Among the nearly 118 million smartphone owners who plan to use their devices for holiday shopping, awareness is high of in-store beacons, even though that's a relatively new technology, said a Harris poll done for Placecast, a provider of location-based marketing programs for advertisers, mobile operators and payments companies. Beacons are small devices installed in stores that emit a Bluetooth low-energy signal that can be targeted directly to phones, Placecast said Thursday in a blog post. Beacons "can bring the analytics and targeting capabilities of the online experience to physical stores" by sending, for example, a discount for perfume to a 40-year-old woman who has recently done an online search for scents, it said. Harris canvassed 2,066 adult smartphone owners in mid-October and found that 52 percent had heard of in-store beacons, and that 15 percent have engaged with them, Placecast said. "Brands that embrace beacons are highly likely to see a spike in their sales in the coming shopping season and in general," Placecast said. "Consumers are clearly voting in favor of beacons due to stores promoting them and the value they deliver in couponing. While awareness seems high at 52 percent, this may be due to people wanting to identify with the coolness of new technologies, and certainly indicates huge promise for it."
Three in 10 U.S. adults have recycled a CE product in the past year, a CEA survey found. That's a 4 percent increase since two years ago, the last time CES canvassed consumers on their e-cycling habits, CEA said Thursday. This year’s survey also found that more than four in five adults rate recycling their old electronics as important or very important, CEA said. Other findings: (1) three in five said they know where they can recycle electronics, a slight decline from 2012; (2) virtually all those canvassed said they would be willing to travel "some distance" to recycle their unwanted electronics, and more than a third said they would travel more than 10 miles to do so; (3) the percentage of consumer recycling is up, but so is the percentage of those who discard. The survey found that 18 percent of consumers said they discarded electronic devices in the trash during the past year, a six-percentage point increase from 2012.
The Washington Post announced a tablet app exclusively for Amazon Kindle Fire customers, including unlimited free access to content for six months. After the free period, Kindle Fire owners can get six additional months of access for $1, with the subscription jumping to $3.99 per month at the end of that promotional period, a Post spokeswoman told us Thursday. The app was designed specifically for a national and international readership, said a news release. The app will expand to other platforms in 2015, the spokeswoman said. Similar deals for other devices aren’t currently in place, but the publication is “open to exploring that in the future,” she said. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos bought the Post last year for $250 million (see 1308070032).
Apple and Samsung combined for a 62 percent share of the nearly 36 million branded tablets shipped in 3Q, ABI Research said Wednesday in a report. Apple shipped 12.3 million iPads in Q3, 7.5 percent fewer than it shipped in Q2 and 12.8 percent fewer than in Q3 a year earlier, the report said, but Apple is expected to incur a jump in shipments for Q4 because its next-generation iPad Air and iPad mini models started shipping in October. "The pieces have been set for the end-of-year holiday 2014 tablet market chess match," said ABI. "The advanced mature markets will once again be where the Apple vs. Samsung duel occurs, while eyes are on Lenovo in the developing markets." While the 3 million tablets Lenovo shipped Q3 put it in third place with an 8.4 percent share, behind market leaders Apple (34.3 percent) and Samsung (27.5 percent), Lenovo’s star is clearly rising, the report said. Its Q3 shipments were 30.4 percent higher than in Q2, and also 30.4 percent higher than in Q3 a year earlier, said the industry research firm.
Integrated Device Technology announced a new family of magnetic induction wireless power transmitters for next-generation wireless charging products to be used in wearables, furniture and smartphones. The P9235 and P9236 transmitters are compliant with the latest Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) Qi standard, and the P9234 is a Power Matters Alliance (PMA)-compliant device, it said Thursday. IDT is also introducing a proprietary-mode device that operates at up to 1 MHz of resonance frequency, allowing for a smaller coil, IDT said. The P9230A dual-mode transmitter supports WPC and PMA standards, it said. IDT customers are designing wireless power transmitters into a variety of applications, including mobile phone charging pad stations and wearable applications, said Arman Naghavi, general manager-analog and power division. The new lineup offers customers “greater programmability, ease of use and reduced overall development cost for faster product introduction,” he said. Although this round of transmitters doesn’t support Rezence, the standard from the Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP), an IDT spokesman told us the company is working with a limited group of qualified customers on magnetic resonance charging. IDT said in September it's working with Intel on developing wireless charging solutions based on magnetic resonance that are expected to be in the market next year. Capabilities touted by the A4WP charging technology include simultaneous charging of lower and higher power devices and the integration of charging devices into tabletops, the companies said. Meanwhile, 17.5 million cars with wireless chargers are expected to sell in 2020, IHS said Thursday. The global market for in-car wireless charging is projected to top $600 million in 2020, it said.
CBS' over-the-top offerings are intended to serve viewers in broadband-only homes, CBS said in an ex parte filing pertaining to a meeting this week with CBS CEO Leslie Moonves, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and other commissioners. CBS is working with its affiliates to ensure that the OTT service, All Access, will give online viewers a broadcast-like service, it said. CBS' incentive to continue to produce, acquire and invest in the highest quality content demanded by consumers shouldn't be diminished or stifled by regulations, it said. Commissioners Mike O'Rielly, Ajit Pai and Jessica Rosenworcel also attended the meeting, it said.
Starbucks launched Duracell Powermat wireless charging Wednesday in about 200 San Francisco-area stores, the coffee retailer said in an announcement. It marks the first step in the company’s "strategic plan" to offer Powermat throughout the U.S., and "to explore rollouts in Europe and Asia within the year," it said. Bay Area stores have designated areas on tables and counters where customers can place their compatible devices and charge them wirelessly, it said. Customers also can buy Powermat "rings" for $9.99 that instantly upgrade any phone to wireless charging compatibility, it said. Alternatively, the rings can be borrowed and returned on a per-visit basis, it said.
Consumer intentions to buy smart watches soared in recent months, said a consumer research report released Wednesday by Futuresource Consulting. The firm canvassed a total of 8,000 consumers in France, Germany, the U.K. and the U.S. in two "waves" -- once in May and again in October -- and found interest in buying a smart watch jumped 125 percent between the two waves, it said. Consumer intentions to buy fitness trackers jumped 50 percent, it said. However, interest in smart glasses and heart rate monitors has "stalled," it said. "The overall wearables market has seen significant growth so far in 2014, with Futuresource forecasting full year sales of more than 51 million units worldwide," the company said. "However, it's only just warming up, and wearables sales are expected to accelerate from 2015 as new brands enter the space." The "most marked change" since May is the strong growth in the number of iPhone owners intending to purchase wearable devices, Futuresource said. In terms of purchase intentions on wearables, "iPhone owners now lead the way in all categories," particularly in smart watches, which 17 percent of iPhone owners expressed an intent to purchase in the next 12 months, up from only 6 percent in May 2014, it said. "This increase coincides with September's announcement of the Apple Watch. As Apple customers are typically some of the earliest adopters of new technologies, their increasing engagement with the smart watch category is a strong positive for the Apple Watch release in early 2015."
Amazon began shipping the Fire TV Stick Wednesday, calling it the “fastest-selling Amazon device ever,” but shoppers who didn’t take advantage of the $19 pre-sale at the end of October can’t get a device before Christmas, according to the Fire TV Stick order page. The pre-sale was offered exclusively to Amazon Prime members. Sales were fueled by a two-day cut-rate deal in late October in which Prime customers who bought the media player early could get it for half the list price (see 1410270040). Amazon said customer demand for Fire TV Stick “outpaced our supply” and the company is working to build more “as quickly as possible.” The item didn’t appear on the Amazon landing page Wednesday, but in a news release the company said customers can order the Stick for $39 “to reserve their place in line” for the next round of shipments scheduled for Jan. 15. Fire TV Stick delivers content including A&E, Hulu Plus, NBA Game Time, Netflix, Pandora, PBS, PBS Kids, Plex, Prime Instant Video, Prime Music, Showtime Anytime, Spotify, Twitch, Vevo, WatchDisney Channel, WatchESPN and YouTube.com. With Fire TV Stick, which connects to a TV's HDMI port, users can fling apps or mirror a phone or tablet to a TV, Amazon said. The device allows users to search for content by voice.
Barnes & Noble is cutting the price of Nook devices Friday-Sunday to jump-start the holiday shopping season, the company said Wednesday in a news release. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook will drop to $149 (from $199) with instant rebates for the 7-inch, and to $249 (from $349) for the 10-inch tablet, Barnes & Noble said. The Barnes & Noble Nook GlowLight eReader is getting a $20 permanent shave to $99 beginning Friday, it said. The promotions are part of Barnes & Noble’s Discovery Weekend, during which consumers who visit a Nook Boutique in a Barnes & Noble store Friday-Sunday can enter a contest to win a shopping trip for two to New York, a $1,000 gift card and a meet-and-greet with singer Nick Jonas.