Those high-powered smartphones that can access the Web from virtually anywhere may be the best thing that’s happened in years to one of the oldest and most beleaguered of traditional media: radio.

Local stations are racing to create software applications — called apps — and appealing talk and music programming to help them reach the burgeoning number of consumers who see their iPhones, BlackBerrys and Droids as portable entertainment devices.

With the help of apps, smartphone users can listen to live broadcasts from hundreds of radio stations as well as services such as Pandora that offer music tailored to the listener’s taste.

“It’s extremely meaningful,” Clear Channel Executive Vice President Evan Harrison says. About a year after the No. 1 radio company introduced its iHeartRadio app for iPhones, phone users account for 10% of its digital audience.

“We expect to at least double that number” in 2010, he says. “That’s a modest goal.” Its app for Android phones comes out on Wednesday.

The company attracts about 28 million unique visitors a month, up 30% vs. last year.

CBS Interactive Music Group President David Goodman also is upbeat. “In the last seven months, our streaming audience has doubled,” he says. “It’s a rocketship in listenership.”

Radio could use some encouraging news. Industry ad revenue fell 21%, to $11.8 billion, in the first nine months of 2009, according to the Radio Advertising Bureau.

While digital services account for just 3% of revenue, it’s the only field that’s been growing. Clear Channel grabbed attention last year when it said about 5% of its $3.3 billion in revenue came from digital. But competition is intense.

Pandora has 40 million registered users and is adding more than 80,000 a day — half from smartphones. It recently began to sell audio ads, and they’ll likely come from budgets that would have been spent at traditional players.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2009-12-20-radio-apps-smartphones_N.htm

Computer glitches have caused continues problems at TD Bank. The bank was experiencing an overnight transaction posting delay, TD Bank spokeswoman , Rebecca Avecedo said Wednesday. The delay occurred after the banks converted their two systems to one over the weekend, she said.The bank hoped to have it fixed by Wednesday evening. But it seems that some customers still were having issues with direct deposits not showing  up in their accounts as of Thursday morning.

Today TD Bank released a statement to address the issue saying:

“We are working nonstop to resolve this issue. We are sorry about the inconvenience and we thank our customers for their patience and understanding.Currently customers can see account balances as of Wednesday evening. We expect to complete our transaction processing and have current account balances later today. We will reverse fees, charges or interest incurred as a result of this disruption. We are working to solve the problem as soon as we can. We have empowered our employees to work with customers individually to resolve any outstanding issues that arose as a result of this delay. We continue to operate on full tilt to get this resolved.”

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/business/Computer-Glitch-Causes-Problems-at-TD-Bank-63103572.html

We’ve told you about websites where you can donate your old electronics or better yet, get cash– but don’t be giving away your personal information. You have to remember to wipe your personal information off your phone, laptop, or whatever the appliance may be. You can take advantage of free downloadable programs like Eraser from cnet.com. Or if it’s a phone, call your carrier and ask them to walk you through removing your contact information. Don’t forget to tune into NBC10 at 5:30 tonight– for “The Good News Is…” – news that will make you smile and make you proud to live in this area.

We’ve seen some steep price cuts, but $9.99 for a flat screen TV that normally costs $1,699 seems unrealistic—and it was. Yesterday Best Buy’s retailer web site mistakenly listed a 52-inch TV set for $9.99 and excited customers had ordered as many as 10 sets in hopes that it was a rare deal.

When Best Buy discovered the mistake late in the morning, they announced that they would be canceling all orders placed for the TV set and pointed customers to a policy saying the company does not have to stick to prices that are published incorrectly. Their plea was met with bitter complaints flooding the site’s forums and one aggravated shopper even started his own website to gather up others who were displeased by Best Buy’s failure to honor the incorrectly priced TV set.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/12/AR2009081202660.html?wprss=rss_business

Many budget cautious families are taking a closer look at their expenses and eliminating whatever is not completely necessary. According to the Wireless Association trade group, 87% of Americans have a cell phone, so many are cutting their landline to save money. 

In December, more than 20% of households used only wireless phones, and another 15% said they took most of their calls on their cell instead of a landline. Jeff Kagan, a wireless and telecom industry analyst says he doesn’t see the landline phone dying completely, there will just be more connectivity- in the next 10 to 20 years, a person may be able to talk on their cell, then transfer to a home phone when they walk in their house, and even connect to the internet and TV.

http://www.timesherald.com/articles/2009/08/10/business/doc4a7f6e6d3d5cf697587865.txt

Paramount, Lionsgate, and MGM are banning together in support of a new video web site, set to launch before October. It’s called epixHD.com- the site will have similar features to Hulu and YouTube-like crystal clear picture, rewind/fast-forward capabilities, and there’s no need to download any special software. Users will have access to the trailer, a list of facts about the film, a plot summary, and a cast list. Additional features could eventually be available as well, like insights from behind the scenes. The Chief Digital Officer Emil Rensing said epixHD.com hopes to “go to the sets on tear down days, and talk to the teamsters about crazy stuff that happened,”  adding some additional excitement to the web site.  

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE57808U20090809?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0

Comcast will shift channels in its expanded basic cable service and offer additional channels starting August 18. The transition will begin in Lower Bucks, and customers will need to get a digital device from Comcast in order to watch the stations they are used to if they subscribe to standard/expanded basic service, and receive an analog signal through a cable that runs from the wall to the TV.

Comcast will provide up to three boxes per household for free, and additional adapters will cost $1.99 per month to rent. The other counties including the rest of Bucks, Montgomery, and Burlington will make the transition between September and the end of this year.

If you don’t pick up a box, you will just see a screen with information telling you the steps to take in order to get the stations back- so it’s important to prepare. You can have the boxes shipped to your home at no cost by calling 877-634-4434 or pick up a free self-install kit at a Comcast service center. Comcast technicians can install them for you for $18, but most say that it’s easy enough to do on your own.

http://www.phillyburbs.com

Just a few weeks ago, Verizon announced the Widget Bazaar- which they described as a storefront for new widgets or applications created by Verizon partners for FiOs TV customers. Now they will be opening the FiOS TV app store to third-party developers, allowing for the creation of thousands of innovative applications. Developers will earn as much as 70% of the revenue generated from their app sales- the same model that Apple uses for their iTunes App Store. Verizon’s first two applications were Twitter and Facebook, and although specific numbers weren’t disclosed, they said they’ve seen a quick uptake since the release. Watch the video and see how the merging of technologies works… 

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10302336-93.html?tag=newsLeadStoriesArea.1

Yesterday, eBay’s PayPal- the world’s largest Internet-based payment system handling $2,000 in online transactions per second- shut down for about an hour worldwide due to “internal problems.”  Analysts say that an occasional server shutdown is common among companies- Netflix, Google, and Amazon.com have all had similar issues in the past, so yesterday’s shutdown was not an isolated incident. 

http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN0353979720090803

Today we’ll answer a viewer’s question about a website where you can sell or recycle your old gadgets like cell phones and iPods. It’s called gazelle.com. You plug in the make and model of your gadget, and the site gives you an estimate of how much they’ll pay you. They send you an envelope, then you send back your gadget and receive a check in a few weeks.