Hasta La Gadget!

Anyone that calls the UK home will know that Tesco is a retail behemoth and, like many other supermarkets, has turned into a one-stop shop for everything from a pint of milk to the latest video game releases. It’s grown into much more than a store, however, running an MVNO (although it sometimes gets confused about hardware) and the subscription-based video streaming service Blinkbox. Last year, Tesco let its wider digital ambitions be known, acquiring both a music streaming service and an e-book publisher. We’ve now been told these companies are the primordial soup from which its new online content emporiums will spawn later this year, known as Blinkboxmusic and Blinkboxbooks, respectively. And who’ll be responsible for these new ventures? Well, they’re somebodies — Gavin Sathianathan, who was previously Head of Retail (EMEA) at Facebook, will head up the e-book offering, while Mark Bennett, formerly Head of Digital & Cross Channel at rival super-supermarket Sainsbury’s, will run the musical endeavor. Tesco also announced that former Blinkbox exec Scott Deutrom is taking the reins of Clubcard TV, a new ad-supported video streaming service currently being tested. So, what’s next for Tesco, apart from world domination? If industry trends are anything to go by, a mobile OS, most likely.

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Via: The Telegraph

Source: Tesco (Blinkbox)

Barnes & Noble must want no corner of Britain untouched by Nooks. Following its planned bookstore invasion, the American company is bringing both the Nook Simple Touch and its GlowLight cousin to Sainsbury’s and Waitrose supermarkets, as well as Dixons Retail-owned chains Currys and PC World. When the e-readers arrive at the outlets’ respective online and retail stores from early October onwards, they’ll bring the Nook’s reach to nearly 2,000 UK sales points — not quite ubiquitous coverage, but more than double what we saw in our most recent check. About all that’s left is to offer the Android tablets that have been conspicuously missing from Barnes & Noble’s initial expansion strategy.

Continue reading Barnes & Noble Nook lands in Currys, PC World and Sainsbury’s stores, furthers the UK conquest

Barnes & Noble Nook lands in Currys, PC World and Sainsbury’s stores, furthers the UK conquest originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Sep 2012 04:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Beloved UK supermarket Sainsbury’s is making a big push into digital media, after snapping up e-book retailer Anobii and music company Global Media Vault, it’s now partnering with Rovi for a digital video service. Launching later in the year, it’ll offer video-on-demand and downloadable copies of “major” film and TV titles, available the same time the discs are available in store. It’ll initially be limited to computers, before rolling out to Smart TVs, connected Blu-Ray players, smartphones and consoles. The only question we have is if we’ll be able to collect Nectar Points on our purchases — if so, we’re sold.

Continue reading Sainsbury’s pairs up with Rovi for video service, stays ahead of the techie curve

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet

Sainsbury’s pairs up with Rovi for video service, stays ahead of the techie curve originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 19:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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