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Tuesday 08 February 2011

Last.fm Stopping Free Mobile Apps (Except For Win Phone 7) [ 08-02-2011 14:56 ]

Author: Irina Turina Source: Last.fm Translation by: Paul Smith

Another sad death in the world of free music, Last.fm will soon be charging for its mobile apps on the iPhone, iPad and Android devices. Yes folks soon Last.fm will be subscriber only for those listening to music on the go.

The charge will be around $3 a month for those still wishing to use the app as Last.fm say that it is no longer feasible for them to use ad revenue to support a free service.

On the Last.fm website an ad-supported, free-to-listeners model is what supports our online radio services in the US, UK and Germany. In other markets and on emerging mobile and home entertainment devices, it is not practical for us to deliver an ad supported radio experience, but instead, we will migrate to what we believe is the highest quality, lowest cost ad-free music service in the world.

It costs more to stream a song to a mobile device than it does on the desktop because the license fees for mobile devices are higher. Why is that you may ask? Well because we live in a world where music licensing rules and the related fees seem to have been cooked up by the residents of an insane asylum.

Interestingly though Windows Phone 7 users will still be able to use Last.fm on their mobile device for free, just as Xbox Live users can. One imagines a deal between Microsoft and Last.fm there to ensure Microsoft customers don't have to stump up their own cash. Of course there are other free music services on offer so one wonders how much harm this might do to Last.fm in the long run.

So it's goodbye free mobile music from Last.fm, which gives me a chance to post this:

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iOS Dominates Europe, Android Rising Fast [ 08-02-2011 13:57 ]

Author: Irina Turina Source: StatCounter via Pocket-lint Translation by: Paul Smith

Some new figures relating to smartphone adoption across Europe paint a picture of a continent dominated by iOS, but like past European empires it's starting to falter ...

Across the countries included in the StatCounter data set iOS takes a whopping 44.95% of the market with Android, which is advancing at a blistering pace globally, only managing to scrounge up a rather meagre 16.37%. However, that isn't the full story as back in February of last year iOS held over 50% of the market and has steadily declined since then. Android on the other hand had almost no marketshare just a year ago and ever since summer 2010 has rapidly climbed in popularity, overtaking a declining Symbian and reaching parity with BlackBerry OS.

Speaking of Symbian it fell from around 24% in January last year to around half that figure last month. BlackBerry OS too is on the downward spiral although it does still manage to put in an impressive showing in the UK with over 36% of the market.

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Alien Dalvik To Run Android App On Non-Android Devices [ 08-02-2011 13:46 ]

Author: Irina Turina Source: Engadget Translation by: Paul Smith

If I were to say to you that it should soon be possible to run Android apps on Meego you could be forgiven for pointing at me and screaming 'Witch!' for surely this must entail some sort of sorcery? Well no, but I guess it is pretty magical.

Myriad, a member of OHA, has announced Alien Dalvik, which promises to allow MeeGo users to run unmodified Android apps and '... without comprimising performance" into the bargain. The release of this seemingly miraculous system will take place later this year, but we should be hearing more about this from Myriad at MWC next week. Until then take a peek at the video below, which shows Alien Dalvik in action on a N900.

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Video: Optimus 3D Appears Again With Dual Cameras [ 08-02-2011 13:31 ]

Author: Irina Turina Source: Pocket-lint Translation by: Paul Smith

With LG set to unveil the Optimus 3D at MWC next week Pocket-lint have scored a new video for the handset, which, when slowed down, allows you to see the dual camera setup the Optimus 3D will feature.

It's a pretty short video and it's hard to make nything out really so Pocket-lint rather kindly took some screenshots from it for your viewing pleasure. I've included the shot showing the dual cameras below, but you can head on over to Pocket-lint to see the rest.