British-based mobile device supplier Bullitt Group will use CES to introduce a line of Android smart phones and tablets under license from the Kodak brand, the company said Monday. Bullitt will target consumers “who want a high-end experience but aren't always as comfortable using increasingly complicated mobile devices as they would like to be,” the company said. True to Kodak’s “heritage,” the devices “will let users take great pictures and edit, share, store and print them in an instant," it said.
Jubilant Russound executives announced the addition of worldwide music service Spotify to the company’s streaming music lineup, on a teleconference with journalists Friday. Putting together a direct licensing deal with Spotify has been “like pulling teeth” for a company like Russound that doesn't have the unit volume to turn heads at streaming companies used to dealing with million-unit smartphone volumes, Russound Product Marketing Manager Colin Clark said. “It’s not the fun part of my day by any stretch of the imagination to deal with the providers,” Clark said, saying “they’re not motivated for specialty channels. They’re motivated by volume, so working with them is difficult.” The “long, drawn out political process” of winning Spotify as a provider lasted for nine months to a year, he said. Russound also offers Pandora and SiriusXM streaming music services, along with Internet radio, but it doesn’t plan to “overwhelm” customers with a long list of streaming music choices, Clark said. “I definitely don’t want to have every service out there,” he said. “We’d need to hire a staff of 20 more people and 50 more software engineers” to support additional services, Clark said, calling that a "never-ending battle.” Beyond a point, consumers “don’t know what to choose from” when given too many options, he said. The decision to add Spotify came from dealer feedback from customers, he said. Following an installer-initiated firmware update next month, Spotify Connect will be available on Russound's XStream X5 and DMS-3.1 digital media streamer and is a feature of the upcoming MCA-88X eight-source, eight-zone controller, the company said. Clark emphasized that high-resolution 24-bit/192kHz resolution is one of the “key success factors” for the company’s streaming products.
Volvo will use CES to demonstrate safety technology connecting motorists and cyclists, the company said Friday. The technology, designed to cut down on crashes between cars and bicycles, comprises a connected car and a prototype helmet that will communicate proximity alerts to cyclists and drivers using a smartphone app that shares the cyclist's position with the vehicle, Volvo said. If a collision is imminent, the driver will be alerted through a head-up display alert, and the cyclist will be warned via a helmet-mounted warning light, the company said. The concept grew out of a partnership with Volvo, Ericsson and POC, a sports gear maker, Volvo said.
Cox Communications launched more than 1,700 additional Wi-Fi hot spots for Cox high-speed Internet customers in the Phoenix and Las Vegas areas this month. Cox WiFi service is now in six markets, with many more planned for 2015, "including hundreds of hotspots in San Diego after the first of the year," Cox said in a news release. Subscribers to the company's Preferred, Premier, Ultimate and Gigablast Internet packages "will have free access to Cox WiFi, via WiFi hotspots, as part of their service," it said.
Comcast launched Xfinity in UHD, an Ultra HD on-demand programming app for Samsung Ultra HD TVs, Comcast said in a Thursday announcement. Debuting with full current seasons of TV shows from NBC and USA Network, the Xfinity in UHD app library will continue to expand with on-demand programming "across multiple networks and studios and is completely free to Xfinity TV customers whose video subscription includes participating networks," Comcast said. Xfinity TV customers who own 2014 Samsung UHD TVs can download the app, log in and immediately begin streaming episodes of Chicago Fire (NBC), and Suits and Covert Affairs (USA), with Parks and Recreation (NBC) to debut in February, it said. The Comcast deal is Samsung’s second exclusive partnership on Ultra HD content delivery in as many months, following its mid-November agreement with DirecTV on the launch of 4K VOD content (see 1411130039).
Internet advertising revenue reached $12.4 billion in the third quarter of 2014, the Interactive Advertising Bureau Internet Advertising Revenue Report said. It's the highest quarter ever, IAB said Thursday in a news release. The figures show a year-over-year uptick of 17 percent from the $10.6 billion reported for Q3 2013, it said. The figures also are up 6.5 percent from Q2 2014's $11.7 billion, it said. IAB did the research with PwC, it said. Data was compiled directly from information supplied by companies selling advertising on the Internet, IAB said. The survey includes data on online advertising revenue from websites, commercial online services, free email providers "and all other companies selling online advertising," it said.
Membership in the Open Interconnect Consortium is nearing four dozen companies with the addition of 15 members, the consortium said in a Wednesday announcement. Among the noteworthy new members are CableLabs, Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo. In addition, GE Software joined as the consortium’s newest "diamond" member and took a seat on the consortium board, the group said. Other board members are Cisco, Intel, MediaTek and Samsung. Diamond is the most elite of the organization's three membership tiers, the consortium’s bylaws say. To achieve diamond, a company must pay $350,000 in annual dues (vs. $75,000 for platinum, $10,000 for gold), and must be approved by a 75 percent vote of the board, the rules say. Diamond is the only tier that qualifies for a board seat, though platinum members may chair or participate in a working group, they say. The consortium was formed this summer to promote interoperability among the billions of connected devices expected to come online by 2020, by establishing a specification, an open source implementation and a certification program, first for smart home and office solutions (see 1407090068).
In its first move to reach the cord-cutter generation, Dish Network said it began rolling out the Netflix app in a software update, becoming the first major U.S. pay TV provider to integrate the Netflix app into its set-top box. The app is available on Dish’s second-generation Hopper DVR, enabling subscribers to instantly stream Netflix content from the same platform as linear TV channels without having to switch sources, Dish said Wednesday. Users can access the Netflix app via the blue button on the Dish remote or by clicking the Netflix icon on the Hopper’s main menu, it said. Dish will extend the Netflix app rollout to Joey, Super Joey and Wireless Joey set-top boxes in “coming months,” it said. Netflix titles are expected to be integrated into the search function across live, recorded and video on demand programs, Dish said. Meanwhile, Fox could disappear from the Dish guide this week as the two sides haven't come to an agreement on a new contract after the current contract expires Saturday at midnight. Media reports said Fox Sports ran commercials during NFL games last week urging viewers to contact their satellite provider about a pending channel blackout of Fox News and Fox Business Network this weekend. Some 20,000 people called the number provided by Fox and 75,000 visited the website, said reports.
NBCUniversal is launching a broad marketing effort to promote its TV Everywhere offering, the company said in a news release Tuesday. Using the tagline “Watch TV without the TV” and associated hashtag #TVwithoutTHETV, the campaign will include “a digital and on-air cross-portfolio promotional activation” Dec. 26 to Jan. 1, said the broadcast and cable programmer. The campaign will begin with a digital media push and highlight all of NBCUniversal's TV networks and their respective apps, it said. That includes Bravo, E!, NBC News, Syfy and USA, said the unit of Comcast.
The Thread Group is expected to have product certification in place in the first half of 2015 for its IP-based low-power wireless networking protocol, the alliance said Tuesday. UL will manage the product certification process for Thread with support from Granite River Labs, which will work with UL to develop the “test harness” developers will use in building, testing and certifying Thread-enabled products. Recent high-profile additions to membership, now at 50 companies, include Energizer, Kwikset, PG&E and Whirlpool. Other Thread Group member companies are Atmel, California Eastern Laboratories, Inc., CamPoint, GainSpan, Granite River Labs, Grid Connect, Imagination Technologies, Insteon, Intellihot Green Technologies Inc., iOT Tech, Jasco, Keen Home, Kwikset, leakSMART, Linx Technologies, LUX Technology Group, Marvell Technology Group, Midea Group, Nanoleaf, Net2grid, Pacific Gas & Electric, Proximetry, Salto Systems, Sansa Security, Shenzhen Rakwireless Technology, Skyley Networks, Stack Lighting, Telegesis, TÜV Rheinland Group, Tyco, UL, WigWag and Zonefirst. Three tiers of membership to Thread are available: sponsor, contributor and affiliate, it said.