|
. | . |
|
by Staff Writers San Francisco (AFP) Aug 23, 2011 Some 200 million Americans will own smartphones or tablet computers by 2015, with many people having both, marketing intelligence firm In-Stat forecast on Tuesday. "This market trend will have a huge impact on how video entertainment is acquired and consumed," the firm predicted in its forecast. Technology titans such as Google, Apple, and Microsoft have been staking out territory in a "post-PC" world marked by people tapping into the Internet from mobile gadgets instead of desktop computers.
earlier related report The release of free Miramax App software enhanced Facebook's status as an online venue for entertainment as well as an Internet neighborhood for exchanging news, views and happenings with friends. "We are big believers in Facebook and what it could mean for the future of the content business," Miramax said in a blog post. The initial version of the application allowed for streaming movies but the software will evolve based on feedback from users, according to the film studio. Movie rentals cost three dollars each, with payment accepted in the form of credits at Facebook's payment platform. "Our ultimate goal is to give consumers the opportunity to buy films and store them in their own cloud-based digital locker -- to then access the content anywhere they want, across all devices," Miramax said. Miramax films include "Good Will Hunting" and "Pulp Fiction." The application went live in the United States, Britain and Turkey with limited film selections and was to gradually expand to more countries. Reed Hastings, chairman and chief executive of US online video rental giant Netflix, was named to Facebook's board of directors in June. Hastings, who founded Netflix in 1997, said at the time that Facebook is "propelling a fundamental change in how people connect with each other and share all kinds of content." Warner Bros. early this year became the first Hollywood studio to use Facebook as a theater by making the 2008 Batman thriller "The Dark Knight" available as a streaming rental for US users of the social network. Hollywood studios have been looking at various services to distribute movies online, including Amazon, Netflix, Apple's iTunes, Hulu, YouTube and others.
Related Links Space Technology News - Applications and Research
|
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement |