingZone: A Dock For Your Air, Handsome And Bold Posted: 30 Nov 2011 07:24 AM PST  This Kickstarter project has been kicking around the Internet a bit but it’s pretty cool. This is a handsome dock for your 11- or 13-inch air and includes 4 USB ports, an ethernet port, a DisplayPort, Kensington lock port, and power supply. To use it simply lock your MacBook into the LandingZone’s snug confines and start working. As a doofus who just set up a standing desk, this would be a livesaver. First it improves the Air’s USB situation immensely and the ease of use would shave, at worst, a few seconds off of my start-up time and probably improve air circulation around the Air. The entry-level pledge is $159 and that gets you an 11- or 13-inch model. You can get two for $299. I’d be wary given the upcoming changes we expect to the MacBook Air in the next few months, but not much in terms of port placement should change. Kitae Kwon, an engineer in Cupertino, created the dock and has been working on it for eight months. He’s set up a product page here. The product has 31 more days to reach $50,000 in funding. Considering it’s at $30,000 now, it shouldn’t be too hard. Total of 4 USB 2.0 ports; no need to attach a separate USB hub
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| HP’s Meg Whitman Acknowledges Apple Could Surpass HP In 2012, Says 2013 Will Be HP’s Year Posted: 30 Nov 2011 07:19 AM PST  “Yes. I think it’s possible if you integrate tablets,” said HP’s CEO, Meg Whitman in response to a question from French newspaper Le Figaro [translated] concerning Apple’s possible takeover as the world’s top PC maker. “Apple does a great job. We need to improve our game and our products to take over the leadership position. Apple could go past HP in 2012. We will try to become the champion in 2013. It takes time for the products on which I have come to influence the market.” Whitman’s candid response echos a current debate: Should tablets, such as the iPad, be considered personal computers? If so, then Apple is on track to replace HP as the top PC maker. This comes after British research firm Canalys decided to include tablets in their analysis, basically crowning Apple as top dog. While Meg doesn’t dispute this technicality in the interview, she basically concedes all of 2012 and states to wait until 2013 for HP’s return to glory. After all, she says, that’s when the products she influenced would hit the market. Wow. Interestingly enough, during the same interview, Whitman talked a bit about the future of webOS. She stated that a decision would be made in the next two weeks as there are currently 600 employees in “limbo.” The only hint about its future is that Whitman stated that HP needs two OSes (could Android be the other option?). It’s clear that Whitman understands Apple’s surging numbers and doesn’t see a quick fix. The company already flubbed its first attempt at an iPad competitor and per her statements about waiting until 2013, there isn’t likely a killer product in HP’s product pipeline. After all, the former HP CEO, Leo Apotheker, was clearly steering the HP machine away from the consumer market and down a path blazed by IBM and Oracle that leads to enterpriseland. However, from an outsider’s vantage point, HP hasn’t looked this good in a while. After taking the helm, Whitman quickly decided to keep the Personal Systems Group within HP. The company’s stock is on an upward trend and HP beat Wall Street’s estimates in the fourth quarter. A sign of good leader is respecting competitors and keeping a straight head. Apple really is on track to beat HP in PC shipments if tablet computers are counted (they should be). It’s refreshing to see HP’s leader acknowledge it’s going to take some time to right the massive ship that is HP.
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| Sonos Update Adds Social, New Android Tablet Version Posted: 30 Nov 2011 06:03 AM PST  An update to the Sonos firmware and controller now allows Android users to manage their devices on a Honeycomb tablet in a native slate format, eschewing the original portrait-only Android phone app. The new version supports the Kindle Fire as well. Users can also now Tweet the titles of music they’re listening to right from the app. The app now also supports Slacker radio and an updated version of the Sonos Labs API, allowing programmers to interact directly with the Sonos server and add new channels easily. The 3.6 update also adds some minor bug fixes to Sonos hardware devices. The updates should download automatically upon starting any Sonos desktop or mobile controller. Find and play any song, in any room, right from your favorite Android device (running 2.2 and higher) — with one free app.
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| Daily Crunch: Face Recognition Posted: 30 Nov 2011 01:00 AM PST  Here are some recent posts on TechCrunch Gadgets: Report: Microsoft To Bring Office To iPad In 2012 MOTOACTV Fitness Tracker To Debut In U.K. On December 1 Restored Polaroid SX70s, With Designer Accents – For A Price Carrier IQ Video Shows Alarming Capabilities Of Mobile Tracking Software
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