Google Play carrier billing now includes music, movies, and e-books
Google on Wednesday announced that it has added carrier billing to the entire selection of content (apps, music, movies, and books) in its Google Play marketplace in seven countries. Participating carriers now let subscribers charge their Google Play purchases directly to their monthly phone bill.
The countries and network operators that will offer total carrier billing include:
Is there hope for Windows Phone?
That's the question I'm asking after looking over comScore US mobile subscriber data for the three months ending in March. After years of steady, steep declines, Windows Phone subscriber share held steady from February to March, which perhaps not coincidentally is when Nokia Lumia 900 went on sale. Could it be...
comScore measures subscribers 13 years and older. Microsoft mobile share among smartphone subscribers held steady at 3.9 percent month-on-month, the first real stop in drop in years. How mighty is Microsoft's fall? Market share was 19 percent in September 2009, for example. So 3.9 percent is nothing to skinny, but staying there rather than going down is small, but notable improvement.
The Xbox console will soon be free
Microsoft wonk Tom Warren reports that a new Xbox 360 and Kinect bundle will be offered at $99 with a two-year Xbox Live Gold subcription beginning next week. If this proves true, it will be the first example of a video game console using the mobile phone carrier subsidy model.
According to Warren's sources, the deal will only be available at Microsoft Stores, and it will include the 4 GB Xbox 360 console with a Kinect Sensor. The cost of a two-year Xbox Live Gold subscription is approximately $120.
Miro 5 cataloging and organizing features make sweet music
The Participatory Culture Foundation has released the final build ofMiro 5.0, its cross-platform, open-source music and video player. Version 5 provides a new tool for looking up missing music information and artwork from the Internet, providing the user with a quick means of cleaning up their music databases.
Version 5.0 also introduces a new view options for music and video, faster device synchronization and conversion, support for purchasing music from eMusic, the ability to download HD video from Vimeo feeds and major updates to the Windows backend.
Why are Amazon Kindles vanishing from Target?
Target confirmed on Wednesday earlier reports that it is discontinuing sales of Amazon products, most notably the Kindle, starting in Spring 2012. First reported by The Verge overnight Wednesday, the move is a hit to Kindle's retail store strategy overall and effectively ends a long-term partnership between the two companies.
Amazon powered Target's website up until last year, and Target was the first to carry the Kindle at retail back in June 2010. The Kindle Fire was Target's best selling tablet on Black Friday last year, but that didn't stop the retailer from kicking Amazon to the curb.
When Windows goes wrong, try Kernel Mode Drivers Manager
Whether your PC is slow, unstable, or perhaps infected by malware, checking your system’s kernel mode drivers is often a good place to begin diagnosing your problems. And you don’t have to install any third-party software to get started: just running MSINFO32 and browsing to Software Environment > System Drivers will give you a basic view of what’s currently installed.
If that’s a little too basic for your liking, though, you could try Kernel Mode Drivers Manager. It’s still very straightforward to use (you don’t have to be a geek to figure out what’s going on), but the program also provides a number of useful extras to help you get a better understanding of what’s happening on your system.
Spotify comes to iPad -- get it now!
Fans of Spotify need no longer endure a blown up app designed for the smaller screen of the iPhone, thanks to the release of a dedicate iPad version of the app, today. Spotify 0.5.0 has been a long time coming and, as you would expect, there is support for the Retina display of the new iPad. There has been a shift in focus with this release, as the app now makes it easy to discover new music rather than simply enabling you to listen to things you have already found.
The interface has been given a gesture-friendly overhaul and the screen is divided into two sections that allow for easy navigation of playlists, friends and news, while providing a clear display of the information you are looking for. The newly released app is comparable to its desktop counterpart, providing access to almost the same set of features, although there is no support for the likes of last.fm and other apps at the moment; this is likely to be something that is added in the future.
Chrome marketing is exceptional
Love makes the world go round, and, c`mon, who doesn't love a good relationship story? But love stories aren't easily told -- one reason there are so few classics. But Google has done just that in 90 seconds. Take a moment to watch the embedded video over your morning coffee and bagel, donut or scone and tell me if you agree.
I don't even recall where I saw the commercial -- it was during some program I had recorded then watched on Monday evening. But as I fast-forwarded through the adverts, something about this one caused me to stop. Perhaps it's subliminally related to the long length, seeing as most TV spots are no longer than 60 seconds. I actually rewound and watched a second time. Now that's marketing.
Linux Live USB Creator isn't another 'me-too' utility
At first glance Linux Live USB Creator looks much like UNetbootin, theUniversal USB Installer, and every other tool that aims to help you download and create a bootable Linux environment for your PC. And as those existing tools are generally very good it’s not immediately obvious why we might need another.
Take a closer look at the Linux Live USB Creator and you’ll see it’s not just another “me too” utility, though -- the program really does have enough features and functionality to stand up against the best of the rest.
Samsung smartphone shipments soar stunning 267%, trouncing iPhone
Apple apologists' brief respite is over. Late last week, IHS iSuppli and Strategy Analytics released first quarter data putting Samsung handset shipments ahead of Nokia, ending the Finnish company's 14-year reign. But the analyst firms couldn't agree on smartphones, with Strategy Analytics positioning Samsung ahead of Apple, but IHS giving the nod to iPhone. The Apple Fanclub clung to the "We're No. 1!" data, unsurprisingly. But the last word comes today from IDC, which corroborates Strategy Analytics, crowning Samsung king in both categories.
"The halcyon days of rapid growth in the smartphone market have been good to Samsung", Kevin Restivo, IDC senior research analyst, says. "Samsung has used its established relationships with carriers in a mix of economically diverse markets to gain share organically and at the expense of former high fliers such as Nokia".
Crocodoc uses HTML 5 to solve the riddle of online document viewing
If you ever viewed a document on Dropbox, LinkedIn, or Yammer, you have already used Crocodoc. The San Francisco-based company offers an HTML5-compliant document viewer that allows for the embedding and viewing of documents as they were intended, and is making the service available for licensing starting Tuesday.
Google Docs and similar competitors have offered online document viewing for some time. Google Docs' transcoding isn't perfect and documents often lose a portion of their original formatting. While this may not be an issue for the average consumer, enterprise usage typically requires a more accurate reproduction.
Android 4 share soars
I don't know how cellular carriers or device makers could move any slower serving Ice Cream Sandwich to their customers. Still, someone is making progress, seven months after Google formally unveiled the OS and six after the first device with it shipped. Android 4.0 share jumped dramatically from mid March to mid April, granted from a small base. It's about time.
This morning I wrote a mobile browser usage story and checked official statistics on Android usage, which is based on the number of devices connecting to Google Play during the pervious 14 days. That number: 2.9 percent. Hours later, when doing a second browser story -- on desktops -- I double checked, more as formality. To my surprise, Google updated the data as of today: 4.9 percent.
Internet Explorer rises from the dead, and, whoa, that's not good for Firefox
What seemingly started as a fluke, suddenly is a trend. In April, Internet Explorer gained usage share for the fourth consecutive month, reversing a long, steady decline. That's the view presented by April browser usage data Net Applications released today. IE share rose to 54.09 percent -- that's up from 53.83 percent in March and 51.87 percent in December. The question: Are these gains sustainable? Can IE rise up, after loosing more than 40 points of share over 7 years?
I'm wondering if Internet Explorer's share rise is coincidence or convergence. Recent gains coincided with Chrome's stunning setback. In January, following a minor paid-link scandal involving a third party promoting Chrome, Google responded by treating itself like other advertisers, by reducing Chrome's search PageRank for 60 days. The effects were immediate. In January, the browser's usage share fell, ending 14 months of consecutive gains. Meanwhile, IE usage share rose.
Use Cloudfogger to better protect your online docs and files
Just how secure is the data you’ve backed up online? Most cloud-based backup providers promise to encrypt your data before it’s uploaded to their servers, but a handful perform the encryption after the data’s been uploaded, which means they possess the key required to unlock your data and potentially hand it over to anyone who comes asking (backed with the right warrant).
Cloudfogger is a brand new (and currently free) service that puts you back in control of your data, allowing you to encrypt it prior to uploading it, providing you with another layer of protection for your most sensitive documents and files.
Sony Speaker Dock RDP-X500IP [video review]
Recently I had the chance to use the Sony Speaker Dock for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod. I love the sophisticated looks; the dock would be perfect to add to the atmosphere of a get-together or party. Even though this is a Sony product, it reminds me of Apple in the sense that this speaker is very simple. It isn't overloaded with complicated buttons that you would need an instruction manual to understand.
For a dock system of its quality, the RDP-X500IP is on the less expensive end, price-wise. For example, Sony sells the dock for $250. The comparable Bose system is $150 more. If you're on a budget, however, there are many quality alternatives, from Logitech and Klipsch, among others. Overall, the RDP-X500IP is a truly fabulous audio system. It's known for great bass, which honestly is quite phenomenal for a speaker of its price and size.
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