Tag Archives: technology

Shazam for iPad Rebuilt as Universal App With Background Auto-Tagging and More [iOS Blog]

Posted on May 23, 2013 by admin

Shazam was one of the early App Store success stories , offering users the ability to easily identify music by capturing a snippet of the song and matching it against a database to provide title and artist information. The service has since expanded to integrate with the iTunes Store, YouTube, lyrics, and more, with TV shows and ads even adopting Shazam to allow users to easily learn more about the show or product. Shazam has offered separate apps for the iPhone and iPad since 2010, but the company today unveiled a universal version of the iPhone app that includes a completely rebuilt experience for the iPad. A number of new features have shown up in the iPad version of Shazam, most notably a background tagging feature that allows users to have all matching incoming audio tagged even while using other applications on their devices. TechCrunch explains a bit more about how it works: [A]fter downloading the updated version, users will be walked through a brief tutorial that explains what Auto-Tagging is all about, then allowing users to switch it on, if desired. If they do so, the app will run in the background, listening for anything it can identify, and loading those items into a carousel at the top of its homescreen. From here, users can interact with the content much as before – sharing it on social media, buying the song, show or movie from iTunes or Amazon, or in the case of TV shows, learning more about the cast and episode, viewing a playlist of songs in the broadcast, or heading off to sites like Wikipedia, IMDb, the official website and/or store, and more. Other new features arriving in Shazam 6.0 include a mapping system that allows users to see popular music on a city-by-city basis, Rdio integration, streamlined sharing, and automatic resubmission of tags for users in areas with poor reception. The iPad app is also adding for the first time Shazam’s LyricPlay feature that shows lyrics on-screen in sync with the music. Shazam is a free download from the App Store. [ Direct Link ] Users interested in an ad-free Shazam experience can either upgrade through the free Shazam app or directly purchase Shazam Encore for $6.99. [ Direct Link ]         Continue reading →

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Gmail Management App ‘Mailbox’ Gains iPad Compatibility [iOS Blog]

Posted on May 23, 2013 by admin

Popular email app Mailbox , which launched for iPhone in early February with a reservation system that saw well over one million users sign up before the company eliminated reservations last month, has now gone universal with a native interface for the iPad. ReadWrite has more on the development, including a brief interview with Mailbox founder Gentry Underwood about how designing for the larger tablet screen was actually more difficult than for the iPhone. “[Tablets] are these weird hybrid devices that sit in between,” said Underwood. “They’re part luxury mobile phone, and they’re part makeshift desktop experience.” That made it harder, not easier, he said. “Constraint is the friend of design,” Underwood said. “It’s easier for us to create a simple mail experience [for the phone]. We have to resist the temptation to take all these pixels and put in all these bells and whistles.” Mailbox is currently compatible only with Gmail, allowing users to intuitively triage their incoming mail through a simple swipe system supporting delete, archive, and a “snooze” function that dismisses email for the time being before reappearing to be dealt with. The Mailbox team, which is now part of Dropbox , is also moving forward with plans to develop and Android version of its app, but no details on that effort have yet been released. Mailbox is a free app available in the App Store. [ Direct Link ]         Continue reading →

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Apple invention adjusts audio based on a display’s orientation, user positioning

Posted on May 23, 2013 by admin

A patent application published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Thursday reveals Apple is actively researching methods to ensure a video’s multi-channel audio is always played back correctly, no matter how a user holds the device. Continue reading →

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Microsoft Releases Windows 8 Tablet Ad Highlighting iPad’s Flaws, High Price [iOS Blog]

Posted on May 23, 2013 by admin

As noted by The Verge , Microsoft has released a new Windows 8 tablet ad that uses Siri to highlight a few of the iPad’s shortcomings, depicting the ASUS VivoTab Smart tablet as a robust productivity machine while implying that the iPad is more suited to entertainment. In the ad, which is entitled “Less Talking, More Doing,” an iPad is depicted next to the aforementioned VivoTab Smart, showing off the system’s multitasking capabilities and its built-in office apps. A Siri voiceover points out that the iPad does not support multiple windows at once and does not offer Microsoft Office apps. “I’m sorry, I can only do one thing at a time,” Siri laments. “I guess PowerPoint isn’t one of those things.” The ad ends on a humorous note, poking fun at a previous Apple commercial that depicted an iPad and iPad mini piano duet in GarageBand. The iPad is shown operating GarageBand next to the hardworking Windows 8 tablet, and Siri asks “Should we just play chopsticks?” Microsoft also focuses on the price difference between the two tablets in the ad, pointing out that the 64GB WiFi iPad costs $699 while the 64GB Asus VivoTab Smart is $250 cheaper at $449.         Continue reading →

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Corning touts Gorilla Glass 3′s advantages over sapphire in side-by-side tests

Posted on May 23, 2013 by admin

In what seems to be a response directed at rumors saying upcoming smartphones, including Apple’s iPhone, will switch from Gorilla Glass to sapphire as a cover material, Corning put its latest generation product to the test in a bid to show the material is comparatively superior. Continue reading →

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Apple’s iWatch to come in late 2014 with focus on biometrics, analyst says

Posted on May 22, 2013 by admin

Noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes Apple’s much-rumored iWatch will hit store shelves late next year, not in 2013 as many market watchers expect, with a 1.5- to 2-inch screen, focus on biometrics and deep integration with existing iOS devices. Continue reading →

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Google’s new 3D Maps destroy Manhattan in the wake of Apple’s Flyover

Posted on May 22, 2013 by admin

Nearly a year after Apple introduced its own Maps service to iOS with “Flyover” 3D satellite views, Google is expanding own online Maps to support similar 3D satellite imagery, with the same sorts of buckled roads and visual distortions Apple was castigated for last summer. Continue reading →

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Casemaker OtterBox Acquiring LifeProof [iOS Blog]

Posted on May 22, 2013 by admin

In an event today at the CTIA conference, case maker OtterBox announced it was acquiring waterproof case maker LifeProof . OtterBox will keep LifeProof’s San Diego location and employees will remain in their current locations. OtterBox global headquarters remain in Fort Collins, Colorado. The companies are not disclosing any terms for the transaction. Much like OtterBox, LifeProof is a rapidly growing, multi-million dollar business with a strong global brand, comprehensive product offering, impressive intellectual property and thriving company culture. Over the next 30 days, OtterBox will begin incorporating the LifeProof brand into the OtterBox family. More information about product availability and alignment will be determined at the completion of the integration. “The joining of OtterBox and LifeProof is a way to combine two great brands and provide customers with even more great products, services and choices for smartphone accessories,” OtterBox CEO Brian Thomas said. “Both companies are successful because we foster an environment where everyone takes pride in being part of a culture that knows how to identify opportunities and grow them quickly. Our goal in this acquisition is to create more value for our customers than we ever could have generated while operating individually.” OtterBox, with more than 600 employees, makes cases for a variety of different phone and tablet models, including the iPhone and iPad. The company claims it current holds 23% market share in the case market and is approaching $1 billion in yearly sales. OtterBox’s newest Apple-related case is the ultra durable Armor Series iPhone case. LifeProof’s main case is its waterproof iPhone case , but it also makes the Nüüd waterproof iPad case.         Continue reading →

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Voice Search Coming Soon to Chrome for iOS [iOS Blog]

Posted on May 22, 2013 by admin

Google has announced plans to roll out an update to the iOS version of Chrome that will enable voice searching. The feature will function similarly to Siri on the iPhone, requiring a tap on the microphone to bring up the interactive search interface. Touch the microphone, say your search query aloud and see your results (in some cases spoken back to you), all without typing a single letter. Try these queries with the update (coming soon to the App Store): – “How many miles from San Antonio to Dallas?” – “What’s the weather in Rome?” – “Who stars in The Internship?” Google currently includes voice search in its Google Search app through Google Now integration and has also begun offering conversational voice search with the release of Chrome 27 . Google notes that the upcoming iOS update will also bring faster reloading of web pages in addition to implementing an option for third party apps to open links in Chrome and then return back to the original app. The update will be available “over the coming days.”         Continue reading →

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Twitter for Mac Updated with Notification Center Integration, Bug Fixes [Mac Blog]

Posted on May 22, 2013 by admin

Twitter has updated its Mac app today, adding notification support. When a Direct Message or mention is received, users will now be alerted with a popup notification. This option can be configured in the app’s Preferences window. The update also brings a number of bug fixes: – Fix for Growl notifications not working in Lion and Mountain Lion – Fix for bug that prevented un-favoriting tweets – Fix for missing account switcher in composer – Fix for error message when posting a tweet with a pasted image – Fix for enlarged avatar when dragging a tweet into an email – Fixes for crashes and various other bugs Twitter has been making an effort to improve the performance of its Mac app in 2013, releasing its first update in two years in April to add Retina display support, new photo sharing options, and additional languages. Twitter for Mac is a free download from the Mac App Store. [ Direct Link ]         Continue reading →

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