Seth Gilbert, 09-9-2007
Next to the Beatles, the most common iTunes rumor has got to be movie rentals. From the day the first video iPod appeared there has been speculation about it. Now, there is actually evidence beyond “unnamed sources” to suggest it may be a reality soon.
The most definitive proof a rental service may be in the works was accidentally discovered this weekend by a user trying to report a problem with iTunes. David Watanabe published a screenshot on photo sharing site Flickr that showed an iTunes drop down menu of subject headings that included a rental subsection. According the reports spreading virally around the net, the image, which explicitly references rentals, was taken from live iTunes installations and confirmed by other users as well. It has since been removed. (Note: Click the image at right to launch a higher resolution version)
The idea of an iTunes rental store, and its impending arrival, has been widely reported and speculated on for the better part of two years. As recently as this past June, the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal reported Apple was in talks with several movie studios to offer rentals at a price of $2.99. They reported Paramount (owned by Viacom) was in favor of such a service but GE’s Universal Studios was opposed. Speculation has been rampant enough that some were betting the rental store was going to be revealed at last weeks press conference.
While last week wasn’t the time, four factors beyond this recent development add to the likelihood its finally on its way.
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Seth Gilbert, 09-7-2007
Add social network Multiply to the list of well funded. The company founded in 2003, which is focused on older users and those looking for a more closed environment to interact with those they already know rather than as a playground for making new contacts, pulled in $16m in a Series B Financing.
The round was led by VantagePoint Venture Partners. Point Judith Capital and previous Series A investors TransCosmos Investments also participated.
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Seth Gilbert,
Sometimes things happen in threes; at least that is the superstition. Yesterday was literary triplicate. In three unrelated announcements, the book publishing world saw an acquisition, a product introduction and a website makeover.
On the merger front, in the niche of author driven self-publishing services, Author House acquired rival iUniverse for undisclosed terms. Both companies, which compete against Amazon (via its Book Surge Division), Lulu and smaller services like Blurb, provide a range of services for handling book design, layout, printing and post-print marketing.
In the remodeling realm, Google (which along with Amazon and Microsoft has been racing to scan and archive books for some time now) introduced Click to Read More
Seth Gilbert, 09-6-2007
Scooby Doo where are you? … on T-Works?
In what is yet another effort to cut out or at least limit the power of 3rd party Internet distributors (from YouTube to iTunes) Warner Brothers announced today they will create their own destination.
The site, called T-Works will house their broad animation holdings. To populate the site, they will cull from the legendary libraries of Hanna-Barbera, Looney Tunes and DC works. Everything from Batman, to Bugs Bunny, to Scooby Doo will be at their disposal.
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Seth Gilbert,
For a long time, the holy grail of the home movie industry has been true video on demand; the ability to pick what you want to watch, when you want to watch it and have it instantly without having to move from the body cradling comfort of your old worn out couch. Many have tried to give consumers this kind of control over their programming choices, many have come up with partial solutions, many have come close but none have fully succeeded in making the dream possible, yet. A solution providing deep depth of available content and instantaneous delivery to the TV (not the PC) hasn’t been done. Vudu, a well funded startup, announced in April to much fanfare that they’d figured out how to do it. Today, they reveal their efforts. Today, Vudu officially launches.
Vudu is built around a $399 set-top box with a 250GB hard drive and your high speed Internet connection. Click to Read More
Seth Gilbert,
IPTV company Joost quietly made their first acquisition earlier this week (at least quietly relatively the hype that usually surrounds them.) Joost bought digital programming guide OnTheToob.com (and with it, its developer). Terms were not disclosed but the likely cost was trivial.
OnTheToob developed RSS feeds and channel guide interfaces built around the Joost platform. The company, which was not much more than a personal project, had been working with Joost since April. As part of the deal, the creator of the technology will join Joost as an employee.
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Seth Gilbert, 09-5-2007
It’s official. Steve Jobs has taken the stage. He has spoken his gospel. He has pulled back the curtain. The revelation, the result, the much anticipated Apple announcement: new iPods.
As anticipated, and largely predicted (see yesterday’s odds-making) Apple unveiled a reworked iPod product line. They also announced a mobile ring tone store at iTunes and price cuts for the iPhone.
The Nano, long waiting to be re-envisioned, got its makeover. Leaked pictures of a boxier, wider screened model proved accurate. Click to Read More
