Chrome update will be less glitchy on Samsung devices
Google has started rolling out an update of its Chrome browser for Android devices. The new version number is 40.0.2214.109 and Google states, “This release contains a fix for some Samsung devices seeing a permissions error.”
The future of iTunes music in a post-Beats Apple
2014 came and went without much news for iTunes. There was no international expansion for iTunes Radio, and no word on Continuity for iTunes or media. There was, however, Apple’s acquisition of Beats Music. I can only imagine it caused a bit of a scuffle in the company’s media department, tossing out old plans and demanding new plans be made.
As such, I’d have been surprised if Apple wasn’t working on a new, hybrid music service. But it’s the how and the what they’re going to do with it that’s interesting to me.
Mark Gurman writing for 9to5Mac:
Based heavily upon cloud streaming, Apple’s new service is centered around the user’s music library. A new search feature will be able to locate any song in the iTunes/Beats catalog, and users will be able to stream music from the catalog as well as add songs to their personal libraries. Users will be able to select specific tracks to store on their iOS devices and/or computers, or keep all songs solely in the cloud. Apple will also deeply integrate Beats Music’s Playlists, Activities, and Mixes features into the new service, letting users access a vast array of pre-made, human-curated playlists to fit various activities. Surprisingly, Apple is likely to also update Beats’ social networking features, allowing people to follow other users and artists as they did with the failed Ping social music network.
Gurman goes on to note that the pipes are Beats technology, but the interface is all Apple — historically a very good model for the company. Also, it may well mark Apple’s first official venture into the Android universe, as Beats already has an Android app; sadly, there appears to be no official plans being made for our Windows Phone counterparts (Because, market share. Apple famously made iTunes.app for Windows, but not for Linux — oh, how times have changed.)
I wonder how this rumored service might affect iTunes, as well: I’ve been hoping for an iTunes for iCloud service for years now, and dropping legacy support for Windows and enabling access over the web could free Apple up to do all sorts of interesting things — like completely reinvent the OS X app.
Obviously, given the iPhone gravity well, Apple is going to focus on mobile first, and in this case, music-first as well; Hollywood studios make record labels look positively progressive. But if the door’s open to Android, how much wider could it eventually get?
The iTunes app and iTunes Store is based on technology that goes back decades. It’s gotten creaky on the front-end, and I can’t even imagine what it must be like on the back-end. Moving hundreds of millions of products and customers accounting for billions of dollars in transactions out of the past and into the future will no doubt be an almost impossibly difficult task.
Yet it’s one that won’t get any easier over time. Maybe these rumors are a sign that Apple has acknowledged that issue, and that the transition is already underway. After all, the best way to move a colossus is to get its constituent parts to move themselves.
The Windows 10 9926 preview build gets updated with a boatload of bug fixes
Windows 10 preview users can now download a patch for the current 9926 build, which contains a boatload of bug fixes for the OS since it was launched 12 days ago.
Announcing the ‘Weekly Photo Contest: Looking up’ winners!
We went with a topic this week, “looking up,” that could be interpreted in a few different ways, and thankfully that led to photo entries that covered a wider range of topics. We received over 100 entries filling five pages in the forums, but we were able to narrow it down to the two winners that will be taking home prizes. Read along with us and see the winners this week.
The arctic adventure game Last Inua makes its way to the Mac for $7.99
Last Inua, a side-scrolling adventure game that was first released for the PC in December has now made its way to the Mac platform. It’s now available on the Mac App Store for $7.99.
The game was developed by Glowforth and is being published by Wired Productions. Here’s a quick look at its premise:
Last Inua is designed for both young and old, mixing classic platform genres as it tells the tale of an Inuit family’s fight for survival against a fearsome demon and the harsh Arctic elements. As the demonic trickster Tonrar has awoken to spread his darkness over the north the father and son team of Ataataq and Hiko are the only hope to restore balance in the world. Ataataq relies on brute strength to overcome obstacles as he guides Hiko, his physically weak but supernaturally gifted son who possess magical abilities, along their epic journey. Together, Ataataq and Hiko must traverse the arctic landscape and visit The Trinity of the Mythical Creatures to help defeat the malevolent Tonrar.
- $7.99 Download now
Samsung India scoffs at report that Micromax has usurped the throne
Issuing a statement of rebuttal against research firm Canalys, the Samsung India division seeks to set the record straight that no other company has bested Samsung in India.
Samsung India had a lot of strong words, and data, to back up its refutation of the Canalys report. The report had claimed that Micromax had made such strides in Q4 of 2014 in India, that the vendor now possessed 22% of the market share compared to Samsung’s 20%.
Samsung claims these figures are completely bogus and gives a quote from Asim Warsi, Samsung India’s Vice President of Marketing in Mobile business. “Our volume market share in the smartphone market in the year was 35.7%, which is more than double than that of the next player, while our value share was 40.2%, which is more than four times the next player. The GfK data is based on actual retail sales in 50,000-plus population cities.”
The GfK data Warsi refers to is from a different research firm that Samsung has relied on for its India market analyses.
The original news of Micromax surpassing Samsung was reported on by BGR, which you can view here. BGR is also reporting on Samsung’s response, which you can view in the source link below.
Source: BGR
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Report: Samsung sold just over 630,000 units of the Galaxy Note Edge worldwide
Samsung’s Galaxy Note Edge is something of a futuristic phone, what with its curved side and all. It’s also a “limited edition” product, according to its maker, something that was only meant to hit select markets and cost an arm-and-a-leg higher than the Galaxy Note 4 hardware from which it’s based on. While we already know the Galaxy Note 4 was off to a smashing start, selling 4.5 million units in the first month, precise figures of the Edge have been as elusive as the true design of the upcoming Galaxy S6. One Korean source claims to have the results however.
Korean site DT has asserted that Samsung sold just over 630,000 units of the Galaxy Note Edge worldwide. It’s difficult to decide what to make of this figure. On the one hand, given that the Edge has a significantly higher price tag than the Note 4, and featured a concept that many people sought to detract from, it might be viewed as a sign of success. The Note 4 also had a significant head start, releasing over a month prior to the Edge. One could certainly look back and ponder if other concept devices like the G Flex ever managed to attract such numbers. Likewise, we don’t even know if the Nexus 6 (or 5 for that matter) can stack up to this sales situation given that Google doesn’t release any concrete data.
The pending upgrade to Lollipop will definitely be some additional good news for the Edge.
At the same time however, the figure comes across as a bit lower than one might have expected. At the very least, the fact that Japan didn’t get the Note 4 at all and thus only has the Note Edge might have suggested that sales here would have been brisk. I for one had pondered how Samsung could quote a production run of only 1 million units in 2014 when it seemingly had the potential to sell almost all of that here in Tokyo alone. Assuming the sales figure is true, it not only speaks of the contained fervor of the Note Edge, but of the apathy among Japanese consumers for Samsung products in general.
While the world waits for the unveiling of the so-called “Galaxy S Edge”, one must wonder just how well it will perform. Via AllAboutSamsung.de
Perhaps the real question that needs asking here is just what this kind of sales result would indicate for the rumored/suggested/all-but-official “Galaxy S Edge” variant of the Galaxy S6, a product that is said to feature not one, but two sloped sides. While the Note series is, in-and-of-itself, a larger line of devices that will inherently not cater to the needs of the masses, the “S” series is aimed to do just that. Could a Galaxy S Edge perform exponentially higher than the Note Edge? Or could this just be a gimmick that people will be more than happy to overlook a second time around?
Any thoughts on the figure? Is it higher than you thought? Lower than expected?
Apple’s Beats-based music service is reportedly headed to Android
There have been a few hints that Apple wants to integrate Beats Music into its existing software, but there are now signs that the tie-in will go especially deep — and that Android users won’t be left behind. Sources for 9to5Mac claim that Apple not only plans to weave Beats-based streaming into Apple TV, iOS and iTunes, but that it’s writing its own Android app from scratch (sorry, no Windows Phone version). The move wouldn’t be completely shocking given that Tim Cook said he was cool with Android apps when they made sense, but it’d still represent an important milestone for a company that frequently tries to get away from Google.
As for what the service entails? Not surprisingly, it’s reported to be a best-of-both offering. You could search for anything in the Beats or iTunes catalog, and you’d still see Beats’ human-made playlists and social networking. You could flag those tracks you want to hear offline, too. Importantly, Beats wouldn’t override Apple’s existing services. You could still use the likes of iTunes Match syncing and iTunes Radio streaming, even when they’re occasionally redundant.
How soon this Beats-backed technology would launch could be up in the air, though. The report backs rumors that Apple is trying to lower the price (possibly to $8 per month), which might depend on labels agreeing to different rates. Also, development is supposedly a “mess.” Apple may not be all that clear about its vision for the service, and veteran Apple staffers purportedly aren’t happy to see Beats engineers taking on important positions. While the reworked service was meant to launch in March, the tipsters now think it’s more likely to show up at the Worldwide Developers conference in June. However it shakes out, everything suggests that this Beats-based project is no small feat — Apple wants to take on streaming heavyweights like Spotify, even if it means delays and support for rivals’ platforms.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Internet, Mobile, Apple
Source: 9to5Mac
White and black face plates for the Sony Xperia Z4 leak
We don’t know whether or not Sony will bring the Xperia Z4 to MWC this year, but that’s not going to stop the leaks for the device. The latest images show the front panel of Sony’s upcoming flagship in both white and black, and it looks fairly similar to the Z3 with just a few changes.
The dual front-facing speakers on the device will be split at the top and bottom of the face of the phone, and the sensors and front camera are flipped compared to what we see on the Z3. The camera has moved to the top left of the device, while the other sensors are on the right.
While it’s hard to judge any specs based on just the front display of a phone, rumors are pointing at a 5.2-inch 1080p screen, a Snapdragon 805 or Snapdragon 810 CPU, 3 GB of RAM, and improved camera optics. There’s no telling when Sony plans on making this device official this year, but with all of these leaks, we should know everything about the Z4 before long.
source: Weibo
via: Pocketnow
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Reserve promises a premium dining experience
Reserve, the restaurant reservation app and service created by former Uber and Foursquare co-founders, has made its Android debut today in the Google Play Store after first launching for iOS in the fall of 2014.
AIVAnet 