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Pandora cranked out over 13 billion hours of music in 2012
Springing into the new year, internet radio heavyweight Pandora has released some of its major statistics from 2012. The company states that 1.6 billion personalized radio stations were created and that it played over 13 billion hours of music. These hefty stats translate to the service's users listening to over one million different songs from more than 100,000 artists. Wrapping up last year's scorecard, around 10,000 artists reached about 250,000 unique listeners. While these numbers are impressive, we can't help but wonder how many audio commercials had to be endured so people could continue listening to countless hours of One Direction. In any case, we're sure it was worth it.
Sony unveils in-car receivers with App Remote, taps into your smartphone music from October
Sony has been big on smartphone integration for car audio lately, having already launched its MirrorLink receivers earlier in the year for the more well-heeled drivers among us. The company is bringing that mobile tie-in down to Earth through a new quartet of in-car CD receivers. The MEX-GS600BT, MEX-BT4100P, MEX-BT3100P and CDX-GS500R all bring in App Remote, which lets the faceplate buttons steer local music or Pandora streaming radio coming from Android, BlackBerry, iOS and Walkman devices paired through a Bluetooth wireless link. The old-fashioned USB connection is still on offer for these and the HD Radio-toting CDX-GT710HD, while the whole collection can graft on the optional SXV200V1 tuner to carry the full Sirius XM satellite radio lineup. Differences across the line aren't completely clear from Sony's wording, although both the MEX-GS600BT and CDX-GS500R carry two USB ports as well as 5-volt RCA preamp outputs. You'll be waiting awhile to slip any of these receivers into a DIN slot, regardless of which one you pick: the GS500R ships in October for $199, and the rest hit the shops in November for between $149 to $249. %Gallery-162517%
Pandora sets its sights on in-car music streaming
Pandora has already come a considerable way from its rather modest beginnings, but it looks like the company unsurprisingly has some even grander ambitions for the near future, including a variety of options for in-car music streaming. That word comes straight from Pandora's Chief Technology Officer, Tom Conrad, who told attendees at the SF Music Tech Summit that the company is now working with various car manufacturers (including Ford) to better integrate Pandora music streaming into vehicles. That will apparently first come in the form of in-dash or hands-free controls to let folks use a docked device running Pandora and then, "within a few years," evolve to include full-fledged Pandora services built right into various in-car entertainment systems. Details are otherwise a bit light, but Conrad reportedly hinted that he'd have more to say at CES.
