Comcast’s merger makes big cable bigger, but not better or cheaper
In a three hour hearing today (watch it here or embedded after the break, read the statements here), executives for Comcast and Time Warner Cable joined a few others taking questions about their proposed $45 billion merger. Unfortunately, after pushing a 180-page explanation of how great an idea the merger is to the FCC yesterday, Comcast’s David Cohen and Time Warner Cable’s Arthur Minson didn’t have much new to say. Senators including Al Franken, Amy Klobuchar and Mike Lee grilled the execs with questions about rising cable rates, channel bundles and network neutrality, mostly garnering the same answers we’ve heard before. Franken’s questioning stood out, pointing out comments Comcast made during its acquisition of NBCUniversal citing Time Warner Cable as a competitor that could help keep it in check, even though now it says they don’t compete for customers.
The prospect of the two companies joining to create one vertically integrated giant controlling both content and means of access to content for millions of people loomed over the proceedings. Comcast took the opportunity to announce higher speeds on two of its internet tiers in the northeast, and call out its growing network of WiFi hotspots for customers, while once again promising new features and better tech for TWC areas. Still, with so many networks and access for 30 million customers potentially under one brand, Comcast/TWC’s arguments about competition from Google Fiber, Netflix (which Comcast said it didn’t fear in 2011), telcos and satellite didn’t seem to hit the right notes.
Consumer advocate and CEO of Public Knowledge Gene Kimmelman, who opposes the merger, was also on the panel and calling out the potential threat of the market being concentrated at a single point of connection. While he said that they’re not necessarily doing it now, Kimmelman said the merged Comcast/TWC would have more power “to favor one product over another if it’s financially advantageous.” The cable companies were also taken to task for their poor customer service reputations, an area where Cohen admitted perhaps they needed a kick to do better. On on the other hand, despite insisting that there’s no evidence a merger would raise customer’s rates and reduce choice, he also said they didn’t expect to see lower customer prices.
Options some customers are looking for like a la carte programming or internet streaming to other devices were also left out of Comcast’s reasoning. Cohen pointed to programming rights issues for some of these issues, which makes sense after Time Warner Cable faced a Viacom lawsuit over its TWC TV service. Still, as Franken put it, faced with over 100 lobbyists arguing for the merger to happen, and signatures from over 100,000 customers against it, there’s wide concern it will lead to higher prices and worse service. There’s still likely months of push and pull ahead over the potential deal, and we’ll be interested to see if Comcast makes it happen with a series of concessions
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD, Google
T-Mobile Announces the ‘Simple Starter’ Plan for April 12th Availability, Just $40 a Month
If you thought T-Mobile would slow their roll after after offering up termination fee payoffs, no contract devices and international roaming at no extra charge, you would be wrong. The only way T-mobile will be able to pick up the pace is to keep bringing new things to consumers. Today they have taken the wraps off another new plan simply called the ‘Simple Starter’.
The Simple Starter plan offers up unlimited talk and text coupled with 500MB of 4G LTE data for $40 a month.It is pretty cut and dry.
T-Mobile CEO John Legere says this is just one of three announcements to come over the next few days.
So, starting with this morning’s news, we have three days of Un-carrier announcements for consumers – again the result of listening directly to their wants and needs. That is what the Un-carrier does!
We are certainly looking forward to what is next. The new Simple Starter plan becomes available April 12th for those that are interested.
Via Android Police
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Sprint Updates Tri-Band Capable Galaxy S4 Devices with Wi-Fi Calling
Sprint has begun pushing out an update today for the Samsung Galaxy S4 which will make it the 4th device on the network capable of using Wi-Fi calling. The others are the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini, Galaxy Mega and Galaxy Note 3. The update is rolling out now, but is expected to take a couple of weeks to complete.
How will customers benefit?
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Enhanced coverage for in-building coverage or areas with challenging network conditions
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Easy setup: Once activated, everything is seamless and happens in the background
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Unlimited voice calling and messaging on Wi-Fi: All domestic calling and messaging is FREE (standard CDMA international rates apply for international calls)
Be on the look out for the update and let us know how it works out when it arrives. Also kep in mind that this update and the Wi-Fi calling option is only for the tri-band version of the device. (The ones that can utilize Sprint Spark)
Source: Sprint
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[New Game] Mikey Hooks is on its way to Android April 10th
On February 20th Noodlecake Studios brought Android users the fun filled Mikey Shorts games. We heard from Noodlecake that they would be bringing the follow up game, Mikey Hooks, out a few weeks later. Well, it took a little bit longer, but we are happy to report that Mikey Hooks will be making its debut April 10th for $0.99.
Similar to Mikey Shorts, you will run, slide and jump your way through levels except in Mikey Hooks, you will now also be swinging your way over pits and such.
The game will make its appearance for $0.99 and come packed with 36 levels spanning 6 worlds. You get 24 levels in the traditional story mode and another 12 levels in race mode. You will be able to customize Mikey with over 220 disguises including some exclusive Google Play content. It also has Google Play Games Services integrated to race your friends for top spot.
We have the Play Store link ready and waiting down below, but the game isn’t available just yet.
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Motorola Mobility names Rick Osterloh as new President, COO
Motorola Mobility has announced Rick Osterloh as the new President and COO. Osterloh is stepping into the role of former CEO Dennis Woodside who is now the COO of Dropbox. Hopefully Osterloh can steer Motorola into the right direction especially after the acquisition from Lenovo.
Below is a snippet from Motorola’s blog:
Since his return, Rick’s had a key role in the company’s reinvigoration. He’s been a guiding visionary on the entire product front and a passionate advocate for our philosophy to focus everything we do on the consumer experience.
I believe that Rick’s appointment provides the focused leadership and business continuity needed to steer the organization into the future, and I look forward to continuing in my role as Google liaison and advisor to Motorola through the transition period supporting Rick.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Rosenberg
Source: Motorola
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Samsung “Experience” stores coming to the UK
We all know you’ve been itching to walk into a store dedicated to Samsung products, and Samsung heard you because the company have begun taking up retail space throughout the UK.
The new dedicated Samsung “Experience” stores will give customers the ability to get their hands on the devices as well as being able to chat with Samsung officials.
In addition, as part of the special opening Samsung is making the new Samsung Galaxy S5 and Samsung Gear devices available in store prior to the official launch on Friday.
Locations include London, Newcastle, Liverpool, Bradford, Bristol, Manchester, Bournemouth and Cardiff, and will be operated in partnership with Carphone Warehouse.
Source: Engadget
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Google is testing new calendar and Gmail features
Calendars are a dime a dozen and lets face it, how much can you really do to a calendar app to make it stand out from the pack. Well recent leaks from Geek.com have shown us that Google is working on a slew of new features including a UI overhaul, daily agenda feature, and social integration from Google+. Hopefully we see something come of this.
Google is also looking into refreshing their Gmail app by adding more UI features, a pinning feature, and a snooze function. Nothing is set in stone, but with Google I/O around the corner, I am sure alot of Google’s apps are going to be seeing some refreshes as well.
Source: Geek
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Mailbox for Android tips & tricks
In case you missed the announcement, Dropbox has just announced the popular iOS email client, Mailbox, for Android. Exciting, right? Sometimes it’s easier to use an app when you have a little help. So, here are a few tips on how to use Mailbox for Android.
Now this is very similar to other email clients in many aspects, so we’re not going to go too in-depth with some of the features. But we will walk through some of the tips and tricks you can use to make your experience even better. Adding an email address is very simple. – just follow the on-screen prompts.
Next, you’ll be whisked in to a tutorial. Here is where the fun part begins. It will begin walking you through the 5 different zones in which to swipe your mail.
- Swipe an email to the right to archive it
- Long swipe to the right to move to trash
- Swipe left to snooze the email, then choose how long you’d like to snooze it for
- Long swipe to the left to add it to a list, then choose whichever list you’d like
To go into a bit more detail on Auto-Swipe, this feature is very easy to use. As long as it’s enabled under the Settings menu, it works. It’s always learning from your email habits whether you swipe away a certain type of promotion everyday or adding a coupon to one of your lists. Set it up, and forget it!
Other that these features that we just highlighted, there isn’t too much about Mailbox that differs from other email clients. There are some features that are exclusive to the iOS app like shaking your device to undo an action and long press to reorder messages. We hope those will one day make it to the Android version.
But before we go, do you see this at the top of your inbox?
If you click that, you have the option to either archive all messages, archive all except the unread messages, or archive all of the except the starred ones. This could be really good for someone who has more than 100 emails that they’re never going to read again.
It’s safe to say that even if you aren’t gung-ho about the gestures, Mailbox is a very attractive email client. Are you planning on using Mailbox? What are your thoughts? Do you have any questions on how it works? Feel free to let us know in the comment section below!
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‘Slide to Unlock’ Engineer Greg Christie to Depart Apple After Fallout with Jony Ive
Apple’s Vice President of Human Interface Greg Christie is set to depart from the company after clashing with Jony Ive, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Industrial Design who oversees and guides the Human Interface teams, reports 9to5Mac. Ive first took on a role “providing leadership” for the Human Interface teams in late 2012, following Scott Forstall’s departure from the company.
Christie has led much of Apple’s software design and reports to Craig Federighi, who oversees development of iOS and OS X, but Christie interacts with Ive during design meetings. Christie’s team was responsible for redesigning iOS 7, which reportedly led to disagreements with Ive.
Sources say that Christie’s upcoming departure is significant and stems from a falling out with Ive. When Ive tasked Apple’s Human Interface team with redesigning iOS 7 to include an entirely new look, Christie and Ive reportedly clashed over design direction, after which Ive is said to have circumvented Christie’s leadership of the team during the new operating system’s development.
Following Christie’s departure, software design will fall under Ive’s umbrella, with software designers working alongside Ive’s industrial design team rather than Federighi’s group.
Christie, who has worked for Apple since 1996, was one of the original software engineers who developed iOS for the first iPhone. He recently did an interview with The Wall Street Journal detailing the development of the original iPhone and he testified in the second Apple vs. Samsung patent trial, telling the court that the “Slide to Unlock” feature he’s credited with inventing is an essential iPhone feature.
Along with “Slide to Unlock,” Christie has been instrumental in developing many important iPhone features, with hundreds of Apple patents in his name. It is unclear what he plans to do after his departure or when he will officially depart from the company.
Following the departure of Scott Forstall, Apple CEO Tim Cook spoke on the importance of collaboration and noted that the merging of software and hardware design was needed to take Apple’s collaborative efforts to the next level. Last year, Ive and Federighi also spoke on collaboration and how they worked together to create iOS 7. With Ive taking full control over software design with Christie’s departure, the integration between Apple’s software and hardware may improve even further.
Apple Considering Dramatic Overhaul of iTunes to Address Declining Music Downloads
Apple is considering a dramatic overhaul of its iTunes music store as iTunes Radio has failed to stop declining music downloads, reports Billboard. As reported earlier this year, the company may create an on-demand music streaming service similar to Spotify in order to boost sales as well as an Android iTunes app.
“iTunes Radio hasn’t solved the problem of refreshing the iTunes store,” said a senior label executive. “While listeners are clicking the buy buttons, the traffic it is driving is in the low single digits of listeners.”
Only one to two percent of iTunes Radio listeners go on to buy songs and digital music sales were down some 5.7 percent in 2013, according to a January report. Overall music downloads have been declining upwards of 15 percent while iTunes is also losing money to competitors like YouTube, Spotify, and Pandora.
iTunes still accounts for upwards of 40 percent of U.S. music sales revenue and iTunes Radio is the third largest music streaming service after Pandora and iHeartRadio, but it has not thus far generated the sales that Apple expected.
According to the report, Apple’s options for improving iTunes are being debated internally and among the company’s content partners as it works to overcome competition from Android and an increasing consumer preference for streaming music services.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., Apple is losing its most valuable customers. “Two-thirds of its high-value customers are now in subscription services,” said one source. “That has been an eye-opener for them.”
While iTunes Radio allows users to create radio stations based on song selections, an on-demand service similar to Spotify would potentially allow users to select songs at will and could carry a monthly fee. iTunes Radio is available for free and supported by ads, with Apple also making its iTunes Match service available to customers.
With an on-demand subscription service, Apple could supply all music models customers are interested in, offering a la carte downloads via iTunes, free music via iTunes Radio, and a premium on-demand service. According to one music executive, Apple has radical plans for iTunes in store, which could lead to a “completely different” experience in three to five years.
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