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It’s time to upgrade your play.
HOT CARS AT THE DETROIT AUTO SHOW
CES 2015 WELCOMES IN THE YEAR WITH A BANG
AN EXCITING YEAR FOR CONSUMER TECHNOLOGY AHEAD
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WHY WE REALLY ARE ON ‘PLANET APP STORE’ HOW THE APP STORE IS MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE
SCIENCE: SPACEX SUPPLY SHIP ARRIVES AT SPACE STATION WITH GROCERIES
106 16 KEY US MILITARY COMMAND’S TWITTER, YOUTUBE SITES HACKED 06 INDIAN COURT CHARGES UBER DRIVER WITH RAPE, KIDNAPPING 12 OBAMA: WITH TECH ADVANCES COME PRIVACY RISKS FOR US 30 PC INDUSTRY STILL STRUGGLING, BUT SALES DECLINE LEVELING OFF 36 AFTER GADGETS AND GIZMOS GO HOME, CES EXHIBITS GET RECYCLED 102 WEARABLE SENSORS GATHER LOTS OF DATA NOW TO MAKE IT USEFUL 122 AMAZON SIGNS WOODY ALLEN TO CREATE HIS FIRST TV SERIES 130
80 iTUNES REVIEW 86 TOP 10 SONGS 112 TOP 10 ALBUMS 114 TOP 10 MUSIC VIDEOS 116 TOP 10 TV SHOWS 118 TOP 10 BOOKS 120 TOP 10 APPS
KEY US MILITARY COMMAND’S TWITTER, YOUTUBE SITES HACKED
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Hackers supporting Islamic militants took over the Twitter and YouTube accounts of a major U.S. military command Monday, in what the Pentagon called an annoying prank that did not breach military networks or access classified data. The hacker group, calling itself CyberCaliphate, was already under FBI investigation for incursions into the Twitter feeds or websites of media outlets in New Mexico and Maryland, prompting officials to question whether the group has any real affiliation with the Islamic State militants. The U.S. and other partner nations have been launching airstrikes against Islamic State insurgents and locations across Iraq and Syria since last summer. U.S. Central Command Twitter accounts in English and Arabic and the YouTube site were quickly removed from the web by military officials. They said they were working to get the sites back online as quickly as possible. FBI spokesman Joshua Campbell said the bureau is investigating the Central Command Twitter and YouTube breaches and is working with the Pentagon to determine the scope of the incident. The Central Command Twitter site was filled with threats that said “American soldiers, we
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are coming, watch your back.” Other postings appeared to list names, phone numbers and personal email addresses of military personnel as well as PowerPoint slides and maps. Most of the material was labeled “FOUO,” which means “For Official Use Only,” but none of it appeared to be classified or sensitive information. U.S. Central Command said that none of the information and documents posted on the hacked site were from the command’s Internet servers or social media sites. The breach only affected the Twitter and YouTube sites, which reside on commercial, non-Defense Department Internet servers. U.S. Central Command said its operational and military networks were not compromised, but officials are notifying law enforcement about the possible release of personal information that was posted on the Twitter site. One of the documents appeared to be slides developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Laboratory, a federally funded research and development center focused on national security. The slides appeared to depict what it called “scenarios” for conflict with North Korea and China. It’s not clear where the documents came from or how long ago they might have been taken, since some of the information was as much as a year old. “This is little more than a prank or vandalism. It’s inconvenient and it’s an annoyance. But that’s all it is,” said Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman. “It in no way compromises our operations in any way shape or form.” Warren said Pentagon officials are in contact with Twitter and YouTube to ensure that military passwords and other security for such public websites are adequate. The tweets came shortly after U.S. Central Command posted its own tweets about the U.S. and partner nations continuing to attack
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Islamic State terrorists in Iraq and Syria and one repeating a report that said France will deploy an aircraft carrier to the fight. The hackers titled the Central Command Twitter page “CyberCaliphate” with an underline that said “i love you isis.” And the broader message referred to the ongoing airstrikes against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria and threatened, “We broke into your networks and personal devices and know everything about you. You’ll see no mercy infidels. ISIS is already here, we are in your PCs, in each military base.” It added: “US soldiers! We’re watching you!” The intrusion on the military Twitter account carried the same logo, CyberCaliphate name and photo that appeared on the Albuquerque Journal’s website in late December when one of its stories was hacked. And earlier this month, it appeared that the same hackers breached the Journal’s Twitter account and also took over the website and Twitter feed of WBOC-TV in Salisbury, Maryland. The FBI at the time acknowledged it was looking into the Albuquerque case, and WBOC said it was also in contact with the agency. Some IS militant videos also were posted on the Central Command’s YouTube site, purporting to show military operations and explosions. “This is something we’re obviously looking into, and something we take seriously,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. But he cautioned against comparisons to the broader hack attack against Sony. “There’s a pretty significant difference between what is a large data breach and the hacking of a Twitter account,” he said. The military suspended the Central Command Twitter site and terminated the YouTube site. This is not the first time that U.S. government websites or social media accounts have been hacked.
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INDIAN COURT CHARGES UBER DRIVER WITH RAPE, KIDNAPPING
A New Delhi court charged an Uber cab driver on Tuesday with rape, kidnapping and criminal intimidation in a case that has renewed a national fury over chronic sexual violence in India. Authorities are still investigating whether Uber should also be charged. Judge Kaveri Baweja ordered the case to begin Thursday in a special fast-track court set up in 2013 to bypass India’s lumbering judicial system. The 32-year-old suspect, Shiv Kumar Yadav, entered a plea of innocence. He has been in custody since a 25-year-old woman filed a police complaint alleging he assaulted her after she hired him for a ride home on Dec. 5.
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Authorities, meanwhile, were still investigating the possibility of criminal charges against the company for allegedly misrepresenting the safety of its service, police official Brijendra Kumar Yadav said. “That is a separate case, and will take some time,” he said, without giving details. The case has appalled many in India, occurring almost exactly two years after a young woman was fatally gang raped on a bus in the capital. It has sparked new demands for better protections for women. It also dealt a blow to Uber, which has attracted global praise and controversy with a service that lets passengers summon cars through an app in more than 250 cities around the world. The taxi alternative, valued at $40 billion, faces multiple legal and regulatory challenges as it expands in the United States and elsewhere, including a lawsuit in California alleging that it exaggerates how comprehensive its driver background checks are. After the rape case in New Delhi, Indian police questioned an Uber official about the company’s claim it conducts comprehensive background checks. The company was also banned in the capital as well as in the southern technology hub of Hyderabad and the entire southern state of Karnataka. Uber security chief Philip Cardenas pledged last month to “build new safety programs and intensify others,” according to a blog entry on the San Francisco-based company’s website on the same day that an Uber driver in Massachusetts was arraigned on charges including rape and kidnapping. Cardenas said the changes would include creating teams that can rapidly respond to safety-related reports and new ways to screen would-be drivers.
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THE WIDER IMPACT OF THE APP STORE As a humble Apple customer, you might imagine the App Store and iTunes Store to simply be a treasure trove of media - games, ebooks, apps, music and so much more. These stores have both become so central to the lives of the modern tech fan, that it should barely surprise you to hear of Apple's announcement that a new record for billings from the App Store was set during the first week of the year. Apple was understandably keen to trumpet its latest impressive set of statistics, declaring that January's first week saw almost half a billion dollars of expenditure on iOS apps and in-app purchases. Indeed, New Year's Day 2015 was the biggest sales day ever for the App Store. Such an achievement follows on from a 2014 in which all kinds of records were broken to the cheers of the boys and girls at Cupertino. More than $10 billion in revenue was generated for developers by iOS apps over the course of last year, which also saw billings double those of 2013. Since developers began making iOS apps and games, they have pocketed an accumulative $25 billion from selling them to iDevice users.
HOWEVER... THERE'S A BIGGER PICTURE You might have noticed from the above statistics that Apple was specifically emphasizing what the App Store had helped others to earn, rather than itself. There's a good reason for that - the Californian
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company can rightfully be proud of its record of assisting others to make money, with plenty of that cash going to very worthy causes. Not for no reason did Apple also point out in its press release that the Apps for (RED) initiative - whereby certain exclusive content is made available to buy on the basis of all proceeds going to the Global Fund to fight AIDs - also enjoyed a hugely productive holiday season. A "record-shattering" $20 million was donated by Apple to the campaign in the last quarter alone, bringing its running total with (RED) to more than $100 million. These numbers are just another indication of how profound a role the App Store is playing in the lives of not only ardent Apple fans, but also those who may have never picked up an iPhone or iPad.
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NEW INNOVATIONS MAKING DEVELOPERS' JOBS EASIER Any discussion of the wider impact of the App Store and iTunes has to touch on the hard-working, but also frequently unsung iOS developer community. These are the men and women who slog it out to bring you wonderful apps and games that make your own life better, and such new developments within iOS as the powerful new Swift programming language and the robust HealthKit and HomeKit frameworks are only making it easier for these apps to be created for your enjoyment. Those updates and alterations by Apple to the already-winning iOS formula are almost certainly enabling developers to be established and grow faster, as evidenced in part by how many smaller, independent app creators are really thriving. Those range from the UK's ustwo, which is responsible for the Monument Valley game, to the creators of the intelligent and intuitive Crossy Road game, the Australia-based Hipster Whale. As Hipster Whale's co-founder, Matthew Hall has observed: "We could never have dreamed of this level of success, with Crossy Road only being available on the App Store for the last six weeks of the year. In a couple of months we were able to create a simple, fun game that was featured on the App Store and climbed to the top of the App Store charts around the world—it's amazing."
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HOW THE APP STORE IS CREATING JOBS The iTunes and App Stores have had seismic effects on their respective industries since their introductions, and Apple has released no shortage of statistics indicating the major impact that the App Store has had on the wider U.S. job market since its 2008 launch. 627,000 jobs in Apple's home country have been created with the help of the iOS ecosystem in those six years, and given the astonishing international reach of the App Store's 1.4 million apps over 24 categories, it takes little imagination to picture the positive knock-on effect across the globe. Not everyone takes much time to think about the whole industry that has sprung up around app design and development and the support that this has given to related sectors. Engineers, retail workers, manufacturers, suppliers and app developers are among the vast range of direct or indirect beneficiaries of the App Store, with Apple effectively making more than one million U.S. jobs possible. 66,000 of those are U.S.-based Apple employees, while 334,000 of them are workers at other companies whose positions depend on the spending and growth of the Californian firm. The App Store helped to give birth to what we can now call the 'app economy', which APPNATION has recently predicted will be worth more than $150 billion internationally within three years, amid suggestions that there will continue to be more job vacancies in the sector than are able to be filled. Nor
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should one ignore the broad geographical spread of this economy, given that 78% of the companies that make apps are based outside Silicon Valley.
JOBS SUPPORTED AT APPLE AND BEYOND There may have been a stagnation in overall employment in the United States over the last decade, but Apple has been swimming gladly against that tide, expanding the base of people that it directly employs almost sixfold over that time. The last decade has seen 52,000 jobs created at Apple, over 9,000 of those just in the last year, and there are now 50 states with full-time Apple employees, ranging from artists, designers and scientists to manufacturing, retail and tech support. But there are also so many ways in which the Cupertino firm supports the U.S. economy as a whole. Have you ever considered how many planes and trucks need to be built to transport Apple products to customers around the world, and how many jobs would be lost in this area alone if the Cupertino company didn't exist? Don't forget too, that there's a whole industry around the construction of components for iPhones, iPads and other Apple products. Remarkably, simply the astonishing growth of the iPhone is estimated to account for between one quarter and one third of a percentage point of the annualized growth rate in this country's gross domestic product. Contrary to the perceptions in some quarters
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that the vital components for consumer electronic products are manufactured in a process completely unconnected to our own shores, there are actually 31 U.S. states providing parts, materials or equipment for Apple products. Another oft-forgotten part of the 'app economy' - but certainly not by Apple itself - are the associated customer support staff, which in the Cupertino firm's case, are largely located in the U.S. At a time when certain competitors are happy to relocate all or most of their call centers to such countries as India to cut costs, Apple continues to maintain 28 call centers in 18 states, a total of 19,000 U.S.based jobs supporting AppleCare.
PLENTY FOR THE APP STORE TO BE PROUD OF All of the above makes for a staggering overall impact by the iTunes and App Stores, often reaching areas of the U.S. economy and parts of the world that you would never have imagined. We haven't even touched here on such aspects of Apple's job-creating operations as its Supplier Diversity Program, or the full range of app categories and the astonishingly diverse assortment of developers servicing them. In short, one should never play down the extent to which our world has become 'Planet App Store'. Apple is doing truly good things for this planet, with so much of that being made possible by the apps that you purchase and use on your own humble iGadget. by Benjamin Kerry & Gavin Lenaghan
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OBAMA: WITH TECH ADVANCES COME PRIVACY RISKS FOR US
President Barack Obama on Monday proposed strengthening laws against identity theft by requiring notification when consumer information is hacked and protecting students’ private data. Obama also called for more free access to all consumer credit rating services. While customers can get annual credit reports free once a year, FICO credit scores typically cost money to obtain, although some banks have been offering them free to customers. Obama applauded those companies for offering the service and called on more to do so. He said a credit score “is like an early warning system telling you that you’ve been hit by fraud so you can deal with it fast.” Obama said identity theft is a growing problem that costs billions of dollars and can “turn your life upside down.” He said the age of technology and digital innovation has created enormous vulnerabilities for the U.S. and cited the recent hack on Sony Pictures Entertainment as an example. “This is a direct threat to the economic security of American families and we’ve got to stop it,” Obama said in a speech at the Federal Trade Commission. “If we’re going to be connected, we need to be protected.” Just as Obama finished speaking, the Twitter and YouTube accounts for U.S. Central Command
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were taken over by hackers who claimed to be working on behalf of Islamic State militants. Obama, previewing a push he plans to make in the State of the Union address next week, wants Congress to pass legislation called the Personal Data Notification and Protection Act, which would require companies to inform customers within 30 days if their data has been hacked. Recent hackings at retailers including Target, Home Depot and Neiman Marcus have exposed the lack of uniform practices for alerting customers in the event of a breach. The White House has blamed last month’s hacking at Sony Pictures Entertainment on North Korea and responded with new sanctions against the isolated nation. Obama says every state currently has its own policy on when companies must notify consumers of a breach and that there should be a single standard across the country and baseline protections across industries. The legislation would also make it a crime to sell customers’ identities overseas. He also wants to prevent companies from selling student data to third parties and from using information collected in school to engage in targeted advertising. The Student Digital Privacy Act would prohibit companies from selling student data to third parties, a move spurred by the increased use of technology in schools that can scoop up personal information. “Data collected on students in the classroom should only be used for educational purposes - to teach our children, not to market to our children,” Obama said. A White House official said the proposed bill is based on a California statute pushed by Common Sense Media, a group that promotes privacy. The organization said the proliferation of online platforms, mobile applications, cloud computing and other technology allows businesses to collect
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sensitive data about students including contact information, academic records, and even what students eat for lunch or whether they ride the bus to school. Nowhere is cybersecurity more talked about, or costly, than in the banking industry. Banks often have to deal with unexpected expenses when a retailer is hit with a data breach, having to reissue millions of credit and debit cards to customers, often for free. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, has said the company is spending upward of $250 million a year on data security and expects that cost to increase. The Independent Community Bankers of America, the trade group for small, often regional banks, said its members issued 4 million new debit cards as a result of the Target breach last year, at a cost of $40 million. With that in mind, industry lobbyists said banks are generally in favor of some sort of universal notification law when it comes to data breaches. The industry has also been pushing to get merchants to be required to use the same data security standards as banks. “We’re very pleased and see this as a meaningful first step,” said Viveca Ware, an expert on data security with the ICBA. The Center for Democracy & Technology also said it supports Obama’s moves to protect the data, while pointing out that his administration still uses electronic surveillance for national security purposes. “Even with these proposed reforms, we must not forget about government surveillance reform,” said Nuala O’Connor, the group’s president. “Without the end to the mass surveillance practices of the U.S. government, any privacy reform is woefully incomplete.” It’s unclear whether the new Republicanled Congress will take up Obama’s legislative proposals.
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PC INDUSTRY STILL STRUGGLING, BUT SALES DECLINE LEVELING OFF
Despite some glimmers of recovery, the personal computer industry is still struggling with declining sales, according to two market reports issued Monday that show global PC shipments fell in 2014 for the third year in a row. One research firm, Gartner, estimated shipments actually increased 1 percent in the fourth quarter. Using different methods, a second firm calculated that shipments fell 2.4 percent in the fourth quarter, but that’s not as bad as the 4.8 percent decline that researchers at International Data Corp. had forecast for the period. “There is improvement in demand,” said Jay Chou, a senior researcher at IDC, although he
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added that 2014 was “still another difficult year” for the PC industry. Sales actually improved for several of the world’s biggest computer-makers, including Lenovo, Hewlett-Packard and Dell, which gained market share from smaller manufacturers in the last quarter. Lenovo remains the world’s leading PC seller, but HP showed sizable gains - especially in the United States. Apple also increased its overall sales, although it’s not a leading seller outside the United States and Western markets. Consumers have been buying fewer PCs in recent years because they’re increasingly interested in alternatives such as smartphones and tablets. But the steep decline in PC sales over recent years may be leveling off, as computer-makers introduce new models that are both lightweight and low-cost, while still capable of performing more functions than tablets. Tablet sales are also slumping, analysts say, as the market has become saturated and some consumers find them less useful than PCs.
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IDC estimates that computer-makers shipped more than 308.6 million PCs last year, or about 2.1 percent less than the previous year. That’s a smaller decline than the 9.8 percent drop that IDC measured in 2013, according to IDC, which says shipments peaked at 363.8 million in 2011. Those estimates track roughly in parallel with estimates by Gartner, which said PC-makers shipped 315.9 million units in 2014 or just 0.2 percent less than the previous year. Gartner said shipments also fell in the previous two years. While IDC is projecting another sales decline in 2015, Gartner is forecasting a return to growth - although only by about 1 percent. Even as the industry recovers, “it’s not going to be the double-
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digit growth that we’ve seen in the past,” said Gartner’s Mikako Kitagawa. IDC said sales in 2014 were helped by the introduction of new computer models and some aggressive promotional campaigns. But Chou also said there are signs that some distributors ordered extra inventory in recent months because they’re expecting prices to go up. That could mean shipments will slow in coming months. While the reports indicate how the PC industry is doing, more details may emerge in coming weeks when HP, Intel and other leading industry players issue financial reports for the last quarter. Some computer-makers are expecting to get a boost later this year when Microsoft introduces a new version of its Windows operating software, which it promises will be easier to use than the last version. But Chou said software upgrades no longer seem to influence sales as much as they used to.
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ALL OF THE HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE SHOW FLOOR Ah, but you couldn't possibly have expected the technology world to die down for a little while after Christmas, surely? Yes, you may have barely got rid of the last remaining wrapping paper from your brand-spankingnew smartphone, tablet, PC or other device, but technology never sleeps, and the same has to be said of the wider consumer electronics world, as shown by the impact of CES 2015. The Consumer Electronics Show or International CES has been held since June 1967, and once took place twice a year. Now, it's just the one date that you need to put in your diary, January, and there's just the one
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venue to remember every year - the Las Vegas Convention Center in Nevada. We wouldn't recommend turning up uninvited as a random member of the public, though - we're afraid that it's trade-only. The CES has become the event to be at among consumer technology professionals, in part due to its record of being the first event at which so many game-changing developments have debuted. It was before a CES crowd in 1970, for instance, that the videocassette (VCR) recorder made its first appearance, followed by the likes of the camcorder and compact disc player (both 1981), the MiniDisc (1993), high-definition television (1998) and plasma display (2001).
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WHAT THIS YEAR'S SHOW SERVED UP The International CES, then, has quite the heritage, and this year's event took place at its usual venue from Tuesday, January 6 to Friday, January 9. The other associated numbers simply confirmed the continued status of CES as the United States' biggest tech show, with 170,000 people filing through the Convention Center's doors to eye the offerings of the 3,600 exhibitors. It was a recipe for no shortage of spectacle, with CNET's John Falcone being among the many wooed spectators, describing the show as "brimming with swaggering startups, the hyperbole of hopeful marketing, dizzying bright lights and supersized TV screens." On the downside, it was hard to ignore the absence here of so many of the biggest names in tech like Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Apple. But on the bright side (again), the less celebrated players did a fine job of impressing us in their wake. Despite the impressive roll call of previous debutant technologies, there wasn't necessarily one standout game-changer in the CES 'class of 2015'. Indeed, Darrell Etherington of TechCrunch described the show as "typical in one key regard: The best insights to be had at the event are those that appear when you look at its overall composition, rather than at any single announcement or product unveiling." There were similar sentiments to Etheringron's from Falcone, who observed that "Rather than a single overarching product or trend, the most important thing about
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CES may be the show itself: the industry as a whole came together in meetings, at parties, in back rooms, and on the show floor to coalesce around tech's dominant and increasingly intertwined themes."
ALL MANNER OF INTRIGUING DEVELOPMENTS However, that shouldn't lead you to think that CES 2015 saw no new technology unveilings of consequence - quite the opposite, in fact. In some areas of the show, for example, the buzz was all about realizing the up-to-the-minute potential of virtual technology (VR), which is now looking less and less like a sci-fi gimmick thanks in large part to the hardware of VR innovator Oculus Rift. There's also been a lot of fuss made in the technology world in recent years about 3D printers, which are no longer restricting themselves to plastic filaments, also now embracing materials like metal, stone and wood - oh, and even chocolate. Drones have been talked about a lot too, and at CES 2015, quadcopter drones were a common sight, despite the continuing legal debates over this particular technology. What else has been predicted to enliven the technology world in the next few years? Oh yes... self-driving cars. Audi might have hogged most of the headlines by getting such a driverless car to make the journey from the San Francisco Bay Area to Las Vegas, but Mercedes-Benz also got plenty of attention for its 15-foot-long autonomous
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prototype that very much resembles the traditional Jetsons-like vision of a "living room on wheels". CES 2015 was also a fine place to observe the continued evolution of the Internet of Things connected home, with Google's Nest and Samsung's SmartThings standards being the subject of much conversation, as
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the first big products with Apple HomeKit compatibility were also given an airing. The 'smart home' isn't quite a coherent reality yet, but with major and minor players alike involved, it looks like almost every imaginable home device will be gaining a chip or sensor before too long.
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THE EXPENSIVE, THE WEIRD, THE WONDERFUL But CES 2015 had so much more than those key developments to entertain us. As you might expect in the run-up to the Apple Watch's final release, wearables was a big focus for many of this year's exhibitors, although the slew of smartwatches to debut here often - and interestingly - emphasized fashion and style over the hard tech. Other significant news at this year's CES included the continued prominence on the main floor of developments in TV technology, such as OLED TVs, bendable and curved screens, 4K TV, ultrawidescreen, 8K TVs and HDR. Talking of radical improvements to a more time-honored product category, many observers were also intrigued to see the unveiling of a series of thin and light PCs, with laptops and hybrids like the Asus Transformer Chi and Lenovo LaVie Z evidently incorporating many of the best things about tablets to fine effect. Then, there were some of the 'weirder' new developments to consider. What with all of the recent fuss about 'bendgate', one imagines that there may have been a few chuckles at the presence here of a smartphone - the LG Flex 2 - that is curved and flexes if it is dropped or sat on. Or what about Panasonic's smart mirror, which points out your facial flaws like wrinkles, pores and dryness, the idea being to suggest products that you can buy to "fix" them?
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Or what if you've made getting fit your New Year resolution, in common with pretty much every other person on the planet? In that case, even if you've seemingly already abandoned that resolution, you'll be pleased to know that there's now a chair that doubles as a gym. It's called the Tao Chair, and with its arms that resist your pushing of them in various directions, it's the perfect way to do presses, curls and leg lifts while watching some of those aforementioned TVs. The bad news is that it's still a prototype, so you won't be able to actually buy one for a while yet. Indeed, even for many of those CES unveilings that you are able to purchase, you can expect your wallet to be thoroughly emptied. Just consider the $1,100 Kube cooler, for instance, or the $6,000 Torino Lamborghini 88 Tauri - a phone that incorporates a calfskin and stainless steel build, some expensive headphones and even a case that opens like a Lamborghini hood.
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OVERALL, ANOTHER MEMORABLE YEAR All in all, it has proved to be far from 'just another year' for the legendary consumer electronics extravaganza that is CES. 2015 has seen more stunning products and innovations than ever to keep the ever-bulging audiences stimulated and entertained, and while it's difficult to say whether this year's show had any true gamechanging technologies, there were definitely a lot of candidates for that status if our first impressions were anything to go by. Now, if only we could just get a few more cents together for that Lamborghini phone... by Benjamin Kerry & Gavin Lenaghan
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HOT CARS AT THE DETROIT AUTO SHOW
The North American International Auto Show begins this week in Detroit with media and industry previews. It opens to the public Jan. 17. Here are some of the new cars and experimental concept vehicles unveiled at the show:
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HYUNDAI SANTA CRUZ CONCEPT: It’s a crossover in front and a pickup truck in back. Hyundai surprised the auto show with the Santa Cruz, which brought to mind niche vehicles of the past like the Subaru Baja. The Korean automaker thinks the Santa Cruz will appeal to “urban adventurers” and women who occasionally haul stuff but don’t need the capability of a pickup truck. The four-door concept seats five; the bed can expand to the size of a midsize pickup if needed. Under the hood is a 2.0-liter turbocharged diesel with 190 horsepower. Dave Zuchowski, Hyundai’s U.S. chief, says the Santa Cruz could be on the road in three years if the company decides to make it.
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FORD GT: Ford stunned the crowd with its new GT, a high-performance supercar. The lightweight, carbon fiber GT has a twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 engine that produces more than 600 horsepower. The two-seater has deep, dramatic scoops in the hood and the sides and advanced aerodynamics, including a deployable rear spoiler. It’s Ford’s first GT in more than a decade and one of 12 new Ford performance vehicles coming to market by 2020. The GT honors the 50th anniversary of the original GT40’s 1966 victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Pricing will be announced later, but Executive Chairman Bill Ford says it will in the range of other exotic supercars like the $200,000 Lamborghini Gallardo.
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ACURA NSX: The production version of Acura’s NSX got a boost from Jerry Seinfeld, who was in Detroit promoting the supercar. Featuring a twin-turbocharged V-6 engine and a threeelectric motor hybrid system, it promises total power output of more than 550 horsepower. The NSX can run in four modes that offer different performances, as well as variations in the engine’s sound level. A team of 100 workers will build the car in Marysville, Ohio. Acura plans to start accepting orders starting this summer. The starting price is seen in the mid-$150,000 range.
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ALFA ROMEO 4C SPIDER: A convertible version of the 4C coupe with a removable carbon-fiber hard top. It has a 1.75-liter turbocharged engine that puts out 237 horsepower mated to a sixspeed dual-clutch transmission. The Spider and the 4C will be difficult to get. FiatChrysler says only 3,000 will be built by hand in Italy, and fewer than half of those will be convertibles. Pricing hasn’t been announced, but expect the Spider to run between $60,000 and $85,000.
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PORSCHE 911 TARGA 4 GTS and CAYENNE TURBO S: Porsche unveiled a pair of new offerings, including the 911 Targa 4 GTS that packs 430 horsepower and promises zero-to-60 mph acceleration in 4.1 seconds - a hair faster than the current Targa S model. The sports car maker also showed off a Turbo S version of its Cayenne that it says completes the new range of offerings of the SUV, bringing 507 horsepower to the table.
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VOLKSWAGEN CROSS COUPE GTE CONCEPT: It’s Volkswagen’s third concept previewing a seven-passenger midsize SUV. The goal is to start producing it in the U.S. at the end of 2016. Volkswagen says the five-passenger plug-in hybrid Crosse Coupe GTE, with its upscale, muscular design gives the clearest idea yet of the SUV’s styling. Among its most prominent features is a wide, aluminum-framed air inlet below a narrow, two-bar grille.
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MERCEDES-BENZ F015 CONCEPT: Mercedes is taking the idea of a self-driving car to a new, luxurious level with the F015. The car resembles a silver capsule and made its debut at the consumer electronics show in Las Vegas. Dieter Zetsche, the leader of Mercedes-Benz, calls autonomous cars “the hottest next wave� in the auto industry. The roomy, lounge-like interior is loaded with high-resolution touch screens and offers an adjustable seating system with four rotating chairs.
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INFINITI Q60 CONCEPT: Infiniti previewed the design of its upcoming Q60 coupe with a concept car. It’s got sharper, more precise styling than the current Q60, along with a more aggressive grille and narrowed headlights. Infiniti says the Q60 that will go on sale next year will be strongly influenced by the Q60 concept. With sales lagging, Nissan’s luxury brand could use the boost.
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Image: Bill Pugliano
GAC’s GS4 SUV and WITSTAR CONCEPT: Chinese automaker Guangzhou Automobile is showing a fuel-efficient small SUV that’s close to being sold, along with a self-driving concept car. The GS4 SUV will be offered with a 1.3- or 1.5-liter turbocharged engine. Also known as GAC, the company markets its cars under the Trumpchi brand. It said it plans to sell the SUV in China starting in April and parts of the Middle East, Africa, South America and eastern Europe in late 2015. The WitStar concept is designed to go more than 60 miles in electric-only mode (about 360 miles with use of a gasoline-powered engine) and would rely on lasers, radar, cameras and GPS for autonomous driving.
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#01 – Facebook Messenger By Facebook, Inc. Category: Social Networking Requires iOS 7.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus.
#02 – Facebook By Facebook, Inc. Category: Social Networking Requires iOS 7.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus.
#03 – Instagram By Instagram, Inc. Category: Photo & Video Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus.
#04 – YouTube By Google, Inc. Category: Photo & Video Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.
#05 – Snapchat By Snapchat, Inc. Category: Photo & Video Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.
#06 – Pandora Radio By Pandora Media, Inc. Category: Music Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus.
#07 – iTunes U By Apple Category: Education Requires iOS 7.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus.
#08 – Candy Crush Soda Saga By King.com Limited Category: Games Requires iOS 5.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.
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#10 – WhatsApp Messenger By WhatsApp Inc. Category: Social Networking Requires iOS 4.3 or later. Compatible with iPhone. This app is optimized for iPhone 5, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus.
#01 – OS X Yosemite By Apple Category: Utilities Compatibility: OS X 10.6.8 or later
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#03 – Xcode By Apple Category: Developer Tools Compatibility: OS X 10.8.4 or later
#04 – Microsoft Remote Desktop By Microsoft Corporation Category: Business Compatibility: OS X 10.7 or later, 64-bit processor
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#10 – Memory Clean By FIPLAB Ltd Category: Utilities Compatibility: OS X 10.7.4 or later, 64-bit processor
Mac OS X 81
#01 – Trivia Crack (Ad Free) By Etermax Category: Games / Price: $2.99 Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.
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#03 – Minecraft – Pocket Edition By Mojang Category: Games / Price: $6.99 Requires iOS 5.1.1 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.
#04 – Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 By Scott Cawthon Category: Games / Price: $2.99 Requires iOS 5.1 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.
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#09 – Sleep Cycle alarm clock By Northcube AB Category: Health & Fitness / Price: $0.99 Requires iOS 7.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus.
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#10 – Facetune By Lightricks Ltd. Category: Photo & Video / Price: $3.99 Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus.
#01 – OS X Server By Apple Category: Utilities / Price: $19.99 Compatibility: OS X 10.9.5 or later
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by David Fincher Genre: Drama Released: 2014 Price: $14.99
674 Ratings
Movies &
TV Shows
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Gone Girl This drama, based on the Gillian Flynn novel of the same name and directed by David Fincher, sees Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) report his beautiful wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) missing on their fifth wedding anniversary. A media frenzy and legal pressure ensue, as the question arises of whether Dunne may actually be his wife’s killer.
FIVE FACTS: 1. Flynn’s Gone Girl novel was published in June 2012. 2. It soon made the New York Times Best Seller list. 3. Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry and Carrie Coon also star in the film adaptation. 4. The film’s world premiere was at the 52nd New York Film Festival on September 26, 2014. 5. The movie attracted four Golden Globe nominations.
Trailer
Rotten Tomatoes
89
%
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Interview with Ben Affleck and Carrie Coon
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Lucy French director Luc Besson continues his visionary streak established by Le Femme Nikita and The Professional with this action thriller about a captive woman (played by Scarlett Johansson) who is accidentally dosed with a drug enabling her to use 100% of her brain capacity, turning her into a merciless warrior evolved beyond human logic.
FIVE FACTS: 1. Other cast members include Morgan Freeman, Choi Min-sik and Amr Waked. 2. Filming locations included Taipei, Paris and New York City. 3. Long-time Besson associate, Éric Serra composed the film’s original score. 4. Lucy has drawn comparisons with such films as Akira, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Matrix, The Tree of Life and Limitless. 5. The movie was a major box office success, grossing $458,863,600 worldwide.
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Trailer
by Luc Besson Genre: Action & Adventure Released: 2014 Price: $17.99
557 Ratings
Rotten Tomatoes
66
%
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Interview with Scarlett Johansson
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Music 94
All About That Bass
Title (Deluxe) Meghan Trainor How do you follow up one of the biggest singles of all time, the criminally infectious “All About That Bass”? Well, by releasing an album that lives up to the hype, that’s how. The 21year old is making all of the right moves at the moment with her much-admired brand of traditional bubblegum pop and lyrics focusing on female empowerment.
FIVE FACTS: Genre: Pop Released: Jan 09, 2015 15 Songs Price: $12.99
3922 Ratings
1. Meghan Elizabeth Trainor was born on December 22, 1993 in Nantucket, Massachusetts. 2. She began singing at 6 years old and songwriting at age 11. 3. Trainor is also an alumna of the Berklee College of Music. 4. “All About That Bass” topped the charts in 58 countries and spent eight nonconsecutive weeks at the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. 5. The Title album follows an EP of the same name, which debuted at number 15 on the U.S. Billboard 200.
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Interview with Meghan Trainor
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Uptown Special Mark Ronson Previewed by the Bruno Mars-fronted megahit “Uptown Funk”, Uptown Special is a must-listen for fans of old school funk and disco. That’s not a big shock when one casts a glance over the galaxy of represented talent, including Jeff Bhasker, Mystikal, Kevin Parker, Michael Chabon, Stevie Wonder and Ronson himself, for whom this is his fourth studio album.
FIVE FACTS: Five Facts: 1. Mark Daniel Ronson is an English musician, DJ, singer and music producer. 2. His debut album was Here Comes the Fuzz in 2003. 3. “Uptown Funk” was his first U.S. number one single. 4. He is also known for producing Grammyaward-winning albums for Adele and Amy Winehouse. 5. Ronson has said of Wonder’s appearance on the new album: “I still can’t believe somewhere in a studio in Chicago one night, Stevie Wonder actually recorded a piece of music that I wrote. I’ve listened to it a hundred times and it still messes me up when I play it.”
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Genre: Pop Released: Jan 12, 2015 11 Songs Price: $9.99
180 Ratings
Uptown Funk
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Image: John Locher/AP
AFTER GADGETS AND GIZMOS GO HOME, CES EXHIBITS GET RECYCLED
As exhibitors at the International CES showcase for consumer electronics packed up their booths last week, workers were just getting started recycling what was left behind. Convention-goer badges become room keys, vinyl banners get a new life as ice-skating rink covers or shade tarps and massive magnetic signs affixed to the convention center are ground up and made into new magnets, for example. CES boasted more than 2.2 million square feet of exhibits and 160,000 attendees at the weeklong event. Considered North America’s largest trade show, the event is contracted to return to Las Vegas in 2016 and 2017, and space is reserved through 2025, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
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Jeff Chase, vice president of sustainability for Freeman - the show’s hired coordinator - said it’s been the goal of his company and the Consumer Electronics Association to do what they can to not let anything go to waste. In the past, the hundreds of exhibitors displaying products with an eye on the future would pack up the framework of their booths and reach out individually, if at all, to nonprofits to volunteer the items they had no use for beyond the show. Everything that was left would likely end up in a landfill, Chase said. This year, for the first time, the show’s organizers reached out to trash and recycling haulers ahead of the event and coordinated with companies and three Las Vegas area nonprofits to find a home for some of their temporary displays by the week’s end. The picnic tables from Audi’s outdoor display were donated as were the kitchen cabinets from the booth of electronics-maker LG and the wood flooring and barbecue grills in Sony’s exhibit. Habitat for Humanity made use of the construction materials. Opportunity Village took the furniture, appliances, lamps and shelves, for example. And Teachers Exchange accepted any leftover notebooks, pens and lanyards, Chase said. Other wood and material would be ground up into mulch and given to the Moapa band of Indians near Las Vegas, which contracts with the state of Nevada to spread the material on the sides of roads to prevent erosion, Chase said. Jeff Joseph, senior vice president of communications and strategic relationships, said that in 2014, the show recycled 108,000 square feet worth of signs and banners and 74 percent of all the carpeting was rolled up to be reused the next year.
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Image: Red Huber
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A shipment of much-needed groceries and belated Christmas presents finally arrived Monday morning at the International Space Station. The SpaceX company's supply ship, Dragon, pulled up at the orbiting lab two days after its liftoff from Florida. Station commander Butch Wilmore used a robot arm to grab the capsule and its 5,000 pounds of cargo, as the craft soared more than 260 miles above the Mediterranean. The space station's six astronauts were getting a little low on supplies. That's because the previous supply ship - owned by another company - was destroyed in an October launch explosion. NASA scrambled to get equipment lost in the blast aboard Dragon, as did school children who rustled up new science projects.
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Then Dragon was stalled a month by rocket snags; it should have gotten to the space station well before Christmas. Mission Control joked about missing not only the December shipment date, but Eastern Orthodox Christmas on Jan. 7 as well for the three Russian crew member. There are also two Americans and an Italian on board. "We're excited to have it on board," said U.S. astronaut Wilmore said. "We'll be digging in soon." He's especially eager to get more mustard. The station's condiment cabinet is empty. NASA is paying SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corp. for shipments. Orbital's rockets are grounded until next year, however, because of its launch accident. SpaceX - the only supplier capable of returning items to Earth - is picking up as much slack as it can. Russian and Japan also plan deliveries this year. SpaceX is still poring over data from Saturday's attempt to land the rocket on a floating barge, the first test of its kind. After the first stage of the Falcon rocket peeled away as planned following liftoff, it flew back to a giant platform floating off the Florida coast. The guidance fins on the booster ran out of hydraulic fluid, however, right before touchdown, and it landed hard and broke into pieces. The California company's billionaire founder, Elon Musk, was encouraged nonetheless and plans another rocket-landing test next month.
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Image: Bruce Weaver
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UMA THURMAN
Fall Out BOy
UPTOWN FUNK (FEAT. BRUNO MARS)
Mark rOnsOn
THINKING OUT LOUD
Ed shEEran
BLANK SPACE
taylOr swiFt
TAKE ME TO CHURCH
hOziEr
CENTURIES
Fall Out BOy
LIPS ARE MOVIN
MEghan trainOr
LOVE ME LIKE YOU DO (FROM “FIFTY SHADES OF GREY”)
ElliE gOulding
HOMEGROWN
zac BrOwn Band
1989
taylOr swiFt
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TITLE (DELUXE)
MEghan trainOr
1989
taylOr swiFt
KIDZ BOP 27
kidz BOP kids
TITLE
MEghan trainOr
CHAPTER ONE (DELUXE)
Ella hEndErsOn
AMERICAN BEAUTY / AMERICAN PSYCHO
Fall Out BOy
X (DELUXE EDITION)
Ed shEEran
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: AWESOME MIX, VOL. 1 (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK)
VariOus artists
LEAVE YOUR LOVE - EP
tylEr cartEr
IN THE LONELY HOUR (DELUXE VERSION)
saM sMith
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UPTOWN FUNK (FEAT. BRUNO MARS)
Mark rOnsOn
ELASTIC HEART
sia
BLANK SPACE
taylOr swiFt
ALL ABOUT THAT BASS
MEghan trainOr
SHAKE IT OFF
taylOr swiFt
PARTY RULES
ElizaBEth lyOns
LIPS ARE MOVIN
MEghan trainOr
THE HEART WANTS WHAT IT WANTS (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
sElEna gOMEz
NIGHT CHANGES
OnE dirEctiOn
CHANDELIER (DIRECTOR’S CUT)
sia
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EPISODE 2 (ORIGINAL UK EDITION)
dOwntOn aBBEy, sEasOn 5
THE DEBATE
thE gOOd wiFE, sEasOn 6
MADNESS
rEVEngE, sEasOn 4
CHAINS OF COMMAND
MadaM sEcrEtary, sEasOn 1
PUERTO READ-CO!
thE rEal hOusEwiVEs OF atlanta, sEasOn 7
EPISODE 1 (ORIGINAL UK EDITION)
dOwntOn aBBEy, sEasOn 5
THE HOLDOUT
archEr, sEasOn 6
PAYBACK
BrOOklyn ninE-ninE, sEasOn 2
OUR IDIOT BRIAN
FaMily guy, sEasOn 13
AND THE RULE OF THREE
thE liBrarians, sEasOn 1
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THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN
Paula hawkins
AMERICAN SNIPER (ENHANCED EDITION)
chris kylE and OthErs
FIFTY SHADES OF GREY
E l JaMEs
SAINT ODD
dEan kOOntz
COLD COLD HEART
taMi hOag
GONE GIRL
gillian Flynn
UNBROKEN
laura hillEnBrand
FATAL SCANDAL
MariE FOrcE
ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE
anthOny dOErr
BIG LITTLE LIES
lianE MOriarty
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WEARABLE SENSORS GATHER LOTS OF DATA NOW TO MAKE IT USEFUL
It’s not just about how many steps you’ve taken or how many calories you’ve burned in a day. Wearable fitness trackers and health monitors are becoming more commonplace and diverse, but just what do you do with all of that data? “We have a lot of people buy wearables and then stop using them,” said Paul Landau, president of Fitbug, a British maker of fitness trackers. Landau attended the International CES gadget show in Las Vegas last week, promoting a series of 12-week fitness coaching programs that offer detailed and custom recommendations for getting in shape. “If you want to help people,” said Landau, “they’ve got to have more than just self-tracking.” Health monitors aren’t just for fitness buffs. Startups and big tech companies at the gadget show promoted all kinds of uses for the data generated by wearable sensors - from mindfulness exercises to figuring out the best time to get pregnant. Other companies aim to offer value by aggregating data from different sources, so it can be viewed and interpreted together. That could be useful, but it also raises a host of privacy concerns.
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TURNING DATA INTO AN EXPERIENCE “A lot of wearables today are just throwing numbers at people. We’re looking to synthesize that data and turn it into an experience,” says Jason Fass of Zepp Labs, a Silicon Valley startup that makes a tiny, wearable motion sensor for tennis, baseball and golf enthusiasts. Zepp has been selling sensors for a year, Fass said in an interview at CES, but he’s hoping weekend athletes will see more value in Zepp’s new smartphone app. It shows users an animated analysis of their swing, and lets them compare their moves with videos of pro athletes. The trend goes beyond sports. A Canadian startup called InteraXon displayed a headset that can measure brain activity, by tracking electrical impulses. It connects to an app that provides mental exercises to relax or focus the mind, but founder Ariel Garten predicts the technology might be integrated with other services in the future - to automatically adjust a wearer’s iTunes playlist, for example. Other exhibitors showed wearable motion sensors designed for the elderly person who lives alone, keeping a record of daily activity and sending an alert to family members if, for example, the wearer falls, or isn’t following his or her usual pattern of moving around the house. Colorado-based Prima-Temp introduced a cervical ring containing an electronic sensor that’s designed to track a woman’s internal body temperature. It can send a smartphone alert to the woman - and her partner - when it’s her optimum time to conceive a child. Tiny sensors that can track activity and health data have been a fixture at CES in recent years. One in 10 Americans owns a fitness activity tracker - typically a wristband that measures things like heart rate, breathing and movement, according to the Consumer Electronics Association, which organizes the annual show.
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The Gartner research firm estimates more than 70 million such devices were sold worldwide last year. And that doesn’t count more sophisticated wearables that can measure body temperature, glucose levels or other health indicators. But as the novelty of these devices wears off, said CES chief economist Shawn DuBravac, consumers will become less interested in “what technologically can be done” and more focused on “what’s technologically meaningful.”
GATHERING THE DATA IN ONE PLACE Apple and Google have developed mobile device software that can gather health and fitness data from wearables and other sources, displaying it in ways that are easy for consumers and their doctors to interpret. Samsung and Blackberry are also working on software to collect medical data. Silicon Valley startup Bellabeat makes several devices aimed at women, including a wearable activity tracker that looks like jewelry, a weight scale and a fetal heartbeat monitor for pregnancy. Instead of showing readings on each device, they’re designed to send information to a single smartphone app, “where you can see how your data is connected,” said co-founder Urska Srsen. “The future is going to be one where all your information is going to be in one place,” said WebMD CEO David Schlanger. Scientists from a South African company, LifeQ, were making the rounds at CES to promote their notion of using sophisticated algorithms to analyze data from a variety of wearable devices. LifeQ founder Riaan Conradie says his company can use “bio-mathematical modeling” to make meaningful health predictions, such as whether a person is at risk for a heart attack.
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Image: AP Photo/Bellabeat
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BUT WHO GETS TO SEE ALL THAT DATA? The prospect of collecting and analyzing so much personal data - especially sensitive medical records - raises a host of privacy concerns. Consumer advocates worry the information could be used by insurance companies to deny coverage or raise rates. Speaking at CES last week, Federal Trade Commission chief Edith Ramirez warned tech companies against selling health information to data brokers, and urged them to guard against hackers. Prima-Temp’s Costantini said the information her company gathers on body temperatures and fertility might someday be analyzed for broader medical insights. But she said identities will always be shielded and all data is stored in compliance with federal confidentiality rules for health records. Companies that collect health information can’t operate in the same way as, say, online retailers who tell advertisers what kind of shoes you like to buy, said Samsung Electronics president Young Sohn. “We can’t just share that information like the marketing data you might get out of some e-commerce application,” said Sohn.
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Image: Sean Gallup
AMAZON SIGNS WOODY ALLEN TO CREATE HIS FIRST TV SERIES
Amazon Studios is delivering Woody Allen as creator of his first-ever TV series. The Oscar-winning filmmaker will write and direct all of the episodes of the half-hour series. A full season has been ordered for Amazon’s Prime Instant Video, the company announced Tuesday. The series is expected to premiere in 2016. No details on casting were disclosed, nor was the series title announced. Amazon Studios vice president Roy Price called Allen “a visionary creator who has made some of the greatest films of all time,” keeping him “at the creative forefront of American cinema” during a career that spans 50 years. “I don’t know how I got into this,” the 79-year-old Allen said in a wryly modest statement. “I have no ideas and I’m not sure where to begin. My guess is that Roy Price will regret this.” Allen has masterminded and often starred in more than 40 films since his maiden directorial effort, “What’s Up Tiger Lily?” in 1966. His latest
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movie project is “Magic in the Moonlight,” released last year, with yet another film in the pipeline for this year. The late 1970s saw two of his most celebrated films, “Annie Hall” and “Manhattan.” He has won four Oscars and two Golden Globes. Last year he was presented with the Golden Globes’ Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award. But his skills were honed on television, where he first gained widespread notice in the early 1960s as a standup comic, and during the 1950s, when he wrote for Sid Caesar and other TV stars. His prodigious output through the decades has also included magazine essays, books and plays. A musical adaptation of his 1994 film comedy, “Bullets Over Broadway,” ran on Broadway last year.
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Image: Tiziana Fabi/AFP
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Allen’s signing adds yet more luster to Amazon Studios. Its freshman series, “Transparent,” on Sunday won two Golden Globes, including best comedy series, as it continues to help redefine what “television” means. Amazon started Amazon studios in 2010 to develop full-length films and TV shows. Morningstar analyst R.J. Hottovy estimates Amazon spent nearly $2 billion on streaming license rights and original content in 2014, of which Amazon Studios would amount to about $400 million. Amazon’s goal is not only to develop successful TV shows but also to grow its $99 annual Prime loyalty program membership by bolstering the Prime Instant Video component of the loyalty program. “I don’t think it moves the needle on Prime membership yet, but I think it has the potential to do so as they build their catalog of original programing,” said Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter.
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