Rebecca Day

DirecTV subscribers with LG webOS smart TVs will have access to streaming 4K and HD content without a dedicated set-top box in LG TVs that are DirecTV Ready, LG said. The models are the first LG TVs certified for the RVU Alliance based on its testing criteria, said an LG spokeswoman. On whether the company will make the free webOS firmware upgrades standard policy, she said “it’s certainly something that we’re evaluating" and the company is pleased with the response it has received from consumers. Among the performance improvements in the webOS update, LG added a My Channels section that allows users to customize their favorite live TV or set-top box channels on the launch bar for quick access. Improved quick settings are said to minimize distraction from content as vertical buttons on the right side of the screen are activated when the Magic Remote cursor passes over them, the company said Tuesday. Input selection is a Quick Menu option in the updated software, giving faster access to more inputs, it said. LG’s webOS update also includes additional streaming content apps from iHeartRadio and Rdio, the company said. Some of its Ultra HD TVs are recommended by Netflix.

Amazon, Cisco, Google, Intel, Microsoft, Mozilla and Netflix are among founding members of the Alliance for Open Media. The alliance was announced Tuesday with a charter to pool resources to build a next-generation royalty-free video codec. The initial focus is to deliver a video format that is interoperable and open; optimized for the Web; scalable to any modern device at any bandwidth; designed with a low computational footprint and optimized for hardware; capable of consistent, highest quality, real-time video delivery; and flexible for both commercial and noncommercial content, including user-generated content, it said.

The UHD Alliance (UHDA) said consumer-driven testing will be part of the parameters leading to premium quality specifications for the Ultra HD ecosystem. “Our consumer testing is designed to help us confirm the possible combinations of features that collectively will help usher in a new era of in-home entertainment,” UHDA President Hanno Basse said in a news release. The alliance is also developing certification/compliance and logo programs. Current activities are focused on hardware and packaged and streamed content, and the alliance expects to turn next to specifications and certification/compliance programs for content distributed via broadcast, satellite and cable, UHDA said Monday. “Getting the right combination of resolution, dynamic range, colour and audio across broadcast, streaming and packaged media is essential for a step change in quality experiences,” Simon Gauntlett, chief technology officer of Europe’s Digital Television Group (DTG), said in the news release. “Wide industry collaboration is the only way to achieve this and to ensure that consumers have clear information.” Membership in UHDA has reached about 30 companies since its formation in January and includes Hollywood studios and consumer electronics companies representing the majority of the 4K Ultra HD TV market, developers of enabling technology and content distribution players. “The global Ultra HD ecosystem is poised for strong growth over the next several years,” said Paul Erickson, IHS Technology senior analyst.

The debut of Apple Watch catapulted Apple into second place in wearables shipment volume and market share in Q2, said IDC. Apple shipped 3.6 million watches in Q2, 19.9 percent of the worldwide wearables market, said the research firm Thursday. Market leader Fitbit shipped 4.4 million units, losing roughly 6 percentage points in market share, but it had 159 percent growth during the quarter, said IDC. Total wearables shipment volume for the quarter was 18.1 million units, up 223 percent jump from Q2 2014, it said. "Anytime Apple enters a new market, not only does it draw attention to itself, but to the market as a whole," said Ramon Llamas, research manager-wearables at IDC. Apple's arrival in the category had the greatest impact on smart wearables capable of running third-party apps, said Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst.

The smartphone is the most vulnerable link in the IoT, and it’s the device consumers think the least about protecting, Gary Davis, Intel Security chief consumer security evangelist, told us after a keynote speech last week on security here in Las Vegas at the Wearable Tech Expo. As the connecting point for smart home, car and wearables data, the smartphone is constantly building a profile that a hacker can exploit for nefarious purposes, said Davis. Wearables, which send information to a smartphone, are constantly collecting users’ information on location, physical activity, physiological statistics, consumption, medical symptoms, bodily functions and mental health, said Davis. "Being able to synthesize all that data is why I believe it’s the weakest link.” People he called bad actors can access smartphone data from various Internet connections including Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, said Davis, who advised the audience to shut off antennas when not being used. He said people should install security software, use full-device encryption and use only trusted app stores.

A day after AT&T announced an expanded partnership with Voxx (see 1508250057) for a subscription-based two-way vehicle protection service, Verizon Telematics revealed availability of its own aftermarket version, now called "Verizon hum." Verizon unveiled hum under the name Verizon Vehicle at the North American International Auto Show in January as a self-installable service delivering diagnostic information and “peace of mind.”

LAS VEGAS -- Executives at two companies at opposite IoT ends viewed companies’ liability in the connected home in starkly different ways during a panel at the IoT Evolution Expo Tuesday. The disparity underscored some of the vulnerability and confusion in the nascent market that were cited multiple times during panels on the smart home at the conference.

LAS VEGAS -- IoT industry participants should focus less on numbers -- whether market potential is 20 billion or 26 billion connected devices -- and more on how to accelerate adoption, analysts said at IoT Evolution Expo Tuesday.

Universal Electronics is banking on the home security category to pave its way into the smart home market with an acquisition of Ecolink Intelligent Technology. UEI said Thursday it agreed to buy Ecolink, its 25 issued and pending patents “and other related intellectual property and assets used in its smart home, wireless security and home automation business” for $12.4 million. On an earnings call last week, UEI CEO Paul Arling cited the prominent role security systems are playing in the transition to the smart home, saying most sensors and security panels can be easily accessed and controlled with a mobile device. He cited Parks Associates research estimating 14 percent of professionally monitored security systems in U.S. last year were installed by cable and telephone companies. He also cited ABI Research pegging the global home safety, security and connected device market at $4 billion in 2019, up from $1.4 billion this year. Arling said the acquisition would enable UEI to deliver to its subscription broadcast customers -- cable, satellite and IPTV providers -- smart home features. UEI already was working with customers on adding security features and developed a relationship with Ecolink. The new services are being implemented with major players, and they’ll roll out beginning in January with varying delivery schedules over 2016, Arling said. The expansion to the smart home from set-top boxes and remote controls is facilitated by the IP infrastructures UEI customers have in place in connected set-tops, cable modems and routers, Arling said. Smart home and security features are being implemented through the entire architecture, said Arling. The set-top boxes have a “flavor of ZigBee,” he said, referring to RF4CD that’s embedded in UEI remotes. Major broadcast service providers and CE companies are moving beyond infrared-only technologies to also include two-way RF protocols including Bluetooth Low Energy, RF4CE and Wi-Fi, “which enable a broader array of advanced features,” said Arling. An example is Comcast’s Xfinity Voice remote that uses UEI’s control technology to allow viewers to change channels, find shows and get recommendations by voice commands, he said.

Vendors shipped 337 million smartphones worldwide in Q2, up 12 percent from the year-ago quarter, a preliminary report from IDC said. Robust growth in emerging markets drove Q2 shipments past Q1, which IDC called an “above average first quarter." Mobile phone shipments, including smartphones, totaled 465 million, a 0.4 percent slip from the 466 million units shipped in the year-ago quarter, IDC said Thursday. Apple and Samsung continue to lead the smartphone market, but the segment is becoming increasingly competitive on new entrants, analyst Melissa Chau said. Samsung held the lead in the worldwide smartphone market with 22 percent share, but was the only company among the top five with a shipment decline year over year, IDC said. Second-place Apple, with 14.1 percent market share, saw iPhone shipments jump 34.9 percent to 47.5 million, IDC said. The iPhone again dominated in China in Q2, IDC said, with rapid expansion of 4G networks in China driving momentum for Apple in the Asia/Pacific region. Tuesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company is growing quickly in China, citing IDC estimates of a 1.9 billion smartphone unit market in 2019 (see 1507220052).