Amazon is preparing to release its first smartphone this summer and BGR reports that the company is planning to offer a unique wireless data plan, called Prime Data, as one of the key selling points of the phone.
Although BGR's sources couldn't confirm exactly what the company has in store for Prime Data, they speculated that it would take advantage of some aspects of AT&T's new "Sponsored Data" program.
Sponsored Data, announced in January, allows companies to pay for users' data traffic for certain apps and services, meaning that data used up on a designated app wouldn't count toward the user's monthly data cap.
Amazon could be planning to give smartphone buyers free access to its various Prime-branded services, like TV and movie streaming from Prime Instant Video and its Amazon Cloud music player (it has also been rumored recently that the company might release a Spotify-esque product).
Another theory from a BGR source was that Amazon could offer a simple discount plan that's cheaper than other smartphone data plans, or that it could give users free data for several months after they buy the phone.
In whatever way Prime Data manifests itself, sources told BGR that it will be a key selling point for the Amazon smartphone.
This will huge for Amazon, which needs a way to differentiate its new phone — which will run a modified version of Android — from all the others on the market. Even if its hardware and software aren't better than other options, if it's cheaper for people to use, Amazon's phone could be a huge hit.
Smartphones have gotten cheaper and cheaper, but wireless plans remain pretty pricey. If Amazon offers good service at a lower price than the competition, consumers may find its offer compelling.
SEE ALSO: Amazon's New Smartphone Will Have Crazy New Tilt Controls
NOW WATCH: Here's How Much You Have To Buy To Make Amazon Prime Worth It
Each day, millions of customers flow through Starbucks stores in more than 60 countries. It has over 200 locations in Manhattan alone, which explains why it's hard to walk a few blocks in the city without seeing the green logo. But an Israeli startup that soft-launched in New York City last week just might be the David to Starbucks' Goliath.
-- For more information read the original article here.Depending on who you talk to, native advertising has many definitions. In the context of social media, we define native advertising as: Ads that are seamlessly integrated into a user's feed and are nearly indistinguishable from organic content.
The ads are becoming popular among publishers and other media properties, but social networks are at the forefront of the trend toward ads that work more like content.
For a recent report on the native-social ad rush, BI Intelligence spoke to leaders in the native advertising space, including major ad buyers, investors in up-and-coming social media networks like Pinterest, and social media analytics experts to understand the forces driving the stampede into native-social advertising. We examine the top formats, dig into Facebook's suite of native ad products, and look at how effective native-social ads can be.
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Here's how native-social advertising is transforming digital advertising:
- Estimates are that native will be at least 4o% or more of over $10 billion in social media ad spend by 2017. But we explain why the real proportion will be much higher.
- In-stream native ads look, feel, and function seamlessly across mobile and PC, which is precisely what brands want, as they seek to build cross-device campaigns.
- On mobile's smaller screens, the stream is the experience. Mobile ad spend was up 83% in 2012, to $8.9 billion globally.
- Facebook ads in the News Feed achieve 49-times higher click-through rates and a 54% lower cost-per-click than traditional placements in the right-rail sidebar, according to an AdRoll analysis of ad impressions traded through FBX, Facebook's ad exchange.
- LinkedIn jumped on the bandwagon and launched Promoted Updates in July of 2013.
- Twitter started the native-social ad trend with Promoted Tweets in early 2010. The social network is now among the most influential voices in arguing that TV and digital ad spend can work hand-in-hand.
- We believe image- and video-sharing networks such as Pinterest, Vine, and Snapchat will soon be offering some of the most effective types of native ads, centered on pictures. Photos are the most shared type of content on the Web; 43% of global Internet users have shared a photo in the past month.
The report is full of charts and data that can be easily downloaded and put to use.
In full, the report:
- Looks at what native advertising might look like on Snapchat, Pinterest, Vine, and Instagram, the most image-centric social networks
- Explains why market research firms have underestimated how big the shift to native-social advertising has turned out to be
- Discusses how native-social advertisements can be bought and sold in automated exchanges like Facebook's FBX
- Examines the data that proves the effectiveness of in-stream ads and their superior metrics relative to banner and display ads
- Compares the adoption of native-social ads by top brands and advertisers, and how committed they are -- For more information read the original article here.
Lucasfilm, which is now owned by Disney and is working on a new trilogy of "Star Wars" movies, announced today that it's essentially killing off the vast series books, comics, and video games that have spun off the original "Star Wars" movies.
Most of that extra material, commonly referred to as the Expanded Universe, explains what happens after "Return of the Jedi," the third movie in the original trilogy that ended with Darth Vader's death.
Disney's new trilogy of "Star Wars" movies will begin with "Episode VII" and will be the official sequels to "Return of the Jedi." In order to keep the storyline fresh and exciting, Disney decided to throw out the events that happen in the Expanded Universe and start over. After all, what would be the point of watching the new movies if we already know what's going to happen thanks to the Expanded Universe?
Moving forward, Lucasfilm/Disney will have a group of people tasked with making sure future Star Wars cartoons, books, comics, video games, etc. fall within the official storyline. That official storyline now only includes the six existing "Star Wars" movies, Episodes I through VI, and the "Clone Wars" cartoon series that aired on Cartoon Network.
All the other Expanded Universe material that has been published over the years will continue to exist, but will be rebranded under the "Star Wars Legends" banner. They're fun and interesting stories, but readers should note they do not reflect the official storyline that will take place in all future "Star Wars" material produced from now on. However, Lucasfilm did say some elements from the Expanded Universe like certain characters and organizations might make it into future "Star Wars" movies, books, etc.
Note that in the announcement it says "Lucas always made it clear that he was not beholden to the EU [Expanded Universe]."
"Episode VII" will premiere on December 18, 2015. There will be two more movies, "Episode VIII" and "Episode IX", after that.
The Expanded Universe really got cranking once it became clear George Lucas wasn't going to make any sequels to "Return of the Jedi." That gave sci-fi writers the right to license "Star Wars" and its characters to come up with what happens to Luke Skywalker and crew after the final movie. But when Disney announced it was buying Lucasfilm in 2012 and planned to make a new "Star Wars" trilogy, it didn't make sense for the company to adhere to the Expanded Universe material.
Here's a video from Lucasfilm explaining the changes:
Here's the announcement from Lucasfilm:
For over 35 years, the Expanded Universe has enriched the Star Wars experience for fans seeking to continue the adventure beyond what is seen on the screen. When he created Star Wars, George Lucas built a universe that sparked the imagination, and inspired others to create. He opened up that universe to be a creative space for other people to tell their own tales. This became the Expanded -- For more information read the original article here.
Former Google+ engineer Danny Chrichton says that the product has ultimately failed as a social network, he wrote on TechCrunch earlier today.
This comes following a report that Google+ will become less of a social product and more of a platform in light of Vic Gundotra stepping down.
Google has denied the death of Google+, saying that Gundotra's departure has no affect on its Google+ strategy.
To succeed Gundotra, Google somewhat shockingly selected VP of Engineering Dave Besbris to take the lead at Google+.
"This is striking, since he was selected over the head of product, Bradley Horowitz," Chrichton writes. "This decision should make it clear to everyone that Google+'s time as a user-centric social network is over."
Google+ is widely seen as a failed social network. Early on, even Google+ team members wondered why anyone would use the product.
Right in line with how everyday people feel about Google+ integration, Google Picasa team members were irritated by it.
"I still remember talking to a member of the Picasa team who told me to “f*** off” when I asked about integrating Google+ into the product," Chrichton writes. "He was hardly the only one, as any number of company-wide emails from engineers could attest."
Though, it seems that Google might scrap the mandatory Google+ integration with its other products.
Two years ago, Google+ had about 7 million daily active users, according to The Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile Facebook reported over 802 million daily active users in its recent quarter.
SEE ALSO: Why Google is making massive, crazy bets on drones and robots
Is your iPhone's sleep/wake button finicky? You might be in luck. On Friday, Apple announced a new program to fix a small number of iPhone 5s with faulty buttons. Just input your phone's serial number on this page to see if you qualify. And if you do, be prepared to be without your phone for a few days.
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-- For more information read the original article here.
Hello, beautiful. No, not you. That animated GIF of a wonderfully curvy Coronet Super 12 typewriter. Oh and that one of TEAC reel-to-reel tapedeck and the Bell & Howe Super 8 projector. Actually, all of the images in Jim Golden's new project "Relics of Technology" are just great.
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-- For more information read the original article here.
Nike CEO Mark Parker appeared on CNBC earlier today, and while he would not directly address specific plans with respect to Apple, he did note that Apple is a longtime partner and that he is "excited about where that relationship will go forward."
Parker: [Y]ou're going to continue to see us commit to this area, to focus on expanding the reach. Today, we have about 30 million FuelBand users. We're hoping to push that to over 100 million. We have partners that we work with...obviously the most visible partner we have is Apple. We've been working with them for a long time. And we're excited about where that relationship will go forward.
CNBC's Sara Eisen: Well, can you give us a hint? Are we going to expect some sort of collaborative device coming out? Nike and Apple?
Parker: I can't really say that. There's been a lot of speculation, which I understand. I will just say the relationship between Nike and Apple will continue. And I am personally, as we all are at Nike, very excited about what's to come.
Parker went on to discuss how Nike is going to focus on the software side of the wearable fitness device market going forward, integrating it into some of of Nike's products as well as those of partners. With those partnerships, Nike is seeking to further its primary goal of expanding the overall Fuel ecosystem to as many people as possible.
Speculation of a Nike-Apple partnership is natural given the long history between the two companies, highlighted by the Nike+iPod initiative to bring pedometer and other fitness tracking to Apple devices. Apple CEO Tim Cook has served on Nike's board of directors for nearly a decade, and he is frequently seen wearing a Nike FuelBand.
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