Hasta La Gadget!

Gone are the days of going to the music store, finding a vintage CD or cassette tape, happily unwrapping it and thoroughly perusing the cover art as you listen to your new album for the very first time. In a want-it-now world, that simply takes too long — and we have the internet to thank for the change in pace. As preferences seem to shift in the music consumption universe, it feels as if tastes are centered around consuming the largest amount of music possible. And thanks to the sudden proliferation of online streaming services, satisfying those desires in record time has become a reality.

Unsurprisingly, competition is mighty fierce — consumers have options for user-made radio stations, on-demand streaming content, and cloud-based multimedia. But if you’ve been hearing the word on the street, Apple and Google could soon make their way onto the scene by offering streaming music options of their own. Almost everything these two tech giants touch turns to gold (emphasis on almost — we don’t think Ping and Buzz built the best reputations), so there’s reason to believe that these oft-rumored services will become automatic front-runners the day they’re released. Head on past the break to see some of the lucky / unlucky contestants planning to give Google and Apple a run for their (near-limitless) money, replete with a breakdown of what they offer and how hard they hit the wallet.

Continue reading Streaming music breakdown: how Google Music and iCloud will impact today’s options

Streaming music breakdown: how Google Music and iCloud will impact today’s options originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 May 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Have you tried Sprint’s new Google Voice integration? We know a lot of our readers have — and many of them have had problems, writing in to us to express their displeasure. We started investigating and found a hoard of complaints, and the deeper we looked, the more issues we found. To make matters worse, Sprint has instructed its representatives to refer all Google Voice-related questions to the Google Voice Forum, which for reasons that frustrate us as much as you, Google itself seems to have forgotten exists. Join us for a full investigation into the issues, including voicemail security holes, accounts accidentally crippled by Sprint, and calls overseas that’ll leave you swimming in usage fees.

Continue reading Sprint / Google Voice integration has major issues, major lack of support (update: Sprint and Google respond)

Sprint / Google Voice integration has major issues, major lack of support (update: Sprint and Google respond) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 May 2011 18:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Like two knights jostling for the hand of a fair maiden, both Facebook and Google appear to be courting the graces of Skype. A source close to Facebook recently told Reuters that CEO Mark Zuckerberg is thinking about buying Skype outright, as part of a deal that could be worth $3 to $4 billion. A second source, meanwhile, claimed that both Facebook and Google are more interested in forming a joint venture with the teleconferencing company, which has yet to issue an IPO. With discussions still in a nascent stage, both suitors are playing their cards close to their chests, while Skype, rather coyly, has declined to comment on the speculation. At this point, details are still hazy and rumor-infused, though it’s certainly not shocking to hear these kinds of murmurs buzzing around. Skype’s been integrating Facebook more deeply into its software for a while now and has gradually branched out to Android, as well (albeit with mixed results). Both Facebook and Google would also stand to benefit from Skype’s millions of users and all the targeted advertising potential they’d offer. Until we receive more substantiated reports, however, all discussions of possible unions remain restricted to the realm of conjecture.

Facebook, Google rumored to be vying for Skype deal originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 May 2011 06:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Until now, Mac users who like to live their digital lives on the edge have had to make do with Chrome’s dev channel while their Windows counterparts were flying by the seat of their pants with the Canary build. Well, be jealous so more OS X fans — you can now run your own untested, pre-developer build of Google’s web browser. The Canary release is updated at an almost alarming rate and frequently adds and drops features without warning. Sure, you could opt for the open-source Chromium, but then you’d miss out on niceties like built-in Flash and PDF support. Don’t get too freaked out though: Canary can run alongside your existing (and more stable) Chrome install. So, throw caution to the wind, embrace the crashes, report those bugs, and hit up the source link to download.

Chrome Canary comes to Macs for fearless browser enthusiasts originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 May 2011 01:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Good things come to those who wait. If you bought the dual-booting ViewSonic ViewPad 10, Android 1.6 be damned, we have some good news — the tablet’s getting an upgrade to Android 2.2. Just to refresh your memories, that leap from Donut to Froyo means ViewPad 10 owners will now get updated Gmail, Calendar, Google Maps, Gallery, and YouTube apps, a refined onscreen keyboard, compatabilty with newer applications, and a healthy dose of sorely needed eye candy. New customers can choose one that also runs Windows 7 Home Premium and has 16GB of flash storage ($599) or one with Win 7 Professional and 32GB of space ($679). As for those of you champing at the bit to upgrade, ViewSonic is keeping things interesting by compelling you to download Froyo onto a thumb drive, and then plug both it and a USB keyboard into the ViewPad to install the update. Then again, something tells us the kind of person who would opt for the ViewPad 10 over other ViewSonic tablets might actually enjoy the challenge.

Continue reading Dual-booting ViewSonic ViewPad 10 gets Android 2.2 upgrade, patient owners join 2010

Dual-booting ViewSonic ViewPad 10 gets Android 2.2 upgrade, patient owners join 2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 May 2011 19:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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