snapshot 5/15/08

Phone-wallets still years away
The new technology which enables small payments from mobile phones by just flashing the handset is likely to reach masses only around 2012, when one phone from five sold will be equipped with the technology.

Consumers will be able to use a phone as a wallet or as an access card simply by waving it over a wireless reader -- and in some cases punching a PIN number into the phone -- similar to how travelers in Tokyo and London access public transport.


Apple files patent for custom iPhone merchant apps
The iPhone and iPod touch may eventually have custom applications tailored to merchants they visit, a published Apple patent filing hints. As detailed by AppleInsider, the proposed concept calls for a local wired or wireless network at a business, with one or more routers such as an AirPort Extreme. Somewhere on site would be a central server, offering custom information and applications for Apple "media devices" that enter wireless range. "For example, assuming the establishment is a restaurant, local server may provide a menu to media device," the filing reads.

Possibilities for other businesses include broadcasting the likes of ads, event calendars and product information, or music, in a manner similar to that begun with Starbucks. At movies and concerts however people could additionally buy tickets and soundtracks, or even receive material such as directors' commentaries or foreign-language translations.


Analyst: Amazon.com's Kindle to generate $750 million by 2010
Calling it the iPod of the book business, CitiGroup analyst Mark Mahaney says the Kindle e-book reader will generate three-quarters of a billion dollars for Amazon.com in less than two years. His calculations assume that unit sales will grow from 189,000 by the end of this year to 2.2 million units in just two years. By then he assumes the price of the device will be just below $300. Mahaney also points out that Amazon does have the largest selection of e-book content.


How Apple is changing DRM
Ironically, the music companies are now abandoning DRM because it worked too well. Apple wouldn't license its version to rivals - so the best-selling iPod drove the iTunes store to its present position, where it is the third-largest music retailer in any form in the US. Rosenblatt says that record labels "have been desperate to find a viable competitor to Apple and iTunes". Industry sources suggest that Apple's iTunes store has more than 70% of the UK download market, and growing. "The record companies don't like dealing with Apple, because Apple is in a position where it can dictate the economic terms and dictate the business models," says Rosenblatt. "What's going to draw people away from iTunes? One answer is to get rid of DRM."


Wake up and smell the Doritos™ - Avril Lavigne's manager
Copyright is over, and musicians should make themselves as pretty as they can for big brand advertisers, says top music manager and label boss Terry McBride. "Discovery of new music in the digital economy will be synonymous with consumption". The money will come from ad-supported music services and subscriptions.

Actually free music will become "an upsell technique for other music related products, e.g. concert tickets, clothing, music or artist branded physical products," reckons McBride. The recorded music helps establish a larger commercial presence. And don't forget micro-monetisation of P2P recommendations, he writes.


CloudTrade: Free, Legal Music Sharing on Your Smartphone
CloudTrade has announced that music from its first two label deals is now available for trading on its mobile file-sharing network. Users can trade about 250 songs from CloudTrade's label partners: ATO Records (Radiohead's U.S. CD distributor) and the jam-band-friendly Sci Fidelity Records.