iTunes Radio/ i wish they’d called it iRadio cos it’s easier to type

Yay! We really like this one.

iTunes radio is the Pandora-like radio streaming app we’ve all been anticipating from Apple, except it’s not standalone, it’s stuck inside iTunes. Which is actually a lot better, because it makes it easier for you to intertwine your own music and what you stream.

iTunes Radio provides a bunch of featured radio stations like ‘Summer songs’, around 200 genre based stations, as well as whatever songs/stations that are trending on twitter, and stations that your friends are listening to ( using Airdrop).

You can create your own station ( and share it with friends) based on genre, song name or artist. You can also start a station from a song in your own iTunes library.

When listening to a station, you can tell iTunes Radio to ‘play more like this’, ‘never play this song again’, or to add the song to your wish list. Like Pandora and Spotify, the app will learn from these actions and will intuitively play songs and artists more and more to your liking, whilst at the same time letting you discover new music.

You can look over your entire history on the app, as well as your wish list, giving you a super easy way to buy the songs you like from the store, straight into your itunes.

iTunes Radio is free, but it is supported by ads. If you are an iTunes Match subscriber than you get it free, with no ads.

Now, people have been freaking out a little bit since iTunes Radio was announced yesterday, saying RIP Pandora ( and Spotify and iHeart Radio etc) and other such way-ahead-of-yourselves-stuff, which we think is a little hasty. We love Pandora.

But here’s the thing. A yearly Ad-free subscription to Pandora is $36. A yearly subscription to iTunes Match, and hence ad-free iTunes Radio is $24.99. Some people will care about that $11 a year if the service and experience is comparable.We just don’t know that it is yet.

On the other hand, if you are like a lot of people and can just put up with ads, even if it’s the same damn one over and over and over again, then we can’t compare iTunes radio with any other radio streaming service yet, because the only hint to how many ads you’ll get is the word ‘occasional’.

One thing that Apple has over the other services is a whole other system built into some of the devices iTunes Radio will be used on. Siri wil be integrated into the service so that you can ask her to change the song, skip a song, ask who it’s by, ask her to play more songs like it, etc.

Apple promises first releases of new tracks and has apparently made deals with Universal, Warner and Sony in an effort to get access to a huge range of artists and songs. We can’t wait to try it, but until then, and maybe after, we still love you Pandora!

iTunes Radio is built into iTunes and will be available in the Fall with iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks across all devices, Apple TV and  iTunes on PC.

Image courtesy of Apple.

Apple vs Samsung Update

For those who have been enjoying the life of those who live under rocks, Apple and Samsung have been very unhappy with each other over the last little while. They have expressed this unhappiness through the law, as you do.

They have both basically been going back and forth calling each other big cheaters and copiers and tattle tales  over their technology patents being infringed upon.

This has been going on for a while, but this time, Apple has lost. The United States International Trade Commission are the people in charge, and they have just overturned a previous judgment from last year, which had ruled in Apple’s favor.

They are now saying that, yes, Apple did infringe on some of Samsung’s patents, specifically to do with their 3G technology, and have henceforth banned some of Apple’s products from being imported into the States.

What does this mean iPhone Antidote?

Well, at the moment it means that the following AT&T products are banned from US imports and sales; iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 3G, and iPad 2 3G.

This doesn’t mean anything if you have any of those models currently, or are planning on buying a used model. It also doesn’t affect Apple very much to be honest, because those products are specific to AT&T and are all old models.

What it does do is pee Apple off, and worsen the relationship between the two biggest smartphone providers. Yaaaay?

Apple will be appealing, with the defense that Samsung made these patents available for use under FRAND terms. FRAND = Fair, Reasonable and Non Discriminatory. This is used to cover technology that is a standard and is meant to prevent litigation like this, and it seems to have been ignored by the ITC in their ruling.

Hey, guys, why can’t we just get to the part where we’re all friends and making super awesome blow our minds technology? Huh?

Image courtesy of applerumors.it

100 million iPod Touch’s sold and a new, cheaper update released!

Another milestone for Apple- they’ve just sold their 100 millionth iPod touch! That’s like, 5 iPod touches for everyone in Australia! Yay!

The device has been around since 2007 and the latest update has just been released last Thursday- with interesting results.

The updated iPod only comes in two colors, is only 16GB and has no rear facing camera. That all sounds …a little bit bleh, until you discover the reason for this is the lowered price- now only $229 compared to the 32Gb at $299 and the 64Gb at $399.

Selling cheaper versions of their products has been something that Apple seemed to have shied away from previously. Now however, with this cheaper iPod update, it seems like the first steps for Apple in trying to provide a bigger price scale of their product line to reach more people.

This gives credence to the rumors that Apple is planning to bring out a less expensive version of the iPhone.

According to Analysts, an ‘iPhone mini’ will be announced in July, called such not in reference to size, but in price- with guestimates pointing at a price tag of about $350- $400 to buy outright.

That’s a pretty penny saved compared to the price of the iPhone 5 which is currently $700-$900.

Just like Apple, we’ll have to wait and see if this iPod touch product meets with enough success in sales to know if the move to provide cheaper Apple products is a good path to take.

The risk of trying out this path is that people might rather stick to what they know, be it more expensive Apple products with all the bells and whistles, or another cheaper brand that is already established in that price range.

We vote… good move, Apple!

Image courtesy of engadget.com

Know someone who broke their phone this weekend?

So, three day weekend, huh? Did everyone have a good time? Yeah? Party? Yeah?

Well here’s a story from our weekend for you.

One of iPhone Antidote’s friends was having a really good time, a couple of kegs were involved, a flip was attempted, and, as you do, the dude tried to take a video of said flip. On his iPhone 5. Whilst he was doing a drunken flip.

Needless to say, it was hilarious. Also; now he has an iPhone that looks like this:

Good thing he’s friends’ with iPhone Antidote, cos he just sold that stinky broken phone to us, and now he has this instead:

And that bag holds exactly $325 cash! Happy friend.

Do you guys know of anyone who may have committed a similar party foul this weekend? Let them know that they can be a friend of iPhone Antidote too!

We’ll make it allll better. With money of course! And… maybe a video of a dude trying to do a flip. Trust us, it is really hilarious.

1. Google Hangouts (Integrated, multi- platform video & chat product)

So, Google has this thing called Hangouts, available to Google + users, where a group of people (up to ten) can get together in an online ‘place’ and video chat, for free, with the option to share Youtube clips.

The program started online, and grew to iOS and Android usability.

Now, it’s been updated to a standalone App with integrated video, chat and multimedia sharing that many think (and Google hopes) is going to be a force in the video & chat industry- up against Skype, Facetime, iMessenger, Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp, etc.

According to Google:

“Today we’re launching a stand-alone version of Hangouts that combines text, photos and live video across Android, iOS and your computer.

Now that Hangouts spans modalities and devices, you can finally fuhgeddaboudit (the technology, that is), and focus on what really matters: creating lasting relationships. And that, we think, is a plus.”

I’m not sure what kind of relationships they think we should be creating, but, with most video chat products, it has the potential to be an excellent way to sustain relationships, from business meetings to family get togethers’, to taking shots with your buddies in the Australian outback.

In Hangouts, you have the ability to save your video chats in the cloud with multi-user access, (which can also be turned off). This could serve business and family video interaction well, possibly less useful for the inter-country shot takers out there amongst us.

Here at iPhone Antidote, we’re pretty partial to Skype, so we’ll be testing this app pretty thoroughly over the next few days ( shots anyone?).

We’ll let you know how Hangouts stacks up against the loyal favorite!

You will need a Google account to participate ( which you will upgrade to Google + upon setup of the App). Check it out for free from the App store, Google Play and the Chrome Web Store.

1. Google Hangouts (Integrated, multi- platform video & chat product)

2. Google Maps update and iPad App

3. Google Play Music All Access

4. Google Play Game Services

5. Updates and the future of the Google search engine.

Photo courtesy of Engadget.

2. Google Maps update and iPad App

This summer, Google will be releasing a new version of Google Maps, as well as an App for the iPad. The update aims to be ‘fully interactive and tailored to you’. Nice.

Google intends to do this by including the ability to see ratings and read reviews from Zagat when searching for restaurants, as well as gaining access to coupons and discounts for retailers such as Starbucks through Google Offers.

Within the app, you will have the option to ‘star’ a location on your map or write a review, which the map will remember and create ‘smart’ recommendations based on this activity.

The update includes access to live traffic information, with alerts of traffic incidents and dynamic re-routing capability, making sure you always get to work on time. Um…winning? Also helpful for getting home on time. Winning.

The new version will have an updated design as well as added functionality, with edge-to-edge maps on screen, as well as the addition of their new ‘Earth View’ which takes what’s great about Google Earth and places it nicely into Google Maps. 3D greatness, that is. Like our eyes.

This Summer will also bring about the Google Maps App for the iPad, which includes a feature called ‘Experience’ which is basically an indoor version of maps, in case you’re one of those ‘I get lost in shopping center’s kind of people’, which… there’s nothing wrong with. Just saying.
You can sign up now through your Google account if you want to try the new Google Maps on your computer, ( or, wait, be invited to try it I should say), but you’ll have to wait until Summer to try the redesigned mobile Apps and the iPad App.

We’ve asked for an invitation. We’ll let you know how it goes!

1. Google Hangouts (Integrated, multi- platform video & chat product)

2. Google Maps update and iPad App

3. Google Play Music All Access

4. Google Play Game Services

5. Updates and the future of the Google search engine.

Image courtesy of cnet.com

3. Google Play Music All Access

Google has today launched it’s new music subscription service, Google Play Music All Access, which (apart from being an annoyingly long name) is apparently aimed squarely at Spotify’s place in the market.

The service, like Spotify and others, aims to provide songs on demand that can be streamed to a computer, tablet or mobile device.

It’s built on the existing Google Play Music Store and recommends songs based on user preference, and then guiding the user towards similar music they might not have discovered yet.

You also have the ability to store 20,000 of your own tracks in the cloud alongside the All Access tracks.

Here’s the tricky part- Google think of this as a premium service and there is no free tier- it will cost $9.99 per month. Worth it? Maybe. Luckily you can check it out for yourself with a 30 day free trial.

If you get in early, Google is offering a discount if you begin the free trial by June 30. Those keen enough will pay just $7.99 per month.

Go to google.com/music and you’ll be invited to sign up if you’re keen!

1. Google Hangouts (Integrated, multi- platform video & chat product)

2. Google Maps update and iPad App

3. Google Play Music All Access

4. Google Play Game Services

5. Updates and the future of the Google search engine.

Photo Courtesy of Macrumors. 

4. Google Play Game Services

Another product released by Google today, with the very real intention of knocking another product out of top place, is Google Play Game Services (another annoyingly long name, get catchier Google!).

This one is designed to compete with Apple’s Game Center with the promise of integrating your gaming experience across all platforms and devices.

Available on Android, iOS and the web, the center has leaderboards, the ability to save to cloud, and real-time game playing against multiple users, ( this part- not so much available on iOS yet, sorry folks).

You can sign in using Google + the program will track your scores and saves across a range of devices.

The Google Play Game Service is available today across a smattering of games.

1. Google Hangouts (Integrated, multi- platform video & chat product)

2. Google Maps update and iPad App

3. Google Play Music All Access

4. Google Play Game Services

5. Updates and the future of the Google search engine.

Photo courtesy of Venturebeat

5. Updates and the future of the Google Search Engine.

Today, Google previewed what they are building in terms of the future of their search engine. As they correctly observe, people don’t communicate or gain knowledge based on key words. A lot of the time, its based on spoken, flowing, sentence based communication.

So this is what they’re working on. They see us in the future, asking (aloud) our computer/tablet/mobile/shoephone questions such as, “What is the weather like in San Francisco?”

Alongside the spoken and correct answer they see the search engine already creating answers to follow up questions, like the weather in other places nearby, how long it would take to drive to San Francisco, traffic conditions, event information etc.

Google is also building their ‘Knowledge Graph’ which as of today means that answers to your searches on Google will drastically improve if you speak Polish, Turkish, and Traditional and Simplified Chinese.

Your searches will also include more in-depth answers to questions.

Their example- ” What is the population of Canada?”

This search, as of today, will not only be answered by a number, but the history of Canada’s population growth and the ability to compare populations with other countries.

More information in the world, more knowledge in the world, can only be a good thing. Happy searching!

…Except for us. iPhone Antidote might just have Googled ourselves out for the day. We’ve been Googlified.  Now where are those shots?

1. Google Hangouts (Integrated, multi- platform video & chat product)

2. Google Maps update and iPad App

3. Google Play Music All Access

4. Google Play Game Services

5. Updates and the future of the Google search engine.

Photo courtesy of Moxieinteractive.

Some Tuesday Afternoon Stats

Comcast, the people who know whatsup in measuring the tech world, recently released a report measuring ( among other things) key trends in the US smartphone industry.

The report, done by comScore MobiLens, ranked the smartphone leaders using statistics garnered from the first 3 months of this year, otherwise known as the first quarter.

Unsurprisingly for us, but perhaps for some, Apple remain strong in their grasp on the leadership of the Smartphone industry, with 39% of the device market share and with continual quarterly gains.

This means that out of the 136.7 million people in the US that own smartphones, 39% own Apple iPhones, with Samsung coming into second place with 21.7% market share, HTC were third with 9%, Motorola with 8.5% and LG had 6.8%.

Google Android might be taking over the smartphone world not according to Apple though, with 52% of the platform market share.

So… this means that two companies, Apple and Google, control 91% of the total smartphone market. A little scary. Let’s just try and keep those two apart shall we? With rulers. Really, really big rulers.

p.s Go Apple!

Photo courtesy of ZDnet