RIM Launches Socially Powered BBM Music.
If your head was already spinning from the growing number of streaming radio/music services currently on the market, sit down and take a load off. RIM is getting in the game too with BBM Music…
Archive for: radio
Last.fm To Begin Charging For Mobile Access.
Users of Last.fm in the U.S. UK, and Germany will have some hard choices to make in the near future. Popular music streaming service and Pandora competitor, Last.fm, has announced that the aforementioned countries will now have to pay extra for mobile access and Last.fm usage on desktop/laptop devices. While the move to a pay-to-play scenario has already been enacted in many other places of the world under Last.fm’s reach, the U.S., UK, and Germany remained free of charge.
While we understand that the freemium model doesn’t always work and that Last.fm has to make some changes in order to make money, the added price isn’t justified. Take for example competing (and much better) service, Spotify. This non-U.S. music streaming service also allows playlist creation, downloading of content to local drives, and gives users the ability to choose the play order of songs.
Hopefully Last.fm follows the $3/month charge that is shared in other countries. Because if it is $5+, I can see quite a few defecting to other services that are either cheaper or offer more features for the money.
Users of Windows Phone 7 devices and Xbox Live will still be able to enjoy Last.fm for free, as will web users. None of these portals will see any price addition.
Parrot Unveils Connected Car Receiver Powered by Android. #ces2011
Consumer electronics company and mobile wireless accessory manufacturer, Parrot, revealed a new connected car audio receiver tonight at CES: Unveiled. The “Parrot ASTEROID” is powered by Google’s Android operating system and ships with a GPS key that when combined with a 3G key (purchased separately) can bring literally anything and everything into your car and display it front and center on your dashboard. Everything from weather, to news, to streaming Last.fm can be accomplished with this head unit, and any iPod or other MP3 player can be attached via USB ports on the back of the device as well as paired via Bluetooth.
As for sonic qualities, the unit features (2) pairs of RCA pre-amp outputs and a separate RCA output for a subwoofer. Specifics are still being obtained as is pricing. However, users can expect the ASTEROID’s release in Q1 for France, Spain, Italy, UK, Germany, Benelux and Q2 for the United States.
Keep checking back! Gallery after the jump.
[Press Release] — PDF
Would you do it: Radio tower repairmen. 1,700ft. No safety gear. Best view in world.
You know, I never really gave much thought into radio towers and how they work. I mean, I know the basic principles of it all. But the actually nitty gritty details such as “How do you replace the light at the top?” never really sunk very deep into my brain. I can now consider that ship sunk after watching a video of a radio tower repairman scaling to the top to replace nothing more than a simple light bulb. If you think it’s a simple task, punch yourself in the face, turn around, and then punch your mother in the face. It’s not an easy job. If you’re afraid of heights you wouldn’t make it. Period.
In the movie (inside), we hear the guy mentioning that you take an elevator to around 1,600ft. before climbing out and spidermanning your way to the top — another 170ft. or so. At that height, you can easily see a solid 55 miles in any direction. Pretty awesome, right? 1,700 ft. may not sound like much, but it is. Further adding to the jaw dropping moment is the astonishing admission by the worker himself that most repairmen don’t take the time to harness up or tie themselves down simply because it “takes too much time” and is “too tiring”. Both of those little gripes are easily solved when falling 1,700+ft. back to earth because you didn’t use a simple piece of safety gear — you’ll sleep great and have all the time in the world…
Morbid jokes aside, I have a new found respect for these guys and gals because my ass is not going up there. The part that got me the most was the last 30ft. or so of climbing in which the dude is dangling on a piece of red metal tubing that’s at most 4″ thick. Yikes! Step inside to see the full show…
Review: LivioRadio’s “Carmen”
In the year 2010, with all of the new fangled means of listening to music, radio is dead. Right? Mp3 players, iPods, smartphones, and web equipped cars are quickly eating into the realm that terrestrial radio once played. With so many more efficient means of consuming music, we have to ask: Why even bother with radio?
Some people simply like the more “social” or “personal” aspect a human DJ brings. For others, it’s a matter of still not possessing a device to play their own music. And then there’s people whom feel radio (and music in general) isn’t that important in their lives, and as such, how they get music doesn’t really matter.
But I think I’ve found one little gadget that could make the radio relevant and fun again — The Carmen, by LivioRadio. Hop inside to see just how one seemingly extinct technology can be made so relevant again…
Update: Spotify “back to square one” on US ventures.
In what is another example of major music label’s massive mishandling of their own industry, Billboard has revealed some information tonight that is rather depressing — Spotify’s US ventures “are back to square one”. The cause is as many would guess, money. Specifically, the inability of the labels to agree to a reasonable dollar amount to charge Spotify as well as apprehension with the freemium model Spotify has perfected over seas. Years of fat cat living have spoiled the labels’ senses for the finer things in life — much finer things than they deserve, mind you.
It’s a shame really. Spotify is a great music streaming service that european users have been able to enjoy for quite some time now. The continual screw ups that the major labels commit hurt not only themselves, but end users as well. Spotify too is hurt. Each day they don’t have a service available in the US, they’re losing potential customers to the likes of Pandoara, Last.fm, Rdio, and so on. Later this year, Apple and Google are rumored to be offering their own streaming services as well. Clearly the fight is close.
Hopefully the labels can get their heads out of their asses and get something hammered together for the sake of music lovers everywhere. Because the worst case scenario — and nobody wants this — is Spotify becoming irrelevant by the time it manages to crawl into the US. Either way, it’s a simple yet clear signal that the major labels in the US need to die, seriously. They do nothing but suck money from artists and prevent any type of useful innovation and progress in the industry they claim to support. Anyone still hoping for Spotify?
Update
Don’t write off Spotify and the US just yet. Looks like the allegations above aren’t entirely true…according to Spotify that is…
Last.fm to begin outsourcing on-demand streaming. Turning into “music discovery service”.
Fans of Last.fm, soon you’re going to notice a big, big change in how your music streaming service of choice operates. In 2009, you’d type in Last.fm into your browser and go about streaming your music. In 2010 — not anymore. Last.fm announced today that they are aborting all on-demand streaming. Suicide you say? We’ll see…
SIRIUS/XM for BlackBerry goes live!
Would you call yourself a music connoisseur? I’ve found that as each year goes by, I’m constantly searching for more and more music. Perhaps that’s the reason I stopped listening to “terrestrial” radio several years ago. The same 50-60 songs get all of the airtime, making each radio station nothing but a cesspool of boredom. Don’t go ending it all just yet. There’s hope for our kind.
If you find yourself tired of the radio stations that come via traditional waves and don a BlackBerry at least a few hours each week, the freshly launched SIRIUS/XM BlackBerry app is just the ticket to a more rewarding day. Kick to the curb the senseless and pain in the ass commercials that pollute the airwaves and instead take back control of your mobile music experience.
Similar to the iPhone app, the SIRIUS/XM app for BlackBerry gives users access to 120 channels of commercial free radio and requires that you have a paid subscription of some sort. Simple stuff really.
I don’t use satellite radio as I don’t have any money. Hard fact of life it is. But I live on. For me, streaming services such as Pandora and Last.fm are my top picks. But I’m curious, how is the experience of satellite radio on your phone? This question isn’t open to just BlackBerry users, but any mobile device with SIRIUS/XM access. Anyone care to share?
Oxford University puts the kibosh on Spotify on campus networks/computers.
Getting a good education in todays world is a must if you plan on getting anywhere in life. Those looking for such an education have many fine and prestigious schools across the world to choose from. Here in the states, Harvard is often heard when comparing various top schools as is Oxford for those in the UK. Today however we’re focusing on the latter and one decision in particular that has students bloddy angry. It all involves P2P file sharing, though, not in the way you’d think…
I’ve written about Spotify several times before because frankly, it’s awesome. Compared to all of the music streaming services in the states, it’s simply the best option. Unfortunately, numerous amounts of red tape and corporate push over have so far kept the UK born service out of the states. But a new development at one of the UK’s most recognized colleges: Oxford.
As is similar with most colleges, P2P and any type of file sharing service is banned on campus computers and networks. Up until this point, Oxford students were able to use Spotify anyway. I mean, it is a legal service with the only knock against it (according to the school’s policies) is that it was a P2P service. Like most of you know, P2P use is generally accompanied by hefty bandwidth usage meaning it puts a heavy burden on networks. Oxford’s network is apparently buckling under the load.
Naturally, students who have come to survive on Spotify’s vast streamable library to offset the overplayed and overhyped top 40 that routinely flood the airwaves aren’t the slightest bit happy. Likewise, the school maintains their position on P2P bans pertaining to Spotify.
So where do we go from here? In all honesty it isn’t that big of a deal in the grander scheme of things (read: Haiti). Not to mention, if school related functions on their network are starting to puke because of all this new fangled music streaming stuff, Oxford has every right to maintain the integrity of their network. Still, in the digital world, it’s a pretty big thing I’d say. It begs the question: Is there a better way to handle it? Perhaps time limits tied to a particular school logon — hourly, daily, weekly?
One possible way that Oxford and schools in general can get around this is by using tunneling and other network management technologies to limit how much bandwidth is allotted to applications and services such as Spotify. Doing so would keep school and student bodies equally happy (in theory).
With restrictions and false boundaries comes those looking to get around said limitations in order to get back to what was once theirs. Such tactics to geeks are like an “Independence Day” of sorts, reclaiming lost freedoms. To the IT/school organization however, it can often lead to various punishments including a blanket computer ban and expulsion. So tread lightly.
Any Oxford students or those familiar with the matter feel like chiming in?
