Tuesday, October 16, 2007

mig33: Google Talk for Its 7 Million Members

In countries where international long-distance rates are high, mobile services like mig33's mobile instant messenger and VoIP calls are starting to gain a sizable user base. The Burlingame, Calif. startup, which was an eTel/GigaOM Launch Pad startup, says it has signed up more than 7 million users to date and has added several new features, including Google Talk (GOOG).

The startup's 7 million members and growing user base actually surprised me a bit — the company said it had 6 million members in July — given that its main approach is to use downloadable mobile software. Mobile clients can often be a barrier to entry when attempting to build a sizable amount of users, particularly for services that are supposed to save users money. For those that don't want to download, the company also recently added a WAP site. Other mobile callback/calling type services that offer lower-cost minutes include Jajah and Cellity.

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Triple Screen Notebook: Acme Laptop Does a Three-Way, Unfolds Into Obscenely Wide Triple Screen

front_three-way.jpgThis prototype of an Acme semi-portable notebook with a huge folding three-way display was rolled out in Taipei during Taitronix Autumn 2007 that just wrapped up earlier this week. It starts out as a mild-mannered suitcase, and then unfolds into a monster laptop with a outlandishly wide screen. There is no information on the size of each of the flat panels, but from what we can see they look like they are each at least 20-inch-diagonal displays. No pricing was announced, but it'll be available sometime next year. [AVing]

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Napster Dumping Client Download

Word is that Napster is dumping their desktop client and relaunching with a fully web based client as part of an effort to broaden their reach. Customers will be able to listen to their music over the web on any computer after signing in. The new web client will make it possible to join a slew of other online music services in creating embeddable music widgets to push their product and become accessible on web enabled devices.

However, the desktop client is only part of what's holding the company back. Napster is still a subscription-centered service, which keeps them incompatible with the leading digital music player, the iPod (not a good idea, say industry experts). Consequently Napster has lagged behind Apple's end to end iTunes system which reportedly controls 70% of the digital music market.

But the company is holding out for a glimmer of hope. Amazon has already crossed the chasm into open digital downloads. Christopher Allen, chief operating officer at Napster, forecasts that by the end of next year these DRM free MP3s will become standard. So far, only Universal Music Group and EMI Group sell music DRM free. However, with labels loving the iPod but hating the revenue split, other labels are sure to follow.

In other music news, Ars Technica is expecting iTunes to lower the price of DRM-free songs to $0.99. That's still $0.10 more per song than Amazon is charging. Note our recently article on the inevitable march of recorded music towards free.

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50x Faster Than BitTorrent: I Want

Popout Thomas Crampton interviews Ogilvy China’s Kaiser Kuo on the current state of web development in China in the video above. It’s interesting in its entirity as they discuss the growing wave of Web 2.0 development in China, but of particular note is Kuo’s description of Chinese P2P file network Blin.cn.

Kuo claims that Blin.cn is 50 times faster than BitTorrent and when downloading the show 24 season 6 he was able to start watching it with 2.2% downloaded after only 3 minutes, and all in DVD quality.

It’s interesting to consider the broader ramifications of what Kuo is saying. His general argument is that without the artificial market restrictions imposed on P2P networks in the United States by the RIAA and the MPAA, Chinese companies have been free to innovate and are now producing superior web technology in P2P sharing, and a whole range of related industries. If you think it’s bad that China dominates the market for consumer goods, imagine that today companies in China have already created the next wave of P2P innovation and are thriving, perhaps ironically in a Communist country, with more freedoms than their American counterparts. It’s not unreasonable to consider that next year and into the future that much of what we do online may end up being based on Chinese designed technology and programming, and not good ol’ fashioned American know-how.

(via zeropaid)

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Indentured Servitude: AT&T Decides to Play Nice, Lets Customers Change Calling Plans Without Penalty

att_gorilla.jpgAT&T, the 800-pound gorilla of U.S mobile services, decided to pull a Verizon and let its cellphone users off the hook if they decide to change their contracts. The company says now people can get out of their indentured servitude early without having to pay a flat termination fee. Going a little bit easier on the poor souls, the quit-fines will be reduced according to how long a customer has been letting his blood be sucked by AT&T. Even more important to some users, they'll be allowed to change their level of service without extending the contract, or signing up for more abuse from the Ma Bell giant. If you happen to like AT&T and its fine, fine, cellphone service, please excuse our bile-spitting criticism. [Yahoo News]

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