We Are Hunted has just launched a new iPad application they have been developing with the use of the Echo Nest API. The new application is called Music Hunter and it is a great showcase that allows users to navigation through new and popular music and then directs them to purchasing tracks via iTunes and 7Digital.
Music Hunter is available in the app store for £1.19, but is it really worth it? I don’t think so! The application looks great, but it lacks pupose. Users will need to pay for an application that doesn’t even allow them to listen to full tracks. Users can only listen to 30 second previews of tracks. It seems as though We Are Hunted are just trying to produce applications that will allow them to take a revenue share from iTunes downloads! Why would I pay for Music Hunter when I can get Aweditorium for free that allows me to stream full tracks as much as I want?
It seems as though Zite isnt as popular with publishers as first thought. A growing list of US publishers have sent cease-and-desist letters to Zite, including the Associated Press, Dow Jones, Gannett and Getty Images, for copyright and trademark violations.
Zite has been pulling stories from all these publishers without their approval. The key issue here for the publishers is that their content is being stripped and they arent seeing any of the financial rewards they would see if users were reading their web versions.
“By systematically reformatting, republishing, and redistributing our original content on a mass commercial scale without our permission in your iPad application, Zite directly and adversely impacts our businesses,” the letter says.
Zite has promised that they will change and comply with publishers requests, but I cant see this startup gaining any traction from here on out. Overall, its a shame!
Facebook has finally unified their mobile applications. Up until now Facebook has had m.facebook.com and touch.facebook.com. The touch.mobile.com was specifically designed for touch screens, but now m.facebook.com will be the only Facebook mobile version.
Facebook’s Lee Byron says the new Facebook mobile site will adapt itself depending on the hardware you are visiting from:
“There will no longer be a difference between m.facebook.com and touch.facebook.com, we’ll automatically serve you the best version of the site for your device,”
The new website is made possible through a new UI framework that incorporates XHP (a PHP extension that incorporates XML), Javelin (Facebook’s lightweight Javascript framework) and WURFL (an open source mobile device database). The framework is dynamic enough to detect the UI and limitations of individual devices and adjust to them automatically.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Yahoo will soon launch their own personalised mobile content play. This smart platform is expected to be launched at the upcoming Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
Yahoo’s upcoming software will power a number of mobile applications serving content in several contexts. This is new tool would be available over the web, on any device, but is developed to cater mobiles platforms such as Android, iOS and other OS.
Last.fm’s mobile application will be paid only from the 15th of February. Their web radio service will remain free in the US, UK, and Germany.
“On the Last.fm website an ad-supported, free-to-listeners model is what supports our online radio services in the US, UK and Germany,” says Mathew Hawn. ”In other markets and on emerging mobile and home entertainment devices, it is not practical for us to deliver an ad supported radio experience…”
This shift brings them in line with services like Spotify that charge users for mobile access. For the price of a fancy coffee, users can continue listening to Last.fm on their mobile without commercials. And yes, scrobbling is still free.
However, it seems like another service that people wont be willing to pay for! I thought Last.fm really would have tried to become the Pandora of the UK.
Justin.tv will be launching a new mobile app called SocialCam. The application will be launched in March and it will allow user to easily upload their videos to their favorite social networks.
The announcement comes just 5 months after Justin.tv launched their first Google Android and iPhone apps, both which will receive the new SocialCam option.
While exact features of the new program have not yet been revealed you can see the layout for both iPhone and Android devices below:
TeamViewer developed recently the version 6 for their popular remote access software, they’ve included the mobile version as well and now the Android app is available to download.
TeamViewer is one of the most know applications we can use to access computers remotely, their free version is quite complete and with no complexity for installing nor using it. The mobile versions represent a great tool if we need some quick access to remote machines, that’s why they’ve developed the apps for iPhone, iPad and now Android (beta).
Here are some of the features:
Support your clients and colleagues spontaneously.
Access your office desktop with all of its documents and installed applications.
Remotely administer unattended computers (e.g. servers).
Free for non-commercial use: support family and friends or have remote access to your own computer.
Gomez is a company that created the “Mobile Readiness Test” which evaluates and rates your site in a mobile environment. The test is incredibly complete and free, but it requires you to use a registration before running the test.
The usability for smart phones has increased enormously in the last few years, making the mobile market a far more lucrative and where, of course, companies keep investing. That’s why offering our web site stable and with a nice presentation in every environment is a key factor.
Gomez test provides a test where we can rate our sites in different factors like:
Page weight.
Readiness Compliance Test.
Character encoding.
Caching.
Page size limit.
Pop-up windows.
Etc.
We receive also a “Test Summary”, with all the warnings, fails and comments about the test.
Netflix is the digital phenomena that has delivered entertainment to us for many years. Starting off with DVD’s, then offering Blu-Ray, and now offering streaming services on just about any platform you might be on, whether desktop, laptop, or mobile. Today Netflix has updated its Apple iOS app to provide support for the iPhone, iPod touch as well as the iPad. Now users can use their Apple devices to not just manage their online queue but also stream their favorites straight to their handsets.
Users with unlimited memberships can interact in the Netflix environment and have all sessions sync across multiple platforms. For example, if you are streaming a video and you pause it on your mobile device, you can pick up where you left off at home on your desktop or laptop as if nothing happened. Managing your Netflix queue is available but interestingly it only manages your “WATCH NOW” queue and not the discs that are mailed to you.
So does this change where you will interact with your streaming library? If you weren’t a Netflix subscriber, does this change the game for you?
Version 1.1 of the Netflix application requires iOS 3.1.3 or later.
Betta IT Solutions is presenting a new iPhone product, this time oriented for the baby market: The Baby Monitor iPhone App; which we can use it with a camera to keep an eye on those little ones.
The baby monitors products are definitely not new in the current market, but this is the first time an iPhone app is involved. The iPhone app cost is U$S39, and no, does not include the camera.
What do you need besides the app? A camera compatible with this app; the compatibility options should include: IP camera, Infrared, 2 way audio, iPhone compatible, 3G.
But we can also buy the official Baby Monitor camera, which is the recommended (of course), option for this site. The cost of this camera is U$S139, again, not exactly cheap but with tons of features which you can check them in the official site.
The general specs of this app are:
Digital monitoring eliminating all static noise common to baby monitors.
Two way audio enabling you to hear everything and speak to anyone looking after your baby live
Infrared low Lux night monitoring (minimum illumination: 0.5Lux @ F2.0)
Pan and tilt camera movement controlled from iPhone
Take snap shot photos anytime and save to your photos
The baby monitors products are definitely not new in the current market, but this is the first time an iPhone app is involved. The iPhone app cost is U$S39, and no, does not include the camera.
