Pandora will remove 40-hour mobile listening limit next month

Posted on 22/08/2013 by Darren Murph

There's nothing quite like a 180, and that's what Pandora plans to pull as next month rolls in. The outfit's 40-hour mobile listening limit, which was established back in February, will be history in September. The move was announced today by CFO Mike Herring, as he stated the following:

"When we introduced the 40 hour mobile listening limit, we were confident that our scale -- over 7 percent of total radio listening and Pandora's number one ranking in most major markets -- would allow us to take this action without impacting our key monetization initiatives in driving the disruption of the radio advertising market and driving our mobile advertising leadership. As our results have shown, the continued strong growth in our advertising revenue allowed us to cover the increased royalty costs with dollars left over to invest back into the business. With these tools in hand, and insight into how they work, we are resetting our levers in September.

Notably, Pandora plans to eliminate the blanket 40-hour-per-month limit on free mobile listening effective September 1st. In the 6 months since we first implemented the free mobile listening limitation, we have gained critical insights into our user population that has given us greater control of our business. Because of these insights Pandora has implemented both other surgical levers to control content cost and new features that will allow for greater product usage."

It's not clear why the the reversal is being made -- be it uproar from loyal users or something else entirely -- but those who found themselves perturbed by such a notion will have plenty to celebrate in just a few days.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Mobile

Comments

Source: TechCrunch

Pandora gets cozier with Facebook, makes it easier to share listening activities to Timeline

Posted on 22/05/2013 by Edgar Alvarez

Looks like Pandora isn't quite done making announcements this week. Hot on the heels of the introduction of its Premieres music strategy, the streaming service is now releasing a feature perfectly fitted for Facebook users. Starting today, folks will be able to easily share more of their Pandora activities (what you're listening to, the artists you like, etc.) directly to the Timeline and newly minted music section. However, given the auto-share nature of the feature, Pandora is allowing you to tweak the privacy options -- you know, in case you're not interested in letting friends know you're ~~jamming out~~ quietly listening to Justin Bieber's Baby. Pandora's one-click-share-to-Facebook is now available via the web and Android / iOS apps -- and, because we know you're going to inquire, there's no word on when we can expect it to hit Windows Phone 8.

Filed under: Portable Audio/Video, Internet, Software, Mobile

Comments

Source: Pandora

Microsoft unveils Data Sense for Windows Phone 8, to debut on Verizon devices

Posted on 29/10/2012 by Steve Dent

Microsoft unveils Data Sense for Windows Phone 8, to debut on Verizon devices

Microsoft has just outed Data Sense, a new app for Windows Phone 8 that helps ensure you don't burn through your data plan. On top of tracking your usage app-by-app, it compresses every single web page you browse to keep data consumed to a minimum, and also sniffs out WiFi hotspots when they become available. The app features a Live Tile to give an ongoing saga of the megabytes you've consumed and will warn you near a preset limit. Redmond claims the hotspot sniffing and compression will let you consume 45 percent less data "when compared to the competition" -- likely a reference to iOS and Android, which already have a similar feature. Data Sense will arrive first on Verizon this fall, but there's no word yet on when other carriers will have it. To check the PR, go past the fold.

For more, check out our Windows Phone 8 event liveblog!

Continue reading Microsoft unveils Data Sense for Windows Phone 8, to debut on Verizon devices

Microsoft unveils Data Sense for Windows Phone 8, to debut on Verizon devices originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Oct 2012 13:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | | Email this | Comments

Windows Phone 8 gets Pandora Radio, Cut the Rope, Urbanspoon and more (update: full list)

Posted on 29/10/2012 by Jon Fingas

Microsoft knows that Windows Phone 8 is only as successful as its apps. To that end, it's blowing the doors open in terms of major app support. It's not only promising a Windows Phone version of Pandora Radio for early 2013, it's offering ad-free listening for the first year. How's that for strong out-of-the-box content? On top of this, Microsoft is vowing a slew of new apps and games that had previously only been available in the Android or iOS camps, including Asphalt 7, Cut the Rope, Temple Run, Urbanspoon and Where's My Water. By the time the expansion is done, Microsoft hopes to have 46 out of the 50 most popular apps onboard, making any platform switch that much gentler. Instagram is a notable omission -- still, it's a big leap in terms of equality.

Update: If you need even more detail, Microsoft has posted a wider list of new apps as part of its official Windows Phone 8 launch post. If that's not enough, you can catch a video overview of the platform after the break.

For more, check out our Windows Phone 8 event liveblog!

Continue reading Windows Phone 8 gets Pandora Radio, Cut the Rope, Urbanspoon and more (update: full list)

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Microsoft

Windows Phone 8 gets Pandora Radio, Cut the Rope, Urbanspoon and more (update: full list) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Oct 2012 13:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | | Email this | Comments

Sony unveils in-car receivers with App Remote, taps into your smartphone music from October

Posted on 16/08/2012 by Jon Fingas

Sony has been big on smartphone integration for car audio lately, having already launched its MirrorLink receivers earlier in the year for the more well-heeled drivers among us. The company is bringing that mobile tie-in down to Earth through a new quartet of in-car CD receivers. The MEX-GS600BT, MEX-BT4100P, MEX-BT3100P and CDX-GS500R all bring in App Remote, which lets the faceplate buttons steer local music or Pandora streaming radio coming from Android, BlackBerry, iOS and Walkman devices paired through a Bluetooth wireless link. The old-fashioned USB connection is still on offer for these and the HD Radio-toting CDX-GT710HD, while the whole collection can graft on the optional SXV200V1 tuner to carry the full Sirius XM satellite radio lineup. Differences across the line aren't completely clear from Sony's wording, although both the MEX-GS600BT and CDX-GS500R carry two USB ports as well as 5-volt RCA preamp outputs. You'll be waiting awhile to slip any of these receivers into a DIN slot, regardless of which one you pick: the GS500R ships in October for $199, and the rest hit the shops in November for between $149 to $249.

Gallery: Sony App Remote receivers