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NPR, WSJ prep Flash-free sites for iPad
Both National Public Radio and the Wall Street Journal are preparing Flash-free iPad sites in time for the device's April 3rd debut. MediaMemo cites a blog post over at NPR, letting us know that NPR fans can either download an updated app for NPR (once the iPad ships and the app is ready), or visit an iPad-optimized version of NPR.org that contains no Flash. The Wall Street Journal is also going with a Flash-free site, although visitors can expect to hunt through the site and find some pages which still have Flash. Having non-Flash sites exist alongside their Flash siblings will probably be the solution for many publications in the near future. However, we know that Steve Jobs hopes that Flash will go the way of the PowerPC and the floppy disk, and developers will turn to alternatives such as HTML5. [Via MacDailyNews]
Murdoch confirms WSJ coming to iPad, device kept 'under padlock and key'
It only came at the tail end of an announcement of a new New York metro section for The Wall Street Journal, but Rupert Murdoch has finally confirmed that the paper will indeed be heading to the iPad. The really interesting bit, however, is that not only is the company now being allowed to work on an iPad, but that Murdoch says it's kept "under padlock and key," and that "the key is turned by Apple every night" -- a bit of hyperbole, maybe, but then again, maybe not. In other newspapers-going-digital news, Murdoch also said that the WSJ would be heading to half a dozen or more other devices within a year, although he didn't name any specific devices.
Rupert Murdoch confirms WSJ for iPad
Rupert Murdoch has confirmed, in a Q & A following his announcement of a New York 'metro' section for the Wall Street Journal, that an app for the iPad is under development (WSJ story here, behind the paywall). There's an iPhone app available now, and it's expected that the iPad version will expand upon it, with attention being paid to the iPad's big screen. What's most interesting about this story is the extreme secrecy with which Apple is handing the process. it seems that WSJ developers do have access to a pre-release iPad, which Murdoch confirms is "kept under padlock and key." Not only that, but an Apple employee turns the key every night to confirm that the iPad is where it should be -- locked up tight, safe and sound. Not even preferred developers have earned Apple's full trust. Apple paranoid? We can't imagine such a thing. [via MacNN]
Major textbook pubs partner with ScrollMotion for iPad development
Putting traditional print publication on an iPhone screen is old hat for ScrollMotion, and now it's taking that know-how to a larger screen. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Kaplan, Pearson Education, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt K-12, and the educational sector of McGraw-Hill have all made deals with the company to develop textbook apps and test-prep / study guide apps for the Apple iPad. No other details are given and we unfortunately lack any timeline. It certainly makes the machine more classroom-viable, but we'll hold judgment until we see what actually comes of this partnership -- your move, Kindle.
WSJ: Apple and HarperCollins negotiating e-book deal for tablet
Here's the skinny from The Wall Street Journal: major publishing company HarperCollins is in talks with Apple about bringing e-books to the oft-rumored, still-unconfirmed tablet that's expected to be the focus of its January 27th event. The article also states that other publishing companies have been in talks with Cupertino HQ. That jibes with what we've heard through the grapevine, specifically with Time Inc. property Sports Illustrated, and fits comfortably well with the New York Times conjecture from earlier today. E-book readers are all the rage these days, but like we said just after CES, we'd wager the future of the medium integrated into slates to provide rich, color multimedia presentations. Seems someone might be sharing in our perspective, but of course, this is just one of many, many, many Apple rumors we expect to see in the buildup to next week.
Theaters brought in more cash than Discs last year
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/business_finance/Theaters_brought_in_more_cash_than_Discs_last_year'; During one of the worst economies our parents have ever seen, according to Adams research, people spent $9.97 billion to get out of the house to see a movie last year -- up 10 percent from 2008. At the same time, Disc sales (DVD and Blu-ray included) were down 13 percent to $8.73 billion -- which wasn't down nearly as much as most consumer goods. Now we know what you're thinking, all those digital downloads must be cutting into Disc sales, but you're wrong. In fact despite plenty of growth, VOD via cable and satellite services brought in $1.27 billion, while digital downloads only managed $0.36 billion -- so yeah not even 5 percent of what Discs brought in. What probably did cut into Disc sales more than anything else though was rentals, which rose 1.8 percent to $8.15 billion -- no wonder Warner made a deal with Netflix and other studios withheld titles from Redbox. Overall Hollywood fared pretty well totaling $28.38 billion on features movies alone so while there are a few potentially disruptive technologies out there, so far none have been.
Sony e-readers get exclusive Dow Jones, New York Post content
Hoping to read the New York Post on an e-reader anytime soon? Then your choices just got quite a bit more limited, as the newspaper has signed a deal that will see Sony offer the only version of the paper for digital reading devices. Joining it are various exclusive offerings from Dow Jones & Company, including The Wall Street Journal and MarketWatch, which won't be completely exclusive to Sony readers, but will be available in special editions only available on Sony readers -- that includes The Wall Street Journal PLUS, a digital edition of the morning paper that also features an update of the day's events after the close of the markets. Owners of the Sony Reader Daily Edition will also naturally be able to get the day's papers wirelessly delivered to their readers, with subscriptions running between $9.99 and $19.99 a month.
Major media giants to form joint venture for digital future, says WSJ
News Corp, Time Inc., Condé Nast Publications Inc., Hearst Corp., and Meredith Corp. If this Wall Street Journal report is to be believed here, these five major media firms are preparing to announce a new joint venture tomorrow to "prepare print publications for a new generation of electronic readers and other digital devices." Details are a bit sketchy here, and what makes it more interesting / confounding is that many of these companies already have or have showcased separate initiatives, such as Hearst's Skiff and tablet demos from both Time and Condé Nast. We'll be eager to find out if there are any devices the group rallies behind (or even produces itself), but one thing's for sure: good old Rupert Murdoch will have something fun to say on the matter.
WSJ: Barnes & Noble planning its own touchscreen ebook reader
Well, this isn't a huge surprise, since we've seen the rough outline of a nondescript, details-scarce reader from Barnes & Noble tucked away in FCCland, but the Wall Street Journal has "people briefed on the matter" who are saying the reader will be out possibly as early as next month. Word is the reader will have a six-inch E-Ink screen, with a touchscreen interface and virtual keyboard, and it will also have a wireless internet hookup to that great bookstore in the sky. With an IREX wireless reader already featuring the B&N ebook store, and a Plastic Logic device doing B&N exclusively, we'd say Barnes & Noble is certainly working this from a number of potentially redundant angles. It's unclear what particular innovation or distinction a Barnes & Noble-branded reader would bring, or who might build it, but our fingers are crossed for one particular avenue of one-upmanship: price. [Via Reuters; thanks Tom]
WSJ to start charging for iPhone content
Say farewell to the free Wall Street Journal on the iPhone. According to Paid Content, News Corp's Rupert Murdoch announced that readers of the WSJ on the Blackberry and iPhone will be charged $2 per week for the privilege of reading news through the respective apps. Online and print subscribers of the WSJ will only pay $1 a week. No time limit has been set yet, but Murdoch says it will be within the next few months. There's bad news for Hulu lovers as well. Murdoch also said News Corp is considering either a pay-per-view or subscription model for Hulu. "No final decision has been made," Murdoch said via Webcast at an investor conference today. The WSJ itself reports that subscription offerings will roll out for media content before the end of the year, though it was made in a different context from the Hulu statement.
YouTube looking to enter rental movies on demand business, says WSJ
Sounds like Google has found the best way to monetize YouTube yet, and it puts itself in a pretty competitive spot versus the likes of Netflix, Amazon VOD, and Apple's iTunes movie store. According to Wall Street Journal, the company's currently in talks with Lions Gate, Sony, and Warner Bros. studios over putting their content on YouTube for a rental fee, likely $3.99 -- the same price as Apple's SD movie rentals. Even more interesting is talk of getting some titles online day and date with the DVD releases. Some options could still be free with advertising, but as for paid content, Google's enticing studios over to their way of thinking with a proposed minimum fee of "just under $3 per title viewed." A three-month beta testing is apparently scheduled to begin soon among 10,000 Google employees, and after that? Well, here's hoping the G-Man manages to sign on some more studios and offer us the films in streaming HD.
Dell working on iPod touch-esque Android MID, says WSJ
It's no surprise that Dell's been dipping its toes in Android-infested waters as of late, and now the Wall Street Journal's reasserting a previous claim from early April that the company's hard at work on a MID powered by Google's mobile OS platform. Multiple sources have reportedly likened it to a slightly larger iPod touch, while one went so far as to suggest a very tentative second half 2009 target release window, assuming the project doesn't get 187'd before then. Despite its history with Intel and the chipmaker's penchant for MIDs, the report pegs ARM as the processor of choice. As for how this jibes with rumors of Dell's smartphone plans, that's where things get interesting, as WSJ quotes a source who said Dell's thinking about selling it through cell carriers like it's currently doing with 3G-equipped netbooks. The article repeatedly calls it a MID -- meaning a phone might still be in the cards, but given past whispers, it kind of makes you wonder.
WSJ: Jobs had liver transplant, on schedule to return to work in June
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs had a liver transplant two months ago in Tennessee, but is still expected to return to work by the end of the month. Jobs, who went on a medical leave from Apple in January, has had continuing medical issues related to a bout with pancreatic cancer. The type of pancreatic cancer that Jobs has will often metastasize in other organs, particularly the liver. According to the WSJ article, it is expected that Jobs will work part-time upon his return to the company in order to speed his recovery. The 54 year-old Jobs missed the Apple shareholder meeting in February, and hasn't been flying in his corporate jet (one of the perks he receives along with his US$1 annual compensation) as much as he had in the past. The TUAW staff, along with many of our readers, is looking forward to the return of the Steve Jobs to the company he helped to create.
U.S. electrical grid penetrated by spies, hackers, or something unfathomably more terrible (update: China responds)
The Wall Street Journal has reported that the electricity grid in the United States has been infiltrated by "cyperspies," in an attempt to map the infrastructure, leaving behind software that could pose potential threats in times of crisis. Quoting anonymous "current and former" national security officials, the report claims that the spies, hailing from China, Russia, and "other countries" have not attempted to do any damage, but that they could, and that these types of intrusions are on the rise. Officials are of course worried about the potential implications of such penetrations, noting that much of our infrastructure, including nuclear power plants and financial institutions, are at risk. Unfortunately for the WSJ and its Cold War-era headline, the article goes on to state that it's not really possible to know whether a particular attack is "government sponsored," or just the work of regular old hackers from those regions running amok in cyberspace. Additionally, spokespeople from the Russian and Chinese Embassies vehemently deny their respective governments involvement in any such work. The Wall Street Journal, of course, fails to point out the most obvious of explanations: it's aliens. Update: China has officially responded to the report. From a WSJ blog post: "The intrusion doesn't exist at all," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said at a regular press conference. "We hope that the concerned media will prudently deal with some groundless remarks, especially those concerning accusations against China." "I have also noticed that the U.S. White House had denied the media reports," she said.
WSJ: Dell "preparing a move into cellphones as early as next month"
You know who's blabbing again? That reclusive set of business people who always seem to be "familiar with the matter," that's who. This time, they've got the Wall Street Journal in a twist over renewed rumors that Dell is "preparing a move into cellphones as early as next month." Next month, is of course the big cellphone coming out party known as Mobile World Congress in Barcelona -- an event Dell has flat-out denied any intention to attend. Still, the evidence presented by the WSJ is pretty overwhelming. First, sources say that a variety of smartphone prototypes, including one with a QWERTY-less touchscreen and another with a sliding keyboard, have already been built running Android and Windows Mobile. Second, Dell's smartphone team "spent much of last year" meeting with suppliers, carriers, and Asian phone manufacturers. Dell's team includes the former head of Motorola's phone division (Ron Garriques) and another Moto employee (John Thode) who heads up Dell's netbook group. The latter being of interest since the iPhone and BlackBerry Storm are considered netbooks by their makers. Oh, and Dell still hasn't made good on its purchase of Zing and its plans to build an all encompassing media ecosystem to manage your audio and video files across PCs and mobile devices. Sources do contend that plans have not been finalized and Dell may still abandon the effort. But with Acer making the jump into Smartphones next month and other non-traditional players having great success in the space at the expense of the former cellphone powerhouses, one thing is clear: PC guys "will just walk in" and figure this out. Right Ed?
Steve Jobs discusses App Store with Wall Street Journal
This morning's Wall Street Journal has a really interesting article (use Google News to view the complete text) about the App Store, complete with quotes from Steve Jobs himself! While the full article is definitely worth a read, here are some of the highlights: After the first month, App Store sales are about $30 million US, meaning at least $360 million in revenue for Apple if sales continue at that pace (we discussed the success of the App Store on a micro-level, here) Steve on the App Store: "I've never seen anything like this in my career for software." Steve on the future of mobile technology: "Phone differentiation used to be about radios and antennas and things like that. We think, going forward, the phone of the future will be differentiated by software." Steve on the ability to disable a program remotely: "Hopefully we never have to pull that lever, but we would be irresponsible not to have a lever like that to pull." As Steve Sande pointed out in last night's Talkcast, amid all the criticism aimed at the App Store, we often forget that the store is only one month old. That isn't to say that those criticisms are invalid or unnecessary, it just brings some perspective to the "bigger picture," if you will. Now that we are a month in, it is clear that the store, the distribution format, and the platform are real game changers for the mobile industry and for Apple itself.Thanks John!
Mossberg, Pogue, Baig review the iPhone 3G
While most people are waiting in line for their soon-to-be new friend, pal and everyday communications device, the world's top tech reviewers have already been playing with the long awaited device. Below is a summary of their findings along with links to their full reviews of the iPhone 3G. Walt Mossberg (Wall Street Journal) Pros: Faster cell network data speeds, GPS Cons: Weaker battery life due to 3G/GPS Bottom Line: If you don't already have an iPhone and can live with the weaker battery life, then you should go ahead and buy; otherwise wait out for the 2.0 firmware update (hmm... I think I've heard this advice somewhere else) David Pogue (New York Times) Pros: You can talk and access 3G data network simultaneously, cheaper, improved audio quality Cons: 3G isn't wide-spread, AT&T pricing, Bottom Line: "iPhone 3G is a nice upgrade," 2.0 firmware update will make your original iPhone in most ways similar to the iPhone 3G Edward Baig (USA Today) Pros: Faster data network, cheaper, GPS, Visual Voicemail Cons: Slow EDGE speeds when not in 3G area, no video, no memory expansion Bottom Line: "The Sequel, is worth the wait," he also shows a side-by-side comparison between EDGE and 3G speeds As an interesting note: David Pogue says that the iPhone's GPS antenna is too small to provide you with turn-by-turn directions in Google Maps -- this is something that Apple has failed to note until now.
Does everyone know the war is officially over but us?
While we all wait for Toshiba to make things official, we're starting to wonder if everyone is the HD DVD camp already has a plan that they haven't shared with us. We can't say we blame them, but just reviewing the series of events since Warner went Blu, it has us convinced that everything that's happened since, is according to schedule. Sure Netflix and the Wal-Mart aren't inside the circle, but it's reasonable to believe that when they got wind of the demise of HD DVD, it seemed like a great time to make an announcement for some shameless free press. If we were to guess, we'd say that Universal and Paramount feel like they're left holding the bag and we'd think that as far as they're concerned Toshiba can't call it fast enough. To add credence to this, the good old WSJ is reporting that both will be in the clear to announce titles for Blu-ray -- as well as for Warner to cease HD DVD production-- as soon as it goes official. We can certainly understand Toshiba's desire to string it out though, cause no doubt as soon as it's official many of the remaining HD DVD players will end up in a landfill somewhere and that's not good for anybody. [Via CEpro.com]
Wall Street Journal: "iPhones take over the Internet"
Over at the Wall Street Journal, Ben Worthen posts that iPhones were responsible for 0.09% of all Web page views in November. In comparison, all the other mobile Windows-based browsers accounted for only 0.06% of page views. From this, we can deduce the following: Viewing the Web on most mobile devices stinks. Viewing the Web on the iPhone doesn't stink. Most people still use computers to view the web. Thanks, Eddie.
WSJ asks: What's on your gift list?
Someone needs to tell the WallStreet Journal what's up. While we love the DS, we're pretty sure it's not the gift that everyone wants this holiday season. Still, the folks at WSJ saw fit to add Nintendo's little handheld into its online arena of combat, to duke it out with other cool gadgets such as the iPhone and and Microsoft's Zune. Heck, if it were us, we'd want a Flat Panel TV. It costs a lot more money than a DS, that's for sure.[Thanks, Steve!]
