The red hot music streaming service, which recently made its U.S. debut, will open its catalogue of more than 15 million tracks to third-party iPhone and iPad app developers.
The application package, Libspotify for iOS, is available to Spotify Premium users. It rounds out Spotify’s API suite, also available for Windows, Mac OS and Linux.
“We hope this will enable a new category of iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch applications with Spotify inside and allow for more immersive music experiences within iOS apps,” Director of Platform Sten Garmark says.
The API release is important considering the bevy of music subscription services competing for end user attention. Now, Spotify has the opportunity to piggyback on the popularity of Apple’s iOS platform to reach an even greater audience.
Image courtesy of Flickr, Andreas Blixt
For more Dev & Design coverage:
Although that reasoning may be up for debate, there’s no doubt that the government’s move has been good for SprintNextel, which applauded the news as a “decisive victory for consumers, competition and our country.” Since the announcement, the company’s stock has received a boost, jumping as high as 8% in morning trading.
That performance is the mirror image of AT&T, whose stock has fallen. T-Mobile parent company Deutsche Telekom’s American depositary receipts fell as much as 6.4%, according to Bloomberg. For its part, Verizon’s stock has remained flat or down slightly.
The government’s action is the latest good news for Sprint, which posted disastrous second-quarter results in July and saw its stock fall 20% in a day. The other positive development for Sprint is the expected availability of the iPhone 5 for Sprint customers in October, news that sent Sprint’s stock up 10%.
Roger Entner, principal at telecom analyst Recon, says that Sprint would have probably gotten a lot of T-Mobile’s customers even if the merger went through. “T-Mobile is a dead man walking either way,” Entner says. “You have a carrier that has been losing customers for more than a year and is probably going to continue that because their parent company has basically said ‘we’re not interested in being in this market.’ ”
Entner says that the movement of Sprint’s stock is “irrational,” although Sprint’s stock price had previously been “irrationally depressed.”
More About: att, iphone, SprintNextel, T-Mobile, verizon
For more Business & Marketing coverage:
Although both are Android-based, Sony’s tablets are quite different from the other Android tablets on the market, which generally follow the iPad‘s design philosophy.
Sony Tablet P sports a foldable design, with two 5.5-inch screens, 4 GB of storage space, a NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor and Wi-Fi/3G connectivity. Tablet P can be described as a pocket tablet, measuring 79 x 180 x 26mm and weighing only 327 grams. We like how Sony is breaking new ground here, and we’re eager to see whether the market will embrace this novel design.
Sony Tablet S has a more standard slate design, but unlike most other tablets on the market, it’s thicker on one end than the other. It has a 9.4-inch display, a NVIDIA Tegra 2 CPU and Wi-Fi/3G connectivity. It’s also very light, weighing approximately 598 grams. It will come with either 16 GB or 32 GB of storage.
Both will be available as Wi-Fi-only or Wi-Fi/3G devices, the former coming with Android 3.2, and the later with Android 3.1, although an upgrade is planned for the future. Also, both will come with a 5-megapixel rear and a 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera, a USB 2.0 port and an SD card slot.
Sony squeezed a couple extra features into its new tablets. Both devices will have a 3-axis accelerometer, a gyro sensor, a digital compass and an ambient light sensor. Tablet S will come with infrared remote control functionality. Both are compatible with Sony’s Media Remote technology, which allows you to control Sony devices, including ones from the BRAVIA line, through Wi-Fi.
Finally, both devices are “PlayStation Certified,” meaning you’ll be able to play original games such as Crash Bandicoot and Pinball Heroes on your tablet.
Sony Tablet S will be available in the UK at Sony Centres, Currys & PC World and John Lewis in mid-Sept., with pre-orders beginning Aug. 31 at www.sony.co.uk, www.currys.co.uk and www.pcworld.co.uk. Sony Tablet P is scheduled for a November 2011 release.
More About: sony, Sony Tablet P, Sony Tablet S, Tablet
For more Tech & Gadgets coverage:
Earlier this summer, we wrote about MoviePass, a startup that wants to be the Netflix for movie tickets. The idea is intriguing — for $50 a month, members can get unlimited movie tickets (with a few restrictions).
Originally the service was scheduled to launch in beta in San Francisco this summer. Immediately after the company made a big splash in the press, however, movie theater chains spoke out against the service and said they would refuse to honor MoviePass tickets. AMC Theatres, the second largest theater chain in the U.S., issued a particularly strong statement against the service. This unexpected turn of events has caused the MoviePass team to readjust its strategy.
MoviePass is going to try again. Only this time, the company will team up with Hollywood Movie Money to provide vouchers. Rather than using the mobile app — which was a key part of the original plan for MoviePass — users will instead select their movies online, print a Hollywood Movie Money voucher at home, and then make their way to the theater. MoviePass says that it will roll out a full mobile version of the service in 2012.
It seems MoviePass is attempting to end-run theater owner prohibitions by instead just offering users access to a movie voucher gateway. Because the Hollywood Movie Money tickets are purchased at full price, a ticket procured by a MoviePass customer won’t look any different than one purchased by anyone else.
Another change to the MoviePass model is the beta rollout. Instead of launching in San Francisco first, MoviePass will be available nationwide on an invitation-only basis. Pricing will also now vary based on location, which was something MoviePass anticipated when we spoke to the company in June.
We still like the idea of MoviePass and hope that the company will be able to get off the ground. Still, without the cooperation of the theater chains, the service’s broader appeal may be limited. Part of what made MoviePass so interesting — at least to me — was the mobile component of the service. If I have to print a voucher before leaving for the theater, that severely limits my “on-the-fly” movie moments.
Ultimately, we hope that MoviePass can come to some sort of agreement with theater chains to make the offering closer to its original vision.
How much would you be willing to pay for unlimited movie tickets each month? Let us know in the comments.
[via GigaOm]
More About: moviepass, Movies, netflix, subscriptions
For more Startups coverage:
Google users have called bringing Gmail, Calendar and Docs offline an essential step for improving productivity, Group Product Manager Rajen Sheth told Mashable. The problem, he explained, is that when users need offline access to their email or calendar, they really need it.
To that end, Google is launching a new Chrome app called Gmail Offline. Separate from Gmail itself, the new app is designed for accessing, managing and sending email while you’re disconnected from the web. “We can build on top of a lot of HTML5 standards, which gives us the capabilities to make it work offline,” Sheth said.
The HTML5 app looks and feels a lot like the Gmail app for tablets. That’s because Gmail Offline is based off the tablet version, which was designed to function with or without Internet access. It focuses on the key features users need to access while offline, including organizing, starring, labeling, archiving and responding to email. It won’t give you access to Gmail Labs features, but it will get the job done.
In addition to the Gmail Offline app, Google is rolling out the ability to access Calendar and Docs offline. The feature, available by clicking the gear icon at the top of the page, lets you view events and RSVP to appointments in Calendar and view documents in Docs. Offline document editing isn’t available yet, but Google promises to find a way to make it work. Part of the problem is finding a way to make sure document edits made offline don’t override edits made by online collaborators.
The apps are only available through the Chrome Web Store at the moment. If you try to use the Calendar or Docs offline features, you will be prompted to first install Chrome. Google says that it intends to roll out its offline apps to other browsers once they support the functionality.
More About: gmail, Google, Google Calendar, google docs, trending
For more Tech & Gadgets coverage:
The Android 3.1 Honeycomb device sports a 10.1-inch WXGA HD screen, a 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon CPU, and an 8-megapixel camera with dual LED flash as well as a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera for video calls.
When it comes to connectivity, it boasts HSPA+ and LTE, making it one of the fastest tablets around for mobile data transfer.
It also comes with a hefty price: $699 with a new two-year contract. The deal comes with a $35, 3 GB monthly data plan option. We think the price point will be too expensive for many users, especially since Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 starts at $529.99, also with a two-year contract, and Apple’s 3G iPad 2 starts at $629.
The Jetstream will be available online and in AT&T retail stores Sept. 4.
What do you think of the Jetstream? Would you pay the price? Please, share your thoughts in the comments.
More About: att, htc, HTC Puccini, Jetstream, Tablet
For more Tech & Gadgets coverage:
The Android 3.1 Honeycomb device sports a 10.1-inch WXGA HD screen, a 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon CPU, and an 8-megapixel camera with dual LED flash as well as a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera for video calls.
When it comes to connectivity, it boasts HSPA+ and LTE, making it one of the fastest tablets around for mobile data transfer.
It also comes with a hefty price: $699 with a new two-year contract. The deal comes with a $35, 3 GB monthly data plan option. We think the price point will be too expensive for many users, especially since Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 starts at $529.99, also with a two-year contract, and Apple’s 3G iPad 2 starts at $629.
The Jetstream will be available online and in AT&T retail stores Sept. 4.
What do you think of the Jetstream? Would you pay the price? Please, share your thoughts in the comments.
More About: att, htc, HTC Puccini, Jetstream, Tablet
For more Tech & Gadgets coverage:
On Wednesday, the company unveiled HMZ-T1, a “personal viewer” that allows individuals to watch 3D or 2D videos, play games and listen to music using a personal headset that weighs about three times as much as an iPhone.
Sony first introduced the concept at CES, but it did not indicate a timetable for its release. The company has now announced plans to release the first versions in Japan on November 11 with a price tag of 60,000 yen (about $780).
Sony says that wearing the headset — which has a processing unit that plugs into a Blu-ray disc player or game machine — is like viewing a 750-inch movie screen. It also says the device’s speaker system makes “it seem as though the sound source is emanating from speakers placed all around the viewer (including front and back).”
That sounds like a great experience, but is it enough to convince you to wear one?
For more Tech & Gadgets coverage:
On Wednesday, the company unveiled HMZ-T1, a “personal viewer” that allows individuals to watch 3D or 2D videos, play games and listen to music using a personal headset that weighs about three times as much as an iPhone.
Sony first introduced the concept at CES, but it did not indicate a timetable for its release. The company has now announced plans to release the first versions in Japan on November 11 with a price tag of 60,000 yen (about $780).
Sony says that wearing the headset — which has a processing unit that plugs into a Blu-ray disc player or game machine — is like viewing a 750-inch movie screen. It also says the device’s speaker system makes “it seem as though the sound source is emanating from speakers placed all around the viewer (including front and back).”
That sounds like a great experience, but is it enough to convince you to wear one?
For more Tech & Gadgets coverage:
