• Can Fan TV Shift Set-Top Box Landscape?
    Fanhattan -- the video-streaming app turned Web service turned set-top box -- is finally showing off the device it believes will transform consumers’ content viewing habits. Named, “Fan TV,” the Yves Behar-designed entertainment system combines the functionality of a cable set-top box with that of a streaming device like Apple TV. As The Verge reports, however, Fan TV’s success if far from certain. 
  • 'WSJ' Site Bowing Social Network Feature
    Gone are the days when every media company thought it could sustain a successful social network of its own. Or, are they? “News Corporation is preparing to dive back into the social networking game through an expansion of The Wall Street Journal Web site,” The New Web reports. “The focal point of this expansion is a new feature called WSJ Profile,” which will let readers more easily network with each other. 
  • Twitter Preps Ad Exchange
    Twitter is reportedly planning to launch an ad exchange similar to Facebook Exchange. “The micro-blogging platform is planning to erect an exchange similar to FBX that would let brands retarget people who visit their sites with ads on Twitter,” AdAge reports, citing sources. “It's unclear how far along Twitter is in building the exchange, though Facebook managed to create FBX from scratch in a month.” 
  • UK Telecom Drops Yahoo Mail
    Faced with mounting customer complaints, British telecom BT is dropping Yahoo as its official email client. Translation? “As well as losing 6 million email accounts at a stroke, Yahoo will lose a chunk of traffic to its homepage, as the end of its partnership with BT will also mean the closure of the BT Yahoo portal website,” The Telegraph reports. 
  • Employers Vetting Applicants' Social-Media Selves
    Rejecting young job candidates because of what they post on social media has become common practice among employers, according to a new report from On Device Research. In fact, “1 in 10 people between ages 16 and 34 have been turned down for a new job because of photos or comments on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and other social networking sites,” CNet notes. 
  • Motorola Readies First Phone Under Google's Reign
    Trying to regain some of its former glory in the mobile space, Motorola is developing its first phone since being acquired by Google. Named, “Moto X,” it will be built mostly in a factory in Texas, AllThingsD reports, citing comments this week from Motorola head Dennis Woodside. “Moto X will be laden with sensors that are tightly integrated into the phone and draw little power, Woodside said.” 
  • Are "Cord-Cutters" Cutting Home Internet?
    Which cords are the so-called “cord-cutters” cutting? Well, according to new findings from the Leichtman Research Group, about 1% of U.S. households stopped paying for home Internet subscriptions, and relied on wireless access instead. By contrast, “Just 0.4% of households in the last year canceled their pay-television subscriptions in favor of getting video entertainment over the Internet via services such as Hulu or Netflix,” The Wall Street Journal notes.
  • Waze Integrates With Facebook Events
    Following reports that Facebook and Waze have scrapped acquisition talks, the social navigation startup is rolling out new feature, which let users navigate to Facebook Events with single click. “Except for the whopping price tag [of $1 billion], the acquisition would have made a lot of sense,” reasons ReadWrite. As this latest integration demonstrates, “Waze would have been a complimentary piece to Facebook's developer tools as well as a boon to its core platform.” 
  • Spotify Bows Discover Feature
    Spotify this week is rolling out a Discover feature for its Web client. “Spotify has always been great at finding specific tracks, but never took advantage of its now over 24 million monthly users to surface any recommendations,” The Verge writes. “Discover aims to change that, focusing entirely on providing new stuff to listen to.”
  • IPhone Users More Active, Social
    Think the 49 minutes that Android users spend on their phones is impressive? Well, iPhone owners top that daily average by 55%, according to new usage data from Experian. Yes, “The average iPhone owner instead spends an hour and 15 minutes on their handset,” AppleInsider notes. Also of note, “Android users are more likely to spend their time making phone calls, while iPhones lead in texting, email, taking pictures, and social networking.”
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