Berkeley, Calif. – MOG, the operator of a music subscription
service and network of music-focused blogs, said on Tuesday that its streaming
music service is now available on LG Electronics’ Smart TV platform for its
connected Blu-ray players and home theater systems. The service offers a 14-day
trial before charging between $4.99 and $9.99 per month.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4xyvcqx
Sunnyvale, Calif. – mBlox, the developer of a mobile
transaction network, said it has raised an undisclosed amount in a new round of
funding.
Participants included previous backers Norwest Venture Partners, Scale
Ventures, Novus, Trident and Avanti, as well as new investor EDBI of Singapore.
Sunnyvale, Calif.-based mBlox said the investment, which closed in three
different phases, already has enabled the company to make an investment of its
own in late 2010, with the remaining funds going toward geographic expansion in
the Asia-Pacific region.
"This round provides us with sufficient capital
to fund future acquisitions," said CEO Andrew Dark.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/3gwex72
Hampshire, U.K. – Half a billion people worldwide will use
their mobile devices as travel tickets on metros, subways and buses by 2015,
according to a new forecast from Juniper Research.
That would be a five-fold
increase from a year ago. Juniper said it expects a growing number of transit
authorities to begin transitioning to open contactless payment systems, with
the technology spreading from its current concentration in Japan and Europe.
"We see convenience and choice for users as key advantages of mobile
ticketing," said report author Howard Wilcox.
"It will be 2013 before
large numbers of NFC (near field communications) enabled devices are in peoples’
pockets and our new report forecasts the impact on transaction volumes."
Related Links:
http://www.juniperresearch.com/viewpressrelease.php?pr=241
Los Angeles – Pioneering social network Friendster has
informed users that it will delete all photos, blogs, comments and groups from
the site on May 31, encouraging users to utilize an export application to
download their uploaded content, TechCrunch reported.
Friendster will maintain
all user accounts, which after May 31 will feature basic profile information,
friend lists and games details.
"Our improved site is designed to create
new profiles that allow you to connect differently with people and do things
differently than other networking sites. Basically, the new site will
complement your existing online presence in other social networking sites,"
reads a note to Friendster users.
Friendster launched in 2002, and raised around
$50 million in venture capital before being acquired by Malaysia’s MOL Global
in 2009 for a reported $40 million.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/3hbufn7
(TechCrunch)
Shanghai – China’s top search engine Baidu (NASD: BIDU) is set to be
"punished" by the Chinese government for failing to remove links to
illegal music downloads, according to a report by the Xinhua official state
news agency.
Details of the punishment were not released, but Baidu is one of
14 sites set to be reprimanded.
"We are aware that songs require approval
and have sought to comply with previous notifications from the ministry of
culture. But search engine indexing is a continuous process and some files may
have reappeared in results," Baidu spokesperson Kaiser Kuo told Xinhua.
Baidu was cleared of liability for providing "deep links" to
unauthorized downloads hosted on third-party sites in a case brought by major
record labels in 2008 and decided last year.
Last month, the U.S. Trade
Representative called out Baidu in its list of "notorious markets"
where copyright and counterfeit goods are available online.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/3hf2z6d
(Xinhua)
http://tinyurl.com/6jbt8cl
(Reuters)
Los Angeles – Google’s (NASD: GOOG) YouTube will soon launch a
full-fledged streaming movie rental service, featuring films licensed from Sony (NYSE: SNE)
Pictures, Warner Bros. (NYSE: TWX), Universal, Lionsgate and Kino Lorber, TheWrap.com
reported, citing movie executives with knowledge of the deals in place.
The
service could launch as early as this week or next, and will launch without
titles from Paramount (NYSE: VIA) or Fox (NYSE: NWS) — who declined the invite — while Disney’s (NYSE: DIS) stance is unclear, sources told TheWrap.
YouTube
first experimented with movie rentals during the 2010 Sundance Film Festival,
and has since expanded modestly to offer some independent films for streaming
rental for $2.99.
TheWrap noted it’s not clear what YouTube will charge to rent
major studio films during the traditional DVD window.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4xtzk8r
(TheWrap.com)
Los Angeles – The FBI has conducted a raid on the Los
Angeles apartment of a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) member believed to have
uploaded films including "The King’s Speech" and "Black
Swan" to file-sharing service The Pirate Bay, Wired.com reported. The FBI
is reportedly looking into a possible link between SAG member Wes DeSoto and
TiMPE, a group known for uploading movies still showing in theaters to The
Pirate Bay — although no charges have yet been filed.
"I’m nobody in the
online file sharing world. This investigation is excessive and a waste of tax
dollars," DeSoto told Wired.com.
Court documents obtained by Wired.com
note that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) alerted the FBI to
the fact that screener-quality films were being uploaded to file-sharing
networks.
The FBI then used unique watermarks embedded in the films to track
the uploads to who they believe is DeSoto.
Related Links:
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/04/kings-speech-uploader/
http://tinyurl.com/3wxyklt
(TorrentFreak)
Tokyo – Sony (NYSE: SNE) on Tuesday announced its own foray into the
emerging tablet computer market, with the introduction of two Android-powered
"Sony Tablet" models. Slated for release this fall, one model (S1)
will feature a 9.4-inch display and be optimized for rich media entertainment,
while the other model (S2) will sport two 5.5-inch displays, and be optimized
for mobile communication and entertainment.
The devices will connect to Sony’s
Qriocity music and video services, its Reader e-book store, and its PlayStation
suite, where users can play first-generation PlayStation console titles.
The
Sony Tablet will also utilize infrared technology to function as a universal
remote control for TVs and other consumer electronics.
"’Sony Tablet’
delivers an entertainment experience where users can enjoy cloud-based services
on-the-go at any time. We’re aiming to create a new lifestyle by integrating
consumer hardware, including ‘Sony Tablet’ with content and network," said
Kunimasa Suzuki, corporate executive, SVP, and deputy president of Sony’s
consumer products and services group.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/3tdmj3h
