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Amazon MP3 Store now optimized for iPhone & iPod touch
Posted by Jason Diaz Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Internet, Music,
Amazon has just launched a version of its MP3 catalog that is made ready to use for the iPhone or iPod Touch mobile Safari with use of the open standards of HTML5. This is a way for Amazon to avoid the App Store cut of 30% with selling music to iOS users. Customers can view purchases and stream the music via the Amazon Cloud Player app avaible in the App Store.
For the first time ever, iPhone and iPod touch users can discover and buy digital music from Amazon’s 22-million song catalog using the Safari browser. Customers also have access to favorite Amazon features like personalized recommendations, best-seller lists and Amazon customer ratings. Music purchases are automatically saved to customers' Cloud Player libraries and can be downloaded or played instantly from any iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Kindle Fire, Android phone or tablet, Roku, Sonos home entertainment system, any web browser, giving customers the freedom to enjoy more music, from more devices than any other major cloud music service."
Since the launch of the Amazon Cloud Player app for iPhone and iPod touch, a top request from customers has been the ability to buy music from Amazon right from their devices. For the first time ever, iOS users have a way do that – now they can access Amazon’s huge catalog of music, features like personalized recommendations, deals like albums for $5, songs for $0.69, and they can buy their music once and use it everywhere. - Amazon
Read More 
| Amazon
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Google plans fix for Google Maps in Internet Explorer on Windows Phone
Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: Smartphones, Google, Internet, Microsoft, Software,
Maps for Windows Phone users is about to get a little better. According to Google, it is planning on fixing the issue preventing Windows Phone users from reaching the Google Maps website through Internet Explorer. The search giant had this to say:
"We periodically test Google Maps compatibility with mobile browsers to make sure we deliver the best experience for those users. In our last test, IE mobile still did not offer a good maps experience with no ability to pan or zoom and perform basic map functionality. As a result, we chose to continue to redirect IE mobile users to Google.com where they could at least make local searches. The Firefox mobile browser did offer a somewhat better user experience and that’s why there is no redirect for those users. Recent improvements to IE mobile and Google Maps now deliver a better experience and we are currently working to remove the redirect. We will continue to test Google Maps compatibility with other mobile browsers to ensure the best possible experience for users."
Google had previously stated that the outage was because its mobile Maps site wasn't designed with IE in mind.
Top 10 most read Gear Live stories of 2012
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Wearables, Features, Internet, Mods / Hacks, Portable Audio / Video, Software,
Sure, we've given you a list of our top 10 most popular stories of 2012, but we figured we'd go a bit more broad than that. We also thought it would be interesting to give you a look at the top ten most read stories on this site this year, period, regardless of what year they were posted. We must say, we're just as surprised as you are at what did (and didn't) make the list! For example, you guys seem to really like Monster's Beats by Dr. Dre audio line. Here we go:
- ColorWare now offering custom-painted Beats by Dr. Dre Studio headphones
- White iPhone 4 vs. black iPhone 4 comparison
- iPhone 3G vs iPod touch 2G in pictures: Odd that an image gallery featuring the iPhone and iPod touch from two years ago made our top ten list, but there it is!
- Exclusive: Pink Beats by Dr. Dre Charles Hamilton customs
- Limited Edition white Beats by Dr. Dre headphones hands-on: You can't deny that Monster has a hit on their hands with the Beats by Dr. Dre line of headphones.
- iPhone 5 vs. iPhone 4S vs. Original iPhone in pictures
- iPhone 5: White & SIlver or Black & Slate? (gallery)
- iPhone 5 White & Silver unboxing gallery
- Bleeding Edge TV 190: How to Replace Your iPhone Battery
- iPod touch picks up 4-inch display, better cameras, new colors, and Siri
Any surprises? We've also compiled a list of the stories that have dropped out of the top ten between 2010 and 2011, which you can check out after the jump, and don't miss the ten most popular Gear Live videos of 2012 either!
Click to continue reading Top 10 most read Gear Live stories of 2012
Latest Gear Live Videos
Twitter rolling out Archive feature, allows you to download your tweet history
Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: Corporate News, Internet,
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If you thought you could just bury the past under an onslaught of new tweets, then you're about as wrong as Commissioner Gordon and Batman at the end of The Dark Knight.
The truth always comes out eventually, and this time it's coming out one tweet at a time in the form of your very personalized Twitter archive that, you guessed it, contains every tweet you ever posted. Each personalized archive is done up in HTML and divided by month, so you can remember the great (and not so great) times of your social media life a month at a time.
Twitter CEO Dick Costolo promised this feature earlier, but it appears to be rolling out for select users right now, and you may very well be one of them. To check, go to your Twitter account and see if you find "Your Twitter Archive" under the settings page.
Read More | The Next Web
Google Drive users are now able to publish web content via their Drive storage using a public folder available from any browser. Web content published through Drive will also be able to host JavaScript, so you'll be able to run web apps on your page. Google, being the stickler for simplicity, demands published content remain static, and any outbound links must be addressed in a way that shows up in layman terms.
Read More | Google Apps Developer
Pearson Aspires to be the Electronic Arts of Education
Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: Corporate News, Internet, Video Games,
When you think of education, Electronic Arts probably isn't the first company to come to mind. But for the publisher Pearson, EA is exactly the kind of role model it's looking for in remodeling Pearson for a digitized age.
Speaking to GigaOm, chief product officer Luyen Chou revealed his intent for his company to become an "Electronic Arts for education." Chou enumerated, detailing the struggle to keep up with the times, and getting "high-quality, interactive digital learning experiences" into classrooms.
"Digital studios, animators, illustrators, producers, 3D artists – we need to build that capacity within instructional companies like Pearson and we need the whole end-to-end supply chain to the take that from the studio to the actual users,” Chou said. “The folks that have done that well are the EAs of the world, digital studios. That’s not a core competency for companies like Pearson.”
Pearson's lately been busy acquiring a massive amount in the way of pushing toward an interactive education company, spending $1.6 billion on acquisitions alone.
Read More | GigaOm
Instagram Sees Record Numbers on Thanksgiving
Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: Corporate News, Internet,
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Thanksgiving is a time for sharing, and that's exactly what Instagram users did, giving Instagram it's most shared photos ever.
Over at the Instagram blog, the social network reported that over 10 million Thanksgiving specific photos where shared yesterday. The post didn't mention previous statistics, but it did provide a graph detailing the hour by hour photo traffic it received. The majority of photos came in around noon, averaging out to over 200 photos shared every second.
In it's post, Instagram stated, "We’re thrilled to see people use Instagram to share their holidays. Whether celebrating with friends and family or sharing photos with them halfway across the globe, we’re excited to see the intimacy and immediacy of the Instagram experience bring us all closer together over this holiday season."
With Christmas on the horizon, Instagram might see another record-breaking day sooner than later.
Read More | Instagram Blog
SideCar is donating all proceeds earned this weekend to Hurricane Sandy relief
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Internet, Transportation,
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Yesterday we told you about SideCar, the community-powered ride-sharing service that's available in both San Francisco and Seattle. Today, the company sent out an update to its userbase announcing that all proceeds earned this weekend (November 9-11) will be donated to the American Red Cross to help with Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. If you're a driver, you'll still get to keep your 80% portion of the fare, so it's SideCar’s 20% split that goes toward charity. So if you're in Seattle or San Francisco and need a ride this weekend, keep SideCar in mind!
If you don't have an account, just download the SideCar app for iOS or Android, and enter promo code ANDRU1 for a free $10 credit!
You can now Pay with Square at Starbucks
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Internet, Software,
Remember the deal that Square struck with Starbucks that'll allow you to pay with the service at all of the infamous coffee locations? Well, it's all been put in place, and you can now pay with Square Wallet at over 7,000 Starbucks locations nationwide. You won't earn reward points like you would using the Starbucks official app, but you also don't need to remember to refill your virtual gift card either. Starbucks doesn't yet allow customers to use the cool Square tab feature where you just pay with your face without having to bust out a wallet or smartphone, but this deal is still in its infancy, so give it some time, m'kay? Hit the source link below for more on how it all works.
Read More | Square
Amazon Prime now available for $7.99 per month
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Hot Deals, Internet,
Amazon Prime is the best deal in tech, and now Amazon aims to make it's two-day shipping, Kindle Lending Library, and instant movie and television streaming service a bit more accessible with an alternate price structure. Amazon customers now have the option of paying $7.99 per month for a Prime membership, which some may find more palatable compared to the yearly $79 lump sum pricing. Obviously, paying for a year up front offers a 20% savings, but we're sure many will opt for the monthly payment interval. Some are calling this a direct shot at Netflix and Hulu, each of which also offer instant streaming of television and movies, however, both lack any sort of shipping option (or retail store,) or monthly ebook lending library.
Read More | Amazon Prime
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