Technology, hardware, and gadgets. WiFi speakers, digital dashboards, and more.
The growing interest in streaming and digital music has created a subset of tech companies aiming to improve audio quality. We’ve seen multiple Kickstarter projects promising better performance for digital tunes. However, the latest product announcement isn’t from another new kid on the block. Continue Reading
Startup AmpMe has raised $8 million in Series A funding in support of its app that turns mobile phones into a network of speakers. This brings the company’s total funding to $10 million. The announcement of the fundraising also included the addition of YouTube as a supported music services. Continue Reading
Google recently threw its hat into the ring of voice-activated personal assistants, and the latest industry speculation finds Apple working on its own entry. Apple is reportedly developing an at-home speaker assistant powered by Siri. Continue Reading
The big tech companies usually wind up butting heads in their overlapping product categories. Amazon got out of the game first with the Echo, its portable, voice-activated speaker system. Now Google has joined the race with last week’s announcement of a rival product: Google Home. Continue Reading
Rhapsody notified us about a new app called Rhapsody VR. Not an update to the venerable music service app, but a supplementary one that uses 360 video technology to view concert clips. Rhapsody calls it “Music’s first virtual reality experience.” Continue Reading
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which advocates for digital radio transmission and tracks its progress, has released Market Insights: Digital Radio 2016. The report summarizes policy, technology, highlight content offerings, and the roll-out progress across 21 regions. Continue Reading
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This guest column by Gonzalo Alonso, Managing Director of advertising solutions company Audio.Ad, shines light on recently completed research into how and when U.S. Hispanic consumers listen to digital audio. Continue Reading
Facebook is not a very musical service, and has never seemed to care about audio content. Now, though, a report emerges that the 1.5-billion-user social platform is working with Warner Music to test a new product called Slideshow. Continue Reading
The LG Stylus 2, the first smartphone with built-in DAB+ technology, has launched in the UK and Australia. It retails for £219.99 in the UK and A$499 in Australia. The digital radio smartphone debuted at Radiodays Europe. Continue Reading
Triton Digital and Dentsu, the world’s largest advertising agency, announced today the extension of Triton’s a2x programmatic audio advertising platform to Japan via Dentsu’s Cyber Communications Inc. (CCI) division. CCI will manage Japanese streaming audio inventory in that market in a new Dentsu division called “Premium Audio Series.” Continue Reading
Audible announces a new audio initiative, and guest columnist Steve Goldstein notes that Audible’s scaling of podcast content will have a profound effect on the larger podcast industry in multiple ways. Continue Reading
Jelli has launched a demand-side platform for buying broadcast radio ads. Called SpotPlan, the technology intends to make buying inventory programmatically in the iHeartMedia network, and the Katz Expressway network, quicker, easier, and more precise. Continue Reading