Djay Adds Full Spotify Integration and Auto-Matching of Currently Playing Songs
Algoriddim, makers of the popular DJing software Djay, have solved one of the app’s biggest problems with a new update out today. Thanks to a new partnership with Spotify, the subscription music service, Djay now offers direct access to Spotify’s full music library of more than twenty million songs.
Previously, users could only mix and play songs that were stored locally on their iPhone or iPad, which was fine for professional DJ’s using the software, but a significant limitation to users looking to play around at a backyard barbecue.
With twenty million songs at their fingertips, users may feel overwhelmed by the choices at hand — but Djay and Spotify have a solution to that problem too. Earlier this year, Spotify acquired The Echo Nest, a “music intelligence company” that analyzes songs to recommend songs that would go well together.
As a result, Djay will analyze a currently playing track and make recommendations based on BPM, key, musical style, and how well a song mixes with the current track. There is also an Automix Radio feature that will automatically pick and play songs that go well together, beatmatching them for DJ-style transitions.
The Spotify integration, a relative rarity for standalone apps, shows what Apple could be looking for with its rumored Beats music service acquisition. A subscription music service API built-in to iOS could unleash a whole new category of apps to give the iPhone and iPad a unique differentiator from Android, especially if Apple were to bundle the service into the cost of the device itself.
“Having more than 20 million songs instantly at your fingertips is a DJ’s dream come true. It gives djay 2 users endless creative possibilities and elevates the artform of DJing to a new level,” says Karim Morsy, CEO of Algoriddim. “The power of The Echo Nest driving track selection brings a new tool to the DJ that I could not have ever imagined possible. It truly helps to discover, explore, and find great new music that sounds amazing together.”
“Not only can Spotify Premium users DJ millions of songs, but they’ll also enjoy real-time, intelligent suggestions on what to play next, powered by The Echo Nest’s analysis of all the music on Spotify,” says Sten Garmark, VP of Product at Spotify. “Djay 2 will help DJs and regular music enthusiasts, regardless of their skill level, select the perfect songs for their set – or simply lean back and let djay 2 turn any Spotify playlist into a slick DJ set for parties or private listening.”
Djay also revealed that it has more than 10 million downloads across all its platforms, a number that connects nicely to the 10 million global subscribers that Spotify announced yesterday.
Djay owners looking to use Spotify will need to sign up for a $10/month Spotify Premium account, though Djay users will be able to take advantage of a special 7-day free trial even if they have previously used a Spotify Premium trial. Premium includes ad-free music, the ability to download tracks to listen offline, and full mobile support.
To celebrate the new partnership, Algoriddim is offering Djay 2 for iPhone as a free download and Djay 2 for iPad for half-price, $4.99, for a limited time. Both are available from the App Store. Djay for Mac does not include Spotify integration, but the company didn’t rule it out as a future possibility. [Direct Link: iPhone, iPad, Mac]
More hands-on video leaks of Galaxy S5 Active
Earlier this week, we got a taste of the Samsung Galaxy S5 Active shown in some leaked pictures and videos here. Now we’re back for another fresh round of leaks with alot more videos this time.
The first two videos show an extended hands-on look at the S5 Active hardware and software. Then the next video show the use of opticalimage stabilization, however, shaking the phone hasn’t convinced me. Then finally we see more software and the configurable soft button, “Active Key”, that can be customized to your liking.
Tell us what you think of the S5 Active and if you’ll be picking one up!
Source: PocketNow
The post More hands-on video leaks of Galaxy S5 Active appeared first on AndroidGuys.
HP 7 Plus gets an official launch, bezels overload
Earlier this month we’ve seen a leak of a tablet with too much bezel on it, that tablet didn’t have a name, up until now that is. HP launched that bezel-heavy tablet under the “HP 7 Plus” name. This is now the most affordable tablet in the HP line, going for just $99, we have to admit it looks cheap and quite frankly rather ugly, but the price is low so we can’t complain much.
Regarding the hardware we’re looking at a quad-core tablet featuring Allwinner Technology A31 chip with four Cortex A7 cores clocked at 1 GHz, alongside it we have a Power VR SGX544MP2 GPU. Allwinner chips are mainly used for budget devices in China. HP 7 Plus has a 7″ (as the name states) display 1024×600 in resolution. The device has 1GB of RAM, 8GB storage expandable via microSD card (up to 32GB), 2MP back and 0.3MP front cameras and it is powered by 2800mAh battery. As far as software goes, Android 4.2.2 is powering the tablet and it is a near stock version of it, which is a good thing.
You can’t expect much from a tablet priced at $99, now can you. You get what you pay for and for that price we can’t complain much, it’s not the fastest tablet in the world, far from it actually but you’re not going to spend much either. If you’re interested you can buy it directly from HP via link below.
SOURCE: HP
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Vodafone’s gift of Netflix takes the edge off its 4G plans
If deciding which mobile operator to go with hinges more on watching House of Cards than on price or coverage, then Vodafone’s latest entertainment offer could be worth a look. In addition to its Sky Sports and Spotify entertainment packs, the carrier today threw TV and movie streaming into the mix by bundling a six-month Netflix subscription when you sign up to one of its Red 4G plans. There’s a catch, though: You’ll need to pick a minimum £26-per-month plan, which furnishes you with 3GB of data (although it is unlimited for the first three months). That’s fine for browsing and social updates, but it’s worth noting that Netflix streams consume up to 1GB per hour for SD video and up to 3GB on HD content, which could burn through your allowance in double-quick time. That isn’t to say you can’t utilise the free Netflix pass over a WiFi connection, but it pays to be mindful when the operator says you can “stream your favourite shows and films on the move.” Vodafone will let you select Netflix as your entertainment pack of choice from between July and December, so put that upgrade on hold if you want to catch the new series of Orange Is The New Black.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile
Source: Vodafone Blog
Samsung gives up on its homegrown Music and Book Hub services
Just like HTC with its doomed movie service, Samsung is apparently starting to realize that its in-house efforts can’t compete with specialist alternatives. While Spotify has been busily publicizing its rapid growth, the Korean manufacturer has been quietly warning Galaxy phone and tablet owners about the impending closure of its similar, own-brand Music Hub. Users can no longer sign up for the premium monthly subscription option, and a message inside the app says they’ll need to re-download any purchased tracks and use up any vouchers before the entire service shuts down on July 1st. This at least suggests that any stored tracks will continue to work after that date, perhaps via 7Digital, whose platform underpinned the Music Hub in the first place.
The warning message promises to advise customers on how they can continue their “music experience with Samsung,” which could well include asking them to switch to its premium Milk radio-style service instead (although this isn’t really an equivalent offering). Meanwhile, there’s also a short note about changes to Samsung’s ebook service: The company say it’s closing the Books section of its Hub and merging it into a new “Kindle for Samsung” app that relies solely on Amazon. And that’s not the end of it — pretty soon the whole Hub may evaporate, as a Samsung exec recently tweeted that “Samsung Hub is going away.”
Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Portable Audio/Video, Tablets, Internet, Mobile, Samsung
First Unreal Engine 4 mobile game built in a week with no coding skills
Epic Games can crow all it wants about how easy its next-gen development toolset is to use, but until we actually see results, those words are pretty hollow. That changes today with the release of Tappy Chicken, the first Unreal Engine 4 game released for Android, HTML5 browsers and iOS. Yeah, it’s a far cry from the fiery demon we’ve come to associate with anything UE4-related (and it looks more than a little bit like another flying fowl), but the key here is that Epic says it’s the work of exactly one person using a sort of simplified scripting system called Blueprints. What’s more, the developer isn’t even a coder — he’s an artist by the name of Shane Caudle. Caudle designed the game-play loop for the procedurally-generated game in an evening and spent around a week on the menus and squashing bugs. Epic says that it could even be ported to consoles pretty easily. The reason for the free game? To show how easy it is to mod and add-on with UE4 even by someone who doesn’t know a lick of typical programming languages like C++. If you want to give it a go for yourself, all it takes to start is $19.
Filed under: Gaming, HD, Mobile
Source: Google Play, Apple App Store
Sense 6.0 for HTC One (M7) begins its rollout in Europe
Some HTC One (M7) users have already received their Sense 6 update in different regions, but according to reports, it should be available in more markets now.
The Sense 6 update has been reported as available in countries of Europe. Owners of unlocked HTC One (M7) devices in Albania, Croatia, Finland, France, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and UK are getting most of the goodies found on the One (M8), in terms of user experience. Of course, hardware limitations restrict the availability of Duo Camera features on the 2013 model, but still, it’s good to see HTC updating its last year phone to this year’s software.
Source: PocketNow
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Chrome’s ‘OK Google’ voice search rolls out to all
If you wanted to enjoy hands-free Google searching from your desktop, your only option was to install an extension or become an early tester. The downside was that you’d have to accept some additional bugs might come your way. No more — Google has rolled out a Chrome update that integrates the company’s now iconic “OK Google” command directly into the latest version of its browser and in Chrome OS. As long as you’re based in the US or have Chrome set to US English, any time you visit the Google homepage or open a new tab, you can quickly say (or loudly shout, the choice is yours) “OK Google” to perform a search, ask a question or schedule a reminder. As long as you fulfil the geographic requirements (or are happy to tinker with Chrome’s language settings), you should be able to test those voice commands seconds after you update.
Filed under: Internet, Software, Google
Source: Google Chrome (Google+)
DARPA flaunts wearable display with Oculus-like head-tracking
DARPA has long sought a heads-up display to give soldiers situational awareness without distracting them, and it looks like technology has finally caught up to that ambition. It recently unveiled a new ULTRA-Vis prototype at its DARPA Demo Days, saying the breakthrough was a “holographic wave guide” display. Similar to how the Oculus Rift headset works (but not in 3D), it’ll project color images locked to the terrain — even if you move your head — thanks to motion-sensing and GPS systems. For instance, targeting icons will stay fixed on enemy or friendly positions, even tracking targets behind GIs with a 360-degree ring-like display. It’ll also allow soldiers to communicate with each other, their base camp or air support, and play drone video in the display. Like similar projects, the prototype is far from battle-ready, but will function as a test-bed for all of DARPA’s wild ideas until the final design is complete.
[Image credit: Breaking Defense]
Filed under: Wearables
Via: Breaking Defense
Source: DARPA
Yelp will soon let you add video to your reviews
Yelp is about to let you to catch the vibe of your favorite eateries with video as well as pictures, according to Business Insider. Provided that you’re an elite user, you’ll be able to upload 3-12 second clips as early as June, and all users will be able to see such videos next month on the iOS and Android apps too. Yelp said that’ll help reviewers convey the ambiance of or a hangout in a way that regular photos can’t (or emote about it, as in the video below). It’ll also give intrepid food shooters another creative outlet that won’t clog up their friends’ and family’s Instagram feeds.
[Image credit: Business Insider]
Source: Business Insider
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