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Pandora files for IPO

Posted by Harshad

Pandora files for IPO


Pandora files for IPO

Posted: 11 Feb 2011 03:15 PM PST

Pandora files for IPOPandora, the popular streaming Internet radio service has filed for an IPO today, finally revealing numbers on the service that was close to shutting down just 3 years ago.

The proposed price of the IPO is $100 million.

Revenue for the 9 months ended October 2010 was $90 million, a 300 percent YoY increase from 2009. For the same period in 2010, Pandora lost $328,000, a far cry from the $18 million loss they took in 2009.

Pandora made $12.2 million off subscription revenue and the rest from advertising. The service has 80 million users in the U.S. and apps on Android, BlackBerry, WebOS and iOS.

Pandora's founder Tim Westergren owns 2.39 percent of the company and will get 3.6 million shares.

You can check an interview our staff had with the founder in 2008 here: A convo with Tim Westergren from Pandora

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'Rock Band' series will continue on via DLC

Posted: 11 Feb 2011 02:38 PM PST

'Rock Band' series will continue on via DLCEarlier this week, Activision announced that the once popular 'Guitar Hero' franchise is finished, with the company "disbanding Activision Publishing's Guitar Hero business unit" and ending support for current games.

Harmonix, the developer behind 'Rock Band' has said today that the series will continue on via DLC, despite the "discouraging news" of Guitar Hero's demise.

The developer will still release new songs for the series, and will continue as planned with the release of the Fender Squier Stratocaster Guitar controller.

John Drake of Harmonix also noted that most Guitar Hero peripherals will work on Rock Band, if gamers want to switch over.

Adds Drake (via GameSpot):

The music genre is one that calls for constant reinvention, and Harmonix is continuing to welcome and embrace that call. In short, the beat of Rock Band marches on. We're continuing to invest in the franchise and the brand that we have built and will do our best to serve all loyal band game fans.

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'iPhone Nano' rumors are back

Posted: 11 Feb 2011 02:18 PM PST

'iPhone Nano' rumors are backBloomberg has brought back the age-old rumor of a smaller 'iPhone Nano' being in the works, one that will also sell for cheaper than the current iPhones.

Sources have already seen the prototype, and claim Apple will make it available on multiple wireless networks.

Although they would never announce it publicly, the sources say CEO Steve Jobs is afraid of losing market share to Android, and a cheaper iPhone would widen its appeal to those that may be on the fence about a smartphone, or those in developing nations.

Android currently controls 32.9 percent of the global smartphone market, compared to Apple's 16 percent.

Apple's new device will sell for $150-$200 with contract, will be 30 percent smaller than the current iPhone 4, and will remove the Home button. Additionally, Apple wants to add a "universal SIM" slot which will work for many GSM networks.

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Nokia to release Android tablet, phone next year?

Posted: 11 Feb 2011 01:50 PM PST

Nokia to release Android tablet, phone next year?Eldar Murtazin, the Russian tech blogger famous for getting early access to devices, has tweeted this morning that Nokia is still in negotiations that will eventually lead to a partnership with Google's Android.

Says the tweet:

According to my sources Nokia in negotiation with Google as well. First Nokia Android devices for 2012. Turnover. No own OS platform


Nokia CEO Stephen Elop announced this morning that Nokia smartphones would now run the Windows Phone 7 operating system, a huge move for Microsoft which instantly gains a worldwide footprint, but a tough admission from Nokia that they have been slow on innovating in the burgeoning smartphone market.

Elop says the partnership will "jointly create market-leading mobile products and services designed to offer consumers, operators and developers unrivalled choice and opportunity."

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RIM to add software to PlayBook tablet which will allow for Android apps

Posted: 11 Feb 2011 01:35 PM PST

RIM to add software to PlayBook tablet which will allow for Android appsAccording to Bloomberg, RIM is prepared to launch software that will let their upcoming PlayBook tablet run Android apps.

The software will integrated into the new QNX operating system, giving PlayBook owners a chance to download and use the 150,000 apps in the Android Market on their tablet.

Sources say the software will not be ready at the PlayBook's launch (allegedly end of March) but will be ready in the Q3.

Price has not been confirmed but has been "leaked" as $500 for a base model, in line with the Apple iPad and $300 cheaper than the newly launched Motorola Xoom.

RIM's PlayBook will have a 7-inch LCD screen with 1024x600 resolution, a dual-core 1GHz processor, a 5MP standard camera and a 3MP front-facing camera.

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Nokia shares tumble after Windows Phone 7 announcement

Posted: 11 Feb 2011 11:08 AM PST

Nokia shares tumble after Windows Phone 7 announcementFollowing Nokia's official announcement that it will be partnering with Microsoft, shares have tumbled, reaching session lows as of writing of down 14.50 percent on 700 percent average volume.

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop announced this morning that Nokia smartphones would now run the Windows Phone 7 operating system, a huge move for Microsoft which instantly gains a worldwide footprint, but a tough admission from Nokia that they have been slow on innovating in the burgeoning smartphone market.

In just 4 years, Nokia's smartphone share has fallen from 51 percent to 27 percent, losing all of its share to Android and Apple. Microsoft was once a leader in that market as well, but has seen its share fall to single digits.

Elop says the partnership will "jointly create market-leading mobile products and services designed to offer consumers, operators and developers unrivalled choice and opportunity."

In Windows Phone 7, the Nokia Ovi Store will be merged into the Marketplace and all Nokia smartphones will have Bing as the default search engine. Furthermore, WP7 will add Nokia's NAVTEQ maps.

Says one analyst of the deal:

It's a clear admission that Nokia's own platform strategy has faltered. Microsoft is the big winner in this deal, but there are no silver bullets for either company given strength of iPhone and Android.


After Elop's speech 1,000 Nokia employees allegedly walked out of company headquarters in protest of the move. Nokia says the number was a lot less and called the walkout "a mass exercise of vacation time."

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Gaming headed to Apple TV with iOS 4.3?

Posted: 11 Feb 2011 10:31 AM PST

Gaming headed to Apple TV with iOS 4.3?Multiple sources are reporting today that Apple's upcoming iOS 4.3 might bring gaming to the Apple TV, expanding the practically useless "Game Center" introduced with iOS 4.

In the 4.3 code, there are references to "ATVThunder" and "ATVGames," each of which point to scheduling of games, leaderboards sortable by date, the streaming of live/archived games, and a new storefront (likely similar to iTunes).

Because the Apple TV only has 8GB of internal memory, streaming seems the only way to play games via the set-top.

Furthermore, there are references to streaming like "Sedona" and "Flagstaff." Sedona is Apple's video rental mechanism, explains TUAW, who speculates the rentals will turn to streaming, for movies/TV/games.

Finally, the code references FEATURE_REMOTE_SCREENSAVER, which could speculatively lead to interactive screensavers.

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Nokia adopts Windows Phone 7

Posted: 11 Feb 2011 06:57 AM PST

Nokia adopts Windows Phone 7 Nokia has officially announced partnership with Microsoft and will adopt its smartphone platform Windows Phone 7. According to the press release, Nokia has selected Windows Phone 7 as the primary platform for its upcoming smartphones.

Nokia says partnership between the companies will combine the strengths of the companies. They believe that Nokia's strengths in manufacturing and the software prowess of Microsoft will "jointly create market-leading mobile products and services designed to offer consumers, operators and developers unrivalled choice and opportunity."

The software side of the joint cooperation will now largely fall into Microsoft's hands. However, Nokia's Ovi Store will be integrated with the WP7 Marketplace and Microsoft's Bing will get location and map data from Nokia-owned NAVTEQ. Marketplace will also benefit from Nokia's operator billing platform.

Despite the shift towards Windows Phone 7, Nokia will continue to develop Symbian and MeeGo. Lower end smartphones will likely have Symbian in the future as well and MeeGo will remain as a test platform for future developments. Nokia still has plans to unveil its first MeeGo handset during 2011.

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R.I.P Dell Adamo

Posted: 10 Feb 2011 11:27 PM PST

R.I.P Dell AdamoDell has announced today that it is discontinuing the Dell Adamo line of ultraportables, the last real competitor to the MacBook Air.

The Adamo launched in 2009 at 0.65-inches thick, was housed in an aluminum case, runs an Intel Core 2 Duo processor and had SSD before they became popular.

Dell packed in a 13.4-inch screen with 1,366x768 resolution, a SIM card slot, and the device weighed in at under 4 pounds.

The company discontinued the extremely thin Adamo XPS (at 0.39-inches thick) last year.

Sources say Dell was able to clear out remaining Adamo inventory buy selling the computer at $800, well under the $1300-$1500 it was selling for, on average.

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