Best links - week 7

Seesaw Internet TV Service Launches in UK (via @mattiasfyrenius)

BBC reports that the UK now has its own equivalent of Hulu. Seesaw recently launched its online TV service after less than a month of beta testing. The service offers 3,000 hours of archive and recent programs from the BBC, Channel 4 and Five.

Amazon's Share of the E-Book Market: From 90 Percent to 35 Percent in Five Years (via @hans_g)

According to Credit Suisse analyst Spencer Wang, the launches of Apple's iPad and the rumored Google tablet will cause Amazon's e-book market share to slip from 90% to 72% this year and to 35% by 2015.

BBC to Launch Free Mobile Apps

The BBC has announced a new range of free mobile applications, starting with BBC News in April. The BBC is also considering a mobile iPlayer application for release later in the year, writes the Guardian.

Facebook Drives 44 Percent Of Social Sharing On The Web

According to stats provided by Gigya, social traffic coming through Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace is beginning to overtake search traffic as the single biggest source of traffic. Facebook (44%) and Twitter (29%) dominate. 5 billion pieces of content are shared on Facebook every week. TechCrunch has the full story. Bonus: Edelman's Steve Rubel addresses the topic in his blog.

A Look At Wired's Tablet Application Project

Time Inc.'s Sports Illustrated was the first, then came Bonnier's Mag+. The latest magazine publisher to present its video prototype is Wired, which has been working closely with Adobe in producing a prototype based on the platform agnostic Adobe Air. Filio Mag takes a look at the video prototype.

The iPad Business Model for News: Strategies Publishers Must Embrace

"If publishers adopt their usual defensive stance and take a slow approach, they'll miss the iPad boat. Or the iPad rocketship, as the case may be", writes Marting Langevald in the Nieman Journalism Lab blog. John Einar Sandvand covers the same topic in his blog:  Apple iPad - great for journalism, but still tough to make money

Turf War at the New York Times: Who Will Control the iPad?

"There's a heated turf war going on inside the New York Times over the iPad, pitting print die-hards against people focused on the Times' digital future," reports Gawker/Valleywag and adds that: "the outcome will determine pricing for some marquee content on Apple's tablet". A follow up blog post can be found here.

The Reality of Freemium in SaaS (via @vonsydow)

Software as a Service (SaaS) consulting company 16 Ventures has published an interesting paper on the Freemium model, in which they state that Freemium isn't at all a business model, but a marketing tactic.

Sony to Launch Interactive TV Show for Gamers through Playstation

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is launching a high-definition interactive TV show for gamers, reports Media Week. The show, called First Play, will be available through Sony's Playstation 3 consoles, connected to the PlayStation Network and will contain previews of the latest games and access to exclusive downloadable content. There are six premium video advertising slots per episode and PS3 registered users will be able to buy a three-month subscription at £8.99, or purchase single episodes for 99p.

Nokia Chief: We Want to Be All Things to All Consumers Again

Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo tells the Guardian that the company's fightback is about much more than developing an iPhone killer: "We are going for the consumer market, we are going to the business market, we are going to the low end, we are going to the developing markets."

Changing Models: A Global Perspective on Paying for Content Online

In a recent survey, Nielsen asked 27,000 consumers across 52 countries whether they were willing to pay for online news and entertainment content they currently get for free. The answer is a definite "maybe." 85% of the respondents prefer that free content remain free.

Who's Playing Social Games?

According to a social online gaming study, commissioned by casual game-maker Popcap Games, the average social gamer is a 43-year-old woman. In addition, the study shows that females are more avid gamers; 38% of females said they play multiple times a day, but just 29% males said the same.

Google Launches Powerful Mobile Shopping App for Android

Mashable reports that Google just launched "Google Shopper," a new Android application that offers consumers a variety of ways to search for products. In addition to basic search functionality, users can search by voice, take a picture of cover art, or scan a bar code to get detailed product information and price comparison.

Windows Phone 7 Interface: Microsoft Has Out-Appled Apple

According to Gizmodo, Microsoft's new Windows Phone 7 feels like "an iPhone from the future".

Miscellaneous:

Music label Ghostly International's mood-based Ghostly Discovery iPhone application (via @chr)

If You Can't Attend paidContent 2010 ...

Today, February 19, PaidContent will be live-streaming their full-day conference: paidContent2010. The coverage starts at 8:15 a.m. EST.