Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Just last month, we wrote that Hulu had gained some 10 million viewers to become the fourth largest video portal on the web. Now, it’s slain another rival to the list: Yahoo, to move into #3 — at least in terms of videos viewed. To be clear, the new March U.S. numbers released by comScore
show that Hulu is still slightly behind Yahoo’s video properties when it comes to unique viewers. But the NBC and Fox-backed Hulu should pass it any day now in that category as well. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/28/as-youtube-passes-a-billion-unique-us-viewers-hulu-rushes-into-third-place/ 4/28)
“$5 Cover,” a new series both on MTV and at fivedollarcover.com, is “a fascinating experiment in new-media storytelling.” The series, which follows a group of real-life musicians in Memphis, encompasses reality TV, music videos and mini-documentaries on several media platforms. (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/the_big_picture/2009/04/5-cover-mtvs-new-media-and-music-franchise-.html 4/27)
Google News, the news aggregation site run by the Internet search giant, is unveiling the @googlenews Twitter feed. The Google News updates on the microblogging service provide links to stories from the 25,000 news sources which Google News aggregates on its home page. (Iwantmedia 4/28, http://tech.yahoo.com/news/afp/20090428/tc_afp/usmediaindustrynewspaperscompanytwittergoogle 4/28)
Online retailer Amazon has acquired Lexcycle, maker of the Stanza e-book reader application for the Apple iPhone, for an undisclosed sum. Unlike the recently released Kindle reader iPhone app, which uses a proprietary format, the free Stanza software allows users to browse more than 100,000 titles, most of which are open-source titles. The Wall Street Journal (4/28) , Macworld/iPhone Central blog (4/27)
Online video site Joost is shopping itself around to different cable TV operators, but at least one, Comcast, is said to have declined to buy it. Comcast owns a competing online video site called Fancast. Time Warner Cable is in talks with Joost for a possible acquisition. (Iwantmedia 4/28, http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090427/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_cable_joost 4/27)
Cablevision on May 11 will begin rolling out speedy, DOCSIS 3.0-powered Internet service with download speeds of up to 100 megabits per second and upload speeds of up to 15 Mbps, according to these reports. The company also said it was working on doubling the speed of its Wi-Fi wireless Internet service. Reuters (4/28) , The New York Times/GigaOm (4/28)
Filed under: WIRELESS
Google has issued the final version of the software development kit for its Android 1.5 software update, which provides application writers a road map for the operating system and everyone else a peek at new features in the program Google code-named Cupcake. T-Mobile plans to release the first Android 1.5-powered handset — the HTC G1 — in Germany next month, and subscribers will see video support, speedier GPS and Web browsing, a software-based touch screen and other changes. Computerworld (4/27) , CNET (4/27)
Filed under: TECHNOLOGY
Senseg.com is a haptic interface company based in Helsinki, Finland. Instead of using vibrating motors, the device surface is completely motionless. Instead, the Senseg system stimulates your fingers or hand with an electrical field to simulate the feeling of friction or texture. (http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/04/28/senseg-amazing-haptic-technology-that-could-come-to-a-device-near-you/ 4/28)
One of the longest running patent battles in the tech space has finally come to an end. Qualcomm agreed to pay rival Broadcom $891 million over four years in a settlement of all their legal disputes. The two chip makers have been fighting for 4+ years across three venues over patent issues related to mobile processing and the battle has significantly slowed the evolution of 3G mobile technology. (Cynopsis 4/28)
Hewlett-Packard hopes the low price and optional Linux-based OS will make its ProBook s-series a worthy replacement to its previous mainstream business notebook — the HP Compaq. The ProBook, which starts shipping today, will be marketed toward users at small and medium-size companies. Reuters (4/28)
After a surge in shipments of set-top boxes during the next few years, the devices will reach a peak point in global sales at 127 million units in 2012, according to a new study from London-based Screen Digest. By 2013, the report forecast, shipments of set-top boxes will fall to 119 million. Home Media Magazine (4/27) , ipTVnews (4/27)
Hurt by falling consumer demand for LCD products and a strong yen, Japanese electronics maker Sharp this week reported its first annual loss since the company was taken public in 1956 as revenue dipped 17%. Still, company executives expect the company to regain its profitability in the next year. The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires (4/28) , Reuters (4/27)
