Some may have been shaking their heads while still others might have been saying that it isn't so, when the news was announced on May 20th 2014, that Google was now the worlds most valuable brand. According to market research firm, Millward Brown, Google's brand value rose by 40% to $158 billion, while Apple, who came in second, fell by 20% to $147 billion.
The unseating of Apple as the top brand is being perceived by some as a lack of innovation. Google has given us, Google Glass, Google Package Delivery, Google Fiber(broadband internet access), and Google Driverless Cars. Apple, on the other hand has yet to give a definite release date for the iPhone 6, which could appear in September 2014.
Apple is currently in negotiations to buy Beats Electronics for $3 billion. Many have questioned this move and believed that this is being done in order to acquire Beats Music, in an effort to improve the stature of iTunes Radio. On the surface, it might appear that Apple is skidding towards an innovative slump. Apple, however files a lot of patents.
It is from this wealth of patents that new ideas from Apple come. One such idea is the Smart Home, which is expected to be announced at Apple's WWDC(Worldwide Developer's Conference) coming up in June 2014. While clearly this represents only one new advancement in the past several years, there's no way to know just what else Apple may have up it's sleeve for the years that follow.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Spotify Reaches 10 Million Paid Subscribers
Hot on the heels of Apple's announced purchase of Beats Electronics, on May 21st 2014, Spotify announced that it had reached 40 million users and 10 million paid subscribers. This marks a 66% increase of both paid customers as well as over all users.
Spotify was created in Sweden in 2008 as a streaming alternative to illegal downloads. Since then the company has become very popular. It made it's debut in the U S in 2011 and has been increasing in popularity here as well.
As download sales continue to slump, the streaming wars appear to be only just beginning. While clearly Spotify is the industry's current front runner, there is still room for growth. In my opinion, the question is, is whether or not this means that streaming will become more important to music consumers than purchasing and owning their own copy of a song or album.
What may actually be happening is an increase in smartphone and tablet usages, which may include a bundling of services. In some cases, such bundling may give hand held users access to apps like Spotify. Trying the free service may cause user to subscribe to the paid service.
If this line of thinking is correct at all, it may well mean that streaming will at some point reach a peak before it too begins to level off. As more of the population adapts hand held devices, they will no longer be viewed as trendy. It's at that point that users may once again become more diversified in their listening habits.
Meanwhile, speculation continues as to what Apple will do with Beats Music Service. Some bloggers have suggested that the electronics division is Apple's sole reason for the purchase. Others believe that Beats Music will become a ready made paid subscription version of iTunes Radio. Both reasons sound highly likely. With Spotify's latest announcement, I think that the latter is a very good idea.
Spotify was created in Sweden in 2008 as a streaming alternative to illegal downloads. Since then the company has become very popular. It made it's debut in the U S in 2011 and has been increasing in popularity here as well.
As download sales continue to slump, the streaming wars appear to be only just beginning. While clearly Spotify is the industry's current front runner, there is still room for growth. In my opinion, the question is, is whether or not this means that streaming will become more important to music consumers than purchasing and owning their own copy of a song or album.
What may actually be happening is an increase in smartphone and tablet usages, which may include a bundling of services. In some cases, such bundling may give hand held users access to apps like Spotify. Trying the free service may cause user to subscribe to the paid service.
If this line of thinking is correct at all, it may well mean that streaming will at some point reach a peak before it too begins to level off. As more of the population adapts hand held devices, they will no longer be viewed as trendy. It's at that point that users may once again become more diversified in their listening habits.
Meanwhile, speculation continues as to what Apple will do with Beats Music Service. Some bloggers have suggested that the electronics division is Apple's sole reason for the purchase. Others believe that Beats Music will become a ready made paid subscription version of iTunes Radio. Both reasons sound highly likely. With Spotify's latest announcement, I think that the latter is a very good idea.
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Apple Buys Beats
On May 8th 2014, Apple announced that it was in talks to buy Beats Electronics for 3.2 billion dollars. While some bloggers have questioned this move by Apple, others have been quick to label the deal as a move to divest some of Apple's sizable cash holdings.
Beats Electronics was started by Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine. The company produces a very popular and successful brand of head phones called Beats By Dre. In January 2014, Beats Electronics launched its own music service, called Beats Music. Reports have stated that Beats Music has only 100,000 to 200,000 paid subscribers since its January start.
iTunes Radio has been doing well, however, Apple is disappointed that the stream to click through ration has been running around 2%, as download sales continue to slump. Apple has been considering an overhaul of iTunes Radio, possibly adding a subscription service to its repertoire.
Apple has been selling Beats head phones practically since their inception. Both iTunes Radio and Beats Music have been struggling. Bringing the two entities together seems like an obvious conclusion. This acquisition will at the very least give Apple access to both the Android OS and Windows Phone. The purchase of Beats Electronics will also give Apple a paid subscription service that's already up and running.
It's not easy to discern whether this deal will mean that streaming will now be viewed as more important than owning your own copy of a song or track. In my opinion, it may just turn out that those who come to Beats to listen to a music stream, will end up clicking through to Apple's iTunes for a download.
Beats Electronics was started by Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine. The company produces a very popular and successful brand of head phones called Beats By Dre. In January 2014, Beats Electronics launched its own music service, called Beats Music. Reports have stated that Beats Music has only 100,000 to 200,000 paid subscribers since its January start.
iTunes Radio has been doing well, however, Apple is disappointed that the stream to click through ration has been running around 2%, as download sales continue to slump. Apple has been considering an overhaul of iTunes Radio, possibly adding a subscription service to its repertoire.
Apple has been selling Beats head phones practically since their inception. Both iTunes Radio and Beats Music have been struggling. Bringing the two entities together seems like an obvious conclusion. This acquisition will at the very least give Apple access to both the Android OS and Windows Phone. The purchase of Beats Electronics will also give Apple a paid subscription service that's already up and running.
It's not easy to discern whether this deal will mean that streaming will now be viewed as more important than owning your own copy of a song or track. In my opinion, it may just turn out that those who come to Beats to listen to a music stream, will end up clicking through to Apple's iTunes for a download.
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Lead Free Solar Cells
The push for alternative energy sources got a big shot in the arm, as researchers at Northwestern University announced on May 5th, 2014, that they had discovered a replacement for lead as a light absorber and energy converter in solar cells. Most of today's solar cells are made from crystalline silicon. While silicon has proven very efficient as a solar energy to electricity converter, because it tends to be heavy, it can make miniaturization of solar cells more difficult.
In recent years, researcher have gone to other, light weight crystalline materials called perovskites. The most common and efficient perovskite until now has been lead. Lead is a toxic material, and scientists had worried about environmental hazards, should wide spread use of lead based solar cell technology become prevalent. But, researchers at Northwestern University believe that they have found a solution. Instead of lead, the researchers used tin.
The new solar cell consists of five layers of material that are only one to two microns thick, which is thinner than a human hair. The first layer consist of glass that allows the light in The second layer, made of titanium oxide, coats the glass and acts as a photo catalyst. The tin is added next and acts as the light absorber. The fourth layer consist of pyridine which serves to seal the cell and close the electric circuit. The fifth layer is made of gold which acts as a contact.
Tin has not only proven to be lighter than lead, it is also cheaper and therefore more cost efficient. The only draw back, at this time, is that lead peroskites have a 15% to 19% solar energy to electricity conversion rate while tin peroskites are just now approaching 6%. However, the use of lead peroskites began in 2009, so it is highly conceivable that those solar cells that use tin peroskites could reach that rate or higher in another 5 years or so. Couple that with the new solar cell's light weight and not only may we see them used to power homes, but we might see them used to power automobiles, and in other applications as well.
In recent years, researcher have gone to other, light weight crystalline materials called perovskites. The most common and efficient perovskite until now has been lead. Lead is a toxic material, and scientists had worried about environmental hazards, should wide spread use of lead based solar cell technology become prevalent. But, researchers at Northwestern University believe that they have found a solution. Instead of lead, the researchers used tin.
The new solar cell consists of five layers of material that are only one to two microns thick, which is thinner than a human hair. The first layer consist of glass that allows the light in The second layer, made of titanium oxide, coats the glass and acts as a photo catalyst. The tin is added next and acts as the light absorber. The fourth layer consist of pyridine which serves to seal the cell and close the electric circuit. The fifth layer is made of gold which acts as a contact.
Tin has not only proven to be lighter than lead, it is also cheaper and therefore more cost efficient. The only draw back, at this time, is that lead peroskites have a 15% to 19% solar energy to electricity conversion rate while tin peroskites are just now approaching 6%. However, the use of lead peroskites began in 2009, so it is highly conceivable that those solar cells that use tin peroskites could reach that rate or higher in another 5 years or so. Couple that with the new solar cell's light weight and not only may we see them used to power homes, but we might see them used to power automobiles, and in other applications as well.
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