The epic battle that is being waged between Samsung and Apple goes well beyong mobile technology. In fact, both brands are racing to the finish to release innovative products like Smart TVs and techy accessories that will eventually mold consumers into walking, talking brand ambassadors.

The latest staged battle ground is, oddly enough, the living room. While Apple TV's streaming device floats around the market and rumors continue to swirl about an actual TV, Samsung got a head start by shipping its souped up Smart TV line (heavily promoted at CES) in the U.S. this month. A star-studded launch event in New York focused on the brand's two models, the LED F8000 and the F8500 Plasma TV, which range in price from $2,199 to $3,699.

“What really makes the TVs stand out are the built-in software called S Recommendation that helps you find shows to watch and the integrated Web cameras and sensors for motion and voice control,” notes Business Insider. “The trend with all TVs this year revolves around interconnectivity and bringing the tablet and smartphone experience into the living room. To that effect, Samsung touted its TV's ability to act as multimedia hubs where owners can interact with the sets using their voice or even gestures.”Continue reading...

You know her as the perky Canadian songbird behind last year's "Call Me Maybe." Now Carly Rae Jepsen, who almost made it to the finals of Canadian Idol in 2007, is teaming up with Coca-Cola and American Idol in a crowdsourcing contest that's also a bid to escape being a one-hit wonder.Continue reading...

With four billion hours of viewership a month, YouTube’s leaderboard position in the evolving stream of video is more secure than ever, but the web video world has radically changed since YouTube first hit the scene in 2005, which is why the streaming giant is busy evolving its platform and creating new partnerships. 

YouTube today works hand in hand with social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Google+ to make videos trends like the "Harlem Shake" (with various versions scoring tens of millions of views apiece in weeks) a viral phenomenon.Continue reading...

It’s hard to believe that American Express is celebrating its 163rd birthday today, as the iconic brand continues a spry and active presence, pushing boundaries in social media while as fresh and enduring as those half its age. Case in point: its #163candles hashtag on Twitter today.

Just last month, the blue chip brand teamed with that whippersnapper on a social commerce experience that turns Twitter hashtags into purchases. The sync and tweet with #hashtags lets users buy $25 American Express Gift Cards and products from Amazon, Sony, Urban Zen and Xbox 360.

"Based on the initial success of Amex Sync for offers, we know there is significant power in combining our assets with Twitter's platform to bring value to Cardmembers and merchants," said Leslie Berland, SVP Digital Partnerships and Development. "Now, we're leveraging our unique technology and closed-loop network to introduce a seamless solution that redefines what's possible in the world of social commerce."Continue reading...

In 1987, the first full year that Fox was on the air, the News Corp.-owned broadcast TV channel offered around $1.3 billion to the NFL to take over “Monday Night Football” from ABC. While the NFL didn’t want to sign on with a network that hadn’t established itself yet, the precedent had been set that Fox was unafraid to make bold moves on the sports programming front.

Since then, Fox has made deals to broadcast the NFL, NHL, MLB, NASCAR, UFC, the World Cup and several NCAA divisions. It also has launched 22 regional sports networks. Now News Corp. is doubling down and has announced the U.S. launch of a new 24-hour all-sports network that will go live in August and compete against the likes of ESPN and NBC Sports’ new channel.

“We are not trying to beat ESPN,” News Corp. COO Chase Carey told investors in Florida, according to Variety. “Sports is a big, huge arena. We’ve proven we can do some interesting and exciting things. We can enlarge the category and bring a new dimension to it. The key to success for us is to build an attractive business that resonates with consumers.”Continue reading...

Apple's top designer Sir Jonathan Ive grew up in England watching Blue Peter, the BBC series that moved last year from BBC One to the CBBC kids diginet and still holds the title of the world's longest-running kids' TV program.

Ive was was recently paid a visit by show presenter Barney at Apple HQ in Cupertino, Calif., during which he judged a viewer design contest and received a gold Blue Peter badge, which judging by his reaction may have been a bigger thrill than being elevated to a Knight of the British Empire by the Queen.

Watch below, with a hat-tip to The Unofficial Apple Weblog for spotting this gem.Continue reading...

Comcast has given NBC Universal a “$16.7 billion vote of confidence” by acquiring General Electric’s 49 percent stake in the entertainment company in a deal that was finalized on Tuesday.

“We always thought it was a strong possibility that we’d some day own 100 percent,” said Brian Roberts, Comcast CEO in a telephone interview with The New York Times. “It’s been a very smooth couple of years, and the content continues to get more valuable with new revenue streams.” 

Roberts, touting the value of the deal to shareholders, added in an interview with CNBC, "There's a sense of enthusiasm and confidence on the future of NBC Universal," and told the Hollywood Reporter that he's bullish on turning around NBCU's flagship NBC channel.Continue reading...

A Ford ad ties into the NBC series The Smash. So far, the show has brought lackluster ratings.

The Middle, Smash and Portlandia offer three examples of the growing seamlessness between product/brand placement and the creative content of TV series.

On ABC's The Middle this week, the episode was practically an ode to two brands: iPad and Red Lobster. The youngest child in the Heck family, Brick, pines and pesters for an iPad until his parents, Frankie (played by Patricia Heaton) and Mike, finally relent and buy him a restored model on eBay. Until they do, a huge chunk of the script is devoted to Brick's description of the wonders of the iPad.

Much of the rest of the story depicts the family at a Red Lobster, naming the restaurant repeatedly and including a shot of a juicy lobster. (A Red Lobster ad also aired during the episode — though there was no commercial for iPad.)Continue reading...