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In a recent interview, Hulu CEO Jason Kilar told technology reporter Om Malik that his company was "very bullish" on mobile, even going so far as to say "we will embrace every device." That's a funny statement, considering that the company has been touting that same sentiment for years but has yet to launch anything for mobile, be it an app or simply a mobile-ready streaming site. Now, with the launch of the iPad just around the corner, the rumors of an iPhone/iPad Hulu app are rising up again. But there's a bigger mobile web than just the one accessible via Apple products, and that may be what Hulu has its eye on now. "We don't think about one device only," Kilar said. However, going mobile is going to be a challenge for Hulu. And it's not as simple as re-encoding a few videos, no matter what you may have heard. Sponsor Problem A: Hulu's Business Model Needs Work The fact that Hulu exists at all is somewhat of an amazement. Through tenuous connections with major studios, the collaborative, experimental effort to bring streaming TV to web (and make it profitable) has managed to attract a number of users in the U.S. Although the audience size varies widely depending on who's counting, the company has managed to become a household name thanks to eye-catching commercials on NBC featuring actors from the network's top shows. But there's a problem facing Hulu: in-video advertising is, apparently, not as profitable as once hoped. In fact, it's just too expensive , says Marc Ruxin, the Chief Innovation Officer for ad agency network McCann Worldgroup. Hulu has been aware of this problem, though, and has been hinting towards the launch of a subscription service , with News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch telling an investor conference last fall that the company, was looking at "adding subscription services and pay per view" options. Through the subscription model, Hulu could potentially generate enough revenue to keep the studios happy and maybe even encourage them to offer up more programming. Unfortunately, the subscription model has yet to launch and the profits from video ads have been far too lean for some Hulu participants. Recently, for example, Viacom pulled two of the top shows - The Daily Show and the Colbert Report - from the site, claiming that they simply weren't earning enough money via the advertising model currently in place. Viacom Inc. Chief Executive Officer Philippe Dauman said that "on the current economic model for Hulu, there's just not much in it for us to continue at this time." And so the situation degrades. So what is Hulu doing now? It's trying to attract more viewers to its site with the launch of " If I Can Dream ," an original series that premiered earlier this month. The fact that they're now making the foray into this sort of online programming is somewhat worrying. After all, if hit video webisodes alone made for a profitable service, then YouTube would have achieved profitability ages ago, instead of (maybe) getting there this year , five years post-launch. Let's face it, original programming is a bonus for Hulu users, but it's not going to take the place of hot shows like the now-departed Comedy Central fare. Problem B: Will Apple Allow a Hulu App on the iPhone/iPad? Another problem? Hulu has been planning to delay its iPhone app launch until a subscription model was in place, according to earlier reports . But with the biggest names pulling out, subscriptions could be a harder sell. Still, even if Hulu was able to make subscriptions happen, there are no guarantees that Apple would ever allow them into the iTunes store, especially considering they're offering a competing product. (See: Google Voice banishment from the iPhone , for example). Meanwhile, Hulu's online site doesn't work in the iPhone's web browser because it was built in Flash. If Apple rejects the Hulu app from iTunes, the company's other option is encoding all their site's content in H.264 and make that available via HTML5, the new web language that offers streaming video sans plugin. Since this has already been done, a Hulu app could launch a player on the iPhone or iPad, if, of course, Apple allowed them to do so. If not, then a mobile site would have to be built in HTML5 - video controls, overall UI, advertisements and all. That's no simple process. What's Hulu Doing Now? So is this the plan Hulu has decided on now? It's hard to know for sure. Like Apple, the company is incredibly secretive about their plans and product roadmap, often refusing to respond to calls and emails entirely, even to say "no comment." And yet, the Hulu iPhone app exists. We've spoken to someone who's seen it...but that was ages ago. For all we know, iPhone/iPad app plans have since been scrapped to work on a new solution that works around any potential Apple restrictions. But sources inside Hulu have clammed up lately, meaning they're either building something top, top secret...or perhaps nothing at all. We hope it's the former, because frankly, an iPad without Hulu is a sad, sad affair. But will we ever see a real app? At this point, we're not holding our breath. Discuss
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Hulu on the iPad? Not as Easy as it Sounds
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Phonebooth.com , a VOIP service for individuals and small businesses, just launched a free version of its service. Phonebooth, just like Google Voice and Ribbit Mobile , provides its users with a free local phone number that can be forwarded to any cell phone and landline. Phonebooth also offers voicemail transcriptions. What makes it stand out from it competitors, however, is that it offers an auto attendant feature that allows you to route callers to different employees. Sponsor It's worth noting that Bandwidth.com , the company behind Phonebooth, has been providing infrastructure services to other VOIP services, including Voxeo and Yext, for more than three years. The company's VOIP network delivered almost 4 billion minutes in 2009. Bandwidth began a beta test of the paid version of Phonebooth.com last year and now has over 1,000 customers. Features in Phonebooth's free version : Free local phone number for your business Includes an auto attendant (Press 1 for Sales, Press 2 for Support...etc.) Unlimited extensions for your employees or partners Read your voicemail, with VM-to-email & text transcription 200 free minutes of inbound calling (6¢ additional) Includes new Contact Us Plus feature A Free VOIP Service that Will Grow With You Starting today, Phonebooth will offer a free service geared towards individuals. The company also announced the general availability of its $20/month/user option, which offers a fully featured phone system in the cloud. One of the advantages of using Phonebooth over similar services like Google Voice or Grasshopper is that the company allows users to upgrade their phone system over time. Once your company outgrows Phonebooth's basic plan, you can easily switch to a higher-end phone system (Phonebooth on Demand) with hardware IP-based phones. Phonebooth's users will be able to choose local numbers from virtually everywhere in the U.S. (the service us U.S.). Sadly, though, there is no way to make your Phonebooth number appear on the caller ID for outgoing calls from your landline or cell phone. Phonebooth doesn't currently offer any mobile apps, though the company told us earlier today that mobile apps are definitely on Phonebooth's roadmap. Contact Plus Widget In addition to the free VOIP service, Phonebooth is also launching a new widget for small businesses - Contact Us Plus - that allows potential customers to use Phonebooth's VOIP service to initiate a call right from the website. In addition to initiating phone calls, the Phonebooth widget can also feature additional contact info (Twitter account, email etc.), as well as your address and a map. Phonebooth's users can also opt to show phone numbers for different departments in their company in the widget. Discuss
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Phonebooth Launches Free Google Voice Alternative for Startups and Small Businesses
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Steve Ballmer gave a live webcast today and said that Microsoft is betting its future on the cloud. He illustrated that by saying 70% of Microsoft's 40,000 employees are working on cloud related efforts. By next year, 90% of Microsoft employees will be working on cloud matters. Ballmer spoke at the Allen Center on the University of Washington campus. He outlined five ways Microsoft is embracing cloud computing. Sponsor These are broad, almost vague views on the market. But they do give some guidance to Microsoft's direction: The cloud creates opportunities and responsibilities. The cloud learns and helps you learn, decide and take action. The cloud enhances your social and professional interactions. The cloud wants smarter devices. The cloud drives server advances that drive the cloud. The discussion had its most interesting points in the last 30 minutes of the presentation when the talk turned to Microsoft's emphasis on software; maps and photos; Xbox and Windows Phone 7 Series. At one point, Ballmer said that all software will eventually be in the cloud. Is Microsoft taking risks? This statement would seem to show that perhaps the political base at Microsoft is shifting just a bit from the desktop. The maps, photos and Xbox demonstrations were captivating, showing the semantics of space in a cloud environment and how maps synthesize into 3D images. With Xbox, we were reminded of the Windows Phone 7 interface, with the use of what looks like hubs that are presented as tiles. In the demo, each tile represented a different live TV show that people can watch with their friends in a virtual, animated environment. The Cloud Wants Smart Devices: Not much in this except demonstrating Ballmer's belief in the "Internet of Things," where the cloud helps connect devices to undestand gestures, bringing together voice, touch, speech, all in one. It's the future of the smart device that appears to have had had such an influence on Windows Phone 7 Series. He pointed to the mistakes Microsoft made with Windows Mobile. It was too focused on voice. The future of Windows is in the cloud. That goes for the Windows operating system and Windows Phone 7 Series. A lot of people will say Microsoft is not in the game anymore. That notion can't be supported when you see Microsoft discussing realistic, intelligent views about the market and backing it with how the cloud applies to its products and services. Still, Microsoft is as guilty as anyone for hyping the cloud and further obfuscating what is meant by cloud computing. Really, Steve. Did you actually say "cloud in a box?" Discuss
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Steve Ballmer: Microsoft's Future Is in the Cloud
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There's a fine line between what is considered a knowledge database and an invasion of privacy, and that line is likely to be determined by marketing. This week we wrote an article about Please Rob Me - a service that identifies Foursquare and Gowalla check-ins on Twitter and lets others know that a person is not home. While location-based services are often touted for their social and recommendation-based benefits, the realization that they can be used negatively have many questioning the responsibility of those groups that collect the data. Sponsor In mid January Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg stated that the age of privacy had come to an end and we responded that evolving preferences were not a valid justification of the elimination of privacy preferences . Nevertheless, between cookie tracking and browser identifiers like those shown in the EFF's Panopticlick and the fact that it only takes your zip code, gender and birthdate to identify you, it's hard to ensure total privacy in the first place. If a startup were to put up a page simply to capture the information of your friends, all of of your daily habits, your location and your purchases, few would opt in. But as Last.fm's Felix Miller pointed out more than 4 years ago , you might do it for "myware". While spyware is undeniably a dubious thing, myware is the practice of spying on yourself for benefit. Last.fm's AudioScrobbler collects data on a user's listening habits, songs, tags, preferences and friends. That information is then used to update a database and an algorithm then calculates song recommendations. Across the Web that same system of opting into myware is used to target advertising, make shopping recommendations, deliver relevant news and provide customized services. But because this is marketed as a service, rather than a personal data grab, few mainstream users weigh the disadvantages to opting in until it's too late. Google Voice's transcription feature is a great way to take notes on your calls, but isn't it akin to opting into a wiretap? As startup entrepreneurs, what responsibility do we have to educate our users on the perils of opting in? And how can we do this without disrupting the virality of the service? Photo Credit: Rob Pongsajapan Discuss
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MyWare: Personalized Service or Invasion of Privacy?
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