Apple Pay Roundup Updated
Tomorrow’s iPad-centric event may see Apple divulging more details on its upcoming payment service, including a release date.
Ahead of the event, we’ve updated our Apple Pay roundup with an in-depth explanation of how Apple Pay works, the security behind the technology, Apple’s partners, a prospective release date, and more. If you’ve got questions on Apple Pay, make sure to take a look at the roundup.
HBO to Introduce Standalone Web-Only Subscriptions in 2015
Popular premium cable channel HBO has announced plans to introduce a web-only subscription service designed for cable cutters in the coming months. According to HBO CEO Richard Plepler, who spoke at an investor presentation (via Re/code), the company will begin offering standalone HBO service that does not require a cable subscription in 2015.
“That is a large and growing opportunity that should no longer be left untapped. It is time to remove all barriers to those who want HBO.
“So, in 2015, we will launch a stand-alone, over-the-top, HBO service in the United States. We will work with our current partners. And, we will explore models with new partners. All in, there are 80 million homes that do not have HBO and we will use all means at our disposal to go after them.”
HBO’s decision to offer a standalone subscription is a major victory for cord cutters and the first major shift away from cable-only access to premium content. Cable companies like Time Warner and Comcast have been highly resistant to piecemeal pricing and companies like HBO have been reluctant to shift away from traditional cable delivery models in order to avoid upsetting existing revenue streams.
The television industry’s reluctance to shift to a new content delivery model that strays away from cable has long been rumored to be the major reason why Apple has been unable to deliver the revolutionary television experience that it originally envisioned.
Early rumors suggested Apple was aiming for an a la carte subscription television service that would replace existing cable packages, but the company eventually scaled back on its TV ambitions and is now said to be working with cable companies on a deal that would see it providing cable content overlaid with an Apple TV-style interface.
According to Plepler, HBO will work with “current partners” on its upcoming standalone service, which possibly suggests that the web-only version may allow Apple TV users to access HBO content on their set-top boxes without a cable subscription, but details on the product are scarce at this time.
It is not clear if the standalone service will be the same as the service provided to cable subscribers who opt for HBO, but presumably, the deal will give those who purchase the web-only subscription access to the company’s most popular shows like “Game of Thrones” and “True Detective.”
Android L (5.0 Lollipop) Developer Preview Builds Will Be Available On Friday, October 17th
The newly announced Android 5.0 lollipop has a developer release date- Friday, October 17th. The lollipop SDK will come out with it as well. You will be able to install this build on a number of nexus devices including the Nexus 5 and Nexus 7. This build still has the “developer preview” name so it won’t be the absolute final version, but it will be far more stable than the preview that came out months ago.
Stay tuned here for more information on all things nexus, lollipop and Google here on AndroidGuys!
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Playdate: We’re livestreaming ‘Bayonetta 2’ on Wii U!
Nintendo’s big exclusive game for its Wii U home console is Bayonetta 2. It was Nintendo’s big coup announcement ahead of the Wii U’s launch. Bayonetta‘s notable not just for being good — the first game is critically-acclaimed — but also for being made by a developer other than Nintendo. And hey, it’s October, so that means games are being released into the wild. Among them is Platinum Games’ Bayonetta 2, featuring the stylishly appointed, combat-ready Rapunzel-alike you see above. The series is known for its over-the-top, goofy-yet-calculated style, and we’re gonna put the latest one through its paces in a stream for you just below starting at 4PM ET.
http://www.twitch.tv/engadget/embedWatch live video from Engadget on www.twitch.tv
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Netflix’s growth slows down just as HBO joins the streaming fight
Netflix is no longer an up and comer, it’s a giant, pushing out well-regarded original content — in 4K even — and constantly expanding its reach. Today we learned that HBO will finally hop off its cable-only throne and do battle with some sort of internet-only service next year, and as Netflix reveals how it did in the last three months, we’ll find out how it plans to respond. According to CEO Reed Hastings’ Q3 letter to investors, despite the “inevitable” move, he believes “it is likely we both prosper as consumers move to Internet TV.” Meanwhile, his company has grown to 53 million customers worldwide and figures it will crack 57 million by the end of the year. The bad news? Those price hikes for new customers appear to have slowed growth, with Netflix adding 980,000 customers in the US, lower than both the 1.29 million net additions in the same period a year ago — when it passed HBO in paid subscribers — and the 1.33 million the company predicted just three months ago. There should be plenty to talk about when Netflix has its investor call at 6PM ET (live video streaming — watch it embedded after the break).
Between the slower-than-expected growth, a sharp drop in its free cash flow and the HBO news, financial outlets like Bloomberg report the prices of its shares have dipped in after-hours trading by as much as 22 percent. So what’s going right for Netflix? Plenty — Its profits are up (operating income nearly doubled from the same period last year, from $57 million to $110 million), it has the recent movie deals for Crouching Tiger and Adam Sandler, and the company says its new animated series Bojack Horseman is drawing more viewers than back-catalog series like Archer, Futurama or Bob’s Burgers did in a similar period. Speaking of original content, Netflix’s next new show Marco Polo (pictured above) will debut December 12th, and it has nine series currently in production.
Netflix says it’s midway through switching to HTML5 for its desktop player, and that its set-top box player is ready to work on more cable boxes. While Virgin / TiVo were the first, it’s “expanded to less high-end systems” — could that mean Netflix on the cable box you already have? We’ll have to wait and see, but for now its set-top box rollout is mostly in the new European territories.
Developing…
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Netflix Q3 earnings (PDF)
Doing it wrong: A visual history of awkward iPad photography
Did you know that Apple hasn’t changed the 5-megapixel camera on the iPad for three models running? It’s probably fair to hope that the company adding something to the tablet’s imaging prowess at tomorrow’s event. That said, is it really true that the best camera is “the one that’s with you,” if said snapper is a 9.7-inch slate? We decided to take a little trawl through some of history’s most notable iPad photography incidents to find out if people really are holding it wrong.
[Image Credit: Michael Sohn/AP]
Luxy dating app doesn’t care about poor people
Out of the many different app categories which exist today, dating is certainly among the most popular. Whether it’s Tinder, Grindr, OkCupid or Siren, there’s definitely something for everyone. And now that “everyone” includes arrogant, rich narcissists. Say hello to Luxy, a dating app that promises to “work just like Tinder,” except that it allows you to “weed out the poor and unattractive.” It’s so absurd you’d assume it’s a hoax. The app, which is available for iOS and Android, comes from the same humanoid creatures behind the website MillionaireMatch, where wealthy men and women can find other “successful and attractive” singles. Luxy takes that already questionable concept and races to the bottom with it. The press release even brags that Luxy is “basically Tinder without the poor people… In fact, the average income of male users on LUXY is over $200k and those who are unable to keep up financially are immediately removed from the service.”
The most bizarre part isn’t even the service itself, but rather the arrogant approach Luxy has taken in getting the word out. It’s been reported that the Luxy’s press representative and CEO went as far as emailing some journalists the following message: “What if you could just wipe the poors and uglies away like a bad Tinder match.” It’s so over the top that we’re not entirely convinced the app isn’t some satirical jab at the one-percent. But whether or not this is just a ploy by the company’s enigmatic CEO to see how many awful people he can get to sign up for an awful service doesn’t matter, because Luxy is real in one very important way — it’s an actual, functioning dating app filled with terrible human beings.
Filed under: Cellphones, Misc, Internet, Software, Mobile
Source: Luxy
Stand alone HBO streaming service coming in 2015
HBO’s CEO Richard Plepler has announced at a Time Warner investment meeting today, that they will be launching a stand alone streaming only version of its service in 2015. This is some pretty outstanding news for HBO fans out there that have cut the cord, or can’t because they will miss out on their favorite HBO programming.
“That is a large and growing opportunity that should no longer be left untapped,” Plepler said. “It is time to remove all barriers to those who want HBO. So, in 2015, we will launch a stand-alone, over-the-top, HBO service in the United States. We will work with our current partners. And, we will explore models with new partners. All in, there are 80 million homes that do not have HBO and we will use all means at our disposal to go after them.”
HBO already offers an app, HBO Go, that does allow you to stream a large amount of content that is provided by the network. The major downfall with it is you must have a valid subscription to HBO through a provider. Which is checked against a login. Many got around this by using friends or families logins who didn’t care to stream. Back in January of this year Plepler even let loose a statement that sharing of those logins was a good thing. It was free marketing for HBO. I think they failed to see that cord cutters wouldn’t need to get cable and pay for HBO if someone else was. HBO took its time in the begin to even allow the app to carry video over HDMI out. Of course now it supports Chromecast. Still, you need that nagging subscription service through a supporting television provider.
There are multiple route that HBO can go with this. Plepler ran down three potential variations. The first would be to offer the streaming only service through their current cable partners to consumers who just have internet service through them. For instance, you have Comcast cable internet, but no cable TV subscription, then you could add HBO as a streaming service to your bill. A second option is to distribute through new partners like Google, Amazon and Microsoft. The third would be to take out the middle man and stream directly to consumers, like Netflix.
The final option that cuts straight to the consumer is my personal vote. I fail to see how hard that would really be since they already have apps for mobile devices and the ability to login and watch on a PC. All they would really need to do is offer a payment structure in the app to stream. So long as they don’t go per-episode, season, movie, but more so a flat rate. There is lots of time for HBO to figure out how they want to approach the situation. Hopefully it goes over well and we see Showtime, Starz, and some major sports channels start to take a similar approach.
Source: Businessweek | Entertainment Weekly
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Plex announces its support for Android TV and the upcoming Nexus Player
Plex, the service that serves already-owned user content to a multitude of devices, announced today that it will have a home on Android TV. More specifically, the company expressed excitement that it would be available on the new Nexus Player. Plex has been working with Google since April to get the service up and running in time for the launch of Android TV.
Here is what Plex said in a blog post:
We’re really enjoying the fresh take that Android TV brings to the table: bold, clean UI designed from the ground up for “lean back” viewing from your couch, and custom home screen recommendations based on your viewing habits are right up our alley, and they mean that Plex and Android TV are a perfect fit.
We would have to assume this means that Plex is going to be available at launch. The Nexus Player goes up for pre-order on October 17.
Source: Plex
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HTC Dot View app gets third-party notifications, music controls, and holiday surprises
Today, HTC brings some of the most-requested features to its companion application for the Dot View case. The Dot View case will now show third-party notifications from any app. Previously, developers had to take advantage of the technology and do it themselves. In addition to having a third-party app icon appear on the display with the case closed, a user can swipe up for quick launch. Then the app will appear when opening the case. HTC also brought music controls so you do not have to open the case and hop around just to pause or skip a song.
In the changelog for the app, HTC says that it has included “new secret features.” It seems that the company is going to celebrate some holidays starting with Halloween. The app’s Google Play page shows a screenshot of a carved pumpkin. We expect that more holidays and seasons will be included over time.
Hit the break for the gallery and download links.
Come comment on this article: HTC Dot View app gets third-party notifications, music controls, and holiday surprises
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