Content

Content in its shift to become digital

Real Rhapsody: To Go And Free Service Added
Real Networks is looking to up-end Apple’s iTunes store and nobble Napster To Go by launching a new music subscription services for portables music players.
The Seattle-based outfit, who are this month in their tenth year, is looking to extend its Rhapsody subscription music service, which currently lets home users and subscribers download as many tracks to their computers as they want for US$9.95 (£5.22/€7.66) a month.
The big shocker is that after years of scratching each other’s eyes out, Real has decided to license digital rights management (DRM) for their service from its once bitter rival, Microsoft.
The Microsoft software, code-named Janus, will disable songs from playing on devices once a customer stops paying the monthly fee.
The new music service comes in three flavours: Rhapsody 25, Rhapsody To Go, and Rhapsody Unlimited.
Rhapsody 25 is the entry-level standard service which is completely free to use. It’s being supported by advertising, initially Chrysler and is designed to tempt people to subscribe. It allows anyone who downloads Rhapsody’s Windows-based jukebox software to listen to 25 songs for free each month from Rhapsody’s library, with the option to purchase and download songs a la carte. There will also be 25 ad-free radio stations available.
Users of this freebie will also be able to share their selected music with others, even non-subscribers. When the generated email arrives, access to the DRM-controlled content is made, downloading them the software if they don’t already have it. Real hope they will benefit from the network viral effect.
The Unlimited deal is pretty much what is currently offered, provides a subscription-based service that costs US$9.99 per month, giving users access to 100 pre-programmed Internet radio stations, 50,000 “artist-based” radio stations and more than 1,500 music videos online. A few bells and whistles have also been added.
Subscribers can download an unlimited number of songs to their computer’s hard drive and these remain playable for as long as they remain subscribers.
Rhapsody To Go offers a near-identical subscription-based deal as Napster To Go, letting users download a near-unlimited amount of music to compatible portable music players. The price is identical to Napster’s offering too at US$14.95 (£7.85/€11.52) per month.
That’s all fine and dandy while they’re shelling out the cash, but as soon as a subscription ends – whoosh! – there goes their music collection, as every song they’ve downloaded is automatically rendered unplayable.
It’s been likened to having your CD collection on permanent hire purchase – once you lapse on your payments, you can kiss goodbye to your tunes. To old-school music fans, not owning your precious sounds is a bonkers proposition, but both Real and Napster believe there’s a market for subscription-based music downloads, with punters excited by the promise of filling an entire iPod for less than the price of two CDs.
The MS Janus DRM protection demands compatible portable music players, ones that turn the content off if the subscription lapses. Currently there are two favorites, the Zen Micro and iRiver H10. To further induce subscribers to the To Go service, Real are offering a US$100 (€77/£52) rebate on the H10 for a limited period.
According to recent estimates, the subscription market – comprised of Real’s Rhapsody, Napster and Yahoo’s MusicMatch service – is reckoned to generate about US$200 million in 2005 sales. Indeed Real announced they had passed one million subscribers last week.
By comparison, the digital music downloading business made popular by Apple’s iTunes service, is expected to rake in around US$350 million in 2005 revenue, according to Phil Leigh, an analyst at market research firm Inside Digital Media.
Real Rhapsody
Watch Real CEO, Rob Glaser introduce the new Rhapsody
27 April, 2005
AbbiTalk: UK VoIP Operator Claims Challenge To BT
AbbiTalk, a West Sussex-based provider of Voice Over IP (VoIP) telephony services, is talking tough about its cut-rate broadband call packages, that offer customers extra telephone lines with discount local and UK call charges and no line rental.
Boldly claiming to be “giving BT a run for its money”, AbbiTalk claim that its customers will “generally” save £90 over the cost of using BT phone lines in year one and a further £110 in subsequent years (dependent on the package concerned).
Paul Perrin, director of AbbiTalk is – perhaps – getting a little carried away here: “Within 18 months, we believe most telephone calls in the UK will be free and the only rental payment will be for a broadband connection. Many international calls will also be free. BT is running scared, and we’re doing the chasing!”
Customers using AbbiTalk’s broadband service pay the installation charge for their chosen VoIP deal to gain access to competitive call rates: free calls to users of AbbiTalk and other UK and international SIP services, 1.2/min to UK BT phones and less than 2p/min for calls to the USA, Australia and China.
Prices start at £149 for “AbbiTalkBasicOne”, which provides one extra phone line, a unique number with Pre Pay phone account, an adaptor and a DECT digital cordless phone with digital answering machine.
Other packages include “AbbiTalkTwo”, which provides two phone lines with a single, unique number shared across both, a router/hub, digital cordless phone with digital answering machine and an additional digital phone and “AbbiTalkTwoPlus” which offers two extra phone lines, two separate numbers and two DECT digital phones with digital answer machines.
The top package, forgettably entitled “AbbiTalkTwoWF”, adds WiFi networking of the customer’s computer.
New customers can use their existing broadband connection to adopt the service, or plump for AbbiTalk’s own broadband.
No line rental is charged and there’s no need to use a computer to make the calls as these are accomplished through the standard cordless handsets.
AbbiTek’s MD, Keith Gardner, got all historical in his statement: “VoIP is now widely recognised as the next ‘disruptive technology’. Historians claim that others were Bell’s original telephone, Marconi’s wireless, the internal combustion engine, etc., so big changes are on the way.”
“We have subscribed to this view for some time, hence our core business, Abbitek, focuses on VoIP services for enterprises. Through AbbiTalk, our customers can access the latest VoIP products. When configured, these enable us to deliver all the benefits of VoIP to domestic, small business and home workers: our simple and affordable packages have something for everyone. Initial reactions have been positive.”
AbbiTalk
27 April, 2005
Nokia 5140i: Mobile For Fitness Enthusiasts
Sweatband-toting sporty types will be pleased to learn that Nokia has introduced a new handset for active-minded consumers, the Nokia 5140i camera phone.
The beefy looking triband phone is housed in a dust and splash resistant casing and is described as “an ideal outdoor training partner” (personally I’d rather have Kate Moss jogging alongside me, but each to their own).
Tomi Paatsila, Vice President, Mobile Phones, Nokia, wound up his PR machine and let rip: “The Nokia 5140i offers active consumers a mobile phone that complements their on-the-go lifestyle. With its strong feature set and messaging capabilities, the Nokia 5140i enables outdoors and fitness enthusiasts to stay connected whatever their interests are – during hard-core training or just a leisurely hike.”
Water-bottle clutching joggers will appreciate the ‘Fitness Coach’ application, offering an ‘always-on’ personal trainer that (apparently) “encourages users to go the extra mile or finish the last set.”
The phone also offers easy connectivity to Polar Electro’s top of the line wrist computers, designed for fitness, running, cycling and outdoor enthusiasts, letting sweaty users view a graphical display of their performance on handset’s display
The Nokia 5140i interfaces with a variety of other Polar Outdoor Computers, such as the Running Computer S625X, Cycling Computer S725, Polar AXN 500, the Polar AXN 700 and the upcoming Fitness F55 heart rate monitor.
Naturally, the phone comes stuffed with all the usual widgets to keep ‘resting’ athletes entertained, with support for MP3 ring tones, a built-in FM radio and Push to talk (PTT) functionality.
The phone also includes the Nokia Xpress audio messaging functionality, which enables users to record and send a voice message to others over the GPRS network
Currently warming up on the touchlines, the Nokia 5140i is expected to take off its tracksuit and take to the field some time in the second quarter of 2005 with an estimated retail price of €200 (£136/US$260).
Nokia
26 April, 2005
Your Stories: BBC Broadcasts Viewer-Produced Videos
BBCi has launched a programming service for digital satellite viewers showcasing short films made by ordinary folk across the UK.
Commissioned by BBC New Media and developed by BBC Nations and Regions, the service – dubbed “Your Stories” – is accessible at any time by pressing the red button on the remote control.
The program features content generated under the auspices of two BBC projects designed to give people the skills to make short films about their own lives: Video Nation and Digital Stories.
Video Nation broke new ground when it first hit UK TV screens – running in short slots dropped in to the programming schedule.
It was created in 1993 after the BBC scattered a team of over 30 producers around the UK with the aim of encouraging local people to make short films. Seeing “Real people” on TV, explaining various details of their lives was a refreshing revelation.
The producers trained them in the art of storytelling and the use of camcorders, with the films featuring individuals sharing moments of their lives with the camera.
Digital Stories built on the heritage of the Video Nation taking it to a new audience by delivering the content online.
The team behind it provides digital workshops where people from different backgrounds can hook up and tell their stories with the help of electronic wizardry such as laptops, scanners, digital cameras and editing software.
Content on the ‘Your Stories’ service is divided into daily themes, each with its own title. “My Music”, for example, featured an eight-year-old trumpet player and a blind pianist.
New Media Knowledge (NMK) ran an excellent event last year exploring this subject, bringing together members of the Video Nation and Digital Nation, the roots of both were explored.
The showing of the content revealed the power of this content – emotion. ‘Normal’ people in control of making media about their lives, without it passing through all of the editorial filters that are, as a matter of course, applied to broadcast TV – removing the soul from the piece. It was, quite simply, some of the most powerful content I have ever seen.
As a regular reader of Digital-Lifestyles, you will know that we are hugely enthused about the future of the user-generated content as an alternative to media made by the current media companies. If you’re not convinced, watching the online examples of this (linked at the bottom of this piece) will help you understand.
Next month, the BBC intends to feature a week of films created by school students deep in stress and revision as they prepare for their GCSE exams.
Other forthcoming programs will be thematically linked with various linear programming offerings, including the BBC2’s, ‘Coast’, BBC One’s upcoming season of African-themed programs, and programming commemorating VE Day.
BBCi controller, Rahul Chakkara, explained the reasoning behind Your Stories service: “The BBCi audience is maturing, and is looking for content that is social and highly involving, available to them whenever they want.”
“Your Stories is the beginning of our efforts to meet this need. We go beyond involvement through interaction and we involve our audiences by encouraging them to produce their own content.”
BBC Your Stories
BBC Video Nation
Digital Stories
New Media Knowledge
26 April, 2005
Everquest II Virtual Goods Trading Endorsed By Sony’s Station Exchange
In an astonishing volte-face, Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) has announced that it now endorses the auctioning of virtual items from its massively popular online game, Everquest II – with the electronics giant pocketing a cut of the cash, naturally.
From late June 2005, Sony’s Station Exchange will provide an “Online Entertainment auction service” enabling players to buy and sell virtual items for real money.
Sony is introducing the service in an attempt to put a halt to ‘plat farmers’. These are dastardly rotters who use macros and bots to harvest rare items in games, level up characters, gain virtual money – and then flog them off on eBay.
Personally, we’d rather buy a round of lovely real ale than shell out for the Dark Lord of Deltronia’s Mystical Turbo Sword of Mwegneli, but as we’ve reported before (Sales in Virtual Goods Surpasses $100m, Nov 2004), considerable sums of money are changing hands for virtual items.
SOE director John Smedley has estimated that the market for virtual items is upwards of US$200m (€153m/£104) worldwide and the Station Exchange looks to be an attempt to grab a fat slice of this juicy pie.
So far, Sony have said that the Station Exchange system will only be available on dedicated new servers and that players will be able to transfer to an exchange server but not from one.
Naturally, gaming bulletin boards have been buzzing with debate about this development, with some expressing concerns that the ability for a rich user to “buy” success in a game effectively creates a ‘class’ divide.
‘Miss Minnie’ voiced her doubts on the urban75 gaming forum:
“There already is a ‘virtual class system’ within the game itself – you earn status and faction standing, money, prestige, titles, fancy clothes and transport, you start living in a hovel but can move on up to luxury apartments etc – But at least till now you could assume that most people had ‘earned’ those things by playing the game.
Now you won’t be sure if someone is a player or a buyer, so I suppose it could be said that touches of real-life’s ‘class system’ will be impinging.
In my opinion, that is the biggest shame – these games are supposed to be fantasy worlds and now real-life threatens to intrude.”
‘Private Storm’, on the same board, was more pragmatic:
“Trading of in-game items etc goes on and it is extremely difficult to stop it.”
“I’m not sure of the mechanics in EQII, but in WoW (World of Warcraft) they have mitigated the potential for selling items somewhat by introducing the concept of having things bind to that character when it is picked up, meaning you can’t transfer items to other players, hence no selling though eBay and the like.”
“I think Sony has said in their press release that they can’t ignore the fact that the selling of stuff goes on and that a lot of the support they have to give players is to do with this, so they’re creating controlled systems for it to happen. Virtual ‘harm reduction’ as it were.”
“People approach these types of game with different playing styles and with different things they want to get out of it. Such games often require a large amount of time and dedication to actually see any significant progression and not everyone has the time to realise this progress. If you are a cash rich, but time poor player, but still want to play the game, buying items etc to help you get the most out of your time online doesn’t seem so bad.”
“On the other hand, there are players that are time rich, but cash poor who can achieve a large amount of success within the game simply ‘cos they have the time to do so. They’ve invested a large amount of time and money in playing the game and obviously feel that they should be able to benefit in the real world from this. Selling the stuff they acquire seems reasonable in this context.”
For some gamers, an officially sanctioned auction site is an inevitable consequence of the growing popularity of virtual gaming, with Sony’s cut, a reasonable price to pay for eliminating a lot of scams.
If Station Exchange is successful, it may only be a matter of time before other auctions are permitted for SOE’s other games like Everquest I and Star Wars Galaxies.
Perhaps an official virtual auction site might prevent further tragedies like this story we covered last month: Legend of Mir 3 Gamer Killed After Selling Virtual Sword
Sony Station Exchange
urban75 bulletin boards
25 April, 2005
“3G TV” Airs In Singapore
Over here in Digital-Lifestyles land, we’re always getting our ears bent by some PR-type banging on about how mobile TV is going to be “the next big app” to hit handsets.
Luxembourg (amongst others) have already broadcast trials and commercial pilots, and now Singapore mobile operator M1 is getting in on the act, airing previews of its made-for-mobile TV drama.
The service, snappily dubbed “3G TV”, is the result of a partnership between MediaCorp Studios, the Media Development Authority of Singapore and M1. The trio are hoping to flog off the series to other operators in the region.
With mobile TV slowly coming up on the consumers’ radar, high quality content will be a critical factor on whether the service takes off, so mobile companies and TV content owners are keen to do lunch, chew the fat and go for a synergetic workout afterwards.
Mr P Subramaniam, director of M1’s sales and marketing department served up this pearl of wisdom to Channel News: “What’s more important here is the whole revolutionary concept behind this, how consumers look at it and take it up. And that’s where it’s going to get really exciting.”
M1 and its partners plan to knock out dramas with a specific mobile version, which will be different to the regular TV episodes, allowing viewers the choice of watching a broadcast TV version or an extension of the same show on mobile.
The first drama to emerge from this collaboration, titled “PS I Love You”, is due to appear on mobile phones in Singapore by June of this year.
Not everyone is convinced that creating custom drama content for mobiles is going to be a monster hit, but with mobile companies, TV content owners and producers are keen to test the demand for this potentially lucrative new outlet.
More collaborations are expected to emerge in the forthcoming months.
25 April, 2005
YP-T7: Samsung Yepp Music Player – Compact Review
Samsung have made their intentions clear. They want to be the number one in portable music players.
The YP-T7 is a new generation player, designed as an attention grabber, to play to Samsung’s strengths – they are one of the three companies that actually manufacture LCR screens and they produce Flash memory.
It’s very small, light and packed with wowee features. Music formats support is broad (MP3, Ogg Vobis, Windows media) and the quality of playback is strong, as are the included headphones.
The potential of the 65k colour screen is well demonstrated by the graphically-rich menuing, but when you try to display photos and text files on it, its limitations are highlighted – it’s just too small, and when loading images, slow.
The on-board microphone and adjustable recording quality really impressed us, making it ideal for interviews and podcasts. The FM radio is among some of the best we’ve used on a portable player. The USB-rechargeable battery appears reasonable, with the official running time being listed as 10 hours, as would be expected from a Flash-based player over an HD-based one.
We’re impressed with this beauty. Compact, highly competent player with quality mic-recordings.
Specification
Weight – 36g
Dimensions – 37 x 62.5 x 14mm
Colour screen – 65,000 colours
Music formats – MP3, Ogg Vobis, Windows media
Interface Type – USB 1.1, USB 2.0
Battery Life – 10 Hours (Samsung figures)
Price – US$190 (€147/£102)
Stars – 4 out of 5 Pro
Very compact, Strong, quality mic recordings, Good radio, decent battery.
Con
Photo support not great
Summary
A very competent player who features raise it slightly above the rest of this crowded, fast-moving sector, and will impress your mates … but for how long?

22 April, 2005
Google Profits Up Fivefold
Champagne corks were popping like manic machine gun fire at Google yesterday as the company reported a thumping fivefold increase in profits in the first quarter.
The Californian search giant purred loudly as it revealed that net income for the quarter ended 31 March, based on generally accepted accounting principles, was $369 million (£193/€282m) or $1.29 (£0.67/€0.98) a share, compared with a measly $64 million (£33.5m/€49m) or 24 cents a share, for the same period a year ago.
Naked execs excitedly rolled around in beds covered in dollar notes* as revenues for the quarter racked up to $1.26 billion (£0.65bn/€0.96bn), a massive 93 percent increase from the previous year.
“This was a very strong quarter for Google,” revelled Eric Schmidt, chief executive for Google, “We continue to execute well and we have been able to take full advantage of the growth in online advertising.”
Internet advertising revenue as a whole is becoming a large, well-fed cash cow, increasing by 32 percent last year to just under $9.6 billion (£5.02bn/€7.34bn), compared with $7.3 billion (£3.81m/€5.58m) in 2003, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau.
Google’s own sites, which rely heavily on paid search results and on users clicking on ads, brought home $657 million (£343.6m/€501.7m) – 52 percent of the company’s total revenues and a 116 percent increase over the same quarter a year ago.
Revenues generated from Google’s partner sites through its AdSense programs generated $584 million, or 47 percent of revenues, – a hefty 75 percent increase over partner-related revenues a year ago.
They’ve also been bulk-buying new desks and chairs and introducing crowd control around the water cooler at Google, with the company hiring another 461 employees since the end of the fourth quarter last year, bringing the total up to 3,482 full-time employees.
(*we may be exaggerating slightly here)
Google
22 April, 2005
ITN Launch 3G UK Election Coverage On Vodafone Live!
ITN is set to steal a march on its rivals by delivering up-to-the minute election analysis and comment through a partnership with Vodafone Live!
The UK news broadcaster will be providing an election news service to Vodafone Live! subscribers, headed up by their political team, including Nick Robinson and Alastair Stewart.
The service will aim to keep party loyalists and floating voters abreast of the fast changing political scene in the final days before the general election, with a salvo of updates and announcements sent direct to 3G handsets.
The package will also include a general election video and text news service featuring ITN’s team of journalists and presenters – and we sincerely hope that it doesn’t resemble the high tech, eye-popping, candy floss mess that currently passes for their TV election coverage.
The service will include daily text updates and a picture message sent at 8pm every evening, consisting of a video and text summary of the key political events of the day, plus an opinion polls round-up.
Unfortunately, the service doesn’t seem to be interactive, with no option for subscribers to vote or comment on the delivered news stories.
Nicholas Wheeler, managing director of multimedia content at ITN, commented: “This is a new facility using mobile technology that was not available at the time of the last election.”
“We are seeking to engage our audience in new ways using a range of interactive platforms.”
With a rallying, hands-on-the-flag clarion call, he concluded: “We aim to break more news stories and we aim to push back the frontiers of political reporting in the UK.”
ITN
22 April, 2005
Google Introduces Local Search To UK
Web search goliaths Google have delivered a large size nine up the rear end of their fierce rivals Yahoo by being the first to launch a local search service in Britain.
Like its popular US counterpart, Google’s local search service will offer maps and driving directions, and is their first such offering in Europe.
Now in public beta, the service is offered in partnership with the UK commercial telephone directory company Yell, who provide the business phone numbers and addresses.
Users can find local services by simply typing in their query into two boxes, labelled, “what” and “where”.
For example, typing in ‘cameras’ and ‘W1’ will produce a list of camera shops in the London W1 area, complete with addresses, phone numbers, a map flagging up the locations and a clickable link for more info.
“It’s the first time we’re bringing local search to a country outside North America,” said Kate Burns, ad sales and operations manager for Google in Britain, declining to give details about launches elsewhere in Europe.
The cooperation with a telephone directories company is unique to Britain, Burns said.
Frustrated Frenchmen and befuddled Belgians were left to mull over their fate with this enigmatic statement: “We take our European audience very seriously, (but) we’ve got nothing to announce this time.”
Local search is the big hot potato for Web search providers, who are salivating at the prospect of a nice new advertising niche opening up.
Global search advertising revenue is already sending cash tills into overdrive, with US investment bank Piper Jaffray estimating spending to rise to US$7.9 billion (£4.1BN/€6bn) in 2005 from US$5.5 billion (£4.1bn/€4.2bn) in 2004 – with most of the growth coming from international expansion and higher volume.
Google has also unveiled its Google SMS (Short Message Service) in the UK. This service enables users to send queries as text messages from a mobile phone and get information local business, driving directions and dictionary definitions. There’s also a facility to compare online product prices with high street ones.
Phone users will be charged with normal SMS text tariffs for the service.
Google local
Google SMS.
21 April, 2005