The best view we’ve seen of Apple’s new CarPlay app-control system for the car comes from Engadget, which created a “hands on” video of the system inside a Ferrari. This comes from the Geneva International Motor Show, where Apple announced CarPlay. Ferrari is one of three partner automakers for its launch; the other two are Mercedes-Benz and Volvo. Continue Reading
RAIN News managing editor Brad Hill was questioned about Apple’s CarPlay initiative on the Tech Shift segment of WBEZ’s Afternoon Shift program. WBEZ is a public FM station, and the originator of NPR’s widely-syndicated Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me program. Tech Shift is hosted by Niala Boodhoo. Click to listen. Continue Reading
A new report out from Gartner Research reveals that Google’s Android mobile operating system took the market-share lead in 2013 from Apple’s iOS platform. In a startling role reversal, Android jumped from 46 % to 62% of 2013 tablet sales, while Apple’s OS dropped from 53% to 36%. Continue Reading
Apple and a trio of car companies used the Geneva International Motor Show to announce the roll-out of CarPlay, formerly called iOS in the Car. CarPlay will hit the road later this year in selected Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo models. Not all music apps will work — Pandora is excluded. Continue Reading
For those focused on music and online audio, it’s easy to forget that Apple is not a music company, but a hardware vendor. iTunes Radio is just a feature in a network ecosystem of products and services. And…not mentioned in yesterday’s earnings call. Continue Reading
Pandora is more than holding on to its 14% stock ascension yesterday, it has added another five percent as of this writing. Meanwhile, the silence around iTunes Radio resembles, well, dead air. How Pandora is trying to replace radio, and dominate Internet radio. Continue Reading
Pandora updated its iOS app for Apple devices, adding a wake-up alarm. The app already had a timer feature that encouraged falling asleep to Pandora radio with a timed shut-off. Now users can fall asleep to Pandora, wake up to Pandora, and fortify the “hours listening” metrics Pandora publishes every month. We review the new feature. Continue Reading
Last week’s drop of Google’s All Access music subscription app into Apple’s app store was a milestone moment in both the music-service wars and the larger tech-ecosystem land grab. We had fun with our “Google invades Apple” headline, and every media site covering the convergence of music and Internet hit the same note.
The invasion metaphor is apt, more than just for its imagery of two tech/media giants engaged in business warfare. Google’s Play Music All Access, awkwardly-named thought it might be, offers a more complete music platform than Apple does — and likewise for Spotify, Rhapsody, Pandora, and Rdio. Continue Reading
Aggregation platform TuneIn announced today that its portfolio of streaming radio stations has reached 100,000 — “the most radio stations ever in one place,” according to the press release. TuneIn is taking the long-tail approach to radio stations, adding broadcasts… Continue Reading
Here are the top five, most-read articles this week, published at any time. Sirius XM apparently drops stations, infuriates users: RAIN noticed that Sirius XM’s Facebook page was exploding with comments from outrages users, over missing stations in the satellite… Continue Reading
After launching on September 18, simultaneous with the release of iOS 7 and baked into that mobile operating system, iTunes Radio has attracted 20-million users. Apple announced this milestone in a live product event on Tuesday. Many media outlets are… Continue Reading