Spotify announces major updates, additions to service
At a press event today, Spotify announced some major changes to their service built on the data they have amassed from 25 billion hours of listeners using the service over the past seven years. Besides new content that is being added in the form of video clips and podcasts, Spotify is planning to move away from the concept of genres and toward playlists focused more on moods, time of day, and listening history.
Headlining the changes for Spotify is the new Now start page. Similar to what other services, like Songza, do with curated music suggestions, the Now start page tries to serve up music based on things like time of day and examining your listening history. Users may see suggestions like a Monday morning pick-me-up type playlist or something to help them relax in the evening. Unfortunately, Spotify is only rolling out this new feature to iPhone users starting today in the U.S., the U.K., Germany and Sweden. Users in other markets and on other devices will have to wait
The other big addition to Spotify is a new feature called Spotify Running which is designed to serve as the perfect running companion for users looking for a little extra motivation. Using a smartphones sensors, when you start running Spotify will detect your tempo and launch music selections with beats matched to your running pace. The selection of music, including original compositions commissioned by Spotify, will transition seamlessly to help keep you going. Spotify also announced that starting this summer they will bring their Spotify Running service to the Nike+ app and later in the year to RunKeeper for even easier access to motivating music.
Besides the new features, Spotify is also moving to expand content offerings in hopes of becoming a more holistic source for users. Spotify will be adding support for video clips and audio shows, aka podcasts, to their platform. Some of this content will be coming from major producers like ABC, BBC, Comedy Central, Condé Nast Entertainment, ESPN, Fusion, Maker Studios, NBC, TED and Vice Media. Along with content from these and other sources, Spotify will also make available some original content like the special Spotify Running music. Other options will include content like Dance Move of the Day from Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls band and curated radio shows produced by Icona Pop, Jungle or Tyler the Creator.
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source: Spotify
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Popular Chinese one-click root tool KingRoot now available in English
One of China’s popular one click root apps, KingRoot is now available in English, thus allowing a large part of the global market to try it out.
This can be categorized as a root-app for the lazy as it doesn’t require the user to install a custom recovery or play around with ADB commands. This is essentially a rookie’s rooting toolkit.
The app can be downloaded from the XDA forums and will not cost you a dime, which is a bonus for an app like this. Understandably, the app is not available on the Google Play Store, so the only way to get the app is to download it from a third party site.
All you need to do is download the file (link below) and install it on your smartphone. You might need to enable installation of third party apps from the Settings, so make sure that’s figured out before going forward.
If you’ve been eager to get root on your primary smartphone but don’t want to waste a lot of time learning something new, KingRoot is tailor made for you.
Via: Phone Arena
Come comment on this article: Popular Chinese one-click root tool KingRoot now available in English
Apple to Use ‘San Francisco’ Apple Watch Font in iOS 9 and OS X 10.11
Though iOS 9 and OS X 10.11 are set to debut in three weeks at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, we’ve heard little detail on the content Apple might include in the new operating system updates. Neither operating system is expected to get a major visual overhaul, but there may be one significant design change for both iOS and OS X — a new system font.
Apple has plans to use the new San Francisco font that was introduced with the Apple Watch to replace the Helvetica Neue font used in iOS 7/iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, according to a report from 9to5Mac. The font will be used for menu items, app names, and more, throughout the operating systems.
Ever since switching to particularly thin weights of Helvetica Neue in iOS 7, Apple has been chastised for using a font that emphasizes clean lines over readability, and San Francisco is intended to solve this. According to the sources familiar with the decision to move to the San Francisco type face on iOS and OS X, Apple higher-ups also believe that the new look will serve to refresh its familiar operating systems, helping iOS and OS X to avoid becoming stale. However, some Apple engineers have told us that they are not fans of the new font, which may look particularly rough on non-Retina screens.
A condensed sans-serif that’s not unlike Helvetica, San Francisco is the first new font Apple has designed in-house in many years. In the 80s and 90s, Apple used several fonts that were created in-house, but the company largely ceased making its own fonts in the early 1990s. Apple’s early fonts were also named after major cities, so San Francisco pays homage to those first fonts.
Chicago, New York, Geneva, Monaco, and Cairo are all fonts that were designed by early Apple graphic artist Susan Kare. Kare even designed her own font called San Francisco in 1984, but that now-obsolete typeface looked quite different than the San Francisco Apple introduced in 2014.
San Francisco was created specifically for small displays like the Apple Watch, with extra spacing between each letter to increase legibility on the wrist. Since its debut, there has been speculation that it could be brought to iPhones and Macs in the future, due to its clean look on larger Retina displays in addition to the small display of the Apple Watch. That idea was further reinforced with the introduction of the Retina MacBook, which uses the San Francisco font for the lettering on the keyboard.
We may get our first official glimpse of San Francisco as a system-wide iOS and OS X font on June 8, when Apple is expected to show off iOS 9 and OS X 10.11 for the first time. Not much else is known about the two operating systems, but Apple may be opting to focus more on internal upgrades, improvements, and bug fixes over external changes to further polish features introduced with iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite.
Samsung’s Galaxy Note Edge successor will reportedly lack S Pen functionality
The first half of 2015 has been a great year for Android users. The Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, LG G4 and HTC One M9 have all brought some great features to the table, but that still leaves the second half of the year to think about. Sure, we’re going to see new offerings from Motorola, LG and Google, but what will Samsung’s next Galaxy Note device (or devices) offer? We’ve already heard a few rumors floating around that the Galaxy Note 5 will be released sometime around July, but Samsung President Shin Jong-kyun quickly put that rumor to rest. But now according to SamMobile, we’re getting a few new rumors about Samsung’s two upcoming devices – the Galaxy Note 5 and the successor to the Note Edge.
Read more: Most anticipated Android phones of late 2015
As we reported earlier, Samsung supposedly filed the new Note Edge device under the codename “Project Zen”. Early rumors suggested that the device would be a slightly lower-end model, featuring a Snapdragon 808 CPU, a smaller 5.4 to 5.5-inch dual curved Super AMOLED display, along with S Pen functionality and 32GB of storage. But in this new report, the company has reportedly re-codenamed the Note Edge successor to “Project Zero 2″. Project Zero was the codename Samsung used for the Galaxy S6, which meant the company was going back to the drawing board with the device. Perhaps due to poor sales of the Galaxy Note Edge, Samsung has now realized that it needs to revamp the 2015 model to keep sales up.
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According to the report, Project Zero 2, which carries model number SM-G928, will also supposedly lack S Pen functionality. The report mentions that instead of being a close sibling with the Galaxy Note 5, Project Zero 2 will most likely be a large-screened version of the Galaxy S6 Edge.
Samsung will also launch new Clear View and S View cases with the Galaxy Note 5 and Project Zero 2, alongside a new accessory called the Keyboard Cover. Details are scarce regarding the Keyboard Cover for now, though we’re assuming it will be just like any other keyboard folio case we’re used to seeing with Android tablets.
Both devices are still rumored to launch at IFA 2015, which is something we’ve come to expect from Samsung’s Galaxy Note line. Just like with all rumors, though, nothing is confirmed quite yet, so be sure not to treat these rumors as official. What are your thoughts? Do you think Project Zero 2 will offer enough to users without S Pen functionality? Let us know what you think!
Memorial Weekend deal: T-Mobile 64GB Galaxy S6 or S6 Edge for price of 32GB version
Samsung fans that have been considering picking up the Galaxy S6 or Galaxy S6 Edge might want to consider doing so through T-Mobile this weekend, as the Uncarrier is kicking off a Memorial Day weekend promotion that will let folks pick up the 64GB variant of either the GS6 or Edge for the same price as you’d normally pay for the 32GB version.
For those wanting more specific details on pricing, you’ll be able to get the Galaxy S6 64GB for $679.92, or $28.33 a month for 24 months. The Galaxy S6 Edge 64GB will set you back $779.96, or $32.49 for 24 months. Doing the math, that’s $80 off what you’d normally pay for this storage configuration.
Read also: best Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge accessories
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The Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge continue to be very well received both by tech publications like Android Authority and the general consumer, though one point of contention is the lack of microSD expansion. While the 128GB model is the best choice for those that want tons of storage, the 64GB model is still a great choice and makes it much easier to live without expandable memory.
Before deciding which model is right for you, be sure to check out our full review of the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge.
Spotify will play music, podcasts and video based on your mood
Spotify has been chipping away at the problem of choice for years now. When you have instant access to so many millions of albums at some point you cross over from being a perk, to being a hindrance. Its latest effort to expose people to new music and find the things they want involves building automatic playlists based on the time of day and mood, not unlike Google and Rdio. But, unlike those services, Spotify isn’t limiting itself to music. The company also announced that it would be adding podcasts and video content to its platform.
The new Spotify “platty”, as Abby Jacobson of Broad City calls it, is about feeding up the content you want as you want it without you having to actually dig through its seemingly bottomless library. Rochelle King, the VP of user experience and design at Spotify demoed how it works by walking us through her morning. Basically as she moves through her day, she swipes through playlists that are created dynamically just for her. That includes mixes specifically to rouse her from bed, songs to sing in the shower and when, she begins commuting, a daily dose of news from PRI through the newly added podcast feature. The idea is that Spotify will learn about you, your tastes and your habits and improve the quality of the content it serves up over time. This isn’t purely cold algorithmic playlist generation, though: Spotify is tapping its growing stable of tastemakers to help craft these experiences.
There’s more to the new Spotify than just serving up news and music catered to your morning drive to work. The app can also now use your phones sensors to detect the pace of your run and deliver music perfectly matched to the tempo of your feet. And, more importantly, it builds these playlists based on your musical taste, this way you don’t end up running to Miley Cyrus just because the BPM happens to match your slow and steady marathon pace.
A really interesting feature, though, are six tracks specifically created for running to. The “songs” (if you can call them that) are created by artists like Tiësto are exclusive to Spotify and morph to fit your pace. They’ll slow down, speed up, melodies will shift… the whole thing is built from the ground up for running. And CEO Daniel Ek promises that it will begin to use this kind of thinking to build custom listening experiences for other parts of your life.
It’s important to remember that this new Spotify isn’t just about music any more either. Video and podcast partners like Vice, Comedy Central, Adult Swim, RadioLab and Team Coco are all on board. That means you can get your news, laugh a bit and then get back to grooving to D’Angelo when the time comes.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Software, HD
With podcasts and video, Spotify becomes an all-in-one streaming service
At an event in New York City this morning, Spotify revealed more tools to enhance that daily listening experience. To keep all of the things you enjoy hearing in one place, the streaming service added podcasts to its feature set. If you’ll recall, the addition was hinted at back in November, thanks to a bit of code in a test version of Spotify’s app. That’s not all, though, the company is tacking on video as well. This means that content providers can leverage audio and visuals to beam episodes and short clips to listeners on the service. If you’re commuting and can’t watch, you can opt for an audio-only version of the selected show — safety first. Of course, the addition of video isn’t a complete surprise either, as rumors of Spotify’s plans circulated earlier this month.
In terms of content selection, ESPN, ABC, NBC, Comedy Central and many more — including a load of popular podcast networks — will be available inside the app. Broad City’s Abbi and Ilana were on hand to promote the new content stream, so if you’re a fan of the series, you’ll be able to see more of the duo. As you might expect, there’s exclusive content too, like a dance move of the day from Amy Poehler. Spotify is certainly taking aim at Tidal, as that service that offers music videos, performances and more to its subscribers. While musicians weren’t mentioned too much during today’s video chatter, there’s sure to Spotify Sessions available for viewing. Deezer added podcasts just days ago, but from the looks of it, Spotify is looking to offer a wealth of content that’s not just limited to piping in audio episodes. The new version will go live in the US, UK, Germany and Sweden today with a global launch on the way soon.
Filed under: Portable Audio/Video, Internet, Software
Source: Spotify
Spotify automatically selects tunes to match the pace of your run
The addition of video and podcasts is great, but Spotify is looking to enhance workouts, too. Selecting the perfect tracks to match your run will be quite easy, now that the app now measures your pace and picks tunes in a matter of seconds. What’s more, the Spotify Running feature will play nice with fitness apps like Nike+ and RunKeeper later this year, so you can keep tabs on progress while easily soundtracking that 5K. If you prefer to peruse options the old fashioned way, there’s a collection of curated playlists built for a range of speeds. The streaming service already teamed up with Adidas to bring a similar feature to the shoe maker’s Go app, so it makes sense that the tool would eventually end up in the primary streaming software, too. Spotify Running is part of a massive update that’s available in the US, UK, Germany and Sweden starting today.
Filed under: Portable Audio/Video, Internet, Software
Source: Spotify
Nintendo hired a guy named Bowser as its new VP of sales
You could say he’s been a company man all his life.
Source: Nintendo (Business Wire)
Microsoft is reportedly making a ‘light-weight’ mobile email app
Hey, Google: you might not be the only tech giant that can rethink email apps. Twitter user WalkingCat claims to have discovered a download page for Microsoft’s “Flow by Outlook,” an iPhone email app that’s all about “rapid” and “light-weight” conversations. Reportedly, the software tosses out the usual trappings, such as subject lines and signatures — you’re supposed to use Flow almost like a chat client, and it only includes threads that started within the app. There’s no mention of when Flow would arrive (or spread to other platforms), and Microsoft isn’t commenting on the leak. If the scoop is accurate, though, you’ll probably get a chance to try this client at some point in the relatively near future.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile, Microsoft
Source: WalkingCat (Twitter 1), (2)
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