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Viewdini hits Play to help find video, if you're on Verizon
A week and change after it announced Viewdini, Verizon has it ensconced in the Google Play store. If you're on Android 2.2 or greater and have a 4G LTE plan, you can install the app at no charge, and start your search by typing in the name of a movie, actor or genre you want to see. The app will scurry off and check net-based providers like Hulu, mSpot and Netflix, along with cozy new chum Comcast's Xfinity, and bring back relevant titles along with their price and availability. Further pawing will reveal critic reviews and ratings, filmographies, related picks and other info -- just keep one eye on that data limit. [Thanks, Artem]
Verizon's Viewdini for Android hunts streaming video on Comcast Xfinity, Hulu and Netflix, strains our 4G
Verizon is clearly looking to make itself the front door for Internet video this year. Bolstering its tie-ins with Color and Redbox, it's now kicking off Viewdini, a carrier-specific Android app that will help you find video across multiple services: along with Internet-only providers like Hulu Plus, mSpot and Netflix, it will sift through the online component of Comcast's Xfinity brand, taking a little bit more advantage of that cross-sales deal coming out of the proposed spectrum handover. Even Verizon's own FiOS video will be late to its own party, coming "soon." Viewdini will only be available for 4G LTE-equipped Android phones and tablets later this month, with "other operating systems" and services due in the future -- given the currently very short list of non-Android 4G devices, we have a few ideas as to where the app might go next. Either way, get ready to collide with bandwidth caps faster than usual if you love what Verizon plans to offer. [Image credit: AllThingsD]
Samsung snaps up mSpot, teases a boost to media cloud efforts
Talk of a Samsung cloud service might not have panned out at the Galaxy S III event, but that doesn't mean the Korean electronics giant isn't interested in the space. Samsung has just acquired mSpot, best known for its cloud music storage and its earlier movie streaming tie-ins with carriers. The exact intentions aren't exactly clear -- Samsung is only promising that mSpot's technology will represent a "key integrated offering" on new mobile hardware. Still, the deal suggests that the Music Hub and Media Hub may get that much more cloud-savvy in the future. When asked for comment, Dropbox coyly stated: "It's cool. Being single is the new black."
mSpot brings iTunes streaming to the iPhone
TUAW has been watching users' need to stream music from the cloud for a while, especially since Apple acquired Lala some time ago. Understandably, we were a little disappointed when we found out that an official cloud-based iTunes would probably be limited in scope. This roller coaster of emotion leaves us especially excited to see mSpot Music hit the App Store. The mSpot service allows you store your iTunes collection on the Web in what mSpot calls your "music locker." Once you've put that music online, you can stream it to your computer, iPad or iPhone. Your music lives in the cloud on mSpot's service and is simply played on whichever device you'd like. Storage for your music is free up to the first 2GBs, which translates to about 1,600 music files. You can pay $3.99 a month for 40GBs of music, if you find the first 2GBs inadequate. [Via TechCrunch]
mSpot brings movie rentals to the iPad, works just fine over 3G
If you find yourself a little unimpressed with Netflix's Instant selection and you're needing to rent something a bit newer right now, the new iPad-optimized version of the mSpot movie streaming app should fit all up in your niche. For between $2.99 and $3.99 you can rent and watch a movie streaming right to your little slab of delight over either 3G or WiFi, though we're told those who do it via 802.11 can expect higher quality. You can also rent movies on your home computer, pause them there, and then resume playback on your iPad right where you left off. Handy when it's time to run to the train and you just can't wait to see whether George Clooney's Up in the Air character manages to find room for true companionship in his backpack.
mSpot stores your music* in the cloud, makes it available anywhere**
Whoa there, vaquero -- don't get too excited just yet. As with just about every other gratis backup service on the web, there's a catch you should know about with mSpot's latest endeavor. The free limit is right around 2GB (exact size is TBD), so if you've got more than a second generation iPod's worth of audio, this here service will only serve as a tease. For those who fall under that threshold, there's plenty to love, and if you're down for ponying up, you'll be able to secure 10GB for $2.99 per month or 20GB for $4.99 per month. Launched today at Google I/O, this "freemium" music cloud service essentially syncs your entire music library (either in iTunes or a user-designated arrangement of folders) with mSpot's servers -- provided your library is less than 20GB, of course -- and then makes it available anywhere. Phones and other computers should have no issue tapping in (though only Android will be supported out of the gate), and the app itself runs quietly in the background in order to check for new additions / subtractions and mirror said changes in your online library. For now, the service is available by invitation only through mspot.com, with public availability slated for next month. Size limits aside, the service worked well for us in our limited testing, though that first 20GB upload is a real pain over Time Warner Cable's obviously capped Road Runner internet. Oh, and if you're bummed about not being guaranteed an invite today, you shouldn't be. Hit that source link and enter "engadget" as the password -- the first 500 get immediate access, but once they're gone, they're gone. *20GB tops, buster! **Only on Android, Macs and PCs at first, chief!
mSpot brings new release movie streaming to major US carriers
mSpot has been streaming full-length movies to cellphones for a few years now, but not until this week has the company had a potential customer base of 40 million. As of right now, mobile phone users on Sprint, AT&T, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile (yes, that includes the G1, Pre, iPhone and every other smartphone with a half-decent browser) can surf over to m.mspot.com in order to stream major motion pictures, and being that the service is on-demand, you can also pause and restart 'em whenever you darn well please. Deals have been inked with Paramount Studios, Universal Pictures and the Weinstein Company, and we're told that more agreements are in the works. Movie rentals will cost $4.99 per title, and can be viewed from 24 hours to 5 days after they're rented. Naturally, mSpot recommends paying for an "unlimited" data plan, and if you're smart, you won't utilize the service whilst traveling abroad.
Sprint brings full-length movies to your phone
The war against your eyesight is on. Sprint is busting out a new pay-per-view movie service that streams full-length flicks to your tiny screen. They've already got 45 titles lined up for the service, including popular titles like National Treasure, Spider-Man 2 and Scarface. The new Sprint Movies service is in addition to Sprint's current mSpot movie service, which offers an all-you-can-eat selection of video content for 7 bucks a month. Sprint Movies can be controlled much like a DVD, with the ability to skip between chapters and resume the flick where it gets left off. Movies cost between $4 and $6 each, with rental periods ranging from 24 hours and one week, and 24 hour extensions are available for a buck. Check the read link for the full movie selection -- we're totally all over that Kindergarten Cop action.
