Digital Zone 197: $10,000 Reasons To Listen

Posted by Patrick Wiscombe on February 15, 2010 under Digital Zone Podcasts | Be the First to Comment

In this edition of the Digital Zone, we talked about:

$10,000 reasons to listen
The iPad wholesale cost
Cheap TV coming to iTunes
Microsoft and Apple together for first time in 10 years
Windows Mobile 7
Motorola to split in two
DirecTV suing Dish Network
Facebook #1 in dishing dirt
Sony 3D

Apple announced it will give one lucky customer a $10k iTunes gift card once it reaches 10 billion iTunes song downloads. If you’re at least 13 years old and reside in a participating country, you can submit as many as 25 entries per day either by purchasing music or completing the no purchase necessary form. iTunes passed the 5 billlion download mark in June 2008.

Apple’s iPad costs as little as $229.35 for the company to produce, according to an “virtual teardown” estimate from research house iSuppli. For the $499 iPad — the lowest-cost model, which features 16 gigabytes of flash memory — iSuppli estimated the total materials cost at $219.35, with a $10 manufacturing cost. The most expensive iPad will cost around $335 to produce, while the mid-range model will cost roughly $287. The most expensive component in the iPad is the 9.7-inch display and touchscreen, at an estimated cost of $80, according to the estimate. Analysts expect Apple to ship somewhere between 2 million and 5 million iPad units in the first year.

Apple is in talks with television networks to begin selling TV shows on iTunes for 99 cents to coincide with the release of the iPad next month. The Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal said talks between Apple and were ongoing and had not been concluded yet. The Financial Times citing “people familiar with the discussions,” said offering some TV shows at a lower price would be aimed at testing whether a reduced cost would spur video sales on iTunes. Single episodes of most TV shows on iTunes currently cost 1.99 dollars in standard definition and 2.99 dollars in high-definition. The Journal said Apple had already begun testing a price of 99 cents for certain shows on iTunes.

Microsoft said they will ship a version of Office, called Office for Mac 2011 by the end of 2010, the first release for Apple computers in 10 years.

Microsoft is expected to announce Windows Mobile 7 which could be on phones later this year and is expected to be more consumer-focused than previous versions, with a simplified user interface. Analysts are saying that if Microsoft doesn’t succeed with this version, they’re going to be left further behind. Windows phones now account for 9 percent of smart phones sold worldwide, according to research firm In-Stat. That number is down from 13.2 percent in 2008.

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Motorola will split into two companies in the first quarter of 2011. One company will focus on consumer products like mobile phone and televisions. The second company will focus on services targeted at business customers.

DirecTV is suing rival Dish Network for running an advertisement claiming that Dish delivers the same programs for less money. In case you haven’t seen the commercial, the commercial shows three TV sets broadcasting the same programs, with Dish costing $39.99 a month, DirecTV costing $63.99 and cable TV at $63.83. DirecTV’s lawsuit accuses Dish of “blatantly false and misleading advertising.” DirecTV said the subscription plan used in the commercial offers more than 140 channels while Dish Network’s cheaper plan has fewer than 100 channels. Dish lost 94,000 net subscribers in the first quarter of 2009, added 26,000 in the second quarter, its first increase in five quarters. By the third quarter, it gained 241,000 new customers.

If you’re separated from or in the process of divorcing your spouse, a recent survey of U.S. divorce attorneys, say Facebook is the place to get the scoop on your now unsignificant other. The survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) shows that 81 percent of the Academy’s members in the past five years have seen an increase in the number of divorce cases using social networking evidence. Among the most popular social sites, Facebook is #1 for what they call divorce dirt, with 66 percent of survey respondents citing it as the primary source. MySpace was second with 14 percent, Twitter third at 5 percent. Other online sources totaled 14 percent. Facebook is cited in one of every five divorce petitions, according to the AAML.

Sony announced the launch of their first 3D-ready Blu-ray player and a firmware upgrade available this summer will will let users view 3D content with the player. The player will also lets users stream content from Amazon, Netflix, YouTube, Slacker, NPR, Sony, and more and a new iPhone app called BD Remote lets users control the new players from their handsets. The player coming later this month will cost around $200.

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PODCAST SPONSORS: Please support the companies that make the Patrick Wiscombe podcast network go and take advantage of the special offers only available to our listeners.

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