In an effort to make a viewer’s video experiences more immersive and interactive, YouTube is testing a new feature that allows viewers to seamlessly switch between camera angles on the videos they are watching. As of now, the feature is only available on a music performance by indie artist and YouTube favorite Madilyn Bailey from a recent YouTube Music Night. However, YouTube is currently accepting inquiries from select YouTube users interested in creating a multi-angle video of their own.  Continue reading YouTube Experiments with Multiple Camera Angles for Videos

Tom Wheeler, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has been working to create new rules to help guarantee net neutrality. Over the last year, a debate has unfolded involving the cable television and telecommunications industries, amongst others, while critics and Internet service providers have pointed to concerns regarding a potential shift toward stronger regulation. Wheeler’s plan, which was revealed yesterday and calls for Internet service to be regulated as a public utility, went even further than some analysts expected. Continue reading FCC Chairman Announces His Plan to Ensure an Open Internet

People in need of a ride may eventually get around by Google driverless car, instead of Uber, Lyft, or other recently launched ride-hailing services. Google has reportedly told Uber’s board of the plan to develop a ride-sharing app and launch its own taxi service. This could be devastating for Uber’s business if Google limits the company’s access to Google Maps. If Google can also implement driverless cars, the company might be able to lower prices to the point that Uber cannot compete. Continue reading Google is Building a Ride-Sharing App to Compete with Uber

Facing the growing popularity of phablets, the tablet market experienced its first worldwide decline after multiple quarters of slowing demand. According to Canalys, global tablet shipments fell 12 percent from Q4 2013 to 67 million units in Q4 2014. The end of 2014 also marked the fourth consecutive quarterly loss for Apple’s tablet shipments. In Q4, iPad shipments plunged 18 percent, while Samsung’s tablet shipments fell by 24 percent. Although Amazon and Lenovo had promising seasonal sales, the industry experienced an overall drop in demand. Continue reading Global Tablet Shipments Drop 12 Percent Year-Over-Year in Q4

Yesterday we reported that NBC Sports had announced Sunday’s matchup between the Patriots and Seahawks delivered a 49.7 overnight rating, the highest in Super Bowl history. Numbers released later in the day by Nielsen indicate that the broadcast set a new U.S. television record with 114.4 million viewers, up 2.2 million from last year’s game. The event also set live streaming, social media, and halftime show records. Katy Perry drew 118.5 million viewers, about 3 million more than last year’s performance by Bruno Mars. Continue reading Sunday’s Super Bowl Sets New Live TV and Streaming Records

Microsoft is planning to invest in Cyanogen, a startup that is building another version of the Android mobile operating system independent of Google. While Google requires smartphone manufacturers to feature Google apps and Google search, Cyanogen’s new operating system does not plan to have any similar requirements. For Microsoft, that means its Bing search engine and other software has a better chance of succeeding on smartphones with the alternative Cyanogen-built operating system. Continue reading Cyanogen: Microsoft Plans to Invest in New Version of Android

Twitch Interactive announced late last week that it now averages 100 million global viewers per month. The Amazon-owned site hosts live video broadcasts of gamers competing against each other and has been steadily growing in popularity (its current viewing numbers more than double last year’s figures). The announcement comes as Twitch faces an increasing number of competitors, including Dailymotion, GamingLive.tv, Valve and Google’s YouTube. Twitch generates its revenue through advertising and premium upgrades. Continue reading Twitch Commands Live Gaming with 100 Million Monthly Views

Sony recently announced that it plans to replace its Music Unlimited service on the PlayStation Network with popular digital music service Spotify. Come March 29, PlayStation users will be able to connect their Spotify accounts, both free and premium, to run through the PlayStation Network and stream music while they play games. The new partnership could generate new subscribers for Spotify and help it take on competitors, since Sony’s PlayStation Network currently has about 64 million active users. Continue reading Sony to Add Spotify Music Service to its PlayStation Network

According to recent figures released by Strategy Analytics, 2014 marked significant milestones for the mobile industry. Global annual shipments reached 1.28 billion devices from OEMs to retailers and carriers for sale, and Android-based smartphones captured 81 percent of the worldwide market, accounting for more than one billion handsets. Android has become the first platform to surpass the one billion mark for shipments. Apple captured 15 percent of the market last year, shipping 193 million units. Continue reading Android Dominated in Global Smartphone Shipments Last Year

Amazon is previewing WorkMail, a corporate email service that aims to compete with Google Gmail and Microsoft Outlook. Although the corporate email market is heavily congested, Amazon believes there are customer problems not being addressed by any of the existing corporate email providers. With WorkMail, Amazon promises to deliver on two things: simplicity and security. The company also wants to let users keep the interfaces and applications with which they are already familiar. Continue reading Amazon Targets Companies with New Corporate Email Service

Google wants to redefine the way mobile devices are designed, built and sold. The Ara Smartphone, expected to release later this year in Puerto Rico, is a unique mobile device with replaceable components. Owners of the Ara will have the option to purchase additional hardware from a store, to enhance and upgrade their mobile devices rather than having to buy an entirely new phone every couple of years. A growing number of developers are reportedly working on a wide range of Ara modules. Continue reading Google Plans to Release Modular Mobile Phone in Puerto Rico

In the past decade and a half, there have been only minimal modifications to Google Search. The popular search engine functions as it always has; one enters a query into the type box and in return is given a list of instantaneous results based on the keywords. Although the search engine continues to be effective, Stefan Weitz, senior director of search at Microsoft’s Bing predicts the search engine of tomorrow will be much more advanced and proactive than anything we have today. Continue reading Building Tomorrow’s Search Engines to Sense as Humans Do

Google announced yesterday that it plans to deliver its Fiber Internet service with speeds of one gigabit per second (100 times faster than average U.S. broadband) to many of the neighborhoods in 18 cities of metro areas including Atlanta, Georgia; Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina; and Nashville, Tennessee. As with its initial three areas, the company will offer its one gigabit Internet service for $70 per month, while an Internet and TV package will cost $120-$130, depending on the location. Continue reading Google Continues Expansion of Ultrafast Fiber Internet Service

Apple’s quarterly profit jumped 38 percent to a record high, thanks in large part to demand for its bigger-screen iPhones. Apple recorded net income of $18 billion for the quarter ending December 27, an increase of nearly $5 billion over the same period the previous year, while earnings per share rose 48 percent. The company launched its iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in September and sold 74.5 million units during the quarter, earning back market share it had slowly been losing to Samsung over three years. Continue reading Apple Sells Nearly 75 Million iPhones, Posts Record Quarter

YouTube announced it is now defaulting to HTML5 rather than Adobe Flash. A change that has been in development since 2010, the popular video site now uses its HTML5 player by default in the following browsers: Apple’s Safari 8, Google Chrome, Microsoft IE11, and beta versions of Mozilla’s Firefox. The company points to adaptive bitrate (ABR) streaming, the VP9 codec, encrypted media extensions, Web real-time communication (WebRTC), and fullscreen APIs as five key technologies that made the change possible. Continue reading YouTube Stops Using Adobe Flash by Default, Opts for HTML5