Tag Archives: amzn

Amazon Tablet Market Share Surges, Thanks To Its Low-Cost Slates

Amazon.com ( AMZN ) jumped to No. 3 in the global tablet market during the fourth quarter, thanks to its lineup of low-cost slates, led by the $50 Fire tablet. In Q4, Amazon shipped 5 million tablets, accounting for 11.5% of the total market. In the year-earlier quarter, Amazon shipped just 1.5 million tablets, accounting for 2.9% of the market, ABI Research reported Monday. Amazon’s tablet shipments soared 233% in Q4 vs. Q4 2014. “Unlike other tablet manufacturers, Amazon views hardware as a commodity and emphasizes focus on its recurring digital content revenue stream, generated from selling digital books, music, TV and video programming to owners of its devices,” ABI analyst Jeff Orr said in a statement . “The incredibly low pricing of the Fire Tablet is a smart and strategic move, as few others can afford to accept a lower margin on their tablet devices in favor of driving a surplus of content-related revenues.” When Amazon launched its cheap tablets last fall, the average vendor selling price for tablets was $323, ABI said. Apple ( AAPL ) maintained its lead in the tablet market in Q4, shipping 16.1 million iPads, or 37.2% of the total market. A year earlier, Apple claimed 41.2% of the tablet market. Apple’s iPad shipments fell 24.8% year over year. Samsung placed second with 9 million tablets shipped in Q4, making up 20.8% of tablet shipments. That’s down from 21.4% market share in Q4 2014. On a year-over-year basis, Samsung’s tablet shipments fell 18.9%. Overall tablet shipments fell 16.6% to 43.3 million units in Q4, ABI said. So far, the leading tablet vendors haven’t followed Amazon by drastically lowering their tablet prices. “Most tablet vendors continue to take a wait-and-see approach to Amazon’s Fire Tablet release,” Orr said. “It’s a path only few can follow, as vendors without content distribution rights and value-added services can only rely on the transaction price of their hardware to stay in business. “For instance, LeEco, formerly LeTV, in China is attempting a similar model. Conversely, content owners may find value in broadening their ecosystems by striking relationships with tablet vendors to get their programming in front of more users.” RELATED: Apple iPad Sales Falling Twice As Fast As Overall Tablet Market .

Sony Takes Internet TV Service PlayStation Vue Nationwide

Hoping to attract cable TV cord-cutters and cord-nevers, Sony ( SNE ) on Monday took its Internet-based PlayStation Vue service nationwide. Sony launched its live and on-demand TV service in March 2015 in test markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco and Miami. PlayStation Vue offers “skinny TV” bundles of channels starting at $29.99 a month, with no long-term contracts or hidden fees. It competes with a similar online service from Dish Network ( DISH ) called Sling TV. PlayStation Vue boasts that it offers the most popular channels, including AMC, CNN, Discovery, Disney and ESPN. However, content from ABC, FOX ( FOX ) and NBC is available for now only as on-demand content in Vue’s Slim multichannel plans. Most on-demand content will be available within 24 hours after broadcast. CBS ( CBS ) programming will be added later, Sony said in a press release . Sony Network Entertainment International (SNEI) said that it is working to add live local broadcast stations across all networks. Vue offers three service plans. Access Slim has over 55 channels and costs $29.99 a month; Core Slim has over 70 channels for $34.99 a month; and Elite Slim has over 100 channels for $44.99 a month. The Vue service is accessible through Sony’s PlayStation 3 and 4 game consoles, Amazon.com ( AMZN ) Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, as well as the Apple ( AAPL ) iPad and iPhone with the Vue mobile app. “Since launching a year ago, our priority with PlayStation Vue has been to secure the best TV content for our audience and make it available to consumers nationwide; today, we’re delivering on that promise,” Eric Lempel, senior vice president of marketing and head of SNEI’s PlayStation Network Americas, said in a statement. “PlayStation Vue has been an ambitious project from the start, and national expansion demonstrates our ability to innovate in an industry that’s overdue for a reinvented experience. “Thanks to the strong network relationships we’ve forged and technology we’ve built, consumers nationwide can enjoy a better way to watch TV.” Sony PlayStation Vue has program deals with AMC Networks ( AMCX ), CBS, Discovery Communications ( DISCA ), Disney ( DIS )/ABC Television Group, ESPN, Fox, NBCUniversal, Scripps Networks Interactive ( SNI ), Turner Broadcasting and Viacom ( VIAB ). Vue also offers customers a cloud-based DVR, which allows users to store thousands of hours of content with conflict-free recording.

Netflix Backing Could Pump Up Google Cloud Vs. Amazon.com AWS

Could video streamer Netflix ( NFLX ) give Alphabet ’s ( GOOGL ) Google a boost in its cloud computing war vs. Amazon Web Services? Morgan Stanley speculates that may the case when Netflix pops up at Google’s cloud computing user conference slated for March 23-24. While Netflix is a customer of AWS, part of e-commerce giant Amazon.com ( AMZN ), it also uses Google’s IaaS (infrastructure-as-a-service) platform. “Non-Google guest speakers at the conference include Snapchat, Spotify . . . and Netflix,” Brian Nowak, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, wrote in a research report.  “ Snapchat and Spotify are current Google Cloud users. While Netflix is a large AWS client, we believe Netflix uses Google Cloud for back-up storage. “Any endorsement and/or further Google Cloud adoption from Netflix would (help) Google Cloud establish its credibility as a competitor to AWS.” AWS is the biggest cloud services provider — where customers rent computer servers and data storage systems via the Internet — followed by Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Google. Goldman Sachs recently speculated that Google could announce price cuts at the user conference, where the new boss of Google’s cloud business, Diane Greene, will make her debut. Greene is the founder and former CEO of VMware ( VMW ), whose virtualization software is a staple in cloud data centers. One question for Alphabet shareholders, says Nowak, is whether Google’s capital spending on cloud infrastructure — data centers packed with servers and communications gear — will increase. “We expect (industry) cloud-related data center spending to grow 18% in 2016, up from 15% in 2015, and Google is a key driver, contributing one-fifth of the acceleration,” Nowak wrote. Image provided by Shutterstock .