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Gmail's mobile web interface now looks just like the app
I use Gmail pretty much exclusively for my incoming email, with three or four different accounts that redirect to my always online, easily accessible, and seemingly bottomless inbox. I thought the app the company recently released with a brand-new look was pretty impressive, and apparently so did the web designers at Google: They have just switched the mobile website to make it look just like the official Gmail app. Unfortunately, the changes haven't proliferated to my corner of the web, but the screenshots of the new design look great -- nice and clean, with just a few important bits of color to keep your incoming messages straight. This version is also available on Gmail Offline, says Google, though strangely enough it hasn't made its way to the official Android client yet. I find a certain irony in the fact that the web interface is catching up to the official app interface, especially considering how the iOS app environment started as a series of web apps. And who knows -- maybe the desktop web interface will see some of these changes soon. I'm used to the way it works now, but I'd be up for some tweaks and twists if they help unify the platform. [via Engadget]
EA reveals 'single identity' cross-platform gaming experience
EA has completed its Origin login service, which means that most of its games going forward (including, presumably, Real Racing 3, which hits the US App Store tomorrow) will use a single company-specific login. Now, all EA games on all platforms will be able to access that login. So, for example, you could transfer your progress on a game of PGA Tour from iOS to your PlayStation 3, or Bejeweled stats on the Xbox 360 might mean something to Plants vs. Zombies 2, once it arrives on the iPad. Unfortunately, the news is less exciting for actual customers. Namely, it's essentially just another login to remember. It's too bad EA can't hook this up to Apple's Game Center system, as that seems to be the best and easiest social identifier to use these days (not to mention that, since it's official, it's baked right into iOS itself). But the company will do what it wants. EA also announced this week that all of its games will feature microtransactions for extra customization or content, another decision that might be less than popular with the gaming community. If EA believes that having its own login to connect game information will increase interest in its titles across platforms, then that's what we'll see in EA games going forward. [via TechHive]
Senzari becomes Wahwah, loses web service to go mobile-first
Senzari is a Pandora-like Internet radio service, that allows you to listen to streaming music centered around an artist or genre of your choice. For a little while now, the company has hosted the service on its website, but it recently picked up another service called wahwah.fm, and now is going to streamline its offerings into one, mobile-first app. The new app is going to be called Wahwah, and it will combine Internet radio with the idea of "broadcast stations," where you can send out music on your local iPhone to anyone else using the app. The Wahwah app is set to arrive sometime around SXSW, which will take place starting March 8 in Austin. There are of course quite a few of these streaming music services around -- I like Slacker a lot, and lately I've started listening to Rdio as well. But what's interesting here is that while Senzari is launching the Wahwah app, it's actually taking its web-based service offline completely and solely depending on the iPhone (later, Android and other platforms) for its users. That makes sense from a programming perspective (because dealing with one platform at a time is easier than trying to run a few), but it also speaks to the iPhone's popularity, that Senzari can get a solid audience by only going through an iPhone app. Eventually the web service will relaunch, which Senzari says will happen in two or three months. Most Internet radio services commonly run both a web-based service and a separate mobile app (in addition to custom apps for any other platforms), so it'll be interesting to see how Wahwah does with a mobile-only (and essentially iPhone-only) launch.
YouTube partners with vendors for paid translation service
Last year, Google began offering a "request translation" option for YouTube, letting you or others muddle your way through video caption creation. If you don't want to leave it up to strangers or the vagaries of machine translation, Mountain View's now offering paid, professional services through two outfits, Gengo and Translated.net, in 36 languages. Once you've created your video and added a caption track, you'll be able to see an estimated price and create an order, after which your vendor of choice will send the translation directly to YouTube. Once approved, it'll be live on the site, ensuring no misunderstandings of your latest opus.
Box offering 25 GB for free in promotion
Filesharing service Box is offering up 25 GB of free cloud storage in a new promotion (supposedly for "Gameday," but it seems to still be in effect anyway). To qualify, you must be a new customer on a free plan, or just sign up for a new account with a new email address. The deal is also for non-commercial use only, and because it's free, there's a file-size cap of 250 MB that you'll have to duck in under. But even with those catches, who couldn't use some extra storage, right? Box's deal is as up for as long as they leave it up, so definitely jump on it soon if you're interested. [via Engadget]
Twitch introduces ad-free Turbo subscription service
Popular video streaming site Twitch has announced a new service called Twitch Turbo. For $8.99 a month you can turn off all the ads on the site, get priority customer support, and unlock a special badge, chat colors, and custom emoticons that only Twitch Turbo subscribers can use. Twitch also streams lots of eSports events and other videos that would otherwise be interrupted by commercials.If you subscribe to knock the ads off completely, eligible Twitch broadcasters will still be paid for their views. Twitch says this is "just the beginning of what we hope to offer through Twitch Turbo," and that more "benefits and enhancements" for both viewers and broadcasters (including the official Joystiq Twitch channel) are likely coming soon.
Sprint to launch pay as you go service with four handsets, all you can eat plans from $70
Want a bit of Sprint, without signing on the dotted line? Okay, there are other ways of riding its waves without committing to a contract, but starting on the 25th of this month you'll be able to do it in the network's very own colors. The "Sprint as you go" service will launch with a somewhat limited selection of four handsets. LG's Optimus Elite, and the Samsung Victory make up the "higher" end of the offerings, costing $149 and $249 respectively. If you want to keep a little more coin in your pocket, there are two feature phones available too: Samsung's M400 ($50) and Array ($79) models. There are two associated plans, an all you can eat (talk, text and data) for smartphone option (no talk of LTE just yet) for $70 per month, and $50 per month for the feature phone plan. The finer details are yet to be ironed out, so we'll have to wait until the official reveal, but with that launch date not too far around the corner, it should all become clear soon enough.
Redbox Instant by Verizon gets an iOS app
Movie rental vendor Redbox recently announced that it would be taking on Netflix with its own streaming service, powered in part by Verizon. The service is still in closed beta, but Redbox has wasted no time getting up and running on iOS, as there's now an official "Redbox Instant by Verizon" app on the App Store. You can download it for free, although it won't do you much good if you don't have an invitation to the service. But there are some screenshots on iTunes of what it looks like (basically like Netflix, not surprisingly). The fact that the app is out and running already shows just how quickly Redbox is planning to get this off the ground. Personally, I think it's great. I quit Netflix a few months ago because I wasn't happy with the selections there, and competition is always good. Hopefully if Redbox and Verizon pick up a sizable audience, we'll see lots more innovation in the video-streaming market. [via App Advice]
Dropbox for iOS updated to version 2.0 with all-new design
Dropbox is our filesharing workhorse of choice around these parts, and the company has just updated its iOS app (for iPhone and iPad, of course) to version 2.0. The update is a big one, featuring an all-new (and "shiny," according to the release notes) design, as well as a new Photos tab, for organizing and updating your photos. Dropbox has been working on the photos functionality of the service on iOS for a while now -- even before this, you could set up your mobile photos to automatically sync and share across the service, so this tab shows that the company believes photo sharing is even more important. Plus, the new design looks great. Just like the old design, it stays out of your way and just lets you have access to your most important files, but there are a few colorful touches that make the experience better. The app is of course free on the App Store, and Dropbox's core service is free to use, with more storage and options available for a fee. Dropbox is a great app and a great service, and version 2.0 makes the iOS experience that much better.
OpenFeint investor Peter Relan reveals plans for OpenKit, open-sourced back-end services
Peter Relan is the founder of the social gaming incubator YouWeb, and he's probably most familiar to us here at TUAW as the main investor in OpenFeint, the huge social gaming network for iOS and other mobile platforms that was later bought by a Japanese company, and just this week is getting shut down for good. Relan's seen what developers are saying and doing about the OpenFeint shutdown (a lot of major games have provided updates this week or last, mostly switching their OpenFeint leaderboards and multiplayer services over to Apple's official Game Center service), and he's convinced there's an opportunity for more solutions to online app developer services like leaderboards, achievements, and in-app purchases. He tells TUAW that he also heard from "an indie developer team" about a month ago, and they've decided to work on a new service called OpenKit. "We are going to build a platform and we're going to solve the problem once and for all." Strangely, Relan declined to let us know just who this indie developer team was or what products they've made in the past. "I'm kind of a broker between the developer community and this indie developers," he said, so he's apparently reticent to let the devs deal with each other directly. But nevertheless, he says this team of devs is hard at work on the service already, and he hopes to have it live as soon as January. Now, it should be clear, says Relan, that OpenKit is not OpenFeint 2. OpenFeint was a closed-off developer service, that provided an API for devs to plug in to, and charged based on the number of users in your game. OpenKit, on the other hand, is going to be designed as a completely open source solution -- Relan relates it to the popular source code distribution system Git. In other words, while using the servers for OpenKit won't necessarily be free (Relan says it will likely be some sort of variable pricing subscription model), the code itself will be completely free and open source, so if developers want to take their code and information and go to another server, they'll be able to do just that. What Relan and his team is planning, he says, is "an open source developer platform that runs in the cloud, and provides all the important services developers need by developers for developers." It would provide OpenFeint-style services, but with open source code that anyone could access, or even help develop. On Game Center, for example, "tomorrow, if a developer wants to contribute a really cool new feature, they can't." That won't be the case on OpenKit. "What we're proposing is an extensible architecture." Some would argue that Apple's Game Center is what killed OpenFeint -- why would developers go with a third-party service when Apple's official service does everything they need? But Relan says he believes developers are still looking for more options. "There's a number of areas where I view Game Center as very important to the iOS platform, but it's clear that even after Game Center, tons of developer came on to OpenFeint and used it. There was something there." Relan also says that OpenKit will likely be designed for both Android and iOS, so it may be a much more viable option for cross-platform apps and games. At this point, there's no code available for OpenKit yet. Relan is doing a quick developer survey on the official OpenKit website, both to collect future possible users of the system, and to gauge developer interest in the various possible features. "We know you like Leaderboards, but what else do you like?" he wants to ask developers. But aside from the survey, Relan says the code is already being built, and he and his team hope to have it ready as soon as January. "These guys are already working insane hours," he says. The original Aurora Feint game that Jason Citron and Danielle Cassley developed and later became OpenFeint was put together in 60 days, he says, and OpenFeint was built off of that in just 45 days. So Relan is hoping that "this one is going to be 45 days. At the end of January, this thing is going to be up. And I have 100% confidence, this team that we have is just as good as teams I've seen." Ambitious, to be sure. It remains to be seen just what developers want out of a platform like this, and especially after they've had to spend time and money removing OpenFeint from their apps, some devs may be even more leery of investing in another third-party social service. But Relan's obviously got experience attracting developers to his fold with OpenFeint, and he's got big ideas about just what OpenKit can be. We'll have to see, come January, just what the team decides to offer game and app developers going forward.
PSA: Microsoft says freezing issues associated with latest dash update have been fixed
Earlier today, Xbox Live's official status page noted that some users were reporting issues with their Xbox 360 consoles following the latest system update, claiming the platform would lock up when navigating to the dashboard. Xbox Support said the team would investigate the issue and release a fix soon. It appears that issue has been remedied.The Xbox Live Status page has been updated, removing a mention of the issue and Microsoft has told Joystiq that, while there was a little issue, it has now been completely fixed. Still having issues? Let us know in the comments below.[Thanks, Anthony!]
Gree closing down OpenFeint on December 14
I believe we've now reached the end of iOS' first generation as a platform -- it's almost every week now that we're hearing about a major startup losing a founder or a big franchise shutting down. This time it's OpenFeint, the social gaming platform started up way back by Jason Citron and Danielle Cassley, that at one point claimed 25 million users, and then was sold to a Japanese social network named Gree for $104 million. Gree has announced that it's finally shutting down the network on December 14, leaving developers who still depend on it in the lurch, and closing a book that makes up the first big chapter of the iOS marketplace. OpenFeint was originally started from a game itself, but it grew into an easily implemented social network that connected the App Store's offerings together, both in terms of user accounts and leaderboards, and in helping developers promote and share their apps with a large group of consumers. Gree is planning to migrate current OpenFeint users to its own social network, but it says that the current OpenFeint API calls will no longer work after December 14, which means any developers who still depend on those calls will be out of luck. Of course, Apple's Game Center service is the official version of OpenFeint, and though Citron and his crew (and later, Gree) fought to try and keep OpenFeint relevant even when Apple introduced its own service, it appears the battle's finally been lost. Citron left the company late last year as well. We'll see if Gree tries to do something to appease devs angry about the short notice on the changeover, but it's much more likely that those devs will just make their own switch to Game Center and be done with third-party services in general. As I said, it's the end of an era for the App Store. Going forward, Game Center reigns supreme.
Dropbox hits 100 million users, looking for great Dropbox stories
Dropbox has announced that it has reached 100 million users, an impressive number to be sure. For comparison's sake, here's Wikipedia's list of virtual communities with more than 100 million users, which currently has seven companies on it, so Dropbox has just joined a very exclusive club. Twitter, for example, hit 100 million earlier this year, and Facebook has 166.1 million users in the US at last count. To think that Dropbox is shoulder to shoulder with those kinds of companies is very impressive indeed. To celebrate, Dropbox is going to give away a few 100 GB for life packages, and they want Dropbox users to log in and share their stories of how they use the service. There are all kinds of great examples on there, from wedding photo sharing to high school coaches that use the service to share game plans. Personally, I've got three computers and about four devices wandering around my life at this point, and Dropbox has become my de facto way of making sure I have important documents and files when I need them. I also use it for backup, keeping archives of my blog posts and various interview transcripts in the cloud, so that if any specific hard drive dies, I've always got a copy on Dropbox's servers. Finally, I work on a few different podcasts, and we use shared folders on Dropbox to share audio and talksheets with our hosts and guests. Dropbox is a great service, and we congratulate them on all of their success so far. Here's to 100 million more!
Order your office supplies from Amazon, pick them up at Staples with upcoming lockers
Amazon lockers have been popping up at 7-eleven stores and UK retailers, but now they're arriving at what seems like a conflicted destination: bricks and mortar (and online) arch-competitor, Staples. The service allows shoppers who missed a delivery to head over to a locker and nab their packages using a 72-hour code, with the host retailer keeping a small fee in return. But there aren't too many items at Staples that you can't also find at Amazon, so we hope the office supply giant got a sweetheart deal. [Image credit: Wikimedia Commons]
AT&T announces cloud-based storage, 5 GB free for iOS users
AT&T's apparently jumping into the cloud storage fray with a new program called AT&T Locker. The service will provide up to 5 GB of free storage via an app to iOS users, with extra charges for any storage above that. To get started, AT&T users can grab the app right now, and then upload and access photos or videos on the app, or then share them off to other networks like Facebook, Twitter or (it's back!) MySpace. It's an interesting move by AT&T for sure. The idea, apparently, is that by getting you to invest your documents and photos on their servers, there will be more reason for you to stay with their network when the opportunity to switch comes around. I don't know how well that will work, but 5 GB of extra free storage is always appreciated. [via Engadget]
Jolicloud Open Platform arrives, lets developers put most any cloud service into one hub
Jolicloud has portrayed itself as a sort of one-stop shop for cloud services and web apps, where a single sign-in keeps us on top of everything. It's mostly been limited to big-league content as a result, but that's changing with the new Jolicloud Open Platform. Developers now just have to build JavaScript-based Node.js components that hook their own apps, media and storage into the same central Jolicloud repository we'd use to manage Instagram and Tumblr. More details and full documentation are forthcoming, although the "open" in Open Platform leads us to think there won't be many technical (or financial) barriers to entry.
Apple extends Seagate drive replacement program for iMacs
As noted by MacRumors, Apple's extended service program for iMacs with 1TB Seagate internal hard drives was updated late last week to include iMacs manufactured as far back as October 2009. The program, launched in the summer of 2011, originally covered only machines made during a narrow window of that year. Drives can be replaced at the Apple Store, by an Apple Authorized Service Provider or by Apple Technical Support. Apple has also extended the duration of this program more than once, and now will cover iMac hard drive replacements with affected drives for three years after the original retail purchase date or until April 12, 2013, whichever ends up providing longer coverage for the computer. You can check if your machine might be affected by entering your serial number on the program page. Of course, you'll need to back up your data prior to replacement, and you may need your OS installer discs depending on how you plan to restore your machine. Seagate's had past problems with drive reliability, including a firmware flaw that resulted in data loss.
AT&T cutting returns and service cancelation period from 30 to 14 days, starting tomorrow? (update: confirmed)
Prone to bouts of buyer's remorse? Well if you were planning an AT&T flavored purchase, you might want to start the car. A tipster has sent in what appears to be a notice to staff advising that the returns period for equipment and service cancellations will be shrinking from 30 to 14-days -- effective tomorrow. Purchases made today would benefit from the longer period, and our tipster claims that there may be a grace period until November where returns could be processed as if still under the original scheme (what sounds, to us, like a courtesy for those who didn't read the fine print). We don't have all the fine print, but head past the break for a little more on the specifics. [Thanks, Anonymous] Update: AT&T has confirmed the policy change to us, noting that it'll indeed go into effect tomorrow, but won't affect certain business customers. You'll find the full response after the break, while we're getting word on how this will work in California, where 30 return periods are required by law.
MoviePass launches iPhone app and card combo, takes unlimited viewing to all US theaters
While MoviePass was in early beta, it got more than a small amount of pushback from theaters that didn't like someone changing the price formula without their explicit say-so. The company just found an end-run around that conspicuous obstacle. It's releasing both an iPhone app and a reloadable card that, when combined, let MoviePass' effectively unlimited subscription model work at just about any US theater. The app unlocks the card for a specific showing; after that, it's only a matter of swiping the plastic at a payment kiosk like any old credit card. It's not as sophisticated as NFC or Pay With Square, to be sure, but it should keep the rude surprises to a minimum. Both the iOS app and the card require an invitation to the $30 monthly service if you're eager to get watching movies today. If either is too limiting, there's promises of both an Android app and wider availability in the future.
The extremes of technology customer service: how common sense and empathy create unmatched loyalty
Allow me to explain how two discussions started off in very similar ways, and ended... shall we say, differently. This is me, attempting to muster any sort of pleasantness in my voice at some ungodly hour of the morning on a Google Voice connection from Dubai back to the US: "Hey! I'm having to cut a trip short due to an emergency back home. I actually purchased a trip protection plan when I checked out online -- would it be possible to provide a refund for this flight now that I need to cancel it?" From here, I was told that this was too vague. That I would need medical proof of an injury or illness, and that if it were a pre-existing condition -- something like reoccurring cancer -- that simply wouldn't do. Oh, and if it's a home emergency, you'll need proof from your home insurance company that your abode is "uninhabitable." "So... I'm basically hosed here? This trip protection plan doesn't really protect very much, does it?" "... Do you want to file the claim?" "No. That's okay. Thanks for your time." It doesn't have to be this way.
