Motorola said that its newly re-envisioned Razr led its increases in total phone shipments and revenue in the fourth quarter. But considering Moto’s vastly reduced market share, those increases didn’t lead to much.

Motorola shipped only 5.3 million smartphones and 200,000 tablets in the fourth quarter. In comparison, Apple shipped 37 million iPhones and 15.4 million iPads in the same period.

Total device shipments were 10.5 million for the quarter, while for the year, the total was 42.5 million, including 18.7 million smartphones and 1 million tablets. Like other Android smartphone makers not named Samsung, Motorola continues to feel the pressure of a very crowded and competitive market.

As Om wrote earlier this month, the market is fracturing between two smartphone giants – Apple and Samsung — making it harder for any vendor without a distinguishing operating system to catch up. Nokia is hoping it can become just that challenger by embracing the upstart Windows Phone OS. Its Lumina Lumia Windows device sales were about 1 million for the fourth quarter, but the company has only begun to ramp its new smartphone line.

Despite a five-percent boost in device revenues, Motorola posted a loss of million, which the vendor attributed to reorganization and write-off costs in advance of its acquisition by Google. Whether Google plans to use its considerably resources to revive the ailing vendor or plans to simply reap its patent portfolio is still an open question. Regardless, Motorola said it expects the .5 billion deal to close early this year.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Connected world: the consumer technology revolution
• In Q3, the Tablet and 4G Were the Big Stories
• Mobile Q3: the fight for OS domination continues

alt=''
border='0'
/>

GigaOM

Netflix may be getting out of the DVD business sooner that previously predicted, if Wednesday’s Q4 financial results are any indicator. The company now has close to twice as many streaming subscribers as DVD subscribers in the U.S., and it lost some 2.76 million DVD subscribers in the last quarter alone.

Netflix had 21.76 million subscribers at the end of Q4, which is 220,000 more than in the previous quarter. Internationally, it now has 1.86 million subscribers. The number of DVD subscribers shrunk to 11.17 million, down from 13.93 million in Q3. That means that for the first time ever, streaming plans outperform DVD rentals by a ratio of close to 2:1.

The good news for Netflix is that even with its steep decline in DVD rentals, the overall number of customers is growing again. Netflix lost 810,000 U.S. subscribers in Q3 as a result of its unsuccessful attempts to spin off the DVD business into a separate company, as well as a price hike earlier in 2011. In Q4, that combined  subscriber number once again grew by 610,000.

Netflix executives have long said that they see the company primarily as a streaming video provider, with DVDs being part of a legacy business that will decline over time. However, the accelerated rate of decline could spell trouble for Netflix’s bottom line: The company has been using the shrinking but very profitable DVD rentals to finance its international expansion, which it put on hold until international profitability returns after launching in the U.K. and Ireland in January. With DVD customers canceling by the millions, that could now be further away than previously estimated.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings wrote in a letter to shareholders (PDF) that he expects DVD subscription cancelations to level off this year, with an expected 1.5 million customers saying good-bye to the iconic red envelopes in Q1 of 2012. From the letter:

“While contribution profit from domestic streaming will grow sequentially, it will not be sufficient to offset the sequential decline in DVD profits (~ million), and the sequential increase in our international losses (~ million), as well as cover our global G&A and Technology & Development costs. As a result, we expect modest quarterly losses, as well as losses for the calendar year.”

In other words: Netflix won’t enter any other territories in 2012, and might have to work on making more money with streaming if it wants to keep expanding in the future. Because DVDs may not be around for much longer.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Q4 Wrap-up: SOPA and the future of digital content
• Connected Consumer 2012: A year of consolidation and integration
• Connected Consumer Q3: Netflix fumbles; Kindle Fire shines

alt=''
border='0'
/>

GigaOM

Remember those wicked holographic augmented reality glasses that DARPA was so hot to build? They’re almost here. Hiding out at Vuzix’s CES booth we found a functional prototype for its Smart Glasses industrial class monocular display — a special lens attached to a proprietary display driver that produces a bright, 1.4mm holographic picture for one of your peepers. Vuzix told us the lenses were the fruit of a DARPA project, and could allow soldiers involved in air-to-surface operations to track jets, check their ordinance and mark targets for destruction. The military / industrial monocle will go on sale in Q3 of 2012 for somewhere between 00-3000.

Want to look a little more, well, normal while you’re augmenting your reality? You’re covered — or at least you will be in 2013. Not only will Vuzix’s consumer facing smart glasses offer you the same holographic heads-up technology that’ll power its military bound brother, it’ll cost you a bundle less, too: between 0-600. The unit we saw wasn’t final, but were told the final unit will be able to accept connections over HDMI, and may even be capable of displaying stereoscopic 3D content — you know, in case the real world wasn’t real enough. Hopefully, we’ll be able to tell you those fit next year. Ready to see how you’ll be gussying up reality in the future? Hit the break for our hands-on video coverage.

Continue reading Vuzix augmented reality Smart Glasses prototype hands-on (video)

Vuzix augmented reality Smart Glasses prototype hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Jan 2012 21:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments
Engadget

Boxee released version 1.5 of its software for Windows, Mac and Linux users Monday – but at the same time announced that it is moving away from supporting computers for its platform. The latest version, which comes with a completely revamped UI, is up to par with the upcoming 1.5 version of the Boxee Box, safe for the availability of some of its most poplar apps. Though there will be some big exceptions: PC users won’t be able to access content from Netflix, Vudu and Pandora due to DRM restricitions.

Boxee has always had a difficult relationship with PC users – the platform originated on Mac computers, but Boxee moved towards CE devices with the release of its Boxee Box more than a year ago. The company promised back then that it would release an updated version for PCs as well, but this took longer than expected, which led to some disgruntled reactions from users.

Boxee VP of Marketing Andrew Kippen explained to me today that today’s release is a way to make good on this promise. But the accompanying blog post is also making it very clear that the company won’t be supporting this platform going forward: The new 1.5 release for PCs will only be available for download until the end of January.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• When video gets democratized, who wins and who loses?
• Connected world: the consumer technology revolution
• Connected Consumer Q3: Netflix fumbles; Kindle Fire shines

alt=''
border='0'
/>

GigaOM

We already knew that mobile advertisements perform better on larger screened devices and now there’s evidence of when the best time of the year is for these ad spots. If you guessed the year-end holiday season, you’d be right according to data from Mobclix, a Velti company.

The mobile advertising company notes huge jumps during the months of November and December, with more engagement in full screen ads. Among the other datapoints, ad impressions found in mobile software with the Samsung Galaxy Tab — not Apple’s iPad — accounted for the most mobile ads in tablet apps. That could be due to more iOS devs using iAds, but still: It’s a rare time the Tab is ahead of Apple’s successful tablet by any measure! This makes sense to a degree: Android app developers tend to rely on in-app ads for revenue vs. iOS developers who successfully generate revenues through app sales.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Will cloud computing push the BRIC market to the front?
• In Q3, the Tablet and 4G Were the Big Stories
• A clouded view of Google Music

alt=''
border='0'
/>

GigaOM

Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet, widely viewed as the only real challenger to Apple’s iPad is out in the wild. Some folks love it. Some hate it. But it goes without saying most are curious about it. Anyway for those who got the device have been putting it through the paces. Online video hosting platform company, Ooyala processes more than 1 billion analytics pings per day, reflecting the viewing behavior of over 100 million global unique users. It has used that data to put together this infographic to showcase what Kindle Fire owners are watching.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• What Amazon’s new Kindle line means for Apple, Netflix and online media
• Connected Consumer Q3: Netflix fumbles; Kindle Fire shines
• Disruptapalooza 2011: how Amazon’s Kindle is changing the portable media game

alt=''
border='0'
/>

GigaOM