Tag: business news

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Bring AT&T LTE compatible handsets to StraightTalk.

straight talk lte sim card 4g somegadgetguyThe prepaid phone market is getting really hot. As consumers shop various plans and services, prepaid solutions might be just the ticket for some shoppers. This has historically meant having a “last generation” experience, using a 3G service while the big boys trotted out real 4G LTE data. This is starting to change however, as AT&T has rolled out AIO nationwide utilizing their LTE network, and now StraightTalk is getting into the game too.

Starting now, you can bring an AT&T compatible LTE phone to StraightTalk and utilize LTE access. It will require a new SIM card to activate, but it looks like plan pricing will remain the same as their previous Faux G offerings, unlimited plans starting at $45 a month. Now while ST offers unlimited data, it’s been reported that heavy users will be throttled, but considering the price of this service, that’s not horribly surprising. Might still want to read up on those terms of service before porting your number over.

If you’re buying a new phone, and you’re not able to bring your own from another carrier, the two handsets current sold through StraightTalk which support LTE are the Galaxy S3 and the iPhone 5. Neither particularly exciting in this current market, but if you’re shopping a new phone plan, prepaid might be something worth checking out.

(via StraightTalk)

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Appropriately, Twitter announces IPO with a Tweet

twitter logo

What else would you have expected?

The long rumored Twitter IPO looks like it might be happening. Now the dance of managing expectations begins. They need to drum up excitement about their public offerings, but they can’t go overboard like Facebook. It’s an extremely delicate balance. How do you get investors to open their wallets without getting them overly hyped up. We’ll see if Twitter can figure out the formula where other services have faltered.

Fittingly, they announced this long anticipated industry news with a tweet:

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Target Ticket has iTunes and Amazon in their video streaming sights (not really Netflix though)

target ticket online movie store beta somegadgetguySo, a lot headlines talking about the Target Ticket beta keep comparing it to Netflix. Netflix is an all-you-can eat subscription service. You pay monthly to watch all you want. iTunes and Amazon built services which allow customers to rent or own digital copies of individual movies and TV shows (though Amazon now also has an all-you-can eat component with Prime, but I digress).

Now which of those to services do you think Target Ticket more closely resembles?

Target will be launching with 15,000 titles, and we’re expecting pricing similar to Amazon and iTunes. Movies can be rented for around $3-4 per title or owned for around $13-15, and Target is promising compatibility with Android, iOS, Mac, and PC. Content providers including ABC, AMC, CBS, CW, Fox, FX, HBO, The WB, NBC, Showtime, Starz, and USA are already on board.

Target Ticket is currently only available to Target employees with no official word on when it’ll open it’s digital doors for business.

So what do you think? Is this a service you’ll try out when it leaves BETA? Is there room for another movie “store”? Drop a comment below.

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Apple Intros iTunes Radio to compete against Pandora, Spotify, Google, Microsoft, etc…

itunes radio announced somegadgetguy streaming internet musicThe iTunes Radio announcement was one of the first things discussed during Apple’s keynote today, but Tim Cook ran over it so fast, I think you can still see tire tread on its back.

What should have been one of the more interesting services announcement for Cupertino was largely ignored. Apple created the online music sales market as we know it today, yet even with that legacy, very little was said about iTUnes Radio. With a nod and a collective shrug, we just took it for granted before moving on to hardware announcements.

Simply billed as “coming soon” on the official iTunes site, Radio will be another streaming service designed to compete with offerings from Pandora, Spotify, Google, and even Microsoft. It will allow you to build “stations” for your favorite music, and those stations will be synced across all of your devices via iCloud, so iPhones, iPads, and Apple TV can all get in on the act.

On a personal note, it’s a little shocking that even Microsoft was able to beat Apple to a service like this. Plus, it’s uncharacteristically tame of Apple not to work being late into more of a consumer oriented selling point. In the past being late to a service, Apple would’ve boldly claimed that they waited to perfect the offerings which were obviously inferior or confusing to consumers. There was no such bravado on display here today, and lacking that confidence is a dangerous place for Apple to be in this viscerally competitive market.

Full deets on Apple.com

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Apple stock drops 12 points following iPhone 5S & 5C announcement.

apple stock down following iphone 5s and 5c announcement somegadgetguyDamn stock market. I haven’t even finished writing up what was announced at the Apple event today, and you guys already jumped into some trading.

It would seem investors weren’t impressed by the new offerings on display from Cupertino. Following the unveiling of the worst kept secrets in tech, Apple’s stock is currently down 12 points, trading at around 494 a share. Not a great position for this company to be in as the last several product announcements from Apple have been viewed with some cynicism. Apparently a revised iPhone 5 and a new plastic mid-range iPhone wasn’t what the market was hoping for to drum up some excitement.

From a business perspective I’m a little surprised that adding China to the list of countries receiving the iPhone at launch wasn’t met with more celebration. China will be a huge potential market for Apple, and those people concerned with the profitability of iOS should be optimistic that we’ll see increased revenue from these Asian markets.

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HTC profits down 45% from a year ago. What does recovery look like?

Man. HTC just can’t catch a break here.

Last week, shares fell almost 5% on the news that HTC only pulled in $443 million this August, which is down 45% from a year ago. It seems that the critically acclaimed One and One Mini handsets aren’t quite motivating consumers to part with their cash. Investor confidence is also a little shaken by news of high level executives leaving the company. Some of those execs under investigation for allegedly leaking company secrets. In all, not a great position for the phone maker to be in given how competitive the phone landscape is.

The one resource HTC most likely needs to turn around its market image is likely the one most difficult to come by: Time. HTC’s recent moves have largely been celebrated by tech pundits. The HTC One marks the first handset by the company which isn’t hamstrung by carrier branding. Even the older One X was billed as the “Evo 4G LTE” on Sprint, diluting HTC’s presence. Future HTC phones will likely not be plagued by this consumer confusion.

HTC heres to changeAlso, we recently saw the first fruits from HTC’s $1 billion ad campaign featuring Robert Downey Jr. and “Hipster Troll Carwashes”. This is a long term brand identity move, which should net positive results, but HTC is also in need of some short term sales to help boost confidence internally and with potential customers. They need evangelists and fans who will tout the company line, and be a grassroots first line of attack when new handsets are released.

Recent moves have been smart, HTC is trying to build a presence on sites like Reddit, and they’ve been more active on social media sites. It’s a tough road to build that kind of loyalty however. Their 716,000 Twitter followers are nothing to sneeze at, but pale in comparison to Samsung’s 4.4 million, and comparing recent tweets, actual engagement with likes and retweet action mirrors those follower numbers.

So while their long term strategies look sound, this isn’t a market known for patience, and that magical recipe for pairing good products and actual sales has been eluding numerous companies of late.

See my hands on reviews for the HTC One and the HTC One Mini.

(via WSJ)

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