SanDisk to launch Fuze+ MP3 player |
- SanDisk to launch Fuze+ MP3 player
- VEVO launches music video app for iPhone
- T-Mobile teases the G2, first HSPA+ smartphone
- Improving EMI revenue still leaves them in the red
- HTC to launch Google Chrome tablet on Black Friday?
- Sony: PlayStation 4 games already in development
- Vimeo adds Flash/HTML5 player
SanDisk to launch Fuze+ MP3 player Posted: 18 Aug 2010 09:47 PM PDT If a new leak proves accurate, SanDisk may finally be updating their aged MP3 player line, launching the new Fuze+ media device. The Fuze+ will be the company's first update to the line since 2008. SanDisk's new device will have a color OLED screen, capacitive touch buttons and new support for AAC and H.264. Additionally, the device will have a microSDHC slot which includes slotRadio, and an FM radio. A few models will be available ranging from 4GB to 16GB, with strong stated battery life of 24 hours for music and five hours for video. Not priced yet, the device will go on sale in mid-September. |
VEVO launches music video app for iPhone Posted: 18 Aug 2010 09:15 PM PDT The music video website VEVO has launched a native iPhone app today, giving users a way to access the service's millions of music videos on the go. Vevo, launched last year as a joint venture by YouTube, UMG and Sony Music, has reached over 1.1 billion streams, with almost 60 million unique visitors in the U.S. and Canada, monthly. The service has licensing deals with Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, EMI Music, ABKCO, Beggars Group, Big Machine Records, CBS Interactive Music Group, Concord Music Group, Hollywood Records, Lyric Street Records, Razor & Tie Entertainment, Ultra Records, Walt Disney Records, Wind-up Records, Caroline Distribution, Fontana Distribution, INgrooves, IODA, RED, SAAVN and The Orchard. Vevo's app is pretty straightforward, giving users the option to search for music videos, as well as filter through top video, premieres, new artists, artists on tour, and "nearby" videos that are hot in your city. Any video debuting on Vevo.com will be available simultaneously via the app. Unfortunately for users with iOS 4.0 installed on their iPhone/Touch, the app cannot multitask, yet. |
T-Mobile teases the G2, first HSPA+ smartphone Posted: 18 Aug 2010 07:17 PM PDT T-Mobile has teased their upcoming flagship smartphone, the G2, the first phone to access the carrier's extremely fast HSPA+ data network. The phone is expected to be the long-awaited successor to the T-Mobile G1, the world's first Android device. T-Mobile posted the teaser page today, although it gives little details. Says the site: The T-Mobile® G1® was the world's first Android -powered phone. Launched nearly two years ago, it created an entirely new class of mobile phones and apps. Its successor, the T-Mobile G2 with Google, will continue the revolution. The T-Mobile G2 will deliver tight integration with Google services and break new ground as the first smartphone designed to run at 4G speeds on our new HSPA+ network. In the coming weeks, we'll share more details about the G2 and offer exclusive first access to current T-Mobile customers. Multiple sites have gone wild with speculation on the specifications, and a few have said the device will have dual 1.2GHz processors, a first for phones, as well as incredibly powerful. Additionally, a leaked T-Mobile memo seems to point to a September release. T-Mobile says the device has "a theoretical peak capability of 14.4 Mbps." We will keep you updated. |
Improving EMI revenue still leaves them in the red Posted: 18 Aug 2010 01:42 PM PDT According to the annual financial report for EMI, smallest of the Big 4 record labels, the company lost 624 million euros (just over $800 million using today's conversion rates) in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2010. The report is prepared each year by EMI's owner, Terra Firma owned Maltby Capital, a Terra Firma owned company which purchased EMI in 2007. Maltby Capital Chairman Stephen Alexander began the report by addressing developments in recent months suggesting Citigroup, the principal lender in Terra Firma's acquisition of EMI, might take over the company due to an alleged breach of lending terms. Alexander wrote, "despite the issues around the financing structure and the related public speculation, both divisions of EMI have shown marked progress in their underlying performance during the course of the last twelve months." This translates into losing less money than the previous year, which saw a loss of more than 1.7 billion euros. He also admitted having no actual first hand knowledge of the legal proceedings between Citigroup and Terra Firma. There is a glimmer of hope for the future if they can survive long enough. EMI's goal, it says, is becoming "a comprehensive rights management company that can take full advantage of global opportunities in all markets for music to the maximum benefit of its artists and songwriters." But are they doing enough to make that a reality? The report's section on EMI's recorded music division focused almost entirely on a handful of best selling artists. Diversification into new areas like merchandise distribution and their live recording/distribution service, Abbey Road Live, were almost a footnote. In fact, despite all the mention of diversification, the report itself seems written with the assumption that the established business model of downloads being a simple replacement for CDs is a good one. That's not what sales trends dating back a decade show. In fact the trend in music downloads, whether licensed or unauthorized, has always been toward individual tracks rather than albums. That means you need to either make significantly more sales or find a way to convince people to buy more with each transaction. In reality the answer is actually both. A download is not a CD. This is neither good nor bad for the labels. But the economics are different and need to be addressed as such. It costs to produce each CD. A download costs the label nothing if it comes from a third party store like iTunes or Amazon MP3. Each CD sold results in one less CD available. There is an infinite supply of downloads for every recording ever made. The current pricing scheme for major label music, including EMI, is based around maximizing profit on each existing sale rather than making more sales. Higher per song prices work in the CD market because the supply of product is limited to what a company with significant resources can supply. As Trent Reznor has shown with his numerous experiments and encouragement of fan productions, this doesn't have to change even if you give music away. What does need to change is how the labels look at downloads. Instead of trying to re-create the technical limitations of CDs, they need to take advantage of the technical advantages offered by downloads. Instead of finding more ways to get royalties from existing uses of their recordings, they could benefit from what amounts to a free distribution infrastructure. More than ever, recorded music sales face competition from a growing number of products. The market growth in game consoles and various internet options, including the mobile internet and smartphones, are eating into the same discretionary funds the labels are hoping to get. At the same time they're shooting themselves in the foot with variable download pricing, which results in fewer sales of many popular songs at $1.29 per sale when compared to a standard $0.99 price. The results of a study published recently at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania suggests that significantly cutting both royalties and retail prices significantly would result in more profits for both labels and merchants. The diversification glossed over in this report is also essential if EMI wants to cover the expense of recording at the same level they're used to. Recorded music is in infinite supply. Other goods and services, like merchandise and live performances, are still limited and still worth money. The question is whether it will be labels profiting from those, and whatever else emerges from the new technology. Someone certainly will be. |
HTC to launch Google Chrome tablet on Black Friday? Posted: 18 Aug 2010 11:42 AM PDT According to multiple reports today, HTC is set to launch their Google Chrome OS tablet on Black Friday, in conjunction with Google and Verizon. Dubbed the HTC Chrome, the tablet will be the first real competitor to the Apple iPad, which has sold 3.5 million units already since its launch in April. The reports say the Chrome will use a Nvidia Tegra 2 processor, have a 1280x720 multitouch display, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of SSD memory, a front-facing camera, GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G and of course, Chrome OS as the operating system. Says one source: "Expect it to be every bit as geek-tastic as the Nexus One." Perhaps more importantly, is price. Sources believe the tablet will sell for as cheap as $99, as long as you sign up for a two-year Verizon data contract. |
Sony: PlayStation 4 games already in development Posted: 18 Aug 2010 10:29 AM PDT According to Game Informer Australia, Sony is already preparing games for the upcoming PlayStation 4, the console which has not even been announced yet. Rumors of the PlayStation 4 have been around since the start of the year, with most expecting a 2012 launch. While Sony's talk of games is not a direct announcement of the upcoming console, it does make sense that the company is preparing its publishing partners for the eventual launch. Most games take over 16 months to develop, so it is completely necessary for developers to know the specs of the new console at least a few years before its launch. Sony has long said the PS3 will have a decade-long lifespan, and we are currently only in the fourth year of the life cycle. The now aged PS2 had a decade long lifespan as well, despite the PS3 being launched in 2006. The company did not comment on the story, but Game Informer has it in their news section, not in the rumors section. |
Posted: 18 Aug 2010 09:57 AM PDT The popular video host Vimeo has introduced a new version of its video player today, one that detects the hardware being used by the end user and then outputs either an Adobe Flash or an HTML5 video player. Additionally, the video stream output is based on how fast your connection is. The feature was mainly implemented to add full compatibility to smartphones and other mobile devices, many of which still cannot play Flash. Popular devices like the iPhone will never have Flash support, and a good number of Android devices still lack the 2.2 software update, which brings native Flash support. Embed code is the same, and the new player's interface is the same as the previous player. Larger rival YouTube has been testing the same type of player, and plans to make it the default soon. |
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