Margin Check: Google, Nickelodeon, PSPs and more

Editor’s Note: Welcome to On the Margins, a feature for RCR Wireless News’ new weekly e-mail service, Mobile Content and Culture. Every week, the RCR Wireless News staff considers events in the wider business world and how they could affect the wireless industry.
–Femtocell manufacturer Ubiquisys Ltd. reported last week that it secured $25 million in a B-round of funding that included new investor Google. Google has a history of investing in a range of startups, and with its recent announced plans to spend at least $4.6 billion in the upcoming 700 MHz auction, it’s becoming clear the Internet giant has bigger plans for wireless than just providing a search engine.
–Viacom’s Nickelodeon division said it expects to spend $100 million over the next couple of years developing online games targeting its core youth market. The games will include educational content to be offered through a number of cable companies as well as multiplayer, interactive games. Nickelodeon already has an aggressive presence in the mobile space, and its attention on gaming could bode well for further investment in wireless.
–Sony Corp. said it plans to install mobile television capabilities in its next-generation PlayStation Portable device. The consumer electronic giant said the capabilities will be in the form of a plug-in digital TV tuner that will be compatible with Japan’s OneSeg format for mobile digital television broadcasts. The device will also sport a video-out connector that could allow users to watch the mobile TV broadcast on a standard television. The move could be a first step for Sony that leads to broader implementation of mobile TV capabilities on handsets through its Sony Ericsson joint venture.
–Voice over Internet Protocol service provider SunRocket Inc. abruptly squashed its service last week, leaving up to 200,000 subscribers in a lurch. The company was reportedly the second largest VoIP provider behind Vonage, which is dealing with its own legal battles. SunRocket’s demise could portend trouble for strict VoIP companies, though a number of traditional telecom and wireless companies remain committed to VoIP.
–The Writers Guild of America is threatening a strike Oct. 31, which would bring scripted TV shows to a grinding halt. If the strike does occur, it could affect those fall TV shows that haven’t been filmed yet, as well as late-night talk shows and other scripted programs. The affects on mobile could be widespread if any scripted content is headed toward cellphones, or if any of the marketing for the fall TV season includes a mobile component.