Following a big announcement of its new AirPlay-like Connect feature, Spotify has rolled out an update for its iOS client. The update brings the app to version 0.7.4, and includes a handful of new features and improvements.
Easily the biggest change Spotify users will notice in the new app is the completely revamped Browse tab. Thanks to the simplified UI, you can now find your favorite artists and albums, or discover new ones with a few taps...
The popular Swedish streaming music service Spotify on Tuesday announced a compelling new feature for audiophiles which takes the best ideas from Apple's media streaming technology called AirPlay, and then some more. Called Spotify Connect, the service is being billed as "the new way to play at home".
It's a lot like AirPlay, but with the key difference: there's no overhead as the feature streams songs straight from Spotify's server to supported wireless speakers. I've included more information and a nice promo clip after the break...
Apart from bringing out the ability to purchase multiple songs at once through iTunes back in June, the music discovery service Shazam has been pretty quiet in terms of its iPhone and iPad app, releasing only a few maintenance updates. Today's version 6.2.1 update changes that.
The just-refreshed application now features way faster song recognition on older devices and brings integration with Twitter, allowing everyone to play tweeted out Shazam song previews right in Twitter, thanks to Shazam's new Twitter Card.
The micro-blogging service recently released an iOS music discovery app called #music so this Shazam update ups the ante in terms of social music discovery. More tidbits right after the break...
The song-skipping feature that long stalled Apple's iTunes Radio talks with record labels could get a boost when iTunes Radio, which was announced at June's WWDC, launches this Fall as part of the iOS 7 refresh and iPhone 5S/5C launch.
Apple on its part hasn't definitely confirmed whether the free ad-driven service will in fact impose a ceiling on the number of song skips akin to Pandora and other digital radio services.
For what it's worth, iOS 7 Beta users currently can't bypass the song-skipping limit. In my testing, for example, iTunes Radio wouldn't allow me to skip more than six songs each hour per a specific station. But according to a new report, things could change come this Fall as Apple could enable unlimited song skipping for iTunes Match subscribers...
The App Store offers some of the finest apps for DJing on any mobile platform and makers of specialized accessories have taken notice and been adding support for Apple's iPhone, iPod and iPad devices. Take Pioneer, for example, and its brand new DJ controller for iOS devices that got announced today.
The DDJ-WEGO2 console is very cool: it's portable (has handles), compatible with your fav apps, and appeases to aspiring DJs by providing all the hardware mixing sliders plus the Jog FX/Pulse control and lets you access and mix tracks on your iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices...
I’ve always wondered why Apple doesn’t include a radio feature with its iOS devices. You can download millions of songs, listen to hundreds of thousands of podcasts, and even fill your iTunes library with as many audio books as your device will fit. But if you want to listen to the radio, you’ll have to download a third-party app.
Radium is an Internet radio app that features more than 8,000 stations across the globe. Additionally, you can save your favorite stations and sync them through iCloud to your Mac Radium app...
Combine the huge iTunes library of songs with the social aspect of sharing and you have a bit of an idea what might be behind a patent granted to Apple Tuesday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
The patent, which describes a 'Coordinated group musical experience,' takes a riff off a trendy activity known as 'silent discos,' where people gather to listen to a DJ's music wearing headphones, rather than blaring mega-decibel volumes. Does the patent address a glaring technology need? No, but it does remind us of Apple's own quirky roots...
Yesterday, the music streaming service Pandora announced plans to remove the 40-hour mobile listening cap come September 1 and released a minor update to its iOS and Android client to enable a handy sleep timer feature.
In a surprisingly brisk move, the rival Rdio service has now responded by issuing an update of its own, bringing with it three useful new features to the party.
First up, the application now has the station tuning feature where you adjust any station to "play more familiar or more adventurous" tracks. With iTunes Radio around the corner and the likes of Spotify and Pandora doubling-down on personalization and recommendation, this has got to be a much-needed improvement on Rdio's part.
But wait, there's more...
Pandora's 40-hour limit on mobile listening went into effect in February, quickly becoming the most hated "feature" of the otherwise stellar streaming music service. The firm argued it felt compelled to introduce the capping due to rising royalty costs, even if the 40-hour limit affected only four percent of its avid listeners. Backflipping now, Pandora said Thursday it will be removing the 40-hour free listening on mobile devices real soon.
The good news conveniently coincides with Apple's impending launch of its ad-free iTunes Radio, a streaming music service set to arrive next month as part of the iOS 7 release...
Earlier this month, a report surfaced claiming that music video website Vevo is developing an application for Apple TV that offers access to its 24-7 music video channel. But at the time, there were no other information available.
The Wall Street Journal has dug a little deeper, though, and offers up some new details on the story. The outlet says that Vevo has indeed inked a deal with Apple, and the app could launch on the Apple TV as soon as this week...
Back in May, Apple announced details for its upcoming iTunes Festival. The company has been sponsoring the event, which consists of a monthlong series of free concerts from high-profile artists, for the past five years.
This year's Festival is going to be held at The Roundhouse in London, during the month of September. And as Apple prepares for the festivities, it has posted a streaming channel to Apple TV, and updated the iOS app...
Streaming music service Radical.FM launched a new iOS app today, which gives users access to its library of over 20 million songs. And believe it or not, there's no subscription fee and no advertising. Instead, the company asks that its users "pay what you can" for the service...