The free IMDb app, currently available as iOS and Android versions, now offers U.S. users the ability to purchase movie tickets. The update follows similar offerings from other apps such as Fandango and Apple’s Siri. Users can also tap on the “Search via Amazon Mobile” button in the iPhone or iPad app to learn more about purchasing movies and TV shows on DVD or Blu-ray (requires that the Amazon Mobile app is installed). Continue reading New IMDb App Update Includes Ability to Buy Movie Tickets

Netflix’s stock value has increased 178 percent during 2013, one of the best performing companies on the S&P 500 index. In order to maintain its edge, Netflix may need to be more like Amazon than HBO, with more of a focus on spending than a fixation on profit growth. But Netflix’s practice of dropping unpopular content may give competitor Amazon a new opportunity to secure exclusive rights to additional programming and gain ground over Netflix. Continue reading Netflix Spending More On Content While Dropping Content

Nordstrom recently tested new technology in their stores in order to learn more about their customers. The system tracked customers’ movements by following their smartphone Wi-Fi signals while in the store. Nordstrom’s system is similar to what online retailers do to track customers’ online movements. Nordstrom is one of many retailers that are using in-store tracking and monitoring technologies, yet there are concerns of privacy. Continue reading Big Data: Retailers Experiment Tracking Shoppers In-Store

Google’s internal startup Niantic Labs has created a game called “Ingress” that is still in closed beta release. It is an augmented reality, massive multiplayer video game that uses location-based augmented reality of actual locations as game play. The augmented reality is based on where the player is physically, and adds layers to the game based on the surroundings. “Ingress” also opens up some compelling possibilities for advertisers. Continue reading Ingress Brings Augmented Reality to Mobile Video Gaming

The three companies that mutually own Hulu announced on Friday that they would not be selling the video site, bringing an end to months of bidding and speculation. Instead, the current owners of Hulu — 21st Century Fox, Disney and NBCUniversal — explained that they plan to invest $750 million to compete against online video services such as Netflix and Amazon. Until Friday’s announcement, DirecTV with its $1 billion offer was considered by many to be the leading bidder. Continue reading Hulu Owners Call Off Sale, Announce New Investment Plans

Nokia has unveiled its new Lumia 1020, confirming the rumors that the smartphone touts a 41-megapixel camera. It features six-lens Carl Zeiss optics (including wide angle), auto and manual focus, and captures 1080p HD video at 30 frames per second. Preorders for the Windows Phone 8 device begin tomorrow, available in the U.S. exclusively through AT&T for $300 with a two-year contract. The Lumia 1020 is expected to hit shelves July 26. Continue reading Nokia Launches Lumia 1020 Smartphone with 41MP Camera

“Love Doctor,” a two-minute acid jazz instrumental is used in about 1,500 YouTube videos that do not pay for the rights to do so. The composer, Scott Schreer, has been working with New York startup Audiam in an effort to share in the advertising revenue associated with the videos. While serving as the Audiam test case, “Love Doctor” and Schreer’s library of 1,700 songs are generating about $30,000 per month for their use on the video site. Continue reading Audiam Finds New Ways to Pay Indie Musicians via YouTube

Social gaming company Zynga is releasing gambling games in the UK, where online gambling is legal. Zynga has partnered with British online gambling company Bwin.party to introduce gambling games for Facebook and mobile devices. The gambling titles plan to leverage the popular social and mobile aspects of online games. The partnership may also be a sign that others will enter the online gambling market. Continue reading Zynga Turns Social Games to Online Gambling on Facebook

A team of researchers at North Carolina State University has created a metal alloy that is liquid, and could be used in 3D printers to make flexible electronic parts and devices. The researchers describe the metal as a “stretchable” alloy, and that many small drops of the alloy can be positioned together in order to create bendable metal sheets and potentially other objects. But it is currently expensive, about 100 times more than 3D printing plastic. Continue reading Metal Alloy Could Be Used for 3D Printing of Bendy Devices

Three new technologies have recently arrived that bring new features to eyeglasses designed to improve vision and eyeglass shopping, but none of the three bring the Internet to one’s eyes like a Google Glass. Two of the three are actual eyeglasses: One can help an individual’s vision with adjustable lenses, and the other gives medical professionals enhanced viewing of patients. The third is an app that provides consumers the ability to try-on eyeglasses virtually before buying. Continue reading New Eyeglass Technologies Create a Range of Possibilities

As consumers buy less personal computers and more tablets and mobile devices, China’s Lenovo has overtaken HP, becoming the largest seller of PCs. On Wednesday, research firms Gartner and IDC estimated that worldwide PC shipments have fallen 11 percent in Q2 2013. The two firms say that sales have decreased for the past five quarters, the industry’s longest decline. But they have hope that new PC hardware will provide some recovery. Continue reading Lenovo Becomes the Top PC Seller as Industry Sales Decline

The British music identification app, Shazam, recently received a $40 million investment from the world’s second richest man, Carlos Slim. Not known for seeding startups, Slim first made his fortune in the Mexican mobile phone industry, so funding a mobile app company is not farfetched. With Slim’s investment, Shazam is positioned to expand its current services in advertising and looks to grow in new international markets. Continue reading Carlos Slim Invests in Shazam to Expand its Advertising Biz

Many cars made today are embedded with new technologies, which are leading to partnerships between auto manufacturers and wireless companies. These agreements are resulting in vehicles with always-on, fast wireless connectivity, providing the groundwork for new services, such as smartphones integrating with cars, and perhaps car-to-car communication. But with new forms of connectivity come new distractions and potential dangers. Continue reading Smartphones Merging with Cars Creating Connected Vehicles

Apple’s App Store launched in 2008 for iPhone users to find and download apps. It has provided consumers with a great opportunity to personalize their mobile device experience, while launching a new economy where individual developers and larger companies can promote and sell their apps and services. The App Store has changed how software is purchased and distributed — and as a result, has led to a defining transition in personal computing. Continue reading App Store Has Revolutionized the Mobile Device Experience

The art film company Picturehouse, which folded in 2008, will mark its return with the debut of an unusual combination of concert footage and scripted fantasy in “Metallica Through the Never” at next week’s Comic-Con in San Diego. The 3D IMAX film will be a loud re-introduction of the company as it looks to rebuild itself and make more films. Picturehouse is not generally known for music, but neither is Comic-Con. Continue reading Heavy Metal and 3D Movie Join Forces To Rock Comic-Con