Mike Slocombe

Electoral Commission Supports o2 WAP Site To Boost “Da Yoof” Vote
The Electoral Commission is supporting efforts to get the UK’s young voters well up for the forthcoming election by encouraging them to get down wiv their mobiles.
With voting turnout fairly miserable among 18-25 year olds, mobile operator o2 has tried to get “Da Yoof” interested by adding an election section to its O2 Active WAP portal.
This will include information on postal voting, how to find the nearest polling station, how to vote, how to obtain a postal vote and answers to frequently asked questions about politics.
Voter turnout fell to an all time low of 59% in the 2001 General Election, and recent polls have suggested that turnout in the coming general election may slump as low as 55 – 56%.
Turnout was lowest in 2001 amongst the younger generation of voters and a recent poll of 3,000 O2 Active users around the 18-24 mark revealed that only 38% intended to vote.
Becky Lloyd, campaigns manager at the Electoral Commission rapped: “It’s important that we communicate with the younger electorate in particular through a medium with which they are comfortable and familiar and mobile phones are a good way of doing this.”
Russ Shaw, Marketing Director at o2 beat boxed, “The Electoral Commission is trying to increase participation in the General Election. O2 Active provides a perfect mechanism for doing so by putting a simple tool for learning more into the pockets of 3.8 million people. This is just one way that this new, instant, always with you communications medium can be utilized by organisations and businesses trying to reach more people, particularly amongst younger audiences.”
It’s not the first time o2 have promoted the use of their mobiles for political discourse – in November 2004, the company hosted a “live text chat” with Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Wicked!
The UK’s mobile users are among some of the earliest adopters worldwide. According to new research by MobileYouth, a British child will own its first mobile at age eight, compared to a US child, who will own theirs at 12.
o2 WAP portal
o2’s “live text chat” with Tony Blair.
20 April, 2005
Springsteen DualDisc Album Market Test
US Record industry honchos will be taking a bigger interest than unusual in the new Springsteen release as they wait to see how the new DualDisc format goes down with Brooooooce fans.
“Devils and Dust,” the Boss’s 19th album, will also be released in the fledgling CD/DVD hybrid format, marking the first major change in retail music packaging since the compact disc was introduced more than two decades ago.
The format bolts together a standard CD with a DVD on the flip side, and fills it up with fan-tempting extras like video clips, surround-sound mixes for home theatres and lyrics etc.
Springsteen fans shelling out for new DualDisc release will be rewarded with video of their hero performing his new songs and discussing the making of the album.
Although “Devils and Dust” is not the first DualDisc to hit the market, it’s the first one released by a major artist exclusively in the format (there will be no traditional CD pressings available) and should provide a useful benchmark to see if the new technology has a viable future.
The four major record labels, EMI, Sony BMG, Universal and Warner created a consortium last year to launch the new audio-video hybrid in the US market, with Sony BMG claiming that where albums have been released in both formats, DualDisc purchases have accounted for around 30 percent of sales.
Of course, you don’t get something for nothing in the notoriously tight-fisted music industry, and punters will be compelled to shell out an extra dollar for the bundled DVD content.
The music business is hoping that the new format – and the extra cash – will help recoup the slice of the retail market lost to piracy and illegal file-sharing. “It’s harder to file-share DVD content and it’s virtually impossible for anyone to burn a DualDisc at home,” purred Thomas Hesse, president of global digital business for Sony BMG.
“We think all this will lure people back to the stores, because it’s a product you can’t really get in pirated fashion,” he continued.
But there’s a darkness on the edge of town, as critics complain that the DualDisc is just another industry wheeze to push consumers into repurchasing the albums they already have on CD.
Hesse was having none of it, reminding critics that because no extra hardware is needed, “it’s really a new product, rather than a new format”, adding that plans were looming to roll out the DualDisc in European markets.
DualDisc Bruce Springsteen
20 April, 2005
Samsung P207 Phone Offers VoiceMode STT Control
Those busy bee boffins at Samsung have announced the Samsung p207, billed as “the world’s first EDGE phone with VoiceMode provided by VoiceSignal.”
Promising to liberate users from the tyranny of texting on tiddly keypads, the smarty pants p207 uses “revolutionary” Speech-To-Text (STT) input technology.
Like its PC desktop counterparts, the user first has to ‘train’ the p207 through a series of spoken prompts that captures voice tone and intonation.
Once the user has adapted the system to their own dulcet tones, they can start dictating away – and the more that the learning VoiceMode is used, the more it adapts to the user’s voice.
Cleverly, voice texters can also address their message by dictating the recipient by name or number.
Peter Skarzynski, senior vice president of wireless terminals at Samsung wasn’t one to underplay the product’s capabilities: “Samsung is dedicated to integrating first-to-market technologies into its wireless phones to empower users in their everyday lives.”
“It is a great accomplishment for Samsung and a monumental day in the industry, as the p207’s advanced voice technologies transform day-to-day communication.”
The phone – looking a bit Alvin Stardust-esque in its tight, all-black covering – also comes with EDGE high-speed network, an integrated VGA camera/camcorder, MP3 ringtones, wireless multimedia messaging and instant messaging.
If this voice-to-text technology actually works (and we have a few doubts), it could prove a real boon, especially to people with fingers the size of large Bavarian sausages.
But the name’s a bit silly though. Who’d want to call a phone ‘page 207’?
Samsung
19 April, 2005
UK Students Peruse Porn And Study Online: Research
A government-backed study has revealed that more than one in 10 UK teenagers frequently use the Internet to look at “adult-only” Web sites.
Interviewed by the National Foundation for Economic Research, some 12% of 13 to 18-year-olds admitted that the quest for saucy titillation was one of their main reasons for going online.
However, homework was the most common reason for Internet use, with just over three-quarters using the Internet for research (and, in some cases, to plagiarise!)
The NFER study discovered that 52% used the Internet for Instant Messaging (IM) services and 36% logged on to shop for goods or services.
Some 18% looked up news and current affairs sites on the Web with 9% visiting discussion forums.
When it came to trusting the media, television was seen as the most trustworthy form of mass communication, with 48% trusting it completely or a lot.
Older students – already building up a healthy head of cynicism – were less convinced than younger ones of the level of honesty in the media, with newspapers faring worst overall, trusted by just 13%.
The eight-year NFER study was carried out on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills, and involved 6,400 pupils in 237 schools and 50 colleges in England.
National Foundation for Economic Research
Department for Education and Skills
19 April, 2005
BBC THREE Trials New Multi-Screen Application
BBC Three viewers will be able to schedule their own Sunday night viewing in a pioneering multi-screen application trial starting on 1 May 2005.
The service will work like a stripped down Video On Demand (VoD) service without the need for a dedicated infrastructure or additional consumer boxes.
From 9.00pm on Sunday nights, digital satellite viewers will be prompted to bash the red button on their remotes and be rewarded with a choice of three BBC THREE programmes, in addition to the channel’s live transmission.
The programmes will be categorised under Dramatic, Funny and Real, with the first night’s offering serving up the first two episodes of Nighty Night; the first and second episodes of the second series of Twisted Tales; and the first and second parts of the second series of Little Angels.
Stuart Murphy, Controller of BBC THREE, explains: “The ‘Best of Three’ multi-screen trial is a bold and ground-breaking new application which offers viewers more control and greater access to the wide range of programmes on BBC THREE.”
“In the future we believe viewers will want to watch their favourite show when they want it and not wait until a scheduler decides to transmit it.
“It’s a key stepping-stone to true video on demand in a free-to-air digital environment, and shows that we are serious about BBC THREE being the country’s most innovative digital channel, which evolves as fast as the audience’s tastes and needs.”
Emma Somerville, the BBC’s Head of Interactive Programming, added: “Interactive TV can really help our audiences engage with the BBC’s TV channels.”
“The ‘Best of Three’ multi-screen will test new ways of giving viewers more flexibility over when and how they want to enjoy our programmes.”
Viewers will be encouraged on air to try out the new service and the trial will last for six months.
The BBC hopes that the service will prove a showcase for the multi-genre offering of BBC THREE content and enable them to get more value from the full range of programmes that the channel broadcasts.
If all goes to plan, viewers will be encouraged to sample programming that normally wouldn’t whet their tele-whistles and also use the service to watch programmes that they might have missed.
If the trial is a hit, the BBC plans to roll out this application on Freeview and digital cable.
BBC Three
19 April, 2005
BBC Radio Times Partners With Gemstar Guide Plus+ EPG
Old school TV listings magazine The Radio Times, has announced a partnership with Gemstar, the Murdoch-owned electronic programme guide (EPG).
The deal – the first TV listings partnership of its kind – allows the Radio Times to provide listings, contents and reviews to the subscription-free, seven day Guide Plus+ EPG.
Gemstar will be building its EPG into a number of electronic devices such as digital TVs and DVD recorders. The EPG will allow consumers to browse and select their TV viewing for the next seven days.
Users will have access to seven-day listings, programme recommendations and a database of 24,000 film reviews with star ratings, with the service being compatible with all major channels on the terrestrial, cable, satellite and digital terrestrial platforms.
Simon Adams, deputy-managing director of Gemstar-TV Guide’s European division, said the move would benefit users by providing a “quick, easy, and free way to intelligently navigate what is an increasingly complex entertainment environment”. This partnership kicks the Radio Times firmly into the new digital age of television, with the company selling advertising on Guide Plus+ and boosting awareness of the EPG by plugging it relentlessly in its print magazine.
All concerned plan to expand the offering, with on exmaple given as onscreen adverts might eventually include clickable ads for programmes, letting viewers jump straight to the selected broadcast.
It is hoped that this synergetic partnership will expand what choca-mocha-latte supping advertising execs call the “brand heritage” of the Radio Times, which currently shifts over 1.1 million printed copies a week.
The BBC owned brand – the UK’s oldest radio and television listings magazine – has a presence across a range of media, with their website attracting nearly 600,000 unique users per month, and a text messaging service which allows readers to access listings. Radio Times was named as Britain’s “most reliable” media brand back in 2002.
Gill Hudson, editor of the Radio Times, declared: “There is now no format not covered by Radio Times – you can access RT via mobile, your PDA, online, and now the Guide Plus+ EPG.”
The Radio Times recently spent £1m (€1.44m) on a marketing campaign to promote the magazine in the face of a price war between the UK’s best-selling title, What’s on TV, and rival TV Choice. Clearly, the BBC hopes that this move into digital listings will provide a competitive edge.
Radio Times
Radio Times named Britain’s “most reliable” media brand
19 April, 2005
Adobe To Buy Macromedia: US$3.4Bn
Digital document software giants Adobe have announced that it will be buying up rivals Macromedia for about US$3.4 billion (£1.7bn/€2.6) in stock.
Adobe, best known for its market-leading document distribution Acrobat PDF software and Photoshop graphics suite, said the deal would help the company meet customer demands for wider-ranging applications, including audio and video capabilities.
The deal, announced early today, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2005, subject to shareholder approval.
Bruce Chizen will continue as Adobe’s chief executive and Shantanu Narayen will remain president and chief operating officer. Macromedia chief executive Stephen Elop will join Adobe as president of worldwide field operations.
Here’s the PR spin on the deal:
“The combination of Adobe and Macromedia strengthens our mission of helping people and organizations communicate better. Through the combination of our powerful development, authoring and collaboration tools – and the complementary functionality of PDF and Flash – we have the opportunity to drive an industry-defining technology platform that delivers compelling, rich content and applications across a wide range of devices and operating systems.
By combining the passion and creativity of two leading-edge companies, we will continue driving innovations that are changing the ways people everywhere are experiencing and interacting with information.”
The combined company would have annual sales of just over US$2bn (£1.05bn/€1.5bn), based on the most recent fiscal and calendar year figures from both.
The two companies have been battling it out for the hearts of creatives for several years – Adobe’s killer app Photoshop has long ruled the roost for designers, although Macromedia’s innovative rival product Fireworks was constantly nipping at its ankles.
Macromedia is best known for its hugely-popular HTML authoring package, Dreamweaver, and its animation software ‘Flash’, which enables Web designers to deliver fast downloading, interactive multimedia content.
Adobe’s late-to-the-party Flash riposte, ‘Live Motion’ never really got anyone excited, and its capable HTML authoring package, GoLive, failed to seriously trouble Dreamweaver’s dominance.
There has been no announcement about the future of individual products, and bulletin boards on the Web are already speculating as to the future of competing products, such the high-end illustration packages, ‘Freehand’ and ‘Illustrator’ (Macromedia and Adobe, respectively).
Both products have large, loyal user bases and there may be some concern that – in the words of Sparks – “this town ain’t big enough for the both of us”.
There are also fears that with Adobe now free of any real competition in this lucrative sector, a damaging monopoly could emerge.
Adobe
Macromedia
18 April, 2005
PC Sales Up, As Dell Slows: Report Gartner
Worldwide shipments of PCs rose by 10.3 percent in the first quarter, with global shipments increasing to 50.4 million units, up from the 45.7 million PCs shifted during the same period a year ago.
The research by Gartner Inc echoes the general trend reported by its competitor International Data Corp, which reported a slightly higher growth figure of 10.9 percent.
Market leader Dell, saw its worldwide growth rate slip below 20 percent for the first time in 10 quarters, as US companies shelled out less than expected on PCs.
Dell’s 13.7 percent growth rate was still enough, however, to inch up its market share to 16.9 percent from 16.4 percent, with the company continuing to grow faster than competitors and the market in general.
The lack of sales in the US was made up by increased sales in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, with small businesses in Western Europe being the biggest contributor to the boost in shipments in the EMEA region.
The report notes that lower vendor prices and the strong Euro to the dollar exchange rate helped open up small business wallets over Europe.
With US corporations appearing to be at the tail end of their usual four-year replacement cycle, the report speculates that sales probably won’t pickup dramatically until around 2008.
The vast bulk of PC sales in 2004 – 69 percent – were by corporations, educational institutions, small and midsize businesses and the government with consumers buying the rest.
Notebook sales globally continued to be very strong with customers tempting by falling prices.
In the US market – the biggest in the world – Apple shimmied up to fifth position, elbowing Toshiba down a place.
As we reported last week, Apple had a bumper year, with shipments rising by more than 45 percent, driven by iMac and PowerBook sales. This success is reflected in the company’s increased market share, up to 3.7 percent from 2.6 percent a year ago.
Dell remains the biggest PC vendor in the world followed by, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Fujitsu/Fujitsu Siemens and Acer.
In the US market, the big boys are Dell, HP, Gateway, IBM and Apple.
Karine Paoli, research director for IDC’s Personal Computing group, took a very deep breath and delivered this exceptionally long sentence : “If 2004 has been a strong year for the PC market, boosted by a rebound in commercial investment and portable adoption across EMEA, and if growth is expected to be softer this year, 2005 will remain buoyant, and highlight key transitions which will shape the market beyond 2006 – expansion of broadband and digital entertainment in homes, while businesses will look increasingly at mobility and wireless as part of their overall IT strategies.”
Gartner
International Data Corp report
18 April, 2005
Advertising in Games Forum predicts $1Bn in revenue 2010
Last week, 250 executives from advertising agencies, game developers and publishers swarmed into the first annual Advertising in Games Forum on 14 April 2005 in New York City.
The audience, primarily made up of sharp-suited, silver tongued advertising agency executives, were there to discover more about market opportunities and expectations within the game industry.
According to the organisers, The Game Initiative, attendees were treated to a feast of ‘key facts, figures and estimates’ spun out by leading industry experts at the forum.
In a bullet point-laden onslaught of PowerPoint presentations, these key facts emerged:
According to the Yankee Group, advertising in games is expected to rise to US$800 million in 2009 from nearly US$120 million in 2004.
Around US$266 million – that’s more than one-third of advertising in games in 2009 – will come from (wait for it) “advergaming.”
For the benefit of buzzword-deficient execs, Yankee Group senior analyst Mike Goodman explained that this hideous word describes what you get when advertisers create a game around a product rather than place their brands within a well-known title.
Mitch Davis, chief executive of video game ad network Massive Inc., whipped the watching execs into a frenzy of monetary expectation when he revealed that the audience video game advertising would top US$1 billion in the United States by 2010, and approach US$2.5 billion worldwide.
Anita Frazier, Entertainment Industry Analyst, NPD Group opened up her big book marked ‘Facts’ and informed the Advertising In Games Forum audience that there are 100 million game capable cell phones currently in the Marketplace – with 65% of the population owning a cell phone.
The sound of keenly rubbing palms grew to a crescendo as Frazier announced that within 16 months all cell phones in the marketplace should be game capable and thus brimming with cash-raking, game-downloading potential.
Fact-bloated attendees also learned that the top selling 2004 game titles (according to the NPD Group) were:
1. Grand Theft Auto San Andreas – 5.5 million sold since launch
2. Halo 2 on X box – 4.5 million units sold since launch
3. Madden NFL 2004 on PS 2 – 3.5 million units sold since launch
4. ESPN NFL 2K5 -1.6 million units sold since launch
5. Need for Speed Underground 2 -1.7 million units since launch
The top selling PC title of 2004 was Sims 2 with 750,000 units sold.
The ‘best selling game title of all time’ title goes to Grand Theft Auto Vice City with a massive 6.5 million units shifted, with Super Mario 64 on the N64 coming in second with an impressive 6.0 million units.
Game Initiative
18 April, 2005
Freedom2Surf Predicts 35% Increase In UK WiFi Hotspot Use In 2005
Despite being judged the fourth most digitally-savvy nation in Europe, it seems that 40% of the UK adult population don’t know their wi-fi from their waffles.
Research carried out by Freedom2Surf revealed that half of all women and one quarter of all men didn’t have the slightest clue what WiFi was, exposing a very strong gender, knowledge and awareness gap in the UK.
Not surprisingly, the kids were waaay down with that WiFi thang, with Freedom2Surf’s WiFi Report revealing that the 16-24yr old age group were well hip to the technology, with almost 30% connecting to the Internet via a WiFi hotspot more than once a week.
Looking at the amount of time people spent connected via WiFi, the report found that 40% of regular users spend 10 minutes a day on average connected to a hotspot, while a further 40% spend at least an hour in a single session.
Around 10 per cent of users surveyed connect three to four times a day for at least 20 minutes at a time.
The research discovered that WiFi usage is set to increase, with over a third (35%) saying that they expected to spend more time wirelessly connected in the coming year.
A smaller group (15%) expected their usage to increase dramatically in 2005, with the 16-24yr age group expected to increase its usage the most (52%) compared to 34 per cent of the 35-44 age group.
The biggest barrier preventing UK consumers connecting to hotspots was found to be the lack of regular access to a Wi-Fi enabled laptop (40%).
Cost was also perceived as a major factor, with 30% citing price as the biggest barrier.
Greater uptake has also been hampered by consumers expressing bafflement as to where hotspots are actually located along with the perceived complexity of set-up and payment for WiFi hotspot services.
Silver surfers (UK consumers aged 55+) were revealed as being the weakest Wi-Fi user group, with just 11 per cent of the old ‘uns having used a hotspot.
Geographically, London takes the honours as the King WiFi hotspot of the UK with a higher awareness and usage of WiFi (hardly surprising since there are more hotspots in London than anywhere else in the UK) whilst residents oop North in Yorkshire are the least Wi-Fi savvy.
Naturally, ISPs like Freedom2Surf don’t do surveys out of the goodness of their hearts, and predictably rounded off their report with a ten-ton size plug for their new low-cost Wi-Fi service, Freedom2Surf Hotspots.
The company will be partnering with BT Openzone to offer customers access to a network of 1,300 hotspots in the UK, with rates claimed to be “up to 50% lower than those offered by BT.”
These prices work out at 10p (€0.14/US$0.18) per minute (occasional use), £4.50 (€6.60/US$8.5)for a daily voucher (60 Minutes), £15 (€22/US$28) for a weekly voucher (5 hours) and £30 (€44/US$56) for a monthly voucher (20 hours). Payment can be bought on a Pay as You Go basis by purchasing vouchers with a credit card.
Compared to our American counterparts, these prices still seem outrageously steep to us, but Chris Panayis, managing director of Freedom2Surf, clearly doesn’t agree: “The use of WiFi hotspots is becoming increasingly mainstream particularly among the younger age group, and it is encouraging that many of the consumers we surveyed are planning to significantly increase their use of WiFi this year.
“With service providers like Freedom2Surf already acting to reduce the cost and complexity of connecting to WiFi hotspots, the next challenge for the industry is to boost awareness of where hotspots are located and continue to educate consumers on the flexibility that WiFi hotspots provide people who need to connect to the Internet on the move.”
Freedom2Surf
15 April, 2005