Spotify

Slacker overachieves

In Slacker Radio, curated stations that are organized by musical genre meet algorithmically generated playlists based on artists you pick (a la Pandora). As with Slacker Radio on other mobile platforms, the Android app lets you stream music from preprogrammed genres and stations, or from stations you set up yourself. As you listen, you can view album art and bios, block a song or vote it a favorite, and skip ahead (limited for free users). If you like what you hear, you can share a link to that station on SlackerRadio.com via e-mail, text message, or Twitter.

Over the … Read more

Control music at home with Android

Here's the dream. You want to walk into your home, cue up some music on your phone, and have it start playing on a nearby speaker. No cables, no docks -- just instant, effortless, wireless music.

For iPhone owners, there's a very clear, prescribed solution: AirPlay. But my phone is Android. It's supposed to have more "does" but what exactly am I supposed to do?

Well, there are a bunch of options out there for Android users looking for an Airplay alternative, and in this How To, I'm going to walk you through my … Read more

Spotify finds a spot on Yahoo

Yahoo users will soon be able to stream music from Spotify without leaving the Yahoo site.

Yahoo and Spotify announced a global content distribution and promotion agreement today that will integrate the on-demand music service into Yahoo's media network.

This means Spotify will reach the network's hundreds of millions of unique visitors and that Yahoo gets some cool points with Spotify's 10 million or so active users. Both companies hope the partnership means more user engagement.

Spotify will initially roll out to Yahoo Music before being integrated globally across Yahoo. Yahoo entertainment sites will feature Spotify's … Read more

Tumblr gives its iPhone app a brand-new look

Tumblr (free), the popular blogging platform, just released a revamped version of its app for iOS. In the major update to Tumblr 3.0, the layout has been completely redesigned (bringing it more in line with the Android version, covered in April by Jaymar Cabebe), giving you many of the tools found on the Web site and intuitive swipe controls for posting.

Several tweaks to the interface make the app both easy on the eyes and easier to use. The revamped Dashboard supports high-res images; you can now post and listen to audio links that stream directly from Spotify; and … Read more

Google next up against Microsoft Surface

June is the perfect time for backyard barbecues, lemonade and tablet warfare:

Microsoft is taking tablets into its own hands with the Surface. And next week, so will Google. It's expected that Google will show off the Nexus tablet at its developers conference that begins next week. And some reports have Google's tablet launching in July -- which will likely be before the Surface hits stores.

The Surface boasts solid hardware, a kickstand and a cover that also serves as a keyboard. But how much will it cost? All we know is that the light version, using Windows … Read more

Spotify continues me-too Pandora strategy

Spotify, at one time exclusively an on-demand music service, has updated its iOS app, and users in the United States will get free mobile radio features similar to those that helped make Pandora famous.

The company says iPad or iPhone users can create limitless streaming radio stations, or save tracks they hear on their radio feature to their Spotify playlists just by hitting "like." They can create unlimited numbers of stations by flagging the tracks they hear.

In May, Spotify rolled out a desktop version of the service.

The question worth asking is, if Spotify is mimicking Pandora, … Read more

Spotify unleashes new Android app

Spotify has unveiled its latest Android app, which now includes a faster, streamlined interface and higher sound quality than before.

The app has full support for Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and features a new tile-based, "slide-out" navigation with support for high-resolution art.

As far as playback features are concerned, the app includes crossfade and gapless playback, support for "Extreme" 320kbps files, and Last.fm scrobbling.

The app promises a deeper experience than before with enhanced support for friends playlists and profile pages, a "related artists" view, a playback queue, and folder support for better organization of playlists.… Read more

Microsoft unveils Xbox Music

Microsoft has unveiled a revamped music service, called Xbox Music, as it looks to better compete against the likes of Apple's iTunes, Pandora, and Spotify.

The company unveiled the service as part of its press conference at the E3 gaming event today. Microsoft said the service will include 30 million tracks available on the Xbox, as well as Windows 8 devices such as PCs and tablets.

The announcement is part of Microsoft's effort to turn the Xbox video game console into the entertainment hub of the home. It also likely signals the death of its Zune Music service, … Read more

Spotify suffers log-in issues; service now restored

Spotify suffered an issue that prevented users from logging in this morning, the company has confirmed both on its Web site and Twitter account.

"We can confirm that most users are unable to log in at this time," the company wrote on its Spotify Status Twitter page earlier today. "We are working on a fix. Watch this space."

In a subsequent update, Spotify said that it was working on the issues, and added that the problem also was affecting those who log in to its Web site. However, the company now says that the issue has … Read more