Having a hard time making it in the internet radio space ? Maybe you should take a feather from the cap of a firm that still rides the airwaves . That seems to be Rdio’s approach — according to the New York Times , the company is partnering with Cumulus Media (a company that owns for-real radio stations) to create a free version of its audio streaming service. Rdio will also trade a stake in its parent company, Pulser Media, for chunks of Cumulus programming and promotion on the traditional airwaves. Cumulus will sell ads for Rdio’s impending free service, as well as compile playlists from its catalog of syndicated programming. This could buffer Rdio’s music library with news and talk shows, which will hopefully give the service a competitive advantage over services like Spotify , Pandora and iTunes Radio . Although the deal doesn’t involve a cash exchange, the Times reports the value of Cumulus’ services at over $100 million. As for that free Rdio overhaul? It’s predicted to be out sometime before the end of the year. The deal will be officially announced on Monday, until then, check out the NYT report at the source link below. Filed under: Misc , Portable Audio/Video Comments Source: NYT

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NYT: Rdio to offer free streaming by year’s end, strikes deal with traditional radio company

Microsoft’s new recycle-for-reward initiative doesn’t target one of its own devices — instead, it focuses on another company’s popular gadget: Apple’s iPad . The trade-in program offers at least $200 in exchange for a “gently used” iPad 2, 3 or 4 . You can probably get more than $200 in other places, especially for the newer slates, and you can even get cash instead of the Microsoft Store gift cards Redmond’s giving out. However, outgoing CEO Ballmer and Co. are hoping you’ll find the project helpful if you’ve been wanting to buy their products anyway — particularly the Surface tablets, as evidenced by their prominent placement on the program’s page. Before you surrender old iPads to give Surface a chance, know that the trade-in scheme will run until October 27th, which gives you time to see Microsoft’s next attempt . Filed under: Tablets , Microsoft Comments Via: ZDNet Source: Microsoft

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Microsoft offers $200 credit for used iPads, hopes you’ll become a Surface convert

Intel has cranked up its NUC (Next Unit of Computing) mini-computer to near gaming levels of power with the release of its 4th-gen Core-i5 D54250WYK kit. The new model comes with the latest HD Graphics 5000 , for one, and also uses Intel’s Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 to ratchet the CPU clock past stock levels when the need arises. It’s got the chip giant’s Quick Sync video to speed up encoding, a DisplayPort 1.2 jack with 4K capability, four USB 3.0 ports, an infrared sensor, stereo/mic jacks and a gigabit Ethernet controller. There’s no pricing or date yet, but bear in mind that you’ll need to add RAM (up to 16GB), an mSATA drive and some kind of monitor to make it fly — though dwarfing it with a 4K display ( like this one ) might be overkill. Filed under: Desktops , Intel Comments Source: Intel

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Intel’s updated NUC squeezes in Haswell Core-i5, HD 5000 4K graphics

Hello, compatibility! Microsoft’s obviously a major proponent of Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) , but if you’ve been using electronic mail for any length of time, you’re probably aware that IMAP is a darn near universal protocol. Now, Microsoft is adding IMAP (and OAuth) support to Outlook.com. In addition to this being a lovely sign of Microsoft not shunning rival standards, it also opens up a ton of new possibilities. For one, applications that haven’t supported EAS — programs such as Mac Mail and the Mac edition of Mozilla Thunderbird — can now host Outlook.com accounts. Moreover, IMAP gives devs the ability to build third-party clients and services that are useful to end-users, and Microsoft’s announcing the first set of those as well. TripIt , Sift, Slice, motley*bunch, Unroll.me, OtherInbox, and Context.IO have taken advantage of Outlook.com’s new IMAP capability and are rolling out updates today that allow their apps and services to integrate with your Outlook.com email. If you’d like for your own app to follow suit, Microsoft’s providing a bit of instruction right here . Filed under: Internet , Microsoft Comments Source: Outlook Blog

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Outlook.com gains IMAP support, integrates with third-party services like TripIt

Intel barely existed on the mobile scene two years ago, and yet the company’s Clover Trail chips for low-power tablets and hybrids have already had a huge impact on the Windows PC market — not least by rendering Windows for ARM (aka Windows RT) largely redundant . But Clover Trail’s performance in devices like the Acer Iconia W3 or Lenovo IdeaTab Lynx is far from perfect, especially with Windows 8 desktop applications and anything that involves 3D graphics, and that’s why we’re more than ready for its successor: Bay Trail , which is based on the next-generation 22nm Silvermont architecture . Intel has today detailed three families of Bay Trail chips, the most interesting of which is undoubtedly the Z3000-series for tablet form factors, and you can catch up on these new SoCs right after the break. Filed under: Desktops , Laptops , Tablets , Intel Comments

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Intel details Z3000 Bay Trail chips for tablets and hybrids, claims up to 2x CPU and 3x GPU performance

It’s taken almost eight months, but AT&T has at last finalized its deal to purchase $1.9 billion worth of spectrum from Verizon. The agreement, first announced back in January, allows Verizon to unload a good chunk of its 700MHz spectrum, which AT&T will in turn use to improve its LTE service for 42 million customers across 18 different states. And that’s all she wrote, folks. If you’re curious to see whether your state is covered, all 18 of them are listed in the press release below. Be warned, though: you’ll also need to watch AT&T do a victory lap over how fast its network is. Filed under: Wireless , Mobile , Verizon , AT&T Comments

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AT&T finalizes $1.9 billion spectrum purchase from Verizon, deal will improve LTE service in 18 states

Apple’s brand-new iPhone 5s isn’t dramatically different from last year’s model , but it has at least one major addition: a “Touch ID” sensor. Us human beings are calling it a fingerprint sensor, and it’s built into the phone’s main Home button below the screen. Apple’s Phil Schiller says, “It reads your fingerprint at an entirely new level” — it’s 170 microns in thickness with 500 ppi resolution. According to Cupertino, it “scans sub-epidermal skin layers, ” and can read 360 degrees. As expected, the sensor is actually part of the Home button, making it less of a button and more of a…well, sensor. Using Touch ID, users can authorize purchases in iTunes, the App Store, or in iBooks by simply using their thumbprint (starting in iOS 7, of course). Pretty neat / scary! As rumored , the sensor uses a laser cut sapphire crystal cover; it retains a tactile input for those wary of the sensor wearing down after lengthy use. The sapphire crystal, acting as a lens, takes a highly detailed image of your fingerprint, which Apple says is “never stored on Apple servers or backed up to iCloud.” According to Apple’s official PR on the new phone, Touch ID’s fingerprint info is “encrypted and stored securely in the Secure Enclave inside the A7 chip” (the A7 chip is the new processor at the heart of the 5s ). Apple hasn’t made clear whether Touch ID allows for multiple users on a single iPhone or not, nor has the company said whether you could turn off fingerprint authentication (though we have to presume the answer is yes given previous authentication standards on the iPhone). The fingerprint ID technology was long rumored as heading to 2013’s iPhone following Apple’s acquisition of Authentec last summer . A render of the iPhone 5s outed the new functionality’s name just this week. We’ll have more on Touch ID in our upcoming hands-on live from Cupertino, and you can find all our Apple event coverage from today right here . ” Follow our liveblog for all of the iPhone news as it happens.” %Gallery-slideshow83645% Filed under: Cellphones , Handhelds , Software , Mobile , Apple Comments

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iPhone 5s fingerprint sensor called Touch ID, recognizes your thumb on the Home button: here’s how it works and what it does

The hits keep coming from IDF. After showing off svelte new 14nm silicon built for laptops , CEO Brian Krzanich announced a brand new SoC series named Quark. It’s the smallest SoC the company has ever built, one-fifth the size of an Atom chip, and is built upon an open architecture meant so spur its use. Early on in his keynote, Krzanich said that Intel plans to “lead in every segment of computing, ” and Quark is positioned to put Intel in wearables — and, in fact, he even showed off a prototype smartwatch platform Intel constructed to help drive wearable development. And, Intel President Renee James pointed out that Quark’s designed for use in integrated systems, so we’ll be seeing Quark in healthcare and municipal use cases, too. Unfortunately, no details about the new SoC’s capabilities or specs are yet available, but we can give you some shots of Intel’s wearable wristband prototype in our gallery below.%Gallery-slideshow83631% Filed under: Intel Comments

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Intel announces Quark system on a chip, the company’s smallest to date

We heard rumblings a few weeks ago that Apple’s streaming service was due to launch this month and now it seems those reports were true. The folks in Cupertino just announced that iTunes Radio will launch on September 18th in tandem with a redesigned iOS 7 . The ability to create custom stations based on individual music tastes and personal iTunes libraries will hit Apple devices in a week’s time. Of course, you’ll need a $25 per year iTunes Match subscription to keep listening sessions ad-free , otherwise you’ll be prone to regular interruptions of that Yacht Rock station every few minutes. Follow our liveblog for all of the iPhone news as it happens. Filed under: Internet , Software , Apple Comments

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iTunes Radio launches September 18th alongside the release of iOS 7

Ladies and gentleman, the moment you’ve all been waiting for . As expected, this afternoon’s day-brightening news (or part of it , at least) arrived in Cupertino in the form of a brand-new handset. CEO Tim Cook took to the stage at Apple HQ to introduce the world to the iPhone 5S, the second of two handsets announced today. The new phone follows the number / letter naming scheme set in place way back in twenty ‘o nine with the introduction of the 3GS and carried on with 2011’s 4S . As with those handsets, the new device’s name implies that this round is something of an iterative update to last year’s iPhone 5 . According to Phil Schiller, the handset is ” the most forward-thinking phone we’ve ever created.” As expected, it’s set to arrive in three colors: black, silver and gold. The 5S is crafted in high-grade aluminum with chamfered edges. What the the “S” stand for? Well, inside, you’ll find a 64-bit A7 processor that features twice the number of transistors as its predecessor, clocking in at more than one billion, according to Schiller — the CPU and GPU, meanwhile, promise speeds twice as fast. There’s OpenGL ES 3.0 on-board, but the next-gen handset still promises, thankfully, to remain compatible with the 32-bit apps of yesteryear. Developing… %Gallery-slideshow83641% ” Follow our liveblog for all of the iPhone news as it happens.” Filed under: Cellphones , Mobile , Apple Comments

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Apple introduces the iPhone 5S