General Motors and Ford have been traveling down different lanes in their connected-car race right from the start. With their latest advancements, the two biggest U.S. automakers have continued to pursue quite different paths for getting to the same goal: clear leadership in automotive connectivity with the outside digital world.

GM shared the details at Mobility World Congress in Barcelona today of its plan to hard-wire 4G capabilities into its vehicles through the OnStar "telematics" platform that it introduced in 1996. Beginning with 2014 models sold in the U.S. and Canada, the company plans to connect its Chevys, Buicks and other brands to the Internet or Wi-Fi at speeds that are 10 times faster than current market offerings. Applications could include the display of real-time traffic jams or construction sites through the car's own brains on its in-dash screen and the piping of a robust video stream to screens in the back seat.

"We are going to make the experience of streaming or connecting more productive, which should help to make that road trip shorter," Mary Chan, president of the global connected consumer at OnStar, told the Wall Street Journal. Continue reading...

Pepsi has been marketing itself as the cola of choice for music lovers for years now, but Coca-Cola has decided to go all out in horning in on its territory this year. For the Olympic Games in London, Coke launched its “Move to the Beat” campaign, which featured Grammy award-winning producer Mark Ronson creating a catchy anthem with British singer Katy B.

Now Coca-Cola is going all-in on the music front by investing $10 million in streaming-music service Spotify, according to the New York Times. Coke, of course, likes to point out its music cred throughout its history, such as sticking its logo on sheet music way back in the 19th century, sponsoring radio shows in the early days, and creating some of the marketing world’s best-known jingles. Prominently displayed on Coke’s site right now is a contest to send lucky consumers to the American Music Awards.

"At Coca-Cola we have long recognized the power of music to connect people around the world," stated Joe Belliotti, Director, Global Entertainment Marketing, The Coca-Cola Company. "As we step up our activation through Coca-Cola Music, we are excited by the innovative music technology platform created by Spotify and the opportunity to create a truly global music network. The potential for this partnership is limitless."Continue reading...

Microsoft’s Zune is no more, but that doesn’t mean the computer giant is shunning the music-buying public. It announced Monday that it is getting back into the music business by providing 30 million free tunes through its upcoming Windows 8 as well as on Xbox consoles starting Tuesday. (Apple’s iTunes “only” has about 26 million tunes, the BBC notes.)

The pitch for Xbox Music: "Enjoy your favorite music from a 30 million-song global catalog powered by the one service that integrates your music experiences across your tablet, PC, phone and TV. All the music you love, every way you want it."

“The service is part of a broad set of bets Microsoft is making this fall to help regain ground it has lost to competitors, especially Apple and Google,” the New York Times reports. Along with Windows 8, Microsoft is about to release a new Windows Phone operating system for mobiles as well as a tablet, the Surface. The bean counters in Redmond, Washington, are clearly hoping for a big fourth quarter holiday season, including ramping up maketing efforts and opening holiday pop-ups in key markets.Continue reading...

7-Eleven, JetBlue and Bliss go presidential with "poll" promotions as Pizza Hut comes up with a controversial dare ahead of next week's debate.

Toyota recalls 7.4 million vehicles globally for power-window glitch and 2.5 million Lexus vehicles, as it plugs Prius on the Home Shopping Network.

Samsung signs TV deal with Spotify.

BAE and EADS terminate merger talks.

Bain Capital buys maker of Craftsman Tools.

Ballmer touts new era at Microsoft as bonus trimmed.

Cadbury tells bishop it's not precious about purple.

Chevron is rejected by Supreme Court in Ecuadorian case.Continue reading...

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg made a rare appearance today, speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt in a "fireside chat," marking his first public remarks since his company's disappointing IPO in May. In a bid for transparency and humility, Zuckerberg said he's "ready to double down" on the company's future. He also admitted making mistakes, including betting too much on HTML5, and talked up his focus on mobile and advertising as a way to bolster revenue and FB's stock price. He also denied rumors of a Facebook phone being in the works while confirming new product development including a search engine. He even gave a shout-out to other tech brands he thinks are "killing it" right now: Spotify, Airbnbn, Nike+ and Runkeeper. Read more on TechCrunch.

Apple seeks to create web radio Pandora rival as TV talks bog down with content companies.

Beyonce-backed House of Dereon fashion label sags.

Bobbi Brown Cosmetics reveals Katie Holmes campaign.

Cablevision refreshes Optimum brand.

Elizabeth Arden launches Nicki Minaj's perfume debut, Pink Friday.

Emporio Armani becomes first brand to partner with Spotify.

Fashion's Night Out brings out global fashionistas.

Ford expands offerings for Europe.

Grand Marnier launches experiential rooftop bubble bar in London.

IHOP partners with PepsiCo's Quaker Oats brand.Continue reading...

Microsoft unveils Surface tablet to take on iPad.

Walgreen is buying 45% stake in European pharmacy chain Boots for $6.7 billion.

Spotify rolls out free mobile radio for iPhone and iPad in U.S. to take on Pandora.

Caribou Coffee revels in being alternative to Starbucks.

Carrefour CEO offers turnaround plan.

Cisco expands use of WebEx brand.

Coca-Cola remains unbowed by New York Mayor Bloomberg's anti-soda campaign.Continue reading...

Coca-Cola is mounting a massive music-based global marketing campaign pegged to the London 2012 Olympics, so it makes sense that Coke would partner with the leading musical app (Spotify) on the biggest social network (Facebook) to bring free music to countries worldwide, expanding on a relationship that started last year.

A message posted on Coca-Cola's corporate Twitter feed confirmed the partnership following Spotify's CEO keynote at the Ad Age digital summit this morning in New York: “What goes better with Coke? Music. Daniel Ek just announced @Spotify and Coke partnership.”

The details were forthcoming at a post-keynote press conference: Spotify will be the primary technology for Coca-Cola Music worldwide, with its app integrated into Coke's Facebook presence and Timeline for a ‘seamless social music experience.’

Coca-Cola will leverage the Spotify API and platform through a variety of applications, the first of which was built by independent developers during a two-day Spotify/Coca-Cola “hackers den” held in New York City this past weekend, which will be unveiled at the 2012 Olympics in London.Continue reading...