Thursday, 14 April 2011

Spotify reduce free service to just 10 hours per month

Spotify has made the inevitable, albeit controversial, move and halved the amount of free music users can access on a monthly basis, pushing customers of the streaming service to its pay-monthly options.

 

Set to kick into action from May 1st, the revamped Spotify service will limit free streaming time to just 10 hours per month, half of the previous cap, with individual track streams to be limited to just five plays per month.

 


Despite Spotify head Ken Parks ensuring users that the cut is being made only in order to keep part of the streaming services as a free-to-use entity, those who regularly use the free Spotify service, and are subjected to the frequent advertisements, will no doubt be put out by the new cap.

 

On the reduced free-stream cap Parks said: "Our chief priority is to keep the free service, which is what has made Spotify so popular and successful." He added: "We're a company whose ambition is to offer all the world's music to everyone, which means growing the business and our user base to many times its current size. Everything we do is designed to ensure our users continue to have access to an amazing free experience."

 

Adding to Parks’ comments and attempting to push users away from the free service and into the monthly-subscriptions packages Daniel Ek wrote on the company’s official blog: "For anyone who thinks they might reach these limits, we hope you'll consider checking out our Unlimited and Premium services."

 

Will the new Spotify free music cap push you to subscribe or leave you disgruntled about a loss of 10 hours of free tunes? Let us know via the T3 Twitter and Facebook feeds.

 

Via: TechRadar
 


Posted by Luke Johnson


Source: T3.com News

Posted by Matt Collard at 04:59 1 comments

Wednesday, 13 April 2011

News@8pm: HTC Flyer release date and iPad 3 rumours

New HTC devices have been the talk of the tech world following yesterday's product unveiling. Whilst the new flagship smartphone will hit the UK exclusive to Vodafone, O2, T-Mobile, Three and Orange have now all confirmed they will stock the HTC Sensation from June. Joining the Sensation with an imminent UK launch is the company's first tablet with the HTC Flyer to launch on May 9th.

 

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Presenting you with battery monitoring that’s as deep or as shallow as you want it to be, appealing UI
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iPad 3 rumours have kicked off just weeks after the second-generation tablet hit stores. Today's addition saw news that the iPad 3 will not launch with a Retina display, contrary to popular belief. Elsewhere on the Apple tablet front and French developers have found a way to display glasses-free 3D images on the iPad 2 taking the shine somewhat away from the 3DS, a device that hit the UK on the same day as the iPad 2.

 

Future gaming tech will see the formerly revolutionary motion gaming console, the Nintendo Wii face a price drop. Following this it is expected that Nintendo will officially unveil its Wii follow-up the Nintendo Wii HD. In other unrelated tech news the Motorola Xoom 3G can now be snapped up for just £199, further suggesting the device is struggling with poor sales.


Posted by Luke Johnson


Source: T3.com News

Posted by Matt Collard at 16:57 0 comments

Motorola Xoom 3G: nab one now for £199

Think £579 for a 3G Motorola Xoom is a touch pricey? Then Carphone Warehouse might have the answer. The mobile store, which is exclusively stocking the 3G version of the Android tablet, is now selling the Xoom for £199 on contract.

 

The deal offers unlimited data on Carphone’s own Talk Mobile service and will cost you £25 a month over two years, as well as the up-front cost. Over the 24 month period the whole deal clocks in at £799.

 

However, it’s worth remembering that even if you do fork over £579 for a SIM-free model, you’ll still need to pay for a data deal. Ultimately, this doesn’t look like a bad deal if you fancy an Android slate, but haven’t got the requisite readies to hand.

 

Is this enough to tempt you into buying a Motorola Xoom? Let us know now on our Facebook and Twitter pages.

 

Via Eurodroid


Posted by Joe Minihane


Source: T3.com News

Posted by Matt Collard at 04:59 0 comments

Tuesday, 12 April 2011

News@8pm: HTC Sensation release and PS3 hack case

HTC Sensation lands. After numerous leaks and snapped spyshots the former Pyramid, now HTC Sensation has hit the Vodafone online store and that was this morning, before the phone officially landed. Later this afternoon, however and the HTC Sensation is officially announced, sporting a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and a May release date.

 

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A neat free version of the classic game letting you to face off against CPU, human or several ‘puzzle’ stages.
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Keeping with HTC and the Taiwanese phone manufacturer has announced a revamped version of the HTC Sense UI to launch alongside the Sensation. Building on the Android foundation the Sense UI has added 3D widgets and 360-degree menu carousels. Another new addition of the Sensation is HTC Watch a video streaming service for the leading smartphones.

 

Onto gaming news and it has emerged that the PlayStation Move is outselling the Kinect by a ratio of two-to-one. Albeit not in the UK but in Japan, a nation known for its gaming loves, although a love that tends to drit towards Ninty. Sticking with gaming a the PS3 hacking case has been settled as Sony triumphs against its wiley hacking foe.


Posted by Luke Johnson


Source: T3.com News

Posted by Matt Collard at 17:00 0 comments

HTC Sensation specs leak hours ahead of unveiling

The HTC Sensation has leaked just hours ahead of its expected UK unveiling as network provider Vodafone allows wannabe owners to register for updates on the device online.

 

Seemingly confirming a number of the features the device, formerly known as the HTC Pyramid, is believed to be launching with, the Sensation is, according to the Vodafone UK listing, set to touch down sporting a 1.2GHz dual-core processor.

 


On top of this processing powerhouse, presumed to be the reason Samsung has bumped its upcoming Galaxy S II up to a 1.2GHz dual-core CPU ahead of its May 1st launch, the HTC Sensation is to boast a 4.3-inch QHD SLCD display and 4GB of internal memory bolstered by an 8GB memory card.

 

Finishing off the Sensation’s impressive spec sheet that features Google’s Android operating system is an 8-megapixel rear-mounted snapper capable of HD video recording with stereo sound and a second 1.2-megapixel forward-facing camera.

 

Will the leaked Sensation details be the real deal and if so will this become the new dominant force in the smartphone market? Let us know what you think via the T3 Twitter and Facebook feeds.

 

Via: Vodafone
 


Posted by Luke Johnson


Source: T3.com News

Posted by Matt Collard at 04:59 0 comments

Monday, 11 April 2011

News@8pm: Bada and Symbian make a comeback


MOBILE PLATFORM NEWS
Today kicked off with Nokia’s Symbian platform, which will feature on the upcoming Nokia X7 smartphone, despite Nokia’s recent deal with Microsoft for Windows Phone 7. The next droplet of tech news was from Samsung, as it broke that Samsung Bada 2.0 phones will ship in Q4 2011. They’ll be packing NFC tech as standard.


MOBILE PHONE NEWS
Mobile news continued as the BlackBerry Orlando leaked online and the white LG Optimues 3D smartphone got confirmed by Phones 4U. Meanwhile, the Samsung Galaxy S II’s UK release date has been set for May 1st.


TABLET NEWS
The tablet world brought us word that HTC Flyer tablet pre-orders have begun, and that it’s priced at £600. Bad tab news struck this afternoon as Apple confirmed iPad 2 issues when connecting with Verizon in the US. All that and a rather tasty car concept: how would you like a Mercedes A-class with dash-mounted tablet?


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App of the Day | Tiny Wings
Forget the angrier ornithologically-themed iPhone games. Here's one to chill you out...
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GAMING NEWS
Gaming News issued forth as Sony announced a PSP price slash in the UK, while simultaneously levelling some strong words at Nintendo and its 3DS handheld console.


APPLE NEWS
Steve Jobs’ official biography was confirmed today, with a release set for 2012. The Apple CEO’s continued absence has drawn co-founder Steve Wozniak back into the spotlight – he’s may step in to act as Jobs’ replacement.


APP NEWS
Adobe Photoshop is coming to the iPad in a big way, it was confirmed today, with three new apps landing soon. Lastly, it wouldn’t be a day in the tech news without some word on Rovio’s continued success – today the mobile app blockbuster Angry Birds became the PlayStation Network’s most popular download ever.
 


Posted by Adam Bunker


Source: T3.com News

Posted by Matt Collard at 16:59 0 comments

BlackBerry Orlando: Curve gets a touchscreen

Sure, you’ve already caught a glimpse of the BlackBerry Bold Touch. But if you’re not keen on a top-end ‘Berry, but do fancy a touchscreen with your QWERTY, RIM has something for you: the BlackBerry Orlando.

 

Somewhat idiotic moniker aside, the Orlando promises to be a great compromise for smartphone users. It rocks the same basic BlackBerry design as the Curve, but packs in a touchscreen as well, giving you the best of both worlds.

 

Confusingly, RIM is said to be working on a Curve Touch as well, dispensing with the physical keyboard completely. Chuck in two new non-touchscreen Curve-like models, the Sedona and Apollo, and you’ll see RIM really is looking to cover all bases.

 

Can the Orlando become as successful as the Curve? Tell us what you think on our Facebook and Twitter pages now.

 

Via BGR


Posted by Joe Minihane


Source: T3.com News

Posted by Matt Collard at 04:59 0 comments
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