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DoubleTwist adds Google Music support, gets an alarm clock app

Terrence O'Brien — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 12:00:00 EST

DoubleTwist is certainly still one of the better music management options for Android, and it just keeps improving. Two days ago the player app got an update and now it can hook into Google Music, though, it only recognizes songs that you've checked for offline access from within the Google app. An unfortunate restriction, but at least your tracks don't disappear into the ether if you prefer to play back your tunes via DoubleTwist. There's also new functionality coming to what is now less an app than an ecosystem, thanks to the just released DoubleTwist Alarm Clock. The functionality is pretty much what you'd expect -- set a time and pick a song from your DoubleTwist library to gently rouse you from your slumber (or kick your butt out of bed). The Alarm Clock is just $0.99 in the Play Market right now for the first 10,000 customers. After that it'll go up to $1.99. So don't waste any time, go download it now.

Gallery: DoubleTwist Alarm Clock

DoubleTwist adds Google Music support, gets an alarm clock app originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DoubleTwist update brings podcast support to auditory Android users

Amar Toor — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 06:11:00 EST

A fresh version of the DoubleTwist media player hit the Android Market this week, offering a whole new world of podcast possibilities -- for a price. With the in-app upgrade, users can search for and subscribe to a variety of podcasts from the comfort of their own handsets. It's pretty simple. The app will automatically download the latest episodes, too, though there's an option to restrict all downloads to WiFi, in case you're worried about eating into your data plan. You can also choose to either stream or download each file, and manage all your feeds straight from your device. It's available now as an update to the DoubleTwist Pro package, though it'll cost you $4.99 to make the jump. If that seems worth it, you can upgrade at the coverage link below.

DoubleTwist update brings podcast support to auditory Android users originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Feb 2012 06:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DoubleTwist releases new version for Android faithful, shows off premium EQ

Billy Steele — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 21:12:00 EST

If you've been getting bored with that stale version of DoubleTwist you're sporting, get ready for a breath of fresh air. The company has announced the next major version of its music player now awaits Android faithul in the Marketplace -- and will hit the Amazon Appstore later in the week. New features include a new grid view for album art, premium EQ (if you're running Android 2.3 or higher), an AirSync storage location option and a new playback screen which enables sliding to see previous / upcoming tracks. If you're still not impressed, DoubleTwist promises another update in December that will be similar in stature. Take a look after the break for a few more screen shots, should you need more convincing and get ready to show off all of those Ben Folds album covers.

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DoubleTwist releases new version for Android faithful, shows off premium EQ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Nov 2011 21:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DoubleTwist's latest trick is NFC-based MP3 sharing between Androids

Richard Lawler — Tue, 10 May 2011 11:37:00 EST

After adding AirPlay to AppleTV support to its Android media player app over the weekend, DoubleTwist's followup is a page out of Microsoft's Zune squirting (R.I.P.) handbook as it has implemented the ability to share MP3s between two devices. Play the video above to get more details on how DoubleTap works (or just keep an eye on Google's I/O event where it will be on display) but basically you'll need two Android phones with NFC, then tap them together and watch the file sharing magic happen automagically over WiFi or Bluetooth. The new update went live in the Android Market overnight, now all you need to do is find someone else with a Nexus S, Galaxy S II or any of the other NFC-packing Android devices expected to arrive shortly.

Continue reading DoubleTwist's latest trick is NFC-based MP3 sharing between Androids

DoubleTwist's latest trick is NFC-based MP3 sharing between Androids originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 May 2011 11:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DoubleTwist upgrade features AirPlay support for more Apple / Android miscegenation

Richard Lawler — Sun, 08 May 2011 12:21:00 EST

Add another notch to DoubleTwist's Apple ecosystem integration belt, now that its Android app has added AirPlay streaming to the list of features. As of version 1.4 it will stream music, videos or pictures to the Apple TV or other compatible devices while also claiming beta support for Sonos hardware. The DoubleTwist player is free, but using AirPlay means purchasing the $4.99 AirSync add-on that also enables wireless sync with your media library (iTunes) and streaming to DLNA or uPnP compatible devices. Twonky Mobile is a free alternative that's also AirPlay-compatible but without the tight iTunes integration; you can check them both out in the market.

DoubleTwist upgrade features AirPlay support for more Apple / Android miscegenation originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 08 May 2011 12:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DoubleTwist for Android adds AirTwist, streams media to Xbox 360, PS3 and more

Richard Lawler — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 17:32:00 EST

Building on its Airsync feature that lets users wirelessly keep their media (pictures, music, movies) library synced between computer and mobile device, DoubleTwist's new AirTwist feature lets your Android powered phone stream them to any Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. Assuming you've already paid for the $4.99 AirSync add-on, all users need to do is get the most recent version of the app from the Android market, join the same network as one of the consoles wirelessly and authorize it within the app. While PS3 and Xbox 360 are the only devices officially listed, we didn't have any problem pulling in a few songs on a connected Google TV device since it's built on DLNA and should work with any device using the standard. Of course, Skifta does pretty much the same thing (with the exception of streaming to the Xbox 360) and it's free, so choose carefully.

Continue reading DoubleTwist for Android adds AirTwist, streams media to Xbox 360, PS3 and more

DoubleTwist for Android adds AirTwist, streams media to Xbox 360, PS3 and more originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 17:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AirSync for doubleTwist brings wireless syncing to Android phones

Joshua Topolsky — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 20:15:00 EST

Been looking for the perfect thing to boast to your iPhone-owning friends about? Well brace yourself, because doubleTwist has just gone wireless with its latest update, introducing a feature called AirSync which allows Android users to keep their media collection simpatico sans cabling. The new app for PC and Mac boxes couples with its Android counterpart (along with a new AirSync component) and lets you do most of your management without needing a wire between your phone and computer. The desktop application and DoubleTwist player for phones won't cost you a thing, though AirSync itself is $0.99 on the phone for the first 10,000 buyers, and then jumps to $4.99 a shot.

Setup is relatively painless, requiring just a passcode from your phone which is input on the PC side. From then on, whenever you've got the app open and your device in range, the content stored on the phone will appear in your DoubleTwist list just as if you'd plugged the phone in (similar to the Windows Phone 7 / Zune wireless sync). We took AirSync for a ride with our Mac and Droid Incredible, and everything seemed to work fine, though we did notice a few bugs (one that was pretty major) that need worked out. Firstly, you'll probably want to just start fresh with syncing your collection -- we made the mistake of trying to pick up where we'd left off and accidentally wiped the content stored on the phone. We also noticed issues with the application trying to sync or update your database while listening to music; more than once our playback abruptly stopped when the app was attempting to talk to the phone. Syncing can also be pretty slow depending on your connection -- really slow if you've got a big collection.

Despite those complaints, AirSync (and both the doubleTwist Android app and desktop client) are incredibly slick solutions to a problem plaguing lots of smartphone users. The company obviously has just begun its work with the app -- and it's clear that there are kinks to work out -- but the dream of a wireless future for Android users just got a lot closer to reality.

AirSync for doubleTwist brings wireless syncing to Android phones originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Nov 2010 20:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DoubleTwist adds some polish to Android with new media player app

Vlad Savov — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 05:51:00 EST

Peruse the Android Market this morrow and you might come across a hot new addition from the folks at DoubleTwist. That's right, the iTunes-aping desktop sync manager has gone native on the Android platform and early feedback on its media player implementation has been positive. The free music and video player app does that whole seamless thing quite well, apparently, interfacing directly with your Windows or Mac computerino and porting over relevant playlists, ratings and media. A widget and other features are coming soon, though you'll likely have to pay for them, given the "free for a limited time" note on the download page. Better get it while the gettin's good.

DoubleTwist adds some polish to Android with new media player app originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Jun 2010 05:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New doubleTwist for Mac adds built-in Android Market functionality

Paul Miller — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 11:21:00 EST

The latest version of doubleTwist for the Mac (1.0b1b to be precise, available now) adds a whole new Android Market element to the application. Much akin to the iTunes Store for apps, doubleTwist lets you browse Android apps in a beautified, desktop interface, but the "twist" is that you can't actually download and sync apps with your phone. Instead, the Android Market browser presents QR codes for scanning with your Android phone and directly downloading the apps on the handset like you do already. Sure, desktop app downloads, backup, and syncing would certainly be better, but this is a nice start at least. D-Twist (as we like to call it) is also getting audio playback on the Mac, as well as podcast search and playback, with podcast subscription and syncing coming next (it's already on Windows). Meanwhile, Windows users will have to wait until the next major version for Android Market. Not to worry, you can do the exact same sort of app browsing at apps.doubletwist.com on any plain old browser. You can even check out the Engadget app right here.

Update: We're trying to play around a bit with the app, but at the moment the search functionality is broken and most of the QR codes are handing us bad URLs for apps. Hang tight! Every once in a while we see a blip of non-brokenness, but we're guessing there are some server hiccups at the moment holding us back from Android Market enlightenment.

New doubleTwist for Mac adds built-in Android Market functionality originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 11:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DoubleTwist partnering with T-Mobile for Android music management

Darren Murph — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 08:31:00 EST

As the late, great Rodney Dangerfield would attest, DoubleTwist has been jonesing for some respect for quite some time. For those unaware, said software essentially acts as an iTunes for everything else, giving users of all those non-Apple devices a somewhat familiar interface and portal to sync media, playlists, etc (video demonstration is after the break). Up until now, Android users have been forced to figure out content management on their own, and while geeks have obviously had no issue, those expecting iTunes to take the wheel have found themselves in an uncomfortable position. Reportedly, T-Mobile USA has decided to partner with the company and pre-load the software onto a number of new Android devices -- not just the Fender myTouch 3G. The only real pitfall here is that Amazon's MP3 Store integration is missing, but we should learn more as T-Mob goes official with the details later today. Is this the big break DoubleTwist has been waiting for? Time shall tell.

Continue reading DoubleTwist partnering with T-Mobile for Android music management

DoubleTwist partnering with T-Mobile for Android music management originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jan 2010 08:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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myTouch 3G Fender Edition subs for G1 on 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps'

Paul Miller — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 13:40:00 EST

We knew the when and the what, but now we know the whom: Eric Clapton will be touting the new Fender Limited Edition of T-Mobile's myTouch 3G on national TV, and a few of his hits will be pre-loaded onto the phone. The faux-wood handset goes on sale January 20th, and packs a 16GB microSD card for cramming in some of Clapton's lesser-known jams from your own catalog, along with a long-awaited 3.5mm headphone jack so you can actually get some enjoyment out of them. There are also a few guitar-related apps preloaded, a new doubleTwist partnership for music syncing, and Fender will be selling a few accessories of its own to really kit the thing out. At launch the $180 phone will be running Android 1.6, but it's supposed to get a 2.1 update this spring. Hit up the source link for the ad, featuring a very weathered Eric Clapton tolerating his new handset.

myTouch 3G Fender Edition subs for G1 on 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Jan 2010 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DoubleTwist now powered by Amazon MP3 store

Thomas Ricker — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 03:27:00 EST

Here's the choice promised by DVD Jon last week: Amazon MP3. Doubletwist is now powered by Amazon's 5 million strong music store in support of its vision to connect consumers with all their media across any device. The interface is bare-bones simple to navigate (no apps, TV shows, or Movies to clutter the experience) as you preview and purchase music with your Amazon credentials -- tracks are downloaded into your doubleTwist library where they can be synced with BlackBerry or Android handsets, the Palm Pre, PSP or hundreds of other devices. Amazon access is only available to US users from the Mac-only software at the moment. A PC version is "coming soon" along with more country support. See it in action after the break.

Continue reading DoubleTwist now powered by Amazon MP3 store

Filed under: Portable Audio

DoubleTwist now powered by Amazon MP3 store originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 03:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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@iPhoneHater INQ Mini 3G and Chat are now posing for photographs, lol #hands-on

Darren Murph — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 00:59:00 EST

While you'd expect the first hands-on shots of INQ's new sociable Mini 3G and Chat to emerge on Twitpic, it's TechRadar doing the honors. Both of these featurephones are fairly attractive in their own right, with each being suitably slim and chock full of status updating power. In fact, we'd say the Mini 3G's red and black QWERTY keypad is amongst the sexiest we've seen. Why not ~~judge~~ Like[TM] for yourself by giving those read links below a look?

Read - INQ Mini 3G hands-on
Read - INQ Chat hands-on

Filed under: Cellphones

@iPhoneHater INQ Mini 3G and Chat are now posing for photographs, lol #hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Aug 2009 00:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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INQ Mini 3G and INQ Chat offer slimmer, sexier angle on "social mobile" segment

Paul Miller — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 21:20:00 EST

INQ's unique take on the featurephone just got a significant facelift in the form of the new INQ Mini 3G and the INQ Chat. Leaving behind the INQ1's last-gen looks, the new INQ Chat offers a QWERTY keyboard in an E71-esque chassis, 2.4-inch screen, GPS and a 3.2 megapixel auto focus camera, while the Mini 3G takes up the T9er's mantle with a slim candybar form factor, 2.2-inch screen and 2 megapixel camera. The big deal of course is still the (award winning) software side, which already includes features such as Skype, Facebook and Windows Live Messenger integration, along with a Synergy-style integrated address book. New additions include a Twitter app, push Gmail, and iTunes syncing, courtesy of DVD Jon's doubleTwist software, and INQ claims that it'll be much more proactive with software updates this time around. The phones are only dipping their toes into the media playback pool, with hardly any onboard storage, empty microSD slots, and the ever-annoying USB-to-3.5mm converter headphone jack situation, but all the parts are there. INQ's also going to pull together an "app store" of sorts by curating freely available Java applets compatible with the handsets.

We had a look at the phones, and while the style might seem aggressive for some, the build of both phones is pretty quality for the target market, and they're certainly tighter in the design department than the INQ1. The keyboard on the INQ Chat is quite good, especially for featurephone land, and we like that INQ kept some T9-style predictive text in the software to make QWERTY use even more of a pleasure. No, these phones still don't replace smartphones, but they're designed to be a low-cost alternative to the smartphone for carriers, who are a little tired of heavy phone subsidies and intense data use from the iPhone types -- and sure wouldn't mind making a few bucks off your Facebook addiction. Unfortunately, there still aren't any plans for bringing these phones to the States. INQ is "in talks," but for now these handsets are Europe bound, and should hit stores by Q4.

Gallery: INQ Mini 3G and INQ Chat

Filed under: Cellphones

INQ Mini 3G and INQ Chat offer slimmer, sexier angle on "social mobile" segment originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Aug 2009 21:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DoubleTwist nets $5 million in funding, debuts Windows version

Darren Murph — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 16:26:00 EST

Don't let anyone tell you otherwise -- money's out there if your idea is good enough. Hot on the heels of Fusion-io's grabbing of Series B funding comes this: news that doubleTwist has just acquired a solid $5 million to push forward on its all encompassing media venture. If you'll recall, the project is being headed up by the notorious DVD Jon and DRM expert Monique Farantzos. In essence, the idea is to create a multi-platform media browser that can take media from just about anywhere and place it just about anywhere else, all without forcing you to figure out messy calculations like encoding and native resolutions. In related news, doubleTwist now shows screenshots and a video (after the break) of a Windows version, which is available today for download.

Read - DoubleTwist website
Read - Funding

Continue reading DoubleTwist nets $5 million in funding, debuts Windows version

Filed under: Home Entertainment

DoubleTwist nets $5 million in funding, debuts Windows version originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Apr 2009 16:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DVD Jon's DoubleTwist device-management software enters public beta

Nilay Patel — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:06:00 EST

It's been nearly a year since DVD Jon made some noise about doubleTwist by promising to "liberate" iTunes purchases from their DRM, and while that's no longer particularly relevant in light of Apple's decision to go DRM-free, we're actually really digging this newly refocused public beta of the doubleTwist app, which promises to seamlessly manage all your devices from a single interface. Think of it as iTunes meets Windows 7 Device Stage with a dash of social network integration and you'll get it: you just tell DT where you want your media to go -- your phone, Facebook, your PSP -- and it'll handle all the encoding, conversion, and uploading steps for you. Sadly, the iPod, iPhone, Zune and Windows Mobile aren't supported yet, but the rest of the device list is pretty decent: it includes the BlackBerry Pearl, Storm, and Curve, the G1, Sony Ericsson Cybershot and Walkman phones, the Kindle, Nokia N and E-series phones, and most digital cameras and flash-based camcorders. Of course, iTunes video is still wrapped in DRM, so we'll see if DVD Jon has any tricks left up his sleeve to make it play nice with non-Apple devices, but for a first shot out of the gate it looks like extremely promising -- too bad it's Mac-only for now.

[Via Daring Fireball]

Read - doubleTwist website
Read - Supported device list

Filed under: Software

DVD Jon's DoubleTwist device-management software enters public beta originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DVD Jon's DoubleTwist device-management software enters public beta

Nilay Patel — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:02:00 EST

Filed under: Misc

DVD Jon's DoubleTwist device-management software enters public beta originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DVD Jon's DoubleTwist device-management software enters public beta

Nilay Patel — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:02:00 EST

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

DVD Jon's DoubleTwist device-management software enters public beta originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DVD Jon finally launches doubleTwist with limited iTunes DRM-removal

Ryan Block — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 01:15:00 EST

Open today for public beta after long last, DVD Jon's first, um, "legit" software business venture: doubleTwist Desktop, a Windows-based app intended to help seamlessly organize, transcode, and sync your various media types to devices like the PSP, Kindle, and Symbian S60 and UIQ phones, as well as share online through Facebook. (Apparently a Mac version is due in Q2.) Nary a mention of DRM stripping or the like (just a couple references to "liberating" your iTunes media -- convert it to MP3, stripping the FairPlay DRM), just a whole lot of talk about making your media easy to move between devices and share with friends.

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

DVD Jon finally launches doubleTwist with limited iTunes DRM-removal originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Feb 2008 01:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DVD Jon's is back to once again make FairPlay fair

Ryan Block — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 12:30:00 EST

As much as we'd like to hang on to the importance of PlaysForSure -- and its rather timely compromise -- at the end of the day, it's only about 10% of the digital music market. The other 90% goes to Apple's FairPlay DRM scheme, which is probably why over the years it's been such a massive target for such projects as Hymn, JHymn, PlayFair, PyMusique, myTunes and myFairTunes6, and the original FairPlay circumvention tool developed by DVD Jon et. al., QTFairUse, as well as FairKeys (which spawned the similar but not Jon-developed QTFairUse -- we missing any?). Now that Apple's latest iteration of iTunes is fairly wide open, however, DVD Jon is back in the game -- but this time he's looking at FairPlay for more commercial means. Like Navio and Real before it, Jon's new business, DoubleTwist Ventures, based in San Francisco, intends not to sell users means by which they can unlock their digital music library; instead, they intend to sell partners the ability to DRM their media with FairPlay, cutting Apple out of the media vending food chain. Not a new concept at all, but when Real tried it, Apple were quick to put the kibosh on their efforts, and the impending possibility of a lawsuit was enough to eventually get them to stop fighting the man. As far as we know, Navio has neither been taken to court, nor actually licensed its artificial FairPlay technology to any partners. But for someone as high profile as Jon Johansen to move to the Bay and start up a business that undermines Apple's digital media sales business right in their own back yard, well, let's just say we're hoping DoubleTwist set aside some cash for possible legal expenses.

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

DVD Jon's is back to once again make FairPlay fair originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Oct 2006 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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