Hype Machine iPhone Radio
Hype Machine evolved into a lean back, non-stop rich radio experience. The app differs from the site with an even sharper focus on discovering new music – de-emphasizing ways to go back to familiar artists or songs. There is no artist search, on-demand playback. Your favorites are still in the app, but they are mixed with what the blogs you follow are posting, so that you’re always finding something new.
App.
Site.
Planetary
Planetary is a way to explore your music collection on your iPad, via the space.
Here.
Heineken Star Player
Heineken Star Player is an iPhone app that enables people to interact in real time with the UEFA Champion’s League games. The app syncs with the Live game so players can make predictions that in turn means points. Points, of course, can be compared with friends etc, making this a genius second screen competition app.
Throughout the game, players are given eight tries to accurately predict whether either team will score within the next 30 seconds. A correct guess wins big points, with the first scoring more highly than those who call it closer to the actual goal. Free kicks or corners result in a quick decision making prompt, with each outcome – goal, miss, save, clear – offering a score in proportion to the likelihood of that outcome. Other ways to score include quiz moments, with a question popping up on the screen to which a quick, correct response can gather more points. Players can also opt to use one of three ‘power-ups’ throughout the match; either an additional goal chance, a chance to double up on pop quiz points, or a 50:50 style hint when answering questions. A small button at the bottom of the screen ensures that your friend’s scores – updated in real time, of course – can be checked against your own.
Players can also win different badges, visible on their profile. ‘Free kick hero’, ‘goal master’ and ‘corner king’ are mini trophies to be picked up for a particularly accurate winning streak in any of those facets of the game.
Facebook Connect functionality also enables players to publish results, and those of your league, to your Facebook wall for bragging rights.
Very, very smart.
Be really interesting to see what the adoption rate is as Star Players is effectively asking football fans to stop thinking about football and remember to interact with a phone during the most important moments of the game. This is a very big ask. I’m not saying it won’t work, I’m just saying this is the first time the second screen theory has actually been tested – props to AKQA and Heineken for that. I’m guessing the answer will depend on the level of devotion from the fan in question – the more casual the more likely to play, which still makes this genius.
One thing, it just me or is the decision to launch this late in the competition a bit weird?
Anyways, well nice work Heineken + AKQA
Here.
ViaTheWholeFuckingInternet.
iPhotosynth
Microsoft’s Photosynth tech has arrived on the iPhone as an app that enables the creation of 360-degree panoramas. All you need to do is load up the app and sweep your camera around in every direction, and the app automatically snaps photographs and stitches them together.
App here.
ViaPetaPixel.
iPhone Tracker HUD
An extract from the data gathered by the iPhoneTracking tool. This open-source application maps the information that your iPhone is recording about your movements. It doesn’t record anything itself, it only displays files that are already hidden on your computer.
More here.
Location Aware App Album
Record companies and artists are beginning to realise that Apps can replace albums and bring fresh revenue streams to a model decimated by piracy. The D.C. band Bluebrain created the world’s first album that doubles as a location aware mobile application. The app will sync songs, and even melodies to a listener’s location as they travel through The National Mall in Washington, D.C. The app ensures a unique listening experience based on the whims of each user based solely on location.
‘The National Mall’ is the first in a series of location-aware musical works that Bluebrain will compose and design for sites around the world in the coming months and years. The second work of this nature, designed for Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York will debut later this summer followed by a piece that will stretch the entire length of California’s Highway 1.
More here.
QRIP?
Google is rapidly moving towards NFC (near field communications) as their technology of choice for closing the physical loop between consumers and themselves/partners. They’ve built the NFC chip into their Nexus and they are testing NFC in both a payment and POS environments.
As a result Google has seemingly axed support for QR Codes in their Places service. Could this be the beginning of the end for QR?
Can’t say it would really be a massive surprise, QR has always been a pretty unsatisfying experience. Fire up your phone, open camera/QR app, line up the QR Code and take a photo. After all of that you basically get a URL – which mostly just delivers you an ad. Of course, NFC could easily turn out to be as mediocre, but to be fair it’s gonna be pretty hard to fuck up the experience of pulling your phone out, holding it up to a sensor and having it pay for something/grab information.
Just saying.
Amazon Cloud
Amazon is entering the “music locker” space and they’re doing it before both Google and Apple. Their (aptly named) “Cloud Drive” and “Cloud Player” are now live. Amazon gives you 5 free GB of storage on Cloud Drive and enables from any computer. Cloud Player (the actual player) is available for web, and Android devices, with no iOS version…
Here.
More here.
Disco | Group Text App
There are/will be a lot of these. This (iPhone only version) enables users to create as many text messaging groups as they like and send as many messages as they like free of charge. Like Convore, TextPlus and others . Interestingly this one is by a company owned by the Google.
App.
Site.
NFC Is The New GPS, Was The New Camera.
Mobile NFC (Near Field Communication) is about to properly arrive on you phone. Nexus S has a chip installed, Blackberry are saying all their new handsets will carry the tech, the latest Android supports it across numerous devices and iPhone 5 will almost certainly follow suit in the summer. That, twinned with the emergence of contactless pay points in a few common retailers, like EAT (in the London), is a big indication of the inevitability of a mass mobile payment system.
If you’re not familiar, NFC is a short-range wireless technology that enables transaction over close physical proximity – typically requiring a distance of 4cm or less for an exchange. Basically it’s the tech that lives in your Oyster card – but in your phone, making it much more accessible and practical. The chips involved are small, which means the variations can take very simple forms in stuff like tags, stickers, key fobs, card receivers (Oyster) etc – none of which require batteries. NFC peer-to-peer communication is also possible, so by putting you phone next to another you can swap data – not unlike Bump.
All of that basically means that your phone will be able to talk to payment terminals, so, against the wishes of the Daily Mail, there’ll no longer be a need for any debit cards, credit cars or cash. And eventually this tech will replace your whole wallet and your keys. None of which is really news, and I’m pretty sure you all already know about it – which kinda brings me to my point.
It’s not that it is happening, it’s what can be done with it that is interesting.
AirSync | DoubleTwist | Android DLNA
AirSync not only enables Android to wirelessly sync media via a PC or Mac, but it acts as a DLNA media server so you can stream content wirelessly to a TV through via 360 or PS3. The desktop media player looks a lot like iTunes (see above), and has added support for the Android App Store, a music store through Amazon MP3′s API, and a directory of Podcasts. I love that it all runs ‘live’, meaning whenever you walk within range of your wireless network, DoubleTwist will detect any new content on either device and auto sync – meaning no more annoying tethering.
Sweet.
DLNA is short for Digital Living Network Alliance, and defines a standard for moving movies, photos, music and other media from device to device. DLNA servers can store media in one location, and, without any setup or configuration, can stream the media to DLNA compliant players, like the PS3 and Xbox 360. The big draw behind DLNA is to throw away major configuration, and create a simplistic way for consumers to get media from one device to another.
GroupMe
GroupMe is a social texting app that incorporates geo-location via FourSquare. Meaning that if a group of friends check into the same vicinity, the app invites them all to a closed text based chat room. Ideal for parties, concerts, SXSW and the like.
Bit like YapTime.
Here.
Open Signal Maps
OpenSignalMaps uses Android smartphones as probes, crowdsourcing locations of cellular towers and their strength. The service displays the info on a Google Maps mashup, in two different ways: pinpointing cell towers and then showing a heat map of cell coverage. And there are plans to enable users compare download speeds over various networks, which again is of value.
Here.
NoteSlate
NoteSlate is low cost ($99) tablet device with true one colour display, real paper look design, 180 hour battery, together with very handy usage and very simple and helpful interface for pen and paper. This easy, compact and portable gadget is used anywhere you want to make any notes, drafts, sketches, any ideas for future reference.
Computers & Blues | The Streets Interactive
App here.
Reka here.