Verizon showed Rep Guidance, software that provides its FiOS sales and support representatives with individualized data designed to improve customer service and experience, at a recent NY Meetup event. According to a Verizon representative, “It’s about streamlining and simplifying the conversation, fostering a more intelligent, better-informed experience with customers rather than having a back and forth exchange and having the rep ask the customer questions that, frankly, they expect we should know anyway.” Continue reading New Verizon Software Delivers Customer Service Intelligence

As part of its larger effort to become a lifestyle media brand, GoPro is looking to cloud services as an alternative for the increasing amount of content that ends up stuck on SD cards. GoPro founder and CEO Nick Woodman wants to make it easier for users to instantly share photos and video. Although still in early development, the approach would involve uploading footage to a cloud service while the camera charges, where it could be immediately shared or edited. This would eliminate the step of transferring footage from an SD card to editing software. Continue reading GoPro Exec Aims to Connect Action Cameras to Cloud Service

Facing a decline in download sales, Apple plans to launch a competitor to Spotify and other music streaming services. The announcement will likely be made at next week’s Worldwide Developers Conference. In 2003, the iTunes Music Store revolutionized how consumers buy music. While Apple currently sells about 80-85 percent of global music downloads, music consumption has changed, and the company only has a small fraction of the streaming business. Meanwhile, Spotify accounts for 86 percent of on-demand music streaming in the United States. Continue reading Apple Plans Music Streaming Service to Compete with Spotify

Apple Watch may have surpassed global pre-orders of 2.3 million units last week, according to unofficial figures from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The most popular model is the Apple Watch Sport says Kuo, who has an impressive record of predicting sales of Apple devices. If the figures are accurate, they almost double the 1.25-1.5 million in sales projected for the first weekend. Meanwhile, Apple is introducing workshops called ‘Apple Watch Basics’ at its Apple Store locations to show consumers how to use the new wearable. Continue reading Initial Projections Suggest Apple Watch is Beating Expectations

Worldwide recorded-music revenue fell below $15 billion in 2014 for the first time in years, but the growth of streaming music services may have helped slow the decline, according to a new report from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. For the first time, digital music sales exceeded CD sales. Revenue from streaming services rose 39 percent, and if the trend continues, the music industry might start to see a rise in revenue as early as next year. Continue reading Streaming Services May Revive Falling Music Industry Revenue

Nintendo has teamed up with Japanese mobile game company DeNA to bring Nintendo’s popular characters to smartphones and tablets. DeNA and Nintendo plan to build an online gaming service that will be introduced this fall. However, Nintendo has not completely abandoned its strategy to build games for its own hardware. The company is also working on its next game console, codenamed the NX, which may be unveiled next year. It may possibly incorporate VR or media services offerings. Continue reading Nintendo Will Make Mobile Games Through New Partnership

After several months of discussions, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry has officially declared Fridays as the release day for all new music albums. In today’s digital era, music listeners want to have access to albums the moment they are available anywhere in the world. Rather than staggering the releases on different days in different countries, the universal release approach aims to combat piracy. There is no word yet on when this new distribution model will take effect. Continue reading Global Trade Group Proposes Universal Release Day for Albums

The affordable Raspberry Pi microcomputer — launched three years ago with the modest hope of selling a few thousand units — just passed the five million sales mark. The Raspberry Pi Foundation offers its no-frills Model A Pi for $25 and the Model B for $35. It recently launched the 6x faster Model B Pi 2 with double the memory for only $35. Originally intended as a cost efficient solution for students, the simple microcomputer is now being used to build everything from DIY computers to robotics projects. Continue reading Low-Cost Raspberry Pi Computer Enjoys Surprising Popularity

Facebook reported strong earnings for the fourth quarter of 2014 with revenue increasing by 49 percent to $3.85 billion. Much of that growth is due to a strong mobile showing. Notably, mobile advertising accounts for 69 percent of the company’s advertising revenue and more than 520 million people now access Facebook solely from their mobile devices. Many of those mobile visitors are watching videos. Facebook says the videos on the social network are now racking up 3 billion views per day. Continue reading Mobile and Video Growth Leads to Revenue Jump for Facebook

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

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

Apple has acquired British startup Semetric to analyze the data from music sales, streaming services, and social networks. Semetric’s music analytics tool, Musicmetric, is already popular with music labels and industry clients. The $50 million acquisition will likely help improve Beats Music, which will be built into Apple’s iOS update this year. With download sales continuing their decline, Apple and other companies need data analytics to better understand digital music consumption. Continue reading Apple Purchases Startup to Bolster Analytics for Beats Music

A study commissioned by Facebook found that the social network currently accounts for $227 billion in global economic impact and has helped create 4.5 million jobs. The company claims that its social network drives smartphone purchases and creates job in both tech and non-tech industries. However, independent economists believe those numbers may be overstated because Facebook and Deloitte, the company that prepared the report, may have used incorrect assumptions. Continue reading Economists Question Claims of Facebook Global Impact Study

Consumer Electronics Association president and CEO Gary Shapiro projects that the CE industry is on course to generate an all-time high of $223.2 billion in sales in the U.S. this year. Shapiro told CES attendees that emerging technologies including 3D printers, Ultra HD televisions, connected appliances, drones, robots, cameras and wearables are likely to grow 108 percent in revenue in 2015. Other areas projected to experience more modest growth include smartphones, tablets and automotive technology. Continue reading CEA Predicts Record Year for Consumer Electronics Revenue

CEA Director of Industry Analysis Steve Koenig described the evolution of displays and what to expect in 2015 and beyond. Bottom line: Consumers are going for bigger screens, smarter functions and more resolution. CEA studies show a growth in awareness of 4K/UHD among consumers, and that translates to an intent to purchase. Of the approximately 168 million U.S. adults who say they plan to buy a new TV in the next three years, 27 percent — 45 million consumers — intend to buy a 4K/UHD set. Continue reading 2015 CES: The State of Displays – Bigger and Smarter and 4K