In the battle of streaming video startups, Twitter (TWTR)-owned Periscope is the one left standing after overtaking rival Meerkat, a well-funded competitor that also lets users live-stream video directly from their smartphones. The number of mentions about Periscope on blogs and social media sites has broken the 6 million mark since Twitter launched its service on March 26, says a Wednesday report from Adobe Digital Index, a unit of Adobe Systems
Hold on, Fitbit (FIT) fans. Not every Wall Street analyst is bullish on the maker of activity trackers. S&P Capital IQ analyst Angelo Zino initiated coverage of Fitbit stock on Wednesday with a hold rating and 12-month price target of 50. Fitbit’s growth prospects are already reflected in the rich valuation of its stock, he said. Fitbit leapt to a record high of 48.98 in morning trading in the stock market today. In afternoon trading, Fitbit shares were up 4%, near 47.50. Fitbit went public at 20 on June 18. “From a top-line growth perspective, we see (Fitbit) revenue increasing 90% this year and an additional 29% in 2016,” Zino said in a report. “We are optimistic about the prospects of the overall wearables space, as we see the potential for the entire market to more than double this year, as consumer interest increases and manufacturers develop new innovative devices.”…
Apple (AAPL) isn’t giving up on its iPod business, even though sales of the media players have been cannibalized by the iPhone. Apple on Wednesday refreshed its iPod lineup with a revamped iPod Touch and new colors for all iPod models. The iPod Touch now features an 8 megapixel rear-facing camera (up from 5 MP) and improved FaceTime HD camera for better selfies and video chats. The guts of the device have been upgraded with Apple’s A8 chip, which has 10 times faster graphics performance for more immersive video games, and the M8 motion coprocessor for fitness tracking. The sixth-generation iPod Touch comes with Apple’s new Apple Music app installed. The subscription streaming-music service costs $9.99 a month after a three-month free trial. Apple Music competes with Spotify, Rhapsody and other subscription streaming-music services. The iPod Touch starts at $199 for the 16 gigabyte model. A 32 GB model costs…