Nexus 10 – Is Bigger Really Better?

You can say that Google is narrowing the gap by the inch as it tries to close in on Apple. Its latest product, the Nexus 10 hope to go after the iPad, not only in size, but in performance and price. The Nexus 10-inch tablet sports a 2560-by-1600 pixel density 10-inch display,  Android 4.2, and is powered by a dual-core ARM Cortex A15 processor. Best of all the 32GB Nexus 10 will sell for $499  and the 16GB model will sell for $399. The iPad sells for $599 and $499 respectively. But Apple still has a leg up on the competition - its cellular service - the Nexus 10 only comes with Wi-Fi. Both devices could help consumers by adding expandable storage.

Read More: http://mediamixmaster.blogspot.com/2012/10/google-what-to-expect-on-oct-29th.html

How Local Gov't's can Communicate with Citizens During Storms

One of my biggest frustrations during a storm is when the power goes out. I sit by my battery operated radio listening to regional and national weather related news. But I never know what is happening down the road. A product named MarkerFlare is taking aim at this very issue and not soon enough. As a sidebar, the U.S. has over 325 Million mobile phones in use. Globally there are over 6 billion mobile phones in use. Think about how this solution might have helped before the Japanese tsunami of 2011, where 95% of the population had mobile phones.

"MarkerFlare is an information publishing web app for emergencies. It was designed to be a better way to share information after Hurricane Irene and the Halloween blizzard resulted in massive communication disruptions last year. Town governments, utilities, and public services groups were told they failed miserably in communicating emergency response information and left citizens wondering what to do."

"Using any device they can get their hands on, officials can build, on the fly, public-access, local-information-only hubs if there is an emergency. MarkerFlare automatically notifies every registered user in town that the hub is active by text, email, and online posting. Because it's not a data hog it works even if infrastructure becomes degraded (two shaky bars on a smartphone). The big thing though, is its automatic information routing mechanism. Administrators can force a sign-off list that guarantees every submission goes through an approval process. Nothing gets posted until all sign-offs are complete (there's an override capability). This is a crucial part of emergency information management and unheard of in social media."
"The same mechanism also makes it possible for officials to let private citizens contribute information to the data stream and allows integration of a unique language translation approach. More and better information collection and distribution to ALL citizens, not just the ones who speak English."

Brazilian Newspapers Say NO to Google News

The National Association of Newspapers (ANJ) in Brazil has decided to stop Google from displaying headline grabs of its members content on Google News. While many media organizations around the world have threatened to pull out ANJ decided that the potential loss of internet traffic was an "acceptable price [to pay] to protect" their content and brands. The over 164 newspapers represented by ANJ contend that the amount of traffic being sent to them by Google isn't enough to justify the free use of their content with receiving payment. This is the first time an entire association has banded together against the internet giant.

The argument of whether a small snippet of content has value is at the heart of the debate. The simple fact is the Twitter answered that question a long time ago.
In an interesting reversal, Google is threatening to remove all French newspapers from its search engine, if the country passes a law requiring them to pay for the using any newspapers content online. It is referred to as the "Google Law", countries including Germany, want Google to pay publishers for displaying their copyrighted content on its News portal.

Google - What to expect on Oct. 29th

So what's on deck for Google for its product event on October 29th.
The BIG rumor news, at least for size  - a new 10-inch Nexus tablet. I haven't heard much about the details on this one, but this device is expected to challenge the iPad 3 - if it actually exists. Personally, I think Google is headed in the wrong direction with a 10-inch tablet. Tablets are all about mobility, and as the size increases it becomes less desirable to carry around. Of course, this is my personal experience of having used the Kindle DX, which Amazon is quietly eliminating from its product offering.
I used the Kindle DX for two months, before I got rid of it. Simply put, it was a chore to carry around and the device did not enhance my reading experience.
Media analyst have argued that the larger size will attract newspaper and magazine readers (new consumers who do not own tablets) is unfounded and is completely speculative. There will be a record number of tablets sold this year, but they won't be of the 10-inch variety. Lastly, with a larger size comes a larger price tag - and this will create another barrier for new customers, who are not necessarily the most tech-savvy bunch.

Also expected is the release of a 32-GB Nexus 7 tablet. This isn't big news - an SD-slot (I hope that they are adding one) would have been.

 The real news for Oct 29th will be the release of the Nexus 4 - LG's much anticipated smartphone, the Optimus G. We are talking a Quad-core Snapdragon processor, 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of storage, and a 1280 x 768 display.  Verdict: Winner!

Newsweek Abandons Print

Tina Brown calls it a transition, but its an unfortunate reaction to cost savings in the world of print media. The downturn in advertising and the limitations around new product development are driving many publishers to the last stand - All Digital. This is not some kind of metamorphosis for publishers – it's a last attempt at saving a historic media brand. Unfortunately for traditional print publishers the explosion of growth in the tablet market hasn't translated into significant revenue streams. I don't know if the technologist or the productions teams are hiding the fact that creating "cool" magazine apps is expensive and time consuming. And worst, the continued growth in the tablet market will not have a direct correlation to growth for in app magazine products.

Recently, I listened to a top executive of a well-known media organization demo his organizations latest app for the iPad. He showed beautiful images, videos, swipes and grabs. Then he looked across the audience and said isn't that "cool" - nothing that he showed was "cool" or unique from the core functionality of a tablet (or the iPad in this case). His demo illustrated the fact that only two resources were needed to produce this new product that was a significant new revenue stream for the company.
So I did some math. I took the 100k downloads he mentioned and multiplied them by the $3.99 cost of buying an issue. So $400k, not bad! Then I discounted Apple's cut  (-30%), now we are down to $280k, still not bad. But during the discussion it comes out the 6 interns are working on the apps ($15 hr)  and a group of 5 full-timers are as well. Let's say he got a good deal on resources and the 5 FT's earn $50k a yr (not likely) -  let's subtract $250k. I have forgotten about the interns at this point - let's call them "free". So his new revenue stream for this highly touted product is $30k, using very forgiving calculations.

Google's $99 Tablet Maybe Here for the Holidays

I have been beating the $99 - drum for a while, but for me it represents the sound barrier for the tablet market. Sure there are lesser-known brands available for under $99 - but performance and quality have been issue. But RUMOR-has-it, that Google is following up its Nexus 7 with a $99 model just in time for the holidays. According to Digitimes,

"The US$99 Nexus tablet is equipped with an ARM-architecture single-core processor 8950 developed by China-based WonderMedia Technologies, and a HUVA TN panel made by Taiwan-based HannStar Display, the sources said. "

Taiwan-based Quanta Computer denied to comment on whether it is producing the $99 tablet.
But the real news here is that a Google branded $99 tablet could become the holiday gift of the year - and I think on a scale of Tickle Me Elmo. Analysts expect tablet sales to increase by 60% by the end of the year and a $99 Google tablet will help that number become a reality.

Other links:
http://mediamixmaster.blogspot.com/2012/01/where-are-99-tablets.html
http://mediamixmaster.blogspot.com/2012/10/kupa-ultranote-windows-8-tablet.html
http://mediamixmaster.blogspot.com/2012/10/ipad-mini-oct-23rd.html
http://mediamixmaster.blogspot.com/2012/09/youll-probably-get-tablet-for-christmas.html

iPad Mini -- Oct 23rd ?

Mark it on your calendars, at least for this week. Barring any production delays, Apple should be unveiling its iPad Mini this month. According, to the folks at MobileGeeks.de a large German retailer has entered iPad Mini pricing into its inventory system. The iPad Mini will start at 249 euros (or $322 US Dollars) for a Wi-Fi-only 8GB model, there will also be 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB units available, with the most expensive being the $650 - 64GB cellular version (it will have to be 4G). I like to idea of a smaller tablet, the form-factor is critical to use of the device and portability. Other manufacturers are going larger and entering the 10-in arena, but I think its a  mistake.

Kupa UltraNote Windows 8 tablet

The tablet market should be booming with  next generation tablets that are leaner, meaner and less expensive. Unfortunately, consumers seem to be waiting for the next big hit. But there are signs of progress. The Kupa UltraNote Windows 8 Tablet - its the "Transformer" of the tablet market. Due out at the end of October, this unknown tablet outshines its competitors in features. Sporting a 10.1-inch 1920 x 1200 IPS display, comes with digitizer pen input with 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity, comes with 4GB of RAM - expandable up to 8GB, and you can add 64GB or 128GB of SSD storage. It even has a seven-hour battery life and allows a user-swappable battery that Kupa says will be inexpensive to replace. Through in a SIM slot for good measure in case you want to use it as a phone (the addition of a phone accessory). Now pile on an HDMI-slot, NFC, RFID, Bluetooth 4.0  two USB 3.0 slots, and HDMI out (and there's more). This tablet has my attention. No pricing has been announce so I will keep my ears open.

Silencing Your Facebook Newsstream

This morning a train buddy complained to me about how he wishes that he could silence a number of his "friends" on Facebook, so I figured that I would tell him and all of you how to quickly do that.

So when a "friend" posts something you don't want to see, simply click on the drop down to the right of the post and select "Hide". This will hide that post.

Once its hidden, you can can control all of the posts made by this individual by checking off individual post types or selecting "All Updates" for total silence. And Yes, you can always "unfriend" them.