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

Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei met several weeks ago with Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt to discuss the potential benefits of cable industry mergers, according to a person familiar with the matter. Liberty acquired a 27 percent stake in pay TV operator Charter Communications early last month. Ten days ago, Liberty Chairman John Malone told shareholders that Charter probably has “the best operating team in the business.” Continue reading Chief Execs Discuss Benefits of Mergers in Cable Sector

Viacom and Amazon announced a multiyear deal earlier this week that will provide Amazon with exclusive rights to Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. shows aimed at children and preschoolers. The agreement, estimated to be worth several hundred million dollars, also includes content from Viacom networks MTV and Comedy Central. The deal with Amazon was inked after Netflix and Viacom failed to renew their licensing agreement. Continue reading Netflix Competitor Amazon Nabs Exclusive Deal with Viacom

Verizon Wireless will pay the National Football League a reported $1 billion over four years for the rights to make additional football games available on its customers’ smartphones. In a significant move for the mobile industry, the NFL will begin to show Sunday afternoon games on Verizon Wireless phones next year. Select Sunday, Monday and Thursday night games are already available on Verizon phones, but there are typically 10-12 games scheduled on a Sunday afternoon. Continue reading Verizon to Stream Sunday Afternoon NFL Games to Phones

Google announced this week that the newly launched Redbox Instant by Verizon app is now ready for Google TV. Available in the Google Play market, owners of second generation hardware will be able to make full use of the app’s streaming capabilities (as detailed at the Google I/O conference, only newer devices have the necessary DRM support). Google Play is currently offering a one month free trial for new subscribers. Continue reading Redbox Instant by Verizon App Now Available on Google TV

According to a secret document obtained by The Washington Post, the National Security Agency and the FBI are accessing the central servers of nine U.S. Internet companies through a program code-named PRISM. The agencies are reportedly tracking chats, images, emails, documents and connection logs that assist analysts in identifying foreign threats. The federal government defends the program, while some civil liberties proponents are skeptical. Continue reading Government Defends NSA Program that Collects Phone Data

Multiplatform video service provider Vubiquity and DVR pioneer TiVo announced a partnership yesterday that will integrate Vubiquity’s AnyVU Streaming service with the TiVo user experience. AnyVU Streaming is an end-to-end multiplatform video solution that enables service providers to launch TV Everywhere services. The TiVo user interface will allow for integration of Vubiquity’s subscription movie package ViewNow on any device. Continue reading AnyVU: Vubiquity and TiVo Partner on TV Everywhere Solution

Major phone companies have begun selling data related to their subscribers’ locations, travels, interests and Web browsing habits. The availability of such data provides a long-anticipated and powerful tool for marketers, but not surprisingly raises a number of privacy concerns. Mining data for profit marks a shift in the relationship between carriers and subscribers, similar to what is typically expected today with services such as Google and Facebook. Continue reading Phone Companies Begin Selling Customer Data to Marketers

Notable handset makers and telecom carriers are turning to alternative mobile operating systems in an effort to beat Microsoft and Research In Motion to the punch as the next credible challenger to smartphones run by Apple and Google. A range of companies are hoping an alternative platform to market leaders iOS and Android will emerge. Watch for devices running Firefox OS, Tizen, Ubuntu and Sailfish. Continue reading Alternative Mobile Platforms Look to Join Apple and Google

AT&T announced that it has launched its Digital Life home security and monitoring service in 15 U.S. cities with plans to expand to 50 locations this year. Built on the telecom’s 2010 acquisition of Xamboo, it will compete with security offerings by companies like ADT and various startups building devices for the connected home. Digital Life will provide visual access via Web-connected cameras and sensors hooked up to a broadband connection. Continue reading AT&T Launches Digital Life Home Security and Monitoring

Pay TV operator Dish Network announced yesterday that it has placed a $25.5 billion bid for wireless carrier Sprint Nextel, which is presently ranked third in the U.S. behind Verizon Wireless and AT&T. Dish Network’s chairman and former CEO Charlie Ergen is hoping to bridge the gap of current wireless models by offering customers faster and more affordable television, high-speed Internet and cellphone services in a single package. Continue reading Dish Network Submits $25.5 Billion Bid for Sprint Nextel

During Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam’s speech at the NAB conference on Tuesday in Las Vegas, he noted that roughly half of the traffic on Verizon’s mobile networks currently involves video. And by 2017, Verizon expects that percentage to grow to two-thirds. Is this the average trend across mobile consumption or is Verizon an exception? The answer may lie in LTE. Continue reading Verizon CEO Says LTE is Steering Rise in Mobile Video

On Tuesday at NAB, Verizon chairman and CEO Lowell McAdam joined a growing contingent of consumers and insiders who believe the answer to combating cord-cutting is for the television industry to allow for a-la-carte cable subscriptions. He thinks it would be an answer to ongoing consumer pressure and says he understands when consumers ask questions such as, “Why should I have to pay for 300 channels?” Continue reading NAB 2013: Verizon CEO Supports A La Carte Programming

Verizon Communications wants to switch up the way things work in the pay TV industry. Presently, the provider pays fees in order to carry various TV channels, but the company is proposing to tie those fees directly to how many viewers actually watch the channels. Verizon, whose FiOS TV is the sixth-largest pay TV provider in the nation, has begun talks with several smaller media companies about the prospect. Continue reading Verizon Proposes to Pay for Channels Based on Audience

Redbox Instant by Verizon officially launched last week, opening to the public after a three-month-long closed beta test that drummed up interest from thousands of consumers, according to Redbox Instant CEO Shawn Strickland. He said the beta test period was a great learning opportunity for the company and the service, which offers subscribers access to 4,600 subscription titles and four DVD rentals for $8 a month. Continue reading Redbox Instant By Verizon Offers DVDs and Streaming