Best links - week 1

By Paulina Modlitb... on 2010-01-07

A random mix of things we have read and liked this past week.

Amazon e-book sales overtake print for first time

Yet again, Amazon reports record-breaking Kindle sales. This time, it is said that e-book sales overtake print for the first time and more than 500,000 Kindle e-readers may have been sold over Christmas, reports the Guardian.

Netflix Modifies Business Model As Online Movies Advance (via @jonas_o)

According to Brand Channel, Netflix, the largest DVD rental-by-mail service in the US, is now approaching movie studios directly to gain access to digital versions of films.

The year of the paywall

The Economist summons the newspaper paywall trend and predicts the future by claiming that 2010 will be the year when "newspapers will try to persuade online readers to pay".

MMS Årsrapport 2009 (Swedish, via @mattiasfyrenius)

MMS has released their annual TV consumer trend report. This year, for the first time in several years, the overall TV consumption/reach in Sweden is increasing. TV consumers in all age segments except 3-14 and 25-39 years are watching more TV. 15-24-year-olds have increased their TV consumption the most; +12% (from 89 to 100 minutes per day) since last year.

Rumor Mill: Apple Tablet Will Be Unveiled This Month, Sold in March For $1,000

PopSci, among others, is reporting that Apple's long-rumored tablet will ship in March for around $1,000, with a formal announcement coming from the company at a January 27th event. The original source is WSJ.

Ebay mobile sees 750,000 daily users (via @Squace)

In a recent nnouncement, Ebay claims to be attracting some 750,000 global daily unique users to its mobile services. All in all, Ebay saw more than $500m worth of transactions via its mobile website and iPhone app in 2009, writes New Media Age.

Nokia: We will match Apple, RIM

In a recent interview Nokia's new mobile chief, Rick Simonson revealed that Nokia plans to compete with RIM and Apple by "making its e-mail platform more appealing, while increasing the value of its software through extras, like music and entertainment". Critics say that this statement, more than anything, shows that Nokia is losing its grip. cNet News has the full story.

The Apparatgeist calls (via @jonascarlsson)

The Economist offers an interesting article on cell phones from a cultural perspective.

Google And Spotify Dance Over U.S. Launch

According to TechCrunch, Google are willing to help Spotify launch their music service in the US by covering the label costs for every user of $3 - $4 per month.

Twitter Is Said to Be Profitable After Making Search Agreements

Bloomberg reports that Twitter will make about $25 million from the Internet-search deals with Google and Microsoft announced in October; enough money to push the company into profitability.

Financial Times Content/Charging Revs To Overtake Print Ad Revs This Year

"Cover price rises, a growing online subscriber base and corporate clients will help the Financial Times' content revenues overtake print advertising revenues for the first time this year", writes paidContent; all according to the FT Group chief executive, John Ridding.

Fildelningen har halverats på två år (Swedish)

A study conducted by Procera Networks, suggests that file sharing in Sweden has decreased from 74% to 38% of all internet data traffic in just two years, whereas streaming has grown from 5% to 26%.

The Real Reason Google Is Getting Into The Mobile Business

The Business Insider explains why they think Google is going mobile, the main reason being that Google wants to "take control over the way you buy mobile phones - the device and the service - disrupting the entire mobile industry in the process".

First 3D Television Channel to Launch in the U.S. in 2010

According to Mashable, 2010 may well be the year of 3D TV (and cinema). On the same note, Gizmodo and the Guardian report that ESPN, Discovery, Imax, and Sony are planning to launch a 24-hour 3D TV channel in 2011.

2010: The Year of the Tablet(via @mattiasfyrenius)

NYT Bits believe that 2010 will be the year of the tablet. So does Media Bistro.

Others are a bit more skeptic.

The media's future is written not in gloom and doom, but shades of grey (via @ronnestam)

"Television, newspapers and radio can be sure of only one thing in the next decade: their future is far from certain", writes Peter Preston in the Guardian, and lists 12 phenomena that will make the upcoming media decade more complex to navigate and succeed in.

Does the Brain Like E-Books?

In a three month old article, NY Times interviews five experts/scientists regarding the eBook reading experience. Is there a difference in the way the brain takes in or absorbs information when it is presented electronically versus on paper? Does the reading experience change, from retention to comprehension, depending on the medium?

The philosophy behind the Guardian iPhone app (via @moorej)

Web designer Jonathon Moore describes the Guardian iPhone app design process.

The 50 most intriguing games of 2010: part one

The Guardian's Games blog lists the 50 most intriguing games of the upcoming year. Part two can be found here.

List of 2010 prediction lists: