Filed under: Feature | Tags: App Store, Handhelds, iPhone, iTunes, News and Media, Postal Service, Smartphones, Wi-Fi
THE ITUNES APP STORE: 5 DAILY MARAUDER FAVORITES
No, I did not run out and buy the 3G Apple iPhone on Friday. I did, however, upgrade my software to 2.0 and immediately fell in love with my shiny new applications. Above is a screenshot from the applications screen of my iPhone. All of the screenshots below were taken from my iPhone in use with the exception of the remote app (since I wasn’t at home at the time).
Here’s the favorites:
#1: Remote
One of the simplest, yet most mesmerizing experiences. The application connects via Wi-Fi to your laptop’s iTunes library and controls the music from anywhere in the house. . .or apt as the case may be. In the kitchen and feeling some Muse? Click. In the bathroom and really need to hear Kanye? Click. In the hallway and strangely testing the distance limits of your Wi-Fi network with a particular desire to hear The Postal Service? Click.
#2: Shazam
This application “listens” to music from any source responding with song name, artist, and album name along with a list of relevant media including say, a YouTube music video of the song or a link to buy the song on iTunes. Brilliance. I put Shazam to the test with some truly random music and the application proved 100% success.
#3: Pandora Radio
Who needs satellite radio when you have a personalized radio station in your pocket? If you’re not familiar with Pandora, let me break it down for you. You start the service by telling Papa Bear Pandora some music you like. The program then tests you with some additional songs it thinks you might like. You rate the songs as they come up and diss the ones that just don’t do it for you. Over time, the program learns your particular taste and adds in new music continuously. Take all of that, put it in your pocket, and you have this app.
#4: Urban Spoon
This nifty app calculates your location and offers up nearby restaurant suggestions. Step one: The app recognizes your location. Step 2: Shake phone. Step 3: Intelligently recommend a restaurant right around the corner to your friend. Success.
#5: Tap Tap Revenge
I wanted to get down with Super Monkey Ball but after several minutes of play, I was bored. Maybe it’s because I’m just not a gamer at heart and maybe I was looking for something more Guitar Hero. With this app, I’ve found it. With better music, I’d say this was 5 stars but right now it’s still pretty fun.
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Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Andrea Wong, Army Wives, Disney-ABC Domestic Television, Hopper, Starz, Starz Entertainment, Television Critics Association, United States
The second-season premiere Thursday of USA’s “Burn Notice” attracted 5.39 million viewers overall — a 35% increase over its series debut one year ago, according to Nielsen. The show also performed well with the 18-to-49-year-old demographic group: It scored a 1.8 rating/6 share in the advertiser-friendly demo. (Variety 7/13)
Just five weeks into the second season of its “Army Wives,” Lifetime has announced a third season of the popular series. At the Television Critics Association press tour, Lifetime President and CEO Andrea Wong explained the early renewal: “Since premiering last year, ‘Army Wives’ has become a game-changer for Lifetime.” (Yahoo!/E! Online 7/11)
Crash, the original drama series based on the Oscar winning movie of 2006, is set to debut on Starz on Friday, October 17 at 10p. Co-produced by Lionsgate and Starz Entertainment, the series stars Dennis Hopper. Starz has ordered 13 episodes. (Cynopsis 7/14)
Richard Parsons, CEO of Time Warner, says he is “much more bullish” on the media industry than investors. “People will continue to consume more and more of what entertainment companies produce,” he insists. Parsons adds that companies can’t create value by merely breaking them up. (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aOi7d6Jog9WY 7/11)
Scripps Network Interactive, which houses cable nets such as HGTV, Food Network and DIY, remains at the center of speculation about an acquisition by NBC Universal. Such a deal, according to this article, could fetch more than SNI’s $6.5 billion market capitalization. (Multichannel News 7/13)
NBC Universal says its profit rose just 1% in the second quarter, as revenue growth at cable networks USA, Bravo and Sci-Fi were partially offset by declines at the NBC broadcast network and its owned-and-operated TV stations. NBC primetime ratings are down about 10%. (http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/nbc-universal-profit-inches-higher/story.aspx?guid=%7B52515315%2D51C3%2D4E48%2D88D0%2D0A8E3F2AF990%7D 7/11)
John Malone has spent about $95 million on 3.8 million shares of Liberty Capital Group, one of the tracking stocks connected to his Liberty Media firm, according to this report. Assets in Liberty Capital include the Atlanta Braves as well as minority positions in Time Warner and Sprint Nextel. (Multichannel News 7/14)
A survey by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation reported that FX, HBO and Showtime offer the most responsible coverage of gay and lesbian characters on cable TV. HBO also was singled out for having the most ethnically diverse characters. (Reuters/The Hollywood Reporter 7/14)
In a statement issued early Friday evening, SAG leaders said they still want to negotiate the final offer given to them from the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers nearly two weeks ago. The AMPTP said their offer was indeed the last and best offer available, calling it a “take-it-or-leave-it proposition” which will not be enhanced further. (Cynopsis 7/14)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: AOL, Carl Icahn, Google, Jerry Yang, Microsoft, Rupert Murdoch, Time Warner, Yahoo
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
After making all that fuss about bringing an offer, Yahoo spurned another proposal from Microsoft on Saturday, this one brought jointly with Carl Icahn as a 24 hour take-it-or-leave-it ploy. The deal called for a complex restructuring of the company that would have given Microsoft control of Yahoo’s search business and what was left to Icahn and his dissident slate of replacement board members. So in other words, they were asking Roy Bostock and Jerry Yang to sell off its most valuable asset then fire themselves. And Microsoft sent a man they view as a shameless corporate raider as the messenger. In its rejection letter Yahoo dismissed the proposal as “erratic and unpredictable” and questioned Mr. Icahn and his alternative board members’ ability to run the technology firm in the wake of such a fire sale. (Cynopsis 7/14)
In the background throughout Microsoft’s neverending Yahoo courtship has been the News Corp factor. Yahoo ran to Google to avoid an MS tie-up first time ‘round; could it also seek solace in Rupert Murdoch’s arms? It’s “very unlikely”, Rupe said (via Reuters) at Allen & Co’s Sun Valley shindig. (http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-murdoch-on-yahoo-microsoft-will-walk-away-deal-with-us-unlikely 7/11)
Time Warner’s AOL is “definitely looking prettier” to both Yahoo and Microsoft this morning, as the latest round of talks by the tech giants to partner in some way have collapsed yet again. AOL is described as “the number two choice of both of them.” (http://kara.allthingsd.com/20080714/is-jeff-bewkes-now-the-belle-of-the-microhoo-ball 7/14)
TechCrunch is said to be in off-and-on acquisition talks with Time Warner’s AOL. Heather Harde, CEO of the tech industry blog founded by Michael Arrington, says: “My policy is not to comment on rumors.” AOL acquired Jason Calcansis’s Weblogs Inc. in 2005. (Iwantmedia 7/14,http://kara.allthingsd.com/20080711/paidcontents-rafat-ali-speaks-so-heres-whos-next/ 7/11)
If behavioral targeting is the great hope for display advertising on the Web, can it work for videos as well? Web video startup Veoh thinks it can and is bringing its behavioral targeting advertising program out of beta today. The ads are targeted at one of nine groups, including viewers interested in action videos, cars, pop culture, sci fi, anime, and family fare. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/07/14/veoh-targets-video-ads-based-on-past-viewing-patterns 7/14)
Viacom wants to know which videos YouTube employees have watched and uploaded to the site, and Google is refusing to provide that information. The dispute is said to be the reason the two companies have failed to reach a final deal on anonymizing the personal data of YouTube users. (Iwantmedia 7/14,http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-9989783-93.html?hhTest=1 7/12)
VH1 will pay tribute to The Who on Tuesday streaming sneak peek performances by Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, The Flaming Lips, Incubus and Jack Black’s Tenacious D taped on Saturday at UCLA, two days before the performances air in a tribute show on July 17. Rainn Wilson will host the coverage on Rock.VH1.com, featuring an exclusive jam session with The Who. Additionally VH1 has launched a new Facebook app called VH1 Framed You, allowing users to insert their own images in photos and videos of rock stars. It’s sort of digital version of those cut outs you see at beach. (Cynopsis 7/14)
I advise not adding the Facebook app which only gives you a few frames to choose from. Among them, only 1 is female. Lame.
Chelmsford, MA-based online music discovery service OurStage unveiled a new matchmaking tool to help musicians find and apply for gigs. The OurStage Marketplace will work in conjunction with promoter Live Nation using the site’s user-based “Mojo” rating system to help national bands scout up-and-coming local acts to open their shows. The system will serve venues in New England, Denver and the San Francisco Bay Area to begin with. (Cynopsis 7/14)
Walt Disney Co. in October will release a 50th anniversary edition of the classic “Sleeping Beauty” animated movie on Blu-ray disc. The disc will showcase a half-century of progress in consumer-electronic technology: It will enable viewers to interact with each other via a new system called BD Live that links the disc with the Internet. (The New York Times 7/14)
Kevin Martin, head of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, says he will seek “enforcement action” against Comcast for slowing down heavy Internet users who are downloading movies and other large data files. The cable giant used “too blunt an instrument,” says Martin. (Iwantmedia 7/14, http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/24585014.html 7/12)
Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: 3G, App Store, Apple, Handhelds, iPhone, iPhone 2.0, iPhone 3G, Smartphones
Despite a few hiccups and stores running out of inventory, Apple was able to sell one million 3G iPhones
class=”snap_preview_icon”> worldwide across 21 countries its first three days on sale. During that same time, owners of both the new and old iPhone were able to download 10 million apps from the newly launched App Store on iTunes, despite major problems with the iPhone 2.0 software update disabling many people’s phones temporarily on Friday. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/07/14/the-mobile-web-is-here-apple-sells-one-million-3g-iphones-first-weekend-ten-million-iphone-apps-downloaded 7/14)
I would highlight the upgrade problem while placing this problem into context. Many users were locked out of their phones on Friday as the universe of iPhone users (or at least most of them) attempted to download the software. I’m not as concerned about activation problems as I am about this. You will activate an iPhone once in a lifetime but upgrade the software on the phone several times. I don’t want to fear losing phone service every time an upgrade is available. For more, see Techcrunch’s post from Friday. The context: Apple sold 10 million apps and 1 million 3G iPhones over the weekend. Safe to say, the profit from both of these in one weekend is pretty impressive.
The secret to finding the perfect parking spot in congested cities is usually just a matter of luck. But drivers here will get some help from an innocuous tab of plastic that will soon be glued to the streets as sensed by their smartphones. This fall, San Francisco will test 6,000 of its 24,000 metered parking spaces in the nation’s most ambitious trial of a wireless sensor network that will announce which of the spaces are free at any moment. (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/12/business/12newpark.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=parking%20spots%20san%20francisco&st=cse&oref=slogin 7/12)
This is ingenious. As soon as this is fully launched, this will most surely be my most favorite app helping me to assert superiority yet again using the brilliance of my iPhone. Awesome.
Filed under: GAMING | Tags: Activision, Force Unleashed, Games, Microsoft, NaturalMotion Ltd, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Video game, Wii
Video game manufacturers such as Activision, Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo are set to unveil their latest offerings this week. And, according to this article, it should be like Christmas in July for gamers of all demographics. (The New York Times 7/14, Financial Times 7/13)
Video game characters, once largely predictable for anyone who has played the game more than a few times, now are designed and executed with almost as much realism as characters in filmed entertainment, according to this article. “I think you connect to these characters much more,” said Torsten Reil, whose NaturalMotion Ltd. developed the technology for the upcoming “Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.” (The Washington Post/Associated Press 7/13)
Nintendo’s Wii gaming platform has, apparently, become the high-tech version of the dinner table or the family rec room. According to this analysis, almost 90% of those playing the game are doing so with others in the household. (Advertising Age 7/14)
Konami Corp., the Japanese creator of the “Dance Dance Revolution” music-video game, is suing Viacom’s Harmonix studio, claiming its “Rock Band” game violates patents. The Konami patents relate to simulated musical instruments and a “musical-rhythm matching game.” (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=aHQODoKwFYrA 7/10)
Filed under: TECHNOLOGY | Tags: Arts, Blu-ray Disc, DVD, DVD player, High-Definition Multimedia Interface, Home Video, Movies, Shopping
TECHNOLOGY
Bose has unveiled two 3-2-1 DVD Home Entertainment Systems. The 3-2-1 GS and 3-2-1 GSX Series III systems are equipped with the same high-quality audio and feature HDMI output, which enables connectivity to high-definition televisions. (ElectronicHouse.com 7/11)
Open Air Cinema has introduced its CineBox Home Outdoor Theater System, with which movie fans can watch their favorite flick from the comfort of their backyard. A 10-foot screen costs $399, and other components include a digital projector, DVD player, sound mixer and LED light. (CEPro.com 7/11)
Consumers spent $10.77 billion — a 1.6% increase — on DVD and Blu-ray purchases and rentals in the first half of this year, according to this article quoting Home Media magazine. Disc purchases grew 1.1%, to $6.87 billion, while rentals rose 2.6%, to $3.9 billion. (The Hollywood Reporter 7/13)
