Spotify Introduces Free Mobile Radio for iPhone, iPad - Billboard Business News
Spotify today introduced free radio streaming for iPhone and iPad users, making the site more directly competitive with online radio leader Pandora. Using internal data from Spotify's database of 16 million tracks in the U.S., Spotify will create custom radio playlists based on track, artists, albums, genres or playlists themselves. As an example of the latter, a playlist based on the current Billboard Hot 100 playlist might suggest a track like Foster the People's "Warrant," a song that hasn't charted but is similar to the songs on the playlist and also to users' own meta-data.
Spotify Play Button Launches, Aims For Ubiquity
In another Pandora-like move, Spotify's radio service comes equipped with the ability to "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" a song, which will in turn update the next track on the playlist in real time to more accurately reflect the user's listening preferences. Such additions could be useful in helping Spotify narrow the gap between its competitors -- Pandora reported 50 million active users in May (compared to Spotify's 10 million active users and 3 million paying subscribers), with 70% of usage coming from mobile devices. Prior to today's announcement, only premium users could access Spotify on a mobile device (premium users will also be able to use the new radio service on iPhone and iPad).
Spotify Lifts Limits on Free Listening in U.S.
"One of the things users kept asking us was for better discovery of new music," says Donovan Sung, product manager for Spotify. The free mobile features could also have a halo effect on other usages of the product. "There's a high correlation between time spent streaming and being a paying customer. We're just trying to improve the experience," Sung says.
Spotify Introduces First iPad App, Aims To Become 'Home Stereo'
"Liking" a song on the new Spotify playlists will automatically save the track to a special playlist so users can revisit any song they've given a "thumbs up," similar to the starred playlists users can currently create to remember their favorite tracks. A radio icon also features prominently in the middle of today's update for Apple devices -- making it "the central feature of the mobile app," Sung notes.
Spotify Developing Online Radio to Challenge Pandora (Report)
With an Android version of the new mobile app in the works (an updated, radio-free Android app debuted Monday), could a click-to-buy feature for songs be far behind? "We have to see what the users will say," Sung says. "We're constantly updating to include anything users really like."
Motorola Solutions to Acquire Psion - Yahoo Finance
Motorola Solutions Inc. (MSI), a leader in the lucrative U.S. Public Safety market, is planning to acquire Psion Plc for $200 million in cash. Per the deal, Motorola Solutions will make a premium offer of $1.36 per share to Psion. The deal is expected to close by the end of fiscal 2012, subject to regulatory approvals.
Psion Plc develops mobile handheld computers, which are mainly used for commercial and industrial purposes. It operates in 14 different countries and has served clients in more than 80 countries. Motorola Solutions believes that the acquisition of Psion will not only bolster its mobile computing and hardware portfolio but will also increase its presence in the international market, thereby accelerating top- and bottom-line growth.
Motorola’s business model remains compelling and we believe that the company will be able to maintain its current top-line growth going forward, primarily due to the critical nature of the public safety network in the U.S. and massive growth potential in the Middle East.
Despite these positives, we believe that a slowdown in government expenditures due to budgetary pressures -- particularly at the state and local levels -- may significantly jeopardize the company’s overall financials as the company is heavily dependent on it. Moreover, Sprint Nextel Corporation (S), one of the company's largest customers, has decided to gradually phase out the iDEN network, thus adding to the negative pressures. We, thus, maintain our long-term Neutral recommendation on Motorola Solutions Inc.
Currently, Motorola Solutions Inc. has a Zacks #2 Rank, implying a short-term Buy rating.
Motorola Solutions Inc., based in Schaumburg, Illinois, is a leading communications equipment manufacturer, with a strong market position in bar code scanning, wireless infrastructure gear and government communications.
Read the Full Research Report on MSIRead the Full Research Report on S
More From Zacks.com
Nokia PureView 808 Coming to U.S. for $699, Amazon Preorder Begin this Week - mobilenapps.com
- Nokia PureView 808 Coming to U.S. for $699, Amazon Preorder Begin This Week(Photo: Nokia | Mobile & Apps)
Introduced at Mobile World Congress, Nokia PureView 808 is the best camera phone that money can buy. It has received a lot of positive review for its 41-megapixel rear snapper. The smartphone is currently available in European and Asian market. However, the U.S. release of this phone was being doubted. And though Nokia might never release this smartphone through a cellular network carrier in U.S., the company has confirmed that it will sell the unlocked version of PureView 808 through Amazon U.S.
The Finnish mobile major announced on its Conversations blog on Tuesday that it will offer the smartphone in the U.S. through Amazon. The retailer will be selling the unlocked version of the smartphone for $699 with preorders scheduled to begin later this week. The PureView 808 supports GSM networks only. So, it will not work on Verizon Wireless or other CDMA networks. Nokia has confirmed that the smartphone will be functional over AT&T and T-Mobile network.
Like Us on Facebook :
Packing 41-megapixel Carl Zeiss optic sensor, PureView 808 is better in photography than most of digital cameras available in the market. The maximum effective resolution in PureView 808 is 38 megapixels. Utilizing Creative Shooting mode, it can capture photos at a resolution of 7728 X 5354 pixels in 16:9 format or 7152 X 5368 pixels in 4:3 formats. However, Nokia recommends 5-megapixel settings for capturing a perfect noiseless image.
At 5-megapixel capture resolution, PureView 808 utilizes the concept of oversampling to pack up to 7 pixels in one single pixel to capture a completely noiseless photo. By zooming-in the image up to 3 times, there is no loss in quality of image without any artificial pixels produced. The smartphone also records 1080p videos at 30fps with 4X loseless zoom. Crisp clear audio recording takes place even at a high level of 140 db.
The rest of the features include 4-inch AMOLED display with 360 X 640 pixels resolution, Gorilla Glass protection, 1.3GHz ARM processor, 512MB RAM and 16GB internal storage with microSD card support up to 32GB. The PureView 808 runs Nokia Belle OS. The regular connectivity features like Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth, microUSB and GPS are all there.
User can also sign-up for e-mail notification regarding the availability of smartphone in the U.S.
Nokia’s 41MP 808 PureView coming to U.S. for $699, meant for rich eccentrics - Venturebeat.com
Nokia’s killer new camera phone is finally coming to America, but unless you’ve got $700 to burn, we recommend holding off.
Nokia announced today that the 808 PureView, which is now infamous for its 41-megapixel camera, will soon be available for $699 on Amazon for U.S. customers. You’re paying a pretty penny, since you’re buying the phone off-contract, and you’ll have to provide your own AT&T or T-Mobile SIM card (it’s 2G-only on T-Mobile).
We’ve covered extensively why the 808 PureView’s camera is so remarkable. It packs an astounding number of pixels into a tiny sensor, allowing you to zoom into photos in extreme ways. But the phone also runs Nokia’s aging Symbian Belle OS, which is nowhere near a worthy competitor to the iPhone and Android.
Is it really worth suffering through a clunky OS and app ecosystem just to get your hands on a cool cellphone camera? I would say no — unless you just love being the only person in the room with a quirky gadget (breaking: the 808 PureView is now the perfect hipster phone). For everyone else, you’re better off nabbing one of the latest Android phones (the HTC One series, or Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S III), the iPhone 4S, or just holding out for Apple’s upcoming iPhone.
Nokia has previously mentioned that the PureView camera technology will eventually make its way to the company’s Windows Phones. Wait a year or so, and you’ll be able to get this crazy camera tech on a platform that won’t make your hate yourself.
41-MP Nokia 808 PureView Heading to U.S. - PC Magazine
Mobile phone photographers, take note. The Nokia 808 PureView, aka the highest resolution cameraphone ever, is coming to the U.S.
Nokia on Tuesday announced that the 41-megapixel 808 will be available for purchase in the U.S. unlocked and unsubsidized through Amazon.com, for the hefty price tag of $699. Users will need to provide their own SIM card, but it'll work with AT&T and T-Mobile.
Nokia did not provide an exact date for the 808's U.S. arrival, but Amazon will begin taking pre-orders later this week. Users can also sign up now to be notified when the 808 goes on sale.
The 808 launched globally in May, with the exception of North America. Nokia said it is now bringing the device to the U.S. in response to consumer interest.
Nokia unveiled the phone in February at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, and it quickly garnered attention for its 41-megapixel camera, which takes incredibly high-res images. The camera can "combine up to seven pixels into one 'pure' pixel, eliminating the visual noise found on other mobile phone cameras," Nokia said.
The 808 can also capture 1080p video at up to 4X zoom and has "CD quality" audio recording. It has a 4-inch, 640-by-360 touch screen as well as a 1.3-GHz processor and 16GB of memory, plus a memory card slot.
On the downside, the device is somewhat bulky and runs on the decade-old Symbian operating system, which Nokia is in the process of phasing out in favor of Windows Phone.
For more, check out PCMag's Hands On With the 41-Megapixel Nokia PureView 808 and the slideshow below.
For more from Angela, follow her on Twitter @amoscaritolo.
No comments:
Post a Comment