Social TV: NFL Highlights Coming to a Twitter Feed Near You

The National Football League and Twitter are partnering to deliver football highlights and related content through the social media service. Content will include in-game highlights from the NFL Network on Thursdays and clips from games after they’ve aired on CBS and Fox. The NFL will offer news, analysis and fantasy football advice. The move is part of Twitter’s Amplify program that allows TV content owners to integrate programming in Twitter feeds. The revenue from embedded ads will be shared by the companies. Continue reading Social TV: NFL Highlights Coming to a Twitter Feed Near You

Amazon Pushes its Digital Services with New Kindle Fire HDX

Kindle plans to unveil two new versions of its Kindle Fire tablet today, featuring a faster processor and graphics, improved screen quality and a lighter, slimmer design. The Kindle Fire HDX, available with 7-inch or 8.9-inch screens, will undercut the price of competitors including Apple’s popular iPad and, not surprisingly, focus on sales of services such as digital music and e-books. “We want to make money when people use our devices, not when they buy our devices,” said Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Continue reading Amazon Pushes its Digital Services with New Kindle Fire HDX

Staples Connect Offers Universal Hub to Connect Your Home

It may seem an unlikely source for managing home automation or the next step forward for the Internet of Things, but Staples will launch its $100 Staples Connect hub in November. The Internet-connected hub by Linksys centralizes control of smart home appliances and other devices with the help of a single controller app. Staples hopes its approach will help curb the need for multiple proprietary apps that are common with smart home devices currently on the market. Continue reading Staples Connect Offers Universal Hub to Connect Your Home

New Record: Consumers Buy Nine Million iPhones in Three Days

Apple announced yesterday that it shattered previous iPhone sales records by selling nine million of the new 5s and 5c handsets over the first three days of the product’s debut weekend. The launch marks the first time Apple released a flagship product in China on the same day as other locations and the first time iPhones have been made available on NTT DoCoMo, Japan’s largest wireless network. According to Piper Jaffray Cos, about 15 percent of sales came from China. Continue reading New Record: Consumers Buy Nine Million iPhones in Three Days

Google Acquires Mobile Startup Bump as Apple Unveils AirDrop

Google announced it has acquired Bump, the popular mobile app that enables users to share contact info, images, videos and files by simply “bumping” mobile devices into each other. While neither company revealed specifics of the deal, a source close to the transaction told AllThingsD that Google paid between $30 and $60 million. The news comes as Apple releases its iOS 7 today, which includes a similar technology called AirDrop, a new means of wirelessly sharing files with other nearby Apple device users. Continue reading Google Acquires Mobile Startup Bump as Apple Unveils AirDrop

Startup Ossia Unveils Wireless Power Charging Technology

Wireless charging has yet to enter into the mainstream market and has seen little development. But a relatively unknown startup, Ossia, has developed wireless powering technology called Cota that it hopes to bring to market and change the way businesses and consumers power their devices. It uses a wireless spectrum similar to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to safely deliver power, and has the potential to easily power common devices in a seamless way. Continue reading Startup Ossia Unveils Wireless Power Charging Technology

Apple Plans to Unveil Two New iPhones, Could Help Hollywood

At a planned event tomorrow from its Cupertino, California headquarters, Apple is expected to announce two new iPhone models — one with a faster processor and another to be offered at a lower cost. As Apple’s profit growth has been impacted by a saturated handset market in the U.S. and parts of Europe, a lower-cost smartphone could allow the company to expand into other markets such as China and India, which would also mean new potential customers for iTunes movies, TV and music. Continue reading Apple Plans to Unveil Two New iPhones, Could Help Hollywood

Wi-Fi Alternative Could Help Build The Internet of Things

Taylor Alexander, a robotics engineer, has developed a work-in-progress project called Flutter as a Wi-Fi alternative. This “second network” can cover 100 times as great an area, with a range of 3,200 feet, with little power used. The project came about after Alexander attempted to connect sensors to one another during an app redesign on a project and found that Flutter could expand the potential of the Internet of Things, where all devices despite their size are connected to the Internet. Continue reading Wi-Fi Alternative Could Help Build The Internet of Things

Deal Update: Vodafone and Verizon Agree on Financial Terms

Last week we reported that Verizon Communications had scheduled a board meeting to discuss the possible acquisition of Vodafone’s 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless, a deal that would be the second-largest acquisition on record and potentially lead to additional mergers across the global telecom industry. Vodafone confirmed late yesterday that terms of the deal call for Verizon to pay $130 billion. If approved by both boards, the deal could be announced as early as this afternoon. Continue reading Deal Update: Vodafone and Verizon Agree on Financial Terms

Verizon-Vodafone Deal Could Potentially Upend Telecom Market

Verizon Communications is reportedly in talks with Vodafone Group to pay as much as $130 billion for Vodafone’s 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless. The deal, which could be completed within a week, would be the second-largest acquisition on record and could possibly lead to a new round of mergers across the global telecom industry. According to people familiar with the matter, Verizon has scheduled a board meeting to discuss the deal. Continue reading Verizon-Vodafone Deal Could Potentially Upend Telecom Market

Companies Using Sound for Mobile Payments and Data Sharing

Several companies are developing systems and apps that use sound waves to transfer small pieces of data over short distances, and could simplify transferring funds electronically. This is an alternative to using near-field communication (NFC) to transfer data wirelessly. Many devices are ready to use sound technology, including simple and feature phones. There are problems in using sound especially in loud areas, but it has significant potential. Continue reading Companies Using Sound for Mobile Payments and Data Sharing

Losing Ground to Apple and Google, BlackBerry Is Up For Sale

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

Moto X and Future Devices Will Likely Listen To Everything

Motorola’s Moto X smartphone is designed to feature voice command and other listening capabilities. This may mark a new way that mobile devices are becoming smarter, by listening to the environment and its owner, and responding appropriately based on context. Users may be able to record everything about their lives. The Moto X differs from previous phones in that it includes two low-power chips to process data from a microphone or other sensors. It does this without using the main processor or exhausting the battery. Continue reading Moto X and Future Devices Will Likely Listen To Everything

People to Spend More Time with Digital Media Than TV in 2013

According to a new report from eMarketer estimating the media consumption of adults in the U.S., the average amount of time spent with digital media per day will surpass television viewing for the first time this year. This is due largely to the shift in smartphone and tablet usage now that most consumers lead increasingly mobile lives. Since 2010, mobile activity has grown from a mere 24 minutes per day on average to 2 hours and 21 minutes per day. Continue reading People to Spend More Time with Digital Media Than TV in 2013

Moto X May Reveal Why Google Acquired Motorola Mobility

Motorola introduced its Android powered Moto X on Thursday, the first smartphone released by Motorola since Google acquired the company two years ago. The new handset features persistent notifications, user-customizable design components, instant photo-capture and hands-free authentication. The defining feature, however, is the integration of Google Now. “The Moto X is the first in a series of hardware products that Google hopes will supercharge the mother company’s software and services,” reports Wired. Continue reading Moto X May Reveal Why Google Acquired Motorola Mobility