Has Nintendo One-Upped Apple?

Monday September 24, 2012 – Greg Scoblete

While the world has been rending goat entrails for signs of Apple's TV strategy, Nintendo made a big and somewhat surprising move into the living room last week with TVii.

During the course of a press conference to highlight pricing and release date information for its new Wii U console, Nintendo also took the wraps off of TVii - a feature on the console that integrates live and recorded TV content into a new interface.

Much like Google TV, Nintendo TVii seeks to unify the world of live broadcasts, recorded TV on a DVR and the world of Internet video (Netflix et. al.) into a seamless interface. Rather than search through individual libraries or content sources, TVii pulls them into one unified search function. Yet unlike Google TV, the Nintendo iteration has a much more robust set of features - and that's not counting the game play, which is the Wii's fundamental purpose.

The big selling point for TVii is the Wii U's game-pad, a touch screen-based game controller that doubles as the TVii's remote. It provides an icon-driven interface for consumers interested in browsing through their various video options. It also doubles as a second screen that interacts with content displayed on the first. If you're enjoying a live sporting event, the GamePad can display relevant information like standings and other scores. For movies and TV, you can view IMDB and Wikipedia information on the title.

TVii also promises to provide a customized experience with user profiles, so the interface and content recommendation engine produce tailored results.

During the press conference, Nintendo stressed that TVii would be compatible with all major pay TV providers and DVRs. However, what it mainly touted was integration with TiVo and it's unclear yet how much buy-in Nintendo has from pay operators (the Wii U does not require a direct connection to a set top box to generate program guides or control live TV). Still, given the embrace of the Xbox as a pay TV platform it's reasonable to assume that Nintendo can partner up as well.

That means that two of the three big game consoles have moved much more aggressively into the TV space and, presumably, Sony's PlayStation can't be that far behind.

In the all important battle for the living room, it's game on. 

The Importance of Being IFA

Monday September 17, 2012 – Stewart Wolpin

Since every tech reporter worth their microSD jack is writing about iPhone 5 this week, I'll avoid the topic and address more of an industry issue – the increasing importance of the recently concluded IFA electronics show.

IFA stands for…something German and unpronounceable (okay, it's Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin). What it is is the European CES, held each year in Berlin. I've attended IFA the last few years as a guest of the organizers, but this blog posting is by no means a give-back or thank-you note.

IFA is both fascinating – it gives you a unique view of the European market and half the show is appliances, which I don't get to see much of here in the U.S. (and Europe is SOOOO far more advanced in appliances it's downright embarrassing), and annoying – it's spread out over 26 buildings each with multiple floors, and I often felt like a lost Jennifer Connelly in Labyrinth failing to efficiently navigate it.

Plus, Berlin is historically sad, respectful, frightening and energizing, as well as modernly vibrant and old world beautiful in a way crass and commercial Las Vegas could never be. In addition to touring omnipresent WWII and Cold War sites, last year I took side trips to Potsdam and Hamburg; this year I visited Dresden and the infamous Wannsee villa.

Timing is everything

But what's important to the consumer electronics industry, however, is IFA's timing – the fall, and the eve of the holiday season.

Last year, Samsung used IFA as the launching pad for its Galaxy Tab 7.7, which it had to remove from the show floor after Apple challenged its intellectual property legitimacy. But that's beside the point.

This year, IFA's late season timing proved perfect to smartphone, tablet and PC makers who wanted to preview their Windows 8 products, which will all launch after Microsoft makes its next-gen OS official on October 26.

And big screen HDTV makers got a chance to show off next-generation display technologies. LG and Samsung each claimed the biggest thinnest and first OLED set (both have 4mm thin, 55-inch models, but only LG has set a price and a definite "this year" sale intention, even if it is only Korea for $10k). LG, Panasonic, Sharp, Sony and Toshiba all showed off giant 3840 x 2160 pixel 4K HDTVs, and a few execs even hinted at possible late 2012 availability (although I expect the Mets to win the pennant before a 4K HDTV actually goes on sale).

After a couple of press-only days, IFA also is open to the pubic, which gives manufacturers a chance to chuck new ideas against the stoop and gauge real consumer reaction (and some should be chucked). One manufacturer told me his company writes more business at IFA than at CES.

I'm not advocating companies abandon CES in favor of IFA – for one thing, the host Messe Berlin Fairgrounds are bursting at the seams already (although a spanking new City Cube convention space is due to open in Berlin in 2014, which IFA will hopefully relocate to and which hopefully will alleviate the maze mess at Messe Berlin).

But IFA's unique fall timing should make U.S.-centric consumer electronics businesses a bit more aware of the 4Q showcase opportunity IFA presents – even if no one but a native can pronounce its actual name.

Apple Joins ‘Em

Tuesday September 4, 2012 – Greg Scoblete

The seemingly endless saga of an Apple TV took another twist recently with some fresh reporting from the Wall Street Journal that indicated that Apple was in talks with cable companies to offer - wait for it - a set-top box.

The reports are vague, naturally, but the idea appears to be that Apple would offer a beefed up version of its Apple TV STB provisioned for a cable provider's services. This functionality may, eventually, be packaged into a TV as well, but reports from senior Apple executives poured cold water over the imminent arrival of any iTV.

As the news filtered out, some observers spied a replay of Apple's successful assault on the mobile phone business. There, Apple had to swallow some compromises to gain access to a national cellular carrier but once they established their foothold, they enjoyed meteoric success. Why shouldn't Apple make a "deal with the devil" (i.e., the pay TV providers) to gain even wider access into the consumer's living rooms? Indeed, as the WSJ piece indicated, this is precisely why the cable companies have been reluctant to engage Apple, noting that "cable operators in the past were worried that Apple could erode their relationship with their customers if Apple had a role with the box."

In one sense, the cable companies have a good reason to worry: on the content side, they exist solely as a middleman between content owners and consumers. Apple could encroach on this lucrative turf and cut them out. Cable firms would simply become "dumb pipes" - a status they fiercely resist.

On the other hand, an Apple tie-up may serve the pay TV providers well. First, it would align them with a marquee brand. Today, the STB is an afterthought in the consumer's mind, but if it had a shiny Apple logo radiating out on it, people would pay attention. As in the mobile market, offering Apple STBs in a portfolio could differentiate a pay TV provider. More substantively, Apple's experience designing compelling interfaces would undoubtedly serve pay TV providers, who have not exactly knocked that ball out of the park.

If Apple sold the device through its online store and other retail outlets, it would also alleviate the cost burdens for pay TV providers, who need to underwrite the cost of installing and servicing customer premise equipment.

In other words, an Apple TV STB may not be as Earth-shattering as the early dreams of an iTV had promised, but it can still shake things up to benefit of everyone. Everyone, that is, except the reigning STB champions. Particularly firms like Motorola and Cisco, who are rumored to be looking for a place to off-load their STB businesses, an Apple entry into the market could dramatically alter the competitive landscape. One need only look at what Apple has done to the fortunes of mobile handset makers like HTC and Nokia to understand the fear that would grip the STB industry if Apple ultimately does take the plunge.