Stereotype-embracing ISP Plusnet has added a new tier of fibre-optic broadband, offering speeds up to 76Mb/s. The revamped Extra Fibre package now offers upload speeds of up to 19.5 Mb/s, with a 250GB monthly usage allowance, matching those offered by parent company BT. Of course, those of us who can't even get ADSL2 will just have to watch on, with jealousy in our eyes.
[Source: Engadget]
We've already seen many companion apps on mobile, but now TV Guide is diving in wholeheartedly with the next generation of its app for iOS devices. While the previous versions of TV Guide Mobile on iOS and Android let users create watchlists and get reminders, version 3.0 for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch is completely redesigned to make TV watching simpler with filtering for HD-only and favorite channels, links to streaming videos from sources like Hulu Plus, HBO Go, Crackle and iTunes -- Netflix and Amazon are not on the list, although additional video sources are promised in the coming weeks. Like any good companion app in 2012 it also brings social networking features with check-ins and Twitter / Facebook integration and a trending social hot list based on what other users search for.
The downside compared to many of the apps from cable providers like Comcast or Time Warner, hardware manufacturers like TiVo or even other third parties like Dijit is the inability to use it to directly change the channel, but perhaps that's in the next version. There's more details in the press release after the break, and screens in the gallery below, if you're willing to give another contender a shot at assisting your TV watching habits, the free app is available in iTunes at the source link.
[Source: Engadget]
Google has announced its first update to Google Chrome for iOS, adding the ability to share pages from the browser directly on your favorite social network, including Facebook and Twitter.
Google Chrome for iOS was announced and launched at the company’s annual developer’s conference in June.
The mobile browser offers a number of features already available in its desktop version, including synched tabs; if you’re checking out a website on your iPhone, you can open it on your desktop computer, and vice versa. Users can also share saved passwords between devices, bookmarks and search history.
Wednesday’s update allows you to share webpages via email, Google+, Facebook and Twitter. It also offers a number of other bug fixes, and stability and security improvements.
The updated version of Chrome for iOS is now available in the App Store.
[Source: Mashable]
AgileTortoise's popular Drafts app receives a welcome update today as it enters version 2.0 for iPhone. Drafts for iPad is also available.
Adding sync features through Simperium, an iCloud alternative, Drafts will be able to move data across platforms and pick up from where users last left off. This cloud feature joins existing Dropbox and Evernote support.
The app offers simple note-taking in a streamlined interface with a wealth of sharing features. You can send by e-mail, text message, post to Facebook, tweet, etc.
I gave the iPad version a quick spin and found it cleanly designed and simple to use. It offered several standout features. For example, the built-in Markdown support allows you to build formatted email with familiar text shortcuts. I was also impressed by the integrated gestures and excellent font-selection features. (That's a big help for my aging eyes.)
According to the press release, version 2.0 enhancements include:
The iPhone version is $1.99 (free upgrades for existing owners). The iPad version is $2.99.
[Source: TUAW]
About 4 months ago, Adobe officially announced the launch of its new Creative Cloud subscription service, which gives the company’s users the ability to pay one monthly fee for access to virtually all of the company’s professional tools. Since then, Adobe launched two minor updates for Creative Cloud, including the addition of Lightroom 4 in June and an update to the Collage tool in July. Today, however, the company is launching its first major feature update to Creative Cloud and is also announcing a few updates that are coming in September. The focus of today’s updates is on Edge, the company’s HTML5 tool for creating animated web content and Muse, Adobe’s website-building tool aimed at print designers.
[Source: TechCrunch - Read more here]
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has threatened a bidding war with UK Broadcaster BSkyB for premium movie rights, and he could have the war chest to back it up -- the company also hit the million subscriber mark in the UK only seven months after launching there. Netflix UK boasted that it even got there faster than Twitter or Facebook did globally, and chalked up the success to most British households having at least one household streaming device. Meanwhile, Hastings said the US company intends to pry premium Hollywood movie rights away from BSkyB, promising to be "really aggressive in our bidding." The streaming service will have to overcome more than money, however -- the UK's Competition Commission granted BSkyB a rights extension to protect it from the very likes of Netflix.
[Source: Engadget]
McDonald's is testing a new payment system that could allow customers to purchase their meals using mobile devices. According to Reuters, 30 restaurants in France are involved in the trial, which sees customers' payments processed by eBay's payment arm, PayPal. The concept was demonstrated at a McDonald's conference in Orlando, Florida, earlier this year as part of a booth featuring technology expected to go live in the next couple of years, Reuters reports. The participating French restaurants allow customers to order food through their smartphones or tablets, using McDonald's mobile application, and then pay through PayPal. Customers then wait in a separate line to pick up their app-ordered meals.
[Source: To read the full article visit CNET News]
McDonald's is testing PayPal's mobile payment services in France, in a move that could see Paypal as the mobile payment platform of choice at one of the world's largest fast food chains. Reuters reports that the trials span across thirty restaurants. Customers can order food online or on a mobile phone app, and then pick up their meal in a separate, dedicated lane. PayPal has had some luck with retail partnerships, but a deal with McDonald's would be be valuable, in light of the restaurant's 30,000 locations. It might also help to stave off their rival Square's rapid ascent: Square recently partnered with Starbucks, which will bring the company's mobile payment solution to the coffee magnate's 7,000 locations this fall.
[Source: The Verge]
comScore’s monthly online video data is in and it looks Facebook passed Yahoo in July to become the second largest video site in the U.S. behind Google/YouTube. According to comScore, more than 184 million U.S. Internet users watched 36.9 billion online content videos in July, while video ad views totaled 9.6 billion.
Google/YouTube still outpaced the rest of the online properties with 157 million unique viewers in July, compared to 53 million from Facebook, 48.7 million from Yahoo, 44.8 million from Vevo and 42.7 million from Microsoft. Nearly 36.9 billion video content views occurred during the month, with Google Sites generating the highest number at 19.6 billion, followed by AOL with 665 million. Google also took the top spot for engagement as well.
Facebook has passed Yahoo in terms of views in the past, but more recently the social network has been behind Google, Yahoo, and even Vevo (from May).
In terms of ads, Google ranked first with 1.5 billion ads, followed by Hulu with 1.2 billion, Adap.tv with 1.1 billion, SpotXchange Video Ad Marketplace with 1 billion and TubeMogul Video Ad Platform with 830 million. Time spent watching video ads totaled 3.9 billion minutes, with Adap.tv delivering the highest duration of video ads at 627 million minutes. Video ads reached 52 percent of the total U.S. population an average of 61 times during the month. Hulu delivered the highest frequency of video ads to its viewers with an average of 46, while ESPN delivered an average of 26 ads per viewer.
[Source: TechCrunch - Read more here]
Instagram 3.0, the free photo sharing app for iPhone, is available and provides a number of enhancements. The most impressive is the new Photo Maps feature.
By grabbing geolocation information that is saved with each photo, Instagram creates a world map of your images by location. As you zoom in on each location, say Florida for example, you see locations in that state, then in each city.
You can add new photos to your Photo Maps through the new photo upload screen, which features a prominent Add to your Photo Maps button. Instagram has also increased the length of the captions you can add to each photo, and provides a way to name a location.
[Source: TUAW]
Convenience stores, cornershops, newsagents, call them what you will -- nearly 5,000 local businesses in the UK have now been signed up by Amazon to receive and look after its customers' precious packages. The "CollectPlus" scheme is currently on trial but The Telegraph reports it's expected to roll out across Britain, where it'll add one more delivery option for those who -- for their own strange and inexplicable reasons -- are rarely at home between 9am and 5pm.
Update: We've just heard from CollectPlus that it should be now be available as a delivery option at checkout, and equally Marketplace sellers can select it as a mode of delivery.
[Source: Engadget]
Last spring an announcement from the platform team at Twitter not-at-all-subtly suggested developers of third party clients should find something else to do, and today a list of changes to its API turns that whisper into a firm nudge. The limit that most directly affects any of the unofficial clients you may be interested in using is that existing apps currently servicing more than 100,000 individual user tokens will be allowed to double their current count, but cannot add any users past that without Twitter's permission. Going forward, any app that needs more than 100,000 tokens to do things like access the timeline, show DMs or anything else a client app might do will also need Twitter's permission to operate. Other changes include that any pre-installed client app on something like a phone, computer, or TV will need Twitter's permission before it ships (sensing a trend here?), or potentially face revocation of its application key. Moving on, the Display Guidelines about the information any app that displays tweets must provide are shifting to Display Requirements, with violators potentially losing that application key. Those Twitter Cards that started rolling out over the last few months are also getting a big push, with plans to include other ways for developers to bring their rich content to Twitter, and embed real-time Twitter content on existing websites.
[Source: Engadget]