Sony Ericsson to finally roll out its subscription music service
Sony Ericsson's PlayNow Arena has just been given a boost, with a plan for unlimited downloads and an agenda to roll it out to wireless customers worldwide.
PlayNow Arena fully launched in the Scandanavian countries Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden in August, offering mobile entertainment content for Sony Ericsson users. The service uses a "cover flow" type interface to sell music, games, ringtones, and other phone content.
Intel, Oracle team on encryption to protect data in business 'clouds'
Judging from the announcement at this week's OracleWorld, both enterprise cloud computing and virtualization customers could soon get new data encryption technologies that are "hardware-rooted."
Oracle and Intel are now working together on enterprise computing "clouds" that will use data encryption for improved privacy, the two companies said at this week's OracleWorld conference.
Free wireless group denies T-Mobile's claims of signal interference
M2Z, major supporters of a "porn-free wireless broadband access for all" plan, have rebuffed T-Mobile's spectrum tests that say it would interfere with the company's cellular signal.
The 2155-2175 MHz band (termed advanced wireless service, or AWS) has been the subject of contention for several years, as chunks of spectrum are the one of the most important commodities for telecommunications operations, and different groups want it used for different purposes.
Motorola takes biometric ID to the streets
A new attachment for two of Motorola's enterprise digital assistants (EDAs) gives police and other mobile security folk the gear to check fingerprints in the field.
It's the stuff of nightmares and various cheesy cop shows: The bad guy gets control of an officer's gun / radio / car and takes his mayhem to a new level. But with the announcement of a biometric attachment for two models of their EDAs popular with police and other security personnel, Motorola's looking to increase the peace.
Spurned iPhone developer's complaints mysteriously disappear
Alex Sokirynsky, one of many application developers rejected by Apple's App Store, has admitted to deep-sixing his own blog post. Could Apple be using NDA clauses as a tool for silencing disenchanted developers?
In the latest twist on a series of application rejections by Apple's App Store, Alex Sokirynsky -- one of at least four impacted developers -- has pulled a blog post in which he'd vented about Apple's ongoing interference and vowed to move his Podcaster application to Google's Android Marketplace.
MySpace's new ad network lets musicians self-promote
MySpace, the social network turned music repository, has unveiled the beta of "Promote Your..." a self-service advertising system that allows users to publish and manage banners on its network that click through to musicians' profiles.
The service is geared toward independent musicians and businesspeople, offering audience targeting, efficacy tracking, and an advertising budget range from $25 to $10,000. It also offers an ad creation wizard interface or the ability to upload pre-made 300 x 250 or 728 x 90 .JPG, .GIF, or .PNG banners that are less than 600K in size.
Yahoo denies any new developments with Time Warner over AOL
With Microsoft out of the picture in any future deal with Yahoo, there has been speculation over someone else potentially filling the void. But a news story yesterday made it seem like that void was being filled, and Yahoo is disputing it.
Late yesterday, following a meeting of Yahoo's board of directors, the Financial Times published a story citing someone its reporter called "one person familiar with the company's thinking" as revealing that some type of hurdle had been cleared precluding a future deal between Yahoo and Time Warner over the latter's AOL unit.
Massachusetts, Nevada mandate encryption for consumer data
New regulations will tighten security measures around residents' personal data, but the impact of these regulations will affect businesses beyond the two states' borders.
Massachusetts' Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation issued new regulations, called the Standards for The Protection of Personal Information of Residents of the Commonwealth, set to take effect on January 1, 2009. The state already has what are considered by some to be the most far-reaching information security requirements of any US state (see this PDF client advisory from a Mass. law firm for more).
Analyst: Android is in iPhone's league, but more apps are needed
Despite speculation that Google's Android might turn into a platform for lower-end "feature phones," Android is definitely shaping up into not only a smartphone platform but also an iPhone competitor, says analyst Avi Greengart.
NEW YORK, NY (BetaNews) -- A lot more applications are needed before Android fulfills its potential, suggested Avi Greengart of Current Analysis, a leading wireless/mobile analyst. Greengart spoke with reporters including BetaNews today during the launch event for T-Mobile's G1, the first Android phone.
McAfee to acquire network security provider Secure Computing
In an attempt to give it a bigger presence in the enterprise network security market, McAfee announced today that it was acquiring Secure Computing Group for $465 million, or $5.75 per share plus $84 million for outstanding preferred stock.
Part of the attraction of Secure Computing is that it offers little overlap with existing McAfee Inc. products, said Vimal Solanki, vice president of worldwide solution marketing for the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company. Users can expect to see a suite product for network security similar to McAfee's Total Endpoint Security and Total Protection for Data, he said.
Is Windows 7 slimming down to speed up (development)?
Microsoft is making plans to drop an assortment of e-mail and media-editing tools from the next version of Windows, concentrating instead on those programs' Windows Live analogues.
[ME's NOTE: Today, we welcome into the BetaNews family of journalists the former USA Today correspondent and Tech_Space blogger, and the former co-host of public television's Digital Duo...and more importantly, someone I've been proud for years to call my friend and colleague: Angela Gunn.]The Engineering Windows 7 blog, run by engineering team leaders Steven Sinofsky (senior VP of the Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group) and Jon DeVaan (senior VP of the Windows Core Operating System Division), frames the forthcoming OS as an "ecosystem" comprised of PC and hardware manufacturers, developers, users, and enthusiasts. Going extinct from that ecosystem will be the following: Windows Mail, Windows Photo Gallery, Windows Calendar, Windows Contacts, and Windows Movie Maker.
Google and partners roll out first apps for Android Marketplace
The grand launch of T-Mobile's G1 today included the rollouts of Ecorio and ShopSavvy, two applications expected be among of hundreds or more that might eventually populate Android Marketplace, Google's answer to Apple's App Store.
NEW YORK, NY (BetaNews) - During a product expo following this morning's presentation by Google, T-Mobile, and HTC, T-Mobile senior manager for product development Mitch Lustig pointed to Android's open source development platform as one big reason for the new device's appeal.
T-Mobile plans more Android phones after G1
T-Mobile plans to follow up on the release of HTC's Dream phone -- now known as the G1 -- with several more Android devices, a senior T-Mobile official told BetaNews at during a New York City press event today.
NEW YORK, NY (BetaNews) - While the G1 device rolled out today in New York is aimed at providing a "Google-focused experience" to users, future Android phones for T-Mobile's emerging 3G HSPDA market will be geared to other kinds of "user experiences." This from Mitch Lustig, T-Mobile USA's senior manager of product development, although he declined to specify which kinds of experiences.
MySpace denies antitrust action is pending against its Music site
BetaNews spoke with MySpace reps last night regarding the speculation that's been going on since last week about possible antitrust actions, including in Europe, preventing MySpace Music from launching its new, dedicated site.
Much of the talk was fueled by a particular news article, which MySpace told us was "based mostly on conjecture." The article discusses precedents set by indie groups in European courts, most notably the ongoing opposition to SMEI by independent organization Impala, hinting at preferential pricing and discriminative practices by MySpace against indie music producers.
Royalties breakthrough: RIAA and media agree on streaming rates
While legislation before Congress languishes in the midst of two wars and now a severe financial crisis, the major parties in the online music royalties debate have actually come to an agreement on compromise rates.
In a surprise announcement that could actually signal the beginning of the end of the long-running streaming media royalties debacle, representatives of the Recording Industry Association of America state they have reached an agreement with DiMA, the leading trade group representing digital media broadcasters. That agreement could cap the music royalties that streaming broadcasters pay to 10.5 percent of revenue.
Most Commented Stories
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. About Us - Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy - Sitemap.