LAS VEGAS -- Though many industry watchers considered the wireless charging market to be Qi's when Apple chose that standard for the iPhone 8 and X (see 1709130040), startups told us at CES this month they have other ideas for the smart home and other consumer spaces. The technologies are low-power solutions lacking transmitter-receiver coil-to-coil contact requirements of the Qi specification.
Fossil Group will sell IP technology for smartwatches to Google for $40 million, it said Thursday. A portion of Fossil’s R&D team supporting the IP will join Google. A Fossil spokesperson emailed us Google is a longtime partner “and will continue to be." She said of the in-development IP involved, it's "not related to our current smartwatches.” Google in 2014 started Wear OS, for wearables to give people "the information and insights they need quickly, at a glance," a spokesperson emailed us. It continues to be about providing the smartwatch platform a "diverse portfolio of styles and price points," she said.
Chat agents for Verizon Wireless pitched the carrier’s six-month free offer for Apple Music Wednesday, after the company announced Tuesday subscribers to its Beyond Unlimited and Above Unlimited plans would get the streaming music service for free beginning Thursday. “The promotion we offer is not a free trial, you get Apple Music free for 6 months if you have an Unlimited plan,” a chat agent told us. The monthly cost went up to $9.99 monthly after six months. Tuesday, Verizon noted it had been offering six months of Apple Music free to Unlimited customers and “starting January 17, Apple Music will be included in Beyond Unlimited and Above Unlimited plans,” plus tax. Customers opting for the lowest of the three Unlimited plans -- Go Unlimited -- will still be offered the six-month free offer for Apple Music, going up to $10 monthly after the promo period. Prices for the three subscription plans start at $40 per month for Go Unlimited (480p streaming, unlimited talk and text), $50 for Beyond (720p streaming and 22 GB data) and $60 for Above (720p streaming and 75 GB data). With the added Apple Music feature, subscribers to the top two plans can download songs or access streams on iOS and Android smartphones, smartwatches, smart speakers, computers and car playback platforms, said Verizon. “In times of congestion, your data may be temporarily slower than other traffic (only after 22 GB per month on Beyond Unlimited and 75 GB per month on Above Unlimited).” A Verizon spokesman didn't comment on the disparity in messaging but said for Beyond and Above customers who are signed up for the six-month Apple Music offer, "no action is needed for the new offer."
Dolby Atmos content is stacking up, with DirecTV broadcasting select NBA games in the immersive audio format and adoption growing in gaming, Dougherty & Co.'s Steven Frankel wrote investors. He noted Samsung is the only remaining Dolby Vision "holdout" among major TV makers. Samsung says the HDR10+ global "ecosystem" had expanded to 45 "industry partners." Monday, the analyst cited the irony of Samsung’s surprise CES announcement (see 1901070033) for support of Apple’s iTunes on select TVs “with Apple being a high profile supporter of Dolby Vision.” The growing number of Dolby Vision titles offered by Apple won’t be playable on the Samsung TVs, which will see HDR10 versions instead, he said. Tuesday, Samsung didn't comment.
Smartphones originated 51 percent of holiday retail traffic, Adobe Analytics reported Tuesday. Some $126 billion was spent online, up 16.5 percent over the year-ago span, with smartphones accounting for 31 percent, up 34 percent. Overall retail grew 4.5 percent. Christmas Day was again the season's most smartphone-centric shopping day. Visits and spending were 6 and 8 percent higher on weekends for mobile users, and the biggest mobile shopping days were Black Friday ($2.2 billion) and Cyber Monday ($2.1 billion). Conversions on smartphones declined 9 percent vs. the first eight months of 2018. Smartphone shoppers bought 30 percent less often than desktop shoppers, costing retailers $15 billion in lost sales.
Wireless charging company Ossia worries about the impact of the government shutdown and its ability to secure timely FCC approval for its RF-based technology, an executive told us at CES Thursday in Las Vegas. Ossia announced a phone sleeve at the show combining Qi and RF wireless-charging-at-a-distance technology under its Cota brand. It showed a 2.4-GHz solution and is working on a 5.6-GHz version that could charge at distances up to 30 feet, both of which are awaiting FCC approval, said Chief Technology Officer Hatem Zeine. “We are working with the FCC very closely." With the shutdown, "we’re sort of waiting for things to happen, but we anticipate that this year will be the year that the FCC starts moving stuff.” Ossia announced at CES it's working with accessory maker Spigen on a charging case, which Zeine expects to reach the market in 2020. Ripple effects from the lengthening government closure could “stymie new product launches and even foil coveted Super Bowl advertising slots” for technology companies planning to begin marketing devices that haven’t received final approval through the FCC, warned Ronald Quirk, a Marashlian & Donahue attorney, in Law 360. A key FCC database is offline as part of the shutdown, meaning certification bodies authorized to work with product developers and labs can’t extend final authorization to new electronics (see 1901110017). Quirk cited a Tuesday tweet from FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel (see 1901080023): “The agency certifies every innovative mobile phone, television, and computer that emits radio frequency before they can head to market," said Rosenworcel. "Guess what is not happening during the shutdown?” Friday, she expanded on that as she sought the shutdown's end.
LAS VEGAS -- The 8K Association (8KA) nonprofit formed to address concerns of the 8K ecosystem (see 1901090026) is banking on over-the-top video as its content source, said Executive Director Chris Chinnock at a CES news conference. “OTT will drive the adoption of 8K, so we’re going to be reaching out to those key players to see what they’re going to need to see,” said Chinnock Wednesday, “and see what we can do to encourage the development of all the components.”
3D, as much a buzzword at CES nearly a decade ago as artificial intelligence and 5G today, is attempting a revival by way of Philadelphia-based Stream TV Networks. The company is planning 16 million-pixel panels -- between 4K and 8K resolution. It’s looking at a North American launch under the SeeCube brand in 2020, Duncan Humphreys, head of broadcast, told us. It's banking on the library of available 3D content, and through a relationship with William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, it's looking to partner with studios and content owners to deliver media. Watching TV is a shared experience that wearing glasses interfered with, Humphreys said, saying SeeCube doesn’t involve glasses and promises a group-friendly 140-degree viewing angle. He said 3D tablets and smartphones may come next.
TCL announced the first 8K Roku TV, a 75-inch screen size in its 6-Series TVs, that it's joining a related association and that it's working on smart speakers, Monday at CES in Las Vegas. The company will work with voice assistant companies including Amazon and Google, said Aaron Dew, director-product development, North America. An update for 5-Series and 6-Series TCL Roku TVs will bring Dolby Vision gaming compatibility with Xbox 1X and 1S game consoles. TCL became the first TV brand to confirm it’s joining the fledgling 8K Association as a founding member, said Dew. The association, which launches officially at a Wednesday afternoon CES news conference, says its charter will be to promote 8K consumer adoption.
DTS, Imax Enhanced and MediaTek will collaborate on an SoS system incorporating a streaming codec for 4K Imax Enhanced movies for delivery in second half 2019, they said Tuesday. TVs with DTS:X are compatible with any DTS content connected to the TV from HDMI, USB and over-the-top streaming services, said the Xperi subsidiary. The DTS:X system for TV has been adopted in the Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) spec for Europe, said the company at CES in Las Vegas.