TvApps
Latest
Korea's largest ISP plans 'network fees' for datahogs like YouTube, internet TV
South Korea's biggest internet provider plans to recoup high traffic network upgrades by charging YouTube and other data-hungry sites. KT will start by blocking access to some TV apps found Samsung's internet TVs, looking to strike up a payment deal where data-heavy services would possibly have to share advertising income or pay fees to the ISP. According an interview with Reuters, KT's vice president of smart network policy, Kim Taehwan said it's not just Samsung that it'll be tapping up for cash; once its system is in place, the company will be moving on to bandwidth-taxing manufacturers, "be it Apple or Google."
Samsung pushes SwipeIt media sharing app, AirPlay competitor to Smart TVs
According to a blog post by entrepreneur Amit Kumar, a new app called Samsung SwipeIt has started popping up on that company's smart TVs, and may be positioned as competition for Apple's AirPlay media sharing technology. Kumar mentions the app started rolling out to TVs at the beginning of the year, while the companion app for Android appeared on the Market around the same time (nothing on iTunes yet, despite a listing for an iOS app on Samsung's Korean site), promising easy sharing of photos and videos to Samsung's connected TVs. It's built by last year's Free The TV Apps competition winner MOVL and is based on that company's Connect platform, which as seen in the diagram after the break is all about pulling together media across screens and platforms.
Opera promises cross-platform apps for Smart TVs, gives us little to complain about
Opera has some guts going up against the likes of Samsung in the emerging realm of Smart TV apps. Then again, its new storefront brings something different to the table: namely a dashboard that strictly adheres to HTML5 and other web standards so that apps can work across any platform. Content providers like Vimeo and DriveCast have already signed up and TV manufacturers shouldn't be far behind -- not least because the underlying browser engine is claimed to run smoothly even on crappier cheaper processors. Opera has even released an emulator to make life easy for smaller app developers who, for one reason or another, can't afford a whole testbed of TVs. Opera still has a way to go, but pleasing everyone all the time is surely a smart strategy for any underdog. PR after the break.
Samsung makes it easier for you to buy stuff from its Apps store
No doubt still buzzing from hitting the 100 millionth download milestone back in March, Samsung is making it even easier for Apps customers to use the mobile/HDTV storefront -- well, consumers in Europe and Asia, at least. The company announced this week that it has streamlined the purchasing process for the store, letting users tack payments onto their phone bill or SIM card balance. The upgrade is being rolled out in the UK, Germany, Thailand, India, among others, with even more countries coming later this year. The rest of the world will have to continue paying for apps the old fashioned way: sticking a check in a bottle and praying it floats all the way to Korea. More info on the press release after the break.
Samsung's HDTV-based app store passes two million downloads
Reaching two million downloads in a year may seem paltry considering Apple's app store delivered 1.5 billion downloads in its first year, and the Mac app store passed one million downloads on opening day. Still, it's the largest number we've seen from a TV maker, and when you factor in that Samsung's store just passed one million downloads back in November, it seems the Korean tech giant has a good thing going. Naturally, we knew the company was serious about apps when it announced the Free the TV contest late last summer to lure developers to the platform, and today the app store is available in over 120 countries and features roughly 380 applications, 259 of which are free. It also doesn't hurt that the brand has already sold boatloads of Smart TVs and plans to ship 12 million more in 2011. The question is, when the store hits the 10 million mark, can Samsung possibly pull off a new interpretive dance that tops its 2011 CES keynote? We certainly hope so. For the full announcement, check out the press release after the break.
Samsung Apps demo ties phone & TV together in Wiimote-like bliss
Wondering what kind of apps are enabled by the "world's first HDTV-based application store"? Check out this CES show floor demo of a cross platform game tying together a Samsung flat-screen TV and cellphone to experience the magic of virtual fishing. We'll probably keep our dedicated systems for gaming, but for a slight hint of what a crossplatform app store has to offer, by all means take a look.
