RyanSeacrest
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YouTube searches for its next star with a cover competition
YouTube is looking for the world's next star, and it's asking Ludacris and Ryan Seacrest to help it happen. Seacrest's production company are making "Best. Cover. Ever", for the video service, with famous musicians mentoring contestants that enter by covering one of their songs. The best two entrants will appear on the show, hosted by Ludacris, with the eventual winner getting to duet with established musical talent.
Dear BlackBerry, Ryan Seacrest isn't done with the QWERTY keyboard
Maybe you remember the bizarre collision of worlds at last year's CES when Ryan Seacrest touched down in Las Vegas to introduce the Typo, a physical QWERTY keyboard case for the iPhone 5/5s. If you do, then you may also recall the controversy and legal tussling over the original Typo's striking resemblance to BlackBerry's Q10 keyboard. One court ordered a sales injunction and another Typo revision later, Seacrest and his partner Laurence Hallier are back at CES to debut another physical keyboard accessory, this time it's the Typo2 for the iPad Air and iPad mini lines. The pair carved out some time during the madness of CES to speak to me about Typo's bumpy start, the impact of customer feedback on product design and the boldfaced names that swear by their QWERTY case.
Typo's iPhone keyboard is back and it still looks a lot like a BlackBerry
Auto-correct fails can be pretty hilarious, but if you'd rather avoid them altogether (boo!) maybe a litigious phone case's second coming is up your alley. See, earlier this year Ryan Seacrest's iPhone accessory company, Typo, found itself on the wrong side of the law when BlackBerry filed suit against it. Why? Because, well, its product looked an awful lot like something you'd find on one of the Canadian outfit's devices. But, that copyright infringement applied to Typo, not the almost identical Typo 2. As iMore tells is, the American Idol host has added a few new bits and bobs like a lock key, backlight and battery indicator to the keyboard that'll hopefully distract Chen and Co.'s attorneys. The accessory starts shipping this September, but you can pre-order now for $99 -- whether its maker is back in court by then is anyone's guess.
BlackBerry wins sales injunction against Typo's familiar-looking keyboard case
It's been a tough week for Ryan Seacrest: first, American Idol ratings hit an all-time low, and now, a judge has ruled against his iPhone accessory company in court. BlackBerry has won a court order that bars Typo from selling its very familiar physical keyboards after convincing a judge that the products might've infringed on its patents. As Bloomberg reports, the presiding judge said that the Canadian smartphone manufacturer is "likely to prevail" on the infringement claims, and that Typo hasn't done much to prove that BlackBerry's patents were invalid. The judge continued to show no quarter by out-and-out dismissing Typo's worries that a temporary sales ban could put the company under. If you were on the fence before, maybe this will be the push to grab a Typo while you still can.
BlackBerry sues Typo over its familiar-looking iPhone keyboard (update: Typo responds)
If you thought Typo's iPhone keyboard looked an awful lot like the keyboard from a BlackBerry Q10, you're not alone. BlackBerry has just sued Typo in a Northern California court for alleged patent infringement. The slide-on peripheral is a "blatant" copy of BlackBerry's signature input feature, according to the company. We've reached out to Typo for commentary, but it may not have many options -- the crew in Waterloo has patented a lot of keyboards, and it's hard to deny the strong resemblance. Update: Typo isn't going to take the lawsuit lying down; the company says that it plans to fight back, and claims that BlackBerry's accusations "lack merit." Read Typo's full statement below.
Ryan Seacrest's keyboard case turns your iPhone into a BlackBerry (video)
The market for keyboard-equipped phones may be on the wane, but don't tell that to Ryan Seacrest -- the American Idol host is convinced that messaging mavens need real buttons. To that end, he's jumping into hardware and launching the Typo Keyboard for the iPhone 5 and 5s. The Bluetooth case turns an Apple handset into a makeshift BlackBerry Q10, complete with backlit, sculpted keys that cover up the iPhone's home button (there's a small substitute key); we hope you don't need multitasking, folks. The Typo Keyboard will make its formal debut at CES in early January, and it should ship that month for $99. Thankfully, that means we'll escape a sales pitch during New Year's Rockin' Eve.
HDNet joins up with AEG, CAA and Ryan Seacrest to become AXS TV this summer
It held on as long as it could, but HDNet is following the path of INHD (which became Mojo before disappearing entirely) and Discovery HD Theater (now Velocity) by rebranding itself, and will see itself morph into AXS TV this summer. Of course, HDNet has always focused on "lifestyle programming" and from the looks of it the new channel (pronounced: access) will be very similar, at least for now. HDNet is bringing programming like HDNet Fights, Dan Rather Reports, its concerts and more to the joint venture, which will be combined with its partners AEG, CAA and Ryan Seacrest Media. If HDNet is currently on your programming lineup AXS TV will simply take its place when it launches, and Dish Network actually plans to increase the channel's distribution by adding it to the America's Top 120 package. If you're distressed over the future of Art Mann Presents, check out the press release after the break or a Q&A on the site for more information about what's happening to Mark Cuban's baby.
