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Weibo’s IPO disappoints, but plenty of positives remain for ‘China’s Twitter’

Apr17
by on April 17, 2014 at 6:36 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Asia, weibo

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Weibo, the microblogging firm known as ‘China’s Twitter,’ made a less than impressive public bow on the US markets after raising $286 million in an initial public offering in New York on Wednesday. Weibo’s decision to list in the US excited many analysts at the time, thanks to a combination of comparisons with Twitter, the backdrop of a number of impending China tech IPOs, and Facebook’s acquisition of WhatsApp for $19 billion. The  initial listing has arguably failed to live up to that billing, however. Shares were sold for $17, which is at the bottom end of the firm’s valuation, while Weibo sold 16…

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PlayStation 4 is getting an update with a video editing app for you to customize gameplay videos

Apr17
by on April 17, 2014 at 6:23 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Asia, Gadgets, playstation 4, Product Updates

Sony’s PlayStation 4 is scheduled to get an update “soon” that will introduce a new video editing app, as detailed in a blog post today. Sony had already teased the update last month. The SHAREfactory app is aimed at making it easier for players to customize their gameplay videos. It will let you combine video clips for editing, add special effects including filters and themes, personalize the videos with text, stickers and audio tracks, then share these with friends and social networks. It even has the option to add a video commentary, tapping on the picture-in-picture capability with PlayStation Camera, and allows you to…

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Search giant Baidu is the latest Chinese tech firm to launch a mobile wallet service

Apr17
by on April 17, 2014 at 4:36 am
Posted In: Apps, Around the Web, Asia, mobile payments, Product Launches

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China’s mobile payments market is heating up, with nearly $1.6 trillion in transactions made in 2013. Now search giant Baidu has jumped into the fray to offer up a mobile wallet service as well, seeking to compete with the two other Internet giants, Alibaba and Tencent, for a slice of the pie. “We saw that developers/partners have needs in retaining users and payment services, which is why we launched Baidu Wallet,” Baidu’s Vice President Li Mingyuan, who is in charge of its Mobile and Cloud Business Group, says.  Baidu Wallet, which will be fully released in late April, provides similar services…

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Apple is reportedly partnering with Shazam to develop a song-identification feature for iOS 8

Apr17
by on April 17, 2014 at 2:14 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Music, music streaming, Product Updates

Apple is making it more convenient for iPhone and iPad users to identify songs without having to download separate apps, as it is partnering with Shazam to introduce a song-identification feature in iOS 8, according to a report from Bloomberg. One of the ways to access the feature could be through Siri, which means an iPhone user will be able to say something like “what song is playing” to find out more about the music, Bloomberg cites a source as saying. Apple already has its own music streaming service, iTunes Radio, and it makes sense for it to further develop…

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