While Spotify has had little trouble cranking up its subscriber base so far, one feature that has notably been lacking is its radio / auto playlist feature. Today (tied in with an appearance by CEO Daniel Ek at LeWeb 2011) that’s been upgraded, as the freshest preview builds move the Radio section down among the new Spotify Apps, where it now lets you drop in any song from your library for it to automatically create a radio station of similar music around. Subscribers not interested in upgrading yet can find similar functionality tied to Spotify’s library with the EchoFi tool, but this venture represents the service’s debut of an “all-new intelligent recommendation engine” meant to dig the tracks you want out of its millions-deep library. Advertising “unlimited skips” is a clear jab at Pandora, but it’s not immediately clear if you’ll still need a premium paid-up account for truly unlimited listening (well, maybe not). Hit the source link to grab a Radio-enabled preview build and see if some algorithm can defeat even the mightiest Yacht Rock playlist crafted by our own Brian Heater.

Spotify Radio feature turns into an app, offers Pandora-like stations with unlimited skips originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Dec 2011 05:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While US viewers continue to wait for the expat-edition Global BBC iPlayer app, BBC Worldwide has announced a new version launching December 8th specifically for iPhones and iPod Touches. Like its big brother app for the iPad, this free download lets subscribers stream or download shows for offline viewing, as well as stream video to the Apple TV via AirPlay. Whole new categories of programming are coming online soon including music, arts and culture, and radio, and now it can all fit in one’s pocket. Check the gallery for a couple more screenshots, or after the break for a press release with all the applicable pricing and regional information that’s available.

Continue reading Global BBC iPlayer app gets squeezed down to iPhone / iPod Touch size

Global BBC iPlayer app gets squeezed down to iPhone / iPod Touch size originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Dec 2011 13:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Like extreme stunts, hacking can be rather thrilling. Still, there will always be freak accidents when things don’t go as planned, and thankfully, Google has released a safety net for you Galaxy Nexus adrenaline junkies. Specific to the HSPA+ model, the recovery images include the bootloader, radio, and full set of system files. No word yet about whether Google will perform a similar act of generosity for the LTE version that’s coming to Verizon Wireless. Naturally, hacking your device is likely to void the warranty, but hey, there needs to be at least some risk involved, right?

Galaxy Nexus gets recovery images, for when your hacking joy turns to tears originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Dec 2011 02:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fancy some turn-by-turn voice-guided navigation on your brand new Nokia smartphone? You don’t need an app for that: the Lumia 800 is the only Windows Phone with full navigation built-in. Check out a video demo embedded after the break.

Developing…

Continue reading Nokia announces its Drive navigation, Mix Radio, and Sports cloud services for WP7

Nokia announces its Drive navigation, Mix Radio, and Sports cloud services for WP7 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Oct 2011 05:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fancy some turn-by-turn voice-guided navigation on your brand new Nokia smartphone? You don’t need an app for that: the Lumia 800 is the only Windows Phone with full navigation built-in. Check out a video demo embedded after the break.

Developing…

Continue reading Nokia announces its Drive navigation, Mix Radio, and Sports cloud services for WP7

Nokia announces its Drive navigation, Mix Radio, and Sports cloud services for WP7 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Oct 2011 05:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No one knows why a shortwave radio station somewhere in Russia broadcasts mysterious beeps, buzzes, and hums. But thousands listen in.

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