Samsung jumps into crowded music market

WASHINGTON -- Samsung on Friday unveiled a free music service for users of its Galaxy smartphones, entering a crowded market that includes Pandora, Spotify and Apple's iTunes.

The service dubbed "Milk Music" will offer some 200 ad-free radio stations to US customers with Samsung Galaxy devices.

"Milk introduces a fresh approach to music that reflects our innovation leadership and our focus on creating best-in-class consumer experiences," said Gregory Lee, president and chief executive of Samsung Telecommunications America.

"We're offering consumers amazing, rich music experiences built around what matters most to them and their lifestyle."

Milk is powered by the radio service Slacker. The company suggested it may take a page from Apple by offering "unique music programming from top selling and emerging artists" available exclusively through the platform.

The South Korean Electronics giant, which is the world's biggest smartphone maker and is challenging Apple in the US market, said the service will be offered with no log-in required and no need to browse for a specific artist or song.

It will have 200 genre-based and curated stations and some 13 million songs, and like other service will allow six song skips per hour per station.

Apple last year introduced its ad-supported iTunes radio service, which also allows customers to make purchases from the iTunes catalog.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

How apps can help entrepreneurs track income, expenses

MANILA, Philippines – Tracking income and expenses is a tedious task for business owners, particularly for newbies who have to closely monitor and control spending.

Financial adviser and ANC’s “On The Money” co-host Salve Duplito said that to simplify this task, entrepreneurs should consider harnessing technology using smartphones or tablets.

She said free applications on Android or IOS gadgets can record income and expenses “literally at the flick of a finger.”

These money management apps are iWallet, Money Tracker, Toshl Finance and Financius.

“These are capable of exporting your data, so that you are not held hostage by your phone’s operating system,” Duplito noted.

She also advised business owners to maximize the use of these apps by recording expenses in real time.

“The apps are designed to be so convenient that you can easily do them after you purchase something or after a client has paid you. So do not procrastinate,” she said.

Lastly, the financial planning expert advised business owners to keep receipts to document tax-deductible expenses and record them at the end of each week.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com