UPDATED: In an apparent attempt to quell concerns from parents, regulators and legislators, Apple has moved to require password entry on every iOS in-app purchase, closing a 15-minute grace period that some children used to inadvertently rack up pricey charges of virtual goods. Read More »
Tech
Apple has opened up its Ping social network to Twitter’s 175 million users, allowing those users to connect their accounts to the iTunes-based network and share links and previews. The deal gives Apple more reach, and could help drive traffic to Twitter’s newly relaunched website. Read More »
The Wholesale Applications Community, which will “increase the overall market for mobile applications” has announced new members and published a developer specification for apps that can work across many devices and carriers. But so far, it’s just a spec for widgets. Do we need a WAC? Read More »
Orb’s Music Puck, a $69 device that streams digital over a home network is launching just two months before Apple’s similar AirPlay functionality arrives in iOS devices. Music on Orb is controlled with a free smartphone app. Can Orb’s new hardware compete against Apple’s music juggernaut? Read More »
Apple is reportedly talking with a number of newspaper and magazine publishers about an iTunes-based newsstand that would allow them to offer subscriptions to readers. But while this seems like an appealing offer, publishers should be aware of how much they stand to lose as well. Read More »
Whether by design or accident, Ping’s lack of integration with other social networks, or even with the web itself, is now its most compelling feature — at least from a strategic perspective. It’s essentially an e-commerce platform for music disguised as a social network. Read More »
As expected, Apple today came through with a few major device updates it will be shipping this fall. It revised its entire iPod line, and gave the iPod Touch many features previously only available on the latest iPhone, such as FaceTime video chat. Read More »
After finding more than $375 of iTunes transactions on my credit card this weekend, I thought I was hacked. It turns out the “hacker” was my step-daughter who was understandably confused between virtual goods and real currency for in-app purchases inside a free iPhone application. Read More »
mSpot, a new music streaming service for your own audio collection, recently launched on Android 2.0 or better devices. Thanks to local caching, mSpot offers playback even when your phone has no data connection. But seamless on or offline playback is hurt by one main issue. Read More »
Related GigaOM Pro Research (sub. required): Forget Syncing, Let’s Put Music in the Cloud How to Manage Access to Digital Content Muhammad Saleem is a social media consultant. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/msaleem. Read More »
Apple has started to offer preview samples of songs on the web version of the iTunes music store called the iTunes Preview. It launched the iTunes Preview in November 2009. At the time, you couldn’t listen to these previews. The Cupertino, Calif.-based online music giant… Read More »
So it is official: Apple says it has more than 100,000 apps in its iTunes App Store, a bit of news that was reported by AppShopper and Mobclix last week. In terms of landmarks, 100,000 is merely a number, soon to be forgotten… Read More »
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