S&P Issues 12 Internet Predictions for 2012

Calling the Internet one of the most dynamic, interesting, and seemingly unpredictable areas within global economies and markets, the technology equity analysts at S&P Capital IQ have published their Internet predictions for the next twelve months. 

“We are always keen to produce our yearly Internet predictions,” said Scott Kessler, S&P Capital IQ Equity Analyst, Tech sector Group Head at S&P Capital IQ. “We try to identify key themes, trends, companies, and stocks to help frame thinking and opinions about this important segment.”

Following are twelve Internet predictions for 2012 from equity analysts at S&P Capital IQ. 

1. Yahoo will finally take action to sell some or all of its investments in Alibaba Group and Yahoo Japan, and may see its shares rise to about $20 in 2012.

2. More Chinese Internet companies, such as Alibaba, to pursue growth outside of China. Alibaba will look to increase its focus on, and presence in, the U.S. 

3. Google will experience further legal and regulatory problems in the U.S. and around the world, and foresee the potential for over $1 billion in fines and penalties. 

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4. Along those lines, S&P analysts don’t expect Google to be able to close on its planned purchase of Motorola Mobility until mid-year at the earliest.  There’s a small chance the company won’t consummate the transaction.

IBM Used Cloud to Know Mobile Shopping Trends

Mobile Shopping Trends

The U.S. online retail sector delivered 7.5 percent growth in December 2011 compared to the same period last year, according to cloud-based analytics findings by IBM. Its findings follow a strong November where both Black Friday 2011 and Cyber Monday 2011 delivered double-digit growth over 2010.

Delivered as part of IBM’s Smarter Commerce initiative, the IBM Benchmark December holiday report reveals the following trends:

December 2011 Compared to December 2010 (year/year)

Consumer Spending Increases: Online sales were up 7.5 percent over 2010.

Mobile Traffic: 14.6 percent of all online sessions on a retailer’s site were initiated from a mobile device, more than double the rate of 5.6 percent over this same period in 2010. 

Mobile Sales: Sales from mobile devices doubled, reaching 11 percent versus 5.5 percent in December 2010.

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The Apple Shopper: Apple’s iPhone and iPad ranked one and two for mobile device retail traffic (5.2 percent and 4.3 percent respectively). Android was third at 4.1 percent. Collectively iPhone and iPad accounted for 9.5 percent over the course of the month.

The iPad Factor: Shoppers using the iPad also continued to drive more retail purchases than any other device with conversion rates reaching 6.3 percent compared to 3.1 percent for all mobile devices.

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Online Retail Categories

Department stores continued to offer an array of compelling deals and promotions that caught the attention of consumers. As a result, department stores online sales were up 18 percent over December 2010.

Home goods also reported a 15.6 percent increase in sales over December with consumers continuing to shift their attention toward the home.

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Apparel sales were strong last month realizing an increase of 16.3 percent over 2010.

Health and Beauty consumers continued to show a desire to pamper themselves over the holiday with December sales increasing by 16 percent year over year, according to IBM.

“This past December consumers remained committed to finding the best online deals whether through their PC or mobile device,” said John Squire, chief strategy officer, IBM Smarter Commerce.

“By employing a smarter approach to commerce, many retailers were successful in helping to connect their customers with the best deals from anywhere and at any time, even on Christmas Day where online shopping grew by 16.4 percent over 2010.”

These holiday season findings, released Tuesday, Jan. 10, are based on data from IBM Benchmark, an analytics-based, peer-level benchmarking solution that measures online marketing results, including real-time sales data from the web sites of more than 500 leading U.S. retailers.

 

Nokia and AT&T Introduce Nokia Lumia 900

Nokia Lumia 900

At the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Nokia and AT&T announced the Nokia Lumia 900, the first of Nokia’s Windows Phone-based range to feature high-speed LTE connectivity. 

With Nokia’s largest display, the Nokia Lumia 900 delivers a rich content experience from a phone that still fits easily in your hand, says the company.

Coming exclusively to AT&T in the coming months in cyan and matte black, the Nokia Lumia 900 has a 4.3-inch AMOLED ClearBlack Display for rich, bright images both indoors and out, faster connection speeds based on cutting-edge 4G LTE technology, and a long-lasting 1830 mAH battery for enjoying content all day.

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The primary camera includes Nokia’s exclusive Carl Zeiss optics, with large aperture (F2.2) and wide angle focal length (28mm) for high-quality, uncropped images even in low-light conditions.

In addition, the Nokia Lumia 900 includes a front-facing camera boasting a large aperture and a wide angle lens that ensures sharp, bright images for high-quality video calling, right out of the box.

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Nokia’s third Lumia smartphone, the Nokia Lumia 900 builds on Lumia’s design on the outside and a rich social and Internet experience on the inside. People Hub is the quickest way to connect with friends with Live Tiles for real-time updates and a fast Web browsing experience with Internet Explorer Mobile, according to the company.

Mirasol Display Technology for e-Readers in China

Mirasol Display Technology

Qualcomm MEMS Technologies Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, and The Shanghai Nutshell Electronic Co., Ltd, a subsidiary of Shanda Networking Co., Ltd, China’s leading interactive digital content provider, have announced the first e-reader featuring mirasol display technology, the Bambook Sunflower, to be commercially available in China in the coming weeks.

With the Bambook Sunflower, Shanghai Nutshell introduces the Chinese consumer to a new category of interactive e-reader that delivers a touch display, vibrant color even in bright sunlight and weeks of reading under typical usage.

“With the Bambook Sunflower e-reader, Shanghai Nutshell and Shanda have raised consumer expectations for digital reading, both in terms of color content and an interactive user experience,” said Clarence Chui, senior vice president and general manager of Qualcomm MEMS Technologies, Inc. “Our mirasol display enriches users’ experience of Shanda’s content without sacrificing battery life.”

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The Bambook e-reader includes access to Shanda’s expansive content distribution portfolio, which includes millions of books, magazines and comics. Additionally, interactive content and social features enable users to share favorite passages with friends or send feedback to the authors.

How to Use iPhone as a Gaming Device

The Ben Heck Show

Element14, a collaborative community and electronics store, and modding guru Ben Heck pay homage to the 2012 CES International tradeshow in the latest episode of the “The Ben Heck Show.” This week’s modding project features an Apple iPhone that Ben morphs into an enhanced hand-held gaming tool. It was announced Jan. 9.

“CES starts today, and I couldn’t think of a more fitting project than one that combines my love for video games with a device that many consumers are extremely passionate about,” said Ben. “Sure, the iPhone is a great device for game play already, but I wanted to take it to the next level for the ultimate mobile gaming enthusiast.”

To implement video gaming capabilities onto the smaller-footed iPhone, Ben first deconstructs an iCade system that enables gaming on an Apple iPad to integrate a scaled-down version of the circuitry.

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Then, by connecting a PodBreakout board to a simulated battery, Ben borrows voltage from the iPad to enable the Bluetooth required to power the iPhone for mobile gaming purposes.

Lenovo Going from PC to Personal Cloud

Lenovo

Lenovo, a leading PC company, is flexing its muscle at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show and beyond, to create a seamless digital experience for its customers across multiple devices, be it PCs, tablets, smartphones or Smart TVs.

Lenovo recently unveiled its “Personal Cloud” vision, marking the transformation of the company from a “personal computer” manufacturer to a “personal cloud solution” provider that integrates hardware, software and cloud computing together.

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The company’s direction is evident in a variety of new products, including the IdeaTab S2, Smartphone S2 and K91 smart TV.

“Lenovo is breaking down the barriers of device differentiation and weaving together hardware, software and cloud services that are connected, experiential and dynamic,” said Liu Jun, senior vice president and president, Mobile Internet and Digital Home business group.

“We understand our users need more than just the traditional keyboard and screen for a truly satisfying digital experience. Our Personal Cloud vision integrates all devices, from tablets to TVs, for a comprehensive mobile Internet experience anytime, anywhere.”

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Thinner than its predecessors, the IdeaTab S2 10-inch is just one-third of an inch thin and, at a feather-light 1.1lbs, is one of the lightest 10-inch tablets available today, claims the company.

What Moms Do with Their Mobiles

What Moms Do with Their Mobiles

A survey commissioned by CTIA-The Wireless Association and using Qualtrics, revealed surprising responses from U.S. women about how they are using wireless technology, choosing their devices, replacing traditional communication tools with mobile and how wireless technology is allowing families to spend more time together and to be better connected.

The results, which were obtained by surveying 1,005 women, were released Friday, Jan. 6, and show a pronounced shift to mobile from such communication modes as landlines and desktop computers, and a substantial favoring of wireless technology for a wide array of family activities and interactions.

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When asked if the respondents were either primarily responsible or involved in making decisions on wireless devices and/or services for their family, more than 94 percent said yes. More than 74 percent of these women also paid their families’ monthly wireless service bills.                            

Since these women play a leading role in deciding their families’ wireless technology purchases, CTIA asked what the most important factors were when they chose their mobile devices.

Tech Leaders to Support Data Privacy Day

Data Privacy Day

The National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), a non-profit public-private partnership focused on cybersecurity awareness and education for all digital citizens, announced Thursday that official sponsors Intel, eBay Inc. and partner sponsors Microsoft, Intuit, Comcast and NQ Mobile (formerly NetQin Mobile) will support Data Privacy Day 2012.

Coordinated and led by the NCSA, Data Privacy Day is an international celebration that promotes privacy awareness and education across the United States, Canada, Council of Europe member countries, and a host of other countries across the globe.

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The annual international awareness initiative focuses on educating people about the importance of protecting the privacy of personal information and promotes individual control over private data.

Since 2008, Data Privacy Day has continued to thrive through the support and participation of major international corporations and new organizations are joining the list of participating organizations for 2012 every day, said NCSA.

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Data Privacy Day began in Europe in 2007 and continues to be celebrated in more than 30 countries as Data Protection Day. The United States and Canada joined the celebration in 2008.

Since 2009, the U.S. Senate has recognized Jan. 28 as National Data Privacy Day in the United States. In 2009, the National Association of Attorneys General recognized Data Privacy Day, and numerous state governors recognize Data Privacy Day annually. 

Over the past four years, Data Privacy Day has grown significantly and has been celebrated by at least one entity in the following areas: India, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Australia, the Philippines, and Hong Kong.

Information about Data Privacy Day can be found at http://www.staysafeonline.org/dpd.

Facebook Attacks Feed Fraudulent Marketing Sites

A new study reveals that affiliate marketing sites are the final destination in three-fourths of all Facebook deceptions. Visitors to these sites are induced to fill out surveys that generate affiliate payments for the scammers, victimizing legitimate businesses that pay affiliate fees.

Commtouch, which provides cloud-based Internet security services, has published an in-depth analysis of 2011 Facebook attacks within its Internet Threats Trend Report, a year-end synopsis of Internet threats.

The report released Wednesday, Dec. 28, presents an analysis of scores of malicious Facebook activities during the past year, as identified by Commtouch Labs.

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Users are induced to click on the scams through social engineering tactics such as free merchandise offers, celebrity news, new (fake) Facebook applications, or simply a trusted friend sending a message stating: “You have to see this!”

After users first click on the scams, malware or malicious scripts are to blame for the further spread of slightly over half the analyzed scams, with those falling into three main categories: likejacking, rogue applications, and malware or “self-XSS,” each of which is described in the report.

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In 48% of the cases, it says, unwitting users themselves are responsible for distributing the undesirable content by clicking on “like” or “share” buttons.

“Facebook scammers are out to make money, and affiliate marketing is a rich source,” said Amir Lev, Commtouch’s chief technology officer. “The same social engineering techniques that malware distributors and spammers have been using for years to induce people to open their unwanted mail or click on malicious links are being leveraged within Facebook and other popular social networks for ill-gotten gains.”

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Besides Facebook threats, the report discusses Web threats, phishing, malware, and spam throughout the year. The content of the report, according to the company, is based on data from Commtouch’s GlobalView Network, which tracks and analyzes billions of Internet transactions daily.

The trend report describes the explosion of email-borne malware in the third quarter of 2011 to the highest levels observed in over two years, followed by its subsequent drop to earlier low levels during the fourth quarter. 

While emails with attached malware subsided to a mere trickle, email messages with malware links hosted on compromised Web sites increased significantly, using themes like pizza delivery notifications and airline itineraries to trick recipients into clicking on the malicious links.

EA Unveils Cover Athletes for Grand Slam Tennis 2

EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis 2

Electronic Arts (EA) has announced that tennis stars John McEnroe, Novak Djokovic and Maria Sharapova will grace the global cover of EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis 2, available in stores worldwide by Feb. 10, 2012, and in North America on Feb. 14, 2012.

McEnroe, one of the sport’s most recognizable figures, is exclusive to the EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis franchise. Djokovic and Sharapova hold seven Grand Slam tournament singles titles between them, and Djokovic currently holds the ATP Tour number one ranking.

Alongside the global talent is a roster of elite past and present players from around the world that will adorn regional packaging.

They include John McEnroe, Novak Djokovic, Maria Sharapova (Global), Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal (France), Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Maria Sharapova (Spain), and Roger Federer, Boris Becker, Maria Sharapova (Germany).

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The title will be available for the first time in HD, on the Xbox 360 videogame and entertainment system and PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system, including support of the PlayStation Move controller.

Players can experience the authentic thrill of serving up aces on Wimbledon’s prestigious Centre Court, hitting cross-court winners on the clay courts of the French Open, playing under the bright lights at the U.S. Open or working on their serve and volley game at the Australian Open.

EA Sports is one of the leading sports entertainment brands in the world, with top-selling videogame franchises, interactive technology, global videogame competitions and digital experiences. Electronic Arts is a leading global company offering digital interactive entertainment.