Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

Finishing up it’s two-day convention in San Fransisco yesterday, YPulse National Mashup is a yearly event that brings together youth media and marketing professionals from brands, agencies, and the non-profit sector to share practices for reaching today’s totally wired youth. And this year’s findings were a rather obvious one for anyone walking around any school, mall, or other teen gathering place. Teens are becoming more and more mobile and cell companies, advertisers, and other media companies plan to be sure to capitalize on this.

And capitalize on it they will indeed be able to.  It’s estimated that teens wield a whopping $200 billion annually in discretionary spending. Yep, you read that correctly, and it wasn’t a typo. Two-hundred BILLION. Today’s kids must be charging much more for lawn-mowing services than back in the day, or else get one heck of an allowance.

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Music bands are definitely recognizing the power of the Internet and other web hangouts as a promotional tool for their music. Nine Inch Nails, who were over whelmed by the success of the launch of their web friendly album Ghosts is conducting a film festival using YouTube with the hopes of strengthening its fan base on the web.

Similarly, another band Radiohead, fresh from the success of the release of their album In Rainbows, who used a pay-what-you-like-download is undertaking another step towards unfamiliar routes for radio-friendly bands. This time, Radiohead wants to mobilize its fan base for the production of their next music video. Radiohead in cooperation with Aniboom is sponsoring a contest in search of the best storyboard to use for their next music video. Winner takes home $10,000 plus the opportunity to work with Radiohead in producing the music video.

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Viacom’s cable channel child, MTV, has announced the creation of MTVN Mobile Media. The new division, which will work to promote MTVN programming in video games, ringtones, graphics and web sites, will be headed up by newly promoted SVP Greg Clayman. MTVN Mobile Media will feature bonus featurettes, footage and specials in addition to mobile versions of current properties including “The Daily Show” and “Spongebob Squarepants.” This comes not too long after MTVN’s November announcement of their intention to expand further into the web, further fragmenting their distribution, and most likely, playing an even lower percentage of music videos than ever before.

Read [Home Media Retailing] Read [AdWeek]

NBC, News Corp., CBS, and Viacom are all in talks to take out the grand champion YouTube, by creating a competing site in which they get all the profits.  They’ve got plenty of content in their archives, so it would be relatively easy to do.  It would be kind of like… IPTV now wouldn’t it?

So the real question is, will this work?  Will people really be driven away from YouTube because a few networks are teaming up to start another site?  I say absolutely not.  The site may become SEMI-popular, but won’t have the Indie feel that YouTube does.  But I’m going to say they’re not aiming for the YouTubers.  They would be aiming for people that want FULL-LENGTH TV shows and don’t want to go to iTunes and shell out cash.  If they provide TV shows for free with commercials, I’ll probably get on over there and watch me some shows I’ve missed.  It all sounds great in theory, but lets be honest, they’re quite a bit more greedy than that.

According to the New York Times, issues are also likely to pop up due to the networks’ differing agendas.

But each partner in the proposed YouTube competitor brings its own agendas and potential conflicts. For instance, the News Corporation also owns both the Fox television network and the popular MySpace social networking Web site.

You pay how much a month on your cable bill just so you can have your standard HD networks, HD cable channels, and one of every movie channel and in total only get like 10 options!?!? Time Warner is trying to ease the pain a bit by offering one more HD channel. No it is not ESPN 2 nor National Geographic HD. They will be adding MHD to their lineup.

MHD or Music: High Definition is a high definition music television network that first aired on January 16, 2006. MHD shows music-related content from its MTV Networks. From Vail, Colorado, MHD broadcasts programming from MTV, VH1, CMT and less frequently MTV2. Cox systems has carried MHD since March 2006 in Atlanta, New Orleans, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and Phoenix, with Boston getting MHD through Comcast. In June 2006, Cox began carrying MHD in the Fairfax market; Charter followed suit in St. Louis July 18, 2006.

Personally, I would rather watch high-def music and concerts over even more HD sports channels but I write gadget blog. What channel do you wish would finally flip the switch to HD?

Read [MHD Site] Read [Wikipedia] Via [EngadgetHD]

MTV’s Xfire gaming site surpassed 5 million registered users this past week. MTV’s parent company, Viacom, purchased Xfire earlier this year for $102 million with 3.2 million registered users. Xfire offers 630 ad-supported games as well as services such as voice chat, in-game messaging, peer-to-peer downloads and buddy lists for registered users. Yep, talking, messaging and gaming all at the same time - it’s like a cell phone except a lot less convenient to put in your purse or pocket.

Site [XFire]

Check out Harmonix.

Read [IGN]

Google has partnered with Viacom’s MTV Networks to test a video distribution platform that supplies ad-supported content online. The deal will be the first time MTV content has been made available outside of the network’s own Web site. MTV Networks’ programs will also be available for download through Google Video, for $1.99 per episode. With more content from across MTVN’s entire portfolio to be added, the initial offering includes full-length episodes from:

• Comedy Central: “Chappelle’s Show”, “South Park”


• MTV: “Beavis & Butthead: The Mike Judge Collection, Vol. 1”, “Laguna Beach”, “Gauntlet 2”, “My Super Sweet Sixteen”, “Jackass”, and “Punked”.


• MTV2: “WonderShowzen”


• Nickelodeon: “Avatar: The Last Airbender”, “SpongeBob SquarePants”, “Zoey 101”, “The Fairly OddParents”, and “Dora The Explorer”


• The N: “Beyond the Break”, “South of Nowhere”, and “O’Grady”

Read [IP Democracy]

OK, well maybe MS doesn’t expect to crush the iPod immediately, but at least release a true competitor in the portable audio field. Microsoft will start selling a wireless digital music and video player. The device will let users download music and videos over the air, according to one source, a feature which would give it an edge over the iPod, for now (we know how Mr. Jobs likes to add new features with the flick of a switch).

Microsoft has also been showing a new media software application akin to Apple’s iPod/iTunes integrated ecosystem, looking to emulate Apple’s successful iTunes-iPod integration and Sony’s failed attempt to sell MP3 players along with their Connect Music Store.

Robbie Bach, appointed president of Microsoft’s entertainment and devices division in December, is working with J. Allard, vice president of its Xbox team, on the unnamed digital media player/software project, according to a source close to Microsoft. Allard’s involvement is seen as significant because he is one of the few executives at Microsoft with experience in launching a consumer electronic device from scratch with the X-Box gaming system.

Back in 2003 Microsoft came up with its own Portable Media Center software that it then licensed to hardware manufacturers. Creative, Samsung and iRiver all produced multimedia devices using the software, but none of the players have been particularly successful.

This time, however, Microsoft will produce both the hardware and software and sell the device under its own brand. This combined with the fact that the MTV Urge online music store (which is part owned by Microsoft) will play a key part in the company’s new Vista operating system might give the new Microsoft music machine a bit more credibility.

Read [CNN]

MTV Networks and Apple got together to add some more content to the iTunes music TV store. Programming from Spike TV, Nick at Nite, TV Land, Logo, MTV and The N are now available.

Shows include: ”Blade: The Series,” “Viva La Bam,” “Sit Down Comedy with David Steinberg,” “TNA: iMPACT,” “Disorderly Conduct,” “Fatherhood,” “Hi-Jinks,” “Noah’s Arc,” “Wisecrack,” and “Beyond the Break.”

Read [Apple]