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Amazon to sell AT&T’s Net phone service

ATT is seriously going for it… pushing TV and Direct Mail (I’ve gotten at least 3 kits) hard, and working the retail channel now as well.

The partnerships underscore the importance of VoIP in AT&T’s long-term plans. The phone giant recently said it would stop selling local voice services to new residential customers because of changes in regulatory law. At the same time, the company said it would aggressively market less-regulated VoIP services.

The company also has been pushing CallVantage through co-marketing programs with cable companies such as Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications. [CNET News.com]

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WB Is Lobbying Political Junkies

I actually just saw a phone booth poster ad for this show and I have to say while I noticed it, the look of it was more Dawsons Creek than K-Street. I’m not sure how promoting this to reporters and to convention attenders is going to gain enough interest — especially with the intense distraction of the Convention itself. Political reporters don’t write for the TV pages…

The WB has a message for delegates at next week’s Republican National Convention: Vote McCallister.

In an unusual attempt to break through the barrage of advertising for the upcoming fall television season, the WB television network has launched a guerrilla marketing campaign for its new political drama “Jack & Bobby.”

The strategy is to create a cult following in political circles for the show — about the teenage McCallister brothers, one of whom grows up to be president — to serve as a core audience and create a groundswell of buzz, much like NBC’s “The West Wing” received five years ago, albeit without a similar marketing campaign.

Among the WB’s efforts: distributing DVDs of the show inside the White House and Capitol; organizing viewing parties at political rallies for local politicians; and blitzing the political conventions with fliers, placards and buttons. Next week, Republicans will get buttons that say “Bush 2004, McCallister 2040.” In one of the more unusual ideas, the WB is mailing boxes of M&Ms to TV pundits such as former White House press secretary Dee Dee Myers that are marked “President McCallister’s favorite candy.” Copies of the show were sent to the Days Inn that serves Crawford, Texas, in hopes that bored reporters would take a look. [WSJ.com]

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Vonage gets $105 million

Just caught this over at Om’s blog…

Vonage, in a bitter feud with AT&T’s CallVantage and other VoIP service providers raised a whopping $105 million Wednesday, bringing its total VC funding to $208 million. Incidentally that’s $8 million more than the amount earmarked by AT&T to promote its VoIP services. To fans of World Series of Poker, this will look like a master bluff. With around 240,000 customers Vonage for now seems to be the largest consumer VoIP provider. Using those metrics, venture capitalists have put a value of $867 per customer. Or about 29 months of premium package of $29.95 a month. [Om Malik on Broadband]

I hope Vonage does not push through with the $50-70 Million reported ad campaign. They’ve got the lowest brand recognition of any phone company and are quite small. It’s unlikely that they’ll be able to pull off a Michael Jordan-esque stunt like Worldcom did pre-MCI.

In my humble opinion, they’d be much better off continuing their online marketing assault coupled with some solid Direct Response thinking and execution across Direct Mail and possibly some DRTV. 50 – 70 Million though usually means brand campaign and given the marketing purse at ATT they’ll be working pretty hard to go uphill. Let ATT establish the category (even though Vonage was first, ATT is a bigger brand to the masses) and they track where the Call Vantage adds are running and quickly move in with some targeted messaging.

ATT was able to book some time during the Olympics for Call Vantage… The budget for Vonage won’t be able to go head to head in that way. Be smart and focused. Get that aquisition cost per customer down!

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Push RSS – Total Connectivity

As I mentioned previously Chatter Email is an amazing email application that allows for IMAP accounts to push and sync messages automatically on a Treo. (For now it only works on Treo, though might eventually work on an OS 5 device with bluetooth connectivity to a phone.)

Based on a post I just read and considered at Treo Central I discovered a way for RSS Feeds to automatically get pushed to your device as well. The best part is that this added functionality is free thanks to the amazing Info Aggregator, which I had also previously mentioned and actually used briefly as a way to read feeds. Info Aggregator is unique in that you can receive your feeds directly to an IMAP email account which is exactly what Chatter wants and needs in order to PUSH the feeds to you as things get updated.

First, head over to Info Aggregator and register to create a free account. You can then either manually add feeds you want to track or import an OPML file from another reader like Bloglines or NetNewsWire.

Next you need to create a new account in Chatter, which is actually called a New Folder Mailbox from the Box Menu (menu / New Folder Mailbox). Enter the settings you received from Blogstreet / Info Aggregator. You need to manually enter the server folder name as Inbox to get it to stick.

That’s it. Everything else is the same… You can set or deactivate alerts as you like and enjoy feeds and email pushing to your Treo as things happen. You are now fully connected.

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Banner Report

This is a cool potentially helpful site… it’d be great to be able to sort or search…

Tari Akpodiete has what might be called a mildly unnatural preoccupation with banner ads. For the last couple of years, she’s been copying just about every one she’s come across onto a website, and in the process has built what she believes is the largest collection of such ads in the world.

This month, the Toronto web designer decided to make that collection publicly available. And her site, Banner Report, has become at once a veritable banner ad museum and a tool where designers of new ads can investigate the countless styles that have been tried in the past. [Wired News]

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Michael Phelps is a class act

Just watching the Olympics and after the 100 Fly final heard that Michael Phelps has decided to pass his place to Ian Crocker, whom he touched out (.04) in the Fly final. Crocker is the world record holder, the guy who Michael has woken up to every day as motivation and he lets him go to do the final Medley Relay. Hearing him talk and seeing him interact with the other members of his team, you know he’s a together guy.

When Bob Costas asked him what his favorite race was in the Games so far he said he was not able to narrow it down, but after thinking a second declares that he was part of 3 races in which the US went 1-2. You’ve got to respect that.

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VW begging customers to buy Phaetons

When I initially heard that VW was going to make a run at the luxury car space as VW, I thought they were crazy, but they apparently wanted to show the world, “just how good a car they can make.” If I find some time, I’ll track that quote down… it was in Fortune or Forbes as I recall.

The Phaeton might be a really nice car, but it’s competing as VW against family member Audi, not too mention Mercedes, BMW, Lexus, Infiniti etc etc… They start at about 65,ooo and go upwards to 100K for the W12. Not exactly an easy market to try and shift up to…

It would be and has been much easier for companies like BMW and Mercedes to come through with solid entry level cars targeting the lower price points and this makes obvious sense as the premium brand is now more attainable… No one was looking to pay more for a less-premium brand.

Volkswagen has sold a mere 939 Phaetons in the first seven months of the large luxury sedan’s U.S. lifespan, and in order to get that number up over the millennium mark, they%u2019ve engineered a lease deal of $699 per month with a $5500 down payment. A 48-hour test drive is also available for the V8-engined, “Cabundantly equipped” flagship, but prospective customers are saying that if the Phaeton isn’t “abundantly equipped” with propellor or tristar badges, they aren’t buying it. [Autoblog]

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Hit and Run TV

Publicist and back up challenged Lizzie Grubman is getting her own reality show on MTV called PoweR Girls. Debuting in Spring 2005, the show will tag along Grubman and her team of celebu-snarkers as they sachet through Manhattan, LA, Hamptons and Miami nightlife in search of the latest Lohan boob sighting or Hilton beating. It will also give us a glimpse inside what is supposedly real work including paparazzi bashing, guest list fights, party crashing and office life. I want my MTV for this one! [Adrants]

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P2P Services in the Clear

Peer-to-peer file-sharing services Morpheus and Grokster are legal, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday. The decision is a blow for record labels and movie studios which sued the peer-to-peer operators claiming that the services should be held liable for the copyright infringement of their users. [Wired News]

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SlingBox Personal Broadcaster

The plan best include a solid legal team… I love the sound of this, but think the lawyers for the MPAA are going to freak out. Sounds awesome… let’s wish them luck!

If everything goes to plan, Sling Media, a San Francisco based start-up, at year end will begin selling the SlingBox Personal Broadcaster (MSRP $199), a device that plugs into a DVR, cable box, satellite receiver, or stereo at home and converts the analog stream into digital bits which can then be sent directly, in real-time, to any network PC or portable device (Laptop, PDA, cellphone, etc.) with a high-speed Internet connection. [eHomeUpgrade]

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First beta of Skype for Mac OS X

I am unfortunatley not one of the lucky ones… just yet.

The first external beta version of Skype Technologies’ free voice over IP (VoIP) software for Mac OS X has been distributed to a limited number of testers and is expected to reach public beta in the coming months. [AppleInsider | First beta of Skype for Mac OS X seeded to testers]

You might be saying, hey I already do voice with iChat, what’s the big deal? Well for starters Skype has a few tricks it can do like runs on a P2P network, encryption for your call security and can even link (through a paid service SkypeOut) make calls to phones rather than just other computers.

I’ve used it on the PC and it’s definitely cool… and the quality is excellent. We just need a better way to link all the buddy lists together. Too bad the tech is not integrated with other IM clients… perhaps in the future.

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PocketMac BlackBerry Edition

Mac based blackberry users just got a whole lot happier… This integrates throug hiSync and enables full 2-way sync.

La Jolla, CA–August 2004–Information Appliance Associates,
creators of the original Mac-to-Pocket-PC sync solution, announces
the new release of PocketMac Blackberry Edition, the first ever tool
to sync Mac users’ data with RIM BlackBerry handhelds.

“We’re incredibly excited,” said Terence Goggin, CTO of
Information Appliance Associates. “After 14 months of engineering and
testing, we’re proud to release this unique tool that for the first
time gives Mac users the ability to sync with BlackBerry handhelds.
What’s more, we’ve made sure no one’s left out — older serial-based
BlackBerry 957s can also fully sync as well.” [PocketMac]

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Those must be …Bad Idea Jeans

This week, two very interesting marketing experiments blew up in the faces of those who decided to launch…

First – Real launches a blog – Freedom of Music which was a valiant effort to stick it to Apple in order to open the iPod to support Harmony and the Real music store. Too bad they forgot most people don’t really like them from past marketing and crappy product efforts. With comments enabled, the blog was besiged by Apple Zealots. Comments had to be disabled and of course the efforts are now serioulsy hindered since everyone is talking about it. Good try, but not sure how any other result would have been reached based on history. The brand was nowhere near strong enough to demand the support of users, haters or a general public in a fight against something as strong as Apple’s…

Second… In support of the new Resident Evil game, someone at Capcom decides to (perhaps just approve the Agency’s decision to) spam mobile users with an SMS looking like a virus. I get the idea that it ties back to the game, but spam and virus??? hello….

It’s great to try and track with the trends, but don’t lose focus on basic common sense. Know the limits of the idea before it breaks and possibly breaks you.

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Flickr: Organizr

This is a great feature for a great service… which reminds me… I need to snap more moblog shots!

We’re pleased to introduce Organizr, the latest addition to the Flickr toolbox, to help you more easily store, sort, search and share your photos. Organizr is a powerful tool that enables you to quickly find and edit your photos, create sets and add your photos to group pools. Oh yeah – Organizr runs right in your browser. There’s nothing to install. [Flickr]

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Researchers find holes in XP SP2

I’m sure you are as surprised as I am…

Security researchers inspecting a new update to Microsoft Corp.’s Windows XP found two software flaws that could allow virus writers and malicious hackers to sidestep new security features in the operating system. [InfoWorld]

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HP taking pre-orders on their h6315 Pocket PC Phone

One of the unique features this phone has is what T-Mobile is calling e-mail triggers which send can smart a sms linked to the actual email in your inbox. It’s a slick sounding method of push email that you can control based on filters for your mail. Not all your messages will do this, unless of course you set it so.

The ship date supposedly isn’t until September 9th, which is a couple of weeks later than expected, but HP is taking pre-orders on their iPAQ h6315 Pocket PC Phone, the one with GSM/GPRS, WiFi, Bluetooth, a built-in VGA quality digital camera, a 3.5-inch LCD touchscreen, and a snap-on mini-keyboard. List price is $599.99, with T-Mobile as the service provider. [Engadget]

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Digitally Tracking Ads

Interesting piece in USA Today on a new standard for tracking TV ads as well as ads across other mediums… Seems to have good buy-in from both networks and advertisers.

The top four U.S. broadcast networks — CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox — have signed on to comply with a new 12-character code for tracking all advertising, a system heralded as a new standard for monitoring the $263 billion U.S. ad industry, the two advertising trade groups behind the system said.

Called Ad-ID, the technical switch is being compared to the introduction of the universal product code, or UPC — the tiny bar codes that 30 years ago changed the way supermarket chains tracked and delivered inventory across the country.

Ad-ID gives advertisers a centralized Web-based system that helps assign unique codes to their properties. More than 100 leading advertisers and other trade groups have endorsed the system. The compliance of top broadcast networks paves the way for making it a standard. [USATODAY.com]

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Joi Ito — Memory Lane

This is a nice interview with Joi Ito … great with the morning espresso.

Halley Suitt interviews entrepreneur and venture capitalist Joichi Ito about the way the web, cellular, social software and other technologies developed concurrently in the US and Japan from the 1980’s up to the present. [IT Conversations]

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palmOne SD WiFi Card

PalmInfocenter reviews the eagerly anticipated SD WiFI card… It would be nice if all SD capable devices (like the Treo) were also supported but I understand there are some device specific issues for each one to get it to work.

The new SD WiFi card from palmOne is a long overdue wireless accessory. The card enables the Tungsten T3 and Zire 72 handheld to connect to 802.11b/g WiFi networks though the secure digital expansion slot.

…

The SD WiFi card is now available for pre-order from palmOne.com for $129 USD. It will begin shipping and hit retail locations the week of Sept 3rd. [PalmInfocenter.com]

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Palm email just got a whole lot more interesting

If you use your Palm or Treo to do email you’ve probably run across SnapperMail which has been widely regarded as the best client for POP and in the current beta IMAP as well. The UI and support for many devices is great, but as anyone testing things out has noticed the price for IMAP, which is only available to Enterprise customers (though individuals can purchase, it’s just what they call it) who are willing to pay about $60.

VersaMail which is now owned and developed by PalmOne is a nice client and supports POP and IMAP, but only supports syncing the Inbox which might fall short for what many power users are looking for…

The Treo email client does some background tricks not available to users of other clients which make it attractive, but it only supports POP, not IMAP which many users (like me) prefer to manage status of messages read and replied (amongst other reasons) while on the go.

Chatter Email, formerly IMChatter is a new very serious contender in this space. The previous version would allow for email as well as IM alerts and conversations through more of an IM interface. Today’s beta release changes all that and I have to say it looks pretty killer for $25. In addition to becoming a richer email and IM client, you can get full background send and receive capabilities for your messaging needs! This is an amazing feat for the OS 5 devices and I have a feeling that Chatter will become extremely popular. Imagine turning the palm on and finding your new messages have conveniently already arrived.

The message view area is the only lacking bit in my book. It’s not as clean as the SnapperMail way, but background “push” capabilities override many details. Besides… I bet things will just get even better as today’s release shows.

Chatter Email is the first mail application for the Treo 600 that comes seriously close to matching the “Blackberry-like” push mail service. In fact, we believe it outperforms the Blackberry service because Chatter Email doesn’t rely on an additional server piece, though it does require the mail server to support IMAP. The second “killer feature” is background synchronization, something that is available in the built-in Treo Mail but not in SnapperMail. Marc is definitely pushing the “multi-tasking” boundaries of OS5 by combining push mail with background synchronization. Finally, Chatter is priced at a one-time license fee of $25 and Marc has promised that this low price includes free upgrades for life! [mytreo.net]

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UPDATED 8/19

After a day or so of use and another beta release, I have some additional thoughts to share…

Chatter allows for a couple of cool tricks since it can run in the background. First, you can get a pop-up message with notification as well as the actual message a new mail comes through while in other applications. Making a call with your headset and a new message arrives… you can read and reply – FROM the phone screen. While it politely runs in the background, you can leave your Treo in Sleep mode and turn it on to find new messages waiting to be read and filed — in ALL your IMAP folders. You can sync up to 8 server side folders, which means if you have server side filtering running with Procmail, you can be notified on more specific messages.

My personal usage is to leave notification off, since I know mail will just appear as it comes in and so I just check my Treo when I want to read mail. This is really a great thing as my Treo no reconnects to the network as I pass through spaces that don’t have connectivity (subway in NY) and constantly polls for mail.

My experience is on Treo 600 running on T-Mobile. Usage may and I believe does vary of CDMA (Sprint and Verizon) networks based on hows tasks and as a result battery life is managed.