Not in a framily yet? If you’re in the market for one of Apple’s new iPhones, perhaps it’s time to jump on the Sprint bandwagon. The carrier’s rolling out a new individual rate plan: $50 gets you unlimited talk, text and data (and yes, that data is of the high-speed Spark LTE variety). Plus, Sprint will pay the ETF should you be breaking up with another carrier. Of course, that rate is exclusive to owners of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, so all you small-screened iPhone owners need not apply. And, should you struggle with up-front hardware costs, Sprint’s new iPhone for life initiative lets you pay just $20 a month with no money down and you get a new Apple handset every two years.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Sprint
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Not in a framily yet? If you’re in the market for one of Apple’s new iPhones, perhaps it’s time to jump on the Sprint bandwagon. The carrier’s rolling out a new individual rate plan: $50 gets you unlimited talk, text and data (and yes, that data is of the high-speed Spark LTE variety). Plus, Sprint will pay the ETF should you be breaking up with another carrier. Of course, that rate is exclusive to owners of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, so all you small-screened iPhone owners need not apply. And, should you struggle with up-front hardware costs, Sprint’s new iPhone for life initiative lets you pay just $20 a month with no money down and you get a new Apple handset every two years.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Sprint
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We figured changes would be afoot after Susan Wojcicki (former chief ad guru at Google) became the head of YouTube, and it turns out, the first ones made since she got the job are all about playlists. Henceforth (or at least until the next round of UI tweaks arrive), the left rail on Youtube.com will have a dedicated “Playlists” pane that shows your personal playlists along with those from other channels that you’ve liked. Additionally, users will find a new “Playlists” tab on channel landing pages and get a new dedicated playlist editing page. The new features are rolling out worldwide over the next few days, and with them comes a new responsive, card-style design that fits “neatly on any screen size,” per the company, and should feel familiar to folks who use YouTube’s mobile apps. One YouTube for all, yo.
Filed under: Internet, Software, Mobile, Google
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Source: Official YouTube blog
We figured changes would be afoot after Susan Wojcicki (former chief ad guru at Google) became the head of YouTube, and it turns out, the first ones made since she got the job are all about playlists. Henceforth (or at least until the next round of UI tweaks arrive), the left rail on Youtube.com will have a dedicated “Playlists” pane that shows your personal playlists along with those from other channels that you’ve liked. Additionally, users will find a new “Playlists” tab on channel landing pages and get a new dedicated playlist editing page. The new features are rolling out worldwide over the next few days, and with them comes a new responsive, card-style design that fits “neatly on any screen size,” per the company, and should feel familiar to folks who use YouTube’s mobile apps. One YouTube for all, yo.
Filed under: Internet, Software, Mobile, Google
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Source: Official YouTube blog
WhatsApp is a voice and text instant messaging platform with apps for most every smartphone OS. It provides free service for the first year and costs a dollar annually after that. Why then, did Facebook just buy WhatsApp — aside from the obvious cachet and free advertising that comes with its omnipresence in Katy Perry’s Roar video — for $19 billion (with a ‘b’), when it already has Facebook Messenger?
In a word: users. 450 million of them to be precise, and 315 million of those are active on a given day. In fact, WhatsApp’s users are so prolific, its messaging volume is roughly equal to that of the entire world’s SMS traffic. And, WhatsApp is huge overseas and in emerging markets. According to a report from mobile marketing and research firm Jana, the app is far and away the most used messaging service in India, Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria and South Africa. The Information, which got a more in depth look at Jana’s research, shows that Facebook Messenger usage is far, far lower in those same countries.
Now, is that massive international user base worth $19 billion? It’s hard for us to understand how it possibly could be. WhatsApp’s founders have pledged to keep the app ad- and gimmick-free, so there aren’t any indications that new revenue streams are coming. And, while the acquisition fits in perfectly with Facebook’s plan to expand its app offerings, the social network has promised to use the same hands-off approach it did with Instagram — leveraging its “expertise, resources and scale” to grow the platform, while keeping WhatsApp operationally independent. So, we’ll have to wait and see how WhatsApp plans to prove its worth. Maybe some more music video synergy like the kind found after the break?
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile
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Source: WhatsApp blog, Jana, Facebook
WhatsApp is a voice and text instant messaging platform with apps for most every smartphone OS. It provides free service for the first year and costs a dollar annually after that. Why then, did Facebook just buy WhatsApp — aside from the obvious cachet and free advertising that comes with its omnipresence in Katy Perry’s Roar video — for $19 billion (with a ‘b’), when it already has Facebook Messenger?
In a word: users. 450 million of them to be precise, and 315 million of those are active on a given day. In fact, WhatsApp’s users are so prolific, its messaging volume is roughly equal to that of the entire world’s SMS traffic. And, WhatsApp is huge overseas and in emerging markets. According to a report from mobile marketing and research firm Jana, the app is far and away the most used messaging service in India, Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria and South Africa. The Information, which got a more in depth look at Jana’s research, shows that Facebook Messenger usage is far, far lower in those same countries.
Now, is that massive international user base worth $19 billion? It’s hard for us to understand how it possibly could be. WhatsApp’s founders have pledged to keep the app ad- and gimmick-free, so there aren’t any indications that new revenue streams are coming. And, while the acquisition fits in perfectly with Facebook’s plan to expand its app offerings, the social network has promised to use the same hands-off approach it did with Instagram — leveraging its “expertise, resources and scale” to grow the platform, while keeping WhatsApp operationally independent. So, we’ll have to wait and see how WhatsApp plans to prove its worth. Maybe some more music video synergy like the kind found after the break?
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile
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Source: WhatsApp blog, Jana, Facebook
Sony’s not really been his bag before, but ViziLeaks appears to have gotten hands on with one of the company’s phones before its official debut at Mobile World Congress. Two photos are claimed to show portions of the Xperia G, and were tweeted out along with some nebulous specs: LTE, 8GB of storage, an 8-megapixel camera and a gig of RAM, plus a 4.8-inch screen.
Those internals, if accurate (we’ve asked for screenshots to confirm them) would position the G as a mid-range handset with a slightly smaller size and similar design as the Xperia Z1S laying on top of it. Unfortunately, the pictures themselves are less than helpful in telling us much else about the device, though astute readers will note the different camera and power button placement between the sibling handsets. For those who aren’t familiar with ViziLeaks’ work, it was proven prophetic in the summer of 2013 on multiple occasions. Those leaks, of course, were all about Nokia’s Lumia 1020, but with MWC 2014 set to start in a week, we’ll know soon enough if Vizileaks is just as prescient about the Xperia G.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Sony
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Via: GSM Arena
Source: @ViziLeaks (1), (2)
Sony’s not really been his bag before, but ViziLeaks appears to have gotten hands on with one of the company’s phones before its official debut at Mobile World Congress. Two photos are claimed to show portions of the Xperia G, and were tweeted out along with some nebulous specs: LTE, 8GB of storage, an 8-megapixel camera and a gig of RAM, plus a 4.8-inch screen.
Those internals, if accurate (we’ve asked for screenshots to confirm them) would position the G as a mid-range handset with a slightly smaller size and similar design as the Xperia Z1S laying on top of it. Unfortunately, the pictures themselves are less than helpful in telling us much else about the device, though astute readers will note the different camera and power button placement between the sibling handsets. For those who aren’t familiar with ViziLeaks’ work, it was proven prophetic in the summer of 2013 on multiple occasions. Those leaks, of course, were all about Nokia’s Lumia 1020, but with MWC 2014 set to start in a week, we’ll know soon enough if Vizileaks is just as prescient about the Xperia G.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Sony
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Via: GSM Arena
Source: @ViziLeaks (1), (2)
Those clever guys and gals at DoubleTwist have been freeing music from iTunes’ grasp for years, so we suppose it was only a matter of time before they figured out how to do the same with songs played on iTunes Radio. The app’s called, quite appropriately, iTunes Radio Recorder, and it circumvents Apple’s DRM by turning your Android phone into an AirPlay device — not literally, mind you, the app on your phone simply populates as an optional AirPlay streaming device in iTunes on your computer.
Once the app is selected for AirPlay streaming, music is played and recorded in real-time, so a five minute file will take five minutes to record. Not quite as quick as a download, but it is an elegant way to circumvent Apple’s digital audio shackles. As for piracy or legal concerns? DoubleTwist has none. According to company Co-founder and President Monique Farantzos: “Recording has been around for decades, from audio cassettes (remember mix tapes?) to TuneIn radio’s recording feature. Given that Apple built their iPod empire on letting millions of people rip CDs based on fair use, we don’t see how they could object to this app.” So, there you have it. Go forth, friends. Listen. Record. Enjoy the fruits of iTunes streaming and DoubleTwist’s coding labors… while it lasts.
Filed under: Software, HD, Mobile
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Via: @jonlech (Twitter)
Source: Google Play
Those clever guys and gals at DoubleTwist have been freeing music from iTunes’ grasp for years, so we suppose it was only a matter of time before they figured out how to do the same with songs played on iTunes Radio. The app’s called, quite appropriately, iTunes Radio Recorder, and it circumvents Apple’s DRM by turning your Android phone into an AirPlay device — not literally, mind you, the app on your phone simply populates as an optional AirPlay streaming device in iTunes on your computer.
Once the app is selected for AirPlay streaming, music is played and recorded in real-time, so a five minute file will take five minutes to record. Not quite as quick as a download, but it is an elegant way to circumvent Apple’s digital audio shackles. As for piracy or legal concerns? DoubleTwist has none. According to company Co-founder and President Monique Farantzos: “Recording has been around for decades, from audio cassettes (remember mix tapes?) to TuneIn radio’s recording feature. Given that Apple built their iPod empire on letting millions of people rip CDs based on fair use, we don’t see how they could object to this app.” So, there you have it. Go forth, friends. Listen. Record. Enjoy the fruits of iTunes streaming and DoubleTwist’s coding labors… while it lasts.
Filed under: Software, HD, Mobile
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Via: @jonlech (Twitter)
Source: Google Play
GPS turn-by-turn directions are staid and boring, whether they are relayed by a male or female voice. Waze wants to give us what we really want, which is, quite naturally, driving directions delivered with the gravitas only Hollywood actors can bring. To that end, the social navigation company has partnered up with Universal Pictures to deliver some cross-promotional synergy that’ll have actors in forthcoming films acting as your virtual co-pilot. The first such star of the silver screen is comedian Kevin Hart (promoting the aptly titled film Ride Along), and you can get a taste of what Waze will be like with Hart telling you where to go in the video after the break.
Filed under: GPS, Software, Mobile
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Via: VentureBeat
GPS turn-by-turn directions are staid and boring, whether they are relayed by a male or female voice. Waze wants to give us what we really want, which is, quite naturally, driving directions delivered with the gravitas only Hollywood actors can bring. To that end, the social navigation company has partnered up with Universal Pictures to deliver some cross-promotional synergy that’ll have actors in forthcoming films acting as your virtual co-pilot. The first such star of the silver screen is comedian Kevin Hart (promoting the aptly titled film Ride Along), and you can get a taste of what Waze will be like with Hart telling you where to go in the video after the break.
Filed under: GPS, Software, Mobile
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Via: VentureBeat
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Congress, the White House and the FCC’s new chairman Tom Wheeler have all come out in favor of setting our phones free, but the telcos who can actually grant our handsets liberty have been slow to heed the governmental call. Because of that, Wheeler sent a veiled threat letter to the CTIA imploring …
Congress, the White House and the FCC’s new chairman Tom Wheeler have all come out in favor of setting our phones free, but the telcos who can actually grant our handsets liberty have been slow to heed the governmental call. Because of that, Wheeler sent a veiled threat letter to the CTIA imploring …
Color-based lawsuits aside, things appear to be going well for Aio Wireless, as the company will begin offering cellular service to the entire U.S. by mid-September. To this point, AT&T-owned Aio was only an option for folks living in Texas, Florida or Atlanta, Georgia, but now the rest of us will soon be able to get in on its prepaid plans. All plans provide unlimited talk, text and data, but they range from $40-70 depending upon how much of the speedy secondhand AT&T LTE you want to use. So, if you’re a GoPhone user looking to stick with AT&T’s network, but don’t like the recent changes to its prepaid data plans, Aio may be just what you’re looking for.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, AT&T
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Color-based lawsuits aside, things appear to be going well for Aio Wireless, as the company will begin offering cellular service to the entire U.S. by mid-September. To this point, AT&T-owned Aio was only an option for folks living in Texas, Florida or Atlanta, Georgia, but now the rest of us will soon be able to get in on its prepaid plans. All plans provide unlimited talk, text and data, but they range from $40-70 depending upon how much of the speedy secondhand AT&T LTE you want to use. So, if you’re a GoPhone user looking to stick with AT&T’s network, but don’t like the recent changes to its prepaid data plans, Aio may be just what you’re looking for.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, AT&T
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LG’s got something cooking, and it’s looking to let us in its kitchen in New York City on August 7th. Naturally, the important details — like what we’ll be seeing — are nowhere to be found just yet, but given LG and Qualcomm’s recent teasing of a new Optimus G packing a Snapdragon 800 SoC, it seems this could be a smartphone-centric affair. We’ll have to wait and see until the dog days of summer, of course, but we’ll be there to bring you the action when the time comes.
Filed under: Mobile, LG
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LG’s got something cooking, and it’s looking to let us in its kitchen in New York City on August 7th. Naturally, the important details — like what we’ll be seeing — are nowhere to be found just yet, but given LG and Qualcomm’s recent teasing of a new Optimus G packing a Snapdragon 800 SoC, it seems this could be a smartphone-centric affair. We’ll have to wait and see until the dog days of summer, of course, but we’ll be there to bring you the action when the time comes.
Filed under: Mobile, LG
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During BlackBerry Live this week we got to speak with Vivek Bhardwaj, BlackBerry’s Head of Software, about the future of BB10. In light of the the platform’s first major software update rolling out to its devices, we asked about the plans for future releases. Bhardwaj told us that the plan is for them to come at a regular cadence of one major code update per year, with other, incremental updates for specific devices sprinkled in as needed. A particular focus is to do so while delivering devs fully realized hardware and to avoid fragmentation in the code base — making it easier to create BB10 apps.
While he wouldn’t dish details about features coming to BB10 in those updates, Bhardwaj did explain that he’s working on making BB10 a platform particularly suited for use not only in cars, but also in the healthcare and financial services industries. That focus is a part of the mobile computing ethos espoused by CEO Thorsten Heins meant to have BB10 devices be users’ personal, portable computing terminal that is simply plugged into a screen — whether it’s a desktop monitor, a car or somewhere else — that delivers a uniform experience. When asked whether those screens would include TVs, Bhardwaj didn’t rule it out, but he did say that home experiences weren’t a priority because it’s a crowded space and BB10 “is all about getting things done.” As a result, the number one focus is building out a compelling automotive platform, with healthcare and financial services coming in a close second. So, folks thinking BB10 was BlackBerry betting on consumers instead of the enterprise, think again. The more things change, the more they seem to stay the same — at least when the folks in Waterloo are involved.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile
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During BlackBerry Live this week we got to speak with Vivek Bhardwaj, BlackBerry’s Head of Software, about the future of BB10. In light of the the platform’s first major software update rolling out to its devices, we asked about the plans for future releases. Bhardwaj told us that the plan is for them to come at a regular cadence of one major code update per year, with other, incremental updates for specific devices sprinkled in as needed. A particular focus is to do so while delivering devs fully realized hardware and to avoid fragmentation in the code base — making it easier to create BB10 apps.
While he wouldn’t dish details about features coming to BB10 in those updates, Bhardwaj did explain that he’s working on making BB10 a platform particularly suited for use not only in cars, but also in the healthcare and financial services industries. That focus is a part of the mobile computing ethos espoused by CEO Thorsten Heins meant to have BB10 devices be users’ personal, portable computing terminal that is simply plugged into a screen — whether it’s a desktop monitor, a car or somewhere else — that delivers a uniform experience. When asked whether those screens would include TVs, Bhardwaj didn’t rule it out, but he did say that home experiences weren’t a priority because it’s a crowded space and BB10 “is all about getting things done.” As a result, the number one focus is building out a compelling automotive platform, with healthcare and financial services coming in a close second. So, folks thinking BB10 was BlackBerry betting on consumers instead of the enterprise, think again. The more things change, the more they seem to stay the same — at least when the folks in Waterloo are involved.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile
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