Hasta La Gadget!

Wondering why Google+ ran out of disk space? Looks like it might be a casualty of growth: in today’s earnings call, Google CEO Larry Page revealed that since its launch, more than ten million people have joined Google+, sharing some one billion items every day. Those numbers not big enough for you? Then chew on this: that little +1 button? It gets clicked 2.3 billion times per day in its own right. It’s still a far cry from the 750 million users actively addicted to Facebook, but still, that’s a heck of a start.

Page: growth on Google+ has been great, over one billion items shared originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Jul 2011 17:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We just received word from Spotify’s chief content officer Ken Parks that the much-loved music streaming service is finally coming to the US tomorrow. Asked about the final hurdles leading up to release, Parks told us:

We were really adamant about bringing the service to the US, which means a really great, free experience. We wanted to be really careful about the way we did this, and the rights holders felt the same way. It took some time, but we’re absolutely thrilled that all four major labels and a ton of indies are behind us, and we’ll be bringing that Spotify experience to the US tomorrow.

Parks wouldn’t announce an exact time for launch, but did tell us that the service will offer three pricing plans, including the free, ad-supported version that made it such a hit in its native Europe. The executive wouldn’t shed light on any particular concerns that labels may have had with the free version as previously reported either, but told us confidently that, “with each passing day, the model proves itself even more… It’s a great way to engage people and get them to invest in it, and if it weren’t, we probably wouldn’t be having this conversation.” For those who want to invest right away, the $4.99 tier gives users an ad-free experience and the $9.99 level makes it possible to use Spotify with mobile devices, including an offline caching feature. The latter version is compatible with Android and iOS devices, as well as a number of streaming media products from companies like Sonos and Logitech. The US version will be largely identical to its European counterpart and will feature access to at least part of the company’s global catalog of 15 million songs. No word on the actual number of tracks in US version, but Parks promised that it would offer, “a huge catalog.”

Spotify launching in the US tomorrow originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jul 2011 18:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re on Android 2.2 or above get ready for an update to your Android Market experience. Google has just informed us that a new version of the app is incoming, a version that will add tabs for easy access to Google Books and Movies. Starting with the more visual purchases, at $1.99 you’ll be able to start watching movies almost instantly, and apparently see whether Chevy Chase will ever take his family on a successful vacation. But, if offline access is key, you’ll also be able to download the misadventures of the Griswold family for later viewing. Books is now integrated too, saving you the hassle of having to launch the books app, which required you to then open the browser to actually buy any digital tomes. Overall the new design looks cleaner, finger-friendlier, and the addition of Editor’s Choice apps should make it easier than ever to get to the good stuff. The update will be rolling out gradually over the next several weeks and, once you’ve been admitted to the club, you’ll be able to download the Videos app as well. Check out the video preview after the break.

Update: Wesley wrote in to let us know that you can download this APK yourself if you’re feeling brave — and impatient.

Continue reading Google updating Android Market app on phones, adding Movies and Books tabs (video)

Google updating Android Market app on phones, adding Movies and Books tabs (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 16:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It ain’t the first time Mark Zuckerberg has taken the stage to announce… something, but today’s shindig is resulting in “something” that’s a bit more exciting for the average user. As rumored, the world’s most notable VoIP service is set to become exceedingly integrated with the world’s most notable social network. Skype has just thrown up a teaser page for v5.3 for Windows (and v5.5 Beta), noting that Skype and Facebook will aim to provide “the best of both worlds.”

Zuck is primarily announcing three main things today: group chat, a new way to chat (“an easier way to find someone who is online”) and Skype-enabled video chat. Oh, and the tiny, tiny fact that there’s now 750 million Facebook members. What’s notable is just how easy it is to fire up a group chat (or send transcripts to group members who miss out) and get a video call going using your existing Skype contact list. A single click is all it takes, and we’re told that it’ll be rolled out to everyone “over the next few weeks” in 70 different languages. The new chat design will be scalable based on your browser size, and the company made a point to mention that it’ll be listening closely to user input in order to iterate as it moves forward.

Tony Bates stepped up to the plate, and noted that over 300 million videocall minutes a month are going through Skype, and at peak times, over half of its traffic is video. He also noted that the technology behind it was “tough” to construct, but somehow it managed to hammer this whole thing out in around six months via joint development. There’s also talk about future “paid products” in due time, and it’s strikingly clear that this partnership isn’t going to fade anytime soon. If you’re looking to take a dive yourself, hit up the source links below for the Windows applications, and wear that F5 button out over at Facebook’s homepage if you’re more of the “in-browser” type.

Oh, and if you’re curious about mobile — video chat isn’t active on that front yet, and Mark’s not spilling any details on “when.” To quote him on a question of time tables: “We’ll see.”

Update: Those on the web can get started right now. Of note, this forces open the familiar chat bar, so it doesn’t much look like you can hide from “those people” while attempting to find folks on Skype. Sadly, we’re also seeing that doing so can add loads of Facebook contacts to your Skype program, and there’s no real way to see that it’s happening until it’s too late. Clever, Mark.

Update 2: We’ve spent a little time with both of the new options, and you can read up on our impressions here!

Skype comes to Facebook, and Facebook comes to Skype (update: available now!) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jul 2011 13:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We just mashed our refresh button about a million times to get the screenshot you see above, but it was worth it. JailbreakMe 3.0 with support for the iPad 2 is finally live, and we’re already getting word from tipsters who claim to have successfully jailbroken their iPad 2s running iOS 4.3.3, as evidenced by the pseudo-blurry jailbroken Verizon model below. Thankfully, all of this suggests we’re not dealing with the dodgy release that was leaked previously, but let us know in the comments how it’s working for you this time around and hit the break for another screenshot.

Update: Austin wrote in to tell us about a new jailbreaking tutorial from YouTube user Duncan33303 — head past the break to watch it for yourself.

Continue reading JailbreakMe for the iPad 2 is finally live / not live, just keep refreshing (update: video)

JailbreakMe for the iPad 2 is finally live / not live, just keep refreshing (update: video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jul 2011 03:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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