AllThingsD » AsiaD

LivingSocial Experiments With Daily Deals, and It's Like a Virtual Club Med

Tricia Duryee — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 13:00:23 +0000

LivingSocial took the daily deals business offline four months ago when it opened the doors to a state-of-the art building in Washington, D.C., called 918 F Street.

In that short time, the venue has hosted 50 events, from a three-hour iPhone photography class that was followed by a round of beers, to ordinary yoga.

The experiment has represented a massive investment.

The historic building was meticulously remodeled to blend old exposed brick walls and antique chandeliers with modern accents like bamboo floors and large flat-screen TVs. (See the accompanying slideshow for a better look.)

While it’s too early to call the clubhouse a success, there are some signs that the concept is starting to pay off.

And if LivingSocial can replicate the venue across other cities, it could be able to distance itself not only from the stigma of the daily deals business, but also from Groupon, which despite being the category leader, has struggled as a public company.

In a presentation to the media earlier this month, LivingSocial’s co-founder and CEO Tim O’Shaughnessy said he wants LivingSocial to be to local commerce what Amazon is to online retailing and what Google is to search.

“In a three- to five-year timeframe, I want LivingSocial to be a tab that you keep open in your browser all day long,” O’Shaughnessy said. “We think that there has to be that integrated commerce platform for local commerce, and we really hope it’s LivingSocial.”

Productions

It’s still early days for 918 F Street, but LivingSocial has produced dozens of events there, and thousands of events elsewhere.

Packages have included zip-lining, wine tasting, beer festivals and small concert series. LivingSocial even once organized a summer camp for adults. Inside of 918 F Street, there’s a test kitchen for three dozen students, an art studio for painting classes and various empty rooms that can be set up for different events. A commercial kitchen allows chefs to host pop-up restaurants at the venue to try out new dishes or concepts — LivingSocial is there to fill the seats.

Sometimes the concepts are juvenile, perhaps, but when you mix in alcohol, as they usually do, it’s hard not to compare the place to a virtual Club Med, or a YMCA on steroids.

One benefit to producing its own events is that LivingSocial can solve one of the biggest problems in the daily deals space: Unique inventory. Too many providers are all selling the same stuff. By default, the F Street deals are all exclusives.

For example, a recent event called “Sumo, Sake and Sushi” sold out in 40 minutes.

Not only was it popular for consumers, but for merchants, too. The event was being used to help promote a new restaurant in town.

“When you own the experience, you can produce something great for your membership, and then you have the opportunity to bring in sponsors,” said Doug Miller, who is in charge of new business initiatives at LivingSocial.

So far, the approach is working.

The company says that 25,000 people from the D.C. area have already attended events in the four months the building has been open, and that 83 percent of the merchants had never worked with the company before — including using daily deals.

More validation

In research shared with AllThingsD, Yipit reports that the venue has generated roughly $1 million in gross billings since opening, and that the deals sold there were consistently double the gross billings of the average LivingSocial deal.

Furthermore, the researcher found that 918 F Street’s gross billings per deal have grown steadily — from $18,000 in February to more than $22,000 in May — and perhaps most surprisingly, it already accounts for 10 percent of LivingSocial’s D.C. business (even though it hosts fewer than 10 deals per month in the building).

O’Shaughnessy said the company is still fine-tuning the approach, but of the 50 different types of activities hosted at the venue, only two have not been profitable.

Additionally, he noted that people who participated in events at 918 F Street became more valuable customers, because they were more likely to spend with LivingSocial afterward, whether it’s to return for another event or to buy more vouchers.

Expansion plans

The company was reluctant to say if — or when — it would bring the concept to other markets, but maybe it won’t have to.

In May, LivingSocial announced a partnership with AEG, which owns and operates some of the most well-known venues across the U.S. Together, the two companies plan to co-produce events, by packaging regularly occurring events, like concerts or sports, with other activities or transportation.

If LivingSocial decides to go it alone and build replicas of 918 F Street, it will need additional capital.

As the second-largest daily deals provider in the U.S., LivingSocial has raised $600 million, and already has 5,000 employees. The company’s CFO, John Bax, said it does not need to raise more capital today, based on how it is currently configured.

A baby step away from Groupon

By becoming an entertainment and media brand, LivingSocial is distancing itself from the daily deals business, and from Groupon.

This is true for one main reason: Most of the deals that LivingSocial produces and hosts at the venue or elsewhere are not daily deals in the traditional sense of offering half-off the price — that’s because they are full price.

“Already it [full price] is a significant percentage of what we do. It will be a driver for a lot of what we do, but not the primary driver,” O’Shaughnessy said.

But LivingSocial is not just drifting away from Groupon. Groupon is also finding its own way in determining the future of the daily deals business.

While LivingSocial focuses on producing and curating events, Groupon is determined to become a technology company by building software, such as online calendar tools and payment technologies aimed at the local merchant.

LivingSocial says it also has plans to test out at least three concepts in the payments and loyalty space this summer, but it is not as interested in developing any hardware, and does not want to compete directly with payment processors.

With the two different approaches to the market, it’s anyone’s guess what the daily deals market will look like in three to five years.

Meet the New Sony CEO, Kaz Hirai (Video)

Kara Swisher — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:38:30 +0000

Sony said today that it had promoted the long-expected heir apparent, Kazuo Hirai, to take over as president and CEO of the consumer electronics giant.

The exec has most recently been leading Sony’s CE and video game units, which he talked about on stage at the AsiaD conference last fall.

You can see the new top dog in action, talking about a range of issues from mobile to media to gadgets in this video of the interview with Walt Mossberg at the event:

[ See post to watch video ]

Like Yahoo Founder, Like New Yahoo CEO: Data Is Now King?

Kara Swisher — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 18:39:02 +0000

I love talking points as much as the next person, but there’s a striking similarity between recent statements by Yahoo’s co-founder and former CEO Jerry Yang and its new CEO Scott Thompson, who was just hired after a stint running eBay’s PayPal unit.

It seems from the pair that the exploitation of Yahoo’s troves of data might take center stage from the “premier digital media company” moniker that the Silicon Valley Internet giant has been using of late.

Premier consumer data mining and usage company just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it? (And it’s also usually called Google!)

Here’s Yang from an interview with Walt Mossberg at our AsiaD conference in Hong Kong this past October (this is a liveblog with quotes and paraphrasing of quotes).

Q: As you look at what Yahoo could be, what are the one or two key areas that it could go after to truly transform itself?

Jerry: We’re really focused on trying to “turn Yahoo inside out.” We do a huge amount of services internally: Data, content, personalization. Lots of other people on the Web around the world could use that.

And, from my liveblogging, here’s Thompson last week on his aspirations, which were much less focused on Yahoo’s longtime — and, ahem, bill-paying — advertising business (which the new leader keeps saying he knows nothing about) than on exploiting its consumer data businesses (which he certainly does know about from running the online payments giant).

The data these Internet businesses create, the ability to use analytical technology to build a better businesses for your customers. … I feel certain that wealth of data is going to be exploitable for next generation products, next generation experiences. … My instinct says down in that data we’re going to be able to find ways to compete and innovate that the world hasn’t seen yet.

Data it is, then!

The iKnow-It-All: The Full AsiaD Demo (Video)

Kara Swisher — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 14:10:50 +0000

We are now posting the full videos from the recent AsiaD conference, which took place in Hong Kong in October.

We’re following the schedule of the actual event. Up now: iKnow, billed as a “personal learning assistant.”

That would be because it calculates an individualized study schedule based on a user’s learning and retention patterns. Now aimed at English-learners in Japan, there is more to come.

Watch the demo, especially if you want to know what “Swisher English” is:

[ See post to watch video ]

Nvidia’s Jen-Hsun Huang on Superman Quad-Core Chip, Microsoft and Apple: The Full AsiaD Interview (Video)

Kara Swisher — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 20:12:15 +0000

We are now posting the full videos from the recent AsiaD conference, which took place in Hong Kong in October.

We’re following the schedule of the actual event. Up now: Nvidia’s CEO Jen-Hsun Huang.

An early pioneer in graphics chips, the tech company is now aiming at the market for processors driving smartphones, tablets and, soon, PCs. Nvidia’s latest effort is a quad-core chip code named Kal-El, which is the Krypton moniker of Superman.

Is Huang the Man of Steel? Or, at least, can he steal some of major rival Qualcomm’s thunder?

Here’s the video of his onstage interview with Walt Mossberg:

[ See post to watch video ]

Huawei's John Roese on the Telecom Giant That Wants to Roar: The Full AsiaD Interview (Video)

Kara Swisher — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 21:08:50 +0000

We are now posting the full videos from the recent AsiaD conference, which took place in Hong Kong in October.

We’re following the schedule of the actual event. Up now: John Roese, head of Huawei’s North American R&D team.

While not as well known as others, the Chinese company is the world’s second-largest maker of telecommunications and networking gear. You might hear more about it soon, though, since Huawei aims to increase its annual revenue to more than $100 billion per year within the next decade, by expanding its business beyond communications service providers.

Roese is one of the execs charged with making it so by expanding in the U.S. and focusing on research.

Here’s his onstage interview with Ina Fried:

[ See post to watch video ]

Former VP and Apple Director Al Gore on Steve Jobs and More: The Full AsiaD Interview (Video)

Kara Swisher — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 19:53:47 +0000

We are now posting the full videos from the recent AsiaD conference, which took place in Hong Kong in October.

We’re following the schedule of the actual event. Up now: Al Gore, former Vice President, Nobel Prize winner, environmental activist, sometime VC, occasional entrepreneur and all-around busy dude.

Of course, Gore talked about a wide range of issues, from the legacy of Apple’s Steve Jobs (Gore is on the company’s board), to being an adviser to Google, to the “broken” U.S. political system, to alternative energy.

Here’s his onstage interview with Walt Mossberg:

[ See post to watch video ]

Peter Chernin on Hollywood, Asia Growth and Not Yahoo: The Full AsiaD Interview (Video)

Kara Swisher — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 22:34:20 +0000

We are now posting the full videos from the recent AsiaD conference, which took place in Hong Kong in October.

We’re following the schedule of the actual event. Up now: Hollywood mogul Peter Chernin.

The much-respected entertainment exec, who was the longtime president of News Corp. (which owns this Web site), now runs his own production company in Santa Monica, Calif.

Chernin Entertainment has had some big early successes, including the hit movie “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” and the adorkable television show “New Girl.”

But Chernin has always been much more Internet-curious than the average Hollywood mogul. He was deeply involved in the creation of the Hulu premium video service, and now serves on the board of the Pandora online music site. He’s also been giving the troubled situation at Yahoo a look-see with some private equity firms.

Chernin declined to talk about this deal in an onstage interview with Peter Kafka, but he does discuss the prospects for the old media world in the digital age, and the giant opportunities in Asia:

[ See post to watch video ]

Sony's Kazuo Hirai on Reviving the Iconic CE Brand and More: The Full AsiaD Interview (Video)

Kara Swisher — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 19:45:28 +0000

We are now posting the full videos from the recent AsiaD conference, which took place in Hong Kong in October.

We’ve been following the schedule of the actual event. Up now: Sony’s Kazuo Hirai.

Hirai is a key figure at the Japanese consumer electronics giant, which has been struggling to revive itself after dominance turned to years of decline; he is widely considered the second in line to CEO Howard Stringer.

In an onstage interview with Walt Mossberg, the elegant exec, who was a longtime gaming exec at Sony, talked about the next-generation (but delayed) Vita game player, smartphones and Sony’s first Google Android tablets, which are now launching.

Here’s the video:

[ See post to watch video ]

Google+'s Bradley Horowitz Talks Facebook, Social Networking and That Memo: The Full AsiaD Interview (Video)

Kara Swisher — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 19:39:10 +0000

We are now posting the full videos from the recent AsiaD conference, which took place in Hong Kong in October.

Over the next week or so, we’re going to follow the schedule of the actual event. Up now: Google+ exec Bradley Horowitz.

In an onstage interview with Peter Kafka, Horowitz talks about the progress being made in the search giant’s attempts to compete against social networking giant Facebook, the concept behind its organization and also the recent controversial internal memo by a Google engineer dissing the company.

Here’s the video:

[ See post to watch video ]

Alibaba and SoftBank Meet With Blackstone, as Promised Yahoo Investment Effort Proceeds

Kara Swisher — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 00:51:28 +0000

Alibaba CEO Jack Ma publicly promised in an onstage interview two weeks ago at our AsiaD conference in Hong Kong that his Chinese Internet company would start to meet with U.S. private equity firms to come up with possible ways to purchase Yahoo.

Now, as advertised loudly: Among the first stops, said several sources, was a meeting this week with Blackstone, a prominent New York investment firm that has been one of several large ones that have not signed a restrictive non-disclosure agreement with Yahoo.

The efforts to collect a possible investing group are being led by Alibaba CEO Jack Ma and the Chinese company’s CFO Joe Tsai, who are also working along with Japan’s SoftBank head Masa Son and its U.S. head Ron Fisher.

The group has been angling to hook up with one of several U.S.-based firms that has not signed the Yahoo NDA, in order to figure out a way to get back the huge and lucrative stakes the Silicon Valley Internet giant holds in both Asian companies.

Ma telegraphed this intent clearly at a speech at Stanford University last month and then later at AsiaD, saying:

“I think we still have not changed our mind, and we keep our strong interest on Yahoo. The thing is that we are waiting for the Yahoo board, and especially their independent directors, to tell us what exactly they want to do.”

At the time, Ma said he had limited patience, though, and would seek out other help if Yahoo did not want to play.

While it seems a little like a tail-wagging-the-dog effort, Yahoo’s Asian assets make up a lot of the value of the whole company right now.

This has emboldened Alibaba especially to try to position itself as a kingmaker in Yahoo’s current strategic review, which might include a sale of all or part of the company.

The importance of Yahoo’s Asian assets is quite true, but it’s a notion Yahoo is trying to block. In addition, it has also rejected several recent Alibaba efforts to buy back its stake.

Instead, Yahoo is considering not selling its Asian shares at all, while also getting key PE firms to throw in their lots with a company-controlled process around a variety of restructuring options.

Along with TPG Capital and KKR, Silver Lake agreed this week to the Yahoo NDA, which includes a no “cross-talk” provision among possible bidders.

That’s why Alibaba is seeking cash-rich partners who can talk to anyone they like, such as Blackstone. Interestingly, the firm knows a lot about Yahoo, having advised Microsoft on its failed takeover attempt several years ago.

Alibaba has also has been in touch with Bain Capital and Providence Equity Partners, among others, and is also considering larger strategic partners in the U.S., such as Microsoft.

Having a U.S. firm or company involved will be important since buying Yahoo would likely be a thorny issue for Alibaba and SoftBank, due to foreign ownership rules here.

While not certain, such a deal would likely face CFIUS — which is the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, the federal interagency review process for foreign investment deals.

As I previously wrote:

“Translation: If you are from China and want to buy our U.S. companies, we are going to have to give you a major look-see and it is not going to be pretty.”

Alibaba has been working with Singapore’s Temasek and also Russia’s DST Global, but a consortium of only non-U.S. buyers would inevitably face tougher regulatory scrutiny.

If the group can come up with the money and an adequate deal structure at all, that is.

Buying all of Yahoo to get back their stock is tricky and would be a huge and complex endeavor, even if the group used a variety of tax-free schemes being considered.

But, even if an offer he makes was unsolicited, Alibaba’s Ma does have an ability to shake up angry Yahoo shareholders, especially if his deal is attractive enough and if he can paint the current Yahoo management as, well, Yahoos.

As AllThingsD‘s Peter Kafka noted at the end of his Ma interview at AsiaD:

“So, if you can sum up, Jerry Yang, Yahoo, independent directors, please make up your mind. Signed, Jack Ma.”

Answered the typically more voluble Ma simply, to the laughter of the audience: “Yes!”

For more, here’s Ma talking Yahoo at AsiaD in October:

[ See post to watch video ]

Samsung's Won-Pyo Hong on the Mobile Phone Wars: The Full AsiaD Interview (Video)

Kara Swisher — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 21:35:07 +0000

We are now posting the full videos from the recent AsiaD conference, which took place in Hong Kong in October.

Over the next week or so, we’re going to follow the schedule of the actual event. Up now: Samsung mobile head Won-Pyo Hong.

Samsung is the largest seller of Google Android handsets globally and will soon surpass Nokia as the world’s largest maker of cellphones.

And then there’s Apple, the world’s largest smartphone vendor, which is engaged with the South Korean giant in an increasingly nasty legal battle over intellectual property.

By the way, Samsung is a key vendor partner of Apple’s, too.

Obviously, these are high (and complex) stakes for Hong, who heads global product strategy for Samsung’s mobile business.

He talks about that and more in this onstage interview with Walt Mossberg:

[ See post to watch video ]

HTC Chairwoman Cher Wang Talks Android, Smartphones and More: The Full AsiaD Interview (Video)

Kara Swisher — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 22:10:11 +0000

We are now posting the full videos from the recent AsiaD conference, which took place in Hong Kong in October.

Over the next week or so, we’re going to follow the schedule of the actual event. Up now: HTC Chairwoman Cher Wang.

When Cher Wang co-founded the Taiwan-based company in the late 1990s, it made notebook computers. Now, HTC is all about smartphones and tablets — two of the fastest-growing consumer electronic segments in the world — in a close relationship with Google’s Android unit.

But HTC has also been considering using its own mobile operating system, and faces challenges from a myriad of competitors.

Here’s Wang, in an onstage interview with Walt Mossberg, talking about all this and more:

[ See post to watch video ]

The LivingSocial Trio Talk Asian Expansion, Groupon and More: The Full AsiaD Interview (Video)

Kara Swisher — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 18:37:15 +0000

We are now posting the full videos from the recent AsiaD conference, which took place in Hong Kong in October.

Over the next week or so, we’re going to follow the schedule of the actual event. Up now: LivingSocial CEO Tim O’Shaughnessy, along with the head of the daily deals site’s two recent acquisitions in Asia, Daniel Shin of South Korea’s TicketMonster and Paul Srivorakul of Indonesia’s Ensogo Group.

The panel, interviewed onstage by Ina Fried, talked about a range of topics, from its Asian expansion to thoughts about rival Groupon to the future of the social buying space.

Here’s the video:

[ See post to watch video ]

SurveyMonkey's Goldberg, Joyus's Cassidy and Airbnb's Chesky on Silicon Valley Innovation: The Full AsiaD Interview (Video)

Kara Swisher — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 22:01:14 +0000

We are now posting the full videos from the recent AsiaD conference, which took place in Hong Kong in October.

Over the next week or so, we’re going to follow the schedule of the actual event. Up now: A trio of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs — SurveyMonkey’s Dave Goldberg, Joyus’s Sukhinder Singh Cassidy and Airbnb’s Brian Chesky.

In the onstage interview with Peter Kafka, they give their take on the Valley’s culture and commerce, and how they’re trying to export that as they venture into Asian markets.

Here’s the video:

[ See post to watch video ]

Twitter and Square Guru Jack Dorsey on Steve Jobs, China and More: The Full AsiaD Interview (Video)

Kara Swisher — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 21:39:09 +0000

We are now posting the full videos from the recent AsiaD conference, which took place in Hong Kong in October.

Over the next week or so, we’re going to follow the schedule of the actual event. Up now: Twitter and Square inventor Jack Dorsey.

The busy entrepreneur has a lot going on, working both to change the online payments space and also to make money from his social communications service.

One of Dorsey’s major inspirations was the late Steve Jobs of Apple, especially in his knack for simplifying products to an essential minimalism.

He talked about this in an onstage interview with Walt Mossberg, as well as the challenges Twitter faces in China and more:

[ See post to watch video ]

Meet Kid Robot, Kibot: The Full AsiaD Demo (Video)

Kara Swisher — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 21:05:20 +0000

We are now posting the full videos from the recent AsiaD conference, which took place in Hong Kong in October.

Over the next two weeks, we’re going to follow the schedule of the actual event. Up now: Kibot, a robot for kids.

Besides playing educational games, Kibot from Korea Telecom gives parents another pair of eyes, too, with videochat and remote control.

Kibot — available only in South Korea for now — is aimed at children from three to seven years old. It looks like a monkey, whose nose is an RFID reader, stomach is a control panel and ears are the navigational buttons.

Would that my kids were that easy to control.

[ See post to watch video ]

"Living" Photo Magic With Lytro: The Full AsiaD Demo

Kara Swisher — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 03:40:36 +0000

Photo credit: Eric Cheng / Lytro

We are now posting the full videos from the recent AsiaD conference, which took place in Hong Kong in October.

Over the next two weeks, we’re going to follow the schedule of the actual event. Up now: Lytro, a groundbreaking camera that uses a new technology called light field photography to create “living pictures” that can be refocused after they are taken, in addition to other cool stuff (see a gyrating Walt Mossberg above).

There is no question that this demo of Lytro was one of the highlights of AsiaD.

Founded by Ren Ng in 2006, the result is demonstrated by Chairman Charles Chi and Director of Photography Eric Cheng onstage with Walt:

[ See post to watch video ]

Microsoft Windows Phone Head Andy Lees: The Full AsiaD Interview (Video)

Kara Swisher — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 01:10:34 +0000

We are now posting the full videos from the recent AsiaD conference, which took place in Hong Kong in October.

Over the next two weeks, we’re going to follow the schedule of the actual event. Up now: Andy Lees, president of the Microsoft’s Windows Phone division.

As such — and coming from way behind, compared to smartphone leaders Google with Android, and Apple with iOS, iPhone and iPad — Lees is working to extend Microsoft’s longtime desktop hegemony to mobile.

It’s a great time to watch the full onstage conversation between Lees and AllThingsD’s Ina Fried, since Microsoft is holding a big event in New York on Monday to celebrate the U.S. launch of devices running the new Mango version of Windows Phone 7.

The update, which features Twitter integration, multitasking and other features, has already been available for older devices; new models, with the operating system preloaded, are just hitting the market.

Here’s the Lees interview:

[ See post to watch video ]

Alibaba's Jack Ma on Yahoo (And More Yahoo): The Full AsiaD Interview (Video)

Kara Swisher — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 20:00:04 +0000

We are now posting the full videos from the recent AsiaD conference, which took place in Hong Kong in October.

Over the next two weeks, we’re going to follow the schedule of the actual event. Up now: Alibaba Group’s voluble CEO and co-founder Jack Ma.

Ma has cut quite a colorful path through the Internet space, both in China and, more recently, in the U.S. — mostly due to his high-profile wrangling with partner and major shareholder Yahoo.

And, in the midst of the Silicon Valley Internet company’s endless agonizing over what to do with itself, Ma has thrown Alibaba into the mix prominently as a self-described kingmaker to any deal. Also, he has said he wants to buy Yahoo too.

Ma talks about all this, as well as his thoughts on the Asian markets, his goals for Alibaba and more, in an onstage interview with Peter Kafka.

As he told the audience at the AsiaD event:

“We’ve been working with Yahoo for years to buy a portion of them or buy them out. Money is not the problem. The problem is what Yahoo wants to do.”

Indeed, so watch Ma in action:

[ See post to watch video ]

Asus' Jonney Shih on Ultrabook, Android and the Future of PCs: The Full AsiaD Interview (Video)

Kara Swisher — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 20:30:13 +0000

We are now posting the full videos from the recent AsiaD conference, which took place in Hong Kong in October.

Over the next two weeks, we’re going to follow the schedule of the actual event. Up now: Jonney Shih, chairman of Asus.

After winning in the short-lived netbook boomlet, Shih is trying to quickly pivot his company to the future, and he brought the Taiwanese-based company’s new slimtastic Ultrabook to prove it.

Shih also talked about the Google Android mobile operating system, new tablets and the future of PCs.

Here’s his onstage interview with Walt Mossberg:

[ See post to watch video ]

Yahoo's Jerry Yang and Rose Tsou on to Sell or Not to Sell, Asia and More: The Full AsiaD Interview (Video)

Kara Swisher — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 18:29:08 +0000

We are now posting the full videos from the recent AsiaD conference, which took place in Hong Kong in October.

Over the next two weeks, we’re going to follow the schedule of the actual event. Up next: Yahoo’s co-founder Jerry Yang and Rose Tsou, who runs its businesses in Asia.

In an interview with Walt Mossberg, the pair covered a wide range of topics, including Yahoo’s current strategic review, its search for a new CEO, the state of its businesses in Asia and its contentious partnerships in the region, and, of course, the definition of what Yahoo is.

According to Yang — who is leading the efforts of the Silicon Valley Internet giant to right itself — Yahoo is a “premier digital media company.”

But why don’t you hear it from him?

Here:

[ See post to watch video ]

Google Android Head Andy Rubin on Steve Jobs, Google Music and Moto: The Full AsiaD Interview (Video)

Kara Swisher — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 19:12:11 +0000

Today, we start posting the full videos from the recent AsiaD conference, which took place in Hong Kong earlier in October.

Over the next two weeks, we’re going to follow the schedule of the actual event, starting with the opening-night speaker, Google Android head Andy Rubin.

In this wide-ranging onstage interview with Walt Mossberg, Rubin talks about an array of mobile topics, including: Ice Cream Sandwich, which is Android 4.0; Google’s launch of the new Galaxy Nexus, the next-generation lead device, with its partner Samsung; Google’s upcoming music store; the integration to its pending acquisition of Motorola; and the impact of Apple’s Steve Jobs on technology.

And there’s a lot more from Rubin, so click away:

[ See post to watch video ]

At Long Last, Hands-on With Lytro's Living Camera

Ina Fried — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 14:00:59 +0000

After spending the past several months writing about Lytro, its launch and road to market, it was fun to finally get a chance to give it a try at this past week’s AsiaD conference in Hong Kong.

Photo credit: Eric Cheng / Lytro

The technology hasn’t changed since its June debut. Under the hood, Lytro’s camera uses a new technology called light field photography, which allows for so-called “living pictures” that can be refocused after they are taken, in addition to performing a few other tricks.

What is new is the design of the camera, which until last week had been carefully hidden from public view. It’s only about an inch high and wide, and several inches long — mostly to accommodate the eight-inch zoom. It’s got just two buttons — one for turning on the camera, the other for pressing the shutter. Other moves, such as zooming and viewing pictures, are accomplished by manipulating the multitouch display on the rear of the camera, or a touch-sensitive zone along the top of the camera.

In addition to getting to take my first picture with the camera, I got to watch Lytro demonstrate it on stage.

While Lytro’s images have become well-known for their ability to be refocused, one of the harder-to-explain features is the 3-D-like feature, achievable through something called parallax. Luckily, this can be illustrated with an animated image, like the one below, from Lytro’s onstage demo with Walt Mossberg.

The picture I took of the AsiaD stage is a more typical light field composition, with various spots that can be brought into focus. Try clicking on the iPhone screen, the camera viewfinder and the stage to see the different focal points.

Jen-Hsun Huang: Highlights From AsiaD (Video)

John Paczkowski — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 10:11:22 +0000

Nvidia president and CEO Jen-Hsun Huang joined All Things Digital’s Walt Mossberg on the AsiaD stage today to talk about processors for post-PC devices and the Tegra 2, the world’s first dual-core graphics processor. Below, video highlights from the session:

[ See post to watch video ]