Spotify provided some updates at the Global Business Summit on Creative Content in London today. TNW reported that Spotify exec Ken Parks announced the service now has 4 million paying subscribers and 15 million active users worldwide. That is up from the 2.5 million paying subscribers that the company officially announced in November 2011, and Spotify previously claimed “more than 10 million active users” with around 3 million paying subscribers as of last month.
Multiple tipsters wrote in this evening saying 20th Century Fox movies are appearing in their purchased movie iTunes accounts ready for re-downloading over iCloud. Sure enough, Fox’s Horton Hears a Who!is on my kid’s iTunes account ready for downloading on iCloud (above, left). There is also no longer a disclaimer saying, “This movie is not available for iCloud downloading,” in iTunes (above, right) which existed before.
When Apple launched Movies in Cloud in March, both Fox and Universal held out. Universal went live on iCloud in April, and it appears Fox is going live today. The deal has been expected for awhile, as HBO allowed iCloud users access to both studios’ catalogs in March. The reasons for the delay aren’t specified but they often involve complicated contract negotiations with multiple rights holders.
Following the launch of iTunes Match in Poland and Hungary today, Apple also appears to be opening up its iTunes in the Cloud for movies in at least the United Kingdom, Canada, and Colombia, which previously only had access to music, music videos, apps, and books (and TV shows in Canada and the U.K.). There are also various other reports coming from Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland that claim the feature is going live.
Apple’s list of supported countries for the feature has not been updated to reflect the new countries. Let us know in the comments if you notice the feature rolling out in your country.
Australia, Argentine, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Singapore, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, the U.K., Venezuela, and Vietnam
We received several tips that Apple started rolling out the iTunes Match service in Poland, Hungary, and possibly a few other unconfirmed markets. Apple’s official list of availability for iTunes Match by country has not been updated to include Poland, Hungary, or any additional markets, but currently lists 55 countries with access to the service. Local reports claim the service is available for 24.99 euros in Hungary, which is on par with pricing in other markets.
Let us know in the comments if you notice iTunes Match available in your country. Expand Expanding Close
On Friday, we broke the news on some worrying tips we received about an “in-app proxy” hack that allowed even novice users to illegally install paid in-app purchase content for free. In updates to our original story, we noted the hack’s developer, Alexey V. Borodin, said in an interview that Apple’s method of validating receipts for developers would not protect apps from the hack. Apple followed up with a statement that claimed it is investigating the issue. Today, we get an update from The Next Webthat further claims Apple began taking action over the weekend:
Over the weekend, Apple began blocking the IP address of the server used by Russian hacker Alexey V. Borodin to authenticate purchases.
It followed this up with a takedown request on the original server, taking down third-party authentication with it, also issuing a copyright claim on the overview video Borodin used to document the circumvention method. PayPal also got involved, placing a block on the original donation account for violating its terms of service
Unfortunately, the service is reportedly still operational with Borodin apparently moving the server to a location outside of Russia. He told The Next Web thatthe new service has been “updated and cuts out Apple’s servers, ‘improving’ the protocol to include its own authorisation and transaction processes. The new method ‘can and will not reach the App Store anymore, so the proxy (or caching) feature has been disabled'”
While Borodin also claimed he has changed the process to force users to sign out of their iTunes account (to ensure users he is not stealing personal/credit card data), there are more than a few reasons to still be concerned. Developer Alastair Houghton told us that he thinks Borodin’s method could be used “intercept traffic intended for any other secure website”:
The New York Times reported in December that a small group of people at Apple were “conceptualizing and even prototyping some wearable devices,” so we posted Federico Ciccarese’s creepy take on a wearable, curved-glass iOS device last week. Now, Swedish designer Anders Kjellberg introduces his iteration of the tech with an “iWatch” concept featuring FaceTime.
The mockup touts a Retina display, an 8-megapixel camera with HD and FaceTime capabilities, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Airplay support, a built-in, rechargeable Lithium-ion battery, 16 GB of storage, accelerometer, proximity and ambient light sensors, and eight customizable wristbands. Oh, and iTunes and apps—of course.
“We had a temporary issue that began yesterday with a server that generated DRM code for some apps being downloaded. It affected only a small number of users.
“The issue has been rectified and we don’t expect it to occur again,” Apple said. Those who have an affected app can re-download it from the App Store.
Apple officially opened up the iTunes Store and iTunes Match in 12 new Asian countries late last month, bringing the total to 155 countries worldwide. Perhaps the most notable addition was Hong Kong. Apple said at the time that the local stores would include “an incredible selection of local and international music from all the major labels and thousands of independent labels,” but many Chinese users are disgruntled with the method Apple is using to translate the titles and descriptions of some content in the store. The Wall Street Journal published a story today highlighting the problem with translations in the Hong Kong store:
On accessing the iTunes store for the first time, some Hong Kong users were irritated to find that the store was listing a number of song titles by the city’s popstars in Mandarin pinyin, a system that transcribes Chinese characters into phonetic Latin script, instead of displaying titles transliterated for the Cantonese language, which is spoken by the majority of the population.
For example, the popular Cantonese pop song titled “Autumn Wind, Autumn Rain” would be written and pronounced as qiu feng qiu yu using Mandarin pinyin. Though there is no broadly accepted official system for rendering Cantonese using the Roman alphabet, a transliteration for Cantonese speakers would be closer to cou feng cou yu.
“Those are CANTO pop [songs],” wrote one Hong Kong-based user on Twitter. “Use cantonese [sic] phonetics.”
In other Chinese Apple news, Bloomberg reported today that Apple is using China-based AutoNavi to power its new iOS 6 Maps app in China. Apple is already confirmed to be using TomTom and various other sources for map data in the United States and elsewhere, and Bloomberg noted today that AutoNavi signed a joint venture with TomTom in China in 2010.
iOS and Mac developers alike are slashing prices of their hottest titles to celebrate the 4th of July. 9to5Toyswill be keeping you in the loop all week long on the best deals. The links highlighting the new price will take you directly to iTunes to purchase immediately, no matter what device you’re on! Read on for the deals below: Expand Expanding Close
Our list of newly released apps and updates kicks off today with two new Nike+ apps and another nice update that brings even more content to Flipboard. As always, we will keep this list updated as more notable app related news comes up throughout the day.
Nike+ Training: Nike released a new app today that works with shoes using the Nike+ Sport Adapter (included in Nike+ Sport Pack bundles) that syncs wirelessly with your iOS device over Bluetooth. The app’s iTunes page explained “Sensors in your shoes track every jump, step and rep as you take on pro athlete drill packs that challenge you with the moves the world’s best use to get into shape.” This app is geared specifically towards fitness routines, and it provides four-week programs for daily workouts and demonstrations of drills from Nike trainers.
Nike+ Basketball:Nike also released another iOS app today called “Nike+ Basketball” that that works with the same Nike+ technology, but it is geared specifically towards basketball players, allowing you to track “how high, how quick and how hard” you play. The app provides stats for Vertical, Quickness, Hustle, and more. It also has a “Showcase Your Skills” feature that allows you to capture video and create highlight reels of your games to share through various social networks.
Flipboard version 1.94:After receiving an update earlier this month with Google+ and YouTube integration, today the app gets full access to the New York Times for paid subscribers, as well as the NYT Top Section free to all readers
Amazing Alex:We already knew it was coming when Angry Birds developer Rovio announced it acquired iOS puzzler Casey’s Contraptions and planned to rebrand it as “Amazing Alex”. Today we get a little bit more info about the game and a short teaser video from a post on the official Rovio blog:
Set the objects up to bounce, pop, ricochet, bash, and crash into each other and create an elaborate Rube Goldberg device! With a houseful of toys to play with, there’s more than one right answer! Share your most creative solutions with your friends and see what they came up with!… Got a great idea for a level? Design intriguing new levels using 35 interactive objects and share them — with friends or with the whole world! With other fans constantly creating and uploading new levels, there are always new challenges to check out!
Update: Apple confirmed with an official press release (below) the store is launching in not only seven, but twelve new countries including: Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.
A new rumor claims Apple will host an event tomorrow for the launch of iTunes Store content in seven Asian regions.
e27 just published a report, which cited a “trusted source in the industry,” about Apple planning to host a launch event in Hong Kong for iTunes Store video content going live in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. While the current location is not confirmed, it is “close to the airport,” and the publication previously noted Apple invited Asian music label reps to Hong Kong for an unspecified June 27 launch event. Another report from Philippine-based blog Mister JonJon claimed access to movies, music, books, and movie rentals has already gone live for some.
A review of the localized iTunes Stores for the various countries reveals that movie listings have already gone live, and the navigation bars also contain listings for music, although the are not yet functional. TV shows are not listed as an option in the navigation bar, so it appears that they may not be included in the launch.
Movies and music in Apple’s iTunes Store are available in over 50 countries, with the most recent addition including Latin American countries in December, while App Store apps expanded just last week to 32 new territories.
Earlier today, Apple released a new iOS 6 beta to developers, introducing the usual “bug fixes and improvements”. Below is a list of all the new buttons and changes we’ve found so far. If you happen to spot any more, send them our way at tips@9to5mac.com.
The first thing you’ll see when installing beta 2 is actually a change that was technically made in beta 1: when installing an OTA update, the cogs in the Settings icon on the Software Update page spin (not the ones on the actual home screen, though).
It is no secret that Apple’s search results within its App Store for both the iOS and Mac do not always turn up the best results. In return, many hoped that Apple’s recent acquisition of app search engine Chomp, which revealed in February, would start leading to better results. That time may now be here.
TechCrunchreported earlier this afternoon that developers of popular, high quality apps with good ratings have seen better search results for their apps. This certainly makes it sound as if Chomp is behind the technical change. Chomp’s technology has been described to search for what apps can do, and not keywords and other buzzwords in an app’s description. Users are then able to get better search results with listings for high-quality, useful apps. You know—the good stuff.
It is certainly a hard thing to judge now, because search results are different from region-to-region. TechCrunch pointed out that the developer of the Best Parking app found his app jumped to the top of results recently, which is a place it has never been before (historically overshadowed by lower quality apps). For example, an app including “best parking” certainly does not look like it would be the top of an “sf parking” search. You would rather think an app that has “sf parking” in its title would be selected, but things seem to be changing for the better. The App Store now looks to be recognizing apps with more downloads and user reviews—like Best Parking (see screenshot below).
StackSocial offers the $30 TuneUp Bundle which offers to “Cleanup your iTunes Music Collection. Automagically.” The TuneUp Bundle (Lifetime License) includes:
• Clean — Accurately fixes mislabeled or missing song information (like “Track 01” or “Unknown Artist”) using cutting-edge waveform recognition
• Cover Art — Scans your entire music collection in seconds and automagically™ fills in missing album artwork
• DeDuper— Intelligently finds and removes duplicate music files from your music library using waveform recognition
• Tuniverse — Delivers music videos, artist bios, concert alerts, social network integration and more
The South Korea-based Company is making it easier than ever to jump ship from iOS to its Galaxy line with the Easy Phone Sync app. The software is free to anyone purchasing a Samsung Galaxy device, and it quickly installs on any Galaxy product, PC, or Mac.
In the most straightforward manner, it transfers media, contacts, content—and all that other stuff packed into handhelds—from iTunes to an Android-powered tablet or phone by Samsung. Users can also manage their content through iTunes to maintain preferences during the sync process.
For more information on Samsung’s plan to pilfer iPhone users from Apple, check out its newest marketing strategy that 9to5Google detailed earlier this week.
Below is our usual list of the most notable app-related news from today, including, among others: new web radio features for Spotify, the release of Bento 4 for iPad, and updates to both the Square Register and Pay With Square iOS apps.
Spotify Version 0.5.2:First, we have an update to the Spotify iOS app that brings a new radio experience to the service. A report from AllThingsD detailed the new web radio service and described it as “more or less mirrors Pandora’s core radio service.” The service would include advertising and offers users the ability to listen free on mobile devices, and it would initially launch for iPad and iPhone with an Android version in development. The iTunes page explained users could now start radio stations based on genres, artists, playlists, and albums, as well as customize their stations “by voting tracks up or down.”
Square Register & Pay with Square: Square updated two of its main iOS app today with new features. The Square Register app now allows merchants to offer reward cards including punch cards for repeat customers and “Visit specials” to attract new customers. On the customer’s side of things, the Pay with Square app was updated with an interface to view and manage the rewards, specials, and punch cards. FastCompany has a nice breakdown of all the new features.
Bento 4 for iPad: Filemaker released Bento 4 for iPad today for the introductory price of $4.99 (goes up to $10 on July 31). It also included a ton of new features, such as: new drag and drop tools, 40 new themes, “Direct Access to the Bento Template Exchange,” and “Form view, Table view, Split view and Full Screen view.” As noted by The Loop, Apple posted Bento 4 as a new app on the App Store, which means owners of previous Bento apps will have to pay for the upgrade.
Much like Apple did when introducing its standalone iTunes U app at its education event last January, it is also planning to launch a standalone app for podcasts. A report fromAllThingsD first mentioned Apple’s plans to include the app in iOS 6 this fall. We also heard that the app is in the works for a release with the final version of iOS 6.
People familiar with Apple’s plans tell me that when its new iOS 6 software becomes widely available this fall, podcasts will have their own app, where users will be able to discover, download and play them on mobile devices. Users who access iTunes via laptop and desktop machines will still find them in that version of iTunes, though.
Apart from the podcast app that AllThingsDnoted would allow users to “discover, download and play” on iOS devices, we heard separately that Apple is working on podcast-producing technology, perhaps for inclusion into this app.
As part of its process of breaking the different content categories into standalone apps, many noticed with iOS 6 that Apple removed the Podcasts, Audiobooks, and iTunes U sections from the iTunes app.
Apple updated its iTunes Connect Mobile app today that allows developers to keep an eye on their app sales stats and related data from iTunes Connect. Among the new features are “enhanced product detail views for your entire catalog,” the ability to view app ratings and reviews from customers, a new advanced search feature, and user-interface refinements on the iPad. Developers will also now be able to reject apps submitted for review and release approved updates from within the app. The updated iTunes Connect Mobile app is available on the App Store now.
Amazon just bulked its Kindle app for iOS, Android, and its Cloud Reader by adding children’s books, comics, and graphic novels that were previously exclusive to Kindle Fire owners.
The apps now offer over 1,000 titles for children with features like Text Pop-Up, which help to improve and simplify the reading experience, and Kindle Panel View for comics and graphics to allow panel-by-panel viewing. A few of the literary additions include Brown Bear, Curious George, Batman, and Superman.
The iOS version also touts a new Search option to locate content by title or author. Meanwhile, Android tablet owners, or those with Cloud Reader on a widescreen display, will notice the ability to customize their reading experience with new margin and line spacing controls and side-by-side viewing of two pages in landscape mode.
The Kindle for iOS app is free on the App Store and boasts a 3.5-star rating based on over 165,000 reviews as of press time.
Update: Rogue Amoeba replied to Phil Schiller’s email in a response published on its website. The full response is below.
Following Apple’s decision to pull Rogue Amoeba’s Airfoil Speakers Touch app for a feature allowing iOS devices to stream to one another over AirPlay, Apple explained the app was removed for the feature’s use of non-public APIs. It currently only allows Apple TV and certain third-parties such as speaker manufacturers to access the AirPlay streaming protocol. The app was earlier this week allowed back into the App Store without the iOS-to-iOS streaming feature, but today we get word from Apple’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller who explained in an email the reason behind removing the app.
An email to Apple’s CEO Tim Cook from concerned consumer Kevin Starbird regarding the app’s removal was met with a direct email response from Schiller. 9to5Mac independentlyconfirmed the emails are authentic. Here is Kevin’s full email addressed to Cook followed by Schiller’s response: Expand Expanding Close
