Roku , which enables users to stream videos, music and casual games to their TV, is today announcing that it has surpassed 700 channels on its platform , including Netflix, VEVO, Spotify and Amazon Cloud Player .
Later this quarter, Roku streaming device owners in the United States will even be able to enjoy content from Time Warner Cable , with more than 300 live TV channels expected to be featured at launch.
This is notable because it will mark the first time TWC TV will be available for streaming on a consumer device connected to a TV set.
Roku says, in all, its customers streamed an impressive 1 billion hours worth of entertainment in 2012.
The company’s players can be bought at Rokuom and major retailers at $49.99, and the Roku Streaming Stick is $99.99.
The Streaming Stick basically enables Roku to integrate its streaming technology and platform straight into HDTVs and other products. The device itself (pictured) is about the size of a standard USB flash drive and features built-in WiFi, processor, memory and software.
It comes bundled with a number of products already, including the 3M Streaming Projector and select Smart TVs from so-called ‘Roku Ready’ partners.
Roku is today announcing six new additions to that particular line-up, namely TCL, Coby Electronics, Harman Kardon, Hisense Electric, Voxx Accessories and Westinghouse Digital. Existing partners include 3M, Hitachi America, Insignia (a Best Buy brand) and TMAX.
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Nike launches two new Nike+ FuelBand colors, now available in US, UK and Canadian Apple Stores
Expanding the availability of its personal fitness accessory, Nike has today announced that it has partnered with Apple to take the Nike+ FuelBand to all Apple Stores in the US, UK and Canada, which will include its two new colors.
From today, the Nike+ FuelBand will be available in two new colors, “White Ice” and “Black Ice,” becoming the third and fourth versions of the accessory, lining up alongside the “Black Steel” and “Ice” variants.
While the FuelBand was available in limited retailers in the US and UK, today’s launch sees Nike offer the wristband to consumers in Canada. To order, customers in all three countries can buy a device in an increased number of Nike stores and via the nikestoreom and Appleom websites .
The FuelBand costs $149.95 in the US and £129 in the UK.
The Next Web went hands-on with the FuelBand in March , putting the wristband through its paces to see how well the accessory tracked movement and whether Nike’s NikeFuel metric helped users gain more from their workouts.
However, since then, Nike has been pushing ahead with development of its mobile apps , adding support for multiple bands and improved rewards for people who beat their personal bests. The app now supports Apple’s new iPhone 5 handset, as well as the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 and 3rd-generation iPod touch devices (and up).
Currently, there isn’t an app available for Android devices.
Android Jelly Bean hits 6.7% adoption, ICS 27.5%, but Gingerbread still on over half of devices
Google on Monday updated its Platform Versions Web page for Android, and it looks like Android 4.x has finally passed the 30 percent share of the droid’s pie. Unfortunately, however, more than half of users are still on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread).
Breaking down the numbers more specifically, 6.7 percent of Android users are now using Jelly Bean (5.9 percent on version 4.1 and 0.8 percent on 4.2). Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) meanwhile has moved up to 27.5 percent adoption.
While Android 4.x moves up, its predecessors have of course slightly fallen. In order of newest to oldest, Honeycomb has dropped to 1.6 percent share, Gingerbread has fallen to 50.8 percent, Froyo is down to 10.3 percent, and Éclair has dipped to 2.7 percent.
Yet the bigger picture is still the same: Gingerbread (released December 2010) is first, ICS (October 2011) is second, and Froyo (May 2010) is third. This means the latest and greatest Jelly Beans (June 2012 and November 2012) are unfortunately all the way in fourth place.
Last month, we reported ICS was at 25.8 percent and Jelly Bean was at 2.7 percent . In other words, the gains for the newer Android versions are still very slow: 32 days later, ICS has gained 1.7 percentage points and Jelly Bean has gained 4.0 percentage points.
The good news is that this is an improvement over changes between October and November. At the very least, Jelly Bean is now gaining more than ICS is, which wasn’t the case before. Of course, we’d still rather see Jelly Bean gaining and everyone else falling.
As we’ve previously said, the Jelly Bean releases aren’t the ones that will fix Android’s fragmentation problem. We’re hoping that Google has something clever up its sleeve for Key Lime Pie, but most likely the issue will just never be solved. The simple fact is that Android is growing very quickly, is being updated very quickly, and there is nothing to keep the two in check. That’s simply the way Google likes it: more users, regardless of the way it’s done.
Updates are being rolled out for current devices at a snail’s pace, as users have to wait on carriers and/or manufacturers. On the flipside, if Google can get Nexus 4 into all the hands of all the high demand, there will be a huge growth in adoption for the latest version of Jelly Bean. Furthermore, Nexus devices get updates as soon as possible, unlike other Android devices.
Still, it’s going to be a while before Jelly Bean passes Froyo and ICS, let alone takes the number one spot from Gingerbread.
Image credit: Chris Denham