Comcast Increasing Speeds and Expanding Meter Trials

Comcast made its big DOCSIS 3.0 push last year and boosted downstream speeds in most markets to 50 Mbps. According to Broadband Reports, however, the operator will go a step further and bring 100-Mbps speeds to 20% of its subscriber base by the end of 2010. And that’s just the beginning. Also on the horizon … Read more

Who Will Own My Mobile Identity?

The battle for your mobile identity may now have  supplanted the living-room wars. This thought comes to mind as I watch the extended buzz around the Windows Phone 7 OS launch. As important as the new operating system is for Microsoft on mobile handsets, it’s equally strategic in its integration of several Microsoft properties: Xbox … Read more

CableLabs Confab

CableLabs is holding its Winter Conference this week featuring, among other activities, an Innovation Showcase. To bring a little buzz to the event, CableLabs hosted a short media teleconference yesterday announcing the winner of Best Product Idea among the Showcase participants. Jinni got the nod from conference attendees for its “next-gen guide” including personalization features … Read more

20 Minutes with the Nook

2010 is shaping up to be the year that media consumption tablets go mainstream. In fact, according to Amazon, the Kindle already has. Obviously, most of our current attention is focused on the iPad… and Macmillan jacking eBook prices by 50%. (Which is probably unsustainable, despite their hopes.) But a co-worker received a Nook ($259) … Read more

New Powermat Gear at Mobile World Congress

Fabulous parties and celebrity appearances aside, the Powermat booth tour may have been my best blogger experience at CES this year. And while I won’t make it out to Mobile World Congress later this month, I do have a few educated guesses on what the wireless-power company will be launching there. The Powermat folks graciously … Read more

Digital Media Bytes: The Davis Freeberg Edition

Photo by Thomas Hawk Looks like Davis Freeberg has awoken from his long blogging slumber…! How To Save Blockbuster With the future looking pretty bleak for just about any video store, how can a company like Blockbuster save themselves? By sacrificing their media business in exchange for an opportunity to reinvent their retail business. Cut … Read more

Inrix, Worst Commutes, and the Future of GPS

Although Dave is the king of GPS around here, I had my own Eureka moment after my recent smartphone upgrade. While traveling along I-95 in Maryland a few weeks ago, it suddenly occurred to me to use my new Android phone to check on traffic conditions. After a quick look through the app store, I … Read more

Studios (and partners) Leaving Money On The Table

The title pretty much sums it up, and this isn’t a new topic here at ZNF. The movie studios’ antiquated release window cycle doesn’t fly in the digital age. Which is costing them and their partners. Their attempts (including Netflix’s malleability) to coerce folks into purchasing content, starting with physical media, by delaying movie rentals … Read more