FCC Allows MPAA, Pay-TV Services to Block Analog Outputs

0

Washington
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has moved to allow cable and
satellite TV service providers to block consumers from viewing new release
films on analog devices as a means of preventing piracy. Following lobbying by
the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the FCC agreed to allow
implementation of a "Selectable Output Control" (SOC) scheme, which
enables programmers to remotely disable the audio/video outputs on their
set-top boxes.

The effect will be that analog devices and some older HD sets
will not be able to access the video-on-demand films made available at the same
time they are still in theaters, during a 90-day window.

The FCC noted that it
did not grant the MPAA’s full waiver request, which would have extended from
a film’s theatrical release through its DVD release date.

In granting the MPAA’s waiver, the
FCC said that "the service that MPAA proposes would serve the public
interest and that providers of first-run theatrical content are unlikely to
offer the service absent the ability to activate SOC."

Opponents of the
SOC scheme, including rights group Public Knowledge, were dismayed by the FCC’s
move.

"The FCC is allowing the MPAA to control your television," Public
Knowledge staff attorney John Bergmayer told Wired.com.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/w4nwj

(PDF: FCC ruling)

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/05/fcc-allows-soc

Woozworld Lands $3 Million for Virtual World for Tweens

0

Montreal
Woozworld, a virtual world for tweens (ages 9-14), announced on Monday that
it has raised $3 million in its first round of funding, led by iNovia Capital
and ID Capital.

Launched in December 2009 by Tribal Nova, Montreal, Canada-based Woozworld will now
become a separate entity.

The site currently counts 350,000 members and 1 million
user-generated virtual spaces.

Woozworld will use the funds for marketing and
continued development of its virtual world.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/w4nqg

http://www.woozworld.com

Mobile Analytics Firm Localytics Closes First Round of Funding

0

Cambridge,
Mass.
– Localytics, a provider of
mobile analytics services, announced on Monday that it has closed its first
round of funding, led by Launchpad Venture Group and New York Angels.

While the
amount raised was not disclosed, TechCrunch pegged the investment at around $700,000.

Cambridge, Mass.-based Localytics was a member
of the 2009 TechStars Boston class, receiving $18,000 from the incubator
program.

The company said it will use the funds to expand the services and
features of its community and enterprise mobile analytics services.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/w4l9s

http://techcrunch.com/2010/05/10/localytics

First Reviews of Microsoft "Kin" Social Phones Roll In

0

Los Angeles
– The first reviews of Microsoft’s (NASD: MSFT) new "Kin" line of social
media-focused mobile phones have been published, and while some have praised
their physical design and the Kin Studio back-up software that accompanies the
phones, others have been critical of social media features, the on-board
camera, and particularly the Kin’s price tag. The Kin One and Kin Two will be
sold exclusively by Verizon from May 13, for $50 and $100, respectively, after
a $100 mail-in rebate and two-year service contract.


 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/w26bw
(WSJ)

http://snipurl.com/w268g
(Gizmodo)

http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/05/kin-one-and-two-review/1

http://www.wired.com/reviews/product/pr_microsft_kin

http://www.kin.com

Spotify Music Service to Launch in the Netherlands

0

London – Streaming music
service Spotify will soon launch in the Netherlands, MusicWeek reported,
citing head of communications Jim Butcher. The company, which is also expected
to launch the Spotify service in the U.S.
this year, does not yet have a launch date for the Netherlands. Spotify is currently
available in the U.K., France, Spain,
Sweden, Norway and Finland.


 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/w25pe

(MusicWeek)

http://www.spotify.com

Yelp Launches Local Reviews Service in France

0

San Francisco – Yelp, the
provider of user-generated ratings of local businesses, announced this week
that it has launched in France,
offering its site in both French and English. "Since France is a country steeped in rich
culinary, artistic and cultural traditions, it was only natural that our first
non-English site be devoted to the French," the company said in a blog
post.


 

Related Links:
http://officialblog.yelp.com/2010/05/parlez-vous-yelp-1.html

http://www.yelp.fr

Apple to Launch iPad in Nine More Countries on May 28

1

Cupertino,
Calif.
– Apple (NASD: AAPL) announced on
Friday that its iPad will launch in nine international markets on May 28, with
pre-orders to begin on Monday, May 10.

The iPad will initially be available in Australia, Canada,
France, Germany, Italy,
Japan, Spain, Switzerland
and the U.K. on May 28;
Apple also plans to release the iPad in Austria,
Belgium, Hong
Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico,
Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore in July.

The company
added that the iPad has already sold over 1 million units in the U.S., where
users have downloaded more than 12 million apps and 1.5 million e-books.

 

Related Links:
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010/05/07ipad.html

Report: iAd 'VIP' Deal Offers Advertisers iTunes Purchase Data

0

Cupertino,
Calif.
– Apple (NASD: AAPL) is marketing its
new iAd mobile advertising platform as having an advantage over competitors because
it will provide application developers with some purchase data from users’
iTunes accounts, TechCrunch reported.

Quattro, the mobile ad network recently
acquired by Apple, is offering iPhone application developers a "VIP"
iAd program that will "tie the ad directly into purchasing data from
iTunes, letting app developers measure the conversion rate of ad impressions to
downloads," TechCrunch reports.

Quattro touted the iAd’s "proprietary
direct link from the ad to App Store," and the VIP program’s unique offer
that "cannot be duplicated by any of our competitors."

 

Related Links:
http://techcrunch.com/2010/05/05/apple-vip-ad/

Borders Launches Pre-Orders for $149 Kobo eReader

1

Ann Arbor,
Mich.
– Books and media retail
store chain Borders (NYSE: BGP) on Friday began taking pre-orders for the Kobo eReader, and
said next month it will debut its e-book store along with applications powered
by Kobo.

Pre-orders for the device will begin arriving on June 17.

The company
said it will also sell the $149 Kobo eReader, along with a variety of other
e-book reader devices, in special "Area-e" digital shops inside
Borders stores that are set to launch in August.

Borders said the Kobo will
come pre-loaded with 100 "classic" books, and that its Borders eBook
store will feature over 1 million titles.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/w24a7

http://www.kobobooks.com

http://www.borders.com/koboereader

Report: iPhone Shipments Up 131%; World Market Share Rises

1

New York
Apple (NASD: AAPL) shipped 8.8 million iPhones during the third quarter, an increase of
131% from the 3.8 million it shipped during the same period a year ago,
according to a report from market research firm IDC.

In terms of global
smartphone vendors, Apple now sits behind Nokia (NYSE: NOK) (39.3%) and Research in Motion (NASD: RIMM)
(19.3%) with 16.1% of market share — up from the 10.9% of market share it held
in the first quarter of 2009.

BusinessWeek notes that Apple drew market share
from Research in Motion, which slid to 19.3% from 20.9% market share a year
ago.

Overall, 54.7 million smartphones were shipped during the first quarter,
an increase of 56.7% from the 34.9 million shipped a year ago.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/w23o2

(BusinessWeek)

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20004410-37.html