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Samsung's Milk Music service will end on September 22nd
Users of Samsung's Milk Music -- and by definition, owners of Galaxy or Note smartphones, since the service was only available on them -- are in for some sad news: It will shutter in the US on September 22nd. Fans should switch over to Slacker instead, which powered the service, the company said.
Slacker now streaming tunes on Xbox 360
After receiving a pre-Valentine's Day makeover, Slacker has officially made its way to the Xbox 360. Free to download for Xbox Live Gold subscribers in the US and Canada, the 116.17MB app brings the internet radio station's revamped color scheme, music guide and a posh set of voice controls via Kinect. So, if you're ready to bombard your TV with high-res slideshows of Diddy while rapping along to "Bad Boy for Life," then navigate your console's tiles to the Xbox Live Marketplace to add this app to your dashboard.
Slacker music service relaunches, takes aim at Spotify with new iOS app
Just shy of its sixth birthday, streaming music service Slacker flipped the switch on a major relaunch today that it hopes will put it ahead of competitors like Spotify and Pandora. The company is maintaining a free-to-stream, radio-style model for all users but also has two paid tiers that allow for more listening options. The new service is built on a library of more than 13 million songs, which Slacker is saying makes its offering 10 times that of Pandora's. (But it's a bit shy of Spotify's 15 million tracks as of last summer.) Another of Slacker's biggest new selling points: More than 200 "stations" of curated music in various genres. While all users are able to stream an unlimited number of tracks with commercial interruption, a US$3.99-per-month Slacker Radio Plus subscription removes ads and restrictions on how many songs can be skipped in a row. For those who want more, a $9.99-per-month Slacker Premium subscription offers direct access to every song in the service's library and the ability to create custom playlists. We'll have a deeper look at the new service soon, but for now you can check out what it has to offer via the web or the redesigned Slacker iOS app now available on the App Store.
T-Mobile makes LG Optimus L9 official, carries big-yet-budget Android this fall
We knew it was coming -- we just didn't expect official news quite so soon. T-Mobile has confirmed that its edition of the LG Optimus L9 will be available this fall. The magenta network's supersized yet entry level Android 4.0 phone won't be significantly different than its international cousin in hardware outside of the necessary 3G frequency switch, but the American GSM variant will support WiFi Calling, allow five-device hotspots and ship with a preloaded copy of Slacker Radio. Any pricing and an in-store date will have to wait; even with that 4.5-inch screen and 2,150mAh battery, though, it's easy to picture the L9 costing less than many of T-Mobile's smaller smart devices.
Slacker now streaming six ESPN stations, Radio and Deportes amongst them
Hot off the heels of making its way into those tiny Roku boxes, Slacker has struck yet another deal for your very own listening pleasure. The streaming service just announced it's now offering a total of six "live" stations from The Worldwide Leader in Sports, including ESPN Radio, Deportes, and regional ones such as New York, Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles. Naturally, the ESPN offerings will allow users to listen in on live events such as this year's NBA Finals and the ongoing Euro 2012 soccer football tourney. Unfortunately, Slacker notes the "live" lineup is only available gratis for the next 30 days if you're not holding the correct Slacker Radio Plus / Premium Radio credentials. That said, you can give 'em a listen now by heading over to the source link below, or via the Slacker Radio app on your precious smartphone.
Roku adds Slacker Radio to app locker, Watchlist now live on Amazon Instant Video
Well, hello there Roku owners. Via its blog site, the creator of the tiny, but entertainment-packed boxes announced it's now giving you access to the renown Slacker Radio application, allowing you to listen in on over 200 music stations -- much like you already do on your iOS and Android slabs. That's not it, though, Roku also notes the recently announced Amazon Watchlist feature is now live on the outfit's channel, which should make Instant Video junkies very happy. The fresh goods are available now, so power on your miniature box and put 'em to good use.
Slacker Radio tries to break through a flooded streaming music market
One of our final meetings at CES last week was with Slacker Radio's VP of Marketing, Jonathan Sasse, who sat down in a Las Vegas lobby restaurant to tell us what his company has been up to lately. Slacker Radio is one of the many streaming radio offerings that have apps available on the App Store (Pandora, Rdio, and Spotify are a few other examples), and Sasse says that after a few years of building up the service with content and technology and making sure it can be accessed almost anywhere, his main goal these days is just telling people why they should choose this service over all the others. His first reason: Content. Sasse says Slacker Radio has more than ten times more music to play than Pandora does, which is a pretty impressive figure. Slacker's been working hard to make content deals with record labels for quite a while, which means there's a large library of different tunes to choose from. And in addition to all that music content, Sasse said Slacker has been making a big push for non-music to listen to as well. The service has already added in ESPN Radio and ABC News to listen to, and there's streaming comedy stations to tune in on as well. Additionally, while Pandora and other services also have their usual music selection systems for computer-generated radio stations, Slacker's genre stations are actually curated by real DJs, which is a fact that Sasse said is often hard to get across to the public. Slacker's hired former radio personalities, including Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Marco Collins, to actually choose, curate, and even narrate the music on its genre stations, which means that "he curates that station by hand," Sasse said. The company is also working on deals with partners to make sure that users can find and access it anywhere. Slacker already has a deal with Ford to show up in the company's cars, and there are also deals being worked out with phone carriers for special data access, as well as other possible partnerships. Slacker's plan, Sasse said, was to learn to monetize first and then grow, and it's time for the company to really make a marketing push and grow that audience. "We're kind of ready to step on the gas," he said. One of the biggest obstacles, so far, has been a boogeyman that we've heard a lot about during this year's CES: Apple's subscription rules. Slacker Radio also was originally bound by Apple's rule that you can't sell subscriptions on the App Store without paying a 30% cut -- Slacker at first decided to not sell subscriptions through the app at all, which led to just a login screen being shown when users opened up the app. But the call of Apple's audience was too much for the company, and Slacker is now able to sell its Radio Plus subscription (the cheaper of two offerings) via an in-app purchase. Users still can't subscribe to the Premium Radio service through just the app, however. "That margin is still too high," Sasse said. In addition to a big marketing push later this year, Sasse said Slacker is still beefing up its library and trying to figure out ways to differentiate its offerings even further. One goal is to work with users to tag and respond to content while they're listening to it, so the company can provide an even better experience. Already, users can customize ESPN Radio content with their favorite teams and shows, and Sasse wants to bring that kind of customization to other content as well, so listeners can hear exactly what they're looking for. Slacker is also working on more original content, like band-curated radio stations, and maybe even podcasts, Sasse said. Finally, Sasse said the last goal is to create a "unified, clean experience" across the entire platform, so that users see the same setup on the website as on the company's various mobile apps and platforms. Slacker Radio has already done a lot of work on its service, and while the streaming radio market is already full (and growing even more crowded almost by the day), time will tell if the company can push itself in front of the other choices out there and really find a majority audience.
HTC HD7 is a HD2 lookalike with Windows Phone 7 and 720p video, exclusive to T-Mobile in US
Stop us if you've heard these specs before: 4.3-inch WVGA (800 x 480) TFT screen, 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8250 system-on-chip, 576MB of RAM, 5 megapixel camera with dual-LED flash, and Microsoft's latest mobile OS on board. Yes, the HTC HD7 is almost a carbon copy of the much-loved HD2, albeit with a major upgrade to Windows Phone 7 software and an appreciated bump to 720/24p video recording. Beyond those enhancements, American buyers will be greeted with preinstalled Netflix, Slacker, and T-Mobile TV entertainment apps, along with 16GB of built-in storage. T-Mobile gets the honor of being the exclusive US carrier, with exclusives also going out to O2 in the UK and Ireland and Telstra in Australia. O2 Germany will also distribute the phone, along with Movistar in Spain, Bouygues Telecom in France, and a choice of carriers in Italy. Bear in mind that the non-US HD7s are likely to come with a less capacious 8GB of storage. The phone is scheduled for an October 21 retail debut in Europe, to be followed by a mid-November arrival on US shelves. You'll find the full press release after the break, although you shouldn't bother if you expect it to explain why the nearly identical HD2 isn't getting a WP7 upgrade.%Gallery-104727%
Slacker Radio 2.0 for iPhone to feature station caching, out 'soonish'
Ever since Slacker Radio decided to flee the hardware business, we've been looking forward to bigger and better things from its mobile apps. If the hands-on that Dave Zatz got with the version 2.0 software for iPhone is any indication we won't be waiting in vain, either. The big news here is station caching: that's right, users will soon be able to store music for off-line access, whether you're listening on a plane or in a dead zone. Exactly how many stations (and for how long) you can store is currently a mystery, although the reviewer said it took about 20 minutes to cache six stations, with each one being good for at least a couple hours playback. In order to take advantage of this, you will need to purchase the Slacker Radio Plus package, and you'll have to wait for the app to be approved by Apple, which could be a couple days from now -- or it could be never, depending on Apple's mood.
Slacker phases out hardware business, focuses on other devices
It's not exactly a huge surprise considering we haven't even heard so much as a whisper about a new Slacker device as of late, but it looks like company president Jim Cady has now finally confirmed that Slacker will indeed be phasing out its hardware business altogether. At the moment, that business consists entirely of the Slacker G2 personal radio, which will still be available "though at least the first half of next year," and offers a number advantages over the Slacker app for other devices. Those apps (and Slacker's online music service) will be the company's sole focus from here on out, however, so we'll no doubt see some expanded functionality sooner or later -- especially considering that Slacker has apparently raised a "few more million" dollars in funding on the basis of its new mobile strategy. [Via Zatz Not Funny]
Sony's X-series OLED Walkman now priced in real American dollars, ships mid-June
Sony has yet to offer us official US pricing or availability on its eagerly awaited X-series of OLED Walkmans. As such, we have to grasp at whatever bits of desperate information we can as this 3-inch Walkman with built-in noise cancellation makes its way West following the Japanese launch. Amazon lists the little guy at $399.95 (32GB) and $299.95 (16GB) which just happens to be the same pricing as Apple's iPod touch, for whatever that's worth. It's not in stock but you can pre-order now if dare. Update: And just like that, it's official. Sony's 16GB NWZ- X1051 with 32GB NWZ- X1061 will be priced $299 and $399, respectively, when they go on sale nationwide Stateside in mid-June. As a surprise, they'll also feature embedded apps for YouTube and Slacker Radio for all the free video and audio you can consume over WiFi.[Via OLED-Info]
Tune into iPhone radio apps
Streaming radio apps for the iPhone/iPod touch are exploding in 2009. TUAW favorite Pandora was updated to 2.0 a couple of weeks ago, but it's hardly the only game in town. Back at Macworld, Chris Pirillo showed me StarPlayr for the iPhone, which lets Sirius and XM Radio subscribers access stations via the iPhone. The app isn't available right now, but it'll hopefully be in the App Store soon. Chris demoed the app extensively on his own site and having seen it in person, it is really impressive. Even with the crappy 3G signal we had on our trip to Cupertino, the stations streamed in at nice quality and there was an option to buy a track or album directly from iTunes. XM and Sirius both offer some great stations for talk radio and sports fans, and to me, that's where these types of streaming apps really shine. Pandora and Last.fm aren't the only streaming radio services around, AOL's SHOUTcast Radio [iTunes link] app debuted in the App Store a few weeks ago and it'll stream your favorite SHOUTcast stations in up to 128k streams (go to Settings on your iPhone, select SHOUTcast and select "allow high-bit streams"), favorite radio stations, search for artists (though the currently-playing artists is a bit delayed) and peruse the extensive SHOUTcast index. More below...
Slacker radio added to Sony BRAVIA Internet Video Link
If you've found yourself dumbfoundedly staring at your Bravia Internet Video Link-equipped HDTV thinking "when am I going to see some Slacker radio up in this piece?" -- you're in luck. Sony announced today that it would be bringing the streaming service to users of the company's $300 hardware add-on free of charge, allowing music hounds to grab "millions" of songs on over "100 individually programmed genre music stations" in CD-quality audio. The service joins other streaming content like YouTube and Amazon, and will be available immediately. So... why are you still reading this?[Via ZatzNotFunny]
