Last week, Snapchat rebranded and changed its company name to Snap Inc. That wasn’t the only big news, however. The brand also introduced Spectacles – sunglasses with integrated video cameras that can be connected directly to Snapchat via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. Hello, Future! The company has been developing the technology for the past few years, and the shades come in three different colors. Spectacles will cost you a pretty penny, with a retail price of $129.99. But we think they already look much better than the dreaded Google Glass.
Old school television is rapidly turning into a thing of the past. Google has concluded that adults are five times likely to watch videos online than the actual TV. The company surveyed 6,300 adults about their video preferences and found that 92 percent of YouTube viewers watch the video platform on mobile. Check out this awesome infographic for even more video viewing habits stats.
It’s been a big week for Spotify. This week the streaming music giant announced a new Daily Mix playlist to complement its Discover Weekly and Release Radar playlists. Spotify also rolled out service in Japan, the world’s second largest music market. Spotify continues to grow each day and currently has more than 40 million paid subscribers. Even still – the company is still struggling with making itself profitable.
In sad news, BlackBerry has announced it will stop producing cellular devices, admitting defeat in the battle between Apple and Samsung. The tech brand will be handing over its products to an overseas partner and going forward will focus on growing its software business. “John S. Chen, BlackBerry’s CEO, is a software CEO, historically,” said Colin Gillis, an analyst at BGC Partners. “He's getting back to what he knows best: higher margins and recurring revenue.”
Who said pampering was only for humans?