Apple Flash Ban Good for Greystripe: Company Behind "iFlash" Ads Sees 200% Growth

No Flash on the iPhone? It's not a problem for advertisers, apparently. Developers tasked with creating rich media ad units for Apple's popular mobile devices have been busy porting their Flash-created ad collateral into an iPhone-friendly HTML5 format using mobile ad firm Greystripe's "iFlash" ad technology, which provides a Flash-like ad experience.

The iFlash ad format has become so popular, in fact, that Greystripe is just now announcing a 200% growth spike for these "iFlash" ads following the iAds announcement.

According to news the company linked to by way of Twitter post, but not press release, the growth for the 18-month old iFlash technology is due to the experience it offers, something that's similar to Apple's recently announced iAds technology. Like iAds, iFlash also provides rich media animation, touch interactivity and click-through actions, all of which are available without leaving the mobile application where the ad appears.

Greystripe's CEO Michael Chang sees iAds' imitation as a form of flattery in this case, proof that his company is doing it right. "Apple's selection of an ad format almost identical to our 'iFlash Custom' ads is a testament to the incredible potential of interactive, rich media mobile advertising and the value of customer engagement," he is quoted as saying.

The company claims it holds a 75% market share on the full screen rich media mobile market and have ads that reach 14 million unique monthly users in the U.S. Over the past two years, it has served over 2 billion full screen rich media impressions. Recent reports from comScore Inc. put the CTR for these iFlash ads at 2-5% on average, with 15-30+ seconds of user engagement.

While "fat-fingering" may contribute to some accidental ad launches, it's the engagement time that's really telling. Spending half a minute watching or interactivity with an ad is proof that creative, engaging ads can and do appeal to mobile users. (At least for now. Web banner ads used to be popular too, believe it or not).

Flash's Backdoor to iPhone

What's interesting about this news, besides, of course, the incredible growth rates the company is seeing, is how the iFlash ad technology actually works. It takes pre-created rich media ad units that were built using Adobe Flash and transcodes them to run on the iPhone, iPod Touch and, as of this month, iPad. The resulting ads are transformed into HTML5 format, a web standard that is supported on Apple's iPhone operating system.

For ad developers used to working with Flash technology, iFlash is essentially a workaround for the Flash ban on Apple devices, explained in detail by Steve Jobs himself back in April.

Apple caused quite a stir when it announced that iPhone apps created using Adobe's now-discontinued Packager for iPhone would not be allowed into the iTunes App Store, prompting Jobs' eventual response to all the hubbub. The Adobe software had allowed developers to create mobile applications using Flash and then port those to an iPhone-ready format. Although the technologies behind the Adobe converter and the iFlash transcoder are quite different on the back-end, the idea is the same: create with Flash, then port to iPhone.

With Apple's iAds launch just around the corner, one wonders if Apple will continue to allow a Flash transcoding product that competes directly with their own advertising initiatives to remain in business. Booting them out, though, would be tricky. After all, iFlash ads are in supported HTML5 format. Still, considering Jobs' opinions on Flash, it must irk him to see that Flash developers have found such an easy workaround for the Flash ban, if not for apps, at least for ads. 

 

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/apple_flash_ban_good_for_greystripe_company_behind.php

CloudKick: Practical Efforts for Unifying the Cloud

The team over at CloudKick have been busy connecting open standards with its efforts to monitor cloud computing. By focusing on different cloud providers and listening to customers, the company is in a good position to nudge cloud computing implementations towards open source - and live to tell about it.

libCloud: Unifying Cloud Interfaces

The company's decision last year to move its work on libCloud into the Apache Foundation incubator project seems to be taking off. The project it has been growing in contributors to the effort as well as the number of cloud implementations that are supported.

The libCloud incubator project is designed to allow developers to interface with common functions across cloud providers with one library and to grow the support with the growth of cloud vendors.

Here is the current status of support offered in this library.

HTML 5 and Real Time Cloud Visualization

Additionally, the company is demonstrating it's HTML 5, Canvas, and JavaScript implementation of its visualization tool of real-time cloud resources. This tool shows some of the promise of HTML 5 and also demonstrates the power of CloudKick's monitoring services and the power of visualization in real-time.

Here is how it looks when getting started. The axes are orientated around response time (ping), CPU utilization, and memory utilization. (View demo live)

Here we see clicking on one of the dots (which represent a server host), a control panel pops up with real-time stats.

Monitoring Open Source Implementations

CloudKick has also opened up monitors customized for other open source implementations, such as Cassandra and Apache to its list of pre-configured monitors.

The company also announced support of Memcached and DNS at the same time.

CloudKick has been a first-mover in abstracting and connecting cloud services together for the practical purpose of supporting applications. In a way, the company seems to be supporting projects that it loves (e.g. Cassandra) and is keeping up with innovative developers who are using the latest software techniques to scale in the cloud.

Are there other services you would like to see unify within cloud vendors?

 

http://www.readwriteweb.com/cloud/2010/05/cloud-open-unify.php

아이폰으로 DMB 시청 가능해진다

[지디넷코리아]아이폰에서 DMB 방송 수신이 가능해졌다. 모바일 솔루션 업체 디오텍은 애플 아이폰 및 아이팟터치 등에서 DMB 방송을 시청할 수 있도록 제공하는 DMB 수신기 ‘iDmb 플러스’를 내놓고 본격적인 판매에 들어갔다고 11일 발표했다.

 

'iDmb 플러스'는 와이파이(Wi-Fi) 연결을 통해 아이폰 또는 아이팟터치, 아이패드 등과 통신해 DMB TV 수신 기능을 제공해 주는 기기로 일반 노트북 PC와도 USB를 통해 연결해 사용이 가능하다. DMB를 시청하지 않을 때는 내장 배터리로 아이폰 또는 아이팟터치를 충전할 수 있는 응급 전원 장치 역할도 할 수 있다.

 

DMB를 수신할 수 있는 안테나는 로프 안테나 방식으로 디자인돼 목에 걸 수 있는 목걸이 방식으로 제공된다. 전용 단말기와 함께 아이폰에 설치해 쓸 수 있는 전용 애플리케이션이 한 세트를 이루고 있다. 전용 애플리케이션은 애플 앱스토어에서 무료로 내려받을 수 있다.

 

디오텍은 'iDmb 플러스'는 애플리케이션만 각각의 스마트폰 OS에 맞게 개발해 추가하면 아이폰 뿐 아니라 DMB 기능이 탑재되지 않은 안드로이드 등 다른  플랫폼 기반 스마트폰에서도 사용이 가능한 확장성을 지원한다고 설명했다.

 

디오텍은 앞으로 향후 다양한 OS를 지원하는 iDmb 플러스 애플리케이션을 지속적으로 개발한다는 전략이다. 현재 버전으로도 아이패드 지원은 가능하지만 와이드 스크린을 채택하고 있는 아이패드(iPad)를 위해 최적화된 전용 애플리케이션도 별도로 개발해 조만간 제공할 계획이다.

 

제품 관련 자세한 정보는  디오텍 액세서리 쇼핑몰(http://mall.diotek.co.kr) 또는 iDmb 플러스 전용 사이트(www.idmbplus.com)에서 확인할 수 있다.

트랙백 주소 : http://www.zdnet.co.kr/Reply/trackback.aspx?key=20100511095316

10배 빠른 新 와이파이 시대 도래

와이파이연합회·무선기가비트연합회, 60GHz 와이파이 전격 합의

안희권기자 argon@inews24.com

와이파이연합회와 무선기가비트연합회는 기존 규격보다 10배 이상 빠른 새로운 와이파이 규격을 60GHz 주파수대에서 구현하기로 합의했다고 AP통신이 10일(현지시간) 보도했다. 통상적으로 와이파이는 2.4GHz와 5GHz 주파수대에서 운영되고 있다. 이번 합의에 따라 60GHz 주파수 기반의 와이파이 제품 개발이 가속화 될 전망이다. 와이파이연합회 에드가 피게로아 최고책임자는 "초당 기가비트 이상의 전송속도를 지원하기 위해 60GHz 주파수를 채택하게 됐다"고 밝혔다. 이번에 채택한 기술에는 몇 가지 난점이 예상된다. 60GHz 주파수를 이용할 경우 와이파이 신호가 벽을 침투하기 어렵다는 점과 적당한 신호 관측 회선이 필요하다는 점이다. 그러나 이런 문제에도 불구하고 전송속도가 10배 이상 빨라 진다는 점에서 충분히 유용하다는 평가를 받고 있다. 소비자들은 당장 이 기술을 이용하기는 어려울 전망이다. 표준화 과정을 거친 이후 관련 업계가 이 기술을 라우터나 무선 공유기 등에 접목해야 이용할 수 있기 때문이다. 관련 업계는 60GHz 주파수 대역을 도입한 장비가 시장에 출시되려면 적어도 2년 정도 걸릴 것으로 예상했다. 한편, 애플이 이 기술을 앞으로 개발될 애플 제품에 적용하는 것을 검토 중인 것으로 전해지고 있다. 이 기술을 접목될 경우 아이폰이나 아이패드 이용자는 데스크톱 PC에 저장된 콘텐츠를 손쉽게 전송받을 수 있다. 이 경우 7Gbps급 전송속도가 지원되기 때문에 고화질(HD) 동영상도 몇 초만에 주고받을 수 있다.

 

http://itnews.inews24.com/php/news_view.php?g_serial=491670&g_menu=020300

eBay Sells 5,000-plus iPads, UAE Buyers Pay Highest Prices

Since iPad’s launch, eBay has sold more than 5,300 units across the world, 65% abroad and 35% at home, according to data from eBay that spans from mid-March to mid-April. The UK dominated international sales, with 550 units sold, or roughly 15% of foreign sales. But buyers from the United Arab Emirates were willing to shell out the most cash, with the average buyer paying a hefty premium of $537 (!) for the 64GB version (more than enough to buy a bare bones 16GB Wi-Fi model).

That was the highest average premium for any model— buyers in Greece paid $269 over retail for the 16GB version, Russians paid a $306 premium for the 32GB model. Overall, Europe had the strongest showing, with nearly 2,300 units purchased. The demand on eBay should subside somewhat in the coming months, as Apple finally makes progress on its international launch. Starting May 28, the iPad will be available in the UK, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain and Switzerland. Then, at some point in July, the iPad will be available in Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore. However, the high-rolling UAE is noticeably absent from this list, which could support those high prices for quite awhile. As of today, there were a few live auctions on eBay with several bids for the 64GB WiFi model north of $900 (+$300 premium). Look at this auction with 63 bids, it’s at a current price of $995.00 with more than 16 hours left.

Read more: http://techcrunch.com/2010/05/10/ebay-sells-5000-plus-ipads-uae-buyers-pay-highest-prices/#ixzz0nZtLlfMu

Will ActiveVideo Networks successfully bring TV-viewing to the cloud?

 on May 10, 2010

I, myself, would move to the cloud if it were at all possible. And by that I don’t mean move all of my vital digital services to someone else’s servers, but float up into the stratosphere and just hang out there for the rest of my days. When ActiveVideo Networks talks about moving the TV-viewing experience to the cloud, they are, in fact, talking about moving servers outside of your house for your own good, enabling what they call interactive video on demand. The overall idea is to make TV-viewing just interactive enough to make it more compelling without sacrificing the “idiot box”-ness of the medium. When you’re watching TV, you don’t necessarily want to break out GCC simply to change the channel.

The best way I can describe what ActiveVideo Networks is trying to do is to synthesize the best of old-style TV widgets and something like Plex or Boxee—no additional hardware required, of course. The company is working with several cable providers (including Cablevision in the greater New York City area) and, soon, a pretty big consumer electronics company. What company? I don’t know because the fancy cats at ActiveVideo wouldn’t tell me!

But no matter, there’s still plenty to look at right now, and there will be even more in the future. In addition to letting cable providers create simple, on-screen programs—think Blockbuster video-on-demand, being able to send “TV link” to your friends (“hey man, they’re giving a neat documentary about Ancient Rome on channel 271, check it out,” then a “link” pops up on their screen), end-users will be able to develop applications with a specially provided SDK. Maybe someone wants to develop a baseball widget/application, which you load up to see the entire Mets schedule from here until when they just miss out on the wild card in September? Shouldn’t be too hard to make since, like Paml’s WebOS, all you need is HTML and Javascript to make an application.

I should probably put a little more emphasis on the “TV link” deal, which doesn’t sound too crazy, and, more importantly, maybe even useful! It’s trying to make TV-viewing, which can be a solitary activity, into a more social one. It’s very Boxee-like in that sense. but instead of annoying your friends with tweets (that everyone can see—maybe you don’t want the world to know that you’re a huge Degrassi fan?) or Facebook (which is in the middle of a user exodus), you send them a direct link that’s easily selectable with your remote control.

You can see the interface right there. Believe me, I’ve been around the block a few times—that’s not half-bad.

ActiveVideo, true to its name, has recently acquired a company that specializes in cloud-based games. I don’t think that means you”ll be playing Rage or other that requires Direct X 11 or anything like that, but no one can deny that “casual” games are here, and they’re huge. Just like at Nintendo, feeling the heat from Apple of all people!

Probably the most important thing from here on out would be to see where ActiveVideo winds up. Will it hook up with an LG or Samsung or Vizio to bring the cloud to your next TV, or will it be limited to select cable systems? I mean, the ActiveVideo gentleman, as I mentioned several sentences ago, will be joining up with an electronics company in the near future, so, you know, that’s good for them.

 

http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/05/10/will-activevideo-networks-successfully-bring-tv-viewing-to-the-cloud/

Skype "Seriously Considering" Ads

According to Skype's CEO Josh Silverman, Skype wants to be the "fabric of real-time communications on the Web." To get there, Skype is "seriously considering" to create a new revenue stream by running third-party ads on the service. In an interview with the Telegraph, Silverman noted that adding ads will be difficult, given that "the way people use Skype is very personal." There are currently no ads on Skype and the company's main source of revenue is selling optional telephony features that allow its users to make calls to landlines and mobile phones.

Tasteful Ads

Silverman also noted that Skype ads "will be done in a tasteful way." Sadly, it is not clear what these ads will look like (assuming Skype will go ahead with this plan). Given that Skype is an audio and video service, these ads could include audio ads that play while you are waiting for your call to connect or small Youtube-like pop-up ads in your video calls. Currently, Skype only runs banner ads for its own products in its Windows client.

""It's challenging to get right as the way people use is Skype is very personal but we think our users expect us to do it so we can continue to support free. But it will be done in a tasteful way."

Skype CEO Josh Silverman

Skype currently has over 560 million registered users and more than 20 million of these are logged in at any given time. The company has trained all of these users to expect free and unimpeded calls to other Skype users, so adding ads will surely create a bit of a stir among Skype's users.

New Skype Features

Skype also announced a number of new subscription services and features during the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco last week. These new services include highly discounted calls to over 170 countries for a monthly fee starting at $1.09 a month, as well as a group video chat for up to five users that will launch as a free service. Skype plans to charge a subscription fee for this feature later this year.

 

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/skype_seriously_considering_ads.php