Hasta La Gadget!

When sitting down to watch a lovely film on your Wii, you can now take advantage of Lovefilm’s updated streaming app for the console. Users will notice improved search functionality, a more Wii-friendly user interface and, for the first time, watch lists. You’ll also be able to pick up where you left off on other devices thanks to the new homepage which shows previously watched titles. Yup, this is what you’re getting instead of game rentals.

Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, Software, HD, Amazon, Nintendo

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You may have moved to a brand-new BlackBerry, but you won’t have to give up the traditional sounds of iHeartRadio — Clear Channel has released a port of the streaming app for BlackBerry 10 devices. It largely keeps pace with versions for other platforms, including Perfect For mood matching as well as the usual choices of live and customized stations. Provided you live in a US territory, you can download the BB10 edition at the source link.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Blackberry

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Via: CrackBerry

Source: BlackBerry World

WhatsApp is arguably one of the most popular messaging apps today, but its $0.99 price tag on iOS was a bit disappointing considering that every other platform had the app for free. However, the makers of WhatsApp are moving iOS over to the subscription model of other platforms, charging users only $1 per year to use the service.

The app is now free to download on iOS, but users will end up paying $1 per year for the privilege of using the service. The first year of service is free, but once the second year kicks in, you’ll have to chip in the $1 for every year you use the app. This brings the iOS version in line with the Android version that comes with the same pricing model.

Fortunately, anyone who has already bought the app in the past on iOS won’t be paying the annual subscription fee, and those users will be able to continue using the app as they always have. The developers of the app have been planning to move iOS over the new model for quite some time, so it isn’t too surprising to see the iOS version making the move.

While iOS users will be able to download the app for free and won’t have to pay anything for a whole year, the costs can certainly add up over time. After you use the app for two years, you’ll end up having to pay $2 for the app when you could’ve gotten it for only $1. Based on the progression of new apps coming out, we hope there will be a better and free option making its way onto mobile in the next two years.

Last month, WhatsApp hit a whopping 27 billion messages daily, which was a new record for the app. Back in April, the company announced that 200 million users were using WhatsApp. That number has since jumped to 250 million, which is more users than Twitter. So far, the service shows no signs of slowing down, and we wouldn’t be surprised if this new subscription model brought even more users on board.

SOURCE: iTunes App Store

WhatsApp for iOS drops fee in favor of annual subscription is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Jay-Z’s Magna Carta album release with a Samsung-centric app has lit the flame for some rather simple privacy invasion concerns. While many apps request the data this media-touting title does, the scale of this release found itself the subject of chatter from officials at U.S. civil liberties group the Electronic Privacy Information Centre (EPIC). This week Samsung fires back.

Samsung has made clear that they’ve had no intention of selling the information the app collects, nor do they use said information for malicious – or unwarranted – purposes. What information, you might ask? According to EPIC, no less than “massive amounts of personal information… including location data” which they’d then use for “hidden spam techniques.”

This app, they say, promotes itself with these hidden spam techniques to users the initial user is connected to without the knowledge of the user. Of course if you’ve used the app yourself, you’ll know what they’re talking about: sharing through Facebook and Twitter.

“We are aware of the complaint… and believe it is baseless. Samsung takes customer privacy and the protection of personal information very seriously.

Any information obtained through the application download process was purely for customer verification purposes, app functionality purposes and for marketing communications, but only if the customer requests to receive those marketing communications.

Samsung is in no way inappropriately using or selling any information obtained from users through the download process.” – Samsung Representative

If you wanted to see a set of lyrics from one of the Magna Carta Holy Grail songs before the launch of the album, the app required you to share the fact that you were doing so with Facebook or Twitter. At this point in time, sharing is not only still voluntary – it’s relatively hard to do. You can read the full app Privacy Policy for more information if you do so wish.

VIA: Express

Samsung calls Jay-Z app privacy jabs “baseless” is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The new Google Maps for iOS has been launched, including a dedicated iPad version and support for the live traffic reports and new search features that Android users have been enjoying since last week. The updated v2.0 software, a free download from the App Store, means an end to running Google Maps for iPhone in 2x mode on the iPad, with a new UI to make the most of the larger display of the iPad and iPad mini.

That includes spreading the new Explore interface across the display, and giving more room to results cards so that you can compare more at any one time. There are Explore categories for eating, drinking, shopping, entertainment, and places to stay.

Meanwhile, there’s also a new navigation system, which now includes live incident reports on your route. That includes data on road closures, ongoing construction, and accidents, and you can now tap on the section of road causing delays to see details of the problem.

Voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation is supported, as is scheduling information for various public transportation options. Those preferring to go by bike also get voice-guided navigation for “more than 330,000 miles of trails, paths, and bike lanes around the world.”

Zagat reviews and a 5-star rating system for locations are included, and just as in the Android app, Google can now pin brand offers directly to the map itself, so that users can see what’s available nearby.

Although Google isn’t mentioning it directly, we tried the “OK Maps” offline caching Easter Egg that was initially included on the Android version – zoom to the area you want to access offline, then type “OK Maps” into the search box – and it still works. No telling whether Google will include a more easily-accessed option, as it did after Android users complained vocally.

Google Maps for iOS 2.0 arrives with new iPad UI is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.