Hasta La Gadget!

The Rakuten-owned, web-based Wuaki.tv video service announced today it’s officially ready for prime time in the United Kingdom. Following what the company’s calling a successful beta launch earlier this year, which helped it lure in “tens of thousands” of new subscribers, Wuaki.tv appears ready to go head-to-head with streaming services like Lovefilm, Netflix and, thanks to its flexible pricing scheme, iTunes. Moreover, Wuaki.tv points out that being available in Spain, and now the UK, only marks the beginning of its plans for The Old Continent, where it is aiming to be “fully launched in main European countries by 2015.”

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet

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Source: Wuaki.tv

Okay, we’re pronouncing it “ooh-acki”, because that sounds slightly more classy than “wacky”, but you can call this new Rakuten-owned streaming service whatever you like. You can also choose how to pay for it, because the pricing system gives you the option of a monthly subscription for access to a “regularly-refreshed line-up” of movies and TV shows, or a per-item charge to rent or buy the latest Hollywood releases — or you can pay both types of fee if you want it all. Having already attracted 600,000 subscribers in Spain (hence the idioma in the image above), Wuaki.tv is offering a decent introductory discount to give itself a kickstart in the UK: be among the first 75,000 to sign up during the beta phase (and do so before mid-September) and you’ll get a half-price monthly fee of £2.99 for as long as you stay with the no-contract service. The downside to joining early is that, for the time being, you can only stream to a Mac or PC. Support for mobile devices, smart TVs and consoles is due to be added over the coming months, at which point the decision to sign up quickly (via the Source link below) might start to prove its worth.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD

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Source: Wuaki.tv

Canadian-born, Japanese-owned e-reader maker Kobo announced its intentions to acquire digital publishing company Aquafadas today, an agreement that’ll bring rich content like magazines, academic texts, comics and children’s books, amongst others, to Kobo users. The deal also builds out Kobo’s self-publishing offering, bringing more tools to the table, along with additional languages like German, French, Italian, Portuguese and Dutch. Kobo’s also taking the opportunity to announce exapanded offerings in New Zealand, thanks to partnerships with Booksellers NZ and The Paper Plus Group. Back in September, the company announced a trio of new devices set for release this month and next in the States.

Continue reading Kobo to buy Aquafadas, get magazines, academic texts, comics and children’s books in the process

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Kobo to buy Aquafadas, get magazines, academic texts, comics and children’s books in the process originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Oct 2012 10:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ever since Rakuten revealed its intentions to scoop up Kobo, the e-reader maker was clearly destined to hit the Japanese market. As noted a week or so back, the company’s eReader Touch will be arriving the Land of the Rising Sun in July — July 19th, to be exact. And, starting today, customers in that country can pre-order the reader for ¥7,980 (or $100 USD). Kobo’s promised a “fully localized” experience on the reader, including local currency, content and a “robust” offering of Japanese books in time for launch.

Continue reading Kobo eReader Touch up for pre-order in Japan, hitting market with ‘localized experience’ July 19th

Kobo eReader Touch up for pre-order in Japan, hitting market with ‘localized experience’ July 19th originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 14:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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