Cash for Jawbone: new funding for headset maker
In 1999, going against the days trends, two Stanford undergraduate engineering students took aim at cell phone technology instead of focusing on the Internet. With money from family, and a lot of persistence, they started a company called Aliph.
Over the next five years, Alex Asseily and Hosain Rahman hired sound engineering experts and engineers and toiled in an effort to build a better mobile headset. The original plan was to license the technology they developed but along the way plans shifted. In 2004 Aliph released their Jawbone headsets to critical acclaim.
The headset, which has been optimized by DARPA to improve communication clarity in hostile conditions, brings together a combination of sensors that recognize speech from ambient noise. Using highly directional microphones and a bevy of signal processing technology, along with a chipset from Cambridge Silicon Radio, the earpieces aim to improve the inconsistent sound quality common to mobile headsets; and by most tests, they achieve their goal. The Jawbone also has a novel feature: not only does it tune out background noise; it also adjusts the speaker volume relative to the environment. So next time a Harley rumbles past you on the highway, you may not miss an important part of your call.
Yahoo Q2 ‘07 Earnings
In the first of this week’s big earnings announcements, Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO) reported Q2 2007 Financial Results today.
Largely as expected, Yahoo met consensus analyst expectations but overall results were, from the first quarter to include revenue from their new Panama advertising platform, unimpressive. Guidance was lowered for the rest of 2007.
For the second quarter, Yahoo earned total revenue excluding Traffic Acquisition Costs (“TAC”) of $1,244m, up 11% over the same period last year but operating income was down 19% to $185m compared to $230m for the same period last year. Total ad revenue was up 7% to $1.49 billion. Click to Read More
User Experience: Remembering the Customer in New Media Marketing
When MTV began in the early 80s its edgy counter culture appeal helped build its foundation. When YouTube took off and became a household word, it too benefited heavily from its alternative, under-produced content (which was arguably similar in form to what MTV aired decades earlier). Across the board in media and entertainment, from websites like MySpace to Indie Music production back to Facebook online, appealing to the fringe, to a smaller group, focusing on a niche of “hip and cool” has often helped push companies forward.
That narrow focus is doubly beneficial. It helps keep a company off the radar of bigger competitors and it helps them build a loyal, dedicated fan base from which to expand. But as companies grow in appeal and audience, they all face one of the most difficult challenges in marketing: bridging the gap between counter-culture edge (and niche market focus) to mainstream popularity and an expanding sphere of influence.
Earnings Calendars: July and August
It’s reporting season for public companies. That means, over next few weeks we’ll see a large number of quarterly earnings reports and all kinds of volatility in the stock markets.
This week market watchers will be waiting for Internet news with Google and Yahoo reporting. Also this week: Microsoft, Dow Jones, newspaper publishers McClatchy and Gannet and chip maker, Intel.
Next week will have reports from Amazon, Sony, The New York Times, Netflix, Apple and possibly Nintendo (Nintendo’s announcement date is not yet confirmed).
In anticipation of the earnings season and to keep track of who reports when, Metue has assembled two printable calendars Click to Read More
Yahoo and Right Media: FTC Green light
It’s a green light for Yahoo’s purchase of advertising auction company Right Media. Today, the FTC waiting period expired with a request for more information.
Under the terms of the Hart Scott Rodino Antitrust Act (HSR), companies are required to give regulators a 30 day window to request further information. The expiration of the waiting period absent further inquiry means there will be no further anti-trust review. Legally the transaction is deemed to have satisfied the requirements of the Act.
Microsoft buying Facebook? Not Likely.
Every year, the celebrities and power brokers of big business converge on Sun Valley, Idaho for the pinnacle of exclusive schmooze and booze deal making conferences. Investment banker Herb Allen’s five day event is legendary. This year, it began officially on Wednesday, under the scenic skies of the mountain resort town.
Guests with the privilege of attending include such heavyweights of media and technology as Rupert Murdoch (News Corp), Robert Iger of Disney, Jerry Yang and Terry Semel from Yahoo, Warren Buffet, Steve Ballmer, Bill Gates and others. Also on the guest list are the folks from a number of high profile, high-buzz startups including representatives from IPTV player Joost, from news aggregator Digg, from Facebook, even newly funded Ning.
Between golf, meetings and private events, among the crowd, ideas are circulated by the pine trees or the pools. In the boardroom or lounges, strategies and business cards are exchanged. Partnerships are contemplated.
