Linked List: August 18, 2011

Thursday, 18 August 2011

From the WSJ’s liveblog transcript of HP’s conference call today:

“The tablet effect is real, and sales of the TouchPad are not meeting our expectations,” Apotheker says, explaining the movement of consumers from PCs to tablets as one of the problems with the PC division. So H-P is exploring options for its unit that “may include separation through spinoff or other transactions.”

Translation: “We’re getting out of the PC business because of the iPad.”

MLB.com at Bat 11 ★

I’ve said it before and will say it again: I love the MLB At Bat apps for iOS. If you’re a baseball fan, especially if you like watching out of market games, you are out of your mind if you don’t have these apps. This is the future of sports broadcasting.

Number One Plus ★

HP’s Eric Cador, three months ago:

“In the tablet world, we’re going to become better than number one. We call it number one plus.”

HP press release today:

In addition, HP reported that it plans to announce that it will discontinue operations for webOS devices, specifically the TouchPad and webOS phones. HP will continue to explore options to optimize the value of webOS software going forward.

Rebecca Lynn Believes in Free ★

Venture capitalist Rebecca Lynn thinks Google will use its acquisition of Motorola to give away free Android phones:

I acknowledge the arguments that Google’s bill of materials on smartphones, perhaps in the hundreds-of-dollars range, would be too big a subsidy to absorb — at this present time. That cost is increasingly decreasing. If Google is betting on a future that is mobile-centric, this is a bet that’s worth taking.

If we’re talking free as in “no-contract free”, keep in mind that most estimates of Google’s search revenue per Android user are in the range of $6-10 per year. So if you figure people keep their phones for two or three years, these giveaway phones would have to cost — what? — maybe $10 or $20 in order for Google to turn a profit?

HP to Cease Making WebOS Devices ★

Derek Kessler, PreCentral:

We knew HP was having trouble selling webOS devices, and as part of their quarterly fiscal announcement, they announced that they plan to discontinue operations for webOS devices, to include the TouchPad and webOS phones.

What Happens When You Count the iPad as a ‘PC’ ★

Apple becomes the leading PC-maker, by unit sales, in the world. Update: Leading mobile PC maker, that is. Still.

Ridley Scott to Direct New ‘Blade Runner’ Film ★

The final twist: Jar-Jar is a replicant.

Indecision 2012: Ron Paul and the Top Tier ★

Speaking of “nah nah, can’t hear you”, here’s Jon Stewart on the cable news channel’s treatment of Ron Paul in the nascent Republican primary race.

Bloomberg: HP to Spin Off PC Business ★

Jeffrey McCracken, Serena Saitto, and Aaron Ricadela, reporting for Bloomberg:

Hewlett-Packard Co., the world’s largest computer maker, is in talks to buy Autonomy Corp. for about $10 billion and plans to spin off its personal-computer business, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Hewlett-Packard may announce the plans as early as today, said the people, who asked not to be identified before a statement. The Palo Alto, California-based company is scheduled to report quarterly earnings today after markets close.

Largest computer-maker by unit sales, not by profit. And that’s the problem.

(No word on whether Palm/WebOS would be included in the spun-off PC business.)

Fingers in Ear, Nah Nah, I Can’t Hear You ★

Chitika Insights yesterday released a study showing Android market share among U.S. phone carriers, with Verizon showing a big drop between March and August. Chitika’s conclusion:

Verizon’s share of iPhone traffic continues to increase, but it seems that Verizon is gaining market share in Apple’s prominent smartphone at the expense of its other, Android-running devices.

Let’s cut to David Ruddock’s post on this study at Android Police:

Verizon, who previously controlled over 50% of the market for Android smartphones, has dropped to almost 40% over the last five months. Who’s to blame? AT&T and small budget carriers, apparently (US Cellular, MetroPCS, Virgin Mobile).

Apparently the Verizon iPhone is the phone that cannot be named. (Thanks to Derek Giromini.)

Streamlining ★

MG Siegler:

I’m sure it’s purely coincidental that just as iMessage is about to hit in iOS 5, AT&T is removing all of their lower-priced text messaging plans.

Innovation ★

Re: the previous entry, on tablets before and after the iPad, and Android phones before and after the iPhone, here’s a delightful quote from Google chairman Eric Schmidt last month:

“We have seen an explosion of Android devices entering the market and, because of our successes, competitors are responding with lawsuits as they cannot respond through innovations,” he said. “I’m not too worried about this.”

Tablets, Before and After the iPad ★

A classic, along the lines of what Android phones looked like before and after the iPhone. For dessert, here’s another look at the pre-iPhone Android.