Akimbo Abimbo and Video Blogs
Akimbo is an IPTV service for video and subscription on demand that is as simple to use as Tivo. To get content to your couch, you use your existing broadband connection (I plugged in a WiFi USB keychain and was downloading in minutes) and take advantage of 150 hours of storage. You can manage downloads with a Tivo-like interface as well as a web-browser (can't watch your content over the web, yet).
VoD has been a dream of the cable TV industry for years, and it just happened without them, almost. Akimbo is a relatively new network that has to contend with IP regimes that have vertically integrated. Content is relatively sparse with about 400 channels (RSS feed for what's new) -- with two notable exceptions.
Porn. Like all great new communications technologies, porn portends future. In this case, there are gobs of it, perhaps more than any content type -- but it does come with parental controls. My wife and I jokingly call it the Abimbo.
Video Blogs. Okay, this is where it gets interesting. Today there are only four video blogs on Akimbo, but Rocketboom and Clint Sharp are pretty cool. Subscribing to them are dead simple -- and video is still best watched on the couch. When I started seeing my friends on some of Clint's episodes I think I saw the future. With great independent content today, the launch of the video iPod with iTunes and new Flickr-for-video startups -- there will be a wealth of video blog content next year (more on that later). Akimbo is about to open the network -- Video bloggers will be able to submit a registered RSS feed with enclosures to get their clips on the network -- which will blow the doors wide open.
Until this happens, the utility is limited and you could end up with a big bill for premium downloads (not just porn). It does provide a good entertainment alternative, but they are stuck playing MPAA wargames. But the enticement today is a holiday special for $69 for the player (normally $199). The subscription service runs on the player or the Windows Media Center for $9.99 monthly or $199 lifetime.
Full disclosure: I got a player and one year subscription for free as part of the Silicon Valley 100.
