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Vevo teases overhauled apps and a mobile SDK letting third parties offer its videos

Mar09
by on March 9, 2014 at 10:08 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Design & Dev, Insider

VEVO 520x245 Vevo teases overhauled apps and a mobile SDK letting third parties offer its videos

At an event in Austin, Texas during SXSW today, music video service Vevo revealed plans to offer a mobile SDK that will allow third-party app developers to incorporate its content.

Michael Cerda, Vevo’s SVP of Product and Technology, said that the he has received many requests from companies to be able to use Vevo videos. The SDK will allow developers to query the Vevo database of video metadata and serve up relevant videos. The videos will be monetized with advertising, although the prominence of the ads will vary from partner to partner.

While the SDK will initially be available on a partnership basis, Vevo plans to eventually make it open to any developer once early partners have helped iron out any initial bugs.

Cerda also revealed upcoming overhauls of Vevo’s mobile apps. They’ll soon feature an Instagram-style social feed that will include advertising. Additionally, Vevo TV, the linear, old-style MTV-style service that the company launched last March, will be offered via three channels in the new apps.

The first platform to receive the new updates will be iOS, with a new universal app that offers a simplified UI based around swipes and gestures. It will include the ability to continue watching a video in the corner of the screen while you navigate the app, this works in the same way as the mini-player in YouTube’s mobile apps, and it can be dismissed with a swipe.

Vevo built the new iOS app with its own SDK in order to ‘dogfood’ it, and an Android version is in the works to follow the release of the iOS app.

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Google Chromecast to go on sale in “many more countries” in a few weeks

Mar09
by on March 9, 2014 at 6:01 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Google

174349564 520x245 Google Chromecast to go on sale in many more countries in a few weeks

Google has some good news for those of you outside the US: Chromecast is coming to “many more countries” in the next few weeks. The announcement came from an SXSW keynote by Sundar Pichai, the company’s SVP of Androids, Apps and Chrome.

Last month, reports emerged that Chromecast would soon arrive in the UK and Australia. Google first released the HDMI dongle last July, before opening the device up to developers with an SDK in February.

While Pichai wouldn’t reveal specific sales figures for the Chromecast, he did note that customers have bought “millions” of units and sales continue to grow rapidly.

At $35, Chromecast is a phenomenal deal, but new features and services have come to it slowly over the past few months. Now that the device has an SDK and is expanding internationally, we can hopefully expect a quicker pace for improvements to the platform.

Pichai also revealed during his talk that an Android SDK for wearable devices is coming in two weeks’ time.

You can keep up with all of our SXSW coverage on our event page.

Image credit: Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images

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Google to launch Android developer SDK for wearable tech in 2 weeks

Mar09
by on March 9, 2014 at 5:44 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Google

sundarpichai 220x103 Google to launch Android developer SDK for wearable tech in 2 weeks

At SXSW today, Sundar Pichai, Google’s SVP of Android, Apps and Chrome, announced that the company will soon release an Android developer SDK specifically designed for use with wearable devices.

Pichai noted that Google will lay out a “vision for developers of how we see this market working” as part of the SDK.

From CES to MWC, wearable devices have been a major theme at this year’s tech events. Pichai said he’s particularly excited about the potential that the small, powerful sensors in wearables can bring to Android.

During the Q&A time, Pichai clarified that the new SDK isn’t just for smartwatches. In his view, Google’s role is to developer the system software and API, but it’s up to developers and partners to figure out which new form factors to use.

You can follow all of our SXSW coverage on our event page.

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a couple of laughzillas on a blue diamond background

Google to launch Android developer SDK for wearable tech in 2 weeks

Mar09
by on March 9, 2014 at 5:44 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Google

sundarpichai 220x103 Google to launch Android developer SDK for wearable tech in 2 weeks

At SXSW today, Sundar Pichai, Google’s SVP of Android, Apps and Chrome, announced that the company will soon release an Android developer SDK specifically designed for use with wearable devices.

Pichai noted that Google will lay out a “vision for developers of how we see this market working” as part of the SDK.

From CES to MWC, wearable devices have been a major theme at this year’s tech events. Pichai said he’s particularly excited about the potential that the small, powerful sensors in wearables can bring to Android.

During the Q&A time, Pichai clarified that the new SDK isn’t just for smartwatches. In his view, Google’s role is to developer the system software and API, but it’s up to developers and partners to figure out which new form factors to use.

You can follow all of our SXSW coverage on our event page.

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Soundwall: A piece of art and a wireless speaker combined, and that’s not as crazy as it sounds

Mar09
by on March 9, 2014 at 5:23 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Gadgets, Insider, Profiles and Interviews

Soundwall1 520x245 Soundwall: A piece of art and a wireless speaker combined, and thats not as crazy as it sounds

It’s easy to miss interesting things in the mass of press emails that flood a journalist’s inbox before SXSW, but the invitation to try Soundwall stood out to me because the entire premise sounded so ridiculous that I just had to check it out.

Soundwall is a wireless speaker and work of art combined. Why would you want that? It turns out that a large flat-panel speaker provides better clarity of sound than many standard wireless speakers can provide. This isn’t a canvas with a speaker attached, the entire canvas is the speaker. Because you probably wouldn’t want a to have a speaker of between 24″ x 36″ and 40″ x 60″ taking up wall space, the art gives you something to look at.

Nestled behind the art is a Raspberry Pi computer that can receive firmware updates to automatically improve Soundwall over time. Prices range from $949 to $2,499 depending on the canvas size that you choose.

I met the founders of Soundwall in downtown Austin to discover the story behind this unusual combination of sound and vision. You can listen to the interview below.

Catch up with all of our SXSW coverage.

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