Tech

Technology, hardware, and gadgets. WiFi speakers, digital dashboards, and more.

Deezer adds another exclusive plan in U.S., this time with Bose

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Deezer drew attention and skepticism last month for its choice to enter the U.S. market with a premium subscription plan offered exclusively through Sonos speakers. Now it’s added a plan with a lower price point, but it’s still not inexpensive to enjoy. Deezer’s service is now additionally available to listeners who have the Bose SoundLink speaker or SoundTouch WiFi speaker systems, at a reduced rate of $5 per month. Continue Reading →

Where is the (musical) drama? Big data answers

Posted on by Brad Hill

Monday distraction: Paul Lamere, Director of Development Platform at The Echo Nest, which is owned by Spotify, has created an entertaining hack that anyone can try — Where Is the Drama? The idea is to use waveform analysis to identify a song’s climactic section. The experiment is fun, if nothing else. Read how Lamere accomplished this hack, and where you can test it. Continue Reading →

Gift horse: Apple/U2 promo suffers angry user pushback

Posted on by Brad Hill

Apple’s music platforms — iTunes and iTunes Radio — have issued innumerable album previews and exclusive releases. Promotions of those events seek to drive sales in an era when streaming is eating into music ownership. Taking the concept a step further, Apple bundled U2 released U2’s new album, Songs of Innocence, globally, by dumping the album directly into iPhones, iPods, and iPads throughout its vast user base. Much gnashing of teeth ensued. Continue Reading →

BRS Media extends dot-FM registration with Asian registrar partnerships

Posted on by Brad Hill

BRS Media, the administrator of dot-FM domains (e.g. www.RadioStation.fm), announced new partnerships with three Asian domain registrars. The licensing of administration rights enables the partners to register new dot-FM domain ownerships, and extends the BRS Media footprint to regions where demand for the dot-FM handle is reportedly on the rise. Continue Reading →

T-Mobile adds six new music services to its free-data plan

Posted on by Brad Hill

T-Mobile today announced an expansion of its Music Freedom plan, in which smartphone subscribers get unmetered data streaming of music from partner sources. Six new services have been added to the original slate of services, announced in June. The newly added partners are AccuRadio, Black Planet, Grooveshark, Radio Paradise, Rdio and Songza. Detractors still wish for global access to data-free online music from any source. Continue Reading →

Can FM Radio Be Liberated from the Car?

Posted on by Roger Lanctot

“The once-ubiquitous FM radio is today primarily enjoyed in the car, where a growing variety of audio consumption occurs. But stored and streamed content on mobile devices is steadily marginalizing the broadcast portion of in-car listening, sucking the audience lifeblood out of the medium.” Connected-car analyst Roger Lanctot contributes this guest column that examines how Sprint is handling its NextRadio implementation of FM in smartphones. Continue Reading →