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AT&T Adds Table-Like Info center to stores |
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By Barry Levine
Microsoft's Surface table can identify AT&T phones and display complex information. AT&T is the first to try out the 30-inch Microsoft Surface tables at retail stores in New York, Atlanta, San Antonio and San Francisco. Microsoft Surface lets shoppers interact with AT&T cell phones by gesture or by placing a phone on the table-like Surface.
As part of its effort to recast itself as an innovative retailer, AT&T is putting its cell-phone business on the table -- Microsoft 's Surface table, to be exact.
On Thursday, the telecommunications giant became the first to use the table-like touch display in a retail environment. AT&T stores in New York City, Atlanta, San Antonio and San Francisco will feature the 30-inch display. If the pilots go well, there are plans to deploy it across AT&T's 2,200 retail stores in the U.S.
'Transform' Shopping
Both companies said the use of Microsoft Surface "will transform the way consumers shop for mobile devices." Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division, added that Surface can provide shoppers with "an entirely new, unique and personalized shopping experience."
Microsoft said Surface, previously shown at trade shows, gives users "the opportunity to interact with devices and content in a way that feels familiar." Interaction can include touch, gestures, or even the recognition of devices placed on its surface. For instance, coverage maps can be displayed at national, state, local or even street levels, and users can scale and move the maps with gestures and touch.
Customers can review the features of a specific mobile device simply by placing it on the table display, which will recognize the model and display a graphical overview of its particulars. Two devices placed side-by-side will result in a display that compares them.
During the pilot phase, Surface can recognize eight AT&T phones and display information, including the LG Shine, the BlackBerry Curve 8310, and the Samsung BlackJack II.
'Wickedly Cool'
Even before customers get used to this new form of retailing with Surface, new features are being planned. The companies said in the future customers will be able to add ringtones, graphics, video and other media or services to their phone by "grabbing" the items with their hands from a menu and "dropping" them into a mobile device that has been placed on the table.
Avi Greengart, an analyst with industry research firm Current Analysis, said he's also heard that there are plans for Surface to recognize your individual phone, not just the model. Surface, he said, "is wickedly cool," adding that he'd "love to have one in my house."
"Wow" factors like these can improve the retail experience, he noted, but the "jury is still out as to whether this will help sales."
But he noted that, "even if it's just whiz-bang and sparkles," it could be worthwhile to AT&T if it simply helps salespeople learn about their company's products and services. In the U.S., Greengart pointed out, cell phones are often sold through retail outlets, but they are some of the world's most complicated devices and come with complicated service plans -- and salespeople are often not up-to-date about either.
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Dell Outlines Business Changes |
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By Jennifer LeClaire
In a major shift from the build-to-order PC model, IT powerhouse Dell has outlined plans to serve a changing market. CEO Michael Dell also announced that Dell will cut more than the 8,800 jobs it announced last year. The company told analysts that Dell will focus on the supply chain and making services customizable and available remotely.
With declining PC sales, Dell is making some major changes to the business model that made the company an IT force. Dell is hosting 250 equity analysts and institutional investors this week to discuss those changes.
The first day of the meetings and briefings on Wednesday set the stage for Dell to discuss its growth priorities on Thursday. Dell spent the first day providing a framework by which investors could understand the fundamental changes Dell is making to its business model -- from manufacturing to channels to services.
Dell CEO Michael Dell also told the gathering Thursday in Round Rock, Texas, that the company will cut more than the 8,800 jobs it announced last year as part of a plan to shed $3 billion in costs.
"Dell has always been known for its direct model. With it, we created a direct customer relationship model and build-to-order manufacturing capability like the world had never seen," said Robert Williams, director of investor relations for Dell. "Our assets were global and our cycle times were some of the shortest in the industry. But today's PC economics are much different."
Moore's Law led to better performance, rapid growth and lower selling prices, and ultimately to smaller absolute-cost advantages, Williams said, and growth shifted from desktops to notebooks and from large enterprises to consumers and small enterprises. Williams said Dell's customers are more diverse than ever before, and the company needs to serve them in different ways.
Focusing on the Supply Chain
Mike Cannon, president of Dell Global Operations, discussed how Dell is optimizing its global manufacturing network to better meet customer needs. By matching product design to customer segments, Dell expects to eliminate embedded product costs. Getting this part right lets Dell think more broadly about its manufacturing model to enhance consumer value, Williams said.
Meanwhile, Paul Bell, president of Dell Americas, discussed Dell's channel strategy and the investments the company is making to better work with VARs and systems integrators.
"The flexible-engagement model Dell developed is backed by a compelling value proposition for our partners: our strong brand; a broad portfolio of industry-leading products; and simple, beneficial terms," Williams said. "It's designed to minimize conflict while building trust and mutually beneficial relationships."
A New Model for a New Time
Roger Kay, principal analyst at Endpoint Technologies Associates, said these changes have been a long time coming. The market has changed, he said, and the direct model is no longer as efficient as it was five or 10 years ago. Dell's early advantage has become a liability.
"The number of possibilities and configuration matrix that build-to-order implies creates a kind of cost. If you can build a limited number of configurations in large volumes, you can actually get lower costs than the individually built ones," Kay said. "So part of the judgment is to figure out what those are and doing large manufacturing runs."
Exploring Service Models
Finally, Steve Schuckenbrock, senior vice president of global services and CIO, discussed how customers spend a massive share of IT budgets on services and face a burning need to shift from maintenance to innovation . According to Dell, the company approaches services very differently from its competitors. Dell believes services should be customizable, a la carte, and available remotely.
"Dell's new services model combines disruptive technologies with our core strengths to provide customers convenient and affordable enterprise-class support and monitoring services," Williams aid. "Through ProSupport and the assets we acquired through several acquisitions, we are building a platform that allows us to remotely manage the client life cycle. We let customers choose which services they want and when they want them."
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AT&T scratches Microsoft's surface |
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By Jennifer LeClaire
Microsoft Surface technology will debut in select AT&T retail locations later this month. AT&T plans to use Microsoft Surface to allow customers to review features of a particular AT&T mobile device by simply placing it on the Microsoft Surface 30-inch, table-like display. The companies plan to expand Microsoft Surface capabilities in AT&T stores.
Microsoft and AT&T have announced a collaborative alliance that aims to transform the way consumers shop for mobile devices. AT&T will become the first company to bring Microsoft Surface to life in a retail environment, giving customers the ability to explore their mobile-phone options using touch and device-recognition technology. Microsoft Surface is the first commercially available surface computer from Microsoft.
Beginning April 17, customers can experience Microsoft Surface in select AT&T retail locations, including stores in New York City, Atlanta, San Antonio and San Francisco. Based on the venture's success, and learning from these initial pilot deployments, plans for further expansion across AT&T's 2,200 U.S. retail stores will be determined, according to the companies.
"Microsoft Surface transforms the retail environment from a transaction destination to a customer-engagement destination," said Robbie Bach, president of the Microsoft Entertainment and Devices Division. "With innovative and intuitive ways of accessing information and digital content on Microsoft Surface, consumers now have an entirely new, unique and personalized shopping experience."
Tabletop, Touch-Screen Computing
Microsoft Surface is a 30-inch table-like display that lets individuals or multiple people interact with devices and content in a way that feels familiar -- by touch, gestures and placement of devices on the display. Microsoft describes the experience as making a surface "come to life for exploring, learning, sharing, creating, buying and much more."
AT&T plans to use Surface to offer retail-store visitors opportunities to learn about the growing universe of mobile applications and devices. The interactive touch displays, which will work without a traditional mouse or keyboard, will allow customers to review features of a particular mobile device by simply placing it on the display. Surface will recognize the device and provide a graphical overview of its capabilities. Customers will be able to place two devices side by side on the unit and compare their features.
Customers can also view interactive coverage maps at the national, state, local or street level, using simple touch and hand movement to scale and move the maps, determining their coverage area. In the future, customers will be able to drag and drop ringtones, graphics, video and more by "grabbing" content with their hands from a menu on the display and "dropping" it into the phone.
The companies said they will continue to collaborate on new and innovative ways to expand Surface capabilities in AT&T stores.
Will Tabletop Computing Go Mainstream?
According to JupiterResearch analyst Michael Gartenberg, Surface's landing in AT&T retail stores validates the fact that tabletop computing is more than just a laboratory concept
"Microsoft has proven some real-world applications and has a partner willing to put these devices out in their stores," he said. "This is a very significant milestone for that group as it looks to take this technology into the mainstream."
Surface computing is indeed heading for the mainstream, according to analysts. Gartenberg said this movement is merely the evolution of a traditional personal computer, another way of interacting with information and allowing devices to interact with each other.
"No doubt, within a short period of time, surface computers are going to be fairly ubiquitous in the retail channel," Gartenberg said. "Within a few years, when the prices come down, we'll probably see these in the home as well."
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Comcast Offers Superfast Internet |
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By Richard Koman
Those with a need for speed can get cable-TV provider Comcast's superfast "wideband" service at 50 Mbps in the Twin Cities for only $150 a month, three times Comcast's regular 16Mbps Internet rate. Comcast's service in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area uses DOCSIS 3.0 and comes just a week after Comcast promised to work with BitTorrent on P2P traffic.
Comcast has launched a superfast Internet service in the Twin Cities -- with a hefty price tag. Billed as "wideband" by Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, the new service offers download bandwidth speeds of 50 megabits per second, compared to current top speeds of 16 Mbps. And, Comcast says, the service can be revved up as high as 160 Mbps.
However, in the current version, the service offers upload speeds of just five Mbps, reflecting the inherent limits of cable Internet service.
A catch is that the monthly subscription fee is $150, compared to average fees of $50 a month for Comcast's regular Internet service. The new offering makes Comcast competitive with Verizon's FiOS network, which offer similar speeds at a similar price, company spokesperson Charlie Douglas said.
Intense Competition
At those prices, the service might appeal most to small businesses and high-volume movie downloaders. But such "comparatively meager" upload performance, together with the $150 monthly price tag, may dissuade small businesses from signing up, depending on the type of content the business provides, said Charles King, principal analyst with Pund-IT, in an e-mail.
Both Comcast's and Verizon's high-speed offerings "reflect the results of growing, intense competition between cable and phone companies for entertainment dollars, and the approaching deadline for switching from analog to digital television-broadcast signals," King said. "It's likely to be a banner year for digital/HDTV sales, and Comcast is hoping to attract as many customers as possible before they're wooed away by Verizon and others."
By the end of the year, Comcast said, it will have deployed the "wideband" network to 20 percent of its customers.
The BitTorrent Factor
The rollout, just a week after Comcast agreed to stop interfering with users of the BitTorrent peer-to-peer (P2P) system, suggests that the new technology could render moot the issue of bandwidth management -- at least on the high-speed network.
But that may be wishful thinking. At a congressional hearing in March, Haruka Saito, a member of the Japanese Embassy staff, said Japan, with 100Mbps deployments, also is running into congestion problems due to P2P usage.
Comcast's commitment to reach 20 percent of its market with the new technology coincides with its promise to adopt new network-management technology by the end of 2008. "We're committed to changing our network-management processes from what they are today by the end of the year, and we just need time to work that all out," Comcast spokesperson Charlie Douglas said. "We're going to work not just with BitTorrent, but a lot of other P2P companies, the Internet Engineering Task Force, academics and others to get together and come up with a better way to manage the network."
While Comcast clearly would like to put the BitTorrent fiasco behind, "it's likely that the company's actions will be closely watched by supporters and opponents alike for a long time to come," King said.
Development Platform
The new network is based on DOCSIS 3.0, an acronym for Data Over Cable Systems Interface Specifications. DOCSIS 3.0 works by bundling together four channels, that would otherwise be used to deliver analog television, into essentially one big data pipe.
"This creates more choice and an additional tier of products for our customers in all our markets once it's deployed," said Mitch Bowling, Comcast's senior vice president for high-speed Internet. "It's also a platform that application developers will take advantage of to build new innovative applications that can get the most out of the new technology."
"This announcement marks the beginning of the evolution from broadband to wideband," Bowling added. "We believe wideband will usher in a new era of speed and Internet innovation for today's digital consumers. Wideband is the future, and it's coming fast."
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Google to sell part of DoubleClick |
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By Jennifer LeClaire
Google has split the DoubleClick Performics unit and will sell the controversial search-marketing portion of its $3.1 billion acquisition. As expected, Google will also lay off 25 percent of DoubleClick's staff, about 300 employees. Google's decision on DoubleClick Performics is expected to defuse critics who cited a conflict of interest.
Google on Wednesday said it plans to cut 25 percent of U.S. employees at its recently acquired DoubleClick unit. The search titan also plans to sell off DoubleClick's search-engine marketing assets.
It's all part of the integration planning for Google and DoubleClick products and business units, according to Tom Phillips, director of DoubleClick integration. Google has been exploring the possibilities since it closed the $3.1 billion acquisition on March 11.
One of the conclusions: Google is better off splitting the DoubleClick Performics business into two separately run business units: affiliate marketing and search marketing.
"It's clear to us that we do not want to be in the search-engine marketing business. Maintaining objectivity in both search and advertising is paramount to Google's mission and core to the trust we ask from our users. For this reason, we plan to sell the Performics search-marketing business to a third party," Phillips explained.
Maintaining Search Objectivity
According to Phillips, Google is betting selling off the search-marketing arm will allow the company to maintain objectivity while making room for the search-marketing business to continue to grow and innovate and serve its customers.
While Google has not identified a buyer, Phillips said the company has received preliminary interest from a number of its current partners. Meanwhile, search marketing will continue to run as a separate entity until the division is sold.
"We plan to integrate the affiliate-marketing business into existing Google operations, providing enhanced value and reach for our affiliate advertisers, and additional tools and monetization opportunities for our publishers," Phillips explained. "Together, we believe that we can continue to grow this business and deliver on the high expectations from partners."
Greg Sterling, principal analyst at Sterling Market Intelligence, expected Google to take quick steps to sell off the search-marketing platform. That's because Google received a lot of criticism about the possibility it would retain DoubleClick Performics in the face of perceived conflicts of interest.
"There was concern that Google would provide some favorable treatment or insider access to the Performics client," Sterling said. "Whatever reality there would have been, the danger is this perception, so this is the right thing to do."
Layoffs Not a Surprise
Google will lay off about 300 employees in the wake of the acquisition. The decision comes as no surprise. Google CEO Eric Schmidt hinted at the layoffs in his March 11 blog post announcing the acquisition, explaining that Google would spend some weeks matching and aligning DoubleClick employees with its organizational plan.
"What's interesting is that Google has been on this hiring binge for the longest time and these layoffs contradict that. In the larger context, people get concerned about Google's growth and whether clicks are down or up," Sterling said. "This is a recognition that Google is human and the economy is very mixed, so it can't simply absorb all these employees."
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