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Hulu has announced that they will be opening up some content to free users via mobile devices.

Normally, you need to be a Hulu Plus subscriber at $8 per month to have access to Hulu on your mobile devices or TV. Otherwise, the shows and movies are available for free on desktops.

CEO Mike Hopkins says the free episodes will begin over the summer and will first be available to Android users, followed quickly by iOS with the release of a new iPhone app. Currently, free users can only access some clips via mobile devices but no full-length content.

The executive also noted that Hulu is still in negotiations with cable providers to integrate the service into their cable boxes, similar to what Netflix has done overseas and recently here in the U.S. with some small providers.

Finally, Hopkins boasted about Hulu Plus' growth, stating: "Hulu Plus is now accessible on more than 400 million internet-connected devices in the United States, including Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Chromecast, and most recently, Amazon's new set-top box, Amazon Fire TV. After redesigning our living room devices such as Roku and Wii-U, we saw average-minutes-viewed increase by over 30%. And out of our tens of millions of viewers, there are 3000 unique ways Hulu viewers access content on Hulu and Hulu Plus (for example, I watch on my iPad and Apple TV)."

According to multiple reports, Google has an "Android Silver" program in the pipeline, one that will replace their own Nexus devices.

OEMs invited to the Silver program will build reference devices (like the Nexus 5 and Google Play Edition devices) and the partnerships will be incentive-driven.

Reportedly, the incentives include indirect payments through marketing and in-store displays with trained Google employees. To be part of the program the devices must be as close to stock as possible, or potentially if there are apps pre-installed, that they can be uninstalled easily.

For consumers, this means that Android updates will come a lot quicker than current methods, where some smartphones and tablets needs months if not years to receive the latest Android operating system update. Additionally, Google is said to be spearheading hardware advancements, as well, including better water proofing, better voice recognition and improved display resolutions.

Sprint has officially announced a partnership with Spotify for its Framily plan customers, as leaked two weeks ago.

The carrier is offering six free months of Spotify for its Framily plan customers, followed by a $7.99 monthly price (compared to $9.99) if your plan has one to five lines attached. If you have over 5 lines, the price is $4.99, a nice fifty percent discount.

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek noted the obvious, calling the partnership the "biggest deal we've ever made." The executive confirmed that Sprint customers will get the deal starting on May 9th.

Spotify has 8 million subscribers around the globe, and Sprint has 54 million subscribers, making it the third largest carrier in the nation.

Harper Lee, author behind the literary classic "To Kill a Mockingbird," has finally made the book available digitally through legitimate channels.

"I'm still old-fashioned. I love dusty old books and libraries," Lee said on the eve of her 88th birthday. "This is Mockingbird for a new generation."

The classic book, written in 1960, follows the relationships of a Southern white attorney as he defends a black man accused of rape in the 1930s. The book is one of the top selling of all time, having moved over 30 million copies in English alone. The book is now available in over 40 languages.

Both an ebook and digital audio companion will be released on July 8th.

Source:
CNN

LG's upcoming G Watch smartwatch has finally been given a release date and price, at least for the European markets.

The watch will be the first to the commercial market using Google's Android Wear operating system for wearables when it hits in June. The watch has been priced at €199 for Europe, with an expected $199 price tag for the U.S., as well.

LG's new endeavor features a rectangular face, a 1.65-inch screen and 4GB internal storage.

Among the specs and features we know about is the fact that the device will have an "always-on" screen, will be dust and water proof and will be available in both black and champagne gold.

Android Wear, introduced by Google earlier this year, is built around the Google Now user interface and includes access to Google Maps and built-in voice controls.

For the last decade China has had an inexcusable ban on consoles, but that ban was finally lifted in January, paving the way for Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony to get into the nation and access its massive population.

It appears that Microsoft may have the first major console to reach China since 2000, with the company expected to begin selling the Xbox One in September thanks to a partnership with Chinese company BesTV.

By joining up with BesTV, Microsoft is ensuring that that all compliance requirements are hit and that the consoles are produced in the Shanghai free trade zone.

An official announcement is expected tomorrow, but the media spoiled the surprise today. Microsoft executive Yusef Mehdi says the Xbox One will offer "an amazing array of experiences for gamers in China."

Microsoft will indeed announce plans to sell Xbox One in China in September at an event tomorrow, the company said.

-- Dina Bass (@dinabass) April 30, 2014

Mozilla has released Firefox 29.0 for Desktop PCs, packing a new UI look, a new menu and a new improved Firefox Sync feature.

The new interface is definitely easy on the eyes, particularly how the open tab is more prominent at the top of the screen while background tabs fade. The old Firefox button has disappeared and has been replaced with a new menu button, like that seen in Google's Chrome browser.

When you click the button in Chrome, you get a text drop-list of options you can click, but Firefox 29.0 goes a step further with a new improved menu that includes icons you can click.

Also on the menu is an option to Sign in to Sync. Mozilla has improved the Sync feature by making it account-based so you can now easily retain all of your settings, bookmarks, history and also sync tabs across PCs and other devices.

Under the hood, Mozilla has finalized and enabled the GamePad API which it has been working on since Firefox 24. The GamePad API will make it possible to control games within Firefox using a proper controller.

You can download Firefox 29.0 FINAL for Windows from AfterDawn now.

Netflix has signed a deal with Verizon to pay for direct access to its network, easing congestion concerns and improving quality and performance for subscribers.

The deal is very similar to the one stuck between Netflix and Comcast recently. It means Netflix will pay Verizon for direct access to its broadband networks, avoiding more congested routes that can lower the quality of service for Netflix users trying to stream films and TV shows.

Such deals are signed by Netflix reluctantly, and the service still maintains it is not its responsibility to pay for bandwidth usage of broadband provider's customers. In the past, Netflix has even offered to pay for equipment to help deliver videos more efficiently but broadband companies want them simply to pay for prioritized access.

Verizon, Comcast and others say that Netflix puts considerable strain on the "last mile" connections to customers' homes. This has been growing problem as bandwidth usage in the United States increases with more digital content delivery services being used, and that leaves open the question of who is responsible for paying for necessary upgrades.

The revelation of a vulnerability affecting all supported versions of Internet Explorer this week highlights the risks of continuing to run Windows XP without Microsoft's support behind it.

Earlier this month, Microsoft finally ended support for the Windows XP operating system after close to 13 years since it was first released. Coming up to that date, the Redmond-based giant persistently warned users clinging to the OS that it will be become far more risky to keep running Windows XP going forward.

Many home users, and even corporate/governmental networks still run Windows XP on systems. The UK government even paid Microsoft millions to provide extended support to avoid upgrading thousands of PCs that still run XP. For consumers and most businesses running XP though, there is no extended support.

This week, Microsoft has revealed a major vulnerability in Internet Explorer affecting all supported versions across all client operating systems, and didn't rule out an out-of-cycle update to fix the problem. Such an update is likely to be released with reports of the vulnerability being exploited in the wild, and with Patch Tuesday still a couple of weeks away.

As expected, Microsoft has announced original content for the Xbox, including what the software giant calls "premium dramas, comedies, documentaries, animation, unscripted shows, and live events."

Dubbed Xbox Originals, the content is available only on Microsoft devices including the Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

Besides the Ridley Scott/Steven Spielberg 'Halo' project, there will be original programming about international street soccer, robotic servants, and the previously reported documentary about the discarded Atari games recently unearthed in a landfill.

"We are developing premium, original content for the Xbox community which is an audience we are incredibly respectful of," said Nancy Tellem, President of Xbox Entertainment Studios. "We believe Xbox Originals should embrace the way our fans think about traditional TV."

"Microsoft has a long and rich legacy in the content business," added Jordan Levin, Executive Vice President of Xbox Entertainment Studios. "Games have been part of our DNA for at least the last 15 years, and creating original TV content is a logical next step in our evolution."

Rovio, the gaming company behind the blockbuster Angry Birds series, saw its profits fall almost 50 percent in 2013, on Rovio that barely grew.

The Finnish gaming co. had $215.9 million in revenue for 2013, just 2.5 percent higher than the $210.6 million in sales it saw for 2012.

Profits collapsed to $37.3 million from $76.8 million in 2012 almost entirely due to having 800 employees compared to 500 the year before.

Rovio collects most of its revenue from sales of the games and merchandising and licensing of their characters into toys and cards and more. Additionally, the company has an animation studio and is working on TV shows and a film.

Here's an interesting look at some other casual gaming hit makers, all from Nordic nations:

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has announced the company's first full-length original programming, two comedies that will play exclusively via its portal and mobile apps.

The move will instantly give Yahoo a few very powerful rivals including Netflix, Microsoft, Amazon, HBO and Hulu, all of which now offer original (and sometimes expensive) content.

In addition, Yahoo has partnered with Live Nation (the U.S.' second-largest concert promoter), in which Yahoo will stream one live concert every day for the next year.

"Users expect online content to be as good as, if not better than, TV," Mayer added. The company has also committed to digital magazines. The first comedy is called "Other Space" and features the 'adventures of a misfit spaceship crew in an alternate universe.' The other show, "Sin City Saints," takes place in the front office of a "fictional pro basketball expansion team owned by a Silicon Valley billionaire."

Yahoo has 800 million monthly visitors and a large advertising budget so it is not a stretch to believe the company can have decent success if the shows are actually good.

According to sources, Disney tried to acquire online content provider BuzzFeed but was rebuffed over price, with BuzzFeed seeking over $1 billion.

The valuation is higher than anything previously reported on, with the company last raising venture capital funds at the beginning of 2013 at a valuation of just over $200 million.

Disney normally acquires intellectual property that can then be exploited in TV, gaming, animation, theme parks and toys. Recently, however, the company has expanded into other types of content, most recently purchasing video network and YouTube star Maker Studios for $500 million plus incentives.

BuzzFeed certainly gets eyeballs, at 85 million monthly uniques, and the company recently became profitable while expecting over $120 million in revenue in 2014. It is not clear if those types of numbers warrant a 10-figure buyout, however.

Source:
Tech Fortune

BlackBerry has finally put their Z3 smartphone up for sale in Indonesia, after unveiling it at the Mobile World Congress earlier this year.

The device is available through carriers Indosat and XL, with a launch date of May 13.

Z3s have a 5-inch 540 x 960 display, a dual-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon 200 processor, 1.5GB RAM, 8GB internal storage and dual 5MP/1.1MP cameras with a 2500mAh battery.

Those low end specs come with a low price, as well, at IDR 2,199,000 (about $190).

The fully touch design will run on BlackBerry OS 10.2.1.

Source:
GSMArena

Global research firm Kantar Worldpanel has released their quarterly smartphone market share report this week, showing some interesting trends once again in the industry.

Most of the more interesting data came via the European markets, which Kantar defines as the EU5 of Spain, Italy, France, Germany and the UK.

For the EU5, Windows Phone saw continued growth, up to 8.1 percent share for the quarter ended March 31st 2014 from 6.5 percent for the same period in 2013.

Android remained king, at 70.7 percent, followed by iOS at 19.2 percent. BlackBerry and all other operating systems have almost disappeared, down to just 2 percent of overall market share.

Windows Phone had its biggest share in Italy, at 13.9 percent share. Spain had the largest Android population, at an astonishing 88.6 percent, although that figure was down significantly from the 93.7 percent share it controlled in 2013.