New details have emerged on the Pono music player, musician Neil Young’s music device that intends to play music closest to its original recording quality. The device is expected to be available later this year, and will play all music formats. To play the maximum quality, music must be played on the device itself that will be offered from an online music store. Thousands of albums have been processed to offer the highest quality for Pono. Continue reading Pono Music Player Takes on Problems of Compressed Audio

Disney will be releasing its “Disney Infinity” video game that will include two other apps in the pan-Disney character multi-platform game, similar to Activision’s “Skylanders.” The game uses NFC to provide toy interaction with the game. The free game apps are an ideal incentive for players to move to the paid version, where users can purchase additional toy accessories and add-ons that can be used for enhanced game play. Continue reading Disney to Release Infinity Video Game and Related Free Apps

Bill Gates and Nathan Myhrvold have unveiled another compelling idea — a device or app that can automatically create custom video clips from any selection of text. For Gates and Myhrvold, creating videos from text or images would be a major feat. But the pair have also patented other technologies with major potential, such as a Hurricane Suppression System for the Gulf of Mexico. If the video technology is made, it can have an impact on how students view reading. Continue reading Gates and Myhrvold File Patent: Generating Video From Text

Twitter currently dominates the world of “public” sharing, with numerous celebrities and public figures utilizing the service to interact with fans. Facebook hopes to compete with Twitter in this arena, and is creating an app that would allow celebrities to more readily engage in conversation with their fans from a mobile device. The VIP app, currently being tested by a small group of partners, could help make the relationship between celebrities and their fans more intimate and immediate. Continue reading Facebook Testing New VIP App in Attempt to Take On Twitter

When attending a live concert, it is not unusual to witness a sea of smartphones, but some find it challenging to enjoy the show while attempting to record it at the same time. And audio quality recorded via the phone is usually disappointing. Tech entrepreneur Dean Graziano may have the solution with a new app called Lively, which allows musicians to sell fans better quality footage from live concerts for a reasonable price: $4.99 for just the audio, or $9.99 for audio and video. Continue reading Lively Provides Music Fans with Recordings of Live Concerts

BlackBerry announced on Monday that its board of directors has formed a special committee and has hired JPMorgan Chase & Co. to explore strategic alternatives that could include joint ventures, strategic partnerships or an outright sale of the Waterloo, Ontario-based company. The news follows declining stock value in the wake of disappointing sales of new devices running BlackBerry 10 and a shrinking customer base for the company that helped pioneer the smartphone market. Continue reading Losing Ground to Apple and Google, BlackBerry Is Up For Sale

Facebook has agreed to acquire Pittsburgh-based Mobile Technologies, a developer of voice-recognition and speech translation tools. Founded in 2001, Mobile Technologies offers an automatic interpretation service for lectures and developed Jibbigo, a speech-to-speech translator app for iPhone and Android. The company’s goal has been to break “through language barriers to open up communication between the people of the world.” Continue reading Facebook to Acquire Developer of Speech Translation Tools

Facebook recently announced two new features for its mobile Web and iOS and Android mobile apps that will allow users to book restaurants and access TV and movie listings without ever leaving the world of Facebook. These features could help the social network compete with services offered by the likes of Fandango, Yelp and GroupOn. Ultimately, by influencing offline spending, Facebook hopes to generate more revenue and draw more advertisers. Continue reading Facebook Launches New Features to Influence Offline Spending

We recently reported that the Obama administration had vetoed the International Trade Commission’s ban on the import of certain Apple iPhones and iPads, citing concerns of patent holders gaining “undue leverage.” The veto reversed an earlier legal victory for rival Samsung, which suffered another setback on Friday when the ITC ruled that the South Korean manufacturer had violated two of Apple’s patents — and issued an order banning the import of products using Apple’s multitouch features and headphone jack detection. Continue reading ITC Rules in Favor of Apple, Orders Ban on Samsung Devices

Samsung plans to release two new PC products in the upcoming weeks: The company’s ATIV Book 9 Plus is a $1,399, 13.3-inch ultrabook featuring a 3,200 x 1,800 Gorilla Glass qHD+ display, which the company claims offers the “highest resolution in the world.” In addition, Samsung’s ATIV Tab 3 measures a mere 0.32-inches thick and weighs only 1.28 pounds. The $700 tablet features a 10.1-inch, 1,366 x 768 resolution display and boasts up to seven hours of battery life. Continue reading Samsung Readies ATIV Ultrabook and Tablet for U.S. Launch

IKEA is launching an augmented reality app that works in conjunction with its AR-capable catalog. Consumers can visualize virtual furniture layouts by essentially superimposing furniture on top of the live view of a smartphone or tablet camera. Consumers select a piece of furniture from the catalog, and point their mobile device toward the physical catalog as a reference point for angle, light, position and size. A virtual version of the furniture will then appear on the device. Continue reading Augmented Reality App Offers Custom Views of IKEA Catalog

Chad Hurley and Steven Chen, the founders of YouTube, have released a new video creation and sharing app called MixBit. It is similar to other video apps such as Twitter’s Vine and Facebook’s Instagram. The app will allow users to capture 16 seconds of video, while Vine’s maximum is six seconds and Instagram’s limit is 15 seconds. MixBit is different from its competitors in that it allows video editing, but others may soon introduce this feature as well. Continue reading MixBit Takes On Vine and Instagram with Video Sharing App

NBC News is looking to leverage on-the-scene user generated content for its news coverage, envisioning a day when live video could be streamed directly to its New York control rooms from the camera phones of witnesses to newsworthy events. This approach could replace or complement footage by professional crews and ease the pressure of producers frantically searching Twitter and Facebook to locate eyewitness accounts. The network is acquiring Web service Stringwire as its first step toward this goal. Continue reading NBC News to Purchase Stringwire for Streaming Phone Video

Facebook video ads are likely to debut this fall, instead of this summer. The debut has fueled much speculation regarding the amount of revenue that this will generate for the company. The video ads are expected to offer a new way to target advertising to non-broadcast TV watchers. It will be determined what form the much debated videos will take, and if the $2 million price tag will attract businesses and audiences on the Web and mobile devices. Continue reading Facebook Expected to Unveil Video Ads for Web and Mobile

Viggle, creator of the mobile second screen app and loyalty program that rewards viewers for engaging with TV shows, has launched the Viggle Audience Network, providing advertisers with access to an audience of nearly 10 million users. While Viggle has nearly three million registered users, it also leverages users from initial launch partners including discovery platform Boxfish, independent fan site BuddyTV and Dijit Media’s NextGuide. Viggle will be able to sell ads across the entire group. Continue reading Viggle Audience Network Offers New Advertising Opportunities