http://techcrunch.com/2013/05/30/fan-tv/

Fan TV Is A Next-Generation Set-Top Box For Live TV, DVR, VOD, And Streaming Services Like Netflix

RYAN LAWLER

Thursday, May 30th, 2013

29 Comments

Video discovery startup Fanhattan is getting ready to change the way that viewers watch TV, with a new streaming set-top box that combines all of the best parts of TV, DVR, and VOD, while also giving users access to all their favorite streaming services. It’s rebranding as Fan and showing off an innovative new take on live TV and streaming services.

The key to the company’s new Fan TV box, being shown off at D11 today, isn’t the content that users have access to, but a beautiful, trackpad-like control that was designed by Yves Behar, as well as a search and discovery screen for navigating all that live, recorded, and streaming content.

A few years ago, Fan unveiled its search and discovery application for iPad, enabling users to find all their favorite movies and TV shows available across a wide range of streaming apps and services. By providing a universal search and discovery mechanism, the app was able to highlight content wherever it could be viewed.

A NEW WAY TO DISCOVER LIVE TV

With the Fan TV set-top box, the company is bringing that same discovery experience to the TV. But it’s also combining access to various streaming services with the ability to watch live, pre-recorded, and video-on-demand titles from your local cable or satellite TV providers.

Yes, that’s right. Unlike Apple TV, Roku, WDTV, etc., this is a streaming box that will connect with your cable service. Actually, that’s a key part of Fan’s value proposition, as well as its plans to go to market. More than just a device for streaming Netflix or Hulu Plus, the search and discovery piece of Fan TV will be used to give users the ability to find their favorite programs on live TV, as well as discover new shows.

The company plans to partner with big pay TV operators to make Fan TV available to their customers. While they won’t disclose pricing of the set-top box, the company expects to have a business model similar to the one that is employed by mobile phone manufacturers and wireless operators today, in which the cost of the device is subsidized for the end user by the service providers.

Like existing set-top boxes, the Fan TV doesn’t rely on a coax connection to work. Even when it’s delivering live TV, it’s streaming that content, either over the local Wi-Fi network, or through an Ethernet port in the back of the device. In that way, it’s a lot like your typical Roku box or Apple TV.

For cable and satellite companies, the Fan TV device could replace expensive, poorly designed set-top boxes from legacy providers like Cisco. Not only does it ultimately provide a better user experience, but it will likely do so at a fraction of the price of current set-tops. While the company has yet to announce any partners — those will come later this summer — CEO Gilles BianRosa told me that the company expects to be available to as many as 60 million pay TV households by the end of the year.

A BEAUTIFUL NEW REMOTE CONTROL

The most impressive thing about the Fan TV isn’t just the way it seamlessly combines content from multiple services and makes it simple to browse and discover shows and movies. The most impressive thing about Fan TV is a new trackpad-like remote control that does away with all the ugly buttons and complexities of today’s current options.

For the creation of the Fan TV device, the startup partnered with industrial designer Yves Behar — yes, this is his second product to launch at this conference — and the result is a game-changing new way of navigating options on your TV. The touch remote can be held in one hand, and allows you to change channels, navigate menus, and even control volume settings through a series of swipes, taps and gestures.

I got a chance to try out the Fan TV for myself and I can honestly say that the control is like nothing I’ve ever used. It’s kind of like using your mobile phone’s touchscreen for navigation (and yes, there are apps to do that today), but simpler, and without the need for another device.

A BOX FOR TV LOVERS AND CORD CUTTERS ALIKE

The Fan TV has the opportunity to provide a better user experience for users who already subscribe to TV, making it easier to search for, watch and record their favorite TV shows. If it becomes widely available, the device could very seriously revolutionize the way that pay TV subscribers interact with their TV programming.

But more importantly, it could bring cord cutters and so-called “cord nevers” back into the fold. By providing a set-top box that works like other streaming devices today, but with the benefit of also providing live TV, cable operators could introduce new, low-cost video services that match the convenience that young, tech-savvy consumers have gotten used to. That could be great news for cable operators, as well as Fan TV going forward.

Fan TV is a moonshot to fix the TV experience

http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-media-receivers/fan-tv/4505-6739_7-35780958.html

(Credit: Fanhattan)

Television must be broken, because everyone's trying to fix it.

Fanhattan joined the long list of companies set on "simplifying the TV experience," with its announcement of Fan TV, a small streaming box designed to integrate cable TV, streaming video and DVR recordings through a single interface. The pebblelike box was designed by Yves Behar and includes a buttonless, touch remote that lets you swipe your way through your content.

(Credit: Fanhattan)

(Credit: Fanhattan)

If the box looks good, the user interface looks even better. The company released several sleek screenshots that are certainly prettier than anything your cable company can offer, while also offering options to watch content on streaming services like Hulu Plus and Redbox Instant. The polished interface and cross-platform capabilities shouldn't be surprising to anyone who has played with Fanhattan's iOS app, which offers a similar ability to search among many online streaming services.

But how does it work?

Fan TV sounds great, but it's hardly the first solution aimed at uniting your TV, streaming video, and movies into a single box.

It's the same territory that's been tackled, with decidedly mixed success, by Google TV, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii U, and Boxee Cloud DVR, not to mention the upcoming Xbox One. What none of these devices (with the exception of TiVo) has been able to do is get the support of cable companies for the deep integration that would make the longed-for "ultimate TV box" possible. Essentially Fan TV is betting it can pull of the kinds of deals that have eluded Google, Microsoft, and the other tech giants trying to rule the living room experience.

(Credit: Fanhattan)

In fact, Fan TV is making an even riskier bet than most players in the field. Rather than using an HDMI input -- like Google TV or the Xbox One -- Fanhattan claims, "Fan TV will replace the need for a separate cable box, DVR and streaming device." That seems to indicate Fan TV will stream content straight from cable providers, which have been largely resistant to that kind of technology. (With some exceptions.) If those deals don't happen, Fan TV will be little more than a me-too streaming box, with no other method of integrating cable TV content. Until there are more details and partnerships announced, it's hard to take Fan TV as more than a neat demo.

Fan TV is scheduled to launch "later this year," but pricing has not been announced. The big question will be whether it's a single fee for the box or if Fan TV's will require a monthly subscription, like many similar devices already do.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/03/rhapsody-napster-europe/

Rhapsody announces Napster launch in 14 countries across Europe

As part of its Napster (and Napster International) acquisition from a while back, Rhapsody promised it would spread the music service across more places worldwide, with one of the many focuses being to have a stronger presence in Europe. Well, staying true to its word, Rhapsody's announcing today that it's bringing the ripened Napster to more countries in The Old Continent, such as France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and more. For those Euro folks interested, the Napster membership is set to cost €9.95 per month, which includes, among other things, offline features and unlimited streaming of over 20 million tunes on both desktop and mobile apps. But, hey, if you'd rather see how it stacks up against similar services first, then maybe you oughta take up Rhapsody on its 30-day free trail offer at the source link below.

Psst... you'll find the full list of new countries where Napster's now available in the PR past the jump.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/03/jelly-bean-on-33-percent-of-android-devices/

Jelly Bean now on 33 percent of active Android devices, Gingerbread still leads

Google's pushed out its latest survey of the Android landscape, and Jelly Bean is finally creeping up on Gingerbread for the crown. While Gingerbread accounts for 36.5 percent of active devices sporting Mountain View's OS, versions 4.1 and 4.2 stand just behind with a total of 33 percent, up 4.6 percent since last month. Ice Cream Sandwich is helping itself to 25.6 percent of the statistic pie, while Froyo, Eclair and Donut each trail behind with less than five percent combined. Now that Jelly Bean is within a 3.5 percent striking distance of the top spot, this may be the last time we see Gingerbread in the lead.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/03/qualcomm-unveils-snapdragon-400-with-built-in-lte/

Qualcomm unveils Snapdragon 400 with built-in LTE, new reference tablet designs  

Qualcomm doesn't want to reserve the fastest wireless technology for its highest-end processors: it's launching a new quad-core edition of its Snapdragon 400 chip, the MSM8926, with both 3G and LTE built-in. The 1.2GHz, Cortex-A7 part will handle the faster wireless speeds alongside 42Mbps HSPA+ and China-friendly TD-SCDMA. It will also continue to support shorter-range technology like 802.11ac WiFi and Miracast streaming. The newer Snapdragon should arrive late this year alongside a matching Reference Design tablet.

In the shorter term, the company is also introducing 7- and 10-inch versions of the Reference Design tablet that will be based on earlier, 3G-only versions of the Snapdragon 400 (the MSM8230 and MSM8030). These variants are targeted at developing world markets, and should be display on the Computex show floor this week -- naturally, we're hoping to get a first-hand look.

http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/06/03/apple-reportedly-shifting-iad-focus-away-from-apps-to-rumored-iradio

Apple reportedly shifting iAd focus away from apps to rumored 'iRadio'

By AppleInsider Staff

Ahead of a possible "iRadio" debut at WWDC, Apple is now reported to be shifting its advertising strategy to take advantage of businesses looking to reach consumers through the company's Internet radio service. 

According to people familiar with the change in advertising tactics, Apple has tasked iAd engineers and sales staff to support its much-anticipated music streaming service, dubbed "iRadio," which is rumored to be unveiled at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 10, reports Bloomberg.

Sources said Apple CEO Tim Cook is searching for new ways to bring in advertising revenue after iAd failed to make a significant dent in the lucrative mobile ad market, which is currently dominated by Google. These people also claim Apple will slowly pull back from its role as a network serving up ads on mobile devices, instead refocusing its efforts on the as-yet-unreleased iRadio platform. 

Leading the charge for iAd's new direction is Apple's senior vice president of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue, and advertising chief Todd Teresi, who was hired away from Adobe last year. 

The publication noted that iRadio is not likely to launch until later this year, when the next-generation iOS 7 is due for public consumption, though the service may make an appearance at WWDC if licensing deals can be wrapped up in time. 

It was reported on Sunday that Apple inked an agreement with Warner Music Group for both music and publication rights. Previously, a deal was struck with Universal Music Group, but the world's second-largest label, Sony, is said to be at odds with Apple's proposed payment structure.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/03/bloomberg-apple-iradio-iad/

Bloomberg details Apple's rumored radio service, associated iAd revamp

If you believe the rumor mill, Apple is planning to announce ts long-rumored streaming music service as a feature alongside the iOS 7 update during WWDC next week, and now Bloomberg has more details on how it might work. According to the report, the entire thing will be free and ad-supported, Pandora-style. It's expected to include similar features for tracking user's tastes and serving up similar songs, with tight integration to iTunes so they can buy a track if they'd like to keep it. Where a bigger change may be however is on the backend, in how Apple deals with its advertising business. A shift in iAd directed by Eddy Cue and recent hire Todd Teresi is cutting some fees out, giving advertises more flexibility in how they buy placements, and will share radio ad revenue with music labels.