Ahead of today's release of iOS 7, Apple has just released iTunes 11.1 with support for iTunes Radio (U.S. only at launch), Genius Shuffle, and more.
This version of iTunes comes with several major new features, including:
iTunes Radio. iTunes Radio is a great new way to discover music. Choose from over 250 stations or start a new one from your favorite artist or song. Enjoy iTunes Radio ad-free once you subscribe to iTunes Match...
Read the full story here... Source: Mac Rumours
Apple has been working to expand its iAd team over the past month, posting job listings for dozens of positions just as the company prepares to launch its iTunes Radio streaming music service, notes Ad Age. Apple's iAd team is handling advertising for the new service and has reportedly already signed up a number of high-profile brands to advertise on the service from its launch...
Read the full story here... Source: Mac Rumours
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple sent its iTunes Radio terms to independent record labels last week and the paper was able to review a copy of the contract. It dictates that Apple will pay record labels both in royalties on individual song plays, as well as how much advertising Apple is able to sell.
During iTunes Radio’s first year, Apple will pay a label 0.13 cents each time a song is played, as well as 15% of net advertising revenue, proportionate to a given label’s share of the music played on iTunes. In the second year, that bumps up to 0.14 cents per listen, plus 19% of ad revenue.
That's compared to the 0.12 cents -- $0.0012 -- that Pandora pays labels per play, although the paper says Apple will be paying publishers more than twice as much in royalties than Pandora. For streaming music, publishers and record labels are paid independently.
There are also restrictions in place that allow Apple to not pay royalties. Some song plays are unpaid if they are already in a listener's iTunes library or part of an album they own, tracks selected by iTunes for special promotion, or if listeners skip a song before the 20 second mark. However, Apple can only avoid royalties for two songs per hour per user.
And while these terms were sent out to independent music labels, the WSJ claims they are similar to the terms major labels like Universal Music Group and Warner Music have signed.
Apple doesn't expect iTunes Radio to generate much ad revenue, but hopes it will drive iTunes sales and help sell more iPhones, iPods and other Apple hardware. The company does hope it can help grow the iAd mobile advertising platform.
Finally, the paper says the terms include "several references to terms for the use of music in talk, weather, sports and news programming" on iTunes Radio and that Apple wouldn't have to pay royalties on music snippets used in those types of programming.
The WSJ believes it is "unlikely Apple will invest much in creating such programming, given that it has long shied from creating its own content".
The details offer a look into the terms long debated in the negotiation process between Apple and music labels. Apple reportedly agreed to higher royalty rates in early April, and then signed deals with the major labels in time to announce the new service at the Worldwide Developers Conference in early June.
Source: Mac Rumours
Apple announced iTunes Radio today, a new internet radio service that is built into theMusic app in iOS 7. The new feature offers music discovery through featured and genre stations provided by Apple or through the creation of new stations based on a specific artist or song.
"iTunes Radio is an incredible way to listen to personalized radio stations which have been created just for you,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “It’s the music you love most and the music you’re going to love, and you can easily buy it from the iTunes Store with just one click.
iTunes Radio keeps track of all of the songs listened to for easy access later for purchasing or repeat listening. iTunes Radio will also be available on Mac and PC through iTunes and Apple TV.
iTunes Radio will be available in the fall for free with ads while iTunes Match subscribers get an ad-free experience. The service will be available starting in the US only at first.
Source: Mac Rumours
Researchers from the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have developed a new radio frequency chip capable of sending/receiving 10 gigabits per second. That equates to a 4.7GB movie file that can be downloaded in 3.76 seconds.
Park Cheol Soon, the lead KAIST professor of the project, states the chip can be used in future smartphones and cameras, but can also replace cables and deliver cable/fiber optic speeds without the costly infrastructure.
The team claims the design of the chip and antenna has been made to be small (4mm tall and 6.6mm wide) for use in most mobile devices. The antenna itself is designed to transmit and receive data, rather than needed multiple antennae to perform the task, further reducing the size of the design.
For consumers, this means some really cool applications, imagine Google Fiber datatransmission speeds without all the laying of wires and infrastructure in homes, or transferring a full 64 GB SD card wirelessly in mere seconds.
[Source: TechnoBuffalo]
No one can accuse the BBC of neglecting radio in its quest for streaming nirvana -- not when the number of radio listeners on iPlayer has shot up 56 percent in a year (and 300 percent on tablets). Nevertheless, from tomorrow morning, iPhone users will find a brand new way to listen to their favorite content: a dedicated radio app with a spinning dial which -- compared to the regular iPlayer app -- will put much greater emphasis on live shows rather than catch-up. There'll also be mobile-friendly features like an alarm clock which will wake you up to your choice of show, reminders for shows you just can't miss, and the ability to identify current and recently-played songs at a glance. The app will reach Android too, as soon as some Flash-related difficulties have been ironed out, and its alarm function will benefit from slightly better multi-tasking on Google's OS, so you won't have to leave the app open before you fall asleep. If you don't want to wait or if you're outside the UK, check out the desktop iPlayer at the source link, or the gallery below, and you'll see just what the Corporation's philosophy about treating radio differently -- rather than as "TV minus video" -- actually looks like.
[Source: Engadget]
Seeing through walls hasn't been a super hero-exclusive activity for a while now. According to Popular Science, however, University College London researchers Karl Woodbridge and Kevin Chetty have created the first device that can detect movement through walls using existing WiFi signals. While similar tech has required a bevy of wireless nodes, the duo has pulled off the feat with a contraption roughly the size of a suit case.
Much like radar, the device relies on the Doppler effect -- radio waves changing frequencies as they reflect off of moving objects -- to identify motion. Using a radio receiver with two antennas and a signal-processing unit, the system monitors the baseline WiFi frequency in an area for changes that would indicate movement. In tests, the gadget was able to determine a person's location, speed and direction through a foot-thick brick wall. The technology's potential applications range from domestic uses to scanning buildings during combat. Best of all, since the university's hardware doesn't emit any radio waves, it can't be detected. How's that for stealthy?
[Source: Engadget]