HTC opens up BlinkFeed, allows apps like Foursquare and Fitbit to push data to your homescreen

Love it or hate it, Sense is growing up. BlinkFeed, the beating tiled heart of the HTC experience is now being opened up to developers through an SDK. That means that third parties will be able to push information to the stream of data that makes up your feed. For example, Fitbit will be able to keep you abreast of how many steps you've taken without you having to go into the app. Oh, and the Fitbit app does harvest movement data from the phone's internal sensors, just like it does on the iPhone 5S, so you don't really need that separate band. HTC announced one other launch partner for the BlinkFeed SDK -- Foursquare. The location-based social network will pop up suggestions for lunch spots while you're out and about. Of course, the company will have to convince other big names to hop on the bandwagon if BlinkFeed is going to really take off.

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Tags: android, blinkfeed, breaking news, fitbit, foursquare, htc, htc one, m8, mobilepostcross, one, one m8, sdk, sense Next: The new HTC One vs. the competition: the battle of Android flagships rages on
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Meet My Drive – an app that allows you to share files between an iOS device and a Windows PC

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Dish and Disney's new deal cuts into ad skipping, allows for internet-only video service

TV networks have long been embroiled in a legal battle with Dish over ad skipping built into the Hopper DVR, but the two sides are finally starting to lay down their arms -- and there may be a few perks for viewers as a result. Disney and Dish have reached a TV distribution deal that gives Dish the rights to stream Disney-owned channels online, both through services like WatchESPN as well as an internet-based TV service from Dish itself. In other words, you may not need a satellite dish to start watching. There is a catch, of course. Both companies have agreed to drop their lawsuits, but Dish will have to prevent Hopper owners from skipping ads on Disney-produced shows until three days after they air. The move should appease Disney advertisers that depend on three-day audience ratings. The agreement should still give Dish subscribers more ways to watch TV, but it could lead to other broadcasters demanding ad skipping limits -- and one of the Hopper's main features could be much less useful.

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Source: Dish

More Coverage: Wall Street Journal

Tags: abc, ads, adskipping, advertising, AutoHop, dish, DishNetwork, disney, dvr, espn, hdpostcross, hopper, television, tv Next: Gamefly tries adding movie rentals to its disc-by-mail service
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