Pandora Could Hit $100 Million in Revenue for 2010
Online music service Pandora could hit $100 million in revenue this year, which would represent more than twice as much revenue as the company pulled in for 2009 and potentially set the stage for an IPO.
The new estimate comes from a Wall Street analyst quoted in a New York Times profile of Pandora, a company that has narrowly escaped all but certain death several times since its inception in 2000. The Times credits much of Pandora’s rise to its wildly successful iPhone app, which doubled signups for the service overnight.
Much of it also has to do, however, with the new licensing deal that the company was able to achieve last year that brought royalties down to a much more affordable level that Pandora offsets with both ads and subscription revenue.
As for whether these rising tides might lead to Pandora going public, the Times reports that nothing is imminent, but notes that the company recently hired a CFO — the same one that was at the helm of Salesforce.com when it made its Wall Street debut.
On a side note, Pandora’s success is quite the tale in perseverance. For example, the Times talks of founder Tim Westergren not scoring a venture capital investment until his 348th pitch. In a decade when we’ve seen countless music startups falter or sold off for pennies on the dollar, Pandora’s tale is an inspiring one, and the NYT’s profile is worth a read.
Tags: finance, online music, pandora
TiVo Introduces New Internet-Connected DVRs
TiVo has updated its offerings, introing two new set-top boxes, the TiVo Premiere and the TiVo Premiere XL, which will finally bring high-definition to the DVR range.
In a nutshell, the web-connected TiVo Premiere boxes offer cable TV, movies on demand (from Netflix, Amazon and Blockbuster) and web videos from YouTube. In the coming months, they will also offer music from Pandora, along with existing services from the likes of Rhapsody (which will also be available to Series 2 and 3 box owners).
In addition, TiVo is not letting the demand for apps pass it by; the boxes will offer access to more than 1,000 apps from FrameChannel with widgets for news, weather, sports, social networking sites and more.
As far as the difference between the two boxes goes, the Premiere has a 320GB harddrive — said to be good for 45 hours of HD storage or 400 standard, while the Premiere XL has 1TB of storage space and boasts 150 hours for HD and more than 1,000 for SD, as well as some THX tech for all kinds of optimal audio and video reproduction claims.
The boxes cost $300 and $500, respectively, and will be on sale in April. Also due soon from TiVo is a Wireless-N Wi-Fi adapter, and an unusual, slide-out QWERTY TiVo remote that will be offered as optional extras.
The idea of bringing the Internet into the living room is becoming more common as of late. Hardware products such as the soon-to-be-released Popbox and Boxee Box are all about getting Internet content on your television, and Yahoo’s Connected TV offering for web-enabled televisions will bring web widgets to the living room. Heck, Samsung has even introduced an app store for televisions.
These products and innovations, along with TiVo’s newest venture, just serve to demonstrate how attached we are to the Internet (Case in point: 13% of viewers were surfing the web during the Olympics’ opening ceremonies).
Reviews: Pandora, Rhapsody, YouTube
Tags: amazon, blockbuster, FrameChannel, netflix, pandora, tivo
Finalized Pandora handhelds start shipping, proves that dreams really do come true
It’s been over two solid years since we first caught wind of this here gaming handheld, and while we were initially led to believe that finalized units would be in the hands of emulation junkies long before now, we suppose loyalists are finding that late really is superior to never. After months and months of “almosts,” the first wave of final Pandora handhelds are shipping out, with many community followers posting up unboxing shots as they come. We’re also expecting a flood of homebrewed applications to start surfacing as more of these filter out, so be sure and drop us a line if you discover and / or create something otherworldly. Plenty more shots in the links below — you know, if you’re still patiently awaiting the arrival of your own.
[Thanks, Paul]
Finalized Pandora handhelds start shipping, proves that dreams really do come true originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Feb 2010 00:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Sony’s $200 BDP-S470 is company’s first 3D-ready Blu-ray player
And the flood gates are now officially open. Just hours after Panasonic introduced its newest 3D Blu-ray recorders and players, along comes Sony to brag about its first 3D-ready standalone deck. The BDP-S470, which is slated to ship later this month for $200, arrives with the ability to handle BD, DVD, CD and even SACD, with a 3D Blu-ray upgrade (via firmware update) planned for this summer. You’ll also find BD-Live support, BRAVIA Internet Video, a USB socket for playing back media stored elsewhere, 1080p DVD upscaling and TrueHD / DTS-HD Master Audio decoding. If you were planning to snag a BDP-S570 BD player or one of the BDV-E770W / BDV-E570 Blu-ray Disc home theater systems, you’ll be elated to know that those systems will also get a gratis 3D update in just a few months, with exact pricing and release details tucked down there in the source. Time to pick up a pair of 3D Gunnar Optiks, don’tcha think?
Sony’s $200 BDP-S470 is company’s first 3D-ready Blu-ray player originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Feb 2010 09:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Android ported to Pandora, in the name of science or something
Okay, folks, you know the drill: here lies new hardware, may we see it hacked to run unintended software. Today’s contestant is Pandora, once thought to be relegated to the realm of vaporware and now in full production. One of the lucky, open source-friendly buyers decided that the native Linux distribution was just not for his liking, and instead opted for Google’s little green man mobile OS. Touchscreen support isn’t there yet, but you gotta start somewhere, right? Video of Android on Pandora after the break. Now we wait until the time we can gleefully say “Pandora (the app) on Android on Pandora” while we listen to some rocking streamed tunes.
Continue reading Android ported to Pandora, in the name of science or something
Android ported to Pandora, in the name of science or something originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 07:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
5 Must-Have Free Social Apps for BlackBerry
Tammy Camp is a serial entrepreneur, company advisor, blogger and adventure traveler. Find her via @TammyCamp on Twitter.
BlackBerry, the enterprise phone, is often dismissed as the “other” brand within social media communities. But worldwide, BlackBerrys still outnumber iPhones, and RIM has made major strides in recent years to become more social-friendly. I use my BlackBerry not only for business, but for most of my social media.
But which apps should you use? There are many social media-related apps available for BlackBerry, and it can be tough to pick only the good ones. To cut through the others, here are my top 5 social apps for BlackBerry.
My clear number one choice for this list is BlackBerry Messenger, which I use almost exclusively when I travel out of the US. The app is basically a free SMS-alternative, to and from any point on the globe.
Additional features in the newest version include picture-sharing, group creation, voice notes, and a way to find people based on name or barcode (each device has its own). If you’re like me — a modern nomad — or you have friends and family spread out across the world, BlackBerry Messenger is a must-have.
Price: FREE
BlackBerry’s own Facebook client comes already installed on most phones, and the newest version is even nicer and cleaner than before, getting closer to the user experience you’d expect on the web.
Features of the Facebook BlackBerry app include adding updates, mobile picture uploads, the ability to like and comment on posts, search for people, add new friends, and flip through the profiles of your old ones.
If you’re the type of person that updates your status at every red light, well, you probably need help. But you also probably need this app.
Price: FREE
UberTwitter is the best and most-used Twitter client for BlackBerry. UberTwitter basically gives you all the Twitter functionality you’d expect, including writing updates, viewing profiles, replying to or DMing specific users, and viewing your own timeline.
There’s more, though. The additional features of UberTwitter include geotagging, search, trending topics, and photo uploads (handled through TweetPhoto). Considering what else is out there, this app is a no-brainer.
Price: FREE
Evernote is a memo recording and organization app, that stores the information you input into your mobile, on the web. You can take down what you don’t want to forget, sort it by tags, and have it accessible again when you need it.
Features of the Evernote BlackBerry app include the ability to create text, photo, and voice notes, search and find notes you’ve already made, and tag and organize your notes in a system that works best for you.
Evernote makes life easier to organize. If you’re looking for a way to better collect your thoughts, or you want to share information easily with work partners or friends, Evernote will do the trick.
Price: FREE
Pandora makes the list because of social features like sharing songs and stations… and because we have to listen to something while we’re tweeting, right?
Pandora is still the cream of the crop of online radio clients, and the BlackBerry app puts it right in your palm. Pandora for BlackBerry allows you to access and manage your stations, and create new ones from root songs or artists.
Just make sure, for the sake of the rest of us, that you have a good pair of headphones. And, course, an unlimited data plan.
Price: FREE
What other social applications are you using on BlackBerry? Let us know in the comments.
Reviews: Evernote, Facebook, Pandora, TweetPhoto, Twitter
Tags: blackberry, blackberry messenger, evernote, facebook, List, Lists, Mobile 2.0, pandora, posterous, trending, ubertwitter
Upcoming Haier Blu-ray players are as intriguing as they are cheap
We spotted Haier’s first U.S. entry into the Blu-ray player market luxuriating at Digital Experience following the company’s recent trend of surprisingly complete feature sets for low prices. The Broadcom-powered BDP100 and BDP200W are no great surprise, comparing closely with Best Buy’s recent Insignia players as Netflix streaming Blu-ray decks, the former without WiFi for $169 and the latter with wireless internet for $229. However they’re distinguished slightly by the addition of Pandora’s streaming music, plus plans to support apps/streaming from another provider or two around launch in the first quarter. What was promised but not shown this go round were some interesting features powered by the unit’s Flash compatibility, we’ll be sure to check them out on the CES floor today and report back on the experience as well as its other products, including a new LED edge lit LCD line and Blu-ray/LCD combo TV with Netflix. For now, the press release and a couple of more images after the break.
Continue reading Upcoming Haier Blu-ray players are as intriguing as they are cheap
Upcoming Haier Blu-ray players are as intriguing as they are cheap originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Jan 2010 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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