News of the Day, Nov. 22, 2011

Facebook might be launching a phone of their own, the cause of E-book library lending takes a hit, and Google jumps on the drop-the-device-price bandwagon. And now, the news!

Smartphones

Facebook Enters The Phone Wars: They are reportedly working on a phone in cooperation with HTC that has true social media integration and will probably run a customized version of Android – much like the Kindle Fire. Facebook has clashed with Apple in the past over iPhone/iPad apps – hence, the desire to take them head-on. Consider this one a big "wait and see," because having a big name in tech/social media doesn't necessarily translate into success in the increasingly overcrowded Android market (PSP phone, I'm looking at you).

McAfee Calls Android a Malware Magnet: Mobile security incidents are hitting an all-time high this year, the anti-virus company says, and Android is largely to blame. If you're using the OS on any device at all – phone, tablet, Kindle Fire – make sure you use protection software, and be very, very careful about what you download.

Social Media

Stop Internet Piracy Act Has Huge Online Backlash: The act, which is designed to curb foreign policy but would cripple the Internet as we know it, is being officially protested by AOL, eBay, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Mozilla, Twitter, Yahoo and Zynga – and also protested by a huge grassroots movement, which may be turning the tide of the bill in Congress. (President Obama has already said he'd veto it, but it could then go back to Congress for a second vote). For more on the act: How SOPA Would Affect You.

Paid Content Put Up for Sale: The site, which covers "the business of digital media," and parent company ContentNext Media have been put up for sale by Guardian Media – they expect to get $15 million to $20 million for the property. Steer clear of Paid Content until the dust settles on this one.

Netbooks/Tablets

Google Cuts Chromebook Prices, But Will Users Finally Bite?: Their cloud-based netbooks seemed like a sure thing . . . until the tabletpalooza. Now, they're slashing prices to get them into consumer hands, but they're still up against not only tablets, but the fact that the Chromebook is useless without a stable and constant Wifi connection – which are still hard to come by in many areas. This points out two things – seemingly good ideas become obsolete in today's tech landscape faster than ever before, and universal Wifi services are something that is sorely needed.

Publishing/E-Publishing

Penguin Books Pulls E-Book Library Lending: They're saying that the move is "due to security concerns" – in other words, they're afraid that the loaned E-books will be pirated. This attitude is nothing new in the industry – Macmillan and Simon & Schuster do not allow E-book lending, and Hachette pulled its E-books from library distributon last year – though they are reconsidering that decision. Here is a challenge for people in E-publishing – find a middle ground that will allow these books to be loaned, but still keep them secure. E-book distribution is cruicial to the survival of the traditional library in today's increasingly electronic publishing world – and yet, those piracy concerns are very real.

Media

Has Netflix Overextended Itself?: They agreed to sell $400 million in stock and covertible bonds in an effort to raise a stockpile of cash – most definitely not a good sign for them. They've "committed billions of dollars to new streaming deals over the next few years,"and yet, they "finished the third quarter with just $366 million in cash and short-term investments, however, and with $200 million in long-term debt." And here's another lesson in the contemporary tech world – how quickly a company can go from "Send them a resume, now!" to "Steer clear." It's important to read up on the most recent news of a company before applying – especially one that, until now, seemed like the surest bet out there.

Anime/Manga

New DragonBall Coming . . . Sort Of: DragonBall Episode of Bardock is a prequel about Goku's father that already had a manga and a TV special, and is now getting a three-part anime. This series is to male anime fans what Sailor Moon is to female ones – the title that they can point to as the one that launched their interest in all things Japanese. You can expect this new release to revive interest in the original – again. (Hopefully, though, not to the point of attracting American movie companies. If the Japanese couldn't make a decent movie out of DragonBall, it most definitely stands to logic that Hollywood couldn't.)

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Does the Chromebook still have a shot, even with the price cut? – Bonnie

  • http://profile.typepad.com/genjipress Serdar (Genji Press)

    I couldn’t see the Chromebook as being anything but DOA the minute it launched. Google was competing against itself, since its most direct competition has turned out to be — yup — Android-powered devices. And why spend $300 on a Chromebook which runs nothing but the web when you could spend that much on a full-blown netbook PC with Windows? It just didn’t make any economic or logistic sense, and it’s no surprise it’s just been sitting there since it rolled out.

  • Scott D

    The price cut could get it noticed, like what’s happening with RIM’s Playbook. But I have to agree with Serdar. The biggest competition isn’t other tablets, but other tablets plus netbooks. $300 makes it more expensive than many netbooks that can handle more than just the web.

  • http://www.megamistudios.com Rob

    The Chromebook is dead. Dead, dead, dead.
    It promised to make Chrome and its related components (Chrome games and apps, Google Docs, etc.) into the “real” (desktop) world as much as the virtual of the web/cloud. The problem is, it was never made anywhere near as compelling as other formats. The Android webtop systems are already ubiquitous. Tablets and netbooks are paving the way for cheap ‘puting; Regular Windows lappies and Macbooks will always have the high end. This leaves Chrome alongside dedicated Linux laps (most of which are just scrubbed Windows laps) as the niche.
    I give it a year or two at most before Chromebooks go away and the whole thing gets either folded into Android or shoved into the failure vault over at the Googleplex.

  • Scott D

    What if Google is just in the market for a quick buck and not caring about long-term success? Tablets are hot right now. They just have to sell enough to pay for the production and then announce that, “due to sales below expectations, the Chromebook line is being discontinued”. A flurry of sales at the end ensures there’s no stock left over, Google gets a sum of cash, and people get a future museum piece.

  • http://www.stevensavage.com/ Steven Savage

    Google tends to be about the long-term – but also the experimental. Take it from a guy who works in Silicon Valley, a LOT of their stuff fails, gets adsorbed into other projects, or never leaves beta. You just don’t hear about it that much (and Google employees are pretty careful not to reveal things).
    The Chromebook seems to be an experiment. I expected it to be rolled into Android anyway, but now with the rapid changes there’s no choice. In a year we won’t remember it.
    Is it a failure? No, from everything I’d seen and heard it was an interesting and pretty sweet device. It just didn’t work out, but I’m sure a lot came out of it.
    (Oh, and I suspect that little Motorola purchase means a different focus . . .)

  • http://www.mspy.com Rebeca Smile

    That’s made the market for smart phones — handheld devices that allow people to surf the Internet, check e-mail, play music and games, shoot photos and video, organize their calendars and, yes, make phone calls — the hottest consumer battlefield around.

  • Scott D

    The Chromebook as a test bed for Android technologies, with the extra benefit that it will garner some sales of its own on the side? Hmmm…