Spotify for Android updated with new, faster interface

Spotify for the iPad brought with it a brand new user interface, although Android users have had to make do with a Beta version of the refreshed app for a while. Spotify has finally decided that the app is good enough for primetime and has made it available on the Play Store for all to enjoy. A totally redesigned user interface is the main feature, but there’s a whole host of functionality for you to drool over.

The new app features an all new slide-out navigation, and new crossfade/gapless playback settings, just like the desktop apps. In addition, there’s a new Spotify widget that will allow you to control music from the home screen, and you can dump playlists into the app straight from folders.

High resolution displays have made a big impact in the smartphone market, and Spotify has reached accordingly. The new app will pull down high-res album and artist artwork, but if you want the best sound as well, there’s a 320Kbit/s “Extreme” listen mode for you to toggle. That might eat into your data plan with extensive listening, so use it wisely. To round everything off, Last.fm scrobbling has it to the new app, and Spotify say the whole shebang should be much, much faster than the old app.

The new app is apparently available on the Play Store right now, although European Android users are reporting that the app hasn’t been updated quite yet. Keep an eye out in the meantime: it should land sometime today.

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Apple AirPort Express updated with dual-band Wi-fi

This week Apple has revealed several devices, like the AirPort Express that have been updated in stealth – that for Apple meaning that they weren’t included with the keynote at the start of the day at WWDC 2012. This event has already revealed a new MacBook Pro range, iOS 6, and Apple’s own Maps application, and now it’s time to come back to the data connection with the AirPort Express for $99 today.

This updated device brings on a complete hardware redesign and allows the AirPort Express simultaneous dual-band Wi-fi. It looks one whole heck of a lot like the Mac Mini or the Apple TV now, and works with the same frequencies it had before, 2.4GHz and 5GHz 802.11n Wi-Fi, but can now work with both at the same time. Also this device works with two ethernet ports for wired connections and works with the same USB 2.0 and 3.5mm headphone jack as in previous models.

This refresh of the AirPort Express will cost you the same amount as previous versions have at $99 and is available from the Apple Store online right this second. Grab it immediately, and check the rest of our WWDC 2012 coverage through our giant WWDC 2012 portal all week long!

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Angry Birds updated to version 2.0 all levels now unlocked and 15 new ones to play

To celebrate Angry Birds’ second birthday, Rovio has updated its ever popular game to version 2.0. Angry Birds was originally released back in December 2009 and has become a huge franchise.

Fans everywhere can enjoy a new “Happy Birdday” update for Angry Birds, which features 15 delectable new birthday cake levels, spiffy new menus and graphics, and special birthday achievements. As a birthday gift to our fans, all episodes are now unlocked!

The new update is free and covers Angry Birds for the iPhone and iPod touch as well as Angry Birds HD for the iPad. If you haven’t played Angry Birds yet, you can buy the game for $0.99. More of: App Store Apps, Apps, Games
More on: angry birds, app store, Apple, apps, Games, gaming, ipad, iPhone, ipod touch, News

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Android Market website updated to support rooted devices

Google has updated their Android Market website to allow any user, with the Android Market installed of course, to push applications for automatic download on their devices. Many rooted devices haven’t had a problem with this feature before the update, but those that owned a NOOK Color, HP TouchPad, or the new Kindle Fire were not recognized before the update.

And why wouldn’t Google want to offer their millions of applications to even more people? They clearly want its users to take advantage of the ability to download applications from their website and push them to their rooted phones and tablets. This update clearly helps both parties, although it still has a few bugs. One of which includes the Android Market constantly requesting to update applications that were not directly installed from the Android Market. I’m sure the kinks will get worked out soon.

Im sure developers are thrilled with this update even more than the average person. For instance, the new Android 4.0 ROM (still in development) for the Nexus S 4G doesn’t auto update applications once moving to it. It’s much easier logging into your account online and selecting your device to quickly push your daily applications back into place; and now this feature will forever be available to everyone.

[via liliputing]

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iPhoto 9.2 Updated With iCloud And Photostream Support

If you are not busy updating something today then you probably haven’t turned your Mac,iPhone,iPod or iPad on. Apple has released so many updates today that it is hard to know which one to start with.  Apple has just updated iPhoto to version 9.2, bringing along with it compatibility with iCloud and its Photo Stream feature along with the usual gaggle of fixes.

It is quite a big download however clocking in at 367MB and it requires OS X Lion. You can grab it now through Software Update, or the Mac App Store. Here are the release notes.

iPhoto 9.2 supports compatibility with iCloud and iOS 5. This update also addresses minor stability, performance and compatibility issues, including:

• Left and right swipe gestures can now be used to navigate between photos in Magnify (1-up) view
• Previously imported photos are now displayed in a separate section of the Import window
• Book/calendar themes and card categories can now be selected using a pop-up menu in the carousel view
• Resolves an issue that could cause some pages of books to print incorrectly
• Rebuilding a library now correctly preserves saved slideshows and books

This update is recommended for all users of iPhoto ’11.

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Google Working MMS Support into Google Voice?

While Google Voice users can send and receive calls, access visual voicemail with transcriptions, and fire off text messages, MMS messages have remain out of the realm of possibilities. That may be changing, as Google appears to be working in support for picture messaging. Users are reporting to have been notified of incoming MMS messages sent to their Google Voice number via a standard SMS, with the attached picture then forwarded to their email address. It isn’t a complete, streamlined system, but it shows that there is hope for multimedia messages within Google Voice.

At the moment, the functionality has only been noticed by users on Sprint, Virgin Mobile, and T-Mobile, but GV’s pseudo MMS is slowly rolling out to more and more places. You can check for yourself by enabling “SMS forwarding” as an option in Google Voice’s settings and having someone send you an MMS.

Update: The Google Voice Blog has officially announced the rollout of these new MMS features. While we mentioned above reports from users on various carriers receiving MMS messages, the blog post only mentions Sprint support for the time being. It is also mentioned that the Google Voice team is working on displaying MMS messages directly within the Google Voice app.

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BlackBerry outage hits Americas as RIM admits bafflement [Updated]

RIM it is still uncertain what is causing the BlackBerry server fault that has left many users without BBM, email or web access for a third day running, the company’s software and services chief has admitted today. Rory O’Neill, VP of the affected systems at the Canadian company, told paidContent that – while RIM’s official statement yesterday suggested engineers had a grip on the situation – in fact they’re still trying to figure out exactly what is happening. Meanwhile, similar BlackBerry outages have now been reported in the US and Canada.

According to paidContent’s Ingrid Lunden, RIM isn’t ruling out potential hacking as a cause of the outage. Right now, though, all O’Neill would say is that “the fundamental cause as far as we know is the issue with the core switch and a failing in the component architecture” and that “it has to do with how our networks speak to each other, and we are trying to fix that while preserving all messages.”
The company blamed “a core switch failure within RIM’s infrastructure” for the outage, and pointed out that “although the system is designed to failover to a back-up switch, the failover did not function as previously tested.” That’s left “a large backlog of data” which RIM said it was working to clear.

O’Neill highlighted that the problem is not being experienced in the same way by all BlackBerry users: some may still have internet, email or BBM access, while others lack access. Unfortunately, since all three services are routed through RIM’s servers, a problem with those systems can result in these sort of mass outages.
Meanwhile, Reuters’ Sinead Carew claims that RIM has been advising clients in the Americas that it is now dealing with the same problems there, a spread of the EMEA issues. There’s still no public timeline for its restoration.
Update: RIM has confirmed the issue in the Americas:

“BlackBerry subscribers in the Americas may be experiencing intermittent service delays this morning. We are working to resolve the situation as quickly as possible and we apologize to our customers for any inconvenience. We will provide a further update as soon as more information is available.”

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