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Entertainment Weekly print edition comes with a 'smartphone-like Android device'

Sharif Sakr — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 07:10:00 -0400

If there's one advantage a print magazine still has over an online publication, it's the ability to offer all manner of crazy freebies glued to its pages. Maybelline samples, CDROMs packing the latest version of WinZip, or -- in tomorrow's edition of Entertainment Weekly -- something that actually looks pretty enticing. Flick it open to the right page and you'll spot an LCD display that magically displays video ads and live Tweets from the CW Network. Intrigued by how such a thing could function, Mashable did a teardown (literally) and discovered all the ingredients of a budget Android smartphone, including components which aren't strictly necessary for the task at hand: a 3G modem with T-Mo SIM (which seems to have some degree of voice connectivity), a full-sized battery, USB port and even a partially-built QWERTY keyboard. Suddenly, that $50 myTouch doesn't seem so cheap.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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Source: Mashable

The October 5th edition of Entertainment Weekly has a built-in Twitter feed (really)

Ben Gilbert — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 16:19:00 -0400

Youth-oriented TV drama factory The CW is hoping that Entertainment Weekly readers are interested in taking Twitter from smartphones and computers to the printed page -- er, at least a printed page with an LCD insert attached. The October 5th issue of EW features a miniature LCD display with the six most recent posts to its Twitter feed (@CW_Network), as well as a "short video showing stars of new CW shows," according to The New York Times. Yes, seriously -- an LCD screen with some form of internet connection embedded directly into copies of a physical magazine. "Emily Owens M.D." -- a new show on The CW -- is the first to receive direct promo treatment via the magazine's LCD display. It's unclear if all issues of the Oct. 5 edition will contain the embedded video screen (only 50,000 issues of a 2009 EW issue ran an embedded Pepsi video ad, for instance).

CW executive VP Rick Haskins said the company's social media team overseeing the project will only filter out "profanity or other unacceptable language." As for negative tweets, however, those are fair game. Not that we'd encourage such things, but this setup sounds all too ripe for exploitation by the denizens of the internet. Do with the information as you will, unscrupulous readers.

Filed under: Displays, Software, HD

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Via: Mashable

Source: The New York Times

Spotify launches Play Button in bid to become the web's default music player

Brian Heater — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 06:00:00 -0400

The music streaming wars have been heating up a good deal, as of late, thanks in no small part Spotify's long-awaited US launch. Since then, Rhapsody bought its one-time chief competitor Napster, both Pandora and Rdio underwent major redesigns and Mog finally launched a Windows client. Naturally, all of this has proven good news for the consumer, as services have a features arms race of sorts, gunning for the top spot. None of the contenders are quite perfect, of course -- when Spotify launched, for example, we couldn't help but note the absence of a browser-based option of the sort employed by Rdio and Pandora. Today's announcement still leaves open that possibility, but it does mark a new web-focused strategy for the company -- on that could arguably have a much larger impact on Spotify's fortunes than a simple browser-based UI.

Today marks the launch of the Spotify Play Button -- a name we assume the Swedish company settled on before Google announced the whole Android Market rebranding thing. The button is, essentially, a widget that allows site owners to embed songs and playlists directly from Spotify's massive catalog of songs. It's a simple idea, sure, but well executed, it could prove a major win in the service's attempt to stand out in the ever-more competitive world of music streaming. After all, embedding music on sites has long been a fairly haphazard deal -- unless you happen to have a deal with a proprietary player, it means snapping up something like a YouTube video, which often live in, at best, a legal gray area.

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Time Inc. aims to please advertisers and your eyes, making all mags tablet-friendly by year's end

Joe Pollicino — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 12:45:00 -0400

Do you love reading Time magazine on your tablet, but wish you had the same luxury with all of its related offerings? Oh boy, do we have fantastic news for you. As it stands, select Time Inc. publications are supported on the iPad, Android Marketplace, TouchPad, and Next Issue Media's store, but now the company has announced plans to make all 21 of its mags available on tablets by the year's end. Furthermore, support for the Nook Color will be added by the end of August with digital versions of Time, Sports Illustrated, People, and Fortune. Current subscribers to the print editions won't be left out either when it all rolls out, as they'll be able to opt-in for free upgrades with digital access. The decision is apparently tied to increasing "digital reach" for advertisers, but hey, ad-support isn't totally lame. Right? Full PR just past the break.

Filed under: Alt

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CBS's video ad for print not much better than its video ads for TV

Joseph L. Flatley — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:24:00 -0400

Call us crazy, but this whole idea of embedding video in magazines (just like e-ink on the cover of Esquire) seems rather callous. Really, what better way is there to rub publishers' noses in the "death of print media" than by taking a perfectly good magazine and embedding a TV commercial? Apparently CBS doesn't see it that way, so they're taking Americhip's "multisensorizing" technology to an ad insert that will run in the September 18 issue of Entertainment Weekly. The ad, which will only be seen by subscribers in the New York and LA markets, plays about 40 minutes of video and, presumably, some crappy audio. We've tracked down a YouTube demo of the device (or similar), and although it does little to change our ornery opinion of the matter, we suppose that if it results in one more Ghost Whisperer fan it'll be worth it. Decide for yourself after the break.

Filed under: Displays

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TiVo + Entertainment Weekly suggested recordings = ?

Richard Lawler — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:18:00 -0400

Look TiVo, it's not like we enjoy having you on deathwatch, so the next thing we want to hear about is HD Amazon Unbox rentals, or a do everything tru2way box or...something. Direct marketing via our set-top box and this latest announcement -- automatic recordings based on suggestions from Time Warner's (the parent company of this blog) Entertainment Weekly -- just aren't cutting it. Broadband-enabled TiVo users can subscribe to EW's "What to Watch" picks and download EW.com video clips to watch on their TV. As much as we enjoy telling ( and being told) what to watch, most of us have a good idea of what we'd like to see on TV already. As part of a strategy it claims as a way to differentiate itself from generic cable & satellite DVRs it's already regarded as being significantly better than, it's not very inspiring.

Filed under: DVRs, Others, HD

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