Aereo CEO reveals an Android app is launching this September

Aereo CEO reveals an Android app is launching this September

In more than one way, Aereo keeps growing and growing, and it looks as if it’s getting ready to grow a little more. According to the International Business Times, Aereo CEO, Chet Kanojia, has confirmed to the publication that an official Android app for the TV streaming service is on its way. More specifically, Aereo’s chief says the application will be launching in the month of September, which would be right around the same time as the unconventional cable provider prepares to debut in Chicago. No word on when exactly we can expect the Aereo app to arrive on the Play store, but given how August only has about two full days left in it, it’s safe to say it’ll be sooner rather than later. In the meantime, there’s always the option to watch on your computer — or, hey, maybe a dear friend would be kind enough to let you borrow an iOS device.

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Via: GigaOM

Source: International Business Times

Shazam 4.0 for Android arrives with redesigned interface and faster sound scans

Shazam 40 for Android brings a redesigned interface with tablet support

Shazam’s Android app has needed a makeover for a while; even with tablet support, the sound identification tool has felt more at home in 2011 than 2013. The company is delivering that overdue redesign today with the launch of Shazam 4.0. The new app gives Android users a modern, Holo-inspired interface that scales to all Android devices, including a wider variety of tablets. It also brings the iOS version’s faster sound scans and more dynamic listening screen. While there aren’t many other changes, there’s more than enough here to justify grabbing the update through Google Play.

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Source: Google Play

TiVo adds Opera SDK support to Roamio platform, wants more HTML5 apps

TiVo adding Opera SDK support to Roamio platform, opens up possibilities for more HTML5 apps

The TiVo Roamio platform is still extremely young, what with it only having been launched earlier this month and all. Still, the DVR maker isn’t wasting any time and is now finding ways to bring as many features as possible to its new set-top boxes. With this in mind, TiVo let it be known today that it’s adding support for Opera’s Devices SDK and TV Store to its lineup of Roamio DVRs, providing developers an opportunity to create a variety of HTML5-based applications. TiVo’s hoping the partnership with Opera can introduce a slew of apps in different categories to the platform, including entertainment, fashion, sports, business, gaming news and more. As for Opera, we can imagine it’s rather pleased to get its app-creating tools used by yet another company.

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Via: TechCrunch

Source: TiVo

Kyocera piezoelectric film speaker delivers 180-degree sound to thin TVs and tablets (update: live photos)

Kyocera piezoelectric film speaker delivers 180degree sound to thin TVs and tablets update live photos

The thinner our devices become, the less room there is for speakers and other thicker components. Kyocera has a solution, however: it just modified its Smart Sonic Receiver conduction technology for use with conventional, over-the-air audio. The company’s new Smart Sonic Sound device still relies on a piezoelectric actuator, but vibrates against a film to generate as much volume as a regular speaker in a far thinner (under 1.5mm thick) design. The new speaker might even sound better than its traditional counterparts. It delivers full volume and quality in a 180-degree listening arc, and it’s responsive enough to recreate very subtle noises. Smart Sonic Sound is already shipping in LG’s 55-inch curved OLED TV, and Kyocera expects it to reach laptops, tablets and other devices where interior space is valuable.

Update: Our colleagues at Engadget Japanese have posted their first-hand look at Kyocera’s speaker technology, complete with a gallery of live photos; we’ve posted two of them here.

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Source: Kyocera

Xbox One to bring higher quality voice chat through dedicated hardware and the power of Skype (updated)

It’s anti-climactic when you destroy someone in Madden, yet your victory chants are muffled by substandard voice chat. Today, Major Nelson revealed that with the Xbox One and the Xbox One Chat Headset, your taunts and condolences will be heard loud and clear by all. How? Well, the console has dedicated audio processing and the new controller’s expansion port provides a fatter data pipe that allows the headset to render voices at 24 KHz PCM. According to the Major, that’s three times the sample rate for rendering and a 50 percent better capture rate than Xbox 360 headsets. Combine that with Skype’s refined audio codec, and you’ve got yourself a new gold standard for in-game chat quality. And, you can hear the difference at the source link below. Only downside Best part is, Microsoft still gonna won’t make you pay extra for the privilege.

Update: Major Nelson was kind enough to remind us that the headset will, in fact, be included with Xbox One.

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Source: Xbox Wire

Lovefilm gets MTV and Nickelodeon through streaming deal with Viacom

Lovefilm gets MTV and Nickelodeon through streaming deal with Viacom

Earlier this year, Amazon reached a deal with Viacom to keep many of the media company’s shows on Prime Instant Video, even scoring some exclusive content along the way. Now it’s time for Amazon’s other streaming service, Lovefilm, to benefit from a similar agreement. As you’d expect, Lovefilm’s UK subscribers will now be able to enjoy a variety of content from Viacom networks, including shows on MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon. And fret not if you don’t enjoy shows like Jersey Shore — at the very least you’ll have the likes of SpongeBob and Go Diego Go! to keep the kiddos busy while you catch up on Man v. Food.

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Source: Lovefilm

GameStop’s next-gen digital strategy doesn’t exist, because it doesn’t need to… yet

GameStop has no clear digital strategy, plans to take a 'wait and see' approach to the nextgen

“You’re asking me to… predict the future. I’m supposed to plan for the future.” That’s the non-answer GameStop president Tony Bartel spit out when I prodded him about the company’s digital strategy here at its annual consumer-facing EXPO in Las Vegas. And it’s clearly a touchy subject. It’s not that Bartel refuses to acknowledge and embrace a download-only world — indeed, he believes “things are going to go [fully] digital” — but in his own estimation, that shift isn’t tied to the next-gen of consoles. For a retailer built upon the buy/sell/trade business model for videogames and hardware, GameStop doesn’t appear to have a well-laid digital strategy in the works, nor does it necessarily need to at the moment. With both Sony and Microsoft committing to a friendly used disc-based games policy for their respective black boxes, GameStop’s been given a temporary buffer from the inevitable, allowing it additional time to feel out the digital way forward with a serendipitous mobile crutch.

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PlayJam GameStick releases worldwide September 30th

DNP Playjam GameStick releases worldwide September 30th, passes FCC cert

After a series of delays, it looks like PlayJam’s GameStick is making its way to market relatively soon. Whether your allegiance lies with Amazon or GameStop, come September 30th both will begin shipping the tiny console, as noticed by Liliputing. What’s more, PlayJam itself promises that the last of its crowdfunded unit-allotment will ship directly to backers by mid-September. The news doesn’t stop there, as it recently passed FCC certification too. Uncle Sam’s documents — RF exposure statements! Label placement! — don’t contain much we didn’t already know, but if you want to see the GameStick’s user manual, here you go.

[Thanks, Dave]

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Source: FCC, Liliputing, GameStick

LG partners with Cognitive Networks to make Smart TVs smarter and more interactive

LG parnters with Cognitive Networks to make Smart TVs smarter and more interactive

There’s a problem with Smart TVs — they really aren’t all that smart. While having WiFi-equipped sets that can run apps and stream content from the web might make them seem smart, TV’s don’t actually know what content is onscreen when they’re showing, you know, regular broadcast television. (Which is still what those TVs are most used for.) Cognitive Networks, however, has figured out how to make those televisions aware of what’s happening onscreen, and LG is the first manufacturer to leverage the technology with its LivePlus service. LivePlus was first revealed at the launch of Showtime’s Sho Sync app last week, but the Cognitive Networks’ technology powering LG’s platform can do so much more than just display character backgrounds, trivia and other info. To fully appreciate the breadth of possibilities the tech provides, however, it’s important to know how it actually works.

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DirecTV for Android updated to 3.0, boasts voice commands and new UI

DNP DirecTV's Android app UI update

DirectTV’s comprehensive app overhaul has finally jumped to a second operating system: Android. The refined UI debuted on the iPad earlier this month before migrating to the iPhone, adding a Watch button to choose where content is played, a redesigned Info Page and more customization options in the guide. Now, these same improvements are available on Google’s mobile OS, including DVR scheduling and voice search for programming. There’s no word on when DirecTV for Tablets will get these features, but hopefully it doesn’t take two years.

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Source: Google Play