Mobile Insider is delivered first thing every morning exclusively to BI Intelligence subscribers.
SAMSUNG GALAXY S5 FREEBIES: Samsung has announced that all users who purchase a new Samsung Galaxy S5 when the phone hits the market in April will also get multiple long-term subscriptions and access to premium, paid apps. These include a one-year subscription to trainer app RunKeeper, six months of the Wall Street Journal, three-months access to a premium LinkedIn account, three months of access to note taking app Evernote, and three months of access to 1TB of storage on cloud storage site Bitcasa. Samsung will shell out about $500 per user by including these premium add-ons to every new Galaxy S5 purchase.
With sales at the top of the smartphone market slowing for the top vendors (Samsung and Apple), premium app and subscription add-ons could become the status quo. In general, hardware innovation is slowing but device durability and longevity is growing thanks to more frequent software updates by both Android and Apple. Because of this, premium handset users may be reticent to pay for a new device. CNET summed up this problem tangentially by commenting on the Galaxy S5's indistinguishable hardware, saying it "...doesn't have a radical new look and feel."But, by dangling add-ons that are worth more than the cost of a phone upgrade, Samsung may successfully influence its existing S3 and S4 users to upgrade faster than they otherwise would have. Already, in just three days, UK pre-orders for the Galaxy S5 are up 130% compared to pre-orders for last year's S4. (CNet, CNet UK)
FACEBOOK TO DELIVER DRONE INTERNET: Facebook is apparently in talks to buy Titan Aerospace, the maker of solar-powered drones that can fly for up to five years without ever landing, for $60 million. According to the report from TechCrunch, the purposes of the drones would be to provide Internet service in underserved regions. Facebook is the primary backer of the Internet.org effort which is working on making the Internet more widely available. The drones would be used to faciliate that effort. Recently, we wrote a report looking at the future of the commercial drone market. While commercial drones face some extremely tough regulation hurdles, many more will soon take to the air. (TechCrunch)
STREAMING SNAFU: ABC's attempt at an Oscar's live stream proved extremely difficult, with an outage occurring during the airing of the awards show on Sunday night. Demand for the live stream was there, but ABC was unable to handle this kind of capacity. Sunday night's broadcast was the first time the awards show was streamed, though it was only available via the Watch ABC app for customers with compatible cable TV subscriptions. These restrictions also confused many potential viewers who were left unable to watch the stream. ""I think I spent a half-hour to 45 minutes trying to get in," said one Oscars viewer to the Wall Street Journal, who ultimately watched an unauthorized stream from his computer. (Wall Street Journal)
XBOX LIVE ON MOBILE: The Verge is reporting that Microsoft is working hard on a way to make its Xbox Live online gaming more functional across platforms, specifically on iOS and Android. The end goal in this development is to bring more gaming app developers to Microsoft. Xbox Live on mobile would compete directly with Apple's Game Center and the Google Play Games service. (The Verge)
APPLE CARPLAY: Apple now has a full-blown preview page for its upcoming CarPlay connected car service, and Apple has detailed the small selection of third-party apps that will work with CarPlay. For now, those only include music streamers Spotify, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, and Beats Radio. That leaves many third-party apps out. For example, Google Maps will not be compatible with CarPlay for now. Should CarPlay succeed, it could boost Apple Maps' overall usage. (TechCrunch)
Volvo has released a YouTube video that demonstrates how the new Apple CarPlay in-dash connected service will work in its cars. Beyond the video, Volvo also offered some other tidbits about the inner-workings of CarPlay and vehicle and device compatibility. CarPlay will be compatible with the iPhone 5 and above via a cable, but in the future Volvo expects Wi-Fi connectivity, which will open up compatibility to more legacy devices like the iPhone 4S. (TechCrunch)
iPHONE 5C ON TUMBLR: Apple has started an advertising campaign directly on Tumblr specifically for its somewhat maligned iPhone 5C device. Tumblr is hosting a series of 15-second videos that showcase the different colors available on the 5C model. For now, the iPhone 5C has not sold well. But, Tumblr is well-liked and used heavily by teens, so Apple may be looking toward this demographic to boost sales. (9 To 5 Mac)
INTEL TO BUY WEARABLE MAKER BASIS: Reports are circulating that Intel will acquire Basis, a maker of health-oriented wearables gear, for about $100 million. (TechCrunch)
Here's what else BI Intelligence subscribers are reading …
For The First Time, Facebook Mobile Drives More Traffic To Websites Than The Desktop Version
Here's How Large The Opportunity Is For New 'Chip Card' Terminals Globally
Online Shoppers Say Low Prices And Free Shipping Are The Most Indispensable E-Commerce Services