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Windows Phone 8 users will get 1 year of commercial-free Pandora One

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Microsoft, Music,

Pandora Windows Phone 8

Microsoft is touting a bunch of the new apps that will be coming to Windows Phone 8, and one it's really excited about is Pandora. You're in for a little bit of a wait for the app, as it won't appear for Windows Phone 8 users until early 2013, but when it does, it will offer ad-free listening for the first year. That's basically free 12-month subscription to Pandora One from Microsoft for users of its new smartphones. Pretty nice.


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Here’s how the top web companies and services make money

Posted by Jason Diaz Categories: Corporate News, Internet,

How Do They Make Money

Ever wonder how your favorite tech companies, apps, services or social networks like Facebook and Twitter actually make money? Do they even make a profit? This cool HTML5 optimized page by RCS See Interactive answers that very question. It gathers up all of that info and breaks it down into categories in a cool interactive way. It lets you know which companies make money from advertising, subscriptions, lead generation, selling your data (yep, that happens a lot!), freemium models, and royalties. Go check it out! Tap any circle and what you find may surprise you.

[Thanks, Pedro!]

Read More | How Do They Make Money?

Apple set to launch Pandora-like streaming music service

Posted by Jason Diaz Categories: Apple, Music, Rumors,

iTunes Streaming music

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple is working on a streaming music service that would give iTunes, Spotify- or Pandora-like functionality. However, the details are scarce at the moment. Here's a Tweet from Dennis K. Berman:

Click to continue reading Apple set to launch Pandora-like streaming music service

Read More | WSJ

Pandora Radio now offered by Dish Hopper Whole-House DVR

DISH Pandora Internet Radio Hopper

Having a DVR has been my favorite upgrade since getting a high definition TV with HD programing to pair. Though I didn’t think the DVR could get any better, Dish Network decided to prove me wrong. As much as we love our DVR’s here at Gear Live, we love our music just as much (just check us out on Rdio.) That being said, Dish has now introduced Pandora Radio as an added bonus to its DVRs. You’ll now not only be able to watch any prerecorded show you saved to the DVR, but also enjoy your beats from any room in the house connected to the DVR. You can read the full press release below.

Click to continue reading Pandora Radio now offered by Dish Hopper Whole-House DVR


Are cloud music services like Rdio and Spotify the same song and dance?

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Internet, Music,

Cloud music services comparison

We sat in on a panel where Pandora's Jackson Gates, Daren Tsui of mSpot, and Kevin Wortis were interviewed by Gartner's Mike McGuire about the future of cloud music services at SXSW. It was an interesting discussion, focusing on what the benefit of the cloud brings to music, and the problems associated with expecting users to pay for something that they've been used to getting for free for at least a generation. It's an interesting time, and obviously the models differ substantially for companies like Pandora and Spotify, for example. Click on through for the highlights of the discussion!

Click to continue reading Are cloud music services like Rdio and Spotify the same song and dance?


Bleeding Edge TV 434: Cadillac CUE infotainment system tour

In this episode we give you a look at the Cadillac User Experience, also known as Cadillac CUE. This is the new infotainment system that you can expect to find in the upcoming Cadillac XTS and Cadillac SRX as a standard feature, as well as an optional feature on the upcoming Cadillac ATS as well. Cadillac CUE offers a bunch of cool, new features that make driving more fun:

Connectivity: CUE seamlessly connects you to a world of content. Its available 3D GPS navigation system has map-integrated Doppler weather reports. It accesses every contact and song on your Bluetooth-enabled smartphone. It reads text messages aloud and streams Pandora Radio. With downloadable custom apps, its content possibilities are endless. With CUE, you are always connected.

Convenience: CUE starts with a clean, uncluttered design. From there, intuition takes over. Spread your fingers to zoom in closer on a map. Swipe to breeze through your music. Program the homepage to keep your favorites front and center. With fewer buttons and more intelligent controls, CUE also offers natural voice recognition, allowing you to effortlessly place phone calls and play music.

Control: Proximity-sensing technology detects your hand as it approaches the 8-inch LCD touch screen. When an icon is pressed, the screen pulses to acknowledge the command, keeping your eyes safely on the road. Even the gauge cluster is reconfigurable (select models), offering four display layouts that mix vehicle data, such as a speedometer and fuel gauge, with navigation, entertainment and 3-D vehicle image.

Big thank you to GoToMeeting and JackThreads for sponsoring the show - be sure to check them out! GoToMeeting provides rich, super-simple collaborative virtual meetings. As for JackThreads, we've got exclusive invite codes that give you $5 to use towards anything you'd like on the site.


Spotify Radio set to take on Pandora

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Internet, Music,

Spotify LogoThe Internet radio market got another shot of disruption today as Spotify announced its new Spotify Radio, a music-streaming app that will function just like a normal radio station, with the added ability to skip songs you don't like.

During this week's LeWeb tech conference in Paris, which was live-streamed online, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek took to the stage to announce the launch of the new app. Outlining the merits of Spotify Radio, Ek said, "It's kind of like Pandora, but with unlimited skipping and unlimited stations... We think people will love playing around it and we'd love to see what developers will do on top of that."

To get started, users simply click the new "Start Artist Radio" at the top of an artist page and the app will automatically create a radio station and continue to insert new music based on its "intelligent recommendation engine."

Click to continue reading Spotify Radio set to take on Pandora


Nook Tablet: The new $249 multimedia tablet e-reader from Barnes and Noble

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds,

Nook Tablet

This morning Barnes and Noble unleashed their answer to the Kindle Fire, and it's the Nook Tablet. The Nook Tablet focuses on multimedia consumption, and keeps true to its e-reader roots with a great book and magazine reading experience. It's got a 7-inch display with Wi-Fi built-in and 16 GB of storage as well. It's thinner and lighter than the Nook Color, with a much faster 1 GHz dual-core processor as well.

The Nook Tablet also has 1 GB of RAM, and weighs in at under a pound. B&N says you should expect 11.5 hours of battery life from the device, which runs a customized version of Android 2.3. That customization, by the way, means that this isn't the type of Android tablet that you can just take and do your will with. It's geared towards things like reading books/magazines/periodicals, email, Internet browsing, video streaming, etc. In fact, a partnership with Netflix means you'll have deep integration of the platform on this tablet, with suggestions showing up on your home screen. Expect games, music services like Pandora, and other entertainment options (like Hulu) as well.

The Nook Tablet ships on November 18th, and can be pre-ordered now.


Turntable.fm is the hottest music service that you aren’t using

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Internet, Music,

Turntable.fm

Turntable.fm is climbing the charts. According to a story from Betabeat, the Facebook phenom has hit 140,000 active users after just one month. Not a bad showing for a semi-closed beta with a spotty security record.

The popular service effectively combines (free) music-streaming, chat rooms, and voting, all through a Facebook portal. It's similar to Web apps such as Pandora. Turntable.fm allows you to discover new music and create your own custom playlists, only that playlist isn't just for you—you'll share it with other Facebook users in real time.

Add to the exchange a note of gameplay. After you create your DJ avatar, you can create your own room or enter someone else's (if you get overwhelmed there's a randomizer) and interact with other avatars through a chat feature. Each room supports up to five DJs. Take a seat on the stage to share your playlist, created from your own uploads or from the Turntable.fm library.

Click to continue reading Turntable.fm is the hottest music service that you aren’t using


Tennessee may throw you in jail for sharing your Netflix password

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Home Entertainment, Internet,

Netflix password tenessee

Have you shared your Netflix, Hulu Plus, or Rhapsody password with a friend? While it might seem harmless, this type of activity could now land you in some legal trouble in Tennessee.

Gov. Bill Haslam this week signed a bill that would make it illegal to share your password on subscription-based entertainment services like Netflix, Pandora, or Hulu Plus. As the AP explained, the bill is intended to stop hackers who sell batches of passwords, but it could extend to the average user who lets friends or family members watch a movie using their Netflix login or listen to music streams on Rhapsody.

"What becomes not legal is if you send your username and password to all your friends so they can get free subscriptions," bill sponsor Rep. Gerald McCormick, a Republican, told the AP.

Click to continue reading Tennessee may throw you in jail for sharing your Netflix password


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