"If you use a mobile phone with a camera, thank Tessera (NASDAQ: TSRA)," says Mike Cintolo in the Cabot Top Ten Report. "When it comes to miniaturization, Tessera is the go-to company."

"Tessera is one of the companies that drove the price of camera components down by miniaturizing them and combining them on a single chip.

"You'll find its technology in MP3 players, video games, wireless phones, computers and numerous other products where companies are forever working to design products smaller and manufacture them more cheaply.

Continue reading Tessera (TSRA): Digital miniaturization

Tessera (TSRA): Digital miniaturization originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 10 Aug 2009 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Amazon (AMZN), eMusic try new pricing plans originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 17 Jun 2008 16:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

So, according to this piece out on Reuters, Napster (NASDAQ: NAPS) is in a fighting mood. It recently created an MP3 download site that contains over six million tunes. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has been doing gangbuster business for years with its iTunes juggernaut, so it only stands to reason that from now until doomsday there will be initiatives aimed at stealing a little bit of the big guy's thunder. Whether it's Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) or Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), Apple will always have challengers.

Question is, does this matter? Should Steve Jobs and his Apple shareholders be shuddering in their collective boots? Probably not, although any competition should be taken seriously, I suppose. I grant you that Napster is a recognizable name when it comes to web-based music commerce (heck, Napster started all the peer-to-peer ruckus way back when), and that six million compositions represents an awesome depth of musical inventory, But come on, Apple has staked out one of the most vital components of a successful business: unmatched brand equity.

Simply put, Apple's brand in music downloads is as powerful and iconic as Coca-Cola's brand is in soft drinks. Yes, the Napster service, according to the article, will have an important competitive component, namely the ability to transfer songs to other devices, including the iPod. Napster, as many of you probably know, markets a subscription-based service, but you can bet that management will now concentrate on this download asset.

Continue reading Should Steve Jobs fear the Napster offensive?

Should Steve Jobs fear the Napster offensive? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 21 May 2008 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yael Naim helps land Apple at the top of the charts originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 03 Apr 2008 11:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

British-based Play.com, a privately-based retailer, has launched a new download store in direct competition with Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iTunes Store in the United Kingdom. PlayDigitial will offer tracks without digital rights management (DRM) technology from privately-held EMI Group and independent labels, in a move that looks similar to iTunes current offering of DRM-free tracks at lower prices. The store will still offer DRM tracks at higher prices than the DRM-free tracks and is in talks with other labels to bring more DRM-free tracks into the store.

Play.com's new store comes in advance of Amazon.com Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AMZN) sister store in the UK, Amazon.co.uk, opening a similar store with DRM-free tracks. The U.S. store recently opened its own MP3 store in full with DRM-free tracks from all the major labels, not simply limited to one major and independents. According to Billboard, the UK version of iTunes controls 70% of the market there and the store is also being forced to bring prices down to common prices with other European nations. PlayDigital and the eventual Amazon download store in the UK will work against that control and price drops.

It seems odd that the "fight" against digital rights management continues, considering that it has essentially been over in the United States since last month when Amazon's MP3 store gained access to tracks from all the major labels without the technology. Obviously different laws exist for agreements with companies in different countries, but until DRM is dropped completely, moves like this are going to continue to occur. Unfortunately for Apple and the iTunes Store, the drive against DRM technology that was started about a year ago is no longer under the company's control, with stores like Play.com and Amazon.com taking the lead and gaining better deals with the music labels.

British download store opens against iTunes and anti-piracy technology originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 16 Feb 2008 18:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Napster

Continue reading Napster plans for user-friendly MP3s

Napster plans for user-friendly MP3s originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 07 Jan 2008 14:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading New iPod Competition: Fans of Slacker can now take music on the go

New iPod Competition: Fans of Slacker can now take music on the go originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 14 Nov 2007 19:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Energizer

Energizer (ENR) powers ahead originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 24 Oct 2007 17:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Seagate's (STX) Watkins sees bright future for hard drive industry

Seagate's (STX) Watkins sees bright future for hard drive industry originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 25 Sep 2007 15:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Amazon (AMZN) launches beta of MP3 music store; Apple (AAPL) cringes

Amazon (AMZN) launches beta of MP3 music store; Apple (AAPL) cringes originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 25 Sep 2007 12:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading iTunes' unprotected downloads: Is Apple (AAPL) goading competition?

iTunes' unprotected downloads: Is Apple (AAPL) goading competition? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 29 Aug 2007 17:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Since everything else has an MP3 player built into it, why not put one in that Barbie doll. Mattel (NYSE:MAT) has decided to do just that. With its stock down almost 15% over the last three months, the company will do almost anything for positive PR.

The new doll gives its owners the chance to log onto BarbieGirls.com where she "unlocks pages and pages of games, virtual shops and online chatting functions," according to The New York Times.

The new Barbie is apparently part of an industry trend to sell toys which encourage children to go to the web. In many cases when they get there they will find things to buy along with free games. How clever.

Mattel wants little girls and their parents to think the cyber-Barbie is a better Barbie. As one Mattel executive put it: "For girls to understand the level of detail, the level of content, truly the experience of BarbieGirls, we wanted to allow them to play on the site."

Perhaps the age of the plain old doll that parents bought to allow their children to use their imaginations is gone. It is worth mourning. It is being replaced with toys that replace child-like creativity with websites where kids can buy more stuff. Maybe they can use the debit card for 7-year olds that marketing gurus are planning.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

An MP3 for Barbie -- who needs it? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 23 Jul 2007 08:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Record industry clinging to physical formats originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 04 May 2007 17:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Circuit City Store Inc. (NYSE: CC) and Napster Inc. (NASDAQ: NAPS) have teamed up to offer a new digital music service cleverly called "Circuit City + Napster." (I wonder how many marketing gurus it took to come up with that one.) The new service, which starts this coming Sunday, will give consumers unlimited downloads for $14.95 per month or 99 cents per download.

It's hard to imagine what exactly Circuit City + Napster's competitive advantage is here. With iTunes already deeply entrenched in the online downloading business, this looks like a pretty desperate attempt by Circuit City to become more relevant. I just don't understand why someone would choose to go with the new service over Napster. Perhaps the venture will be able to lure some new customers with price promotions such as the current free month for new subscribers, but it seems unlikely to generate long-term profits. Neither stock have moved much today in reaction to the news as the market seems unimpressed.

Napster and Circuit City team up for music downloads originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 23 Apr 2007 14:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) and SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ:SNDK) are launching a new MP3 player with WiFi capacity, joining a host of rivals to Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPod, including the Microsoft Corp.'s (NASDAQ: MSFT) Zune.

The iPod currently has 70% of the portable music player market, and, that number appears to be holding. If the iPhone sells well, Apple will have another horse in the music download space. Cellphones that can download music are offered by the large handset manufacturers including Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) and Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT), but there is little evidence that they have done any damage to the iPod's growth rate.

As much as it must pain Apple's competitors, no one has been able to throw anything in front of the company to slow the momentum of the iPod and its download service iTunes. The European Union recently announced that it would look into pricing issues involving iTunes and the record companies. That may eventually hurt Apple just as antitrust actions by the EU have slowed Microsoft's progress on the Continent.

Apple's only enemy appears to be its own success.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

One more iPod competitor originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Apr 2007 08:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• According to the Wall Street Journal (subscription required), Apple Inc's (NASDAQ: AAPL) Steve Jobs helped to negotiate a Pixar employment pact with a film director that included an options grant with a "well-timed date". Also featured in the Journal:
  
• EMI Group plc (OTC: EMIPY) has been holding talks with online retailers over the possibility of selling its entire digital music catalog in an unprotected MP3 format.
• Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS) is expected to raise as much as $19B for its newest private-equity fund.
  
• The Financial Times (subscription required) reported that Siemens AG (NYSE: SI) broadened corruption inquiries and has identified individual incidents of apparent bribery.

• According to the Detroit News, DaimlerChrysler AG (NYSE: DCX) is expected to eliminate about 1,000 salaried jobs in Michigan.
  
• Asian IT website DigiTimes.com reported that Samsung introduced the Ultra Smart F700 yesterday. The phone is being referred to as a possible "iPhone Killer."
• In Investor's Business Daily, ViaSat Inc (NASDAQ: VSAT) was mentioned positively in the "New America" column.

Newspaper wrap-up 2-9-07: Samsung to challenge Apple iPhone originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 09 Feb 2007 09:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Music industry to relax restrictions originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 04 Jan 2007 09:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Rock River Communications recently became among the first companies to sign contracts with record labels licensing songs for podcasts. These deals mark an important first step in the beginning of the industry's recognition of the opportunities for growth that may exist within podcasting.

Record execs warm up to podcasts originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 02 Jan 2007 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Just yesterday, Brian White wrote a piece on how SanDisk, the flash memory manufacturer who produces MP3 players, is taking yet another stab at Apple's dominant control of the MP3 player market. SanDisk is doing so by offering extremely low prices, and has developed an easy to use, well designed, color-screened model similar to those found in the iPod. Most importantly, the SanDisk entry has an 8-gig hard drive doubling the capacity of the Apple Nano. Sandisk hopes that it will have greater success dethroning the iPod compared to Dell's MP3 player.

Dell has apparently conceded defeat in the MP3 player market, as reports indicate that the company is no longer selling any of the MP3 players which it launched in late 2003. Since then, the product has consistently struggled to find a significant market share. Dell's slow decline in the MP3 player market was evident when it discontinued its hard drive-based players in favor of the low end DJ Ditty flash players.

Electronista reports today that, "Dell has quietly admitted its long-term failure in the market by removing the DJ Ditty and most references to it from the company website. Users of Dell's DJ forums have also reported that no Dell-branded players remain in the monthly catalog and that the DJ Ditty had been discounted earlier in the month." Will Sandisk suffer the same defeat as Dell in the MP3 player market? Only time will tell.

Dell concedes defeat in MP3 player market originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 22 Aug 2006 18:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Just in time for back to school, at least two backpack manufacturers are bringing to market "smart packs" that come with cord ports for MP3 players, CD players and the ever-present iPods. JanSport Inc. has created a line of technologically savvy backpacks for students utilizing technology originaly designed for military use. In its LiveWire line of backpacks, wearers can connect iPod earbuds into one of the straps on the backpack and put the iPod itself in another pocket. This prevents the cords from becoming entangled in other pieces of clothing or crushed by other stuff in the pack.

Advanced LiveWire backpack models have iPod controls on the backpack straps. There is also a model that alows for a cell phone to be answered using strap controls. Price estimates for these models are $70.

Less concerned with making a fashion statement and more concerned with environmentally sound practices, Voltaic Systems Inc. has designed a backpack that includes solar panels capable of powering MP3 players and cellphones. The panels connect to a lithium ion battery embedded in the backpack. Technophiles as well as emergency response workers working in locations off the grid are finding this backpack very helpful. The $239 price tag seems a bit much for school hallways, but not for first-on -the-ground disaster relief workers.

And then there are the kids who are so cool they no longer care about being cool. According to Ylan Mui of The Washington Post, Lands' End has created an anti-tech pack. It's a plain canvas backpack. Nice to know retro -- and technology-free -- is the new cool.

Back to school 'wearable technology' from Apple, JanSport, Lands' End originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 15 Aug 2006 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.