YouTube launch paid subscriptions: Don't worry free content won't disappear!

   Over the past few weeks we've known that YouTube are busy working on the paid options for channels, but we weren't necessarily expecting it quite so soon. Nonetheless here we are with a brand new paid subscription model on your favourite streaming network!

   At the moment though things aren't necessarily just your typical YouTube stars, instead they're the sort of shows which you would normally see on TV. Among the current line-up there's mostly children's television shows; things like Jim Henson's Family TV, National Geographic Kidsand Sesame Street, along with a sports set which includes UFC Select and TNA Impact Wrestling amongst other things. There's also the more unique things like comedy, documentaries, Spanish TV shows, LGBT and just for the giggles there's a woodworking channel which you can pay to view too!

   Naturally YouTube doesn't expect you to pony up your cash for nothing. On every channel there's the option of a 14-day payment free trial and then you can choose to pay yearly or monthly, obviously the latter will work out cheaper in the majority of cases! When it comes to TV series such as Sesame Street then you can choose to watch per episode or you can pay for the full season.

   These new premium channels aren't necessarily something to be too concerned by, we won't lose the ad-supported channels, but some YouTubers may choose to offer people ad-free viewing through subscriptions at some point in the future. YouTube will also ensure that it's only the very top 5% of popular content on the network which is allowed to offer paid subscriptions. The best way to think of this is how the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal charge to see their premium articles, this is very much the same.

   If you're interested in the first few paid channels then you can check them out here! And don't be afraid to let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Via PhoneArena.

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Google's Eric Schmidt says YouTube's bigger than TV: We're not sure we agree just yet!

   According to reports Google's Eric Schmidt took to the stage at an advertising presentation to proclaim that YouTube and online video has displaced the TV in terms of ads. The news comes on the back of YouTube reaching the milestone of a billion monthly viewers and growth is only expected to keep coming!

   There's probably some truth in what Schmidt said especially with regard to the opportunities for growth, because YouTube hasn't really reached emerging markets and they offer Google huge potentials for growth. Schmidt said:

"Wait until you get to 6 or 7 billion. It’s not a replacement for something that we know. It’s a new thing that we have to think about, to program, to curate and build new platforms."

   Schmidt wasn't the only one to reel off the virtues of the mobile service. The companies 'head of global content Robert Kyncl, was present too and he said that:

 "I thought that YouTube was like TV, but it isn't. I was wrong. TV is one-way. YouTube talks back."

   Obviously that's the case will the majority of online content, which is why it's so immersive for viewers. Obviously we have to take this with a pinch of salt because it's all marketing hyperbole, but does that really detract from the point that YouTube is growing hugely or that eventually we will watch all of our programmes through the internet, definitely not.

   What do you think? Do you think YouTube is bigger than TV? Will it be one day? Let us know in the comments below!
Via PhoneArena.

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In Other News: 15/04/2013.

• Judge Raymond Voet from Michigan in the USA has opted to fined himself for contempt because his own phone went off disrupting a prosecutor's closing argument! His phone started asking for voice commands during the trial and he has subsequently done the right thing and fined himself the grand sum of $25!
  Via Telegraph.

• The WSJ is reporting that Microsoft has order 1.5" touchscreens for a smartwatch! There was no details about the quantities, but it's safe to say that Microsoft is at least looking at the possibility of developing a smartwatch!
  Via PhoneArena.

• It is rumoured that Japan Display's tag team of Sony, Toshiba, and Hitachi, are setting to work on a 7 inch display with a resolution of 2560 × 1600 pixels, that's WQXGA for those who like their letters instead of pixels. That works out to an incredible 430 ppi and that blows all current 7" tablet screens out of the water!
  Via AndroidBeat.

• EA recently took the award for the worst company in America and they might upset a few more people today as they've announced that they're shuttering the Facebook games Sims Social, SimCity Social, and Pet Society, all of which will close on the 14th of June! This is supposedly down to a lack of players!
  Via HotHardware.

• Reuters are reporting that Nokia's recent push into China is likely to help prevent the revenue decline of the company and help the reduce any Q1 losses!

• HP's budget Android tablet, the Slate 7, is now up for pre-order in the UK! The device, which is powered by a dual-core Rockchip processor, will set you back £129, will be shipped to you on the 1st of May and you can get it here!
  Via ITProportal.

• HTC's Windows Phone 8X has just got a price cut and it can now be yours for £276 if you want to grab one from Clove here!

• Wordpress was subjected to a huge botnet attack which utilised "tens of thousands" of computers last week. Server hosts Cloudflare and Hostgator confirmed the news that the controlled computers tried to long in using the username "admin" trying trying thousands of possible passwords in the process.
  Via BBC.

• Huawei's Richard Yu has said that the company can’t afford to compete with the companies in China which offer low-end devices. Instead, Yu wants Huawei to become a “first-tier” phone producer.
  Via AndroidBeat.

• YouTube for iOS has been update to include live streaming!
  Via Slashgear.

And finally, Pantech have confirmed that their new flagship device will be announced on the 18th, that's this Thursday! The device is set to feature a 5" 1920 x 1080p display, a 1.7 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor, 2 GB of RAM, a 13 MP rear-camera and a 2150 mAh battery. The rumour mill also says that there's a pretty cool oblong design, which you can see below! We'll show you exactly what it is on Thursday!

Via PhoneArena.

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Samsung's first Galaxy S4 adverts make their way online!

   Samsung's Galaxy S4 might not be ready for prime time until the 26th of this month, but Samsung is busy behind the scenes getting everything ready for the big launch day.

   Today we've got to see the first fruits of their labours as there have been four adverts found on the internet which show off the new flagship device! Check each of them out below, but before you do we'll run you through what all of them are about:

1. The first is the longest at 60 seconds long and it mainly shows off the hardware in the S4.
2. The second is 'sound shot' which sends a photo with a voice message with it.
3. The first demos the Group Play feature.
4. And finally, the fourth ad shows how useful S Translator can be!

   We must say the way Samsung portrays these features they do appear useful to every day consumers and we think these adverts will be a great way to convince people that they must have the Galaxy S4!

Via AndroidBeat.

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YouTube's 2013 April Fool says it was all an eight year competition!

   You've got to love April the 1st! For whatever historical reason there was we are allowed to play pranks on each other for a morning and boy do we get into it. Your favourite news station will have undoubtedly broadcast some complete gobble-di-gook which someone would have fallen for and tech companies are no different.

   YouTube, now that it's part of Google, joins a long historic line of internet based pranks and their latest is another excellent attempt. Essentially the guys at YouTube announced that they have had as many submissions as they think necessary and so they will employ a team of 30,000 people to sift through your home videos to find the best one! Along the way they noted that just because 'Gangnam Style' has the most views, it's not automatically the best!

   Anyways head down to the video below and have a little look! If you want to see some more then head past the YouTube April Fools for a round up of the best in recent years from MKBHD!

Via TechRadar.

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In Other News: 18/02/2013.

• Lately it's been reported that Apple are quite likely to hold a launch event for new iPads in either March or April of this year. First up was Jefferies analyst, Peter Misek, who claimed that his "channel checks" had suggested Apple would hold a developer event in March which would offer new Apple-TV features. The Loop's, Jim Dalrymple, simply replied with "Nope", which was enough to end that claim. That being said Piper Jaffray's, Gene Munster, has argued that Apple are likely to launch a product in the next two months! He said:
  
   "We believe that looking at the history of time between Apple product launch events suggests that the company will introduce something new in March or April... Over the past two years, the Spring event has been iPad updates."
  Via MacWorld.

• For those of you rocking a device running either Blackberry 7 or 7.1 there's some good news! That YouTube problem which you might have been experiencing since Thursday should now be resolved! Woop!
  Via Crackberry.

• O2 has confirmed that Sony's budget Xperia E handset will be arriving on their network in March! The device was first shown off back in December last year, more details about the phone are available here, but this should fill a little hole at the more budget end of O2's range!
  Via TheInquirer.

• Samsung is reportedly rolling out the Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean update to original Galaxy Notes around the world. Devices are reportedly being updated in Germany, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The upgrade brings with it the new Nature UX as well as Multi-view, Pop up and play and other enhancements to S-Pen apps!
  Via Softpedia.

And finally, it looks as though Nokia will be launching a few more phones in the near future. WMPowerUser reportedly confirmed some of the specifications of the devices in question too. They have said that the "Lumia 720 will have 4.3inch CBD, 1Ghz Dual-core, 512Mb RAM, 8GB storage, HSPA+, WP8, microSD, 6MP camera and 2MP front camera, while the Lumia 520 will have 4 inch  Super Sensitive screen, 1Ghz Dual-core, 512Mb RAM, 8GB storage, microSD, WP8, 5MP with no front camera." We'll have to wait and see where these guys pop up though!
Via WMPowerUser.

I see Nokia RM-914 (Lumia 520), RM-885 (Lumia 720), RM-887(?) and RM-860(?) on Verizon in our logs. 3-4 new phones at #MWC13? cc @tomwarren
— Alan Mendelevich (@ailon) February 16, 2013

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16/07/2012

HTC reportedly cancelled the ICS update for the Desire HD.

   When we heard the lists of devices each manufacturer planned to put ICS onto there was one device in particular we did not expect to see on the list. That device was the ageing, but still relevant, HTC Desire HD. 

   Sadly we've recently learnt that Telus, a Canadian Network has cancelled the update for their version of the device and we have heard rumours that the same issues Telus faced will be exactly the same for all variants of the device.

   The handset has a Snapdragon S2 processor and 768mb of RAM so there's every chance this device could run ICS and probably will through alternative software sources, the obvious one being CyanogenMod.

   Surprisingly Telus cited “poor device performance during testing” as the main issue, but that sounds more than slightly suspect to us! Let us explain; the HTC One V, for example, features the exact same processor but only 512MB of RAM and still managed to ship with Ice Cream Sandwich. Even the little HTC Desire C, with it's little 600Mhz processor, is running Ice Cream Sandwich out of the box, so we remain optimistic that international versions of the device will get some ICS but don't get your hopes up guys!

ZTE facing slight trouble?

   ZTE have been doing rather well lately; they've been rising up the selling ranks and they're aiming for a top 3 market share in the next few years. But, it seems the bubble might be starting to burst for the company.

   Shares in the company have fallen 17% after some warnings arrived suggesting that half-year profits could be heading down by a massive 80%. To add insult to injury there’s rumours that 12,000 staff are to be pushed out the door AND the FBI are investigating the sale of banned kit to Iran.

   ZTE have already announced they're showing off a new gaming handset on Wednesday, so this news really won't help the companies bid to grow in Europe and the US

In other news:

• Lenovo is coming close to overtaking HP as the world's largest PC manufacturer.
• British ISP's have said that their ban on The Pirate Bay has been largely ineffective after a brief initial success.
• Skype has admitted their is a leaking message bug for which they are working on a fix.
• Raspberry Pi is now available for general order!
• A 10" Kindle Fire has been tipped again to compete with the iPad.
• Fujifilm has sued Motorola over some camera technology in mobile phones. Apparently the pair have already tried to sit down before going to court!
• The New York Times doesn't deal in rumours, but they've reported that the iPad Mini is coming, this fall could be exciting!
• AT&T has halved the upfront cost of the Lumia 900 today, it'll now set you back $49.99 on a two-year contract.
• YouTube has started showing citizen filmed news! Is this the future?

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21/05/2012

HTC planning a Tizen powered device for 2012.

   Since the departure of Nokia from their ex-partner Intel, their love child, Meego, was expected to be somewhat neglected. But, it wasn't long before Samsung, amongst many others, picked up the buck and started building Tizen. 

   The news here is that HTC will be releasing a phone at some point in 2012 running the software. This is great news for the platform, especially if the rumours that Asus and Acer will be creating phones running this software too before the end of the year pan out. It's become apparent that the platform has been gaining a lot of support from elsewhere too, with the Tizen Association board members now featuring NTT docomo, Orange, Vodafone, SK Telecom, NEC, Panasonic and Telefonica, amongst others. 

   It looks like Windows Phone may very well have a serious challenger for Third spot in the mobile world if the companies follow through on their word!

In other news:

• Apple has once again filed for a ban of the Samsung Galaxy Tab in America, so much for sitting down and talking it out eyyy Apple?
• Foxconn has announced they're spending $210million on a new production line for Apple products.
• Microsoft has unleashed an updated SDK for Kinect on Windows, it's now version 1.5 of the SDK.
• Facebook shares are already down to $33.60 per share, it's harsh to call this bad news, but the Facebook bubble hasn't been quite as huge as expected.
• HTC has been able to trickle some of their devices out today after they were halted by US customs for infringing on dialer patents. The issues have since been addressed but the hold up is because every device has to be checked to prove it's bee updated, which as you can imagine is quite a slow process.
• Samsung's S-voice apk has recently been leaked by XDA developers but Samsung and Vlingo have teamed up to stop you using it unless you really are rocking a Galaxy S3, sorry guys.
• Google Chrome is once again the world's most popular browser and this time it'll probably stick!
• And finally Happy 7th birthday Youtube! You have revolutionised our online experience!

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