Last.fm Debuts Applications Gallery
February 29, 2008
Last.fm today launched a new section called Build.last.fm (http://build.last.fm), a
gallery promoting the ever-growing number of Last.fm third-party
applications that extend the Last.fm experience across the Web. Read more
South by Southwest (SXSW): Making Connections at the Music Conference & Festival
February 26, 2008
Music industry professionals from around the globe are finding the best way to make lasting connections with others in the industry in a short amount of time is by attending the South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Conference and Festival, Wednesday, March
12 through Sunday, March 16, 2008 in Austin, Texas. Starting with Music 101 sessions and the welcome dinner and continuing with the daily panels, trade show & exhibition, music festival, official parties and the closing day BBQ and softball game, a multitude of opportunities will unfold for individuals to meet, get advice from, and consult with some of the most knowledgeable and successful people in the music industry. Technology assists in makingthese connections with SXSW.mobi and SXSW SMS giving anyone with a smartphone the ability to check band schedules, contact a fellow registrant and meet at a showcase all in a matter of minutes. While SXSW may be attended by thousands, the opportunity to meet one-on-one or in small groups makes for a rewarding experience that can be achieved in only five days.
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Mobile World Congress: Jamba Leads the Way with Mobile DRM Free Music
February 13, 2008
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Partnering with popular music label EMI, Jamba is the first mobile content provider in Europe to offer Digital Rights Management (DRM) free music for the mobile and the PC. In the future, DRM free music from EMI will be available on all Jamba/Jamster portals in EMEA. This is a critical first step for Jamba to move towards delivering its extensive music collection of over 1.5 million songs to mobile handsets entirely DRM free.
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Mobile World Congress: Broadcom combined Bluetooth and FM radio chip for Samsung MP3 Players
February 12, 2008
Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ:BRCM), a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, today announced that its combined Bluetooth(R) and FM radio chip is featured in the new award-winning MP3 players from Samsung Electronics. Equipped with the Broadcom(R) BCM2048 system-on-a-chip (SoC), Samsung’s YP-P2 and YP-T10 allow consumers to receive FM radio broadcasts on their MP3 players, or wirelessly stream digital music to Bluetooth headphones or speakers. In addition to creating new ways for consumers to enjoy and share their digital content with friends, Samsung’s Bluetooth-enabled MP3 players introduce a new era of wireless connectivity that will help drive wired headphones into obsolescence.
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MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS: US Country Star Tim McGraw starts mobile Music site
February 12, 2008
dotMobi, the consortium behind .mobi - the only Internet address created
specifically for mobile phones - today announced that award-winning country
music artist Tim McGraw has launched a mobile Internet site:
mcgraw2go.mobi.
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Microsoft and Omnifone Team Up to Enable Next-Generation Mobile Entertainment Services
February 11, 2008
Omnifone plans to deploy Microsoft PlayReady technology for its MusicStation mobile music subscription service.
BARCELONA, Spain — Feb. 11, 2008 — Today at Mobile World Congress 2008 Omnifone Ltd. and Microsoft Corp. announced a collaborative effort to deliver next-generation digital music services to consumers through the deployment of Microsoft PlayReady content-access technology in MusicStation, Omnifone’s award-winning unlimited mobile music service. MusicStation is already distributed to consumers in partnership with major mobile operators that include Vodafone Group plc, Telenor ASA, Hutchison Telecom and Vodacom. With the adoption of PlayReady technology, Omnifone expects to enable these and future MusicStation users to more seamlessly transfer this music experience between their mobile phone and Windows-based PC. Omnifone’s deployment of PlayReady technology is expected to take place in the second half of 2008. Omnifone will then utilize the ability of PlayReady to support many additional content types to offer new entertainment scenarios.
First unveiled in February 2007, PlayReady is a content-access technology from Microsoft that enables content owners and service providers to deliver virtually any type of digital content, using a wide range of business models. PlayReady also provides significant improvements in ease of use for consumers who want to access, manage and back up protected content.
“We are pleased to work with Microsoft and use PlayReady to further enhance the ever-popular MusicStation experience,” said Rob Lewis, chief executive officer of Omnifone. “Together with Microsoft, we aim to offer consumers the freedom to download, play and share whatever music they want, wherever they are, on whatever PlayReady-enabled phone or personal computer they have in front of them.”
“The incorporation of PlayReady into Omnifone’s MusicStation service will enable compelling new mobile entertainment scenarios featuring seamless content access and transfer,” said Chadd Knowlton, general manager of the Content Access and Protection Group at Microsoft. “Omnifone is a pioneering leader in the field of mobile entertainment, with significant momentum behind its MusicStation service. Our collaboration will build on this success to help ensure that mobile entertainment delivers on its promise of convenience, immediacy and high- quality experiences.”
Microsoft PlayReady is designed for digital entertainment services, devices and applications, with a specific focus on meeting the needs of mobile operators, service providers and device manufacturers. The technology supports a range of business models that can be applied to almost any type of digital content (music, video, games, ringtones, images and more) and a wide range of audio and video formats (including AAC, AAC+, Enhanced AAC+, H.264, Windows Media Audio (WMA) and Windows Media Video (WMV)). PlayReady also provides features such as service domains and embedded licenses specifically designed to make it easy for consumers to enjoy content on all their registered devices, and back up their content just as easily as they would for any other type of file.
Microsoft released the PlayReady Client Porting Kit for mobile devices in August 2007 and expects the first services using Microsoft PlayReady technology to appear in the second half of 2008. In addition, Microsoft has designed PlayReady to be compatible with Windows Media DRM 10, which means that devices supporting PlayReady can access existing Windows Media DRM-based content as well as new PlayReady content services.
About Omnifone
Omnifone is Europe’s leading direct to mobile unlimited music download service provider. Partners include the likes of Vodafone, Telenor, 3 Hong Kong and Vodacom, all of whom have rolled out Omnifone’s MusicStation service. Over 25 other operators have engaged as partners. In 2007 Omnifone won the Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) Music Service Award, Red Herring EMEA & Global 100 Awards, and in 2008, the Juniper Research Future Mobile Award’s Gold Award for Mobile Music. The company is based at Island Studios, London with regional HQs in Asia Pacific. For further information please visit; www.omnifone.com.
About MusicStation
MusicStation is an unlimited music download service that will run on virtually all 2.5G/3G/HSDPA music compatible mobiles. MusicStation provides a virtually identical next generation community based user experience across all manufacturer handsets. Built-in networked functions provide the ability to make friends, build and share playlists and individual tracks with other mobile users and receive music news and recommendations based on player behaviour using collaborative filtering and nearest neighbour technology.
MusicStation stores downloaded tracks on the phone’s internal or removable memory and these are fully backed up so that if a user’s mobile is stolen, lost or upgraded, the replacement handset will automatically restore the customer’s music, playlists, friends and preferences to the replacement handset. MusicStation users can listen to downloaded tracks when in Flight Safe mode and have unlimited access to the full catalogue when connected to a 2.5G/3G/HSDPA network.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
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Mobile World Congress: Dolby Unleashes the Potential of Mobile Entertainment
February 11, 2008
GSMA MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS : Audience Introduces Industry-First Voice Processor Based on Human Hearing System and Begins Sampling to Mobile Handset Manufacturers
February 10, 2008
Audience today announced the industry’s first voice processor based on the
intelligence of the human hearing system and began sampling these new chips
to mobile handset manufacturers. Read more
Fraunhofer IIS: New Audio and Multimedia Technologies for a Mobile World
February 8, 2008
Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS will showcase new audio and multimedia technologies at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, booth 2F41. The Erlangen-based institute is one of the leading providers in the field of audio coding, especially for cell phones and other mobile devices. Read more
iSkin’s Complete Wireless Accessory Package Gives iPod and Bluetooth® Users “Sound Reason” to Celebrate!
February 5, 2008
TORONTO, CANADA - (5 February, 2008) – iPod and Bluetooth® lovers rejoice: a completely wireless solution connecting your powerful iPod with premium Bluetooth 2.0 audio is here! The elegant, lightweight CERULEAN F1+TX truly is a technically superior accessory that looks as good as it sounds. Read more
