Video Game Consoles Up 26%; iPhone Killing Portable Gaming Devices?

Strong numbers were announced today from The NDP Group that show significant year-over-year growth in video game console purchases: +26% in October '08 vs. '07 for consoles, software and accessories. However, portable gaming consoles (like the PSP and Nintendo DS) fell 14%. This clearly is an outcome of devices like the iPhone which are now full gaming systems in their own right... with publishers developing high-quality content specifically for the platform. What is the benefit of buying a PSP or Nintendo Wii when, for the same price, you can have an iPhone which has cheaper content, is social (phone, sms, email, etc), smaller and sexier. This trend will continue....:

"The video games industry grew an impressive 18 percent year-over-year in the first month of the critical fourth quarter," she wrote. "With 10-months under its belt, the video games industry is still poised to top $22B in annual sales in 2008.

"The sales results are mixed this month, however. The console portion of the market made significant gains at 26% across hardware, software and accessories, while the portable side of the market stalled, declining 14%. Year-to-date the portable segment of the market is still up 7%."

Disney's Bolt iPhone App - Awesome Marketing

Is this how Hollywood is going to release new movies, music and video games? I hope so... because there is a lot of potential here.

Disney's launched an iPhone App for it's new film Bolt (which opens tomorrow). It launched a couple weeks prior to the movie's release. It's free, of course, as it's a marketing / brand awareness play. The App features:

- high quality trailers - an interactive game based on the accelerometer - high scores and viral score sharing

Not exactly an App I would use - but I am not the target audience. I do however think that this is a brilliant marketing move and look forward to other studios / marketers doing the same.

Mobile is Dominating the Chatter (From Android to iPhone to Congress)

Want proof that mobile is atop everyone's mind? First, I was part of a great dinner last night with twelve or so valley entrepreneurs... without forcing the topic, the conversation quickly turned to: - the iPhone - Android and the G1 - Apps across each - possibilities of new ideas

Great conversation... that was echo'd (and then some) throughout the blogosphere today. Here is a snapshot of some of the articles I found particularly interesting:

GPhone-iPhone Browser Battle: Google Android G1 Faster, iPhone Better (Alley Insider)

The iPhone's default scaling and zoom features, in our opinion, make it easier to start reading a partially loaded Web site than Google's default, which is to zoom in on the upper-left corner of a page; often an ad or navigation bar. Minor personal preference: The iPhone's gesture-based scrolling -- pushing a page up or down, right or left -- is smoother than the G1's.

Even AT&T Is Startled by Cost of iPhone Partnership (NY Times)

AT&T’s successful relationship with Apple comes at a price: $900 million. That is the amount of money AT&T paid to Apple for the 2.4 million iPhones the phone company sold in the third quarter. It is a number that surprised even AT&T, which did not anticipate such huge demand for the smartphone.

Sony's New Phone is an 8MB Computer, 8MP Camera (BoyGenius)

iPhones are a must-have for Congress (TheHill.com)

The Chief Administrative Office (CAO), which oversees the communications systems for the House, has begun testing a small number of iPhones within its ranks to see if they are compatible with the working needs of lawmakers and staff. “The reason we’re trying them out is because we heard a lot of people wanted the option to have them,” said Jeff Ventura, a spokesman for the CAO.

$300 For BlackBerry Bold? No, Thanks (Alley Insider)

$300? In this economy? With a superb phone already priced at $100 less? What is RIM smoking?

InGameNow App Officially Live in iTunes: Go Install!

The InGameNow App officially went live in iTunes just seconds after the Red Sox lost to the Tampa Bay Rays (so I got some joy out of the night!). I invite you to visit iTunes (or search for "ingamenow" via the App Store on your iPhone), install the app and use it. I'd also love to get any and all feedback!

Core components of the app:

- Live integration with InGameNow: seamless posting and pulling - Automatic scores / posts updates - Dashboard of games that are “InGameNow” (screen shot below) - Full schedule and browse accessibility by league and team - Ability to set and monitor favorite teams

Live screenshots:

Get the InGameNow
iPhone Sports App

I'm Baffled By the New Sprint & Dan Hesse Commercial

This new Sprint commercial, featuring CEO Dan Hesse, seemingly runs during every inning of the MLB playoffs. It baffles me too: - why is he sitting at a diner talking about cell phones and to a camera? - why, in the HD version, is half of his head cropped off? - why does he sound so un-enthusiastic when talking about how cell phones have become mini-computers? If he can't get excited - why can consumers? - finally, why isn't a phone (preferably a smartphone) shown in the commercial?

iPhone Now #4 Worldwide Handset, 103mm AdMob Ad Requests in September

I've written a fair amount about delivering engaging emails - and just provided a great example of how not to... ironically as demonstrated by Apple.

AdMob is among the best at delivering valuable, insightful emails about the industry and their platform. Each month, AdMob sends a "Mobile Metrics Report" which really distinguishes them as leaders in the mobile space - both as thinkers and ad providers. The September report is available online and there are some fascinating nuggets. I encourage you to read the full report as it is clear that the mobile advertising space is growing remarkably fast - and it is being powered by smarter phones, bigger screens and better bandwidth. These trends will continue:

* The number of monthly ad requests in the AdMob network tripled over the past 12 months from 1.6 billion in September 2007 to 5.1 billion in September 2008. This growth is widely distributed with 34 countries sending more than 10 million requests in September 2008, compared to only 16 countries in September 2007.

* In the US, 16 of the current Top 20 devices are new from September 2007. These new devices, such as the Samsung Instinct and Apple iPhone, deliver an improved mobile web browsing experience including larger screen sizes, faster network connections, and other enhanced capabilities. However, the Motorola RAZR and KRZR are still the top two handsets in the United States today.

* Worldwide, the Apple iPhone is now the number 4 handset after the Motorola RAZR, Nokia N70, and Motorola KRZR. There were 103 million requests from iPhones worldwide in September 2008.

InGameNow iPhone App Ready for Beta Testing!

We've been hard at work on the InGameNow iPhone Application and got great assistance from a collection of beta testers. We have just released the 99% complete first version of the app (a couple changes coming) and are ready for full beta testing. So if you are an avid sports fan and an iPhone user, please email me directly for beta access. The application should be available in iTunes shortly (knock on wood).

Core components of the app:

- Live integration with InGameNow: seamless posting and pulling - Automatic scores / posts updates - Dashboard of games that are "InGameNow" (screen shot below) - Full schedule and browse accessibility by league and team - Ability to set and monitor favorite teams

InGameNow Sports iPhone App Coming - Beta Testers?

We are very close to making a public launch of the InGameNow iPhone App - delivering real-time scores, news and interaction to your iPhone. If you are a sports fan and an avid iPhone user - we'd love to have you beta test the InGameNow App before it officially hits iTunes.

Please email me directly or leave a comment if you are interested in beta testing the App. Here's a screenshot to whet your appetite:

The other exciting news is InGameNow's growth - which is marching towards 200,000 monthly uniques. We believe that the iPhone App will significantly change the way that fans are able to stay connected on multiple devices: computer, mobile and chat.

How to Conserve Battery on iPhone 3G: Fetch Rather Than Push

I spent the last few days in Las Vegas at the BlogWorld convention and was certain that my iPhone wouldn't make it into the afternoons (after all, that is the norm considering how frequently I use it). In an effort to conserve its battery, I made one simple switch: I turned "push mail" off.

While this may be obvious to others... that one change kept my phone running without charge the entire day (and with plenty of juice remaining). Yesterday I really put it to the test with regular Safari usage (trying to keep tab on some NFL games that I had a 'vested interest' in).

To extend battery life, most people switch off 3G (which kills the phone's usability) and location awareness. In a bind, I would much rather run on 3G and get email alerts every 15 minutes or on request.