AllThingsD » Windows Media Player

Google Acquires Canadian Mobile Music Synching Company

Tricia Duryee — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 21:44:14 +0000

Google has purchased Toronto-based PushLife, which helps people easily synch their music collection stored on their PC with their mobile phones, including BlackBerry and Android devices. The software works with either iTunes or Windows Media Player. TechVibes.com is reporting that Google paid about $25 million for the three-year-old company. A Google spokesperson did not comment on the terms, but said: “We believe the team has a wealth of experience building cool mobile applications, and we think they’ll make a great addition to our mobile team.”

BlackBerry's New Torch Makes a Leap From Drab

Walter S. Mossberg — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 02:02:32 +0000

Millions of people love the BlackBerry, relying on it especially for email and text messaging. But this classic smartphone, while still dominant in the U.S., has been slipping in popularity as consumers, and even some corporations, eye two newer, simpler and more versatile rivals: Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android operating system that runs on a plethora of phones. Both boast much larger ecosystems of third-party applications than the BlackBerry.

[ See post to watch video ]

A new Nielsen survey shows that only 42% of BlackBerry owners want their next phone to be a BlackBerry, while 89% of iPhone owners and 71% of Android owners plan to stick with those platforms.

So, this week, the BlackBerry’s maker, Canadian tech giant Research in Motion, introduced a new model and a new operating system designed to counter these trends and better compete with the iPhone and Android.

The new BlackBerry is called the Torch 9800, and it is the first BlackBerry with a slide-out keyboard, the first to combine both a touch screen and a physical keyboard, and the first to allow typing on either a physical keyboard or an onscreen virtual keyboard. It will be available from AT&T on Aug. 12 for $200 with a two-year contract.

But perhaps the more important introduction is the new BlackBerry operating system, which will also be available on future models and as an upgrade for several existing models. Called BlackBerry 6, the new software aims to juice up the BlackBerry’s tired, utilitarian user interface and feature set.

It is meant to simplify the cluttered home screen, and to add features such as universal search, multitouch gestures, decent Web browsing, improved social networking and more built-in apps.

The Torch 9800 with favorite apps, contacts and websites.

I’ve been testing the new Torch with BlackBerry 6, and I view it as a big improvement over earlier, stodgy BlackBerry models. It might help stem the urge to switch to iPhone and Android, and even steal some users from those and other platforms, especially as the company brings out additional models that use the new software. And it shows that, contrary to some recent speculation, RIM is hardly dead or dying. In fact, the new phone and software are just the start of its plan to revitalize the BlackBerry franchise.

But there is still one big downside: third-party apps. While the iPhone boasts 225,000 of these downloadable programs, and Android claims 70,000, the BlackBerry platform is still stuck at a measly 9,000.

I liked the way the device now has separate screens for frequently used functions; favorite apps, contacts and Web pages; media functions; and apps you’ve downloaded. The multitouch gestures, like scrolling through lists, and pinching and zooming, worked fine. The browser is finally usable, the app store is now built in, and there is a nice social-networking app called Social Feeds that combines status updates from Twitter, Facebook and other networks.

Icons seemed larger and more colorful, and it was easy to add photo icons of favorite contacts and Web sites to the new Favorites screen. Built-in apps that appear out of the box include Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, CNN, ESPN, and the Weather Channel.

The Torch

In addition, the new BlackBerry allows you to quickly check your latest messages and to control your network settings by merely tapping on a couple of bars on the home screen that drop down to expose the relevant information. And the formerly geeky and complex settings screens and menus have been simplified and made more graphical and attractive.

The music and video players are much more attractive and useful, and there is even a way to wirelessly sync music from a PC running iTunes or Windows Media Player over your home network, though it is complicated and time-consuming to set up and so far (as with wired syncing) only works on Windows PCs, not Macs.

However, this week’s moves are mostly catch-ups to iPhone and Android, and not a radical move forward for the super-smartphone category. One reason is that RIM can’t afford to alienate its loyal base of existing BlackBerry fans. In fact, a RIM software executive, writing on an official company blog, called the new operating system “fresh, but familiar” and assured current users that “when you look at it, it still looks like a BlackBerry Home Screen.” He compared it to a “home renovation.”

The company was careful to keep some of the most familiar BlackBerry features. For instance, even though you can now navigate with multitouch gestures, the Torch still has the standard mini-trackpad and the usual menu and escape keys. The physical keyboard—crucial to most BlackBerry fans—is also very familiar in layout and function. The popular BlackBerry Messenger application has been retained.

The Torch lags behind its rivals in some respects. For example, it has a smaller and much lower resolution screen than either the iPhone 4 or some of the newer Android models, like the Samsung Vibrant or the Motorola Droid X. Despite that smaller screen, it is also significantly thicker and heavier than the new iPhone or the Samsung, mainly because of the slide-out physical keyboard, which the others lack. Unlike on the iPhone and some new Android phones, there is no front-facing camera or video-calling function built in.

Curve 8500

While the Torch generally is smooth and responsive, I found it slower overall than the iPhone 4. And, in my tests, its browser—though based on the same technology as the ones on Android and the iPhone—proved consistently slower, though much faster and better than on earlier BlackBerrys. During my testing, the browser also began behaving strangely, freezing up at some moments and, in other cases, displaying only the graphics, not the text, on some Web pages. To fix this, I had to remove and replace the battery.

The slide-out physical keyboard looks a bit cramped, but, after a few days of use, I found it performed in the usual excellent manner of most BlackBerry keyboards.

The onscreen keyboard, on the other hand, proved markedly inferior to those on the iPhone and Android. The keys are narrow, and easy to miss. And the keyboard doesn’t morph much to make specialized functions easier. When you’re entering an email address, it doesn’t display a prominent, dedicated “@” key like the iPhone does. RIM says this is because it expects users to rely more on the physical keyboard for such scenarios.

The email function, long the BlackBerry’s strong point, is largely unchanged. While it is fast and reliable, it lacks some useful touches the iPhone introduced years ago. For example, there is still no built-in option for displaying a preview of the text of an email, so you have to guess whether it is worth opening merely by reading the subject line. And attached pictures still aren’t displayed automatically in opened emails; you have to click a link to see them.

The built-in Maps function on the Torch is from AT&T, and was slower and more frustrating to use than Google Maps on the Android and the iPhone. RIM says it will have its own BlackBerry Maps program available for the new OS at launch.

Tour 9630

But there are also many strong points. The five-megapixel camera with flash worked very well in my tests for still photos, and pretty well for videos. It even has several scene settings, such as for sports events or parties, and face detection. A redesigned pop-up menu makes it easy to share photos via email, text message, BlackBerry Messenger, or various social networks.

Notifications of new messages, including social-networking updates, seems much quicker than on previous BlackBerrys. Battery life was good in my tests, and the phone lasted through an average day easily.

Phone calls were crisp and clear. And, although the number of bars seemed about the same on AT&T as they did on the iPhone 4, and I could make the bars drop on the Torch by holding it in a certain manner, none of the limited number of calls I tried dropped. In my tests, the Torch downloaded data a bit more quickly than the iPhone over AT&T’s network, but much more slowly over Wi-Fi.

The new OS will be standard on all future BlackBerry models, and owners of the existing Bold 9700 and 9650, and the Pearl 3G, will be able to upgrade to it.

Overall, the Torch and the BlackBerry 6 operating system are good products that improve the BlackBerry experience considerably and bring the device closer to its newer rivals.

Find Walt Mossberg’s columns and videos online, free, at the All Things Digital Web site, walt.allthingsd.com. Email him at mossberg@wsj.com.

Corrections & Amplifications

Existing AT&T customers who buy a new AT&T Torch smartphone and who already have a $30 a month unlimited data plan can opt to keep that plan. This column said Torch buyers would have to commit to a capped data plan starting at $15 a month.

Google Answers the iPhone

Walter S. Mossberg — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 04:02:04 +0000

In the exciting new category of modern hand-held computers — devices that fit in your pocket but are used more like a laptop than a traditional phone — there has so far been only one serious option. But that will all change on Oct. 22, when T-Mobile and Google bring out the G1, the first hand-held computer that’s in the same class as Apple’s iPhone.

[ See post to watch video ]

I have been testing the G1 extensively, in multiple cities and in multiple scenarios. In general, I like it and consider it a worthy competitor to the iPhone. Both devices run on fast 3G phone networks and include Wi-Fi. Both have smart-touch interfaces and robust Web browsers. Both have the ability to easily download third-party apps, or programs.

But the two devices have different strengths and weaknesses, and are likely to attract different types of users.

If you’ve been lusting after the iPhone’s functionality, but didn’t like its virtual keyboard or its user interface or its U.S. carrier, AT&T, the G1 may be just the ticket for you. But it does have some significant downsides.

By far, the G1′s biggest differentiator is that it has a physical keyboard, which is revealed by sliding open the screen. The keyboard proved only fair in my tests, with keys that are too flat and that can be hard to see in bright light, and with a bulge in the body on the right side that you have to reach over to type. But, for the many people who can’t stomach typing on glass, the G1 keyboard will be a welcome sight. It’s complemented by a BlackBerry-like trackball for navigation.

The G1 has a smart-touch screen like its iPhone rival, for Web browsing and downloading programs. But it has a physical keyboard for conventional typing.

The G1 has a removable battery and uses removable, expandable memory cards. And it’s even a bit cheaper than its Apple (AAPL) rival: $179 versus $199. Its data plan also costs less — $25 a month versus $30 — and includes 400 free text messages, which cost extra on the iPhone. There’s also a $35 plan that includes unlimited text messages. And both plans include free use of T-Mobile’s Wi-Fi hotspots.

The G1 has a slick, clever touch interface to go along with its keyboard, and it includes a powerful new operating system. The operating system, called Android, was built by Google (GOOG). It is slated to appear on other phones over time, though it likely will look different on other devices because it is fully open to modification by other companies.

On the G1, the touch interface is fast and smooth. Programs appear when you drag up a tab at the bottom of the screen, and notifications of new messages can be read by simply dragging down the top bar of the screen.

You get much more flexibility in organizing your desktop than on the iPhone. In addition to placing icons for programs there, you can add individual contacts, music playlists, folders, Web pages and more. You just press on the screen for a longer-than-usual time, and a list of items you can add appears. It also has a higher-resolution camera than the iPhone, but like the Apple phone, it can’t shoot video.

It’s also much easier to place a phone call on the G1 than on the iPhone. You can just start typing a contact name or phone number while on the home screen, sparing you the need to enter the phone or contacts program. And there’s a virtual phone keypad that allows you to avoid opening the physical keyboard just to dial a number. It’s also much easier to jump to the top and bottom of long lists.

The G1′s Web browser, built on the same technology as the iPhone’s, worked well at rendering scores of common sites in my tests. You can either pan around pages with your finger, or choose to view the whole page at once and zero-in on a section by moving a small rectangle around.

This first Android phone, which was largely designed by Google and built by Taiwan-based HTC, also includes some key features Apple omitted. These include a limited ability to copy and paste text, and the ability to send photos directly to other phones without relying on email, a common phone feature called MMS, or Multimedia Messaging Service. And, unlike AT&T (T), T-Mobile (DT) will even allow users to legally unlock the phone after 90 days and start using it on another carrier, provided you pay a hefty early-termination fee.

In my battery tests, the G1 lasted through the day, but I had to charge it every night. That’s better than the initial battery life on the current iPhone, though in fairness, Apple has improved the iPhone’s battery life through software updates, and I found them to be about the same for mixed use.

In my talk-time test, the G1 got just under its claimed five hours, about 19 minutes better than the iPhone.

There are two email programs: one for Google’s Gmail, another for all other email services. There’s an instant-messaging program that works with multiple services. There’s one program for accessing Google’s YouTube service and another for Google Maps. The G1′s Google Maps program even has a feature, coming soon as well to the iPhone, that offers photographic street views of certain locations. But the G1, unlike the iPhone, includes a compass that orients the street views as you walk.

The built-in download store for third-party programs, called Market, worked well in my tests. I was able to quickly download games, productivity programs, and other apps and, unlike Apple, Google says it isn’t blocking any programs.

However, the G1 also has downsides. It’s a chunky brick of a device. While it’s a bit narrower than the iPhone and feels OK in the hand, it’s almost 20% heavier and nearly 30% thicker. It also has a smaller screen and doesn’t accept standard stereo headphones.

The G1 also skimps on memory. It comes with only 1 gigabyte of storage, just one-eighth of what the base iPhone offers. To increase the G1′s memory, you have to lay out more money to buy a larger memory card.

The G1 also limits third-party applications to a paltry 128 megabytes of memory. At one point in my tests, after downloading a bunch of third-party programs, and adding songs and videos, the G1 warned me it was running out of room, a warning I have never seen on my heavily used iPhone.

Another downside for some users: The G1 is tightly tied to Google’s online services. While you can use non-Google email and IM services, the only way you can get contacts and calendar items into the phone is to synchronize with Google’s online calendar and contacts services. In fact, you can’t even use the G1 without a Google user ID and password.

The G1 doesn’t allow the use of Microsoft’s Exchange service for email, contacts or calendar items, or any other company’s over-the-air synchronization for contacts and appointments.

In my tests, synchronizing with Gmail, and with Google’s contacts and calendar applications, was smooth and fast. So, the G1 may be great for dedicated Google users, but not so good for folks who rely on competing calendar and contacts services from, say, Yahoo (YHOO) or Microsoft (MSFT). Future Android phones may not be so tightly tied to Google services, but the G1 is.

It also can’t synchronize any data at all directly with a PC or Mac. For instance, it can’t sync with Microsoft Outlook or Windows Media Player on a PC, with Apple’s iCal or Address Book programs on a Mac, or with iTunes on either Windows or the Mac. It has no PC-based synchronization software of its own, and it offers no way to automatically back up your settings, music, applications, videos or photos, either to a computer or to an online repository, though Google says it plans to add a backup feature.

To get Outlook or iCal data onto the G1, you must install add-on software. To get your songs, videos and photos onto the G1, you must plug the phone, or its memory card, into your computer and manually move the files over.

Overall, I found the G1′s user interface inferior to the iPhone’s. It lacks the iPhone’s ability to flick between multiple pictures and Web pages, or to zoom in and zoom out of a photo or Web page by simply using two fingers to “pinch” or expand the image. It also doesn’t automatically change the orientation of the screen from portrait to landscape simply by turning the phone.

Further, many common controls that are easily visible on the iPhone can be accessed on the G1 only by pressing a menu button or by using keyboard shortcuts you have to memorize. Examples are stopping the loading of a Web page or moving forward to the next Web page.

There’s also no on-screen keyboard even for quick tasks, such as typing Web addresses, so you’re constantly having to turn the phone and open the physical keyboard, which quickly becomes a pain.

The G1 also is a greatly inferior multimedia device when compared with the iPhone. Its music player, while adequate, isn’t as nice as the built-in iPod on the iPhone. And it lacks a video player altogether, though a rudimentary one can be downloaded from the Market. The G1 does come with a program for buying songs from Amazon (AMZN), which worked well in my tests.

And then there’s the network. Despite all the troubles AT&T has experienced with its fast 3G network, which is still being built out, that company has 3G service for the iPhone and other devices in 320 U.S. metro areas. By contrast, T-Mobile offers 3G in just 20 U.S. metro areas. Eight more cities are due to come online by year end, which will still leave T-Mobile’s 3G coverage far behind that of AT&T and Verizon (VZ), which will soon introduce its own iPhone competitor, the BlackBerry Storm.

I did 40 speed tests comparing the G1 and the iPhone to see how fast they could download a Web page over 3G. The tests, conducted in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Washington, D.C., showed the iPhone to be consistently faster, by an average of between 50 and 100 kilobytes per second, even though T-Mobile’s network was carrying much less traffic than AT&T’s.

Overall, the G1 is a very good first effort, and a godsend for people who prefer physical keyboards or T-Mobile but want to be part of the new world of powerful pocket computers.

Find all of Walt Mossberg’s columns and videos online, free, at the All Things Digital Web site, walt.allthingsd.com. Email him at mossberg@wsj.com.

Transferring a Windows Media Music File to iTunes

Walter S. Mossberg — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 02:48:02 +0000

Here are a few questions I’ve received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability.

Is there a way to transfer a Windows Media music file to iTunes?

If the Windows Media file is copy-protected, typically because you bought it from an online store that copy-protects its music, iTunes cannot import or play it. However, if it is unprotected, which is typical for files you created from your own CDs using Windows Media Player, iTunes can import the file and automatically convert it into a format it can use.

I would like to purchase an iPhone, but run it on the Verizon network. I realize that AT&T has an exclusive at this time, but is there a way to do this on the secondary market?

No. The radio inside the iPhone is incompatible with the network technology used by Verizon and Sprint. That cannot be changed by hacking the software, or replacing the SIM card in the phone.

I need to buy a new laptop computer and am wondering if you think Vista is wise at this point or should I still stick with Windows XP if I can find it? I only do emails, browsing the net and some downloading of music and photos. I am retired and don’t know much about computers.

Vista easily handles the tasks you want to do, but it will require heftier hardware to work at acceptable speeds, and, assuming you are used to working with XP, Vista will require you to learn some new things. If you buy XP, you can get away with a more modestly equipped computer, and you will be working with a more familiar interface. So, in your particular situation, I would suggest an XP machine. But I urge you to make sure it gets upgraded to the latest revision, called SP3, which bolsters the security of XP, so it is closer to that of Vista. Depending on your setup, this upgrade may be delivered automatically by Microsoft, but you may have to agree to accept it.

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online free of charge at the new All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

Liveblogging From the Google Chrome Launch: Toe Fungus and Pinocchio

Kara Swisher — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 18:49:15 +0000

Now, we have two Googlers, who are demoing Google’s new Chrome browser and its features and user interface.

“Friendly” tabs, knowing your history better graphically, auto-typing, simplicity, easier downloading with a new window that one guy is calling a real app like “Pinocchio, because we wanted to build a real boy.”

Well, Pinocchio was wood for most of that story, but I like the effort!

Also, they show off the “Incognito” feature, where you can hide Web searches you don’t want others to see, which basically means porn and Barry Manilow fan sites.

Except the Google (GOOG) guys use a toe fungus search!

This is gross, although hiding toe fungus is a good idea related to Web navigation software.

Now, another smart-looking guy comes on, who looks like the other guys, and discusses the architecture, including rendering, security and so forth.

Also a speed test, from another Google guy, from Denmark, where Google’s Chrome–incredibly–beats Microsoft’s Internet Explorer! It is like one of those blind taste test commercials on television.

My mind starts to wander and I wonder if Microsoft Founder Bill Gates is watching this and getting plenty steamed up north at Microsoft (MSFT) HQ.

At this point, I suggest you please watch the Webcast of this demo to listen to the details, available through both Windows Media Player and RealPlayer.

Because once the Googlers start talking “plug-in bugs,” I start staring at Google co-founder Larry Page–who is here sitting with with top Google exec Marissa Mayer off to the side–to see if both are paying rapt attention.

They are, natch. (I should have eaten a tasty pastry.)

Please see this disclosure related to me and Google.