On CE - For Dealers, Distributors and OEMs of Consumer Electronics throughout EMEA

What does a company with of $79 billion in sales last year (a 23% increase over the year before) really want?

Well, Samsung has a plan to push interactive advertisements from other companies through Samsung's phones and flat-screen TVs. Yes, Samsung Becomes A Content Network.

Samsung's new apps (similar to Apple's store for its iPhone) lets consumers stream content from the internet to–in Samsung's case–a web-connected TV. Millions of Samsung's ipTV owners now can access to 30 ad-free applications, such as Netflix and Blockbuster. By year-end more than 100 apps are supposed to be available.

Think of it as the world's largest digital signage network... ha, now you have the real idea! Why stop at just TV screens when you have monitors out there, too? And why stop at your own TVs and monitors if incremental screens add revenue?

TV makers think they can no longer profit just by offering features like sharper colours or brighter sound. Pricing power, as demonstrated by Apple, comes only from unique features or control over content. (And that's also why Sony is jumping in with Google on Smart TV, Google's web-accessible video search play.)

Analysts even think Samsung may purchase an ad network (or, like NEC, start one). This would bring in lots of ad money from marketers who appreciate a screen 25X the size of iPhone's.

Once the TV makers came to the conclusion they had to take in TV apps to compete, it was a simple jump of business logic to conclude you could create a two-way higway and also push out content– at a profit!

Go Samsung and Ad Networks

On the eve of E3 in USA, some game publishers think retail fails to support boxed PC games. By refusing to stock certain games (and moving PC titles to the back of the store), retail encouarges publishers towards digital distribution.

"Q1 2011 is my estimate as to when PC games will be sold completely via digital. I have seen the predictions that by 2013 more than 50% of our revenues will be earned digitally. But if the PC games market has to wait until 2013 then we are all in trouble," one game publisher told press.

But Andrew Gault, co-founder of Gaikai, says the cloud-gaming firm can provide a new, aggressive and effective online strategy for bricks and mortar retail empires.

Gault says, "Our service means that online game demos could redirect consumers straight to a retailer's online store.They could even redirect straight to a webpage with an in-store discount coupon, which the player would print out and take to a shop to buy the retail edition of the game."

"Retail sees how big digital distribution is getting, and they all want to be part of it – they all have web presence, and they all want to sell online now."

The Gaikai team showcased the service at E3.

Go Gaikai

DisplaySearch reports pocket projectors will grow from 500,000 ($117m in revenues) in 2009 to 142m units ($13.9 billion) in 2018, a 70% CAGR for revenues and 88% in units.

"There were over 130 new pocket projector models released in the market in 2009, along with the first releases of embedded projectors into the market. Despite this, pocket projectors still face challenges of low brightness, short battery life and high price. Continuing progress in all the technologies surrounding pocket projectors will be needed to achieve the expected growth," notes Jennifer Colegrove, Director of Display Technologies.

Now stand-alone devices dominate the pocket projector market which will reach 45m units and $8.9 billion in 2018. DisplaySearch says embedded/dedicated projector shipments will surpass stand-alone by 2014 (as limitations in consumption, size, brightness and price improve). Embedded pocket projectors will reach 97m units, $5 billion in 2018.

Go Display Search on Pocket Projectors

More than 20% of flat panel TVs shipped in Europe this year will be able to connect to the internet, says Futuresource Consulting.

By the end of 2010, the installed base of connected TVs will increase to 15 million devices, nearly 10% of the total number of flat panel TVs in use.

The next step for manufacturers, says Futuresource, will be to add more compelling video services, including paid-for movie streaming that will create revenue-sharing opportunities with content owners, aggregators and application developers.

Futuresource expects "sophisticated services", including major catch-up TV services and VoD services, to offer greater competition to the premium subscriptions offered by Pay TV operators.

"In Europe, four of the major brands have already launched connected TV products that go beyond basic home networking functionality and allow delivery of over-the-top web services," says David Watkins, research consultant at Futuresource.

"… Although initially limited to high-end and mid-range products, we're going to see web connectivity feature on an increasing number of products next year, becoming standard within two to three years...

"...We expect content to be the next battleground and a key driver for connection and usage, particularly through interaction with social networking sites and access to recently released movies."

Go Connected TV & Blu-ray Market: W.Europe