SanDisk unveiled its new 512GB memory card at the International Broadcasting Convention in Amsterdam last week. The $800 Extreme PRO SDXC UHS-I card — which SanDisk touts as “the highest capacity SD card on the market” — is designed for professionals that shoot 4K video, Full HD video and high-speed burst mode photography. The new offering marks an increase in SD card capacity by 1,000 times in just over a decade. It was only 2003 when consumers were scrambling for SanDisk’s 512MB cards. Continue reading IBC 2014: SanDisk Premieres Record-Breaking 512GB SD Card

By the middle of next year, Verizon customers could be watching over-the-top live channels and on-demand movies through a digital video service. Chief Executive Officer Lowell McAdam told investors at a conference last week that his company was close to reaching deals with major content providers such as ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, DreamWorks, and AwesomenessTV. Verizon may even use multicasting technology to broadcast live content to smartphones via a single stream of airwaves. Continue reading Verizon Considers Launching a Digital Video Service in 2015

E-commerce company eBay will launch a mobile ad network by the end of the year, allowing advertisers to target the 4.6 million daily users who spend an average of 150 minutes on the eBay app per month. Because eBay account holders have a single login assigned across their various mobile devices, the ad network collects data about user activity, including shopping habits. Triad Retail Media has partnered with eBay to place the ads across a variety of smartphone and tablet platforms. Continue reading New eBay Advertising Network to Capitalize on Mobile Users

California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a new measure that bans businesses from preventing their customers from leaving negative reviews, especially online. Yelp and other sites have pushed anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) laws around the country to stop defamation lawsuits against their users who post negative reviews. California businesses can no longer force customers to waive their right to comment on their service, or they can face fines of up to $10,000. Continue reading California Law Protects the Right to Post Bad Reviews on Yelp

According to eMarketer, Google’s YouTube is projected to take in about $1.13 billion in video-advertising revenue this year, up 39 percent from $810 million in 2013. However, the digital video advertising segment in the U.S. is expanding (YouTube’s 18.9 percent share is down from 21.2 percent last year), and YouTube is not expected to increase its market share significantly over the next three years. YouTube is also somewhat limited in its ad potential due to the amount of user-generated and short content. Continue reading Growth in Digital Video Ad Market, YouTube Maintains Lead

Cable channel VH1 and Internet media company BuzzFeed have joined forces to expand their audiences. BuzzFeed will produce videos to drive viewers to watch “Couples Therapy with Dr. Jenn” on VH1’s television channel. Segments will air on television in addition to VH1’s digital platforms and the BuzzFeed website. This is the latest deal in BuzzFeed’s Social Tune-In Program and part of its larger video expansion efforts. The company has also inked similar deals with Bravo and IFC. Continue reading BuzzFeed-Produced Videos to Promote VH1 Television Shows

Samsung’s updated Galaxy Note 4 can serve as a screen in a new virtual reality headset accessory. The phone has a higher resolution 5.7-inch display and camera, and can snap into the Gear VR headset to provide users with an immersive video game or concert experience. Samsung has partnered with Facebook’s Oculus VR to develop a new headset, the Gear VR Innovator Edition. This wireless headset contains speakers and electronics to display the Note 4’s screen in a 360-degree experience. Continue reading Samsung Unveils New Galaxy Note 4 Phone and VR Headset

Deezer, a French subscription service available in 180 countries, announced its plans for availability in the U.S. In a partnership with Sonos, the company plans for a high-fidelity version called Deezer Elite. Deezer reaches five million paying subscribers in a model similar to Spotify, Rhapsody and Beats Music. However, Deezer plans to offer songs at a faster bit rate in order to create smaller file sizes for computer storing and transferring, and in the process attract a more affluent group of audiophiles.  Continue reading Deezer Plans to Bring High-Fidelity Elite Music Service to U.S.

While WhatsApp will continue to be an independent app, its acquisition by Facebook should help it reach up to three billion users, suggests Mark Zuckerberg. WhatsApp had 450 million users around the time that Facebook agreed to buy it for $19 billion, but has now reached 600 million. Facebook currently reaches around 1.3 billion people, which is half of the world’s Internet connected population. The company is focusing on spreading Internet access around the globe. Continue reading Facebook Aims to Connect the World, Starting With WhatsApp

In a deal that will offer more options for TV viewers, Viacom announced yesterday that it has reached an agreement with Sony to make 22 of its networks available through Sony’s new Internet-based television service, expected to launch later this year. The subscription service plans to offer live TV and on-demand programming via connected Sony devices, including PlayStation game consoles and smart TVs. This marks the first time Viacom networks will be made available through such a service. Continue reading Viacom Will Offer 22 Networks Via Sony’s Internet TV Service

Public interest groups and tech companies participated in an Internet “slowdown” yesterday to raise awareness of the potential impact to net neutrality and an open Internet if slow lanes were to result from proposed FCC rules. It was not an actual throttling of Internet speeds, but a campaign in which sites featured messages about the issue and symbolic “loading” icons. Thousands of websites urged their users to take action. As a result, the FCC received a record 1,477,301 public comments. Continue reading Battle for the Net: Internet Slowdown Generates Big Numbers

Amazon announced yesterday that it plans to make Prime Instant Video available to all Android phones in the U.S., U.K. and Germany. An update to the Amazon app for Android will enable users to stream movies and TV shows available through Prime Instant Video. However, users will first need to install or update the Amazon app, and then use in-app tools to install the Amazon Instant Video player app. Users will also need to enable a phone setting that allows installing of apps from outside the Google Play store. Continue reading Amazon Update Brings Prime Instant Video to Android Phones

The Makr app turns iPhone users into t-shirt and tote bag designers. Anyone can upload a design, which can be printed on t-shirts, bags, even temporary tattoos. The iPad version also allows users to design paper goods like wedding invitations and business cards. These items are sold through Makr’s online store and the designer gets $2 per sale without having to worry about production, shipping or payments. The tool could help YouTube celebrities and other online stars sell merchandise to fans. Continue reading Makr Produces, Ships, and Sells Custom Design Merchandise

Dropbox wants to add image recognition software to its cloud storage service so that photos would automatically be tagged with the objects, people, and places found in the images. The company has hired the co-founders of Kriegman-Belhumeur Vision Technology, Peter Belhumeur and David Kriegman, to engineer the new technology. The two men are university professors with extensive experience in computer vision, facial recognition, and machine learning. Continue reading Dropbox Hires Computer Vision Experts to Mine Photographs

CTIA, The Wireless Association, kicked off its Mobility Week in Las Vegas with a keynote address by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler who spoke candidly about net neutrality, competition and the upcoming spectrum auction. Wheeler, who was CEO of CTIA from 1992-2004 and has been criticized by some consumer groups for his previous alliance, made it clear that in an environment where a vast and growing majority of Internet access is via mobile that a free and open Internet is vital. Continue reading CTIA 2014: FCC Chair Talks Net Neutrality, Spectrum Auction