audiorecognition
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German police may use a song recognition app to fight neo-Nazi music
Song recognition apps like Shazam primarily exist to name catchy tunes on the radio, but Germany could soon use one to fight crime. Police in the state of Saxony have developed a smartphone app that identifies neo-Nazi music playing at social events or through internet radio stations. The software would help officials bust those violating national laws that limit access to far-right music. It's not certain that you'll see German cops bringing out their smartphones at extremist rallies, however. The country's interior ministers are discussing the app's viability this week, but Germany's existing laws on acoustic surveillance could heavily restrict its use. [Image credit: AP Photo/Markus Schreiber]
Jelly Bean's Sound Search feature now available root-free on ICS
Did you know you can get a little squirt of Jelly Bean flavor in your Ice Cream Sandwich right now? It's nothing mega -- just a non-root APK for Google Sound Search, the new in-house rival to Shazam and SoundHound, courtesy of user "asdfzz" over at XDA. The widget, which is also known as "Google Ears," currently works in a similar way to third-party apps, analyzing a track via remote servers and bringing up the result within Google Play, but in the future -- according to Mobile Phones Fan -- it could achieve faster speeds and better integration with other Google services by running natively within the OS. Of course, if you're up for flashing a whole ROM, then Jelly Bean can already be had in its entirety.
Yahoo buys TV companion app developer IntoNow and its database of sounds
Earlier this year IntoNow launched its iPhone app that could identify what TV show you were watching by the audio Shazam-style and then share it with others over Facebook or Twitter, pull in additional information, or add the DVD to your Netflix queue. Now, Yahoo has purchased the company and according to the press release (after the break) wants to integrate its SoundPrint tech with its existing services including the Connected TV platform. As NewTeeVee suggests, this could tie-in nicely with its existing plans to use audio watermarks to identify advertisements and display additional info on screen or work with a companion app, both of which it demonstrated at CES. That database of sounds reportedly stretches back over five years and is continually being updated, which could give a major lift to Yahoo over other smart TV platforms that goes far beyond just check-ins and badges.
