It all comes down to the living room. The titans of tech have traded punches on PCs and are gaining ground in mobile, but the ultimate battle will take place inside the TV.
And why not? The TV is really just a full-blown monitor. With so many people wrapping up their days by spending their leisure time consuming prime-time programming, it was just a matter of time before the quest for eyeballs came to the battle to end all battles in your living room.
So let's look at how the biggest players in tech are jockeying for position to be at the heart of your home's heart.
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT ) �
The Xbox 360 isn't just about gaming, and that became apparent during last month's Xbox One media event, when the entire first half of the presentation was devoted to the new console's streaming and computing benefits. Game demos followed during the latter half of the reveal.
When the Xbox One hits the market in time for this year's holiday shopping season, buyers will be able to seamlessly shift from games to live TV to Internet Explorer.
Top High Dividend Companies To Own In Right Now: Amazon.com Inc.(AMZN)
Amazon.com, Inc. operates as an online retailer in North America and internationally. It operates retail Web sites, including amazon.com and amazon.ca. The company serves consumers through its retail Web sites and focuses on selection, price, and convenience. It also offers programs that enable sellers to sell their products on its Web sites, and their own branded Web sites. In addition, the company serves developer customers through Amazon Web Services, which provides access to technology infrastructure that developers can use to enable virtually various type of business. Further, it manufactures and sells the Kindle e-reader. Additionally, the company provides fulfillment; miscellaneous marketing and promotional agreements, such as online advertising; and co-branded credit cards. Amazon.com, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Evan Niu, CFA]
Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL ) foray downmarket with the iPad Mini is a testament to how powerful this trend will be, particularly after Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN ) and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG ) proved that Steve Jobs was wrong when he said that 10-inch tablets are the perfect size. Even Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT ) won't be able to ignore smaller tablets, and is likely preparing a 7-inch Surface as we speak.
- [By Morgan Housel]
Jeff Bezos shows how Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN ) keeps good employees around:�
Pay to Quit is pretty simple. Once a year, we offer to pay our associates to quit. The first year the offer is made, it's for $2,000. Then it goes up one thousand dollars a year until it reaches $5,000. The headline on the offer is "Please Don't Take This Offer." We hope they don't take the offer; we want them to stay. Why do we make this offer? The goal is to encourage folks to take a moment and think about what they really want. In the long-run, an employee staying somewhere they don't want to be isn't healthy for the employee or the company.�
- [By Tamara Rutter]
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN ) inked a multi-year deal with Viacom (NASDAQ: VIAB ) on Tuesday that gives the e-tailer exclusive rights to hundreds of children's shows, including popular programs such as "Dora the Explorer" and "Blue's Clues." The deal gives Amazon an edge against Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX ) in the all-important children's content category. This comes after Netflix failed to renew its contract with Viacom last month in favor of more affordable offerings from Disney.
- [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]
AP/Tim Sharp There were plenty of winners and losers this week, with the leading online retailer introducing a smartphone and a former gold mine of a for-profit educator warning that it may have to drop out of school. Here's a rundown of the week's best and worst in the business world. YouTube -- Loser Billboard is reporting that Google's (GOOG) popular video-sharing website may be about to pull videos from a raft of indie bands. We're not talking about pirated tracks that were uploaded to the site illegally. These are the videos posted by legitimately by the musicians and their labels -- and they account for 10 percent of the music that YouTube has rights to feature. Seems that YouTube is getting ready to finally introduce a music subscription service, and if it hasn't been able to strike a music streaming deal with an artist, it doesn't want to give folks an incentive to sidestep its brand-new premium platform and just stream tracks for free off the site. This could get hairy: The list of indie artists at risk includes some biggies like Adele, Arctic Monkeys, and Vampire Weekend. Amazon.com (AMZN) -- Winner As expected, Amazon dove headfirst into the smartphone market on Wednesday with the debut of the Fire smartphone. The leading online retailer's hoping to raise the bar with features including unlimited photo storage, Firefly media identification, Mayday video support, and Dynamic Perspective that uses four cameras to provide a cutting-edge display that adapts to where the viewer's face is at any time. As a cherry on top, Amazon is offering Fire buyers 12 months of Amazon Prime for a limited time. Folks already paying for Prime -- and there are now tens of millions of them -- will get 12 months tacked on to their current memberships. That's a $99 value, making the device more affordable (and considering that Amazon priced it at about what an iPhone 5s goes for, some form of discount is a wise idea), but it also connects the owner directly into Amazon
Top 5 Internet Companies To Own For 2014: Symantec Corporation(SYMC)
Symantec Corporation provides security, storage, and systems management solutions internationally. The company?s Consumer segment delivers Internet security, PC tune-up, and online backup solutions and services to individual users and home offices. Its Security and Compliance segment provides solutions for endpoint security and management, compliance, messaging management, data loss prevention, encryption, and authentication services to large, medium, and small-sized businesses, as well as offers solutions through its software-as-a-service (SaaS) security offerings. This segment?s products enable customers to secure, provision, and remotely manage their laptops, PCs, mobile devices, and servers. The company?s Storage and Server Management segment provides storage and server management, backup, archiving, and data protection solutions across heterogeneous storage and server platforms, as well as solutions delivered through its SaaS offerings to large, medium, and small-s ized businesses. Symantec?s Services segment offers implementation services and solutions, including consulting, business critical services, education, and managed security services. The company also provides various enterprise support offerings, such as annual maintenance support contracts, including content, upgrades, and technical support. It sells its products through its eCommerce platform, as well as through distributors, direct marketers, Internet-based resellers, system builders, ISPs, and retail locations worldwide. Symantec markets and sells its products through distributors, retailers, direct marketers, Internet-based resellers, original equipment manufacturers, system builders, and Internet service providers; and its e-commerce channels, as well as direct sales force, value-added and large account resellers, and system integrators. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Shauna O'Brien]
On Thursday, Morgan Stanley reported that it has downgraded security and storage management company Symantec Corporation (SYMC).
Morgan Stanley has cut its rating on SYMC to an “Equal Weight.” Analysts believe that the company lacks near term catalysts.
Symantec shares were down 55 cents, or 2.18%, during pre-market trading Thursday. The stock is up 34% YTD.
- [By Amanda Alix]
Of course, banks can't know when an attack is merely disruptive, and when it may be covering for criminal activity. Security company Symantec (NASDAQ: SYMC ) has commented that these assaults have become a way for hackers to distract banks while funds are illegally withdrawn. Though most of the thefts have occurred in Europe, where attacks have progressed from website outages to actual bank heists, at least one U.S. bank, Citigroup, disclosed some losses due to cyber thievery earlier this year.
- [By Tim Melvin]
The first "insider" stock to buy is Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC), one of the leading internet security providers in the world.
Symantec makes a wide range of products that help individuals and businesses keep their computers and mobile devices safe from viruses and malware. The stock recently dropped sharply after the company fell short of analysts' quarterly earnings expectations, but CEO Stephen Bennett clearly disagrees with the market's opinion of the company's prospects. He got out his checkbook and added 1,000,000 shares of stock for a total cost of more than $2.2 million. He now owns 488,000 shares of Symantec stock and clearly has high expectations for the future of Symantec's stock price.
Top 5 Internet Companies To Own For 2014: IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI)
IAC/InterActiveCorp engages in the Internet business in the United States and internationally. The company�s Search segment develops, markets, and distributes various downloadable toolbars; provides search, reference, and content services through its destination search and other Websites, including Ask.com and Dictionary.com; and aggregates and integrates local advertising and content for distribution to publishers on Web and mobile platforms, as well as markets and distributes mobile applications through which it provides search and additional services. Its Match segment offers subscription-based and advertiser-supported online personals services through its Websites comprising Match.com, Chemistry.com, OurTime.com, BlackPeopleMeet.com, and OkCupid.com, as well as through mobile applications and Meetic-branded Websites. The company�s ServiceMagic segment offers Market Match service that matches consumers with service professionals; Exact Match service, which enables con sumers to review service professional profiles and select the service professional that meets their specific needs; and 1800Contractor.com, an online directory of service professionals. This segment also offers Website design and hosting services. Its Media and Other segment operates CollegeHumor.com, an online entertainment Website that targets young males; Vimeo, a Website on which users can upload, share, and view video; and Pronto.com, a comparison search engine. This segment also engages in the creation of video content for various distribution platforms; and operates as an Internet retailer of footwear and related apparel and accessories, as well as focuses on multimedia business. The company was formerly known as InterActiveCorp and changed its name to IAC/InterActiveCorp in July 2004. IAC/InterActiveCorp was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Eric Volkman]
Rhyu joins the company from IAC's (NASDAQ: IACI ) Match.com, where he has filled the roles of both CFO and chief administrative officer since 2011. Previous to that, he was a senior vice president at News Corp's (NASDAQ: FOXA ) Dow Jones & Company. He also served as corporate controller for both Sirius XM Radio and GrafTech International (NYSE: GTI ) .
Top 5 Internet Companies To Own For 2014: Google Inc.(GOOG)
Google Inc. maintains an index of Web sites and other online content for users, advertisers, and Google network members and other content providers. It offers AdWords, an auction-based advertising program; AdSense program, which enables Web sites that are part of the Google Network to deliver ads from its AdWords advertisers; Google Display, a display advertising network that comprises the videos, text, images, and other interactive ads; DoubleClick Ad Exchange, a real-time auction marketplace for the trading of display ad space; and YouTube that provides video, interactive, and other ad formats for advertisers. The company also provides Google Mobile that optimizes Google?s applications for mobile devices in browser and downloadable form; and enables advertisers to run search ad campaigns on mobile devices, as well as Google Local that provides local information on the Web; and Google Boost for small businesses to participate in the ads auction. In addition, it offers And roid, an open source mobile software platform; Google Chrome OS, an open source operating system; Google Chrome, a Web browser; Google TV, a platform for the consumers to use the television and the Internet on a single screen; and Google Books platform to discover, search, and consume content from printed books online. Further, the company provides Google Apps, a cloud computing suite of message and collaboration tools, which includes Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar, and Google Sites; Google Search Appliance that offers real-time search of business and intranet applications, and public Web sites; Google Site Search, a custom search engine; Google Commerce Search for online retail enterprises; Google Checkout to make online shopping and payments streamlined and secure; Google Maps Application Programming Interface; and Google Earth Enterprise, a firewall software solution for imagery and data visualization. Google Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Joe Tenebruso]
Google (NASDAQ: GOOG ) is currently my largest position in Tier 1, comprising more than 20% of the portfolio. As I see it, here are three of the major threats that Google is facing today.
- [By Andrew Tonner]
On the surface this seems slightly absurd. How could a market that began less than five years ago with�Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL ) introduction of the iPad in 2010 be approaching mass-market saturation? Fast forward to today and both�Apple�and�Google (NASDAQ: GOOG ) have carved out dominant portions of what's now become a truly global market.
- [By Jay Jenkins]
The future, as they say, is now. Equipped with a Google (NASDAQ: GOOG ) smartphone in your pocket and a MasterCard (NYSE: MA ) enabled cash register at your favorite store, you can purchase your weekly groceries without opening your wallet.
No comments:
Post a Comment