Player FM. wants to make it easier to consume podcasts across different devices: The web-based curation and playback platform was launched by former Googler Michael Mahemoff just a few days ago, but Mahemoff is already thinking about bringing new ad formats and micropayments to podcasts. Read More »
Publishers saw the iPad as a chance to turn back the clock and convince consumers to pay for content in a new form. But that dream has collided with reality, and now some content producers — including MIT’s Technology Review — say the standalone content app … Read More »
Berlin is famous for its thriving music scene — and now local startup wahwah.fm is taking on the idea of pirate radio with a social, mobile app that lets you broadcast to your friends. Read More »
Apple on Thursday released a developer edition of Mountain Lion, the next upgrade of it’s operating system that will go on sale sometime in summer this year. As part of the news, the company shared some metrics about OS X Lion (version 10.7). … Read More »
Your smartphone is already your mobile stereo. Why not make it the centerpiece of your car’s sound system too? That’s what makers of the Devium Dash, a kit you install in your car that makes your iPhone or iPod touch fit right in your car’s dash. Read More »
Path has updated its app for the iPhone with the debut Wednesday of version 2.0.5. The key new part of the update is the addition of a new effect called “Depth” that brings what’s known as tilt-shift capabilities to Path’s photo taking feature. Read More »
Although devices that shoot high-definition video are cheaper and more ubiquitous than ever, amateur videos themselves have not gotten any better to watch. That’s where a new iPhone app called Magisto comes in: It turns any simple iPhone video into a fully edited movie in minutes. … Read More »
It wasn’t just here in the U.S. and it wasn’t just iPhone users; the mobile app obsession has gone global and is now bigger than ever. Here’s a look at some of the most interesting statistics involving the abundance of mobile apps we devoured this year. Read More »
A sharp uptick in the sales of Apple’s iPhone 4S along with the status of “top app of 2011″ has turned this to be a year to remember for San Francisco-based startup, Instagram. The company saw a spike in new users and photo-sharing activity. Read More »
The Entertainment Software Ratings Board intends to apply its familiar game-rating stamps to mobile apps, providing a way for parents to monitor and restrict the games and content their kids download. Five mobile operators and Microsoft have signed on but Apple and Google are missing. Read More »
With Google Music, Amazon Cloud Player and iCloud, there has never been an easier — or more confusing — time to buy music. Avowed music geek Dan Kantor of exfm tells you everything you need to know about how (and where) you should buy your music … Read More »
Arguments over the compensation that artists get from streaming services like Spotify and Rdio just won’t go away — because everyone has wildly different experiences. So who’s got it wrong? Perhaps the real problem is that everybody is right in their own way. Read More »
More Must Reads
Google’s music platform may look a lot like iTunes, but for small indie artists, there’s lots to like. Google treats musicians like Android app developers, offering them a 70 percent market share. Add YouTube as a sales platform, and it could be a game changer. Read More »
Reports that Google will include social features in its new music service reinforce what the rise of Spotify and other services have already made obvious — namely, that Apple and iTunes are falling behind in the social-music race, which could have significant consequences for the company. Read More »
As music services Mog and Rdio take up defensive positions by launching new free-to-listen services, it may look like streaming is the future. But retailers like eMusic are fighting back by arguing that purchasing songs remains as relevant as ever. Read More »
Thanks to the rating systems in place on such popular websites as Yelp, Amazon and eBay, many people are comfortable evaluating things in absolute terms: a two-star restaurant, a B movie and so on. But new MIT research says this approach is fundamentally flawed. Read More »
Travel search startup Hipmunk is bringing its super slick user interface (UI)– and arguably the web’s cutest mascot– to the iPad, just in time for the summer travel season. The San Francisco-based company has launched a custom iPad app and an update to its iPhone offering. Read More »
Apple officially abandoned DRM for its iTunes music store more than two years ago. However, users who re-download any of their past copy-protected purchases as part of Apple’s new iCloud offering once again get files with DRM. Is the company punishing its most loyal customers? Read More »
Even under the best of circumstances– standing desks, ergonomic keyboards, customized chairs– typing can be a major pain. Voice recognition technology startup SoundHound hopes to eventually be a part of the solution by allowing people to simply talk to our computers rather than type. Read More »
Google debuted its highly anticipated cloud-based music player, “Music beta by Google.” The launch during the opening keynote at the Google I/O Developer conference in San Francisco included an obvious wink to its competition with Apple’s iTunes music player. Read More »
Hot music startup Spotify may have won over millions of users in Europe, but it still hasn’t launched in America. That hasn’t stopped it trying to take on Apple, however, by making a surprise move to try and replace the increasingly-bloated iTunes. Read More »
UPDATED: In an apparent attempt to quell concerns from parents, regulators and legislators, Apple has moved to require password entry on every iOS in-app purchase, closing a 15-minute grace period that some children used to inadvertently rack up pricey charges of virtual goods. Read More »
Apple has opened up its Ping social network to Twitter’s 175 million users, allowing those users to connect their accounts to the iTunes-based network and share links and previews. The deal gives Apple more reach, and could help drive traffic to Twitter’s newly relaunched website. Read More »
The Wholesale Applications Community, which will “increase the overall market for mobile applications” has announced new members and published a developer specification for apps that can work across many devices and carriers. But so far, it’s just a spec for widgets. Do we need a WAC? Read More »
Orb’s Music Puck, a $69 device that streams digital over a home network is launching just two months before Apple’s similar AirPlay functionality arrives in iOS devices. Music on Orb is controlled with a free smartphone app. Can Orb’s new hardware compete against Apple’s music juggernaut? Read More »
Apple is reportedly talking with a number of newspaper and magazine publishers about an iTunes-based newsstand that would allow them to offer subscriptions to readers. But while this seems like an appealing offer, publishers should be aware of how much they stand to lose as well. Read More »
Whether by design or accident, Ping’s lack of integration with other social networks, or even with the web itself, is now its most compelling feature — at least from a strategic perspective. It’s essentially an e-commerce platform for music disguised as a social network. Read More »
As expected, Apple today came through with a few major device updates it will be shipping this fall. It revised its entire iPod line, and gave the iPod Touch many features previously only available on the latest iPhone, such as FaceTime video chat. Read More »
After finding more than $375 of iTunes transactions on my credit card this weekend, I thought I was hacked. It turns out the “hacker” was my step-daughter who was understandably confused between virtual goods and real currency for in-app purchases inside a free iPhone application. Read More »
mSpot, a new music streaming service for your own audio collection, recently launched on Android 2.0 or better devices. Thanks to local caching, mSpot offers playback even when your phone has no data connection. But seamless on or offline playback is hurt by one main issue. Read More »
Related GigaOM Pro Research (sub. required): Forget Syncing, Let’s Put Music in the Cloud How to Manage Access to Digital Content Muhammad Saleem is a social media consultant. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/msaleem. Read More »
Apple has started to offer preview samples of songs on the web version of the iTunes music store called the iTunes Preview. It launched the iTunes Preview in November 2009. At the time, you couldn’t listen to these previews. The Cupertino, Calif.-based online music giant … Read More »
So it is official: Apple says it has more than 100,000 apps in its iTunes App Store, a bit of news that was reported by AppShopper and Mobclix last week. In terms of landmarks, 100,000 is merely a number, soon to be forgotten … Read More »
For months now, Apple has been rumored to have its eyes on a new type of iTunes TV subscription offering — and we may be on the verge of seeing this potentially disruptive idea come to fruition. Multiple sources have confirmed that Apple has been pitching … Read More »
Rhapsody, the music subscription service, says its free iPhone application has been downloaded more than 330,000 times since its launch Sept. 9, making it the No. 2 music app in the iTunes store. But while that’s an enthusiastic display of interest in a … Read More »
Amazon today released a series of APIs as part of its new Amazon Mobile Payments Service that allow developers to build mobile payments into their applications, and to tie them to Amazon’s 1-Click payment option. For developers this gives them a way to let consumers … Read More »
Nine out of 10 Americans don’t listen to music on their cell phones, according to a Forrester Research note released today on “The Future Of Music On Cell Phones.” The report gives a bunch of reasons for this, but all the conclusions are bad news … Read More »
Internet service providers are beginning to focus on upstream speeds as subscribers change their online behavior from consuming web content to producing it. I’ve written how upstream demand is on the rise thanks to online storage services, video uploads and file sharing, but for … Read More »
When it comes to buying content, consumers prefer to pick a bundle rather than buy à la carte, Daniel Taylor, a GigaOM Pro analyst, argues over at NewTeeVee. To bolster his argument, he used the example of paying for cable, rather than individual channels … Read More »
The Apple rumor mill never stops. This week, the Financial Times is claiming that Apple is working hand-in-hand with record labels to redesign how it sells music albums on its iTunes store. According to the FT’s sources, Apple is working with EMI, Sony, Warner and … Read More »
The Times this week, in a story about a new line of “stylishly designed” electronics from Memorex targeted at women, asks if women are getting the gadgets they deserve. I would answer no. Women (and really everyone) deserve gadgets that are easy … Read More »
One of Apple’s great successes this decade has been its ability to unite the cell phone, the portable MP3 player and the music store in one ingenious handheld device, the iPhone. As new applications arise that allow on-demand streaming music on non-Apple phones such as those … Read More »
Following in the footsteps of Apple and its iTunes App store, several mobile companies have announced plans to launch their own storefronts. Research In Motion is looking to launch its store relatively soon, and it took a major step forward when it started accepting applications … Read More »
Sometimes you can’t make this stuff up: “Music companies aren’t tech companies, although we depend on tech innovation for the evolution of our business,” Michael Nash, Warner Music Group’ s executive vice president for digital strategy and business development tells The Wall Street Journal. The fight with Apple’s … Read More »
Apple finally acquiesced to the demands of the record labels and introduced variable pricing to its iTunes music store. That’s good news for consumers, who also get DRM-free music. The problem is, it won’t fix what ails the music business, which by agreeing to 69-cents-and-up pricing … Read More »
Most Commented
Popular Now
