Today in Tech: Music streaming service Rdio launches video site

Also: A new Nexus 7 tablet coming this July?

A peek at Rdio's video companion site, aptly called Vdio. [Credit: Rdio]

This morning, the music streaming startup Rdio announced Vdio, a video companion service that will let Rdio Unlimited subscribers buy, rent, and share new and old movies and TV shows. [RDIO]

The first thing you'll notice about Vdio is that it's designed to solve the "what to watch" problem. It's not just that we've got amazing content, but that the experience is now geared to get you from searching to watching faster. We're introducing the notion of Sets ­— playlists for TV shows and movies — so anyone can make and share lists of their favorites, making it easier than ever to discover new stuff. Or, you can just check out what your friends are watching in the moment and jump in. Beyond that, Vdio has the beautiful design and social features that people love about Rdio, with plenty more to come.

Google to sell second-gen Nexus 7 from July: sources [REUTERS]

Google is aiming to ship as many as eight million of the Asustek-made tablets in the second half of the year, throwing down the gauntlet to other low-end tablets such as Amazon.com Inc's Kindle Fire and Apple Inc's iPad mini, the sources with knowledge of the new product said.

This is the first time details about the timing and sales targets for Google's new tablet have been unveiled, although the company has not publicly released any information.

The Bitcoin bubble and the future of currency [MEDIUM]

There are a couple of reasons why the bubble is sure to burst. The first is just that it's a bubble, and any chart which looks like the one at the top of this post is bound to end in tears at some point. But there's a deeper reason, too — which is that bitcoins are an uncomfortable combination of commodity and currency. The commodity value of bitcoins is rooted in their currency value, but the more of a commodity they become, the less useful they are as a currency.

What the smartest people do on the weekend is what everyone else will do during the week in ten years [CDIXON]

Business people vote with their dollars, and are mostly trying to create near-term financial returns. Engineers vote with their time, and are mostly trying to invent interesting new things. Hobbies are what the smartest people spend their time on when they aren't constrained by near-term financial goals.

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Posted in: Amazon.com, Apple, Google, Nexus 7, Rdio, Vdio

• Is Apple getting ready to launch an 'iPad Air'?

  Rethinking the key selling points of what we've been calling the iPad Mini

  FORTUNE -- Daring Fireball's John Gruber, a blogger with unusually good sources at Apple (AAPL), has combined his own assumptions with what he's heard from his "little birdies" to draw the most complete picture yet of the purported iPad Mini.

  "Mini" is what most Apple watchers -- including Wall Street analysts -- have been calling to the next iteration MORE

  Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Aug 15, 2012 7:20 AM ET
  Posted in: Amazon, Apple, Google, iPad Air, iPad mini, Kindle Fire, Nexus 7, Tablets

• Today in Tech: How Apple may tackle the 7-inch tablet

  Microsoft quietly gears up to take on Google Apps; one iPad lovers' take on the Nexus 7. 

  As tablet race heats up, Apple may try smaller device [THE NEW YORK TIMES]

  Apple's plan for a tablet with a smaller screen is part of a textbook business strategy: to lure customers who want different sizes of tablets into the iPad product family, say analysts and technology industry executives. ... The strategy would most likely MORE

  JP Mangalindan, Writer - Jul 16, 2012 9:46 AM ET
  Posted in: Apple, Goldman Sachs, Google, iPad, Microsoft, Nexus 7

• Apple's iPad mini: The rumor mill kicks into high gear

  Get out the sandpaper. Apple is said to be manufacturing the tablet Steve Jobs trashed.

  FORTUNE -- Rumors that Apple (AAPL) was working on a smaller version of the iPad are nothing new. The Wall Street Journal reported back in February that Apple was testing such a thing and Daring Fireball's John Gruber gave his insider's view in an April podcast:

  "What I do know is that they have one in the MORE

  Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Jul 4, 2012 6:24 AM ET
  Posted in: Apple, Google, iPad, iPad mini, Kindle Fire, Microsoft, Nexus 7, Steve Jobs, Surface, Tablets

• Today in Tech: Google's Nexus 7 tablet reviewed (Hint: It's awesome.)

  RIM reports delays, layoffs, and dismal earnings; how YouTube stars get made. 

  RIM posts dismal earnings, delays BlackBerry 10 operating system [FORTUNE]

  "I am not satisfied with these results and continue to work aggressively with all areas of the organization and the Board to implement meaningful changes to address the challenges, including a thoughtful realignment of resources and honing focus within the Company on areas that have the greatest opportunities," [CEO Thorsten] MORE

  JP Mangalindan, Writer - Jun 29, 2012 11:39 AM ET
  Posted in: Google, Nexus 7, YouTube