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Deezer's finally taking its music streaming service to the US in 2014
With 5 million paid subscribers in 180 countries, Deezer is such a ubiquitous presence that it's easy to forget it's not yet available in the US. That's about to change, though, as the France-based online music service has told Le Figaro that it'd launch for Americans at an unspecified date in 2014. That'll at last give it a crack at the $4.4 billion dollar US music market, which it had been avoiding due to formidable competitors like Rdio, Pandora and particularly Spotify, which has a worldwide paid user base of 6 million. That competitor only started two years ago in the US and has already seen boffo growth, though it had content deals in place with US mobile operators before launching. Deezer, on the other hand, is still seeking a stateside launch partner like the one it has with Orange, France's largest wireless telecom. It's also looking to do business outside the mobile sector as well, though it had one word for Le Figaro about a rumored Microsoft Xbox partnership: "Non."
ASUS eyeing 2014 for US smartphone launch
It wouldn't be the first time ASUS saw a US smartphone launch -- though last time the company had the GPS experts at Garmin to help it find its way. This time, according to Jonney Shih, the maker of both the Padfone and Fonepad (coincidence?) is looking to take a more direct route. The ASUS chairman told All Things D that his company has been making progress building bridges with retailers and carriers alike in an attempt to succeed in the already crowded US market. And while it may not be impossible, a 2013 launch is looking unlikely. "I think next year is more reasonable," he told the site.
