Findaway launched its Playaway audio player in 2006, a device that came pre-loaded with one audiobook. Despite distribution deals with Borders and Barnes & Noble, the product failed to gain traction, likely due to the lack of customization options. However, since libraries are in the business of passing one item from person to person, the device had some appeal. Now the company is introducing its Playaway Launchpad, designed specifically for the children’s sections of libraries. The device comes pre-loaded with educational apps developed by app maker Fingerprint. Continue reading Findaway Launches Tablet Specifically Designed for Libraries

Facebook has added Snapchat-like photo filter features to its iOS app that allow users to customize images with text, filters and stickers on their Facebook profiles. “A Facebook spokesperson told The Verge that the company was rolling out the features as ‘a new place to house photo-editing tools,’ accessed by pressing the new icon in the lower left-hand corner of your chosen photo.” After Facebook failed to acquire Snapchat in 2013 for $3 billion, the social giant attempted to duplicate the popular service with Poke and Slingshot, but they proved less than popular. The new photo uploader, also being tested on Android, aims to leverage the growing popularity of editing features available on social media.

Sonos connected speaker systems will feature Apple Music integration by the end of this year, the companies confirmed. However, Apple Music will not be included with the speakers when the streaming music service launches today. The speaker company already has deals with Apple-owned Beats Music, Pandora, SoundCloud and Spotify. “Beats was working on a ‘Sonos killer’ — a $750 home speaker that connected to music streaming services via Wi-Fi — before Apple acquired the company in May, and subsequently shut the project down,” reports Business Insider. “Beats is thought to have run into problems with the device during development and ended up switching chip supplier.”

If you were not at E3, the recent Electronic Entertainment Expo, you might think that the great expanse of the Los Angeles Convention Center was wall-to-wall virtual reality. Despite VR’s headline domination, it was a different story on the floor where impressive visuals and sophisticated gameplay ignited the crowd. Even jaded game industry media could not contain their excitement. As IGN enthused after the Sony press conference, for instance, “That may be the best E3 press event ever.” We divided our overview into two parts: the evolution of E3 and direction of the gaming industry, followed by a breakdown of this year’s top products. Continue reading Perspective: In Reality, VR Not the Only Game at E3 (Part 1)

Satellite radio provider SiriusXM announced on Friday that it would settle a lawsuit over copyright issues by paying $210 million to record companies Sony, Universal, Warner and indie label Abkco for broadcasting songs produced prior to 1972. The ongoing lawsuit has been watched carefully by the music industry. Since federal copyright protection was not extended to recordings until 1972, a number of digital radio services have not been paying royalties when they play older songs. “The settlement may open the door to millions of dollars in new royalty payments for older performers, who in many cases have not been paid from Internet and satellite radio,” suggests The New York Times.

SanDisk’s new high-capacity microSD card, first announced this spring, is now available from a number of retailers for $240. Touted by SanDisk as the “world’s first 200GB microSD card,” it was originally estimated to run in the $400 range. And while the current price may still surprise some consumers, the card provides transfer speeds up to 90MB per second, which is nearly double the speed of its 128GB counterpart. According to SanDisk, the read speed will allow users to transfer up to 1,200 photos between devices in a single minute. And the card can store up to 20 hours of HD video. Continue reading SanDisk’s 200GB microSD Card Holds 20 Hours of HD Video

Google announced the launch of News Lab, an online tool designed to help journalists with their reporting efforts by connecting them with various programs, data and resources. “The site will feature a number of tools for newsrooms, including tutorials and best practices on how to use Google products in reporting, as well as provide access to the recently updated Google Trends service, and more,” TechCrunch explains. “It will also showcase Google’s numerous efforts surrounding new media partnerships and citizen reporting.” Google recently announced the launch of YouTube Newswire with social news agency Storyful and a series of initiatives created to support and verify news posted on YouTube.

Electrical engineers at the University of California, San Diego have announced a new method to extend the range that laser light beams can travel in fiber-optic glass wires. The development “could double the capacity of fiber-optic circuits, potentially opening the way for networks to carry more data over long distances while significantly reducing their cost,” reports The New York Times. The researchers “predistort” the data transmitted via laser beams by creating a frequency comb using precise and evenly spaced signals in order to encode the data prior to sending. This reportedly helps the information travel more efficiently over great distances, one of the current challenges for networks that carry increasing amounts of data.

The passwords and login credentials of 47 U.S. federal agencies have reportedly been leaked online. The NSA and departments of Defense, Energy and Treasury are among the agencies affected and now potentially at risk of cyberattack. A CIA-backed data-mining startup called Recorded Future discovered the data breach. “Two-factor authentication is an option offered by various online services, including Facebook, Gmail and PayPal, to heighten individual security and provide a second layer of defense,” reports ZDNet. “However, as of early 2015, 12 of the U.S. agencies — including the Departments of State and Energy — which have lost credentials online do not stipulate the use of two-factor authentication when users access their systems.”

Last week, Amazon rolled out its new Treasure Truck, which carries discounted products ranging from paddleboards to steaks. Consumers can order the items online and accept deliveries when the Treasure Truck is in their area. The idea is to attract shoppers with special deals available only for a short window and make deliveries as soon as possible. “Amazon’s mobile application will tell shoppers what’s on the truck each day and list pickup times and locations in Seattle, where the company is based,” notes Bloomberg. “While Amazon has daily deals and flash sales on its website and has experimented with temporary physical stores, the marketing stunt effectively merges them.”

According to a recent study, the number of consumers in North America who are cutting the pay TV cord in favor of OTT streaming video services is growing. TiVo subsidiary Digitalsmiths reports that 8.2 percent of survey respondents were no longer paying TV subscriptions as of 2014, a 1.3 percent increase over the previous year. Interestingly, an impressive 45.2 percent indicated that they downsized their cable or satellite TV bundles during the same period in the wake of paying for services such as Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Instant Video (a trend referred to as “cord shaving”). Continue reading Research Points to Increase in Cord Cutting and Cord Shaving

Verizon’s upcoming Internet TV service, expected to launch sometime this summer, may encourage brands to sponsor your binge watching. According to Verizon exec Marnie Walden — who described the new service as a “mobile-first video product” — the company plans to offer live and on-demand programming in addition to content from digital networks such as AwesomenessTV. Rather than passing the additional data costs for such a service to customers or programmers, Verizon is turning to advertisers. “Ad-sponsored data is part of the product offering,” said Walden. Continue reading Ad-Sponsored Data to Be Part of Verizon’s Internet TV Service

The Huffington Post announced plans to expand its video capabilities with a new 24-hour online video network called HuffPost 24. The announcement arrived just days after Verizon closed its $4.4 billion acquisition of Huffington Post parent company AOL. The network’s range of programming will be made available via apps, the HuffPost website, OTT platforms and as VOD. HuffPost Films and HuffPost TV divisions will also be established to produce content for the new network and beyond. Video GM Nathan Brown is currently hiring as part of the the new initiatives. Continue reading HuffPost Announces Online Video Network, Film and TV Units

BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti told a crowd at the Cannes Lions advertising festival this week that his company is experimenting with ways to bring the BuzzFeed brand to TV and possibly movies. “We want to do TV, but we want to do it in a different way,” he said. “We resisted for a long time. People kept pitching us TV shows but we didn’t know anything about TV, and our special powers came from having a closer relationship with our audience.” BuzzFeed may begin testing initial concepts on platforms such as YouTube and Facebook before making the transition to TV, suggests The Wall Street Journal. “If you could figure out a way to say people are really connecting… why can’t you make a TV show that’s informed by that?” Peretti asked.

Thousands of independent record companies that rely on Apple as a source of income have agreed to licensing terms for the tech giant’s new music service. “We are now delighted to say that we are happy to endorse the deal with Apple Music as it now stands, and look forward to being a big part of a very exciting future,” said Martin Mills, founder of Beggars Group, whose acts include Vampire Weekend and Adele. Merlin, an organization that negotiates digital rights for small labels, also backs the agreement. “For independents, the negotiations with Apple are seen as a victory, allowing thousands of small labels to be part of Apple Music and earn money when people listen to their songs,” notes The New York Times.