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Monday, February 6, 2012

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“Provacative” Publisher Creates Book That Lets You Talk Back To The Characters

Posted: 06 Feb 2012 09:07 AM PST

final-design

So in the interest of supporting unique publishing methods and ideas, I thought it might be interesting to talk about Verdant Books and something they’re calling an “interactive novel.” Now my idea of an interactive novel is Choose Your Own Adventure, but this is something fairly unique.

Ok. Here’s the premise:

Hiram and Sibyl Eisenberg have fallen head over heels in love with Leif and Laura Wrightson. Leif and Laura return all the same passion for Sibyl and Hiram, yet all four remain committed to their spouses. What to do? The year is 1971, the place is California, and what never before seemed possible is suddenly irresistible. Camping on the shores of Fallen Lake in the high Sierra, one night they begin a new direction in their lives and those of their children, turning two marriages into one.

Yeah, you read that right. Old Hiram and Sibyl are watching Mother Nature on the run in the 1970s. Hot stuff, right? So here’s where things get really weird. The author, Laird Harrison, is going to update a blog featuring the characters talking about things important to the story. Now, to be clear, I think this is the worst implementation of interactive function I’ve ever seen (especially since all of the “blog posts” (did they have blogs in the 1970s?) are password protected). But here’s what I’m really concerned with.

So it’s going to get easier and easier to publish books. It’s already ridiculously easy, but soon everyone with an idea and dial-up will be able to upload an epub. There will be some good books and some terrible books and there will be varying methods for marketing these books, from the traditional display ad on Amazon to gimmicks like the one above. I do see the value in a sort of “meet-the-author” kind of website where you ask the author questions about his stuff and I do expect publishers to create more and more of this gimmickry in order to sell bits to an audience that is already wildly distracted, but I worry that, like the site that was going to sell soundtracks to books, this is a Bad Idea (TM).

There are ways to change the monetization systems around the distribution of long-form writing. Selling 10,000 word articles about Afganistan for 99 cents a pop is a great model to bring monetary incentive back into reporting and journalism as well as non-fiction writing and editing. We are fast approaching a time when the devices we use to read books will be far more distracting than they even are today. I, for one, always intend to open iBooks or the Kindle reader on my iPad and instead check Twitter and email. It’s a sad, sad day when I long for a standalone, e-ink Kindle over a fully-featured Kindle Fire because I want to read more.

So anything that will pull me out of the book experience is a negative, anything that keeps me reading is a positive. Gimmickry and “viral efforts” work maybe once in a thousand times. Good writing works every time. So let’s hear it for old Hiram and Sibyl and their blog and here’s hoping Harrison sells a few books. But I’d really like to raise a glass to good writing. It will save publishing, even if the publishers thwart it at every turn.

Social Commerce Network Lockerz Debuts A Pinterest-Like Self-Expression Platform

Posted: 06 Feb 2012 08:35 AM PST

lockerz-picture

Kleiner Perkins-backed social commerce network Lockerz is debuting a new Pinterest-like self-expression platform, where members can create and share collections of images and videos from anywhere on the Web. But unlike Pinterest, users can actually receive rewards for sharing content, which can be used to get discounts in the Lockerz store.

As we’ve reported in the past, Lockerz revolves around the idea that influencers within a social network can become brand and content advocates and affect the behavior of their friends. The network, which says it is seeing 45 million monthly uniques, is primarily targeted towards men and women ages 13 to 30, attempting to build a community of trendsetters and tastemakers who love to shop, play and connect on the Web. Users can earn points and discounts on brands by sharing content on the site. Founded by Kathy Savitt, a former Amazon and American Eagle Outfitters exec; Lockerz eventually wants to be the go-to commerce homepage for teens and young adults.

Lockerz members earn what the network calls ‘PTZ’ for nearly everything they do on the site, which are used to get discounts on hundreds of products offered in the Lockerz Store. Since its inception, Lockerz members have used nearly 3 billion PTZ for millions of dollars of savings on brands, including 7 for All Mankind, James Jeans, Xbox 360, Nintendo, SkullCandy, Canon, and Olympus.

Collections are created by "grabbing" images and videos from almost any website. Users can do this by downloading a bookmarklet or by posting images and videos manually. Videos can be grabbed a number of online video platforms including Hulu, Vimeo, MTV, VH1, Funny or Die, Comedy Central, CollegeHumor, and YouTube. Users can also grab images from other users’ existing Collections to create their own, which in turns rewards the original creator with PTZ.

While the new self-expression platform draws a lot of similarities to fast-growing online pin board Pinterest, Savitt tells us that the new feature has been in the product roadmap for some time now (perhaps even before Pinterest took off). Savitt adds that Lockerz will be working with brands and celebrities to curate sponsored Collections as well.

Google Launches “Solve For X” Website, The New Home For Its Global Innovations Conference

Posted: 06 Feb 2012 08:17 AM PST

Solve for X

Google today launched a somewhat mysterious website called “Solve for X,” which will now be the official homepage for a conference by the same name. Solve for X, according to the description provided, seems similar in format to the series of conferences from TED, but with more of a scientific focus.

The invite-only gathering is designed to attract global innovators who present short, technology-focused presentations on topics like low-energy desalination, e-waste mining, crowd-sourced protein folding, stretchable silicon biosensers, climate change, and more.

The website describes Solve for X as:

“A place where the curious can go to hear and discuss radical technology ideas for solving global problems. Radical in the sense that the solutions could help billions of people. Radical in the sense that the audaciousness of the proposals makes them sound like science fiction. And radical in the sense that there is some real technology breakthrough on the horizon to give us all hope that these ideas could really be brought to life.”

Although the site is still locked down as of this morning (there’s an email input form so you can be notified when it opens up), there have been hints to its nature posted by Richard W. DeVaul, a researcher for Google who describes his occupation as “Rapid Evaluator (mad scientist).”

In addition, some people have dug around in the CSS code to try and learn more information about the event.

In the code, you’ll find details on how the Solve for X presentations work. For example, presentations can only last 12 minutes, and must answer three questions:

  1. What is the huge problem you’re focused on fixing?
  2. What is the product or service that sounds like science fiction but that, if made, would radically improve the problem you just described?
  3. What specifically is the science or technology breakthrough that can give us all hope that such a product or service can be made and released to the world within a decade?

Presenters are asked to go easy on the slideshows, and to consider using props and other visual aids instead.

Videos from the conference, which took place this month in San Jose, California, are expected to go live on the site later today. In the meantime, this Solve for X introductory video is online now:

Honeywell Files Patent Lawsuit Against Smart Thermostat Developer Nest

Posted: 06 Feb 2012 07:52 AM PST

Nest

Conglomerate Honeywell, which develops thermostats, has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Nest Labs, the developer of the innovative smart thermostat. The lawsuit, which was filed United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, alleges infringement of seven Honeywell patents related to its thermostat technology.

As we’ve reported in the past, Nest, which was founded by the godfather of the iPod, not only provides an intelligent thermostat for your home but also saves energy as well. For example, the technology will analyze the thermal decay of a house to determine how long it takes for heat to dissipate. An "Auto-Away" feature uses far-field motion detection to assess whether no one is in the house for a few days, perhaps because you've gone on vacation. If so, the unit goes into low-energy mode.

The Nest thermostat also tracks your manual heating adjustments. For example, it can learn that you turn off the heat when you leave for work in the morning and turn it back on when you return in the evening, and then start to automatically make these changes for you. You can see a demo here.

Honeywell claims the infringed patents relate to “simplified methods for operating and programming a thermostat including the use of natural language, user interfaces that facilitate programming and energy savings, a thermostat’s inner design, an electric circuit used to divert power from the user’s home electrical system to provide power to a thermostat, and controlling a thermostat with information stored in a remote location.”

The lawsuit actually names both Nest Labs and Best Buy, which sells the Nest Labs thermostat. Honeywell not only wants to prevent Nest from the continued use of its patented technology but also seeks to recover damages caused by the infringement.

Interestingly, Honeywell recently told GigaOm that it killed off its smarter, learning thermostats years ago, instead focusing on ‘adding intelligence to digital and connected thermostats.”

We’ve contacted Nest for comment on the suit. We’ll update when we hear back from the company.

iPhone 4S Ranks #1 In Q4, But More First-Time Buyers Choose Android

Posted: 06 Feb 2012 07:26 AM PST

4s

According to new research from the NPD Group, Apple passed LG and Samsung to become the top-selling U.S. handset brand in Q4 2011. Combined, the three available models of the iPhone (iPhone 4S, iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS) accounted for 43% of the U.S. smartphone market.

Android, however, continued to see larger market share at 48%.

Together, iPhone and Android accounted for over 90% of U.S. smartphone sales, leaving little room for any up-and-comer like Windows Phone, or even the declining brand that is RIM’s BlackBerry.

Android’s market share may continue to grow, too, given that more first-time smartphone buyers were choosing Android over iPhone this past quarter, the firm found. Based on NPD Group’s monthly Smartphone Track service, 57% of first-time smartphone buyers went with an Android device compared with just 34% who purchased iPhones.

NPD suggests that the reason for these consumers’ Android preference has to do more with availability – Android has “wide carrier support,” the report says. Also helpful is Android’s large app selection and its support of LTE at Verizon.

The overall portion of handset sales that were smartphones also climbed in Q4 2011, now accounting for 68% of the total U.S. phone market. That’s an increase of 18% from Q2 2010, said NPD. The average cost per smartphone, however, hasn’t seen as much movement, down from $149 in Q4 2010 to $143 in Q4 2011.

Not surprisingly, Apple’s record-breaking quarter (its fiscal Q1, running September 25-December 31), led to the iPhone 4S coming out on top as the best-selling handset in Q4. It also earned the top three slots among the top five handsets for the time period:

  1. Apple iPhone 4S
  2. Apple iPhone 4
  3. Apple iPhone 3GS
  4. Samsung Galaxy S II
  5. Samsung Galaxy S 4G

Ross Rubin, executive director, Connected Intelligence for The NPD Group, said that consumers were attracted to the iPhone 4S’s ”faster processor, improved camera and the Siri speech-driven agent.”

“The iPhone 4S outsold the iPhone 4 by 75%, and outsold the iPhone 3GS, available for free on AT&T, five to one,” Rubin noted.

Samsung Galaxy Note Goes Up For Pre-Order At AT&T

Posted: 06 Feb 2012 07:19 AM PST

attnote

Do you believe in a thing called love?

If not, just listen to the rhythm of my heart… Or head on over to AT&T’s website to pre-order the Galaxy Note.

If for some reason you don’t remember, the Note is a 5.3-inch phone/tablet hybrid that showed its face in a costly Samsung commercial during last night’s Super Bowl. Its claim to fame would be a little stylus, what Samsung is calling the S-Pen, which makes the Note a tad more useful when you’re in a pinch and need to jot down a note or something quick like that.

Samsung has started out the year with 1 million Galaxy Note sales under its belt. If you feel like getting touchy-feely (touching youuuuou, touching meeeee) then you also have the option of sauntering into an AT&T come February 19 and settling the decision then and there.

The Galaxy Note will cost you $300 on-contract.



Report: Samsung Planning A Full Line Of Galaxy S3 Phones, First Model To Hit This May

Posted: 06 Feb 2012 07:13 AM PST

samsung

Samsung’s next flagship smartphone needs to be huge, iPhone 4 huge. It needs to be as competitive as the Galaxy S II as its set to go head-to-head with the iPhone 5. But success won’t be found as easily this time. Samsung had nearly a full year to design and release Galaxy S II after the iPhone 4′s release. The company doesn’t have that luxury this time around.

South Korean news outlet Electronic Times News just published a report that pegs the S3 as a superphone on a diet. The report states that printed circuit boards, chips and connectors allowed for an overall thickness (or thinness) of just 7mm. That’s 1.9mm thinner than the current Galaxy SII — not that several millimeters really mater. But even though the phone is thinner overall, Samsung is reportedly packing their next flagship to the gills.

Inside the svelte body is a quad-core CPU of unknown pedigree or clock speed running Android 4.0. The new model will use the same 8MP camera as the S II, which will result in a slight extrusion on the phone’s backplate. Inside is the usually assortment of an LTE radio, WiFi, GPS, and, although not specifically mentioned in this report, NFC is highly likely. No word on screen size.

But early adaptors might want to hold off. Samsung is reportedly set to launch a large line of Galaxy S3 phones in 2012.

etnews states that Samsung is preparing several S3 flavors. One model will have a better camera and one will use a stylus (like the Note!). There will even be 3D variation. The exact release schedule is not mentioned but expect a steady stream of S3 phones this year and early next.

The Samsung Galaxy S II was a massive success but it could have been better. The company announced the phone at MWC in late February 2011 but it didn’t hit markets until May/June. The company is seeking to eliminate that lag by not launching the S3 at MWC this year. The phone will instead get its own event closer to launch, and if etnews is to be believed, the phone will be released this coming May.

The scene is set. The lines are drawn. The summer of 2012 is set to play host to a massive battle: the iPhone 5 vs the Samsung Galaxy S III. But don’t get caught up in the nonsense war. Stand on the sideline and watch as two, likely awesome, smartphones trade shots. In the end it doesn’t really matter. The consumer wins no matter what.

Hunch Takes A Deep Data Dive On The Tastes And Interests Of eBay Users

Posted: 06 Feb 2012 07:00 AM PST

ebay

In November, eBay acquired Hunch, a service that provides a "taste graph" of personalized recommendations based on users' interests. eBay wants to use Hunch’s technology to used to drive more personalized, relevant shopping experiences on the marketplace through data analysis. And over the course of the past month, the team over at Hunch has spent some time figuring out the differences in tastes and interests of people who have shopped on eBay and those who have yet to make their first eBay sale or purchase. The results are based on responses from a survey of nearly 70,000 Hunch users (two-third of which are eBay users).

Here are some of the results. eBay purchasers are 61% more likely to be early adopters of technology. For example, eBay users are 54% more likely to use Twitter. Non-eBay users are 90% more likely to buy music in the form of a CD vs. other music formats. You can check out the rest of the results in the infographic below:

Rdio Releases New Android App, Ought To Be Ashamed Of Its Windows Phone App

Posted: 06 Feb 2012 06:48 AM PST

rdio

Today, Rdio is releasing a brand new application for Android phones chock-full of fresh features, which is awesome. Mainly because it gives me an excuse to write up a related rant I would have published at some point anyway.

But let’s get the new Android app part out of the way first:

“The new app offers intuitive navigation with one-click access to features previously available on Rdio for Android, along with several new enhancements and key features including collection, playlists, new releases, top charts, recommendations, and support for Android Ice Cream Sandwich’s new remote control client.

Now Android users not only have easy access to Rdio’s catalog of more than 12 million songs, they can also take advantage of Rdio’s rich social features and extensive music discovery options.”

Great. Swell. Cool. If you’re an Android phone user. Which I’m not, at least not anymore.

A few months ago I started using Nokia’s Lumia 800 as my primary smartphone. One of the apps I really need on any platform happens to be Rdio, which I gladly pay for every month. There has been an official WP7 Rdio app since November 2010, so no problem. At least, it shouldn’t be a problem.

Instead, it’s a major source of daily frustration. You see, the Rdio app for Windows Phone has one fatal flaw: it doesn’t actually play music. It also doesn’t go out to buy my groceries for me, nor does it clip my toe nails, but the point is that I have a right to be flabbergasted by its lack of music playing ability. You know, because I pay the company for being able to play music on my phone.

Not for crashing apps. Not for playlists, albums and songs that never load. Not for ‘black screens of death’ while I’m discovering new music. Not for half-assed offline syncing features.

Browsing the company’s help forums, it seems I’m not the only one who’s frustrated by the extremely poor quality of Rdio’s Windows Phone app (with some people even taking to canceling their subscriptions as a result of their justifiable dissatisfaction).

For months, Rdio employees have been promising complainers that the issues will be resolved on those very forums, but so far these promises have not been kept. I mean, they’re still asking users to restart their devices to see if that fixes the problem. Well, it doesn’t.

Rdio folks, please just look at those ratings and user reviews on WP Marketplace, and be ashamed.

Look, I get it. I’m in the minority as a Windows Phone user, and there’s no critical mass in sight yet. You have every right to focus your development efforts on apps for iOS and Android, given that most of your users likely use devices that run those operating systems. It’s a sensible thing to do.

The thing is, I’m a paying customer. I fork over $9.99 a month to access my Rdio account on the Web, my Sonos system and my phone. That phone happens to be a Windows Phone device, which you built an app for, which you’re actively advertising on your website. Yet, it’s helplessly broken.

The Spotify app for Windows Phone, meanwhile, works perfectly.

There’s absolutely no reason for me to put up with this, and I’m close to canceling my subscription over this. Not really because your Windows Phone app has issues, which is understandable, but because you’ve demonstrated clearly that you do not care about repairing them and giving your paying customers any reasonable indication of how to fix it themselves, or when a problem-fixing update will finally make its way to the Marketplace.

My view is this: either you develop an app for a mobile platform and proudly commit to enhancing and supporting it over time, and fixing problems that may arise within a reasonable timeframe, or you stay away from that platform entirely. I don’t know or care if Nokia or Microsoft paid you to build the app, but you should hang your heads in shame for offering it to users in its current state.

Rant over, for now. But hey, at least the new Android app apparently rocks, right?

Verizon And Redbox Taking On Netflix With New Joint Venture

Posted: 06 Feb 2012 06:38 AM PST

vr

Ladies and gentlemen, it looks like the mysterious Project Zoetrope will soon be seeing the light of day. Verizon and Redbox owner Coinstar have just taken to the wires today to announce their new joint venture in video entertainment, with their subscription services poised to launch in the second half of this year.

Details are still light at the moment (though a 9:30 AM conference call should shed some light on things) but the new service certainly has Netflix in its sights.

What we do know so far is that Verizon looks to combine a “video on demand streaming and download service” with Redbox’s physical media rentals from their 35,000+ kiosks nationwide. If the information given to us from an inside source holds true though, expect to see the yet-unnamed video service hit a host of platforms — think iOS, Android, Xbox, and the like.

I probably don't need to remind you that Verizon is a major player in both the home entertainment and mobile space, and it's exactly that breadth that they and Redbox want to built off of for their new service. The two companies are apparently in pursuit of what they call the “borderless lifestyle,” where the entertainment content consumers want will be available on the device (or media format) of their choosing.

It has the potential to be a far more attractive option than Netflix for some customers, if only because using Netflix's mail order service requires a little bit of forethought. Spur-of-the-moment types will likely appreciate the ability to swing by the local drugstore and pick up a few DVDs for the night when their new movie of choice hasn't yet appeared in their Verizon/Redbox streaming account yet. That question of content is what will ultimately make or break this new service, and hopefully they have some aces up their collective sleeves, as the new joint venture and Netflix will likely compete head-to-head on new DVD and Blu-ray releases.

In all likelihood, Netflix will have Verizon/Redbox beat when it comes to the size of their physical media catalog, so Verizon/Redbox may look to play up their “borderless” streaming side of things. Even that could be a risky move, as Netflix’s anemic margins on streaming video content show that it’s a tough model to run with.

Update: Well shucks, the conference call lasted all of four minutes and didn’t shed any new light on the situation.

Hey, Neelie Kroes, Maybe You Could Return Our Calls About This EU Cookie Law?

Posted: 06 Feb 2012 06:34 AM PST

Screen-Shot-2012-02-06-at-09.29.06

Early last year we pointed out that implementing the proposed EU cookie law would profoundly affect European technology companies and anyone running a business online out of Europe. Let’s review why.

First of all, it could mean that a staggering 90% of a site’s visitors would run a mile rather than saying yes to accepting a simple Google Analytics cookie. This is what happened when the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) implemented the EU advise on their own web site.

Mobeam Adds $1.5M To Series A Following Partnership With P&G

Posted: 06 Feb 2012 06:24 AM PST

mobeam

Mobeam, the San Francisco-based startup whose technology enables mobile phones to interact with laser scanners at the point of sale, has added another $1.5 million to its Series A round. The company had previously raised $4.9 million in October 2011.

The round includes new investor DFJ Athena, a Korea-focused venture fund affiliated with Draper Fisher Jurvetson, and brings in new funds from existing investor and board chairman, Ben DuPont.

Also announced today, DFJ Athena’s founder and managing director, Perry Ha, will join Mobeam’s board of directors.

The funding follows the company’s announcement in December of a partnership with Procter & Gamble for a pilot program which brings a fully mobile couponing system to U.S. consumers. The technology developed by Mobeam involves a patented way to beam barcodes from a phone’s screen which can be read by normal laser scanners like those found at the point-of-sale.

Due to the way mobile handset screens are constructed, they can’t be read by the commonly used scanners found at checkout. Mobeam’s technology instead uses the LEDs already present on many mobile handsets to transform barcodes into beams of light that any laser scanner can read.

Mobeam says it’s using the new funding to help establish its technology, called light-based communications (LBC), as a new industry standard. It’s also planning to advance its business development efforts with major retail and consumers brands for mobile couponing and other initiatives.

Social Ridesharing Startup Ridejoy Raises $1.3M From Freestyle Capital, Lerer Ventures And Others

Posted: 06 Feb 2012 06:00 AM PST

ridejoy

Ridejoy, a YC-backed startup that brings people together via ridesharing on long-distance trips, has raised $1.3 million in seed funding led by Freestyle Capital
with Lerer Ventures, Start Fund, SV Angel, Founder Collective, Y Combinator, Ben Ling, Owen Van Natta and Joshua Schachter participating.

The service allows drivers who are already planning to take a roadtrip to ‘sell’ their extra seats to other users. Drivers earn money on trips they were planning on taking anyway, and Ridejoy passengers get a door-to-door lift, in some cases for less than they’d pay for a bus ticket.

For now, Ridejoy is focused on long-distance trips. Drivers and passengers can locate others going to the same destination online in advance of the trip. To find travel companions, Ridejoy members simply post rides offered or rides needed and can be paid via cash or credit card. Ridejoy will take a small cut of the credit card payments.

In terms of safety, users are required to provide relevant work and education history, a photo, and with Facebook integration, a list of mutual friends. Ridejoy also implements a a user review system, so that drivers and passengers can check community feedback from previous rides; as well as a user reference system, which allows for friends to vouch for community members.

Last year, Ridejoy debuted its service with BurningManRides.com — a site that helped people coordinate their trips out to the Nevada desert. 1600 people signed up, 1150 rides were posted, and 400 rides were completed over a three-week span. In a neat twist, five pilots offered rides-by-air, completing a total of ten plane trips.

Ridejoy faces competition from Zimride. Ridejoy will use the new funding to increase design and engineering capacity and expand operations beyond the West Coast.

White Galaxy Nexus Gets An Official Launch Date

Posted: 06 Feb 2012 05:52 AM PST

white_galaxy_nexus

It’s hard not to love the Galaxy Nexus, even if you’re not a Fandroid. With a 4.65-inch 720p display, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and Android 4.0 ICS to boot, what’s not to love?

Well, if you’re being picky, perhaps you’re yearning for a white GalNex, in which case I have good and bad news. Which do you want first?

The good news is that the white Galaxy Nexus is indeed an official product and it will be available on February 13, which gives you a whole day to use a combination of Google Wallet and Fab to find your sweetheart a nice Valentine’s Day gift.

The bad news is that, according to TrustedReviews, the white GalNex is only available to the UK this week. (Bad news for us, anyways.)

Wait, there’s one extra bonus bit of good news: If you have enough dough, the white GalNex is has a pentaband HSPA+ radio, meaning it will work on both AT&T and T-Mobile’s networks. And by “enough dough”, I specifically mean at least £496.79 ($770), which is what the 16GB model seems to be going for over at UK online retailer Handtec.

Past it’s pale appearance, all the specs will remain the same between the black and white models. However, if you happen to remember when we first noticed the white Galaxy Nexus, you’ll recall that the render within the post showed an all-white bezel. That isn’t the case with the official version, as the front bezel of the phone is still solid black and the back portion of the phone is white.



Hulu And TiVo Announce Top Super Bowl Commercials, But Where’s The Tech?

Posted: 06 Feb 2012 05:45 AM PST

2012-superbowl-logo

The 2012 Super Bowl has come and gone, while you’re left to clean up the beer cans, wash off that face paint, and get back to planning your next pivot. The game itself provided more than enough excitement, with the New York Football Giants eking out a win over the star-crossed Tom Bradys and Bill Belichicks. This year’s Big Game also marked the first time that a Super Bowl was streamed live, legally, and for free on the Interwebs. While online viewers met with a number of shortcomings, the streaming was — for the most part — a success. (Read our review here.)

The Super Bowl also proved to yet again be the catalyst of rabid activity on social media channels, especially Twitter, which, at its most active, saw more than 10,000 tweets per second. A record for sporting events (even though this record seems to be broken every three months.)

While some watch the Super Bowl for their love of a good game of pigskin, others flip on the game for the halftime entertainment or the slew of “creative” commercials airing for the first time in front of a ready-made audience of millions.

The ad content this year left much to be desired (in my humble opinion), though there were some highlights, like an appearance by some faces familiar to the tech industry, thanks to Best Buy’s spotlighting of a few mobile innovators, among them Philippe Kahn, Ray Kurzweil, Instagram Founder Kevin Systrom, and the guys behind Shazam, and Words With Friends, and so on.

Of course, in the wrap up of every Super Bowl, the people want to get a taste of which commercials were the most popular. This morning Hulu released its list of winners, and it looks like nostalgia took the blue ribbon. Of the ads that ran during game time, Honda's "Matthew's Day Off" (a Ferris Bueller tribute) just narrowly edged out Volkswagen’s "The Dog Strikes Back," with the “most liked” ad on Hulu AdZone being Volkswagen’s “The Bark Side” preview ad.

Below, you can find the top results across categories, including "Overall Most Liked Ads" and "Funniest Ads.” For more of Hulu’s categories, check out their release here.

Overall Most Liked Ads

1. Volkswagen: The Bark Side Teaser
2. Honda: Matthew’s Day Off — Extended
3. Volkswagen: The Dog Strikes Back
4. Skechers: GOrun Mr. Quiggly
5. Dannon Oikos: The Tease
6. Chevrolet: 2012
7. M&M’s: It’s That Kind of Party
8. Audi: Vampire Party
9. E*Trade: Fatherhood
10. Acura: Transactions — Extended

Funniest Ads

1. Acura: Transactions
2. Hulu Plus: Hulubratory
3. Chevrolet: Happy Grad
4. Honda: Matthew’s Day Off
5. Chevrolet: 2012

Of course, Hulu is not the only service/company to track this year’s most popular commercials. This morning, TiVo also shared it’s commercial results, which is of note as it claims to be the “only second-by-second audience research service to rank the top ten commercials based on actual commercial retention and viewership” relative to the Super Bowl’s viewership numbers. Interestingly, while many brands like to preview or tease their ads days before the Super Bowl actually airs, the top three did not preview their commercials online before the big game. Take that, Internet?

Though it may not come as a surprise, it’s disappointing not to see many tech companies (or tech-related ads) in either of these top ten lists, with the exception of Hulu and E*Trade. It seems that the Super Bowl came and went without the same controversy (or negative reaction) stirred up by GoDaddy, Salesforce.com, and Groupon last year, the former two ranking high in the “Most Disliked” category last year.

But, without further ado, here are the top ten according to TiVo:

1. Doritos: “Man’s Best Friend”
2. M&Ms: “Ms. Brown”
3. Doritos: “Sling Baby”
4. Pepsi: “King’s Court”
5. Volkswagen: “The Dog Strikes Back”
6. NFL New Fantasy Game: “Win a Million Bucks”
7. Acura NSX: “Seinfeld”
8. FIAT 500: “Supermodel”
9. Chevy Camaro: “Happy Grad”
10. E*Trade Baby: “Fatherhood”

What do you think? Weigh in with your favorites.

Tsavo Media To Pay Yahoo $4.8M For Sending ‘Low Quality Traffic’, President Quits

Posted: 06 Feb 2012 05:13 AM PST

tsavo

Tsavo Media, which operates a network of roughly 300 websites and blogs as an indirect subsidiary of Canadian online publishing and advertising company Cyberplex, is being retroactively charged $4.8 million “over a reasonable time period” by Yahoo for sending the latter company’s advertisers “low quality traffic” in 2011.

To boot, Cyberplex president Ted Hastings (formerly Tsavo Media’s CEO), apparently jumped ship.

It’s a curious story, to say the least.

Tsavo Media, once led by former MySpace CEO and previously AOL SVP Mike Jones, was acquired by Cyberplex back in May 2010, for a reported $75 million.

The company’s network of Internet publications includes crappy websites like LumaGardening.com, ThinkFashion, TechSerious, WealthyGeek, Twirlit, DiscoverFame and KidGlue.

Now, according to a press statement released earlier today, a Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Cyberplex has been appointed to “review the status of Tsavo Media and strategic alternatives available to create shareholder value out of that division, which is currently heavily encumbered by debt under Tsavo Media’s credit facility with American Capital”.

I bet this wasn’t what they had in mind when they acquired Tsavo Media. But then again, what good could have come out of buying a crappy content generation machine anyway?

Cyberplex had this to say about the sticky Yahoo situation it now finds itself in:

The Company reported today that Tsavo Media has been engaged in discussions with Yahoo! to address concerns regarding the quality of traffic provided to the Yahoo! advertising base, and Tsavo Media’s reliance on Yahoo!’s traffic quality reporting system. Tsavo Media has now been informed that it will be required to pay to Yahoo! approximately $4.8 million over a reasonable time period currently being discussed, notwithstanding prior information that indicated good quality traffic at that time.

This amount may be partially offset by achieving certain performance incentives and anticipated improvements in average revenues per click, but the Company noted that there can be no assurance as to how much, if any, of this payment to Yahoo! would be offset through these incentives and improvements.

Translation: unless a miracle happens, we’re going to have to cough up some serious dough, and we can only hope we don’t have to pay everything all at once and in the near future.

The Company noted that Yahoo! provides bi-weekly quality reports to Tsavo Media, which are extremely important to Tsavo Media in the management of its systems, analysis, forecasting and ultimately its day-to-day business decisions. Yahoo! recently communicated to Tsavo Media that notwithstanding the good quality score reports that had been provided throughout most of 2011, Yahoo! would retroactively charge Tsavo for what Yahoo! is now saying was actually low quality traffic, ranging back over many months during 2011.

While the Company and Yahoo! remain in discussions on this issue, the Company now expects that Yahoo! will enforce its decision to charge back this amount citing its right to do so pursuant to the terms of Tsavo Media’s agreement with Yahoo!

Translation: first Yahoo says we did a good job last year, but now they say we did a bad job, and according to the deal we agreed upon they can actually retroactively charge us for it.

“We are very frustrated by the timing of these events after spending almost one year rebuilding the Tsavo organization while negotiating a settlement with American Capital”, said Geoffrey Rotstein, CEO of Cyberplex.

“These events are disappointing given all of the hard work the Tsavo employees have invested to rebuild the organization and because they continue to take away and distract from all of the other positive developments and momentum being created within both Tsavo and the other divisions of Cyberplex.”

Translation: Oh FFF******CCCKKK.

Nokia: The White Lumia 800 Will Ship This Month Starting With European Markets

Posted: 06 Feb 2012 04:56 AM PST

700-nokia-lumia-800-white-gulp-screen

Forget about the Lumia 900 for a minute. Nokia just announced white Nokia Lumia 800 is finally on the release block and scheduled to hit stores later this month. Availability will be limited to Europe initially but it will eventually hit other countries as well.

Other than the stark white exterior, it’s essentially the same phone as its colored counterparts. The albino edition (not the official name) still has the same 3.7-inch screen, 16GB of storage, 1.4GHz processor and WinPhone 7.5 operating system.

Nokia didn’t go into pricing details, probably because the phone is set to hit so many different markets, each with a different pricing strategy. However, Nokia has seemed to stress affordability with their Windows Phones so far so this white edition will likely follow the same mantra. Alright, enough with the Lumia 800, bring on the 900!

Kenexa Acquires E-Learning Solutions Company OutStart

Posted: 06 Feb 2012 04:00 AM PST

outstart

In an effort to expand its reach into the e-learning market, Kenexa, a publicly listed provider of business solutions for human resources and talent management, has agreed to acquire Boston-based OutStart.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

OutStart offers SaaS-based social and mobile learning solutions and will help Kenexa bolster its suite of talent management products, the latter company said in a statement.

OutStart is said to have more than 300 customers, ranging from large global organizations to mid-size companies and government agencies.

Kenexa says it expects to fund the acquisition of the privately-held software company with its existing cash balance. The company also expects the transaction to be at least neutral to non-GAAP net income available to common shareholders on a per share basis for 2012.

Also read: Kenexa To Acquire Salary.com In $80 Million Deal

Citing “Short-Term Difficulties”, HTC Forecasts Weak Q1, Significant Revenue Drop

Posted: 06 Feb 2012 01:20 AM PST

htc

Smartphones and tablets maker HTC this morning said it foresees a huge drop in revenue (PDF) in the first quarter, citing “short-term difficulties” as it gears up to – reportedly – launch four new phone models at the Mobile World Congress later this month.

The Taiwanese company sees revenue dropping as much as 36 percent in Q1, to between NT$65 billion and NT$70 billion (roughly $2.2 and $2.4 billion) due to this “product transition”.

In PR speak, that sound something like this:

Despite short-term difficulties, momentum will resume in the upcoming product cycle driven by HTC's brand strength, innovation, and design/engineering capabilities

The smartphone maker also said it expected gross margin to come in at around 25 percent, and operating margin at 7.5 percent, which is down from 27.1 percent and 12.7 percent in the previous quarter. Again, HTC says it expects these margins to “normalize” after the debut of the new phones.

In other words, HTC has a heck of a lot riding on these new smartphones selling like hotcakes, as it feels the pressure from Apple’s overwhelming iPhone success and an increasing number of manufacturers churning out and selling competing Android-powered devices by the millions.

Also read:

It's About Time: HTC To Refocus Smartphone Efforts Around "Hero" Devices

Is HTC's 20% Revenue Dip Last Month A Sign Of Things To Come?

Gadgets Week in Review: Graham Band

Posted: 06 Feb 2012 01:00 AM PST
at 9:14 AM

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