Thought the recent net neutrality rulings wouldn’t have rapid ramifications? Think again. Today, Netflix and Comcast announced a deal that would see Netflix pay the ISP to remove a bottleneck that slowed the video provider’s traffic. The deal is designed to provide ideal capacity for Netflix’s service, which has seen a dip in service after the landmark net neutrality ruling which allowed ISPs to throttle traffic. Nevertheless, Netflix now has a long-term agreement in place with Comcast – and likely, by extension after their merger, Time Warner – that will see their traffic issues fixed. Not coincidentally, Verizon has released a statement that they expect Netflix to pay them, too, if they want to see an improvement in service. The key, for many, is whether these new costs will be passed on to consumers, and if this happens whether those consumers will balk at higher prices.
Category: Percolate
WhatsApp To Add Voice Calls This Year
On the heels of Facebook’s acquisition of WhatsApp, the popular messaging service announced that it will expand into full-fledged voice calling for both iOS and Android this year. The feature will be available to BlackBerrys and Nokia devices afterwords. According to The Guardian, the voice calling will initially be free, but that will likely be temporary. Messaging is free at first but thereafter requires a $0.99/year subscription, so it’s likely that we’ll see a similar model for voice calling. Whether that will change with an eye to profitability under Facebook, however, remains to be seen. WhatsApp also released a user update: it now has 465 million monthly active users and 330 million daily users – 15 million more monthly users than even Facebook.
Samsung Announces Gear 2
Only six months after announcing one of the only true competitors to the Pebble, Samsung is back at it again, launching the Gear 2 and the Gear 2 Neo at this year’s Mobile World Congress. The new models maintain the original’s look, but under the hood there are some substantial changes. Primarily, the Android operating system has been replaced by Tizen – thus it is unclear whether backwards compatibility between first and second gen platforms will function. The new watch offers a heart-rate monitor for increasingly popular fitness tracking apps that will now, ideally, be native to the watch. The camera now moves to the watch-face itself, allowing for interchangeable bands for the first time – an important consideration given that watches are still inherently a fashion item – and the Gear 2 Neo eschews the camera entirely. It’s further evidence that companies are buying into the wearables trend wholeheartedly, and that smartwatches are here for the foreseeable future.
Opera Gives Users Free Mobile Internet In Exchange For Ads
Opera, looking to gain a foothold in the mobile browser market, introduced a new initiative called Sponsored Web Pass, a new version of the pay-as-you-go Web Pass service that provides free Internet in exchange for watching sponsored messages. Advertisers work with the operators to select the best ad packages for potential viewers, and any offers that are acquired by users within these packages are only redeemable within Opera’s browser, keeping users within the app. It’s an interesting take on in-app purchases, and indeed presents a different way for advertising companies to target their audience specifically on mobile.
Mohu Releases New Channels Device
Mohu, most commonly known for its Leaf antennas that rival companies like Aereo, announced a new device called Channels that inserts a new rival into the cord-cutter sphere. The Channels product, which will go to a Kickstarter next week, will cost $79, and is a small attachment that fits between the Leaf antenna and the TV itself to compliment over-the-air HDTV with Internet streaming. The interface is designed to be consumer facing, so even beginners who don’t know much about streaming can readily access the device. While watching, the user scrolls between channels like they would on a regular channel guide – even Netflix, Hulu, and other streamed options. So it’s reasonable to think that one could hit the channel up button on the remote and switch from CBS to Netflix, something that levels the playing field between “regular” TV and streaming services in such a way as to make the average consumer comfortable and intuitively ready to watch.
Chipotle Looks For TV Partner For Series
Chipotle recently produced Farmed and Dangerous, a Hulu series that seeks to be standalone entertainment rather than branded content. The four part mini-series comically condemns the industrial food system and after an initial reach, is seeking a TV network like a Showtime to continue the show. What’s more interesting is that Chipotle spent $1 million on production and developed the concept internally. The move raises two big issues. One, is the ROI justified and two, can branded entertainment run on ad-supported channels without conflict?
Simple Acquired By BBVA
Banking giant BBVA has purchased Simple, the payments startup, for $117 million in cash. According to Simple, the core premise of the payments platform will remain the same, but they’ll be supported – financially and otherwise – by a global banking group worth $820 billion. It’s a big value proposition by Simple, which instantly upped its ante from a capability and customer service perspective. For now, the original Bancorp-backed accounts will remain the same, but in the future it’s likely much will be shifted over to BBVA. The deal is a win for Simple, who boomed with their initial launch but who have started to lose steam as a company. It seems likely that this will be able to rejuvenate some of the upward growth, and maintain Simple’s presence in the payments community.
Airbnb Nails Sochi Realtime Marketing
Real-time marketing is often hit or miss; Oreo was successful at hitting the nail on the head last Super Bowl, but since then many have tried and, in some cases, embarrassingly failed. Airbnb has another success story in this Olympic news cycle, after tweeting at reporters who were complaining about their accommodations at Sochi. Utilizing the now-trending #SochiProblems hashtag, they referred struggling reporters to their listings, complete with embedded pictures and enticing descriptions. The campaign has taken off, and it’s now progressed to brazenly replying to reporters who are tweeting their problems. It’s taking a problem and offering a creative, witty solution, and that type of work always sticks.
VSCO Cam Introduces Follow Feature
VSCO Cam is arguably the preferred “mobile darkroom” app, with options to tweak photos in ways that were previously impossible in a mobile setting. Most liked the app because it was entirely dedicated to photo editing, and was very good at what it did. But from a development perspective, there was no way to take photos, make comments, or really make friends in the VSCO Cam social section. Now, the Grid section in the app’s sidebar offers pure inspiration from strangers: it features a handpicked section of VSCO’s favorite inspiring photos from around the web. It keeps the app focused on photos rather than social discovery – something that was appealing about Instagram in early days. Whether it becomes Instagram remains to be seen, but it’s certainly a step forward for the app.
Mozilla Discusses Native Ads
Mozilla has announced in a blog post that it is considering selling advertisements in its open-source browser as an additional revenue stream. The ads would be placed on the new tab page, mixed with the panel of a user’s most-visited websites, which is the current new tab page content. This is unique behavior for a company like Mozilla, but could hint at another form of native advertising particularly helpful for open source software companies.
