Following yesterday’s launch of Apple Pay through participating card issuers, banks and retailers in the US, some users have discovered that the payment service is also already being accepted through some retailers abroad. 9to5Mac readers report using Apple Pay loaded with a US-based credit card at retailers in Australia and Canada…
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Anyone who has ever shared a Spotify Premium account with a partner or – worse – their kids will know the problems: arguments over who gets to use it when, and your playlists and recommendations polluted by the likes of Jason Mraz or the soundtrack from The Lego Movie.
Spotify Family will soon allow you to purchase additional Premium subscriptions for up to four family members for half-price. The first family member will continue to pay $10/month, but additional family members pay just $5/month.
Your account. Your music. With Spotify Family, everyone gets their very own account. Enjoy separate playlists and recommendations and play your music whenever you like.
Premium for everyone. Everyone on the plan gets the full Spotify Premium experience. Listen offline. Play any song, anytime, on any device. No restrictions. No ads.
The more the merrier. Having a family can be expensive. But music doesn’t have to be. With Spotify Family, you can add up to four family members to your account, and each additional user gets 50% off Spotify Premium.
No tantrums. No more fighting over what to listen to, and no more interruptions when someone else logs in and starts playing.
Spotify said a family membership has been one of its most requested features, and that the package will roll-out globally in the coming weeks.
Spotify apps are available for both OS X and iOS, as well as Windows and Android. Spotify is currently available in over 60 countries, with Canada joining the list just last month.
Rovio’s latest game in the Angry Birds series, Angry Birds Transformers, has rolled out worldwide today after its earlier soft-launch last month in New Zealand, Finland, Canada and Australia.
Angry Birds and Transformers collide in this action-packed, 3D shoot ’em up adventure! The EggSpark has transformed the eggs into crazed robots who are destroying Piggy Island, but who can stop them?! Autobirds, roll out!
Gamers have been waiting for quite some time as the Transformers mash-up game was first announced back in June …
Spotify announced today that it’s finally expanding into Canada giving Canucks access to the music streaming service that was previously available in the UK, US and a long list of other European and South American countries.
The official announcement comes from Spotify’s blog following a beta period in the country in which the company invited select users to sign-up and try out the service.
Canadians that download the Spotify app will be able to access the service’s usual “fully licensed free tier.” That includes the ability to “shuffle play on mobile or play any song on tablet or desktop,” but users can also pay $10 CAD per month for the unlimited, on-demand experience with the highest quality audio and no ads.
A full list of countries that Spotify is currently available in is here.
Microsoft has confirmed its rumored plan to open what it describes as its “first flagship store” on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, a few blocks away from Apple’s glass-cubed flagship store, reports the WSJ.
“As our first flagship store, it will serve as the centerpiece of our Microsoft Stores experience,” said David Porter, corporate vice president for Microsoft retail stores. “This is a goal we’ve had since day one—we were only waiting for the right location. And now we have it.”
Google this evening rolled out an update to the Google Voice app on iOS, adding several new features and much-needed visual enhancements. Bumping the app to version 1.6, this evening’s update is the first the app has seen since September 2013, and the first major update since 2012.
Sony’s Album of the Day app for iPhone and iPod Touch, which provides a daily discount of up to 70 percent on albums by popular artists, has gone international. Originally launched in Germany in March, it is now available in the U.S., Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
Every 24 hours, Album of the Day offers you one album from the artists you know and love at a special limited time promotional price. All deals live on your iPhone and are purchased safely through iTunes and saved to your iTunes library.
If you allow push notifications, you’ll receive a notification of each day’s deal, which is available for just 24 hours. You can download the free app from iTunes.
(via TNW)
After revealing plans to finally bring Spotify to Canada last month, users in the country have now started receiving invites to try the streaming music service. A reader sent in the image above and others have received their invite over the last 24 hours,.
Congratulations — you’re in!
You’ve been chosen to try Spotify in Canada before everyone else!
Millions of songs are now waiting for you. The artists you love, the latest hits and new discoveries— all for free on mobile, tablet and desktop. Happy listening!
The company initially announced last month that the service would launch in the coming months, but now seems to be launching a test of the service with select users that signed-up here. Spotify is currently available in a long list of countries around the world, but it doesn’t yet list Canada on its website.
The company appears to be offering the service in trial mode for free but doesn’t mention pricing for a premium service for Canadians. Users that receive a code can access the service here.
(Thanks Josh!)
Earlier this week, Apple started replacing iPhone 5s glass screens in Apple Stores for the first time. But the catch is that the service is only available in the United States and Canada. That will change, though, next week. Sources say that the program will expand across Apple’s official retail locations in Europe as soon as Monday, August 11th. The pricing for the screen replacements will likely come in around the equivalent of $150. iPhone 5c screen replacements started across Apple’s locations earlier this year.
Apple will finally begin offering iPhone 5s screen replacements in its official U.S. and Canada retail stores in the coming days, according to several sources. Apple Store Genius Bars are said to have begun taking delivery of large quantities of iPhone 5s screens for the repair program. The crucial service’s debut is currently scheduled for Monday, August 4th. This upcoming rollout will mark an official launch as a few stores in the U.S. have piloted iPhone 5s screen repairs over the past several months. Apple officially rolled out iPhone 5c screen repairs in January, and it began replacing other iPhone 5c and 5s parts late in 2013. The screen replacements will cost approximately $150 per repair, and this is more affordable than the $269 price of completely replacing a broken iPhone 5s.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCs_1NCLo90]
Rovio today launched Angry Birds Epic for free in the iTunes App Store globally after a brief soft launch in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada.
Get ready for a bird-tastic FREE RPG adventure filled with “weapons” (whatever they could get ahold of), magic, bad guys and silly hats! Lead your feathery team into battle now – it’s going to be EPIC!
EPIC BATTLES! Turn-based battles between our heroic flock of warriors and those green snout-nosed scoundrels! It’s easy to play, but difficult to master!
EPIC WORLDS! Explore a fantasy Piggy Island with everything from tribal villages and frosty mountains to tropical beaches and mysterious caves!
EPIC CHARACTERS! Join Red, Chuck, Bomb and the other heroes as they face King Pig, Wiz Pig, Prince Porky and many more villains!
EPIC UPGRADES! Level up your characters, armor, weapons and potions to become a legendary hero ready to take on the mightiest pig warrior!
EPIC WEAPONS! Craft amazing battle-winning weapons like a wooden sword, frying pan or stick thingy with a sponge on top!
EPIC HUMOR! Plenty of offbeat humor and tons of quirky characters dressed in awesomely silly costumes – like a prickly cactus hat and a matching sword.
Phone Arena called it great for casual gamers but too simple and repetitive for hardcore gamers.
Overall, Angry Birds Epic is one of those must-try casual games. Chances are that hardcore gamers will find it too simple and shallow for their taste, but those who consider themselves casual gamers will surely love Rovio’s newest creation. The game is easy to learn, easy to play, and easy to put down when there’s more serious business to be done, which makes it a great choice for killing a few minutes while waiting for the bus. Although we wouldn’t mind spending an afternoon stashing loot, crafting weapons, and laying waste to those grunting green pigs. Best of all, we never had the feeling that we were being pushed towards buying extra in-game currency (which costs real money, by the way) so don’t be worried about IAPs spoiling your experience. The only thing you might be bothered by are the full-screen pop-up ads that appear from time to time.
Following a slew of updates to iWork, Apple has released a minor update to iPhoto for iOS, part of its iLife suite. The update adds a new border printing option. When ordering prints, you can now frame your photos with a white border. As usual, the update also includes miscellaneous bug fixes and “other improvements”.
What’s New in Version 2.0.1
• Add a white border to photos when ordering prints
• Includes bug fixes and other improvements
iPhoto costs $5 on the App Store, but new iOS device purchases automatically unlocks the app for the registered account for free.
Rovio has announced details of its latest game in the Angry Birds series(Via Kotaku). The game is a turn-based role player, a significant departure from the mobile mini-game physics puzzler Angry Birds is known for. The game will feature turn-based combat and a crafting system — players can craft armor, potions and weapons. This item system will apparently be funded through a game currency, or via in-app purchases.
The game is launching in Australia and Canada this week (likely tomorrow), with more countries to follow. Rovio is touting it as the most ‘epic’ soft launch ever.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6Nh92eGP8I]
iTunes Radio, launched alongside iOS 7 six months ago, has now overtaken Spotify to become the third most popular music streaming service in America – and looks set to take second place within the next quarter or two.
Reporting on listening data compiled by Edison Research, Electronista estimates that iTunes Radio’s 8 percent market share gives it around 20M listeners, and says that it is the fastest-growing of the top three services …
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In line with our report from a couple of weeks ago, Apple’s in-store iPhone trade-in program has arrived in Canada. The Reuse and Recycle program allows an iPhone user (of the first 3G model and newer) to trade-in their iPhone for a gift card that can be applied toward the purchase of the new iPhone. The amount of money on the card will vary by model and the quality of the older iPhone. The program first launched in the United States last year, quickly expanded to the United Kingdom, and then it reached France earlier this year. The launch in Canada has been confirmed via Apple’s Canada retail pages in the Apple Store iPhone app.
The Apple Store iPhone Reuse and Recycling trade-in program is launching in Canada in the coming weeks, according to a source with knowledge of the initiative’s expansion. The source says that training for Apple Store employees in Canada will begin this upcoming week…
Engadget reports that Google has been testing a new iOS and Android app at its Mountain View campus recently that would allow users to automatically join public WiFi hotspots without going through the usual log-in process. Google is apparently considering using the app in connection with its recently announced deal to provide WiFi to 7000 Starbucks locations in the US:
According to our sources, the search giant has built Android and iOS versions of an app that automatically authenticate and connect to its free hotspots inside Starbucks stores or wherever they are available. Google is currently trialling the Android app at its Mountain View HQ and has plans to offer an iOS app too.
Perhaps more interesting is Engadget’s claim that Google has “specific plans” to roll out more Google WiFi hotspots in the US and Canada as part of the ongoing “Google WiFi” effort it first launched in Mountain View back in 2006.
The report adds that the app could link to a user’s Google account and “install a dedicated security certificate on their device to automatically authenticate devices when a connection is available.” Engadget says an expanded partnership with Boingo is also a possibility:
Google may also expand its partnership with Boingo, extending logins to locations where it’s footing the bill for free wireless.
Google plans to have its WiFi rolled out at all 7000 Starbucks locations by the end of the year.
Repeat of the late-2012 iMac launch, indeed. Joining Apple’s international online stores, Apple’s United States, Canada, and Mexico online stores are now quoting a March shipment timeframe for the “late 2013” Mac Pro. The Mac Pro launched in December to a February shipment quote, and as the month of January nears its end, the new March shipment timeframe indicates little to no improvement in a supply to demand balance for the $3000+ workstation.
As it has done in recent years, today Apple launched a special Boxing Day sale in at least the Canadian iTunes store offering deals on select albums and songs. The sale is accessible through the iTunes store on both iOS devices and on the desktop. While Boxing Day is recognized as a holiday on Dec. 26 in Canada, retailers usually hold Boxing Week sales that last from Dec. 24 through Jan. 2.
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Verizon’s problems with LTE capacity in NY are almost at an end, claimed CEO Lowell McAdam during an investor conference on Monday. Describing the issues as “a short-term blip,” he said the company was “now back to where we want to be.”
Verizon identified 49 cell sites in the New York area where capacity was insufficient, and said that all but seven of them had been strengthened.
AT&T, meantime, said that it has become the first U.S. carrier to offer international LTE roaming thanks to an agreement with Rogers Communications to allow customers access to LTE data when visiting Canada. The Rogers LTE network covers approximately 70 percent of Canada.
Roaming is not, however, cheap. For occasional use, you’re charged $15.36/MB. Alternatively, you can sign up for a Data Global Add-on packages at $30/month for 120MB, $60/month for 300MB or $120/month for 800MB. The two more expensive packages also give you 1GB of wifi usage where available.
Full AT&T press release below …
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[kickstarter url=http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cchu/palette-a-freeform-interface-that-controls-any-sof width=640]
Trackpads and keyboards are great for many things, but there are some tasks where there’s no substitute for a physical dial, slider or button. In video editing, for example, there’s a reason that professional kit uses a rotary dial to move forward or backward through the video clip. Photo editing and audio work are also far easier with physical dials and sliders.
While there’s a whole world of dedicated hardware controllers out there, the Palette project on Kickstarter takes a particularly neat approach: a modular system that you can design to your own requirements. There’s a power block, button, rotary dial and slider, and you can mix-and-match them in any layout you like, and they can be made to work with any software …
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It’s unlikely that this will help BlackBerry come out of its struggles, but the Canada-based smartphone maker says it will be bringing its BBM messaging service to Apple’s iPad and iPod touch later today. Don’t be surprised, though, if the launch gets delayed (based on BlackBerry’s past iOS launch efforts). BBM for iPhone arrived late last month for free. It seems likely that the app will be a Universal download, and we’ll update when it’s out. The iPhone-only launched garnered 5 million downloads in 8 hours.
Update: The app is out… though BBM for iPad is (unsurprisingly?) just the iPhone app working stretched. Although the stretched iPhone app has always been available for cellular iPads, today’s update brings the app to wi-fi only models of the iPad and iPods.
When Apple unveiled its updated iWork suite during its iPad Air event earlier this week, it also confirmed that it would be making the apps free for all new Mac purchases. That means new Macs shipping with Mavericks would allow users to download Pages, Keynote, and Numbers– previously $20 each– for free from the Mac App Store. That offer also extends to Macs purchased on or after Oct. 1 and yesterday Apple made an Up-To-Date Program available on its website for those that purchased qualifying Mac.
Apple has instructions on its website for applying for the Up-To-Date Program, which requires users to enter their Mac’s serial number, purchase date, and provide Apple with “an electronic copy of a dated, itemized sales receipt indicating the marketing part number(s) of the qualifying product(s) purchased.” Apple will then send codes to customers within 24 hours of confirming the purchase that can be redeemed on the Mac App Store to download the apps.
For those that purchased between Oct. 1 and Oct. 22, you’ll have to apply to the program by Nov. 21. Purchases made after Oct. 22 will have 30 days to qualify.
Apple also says that the program is only for the United States (50 states and the District of Columbia) and Canada, but it’s unclear if it will have similar programs for customers in other countries.
Apple today has changed its iPhone 5s shipping estimates in the United States (and other countries such as China, Canada, and Australia), to note that the phones will ship in 2-3 weeks. Previously, Apple said that phones would ship in October. The high-end of the new quoted time will put some phones in the range of shipping during the first week of November…
