This column began with a Rogers bill. I was paying $200 a month for cable and a PVR, and feeling gouged. I set about to explore alternatives. The term “cutting the cable” has become popular—a Google search nets 63.6 million results—and there are many alternatives for people frustrated with traditional cable providers. … [Read more...] about Still paying a fortune to the cable company?
Tablet PCs and smartphone sales are growing exponentially year over year and, as they incorporate more and better functionality into their core operations, other consumer electronic categories are in decline. The Apple iPad exploded on the scene in 2010, selling 15 million units. Sales grew 222 per cent in 2011, to 56.5 million units (estimate). iPad sales are expected to grow 59 per cent in 2012 and will likely break 100 million units, according to Steve Bambridge of GfK, a boutique research firm working with the Consumer Electronics Association. Read the rest of my column at: http://www.backbonemag.com/Magazine/2012-02/smartphones-tablets-killing-other-devices.aspx … [Read more...] about Smartphones and Tablets are killing other devices
TV as we know it is dying, but most people don't perceive yet the dramatic change that is bubbling below the surface. In a stunning report released at CES, Accenture points to a wholesale collapse of traditional TV viewing. The study found that "the percentage of consumer watching broadcast or cable TV shows, movies, or videos on TV in a typical week plummeted from 71% in 2009 to 48% in 2011." And what are we doing instead? We're streaming content on iPads (my wife watches as much content on her iPad as she does on TV), video enabled smart phones, and PCs. YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, iTunes -- and Apple's soon to be launched iTV are all changing the way we consume video content. On Thursday, Robert Kyncl, YouTube's Vice President of Global Content Partnerships keynoted at the at 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. He argued that the world of TV is changing profoundly: "If YouTube's top five channels were stacked against cable channels, they would be in the top 20 in terms of viewership." Kyncl pointed out that in 1980 there were only four TV channels and they had 100 per cent of the audience. But the emergence of cable TV in the 1980s dramatically changed the economics of distribution and resulted in hundreds of new channels. By 2010, 75 per cent of Americans viewing was spent watching cable channels, but only 25 per cent with the original four broadcast networks. We are going through this same revolution again, with the Internet and streaming media … [Read more...] about Finally, the Death of TV
