We’ve seen Pandora set up partnerships with many of the auto OEMs, so this recent news on the growth of Pandora isn’t surprising.
His baby, the Pandora personalized online radio service, has more than 125 million registered users, a huge jump from 75 million at the same time last year. Pandora has expanded its reach into the car, with 16 alliances — including new ones with Kia and Acura — compared with four car companies this time last year.
Monthly listening, on average per user, is now at 18 hours, and shares of its stock are up 21% this year.
Coming off a successful $2.6 billion IPO in 2011, Pandora founder Westergren says the company is at the “tipping point” of expanding beyond the early adopters into a service that he says will one day be utilized by billions of consumers.
Once they can expand beyond the US, expect growth to accelerate.
The biggest buzz so far at the Consumer Electronics Show comes from the new OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) televisions from the giant South Korean manufacturer Samsung.
Production costs had previously limited the size of OLED screens, which is why consumers mostly found them in cellular phones, and the only commercially available OLED television model had been the Sony XEL-1, an 11-inch model that debuted at the 2007 CES with a price of $2,500.
Samsung’s new televisions feature a 55-inch screen, an absurd 0.6-inch width, and a richness of color never before seen in commercial displays.
Check out the video and see for yourself. 3D TVs were a huge bust, but now these new super-thin TVs should generate some serious buzz.
The zombie genre may be running on fumes at this point, but that hasn’t stopped the guys over at Doublesix from adding another game to the pile with this spiritual sequel to their 2009 arcade shooter “Burn Zombie Burn.” The developers’ latest offering, “All Zombies Must Die!,” is very similar in concept, but the addition of RPG-lite elements adds some much-needed depth to the overall experience. Instead of trying to earn the highest score by mowing down a seemingly never-ending horde of zombies, you’re now tasked with completing a series of quests as you attempt to survive the zombie apocalypse that’s overtaken the ill-fated town of Deadhill. Each of the four playable characters have a unique secondary attack that affects the zombies in a different way (like lighting them on fire or giving them radiation poisoning), but apart from that, they all handle the same.
Where “All Zombies Must Die!” really shows its depth, however, is in the ability to upgrade a character’s specific attributes (like attack, defense, health and speed) and create better weapons using a crafting system where you combine standard weaponry with items found throughout the map. Each item yields the same special ability no matter which weapon you pair it with (for example, firewood adds fire damage), but it plays a big part in preventing the game from getting stale too soon, even if the repetitive nature of the combat makes that an inevitability. Still, the game’s self-referential humor helps to keep things light and entertaining throughout, and it’s an absolute blast to play with a group of friends. Unfortunately, that also proves to be the game’s biggest shortcoming, because multiplayer co-op can only be played locally. The lack of an online mode isn’t the only thing standing in the way of Doublesix’s latest effort from reaching its full potential, but it’s certainly the most annoying.
I’m not talking about cliché bumper stickers, antenna toppers, or those family member decals on the back of minivans. I’m talking about cool, useful, entertaining items, some of which you may not have even known existed. Check out these awesome accessories and discover what’s out there!
Okay, sure, this isn’t the most high-tech accessory in the world, but it’s definitely a handy contraption that can allow your drink to actually be in reach. According to the Ram Mounts website, the accessory can even be used on motorcycles, ATVs, and riding lawn mowers, so any time you need a refreshing beverage, it can be conveniently located and ready for drinking. Avoid a car crash, and keep your auto insurance rates down with this great gadget.
This gem of an accessory might not be legal and every state (so check up on that), but it’s pretty awesome. Attach it to your rear window and control what displays from a remote by the driver’s seat. You can communicate with the people driving behind you with a choice of 16 messages, including, “Sorry,” “Back off,” and “Have a nice day.” Now you can thank that angel from heaven who let you merge onto the highway. Thank you, kind soul. Thank you.
Now anyone can experience the benefits of OnStar with the For My Vehicle version that was designed as a rearview mirror and can be installed into cars from any company, according to Time. With this style of OnStar, you’ll still have features like automatic crash response, the ability to call for emergency help with the push of a button, and access to advisors who can help when you need roadside assistance.
Fingerprint scanners exist, but a whole new realm of identification has been discovered and may be implemented in the coming years. Shigeomi Koshimizu created a chair that can use the identification of someone’s butt when they sit to then allow actions like turning on a car. The use of pressure points allows the device to make this determination, so security has reached a whole new level of weird.
Conclusion
Whether the accessories help you drink a soda or prevent car theft, there are dozens of devices and gadgets out there that can make driving more convenient, more expressive, and more secure. Think about what you might want for your car and look it up — it might already exist!
The biggest technology and gadget show, CES, just kicked off in Las Vegas, and as usual much of the talk surrounds Apple:
Apple is the only company that consistently gets big buzz out of the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas — without even attending.
This year will be no different.
Connected TVs — TVs that connect to and can access content from the Internet — will be a big part of CES this year. And just about everyone in tech expects Apple at some point to launch such a television — an iTV — that easily consumes and shares with other Apple devices content served from the company’s media-storing iCloud.
Microsoft made news earlier by saying this was the last year they would attend CES/ Why attend if Apple gets all the buzz anyways? Maybe Microsoft should focus on new products instead of protecting its Windows/Office cash cow? Or maybe not . . .
News stories are reporting what we all expected. With all the smartphones and tablet computers sold over the holidays, consumers are downloading apps like crazy. This is true of people of all ages, as there’s now an app for almost everything.
This does, however, raise a host of issues for parents. It’s alright for mom to go on Facebook and Twitter or play free bingo. For example, there are free apps out there so that anyone can text phone numbers. So think about young kids. Many parents don’t want to purchase a phone, let alone a smartphone, for them until they reach a certain age.
But now with something like an iPod Touch, kids have access to so many things. They can use an app to start texting. Just imagine how many problems that can cause. They can open a Facebook account. They can play all sorts of games. They can access web sites.
Monitoring Internet access is going to get exponentially more difficult, so it’s imperative for parent to educate themselves. It’s not enough now to just have the family computer in the kitchen where parents can see it. With tablets and iPods kids can use them anywhere.
So if you haven’t done so already, go check on what your kids are doing with those new devices.
Public pressure can build quickly in the social media age. Verizon tried to push through a new $2 fee and ended up with a PR nightmare.
Verizon Wireless bowed to a torrent of criticism on Friday and reversed a day-old plan to impose a $2 bill-paying fee that would have applied to only some customers.
The consumer vitriol, which cascaded across Twitter and onto blogs and petitions all around the Web, struck a chord with a company that was clearly not expecting it.
“The company made the decision in response to customer feedback about the plan, which was designed to improve the efficiency of those transactions,” Verizon Wireless said in a statement referring to the reversal.
Everything is changing, as consumers have real power now with social media.
People love to gamble and they love to play games on their computers and phones. With that the trends will just accelerate on games like poker that can be played in all sorts of settings. Now with new smartphones there are even more ways to play. You can play real games against real people, or just play practice games against a computer so you learn to avoid losing all your cash.
The new rules from the Obama administration announced Friday might make this even more popular, as the new rule suggests that the federal government can only restrict sports betting under the current federal law. This can lead to an explosion of state regulations overseeing and encouraging online play in order to generate tax revenues.
This decision makes sense, as people love playing online casino games. Now with smartphones exploding, imagine how much more time people will spend playing these games. You can play blackjack hands while standing in the line at the grocery store. So get ready for a bunch of new players as people start using their Christmas gadgets!
Poker is fun, and tons of people love to play. Like most games, it was a huge leap forward when we could play them on our computers. Then game better networks and amazing online experiences with these games.
Smart phones have taken all of this to a new level. Now you can play games of every kind everywhere. You can play by yourself or with other people. Add in social networking, and gaming even becomes a new way of communicating with friends – let’s chat while we play a game!
Of course this is going to drive tons of holiday sales, and phones, iPads and other devices fly off the shelves. People of all ages love this stuff, and kids are obsessed with it. Tons of companies are cashing in on mobile gaming as tons of mobile betting apps are downloaded for all sorts of devices.
Stuff like iCoud makes mobile gaming even better. Now you can track your games and scores from multiple Apple devices, from your iPhone to your iPad to your laptop. It’s just amazing.
The growth here is exponential, so expect some huge numbers from the holiday season and the week after Christmas when people downloads apps on the new gadgets they found under the Christmas tree!
Shoppers went crazy this year on Black Friday as they snapped up deals everywhere. Some stores went so far as to open on Thanksgiving night. But the increases there were matched by the surge in activity on Cyber Monday. Online shopping is now part of the mainstream, as people realize the the selection and prices are amazing.
While deals are great, the best part of the web has to do with variety and uniqueness. You can find so many cool gift ideas with a little bit of research and imagination. Mainstream gift ideas are fine, but think of stuff that is a little different.
Think about stuff like ideas for sexy costumes. Of course this will only apply to certain people on your list, but women in particular love to dress up for parties. Girlfriends also like to dress up for you, so a sexy costume can be an incredible stocking stuffer. You can pick anything from 80s costumes to hot Wonder Woman costumes.
If you’re armed with a woman’s size (don’t get this wrong!), then you can find a ton of cool stuff online. Of course you should also get her a romantic gift like maybe jewelry or a watch, and naturally everyone likes gadget gifts this time of year. But a sexy gift like a costume for a party you’re taking her to might end up as her favorite gift! Happy hunting!
Shoppers went crazy this year on Black Friday as they snapped up deals everywhere. Some stores went so far as to open on Thanksgiving night. But the increases there were matched by the surge in activity on Cyber Monday. Online shopping is now part of the mainstream, as people realize the the selection and prices are amazing.
