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Amazon Launches Cloud Player for Web, Android Devices

Monday night just got a lot more interesting. Amazon has just announced their own music streaming service for the web (for all you MacBook Pro and MacBook Air owners), and Android if you’re living on the edge like I am. Current (existing) Amazon customers can get 5 GB of cloud storage free, with an upgrade to a 20 GB (free for one year) upon the purchase of a hot new album. Appropriately called a Cloud Drive, Amazon enables you to upload 5GB of your music collection (non-DRM) to the digital shelf for playback on Amazon’s Cloud Player for the Web, or Cloud Player for Android. If you’re a loyal Amazon customer, those MP3 purchases can be saved right to your cloud space thus removing the need to download to your computer. As a bonus, storing purchased Amazon MP3s to the Cloud Drive doesn’t count against your total storage. Awesome stuff! To get music to the cloud, you can use Amazon’s MP3 Uploader tool, which will scan your iTunes library and playlists so you can decide what to upload. You can check out the new addition to the Amazon family via the source link below.

Might I add, “Game on?”

Update: There’s much more to cloud storage than just meager 5 GB and 20 GB plans. Past the break, we’ve got a handy chart with prices for up to 1000 GB of cloud storage. Sure it’ll cost you, but the fact that you can actually buy that much cloud storage is intriguing (and slightly frightening).

[Amazon via Engadget]

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WWDC ‘11 Sold Out In Less Than 10 Hours

The WWDC 2011, announced earlier today, is already sold out, as you can see on Apple’s official webpage for the event. This year’s conference sets a new record for Apple and the developers community: last year, WWDC tickets sold out in 8 days. For the 2011 edition, Apple managed to sell all tickets (which start at $1,599) in less than half a day since the announcement this morning – which saw developers from all around the globe quickly buy tickets to secure their presence in San Francisco from June 6 to June 10.

As a quick recap, the WWDC 2011 will focus on “the future of iOS and Mac OS” with:

  • more than 100 technical sessions presented by Apple engineers on a wide range of technology-specific topics for developing, deploying and integrating the latest iOS and Mac OS technologies;
  • over 1,000 Apple engineers providing developers with code-level assistance, insight into optimal development techniques, and guidance on how they can make the most of iOS and Mac OS technologies in their apps;
  • the opportunity to connect with thousands of fellow iPad®, iPhone® and Mac developers from around the world;
  • Apple Design Awards which recognize iPad, iPhone and Mac apps that demonstrate technical excellence, innovation and outstanding design.

Rumor: Siri “A Big Part” Of iOS 5, Demo At WWDC

Following this morning’s formal announcement from Apple about the WWDC ‘11, a number of reports surfaced indicating this year’s conference will be a software-related event, with the focus on iOS and Mac OS X Lion. Several bloggers and journalists have reported there won’t be a single hardware announcement at the WWDC, meaning a new iPhone – for the first time in years – won’t be announced at the June event.

Such an announcement, of course, lead many to speculate what features of iOS 5 (Lion has already been demoed and released as a preview to developers) will exactly make their way to the WWDC stage. TechCrunch now reports Siri, the startup bought by Apple last year, will play a big role in iOS 5 and a first demo of the integration of the technology will be shown at the WWDC.

Oh, and one more thing. Following our report on iOS 5, we heard a tiny bit more about it.

A year ago, Apple bought Siri, a virtual personal assistant startup that had released a very cool iPhone app. The Siri team and technology are now said to be a big part of iOS 5.

The use of Siri’s artificial intelligence and assistance technology is said to be deeply integrated into the OS for all the different services offered. And the team is now putting the finishing touches on the elements that will be demoed at WWDC, we hear. This tech may also be opened to developers for use in third-party apps — though that information isn’t quite as concrete.

The Siri iPhone app is still available in the App Store for free, and it allows users to “speak” to their iPhones to book restaurants, movie tickets, taxis and much more. Siri is undoubtedly a great piece of technology and this rumor, combined with previous reports of Apple looking to improve speech recognition functionalities and navigation in iOS, certainly backs up the theories of Cupertino engineers building a completely new OS focused on speech, new maps and more “human” interactions.

Another report by TechCrunch yesterday pointed to iOS 5 being released this fall with new location and music services. With an iOS 5 beta (likely) to become available at the WWDC in June and the time needed for developers to update their apps, it makes sense for Apple to wait until their usual September music event to launch the new OS and cloud services. In the meantime, you can check out the old Siri demo video and product description below. Read more

This Music Video Features iPhones with FaceTime

After the music video shot entirely using the iPad 2’s cameras, here comes another one – this time from Canadian band The Blue Stones – which features a couple of iPhone 4s and FaceTime. The video itself was recorded using an HD camera (you can tell from the 1080p option available in the Youtube embed), but band members had the idea to add a unique geek twist to the whole concept, and play the song back recording everything via FaceTime.

Duct tape was used to cover the FaceTime UI on the iPhones (pretty much like movie directors constantly modify the iPhone’s on-screen interface to maintain the “fiction” effect) and, overall, the result is interesting. If only because it shows how much popular iOS devices have become over the years and how FaceTime video quality is far from perfect most of the times (unlike Apple’s webpages suggests in the screenshots).

Check out the video below. [via TUAW]
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Apple Store Grand Opening This Week in Dresden, Germany

[Above: the Altmarkt-Galerie in Dresden, Germany]

Apple’s retail expansion continues at a steady pace as a new grand opening is planned later this week in Dresden, Germany. Confirmed by Apple today, the new store will be located at the Altmarkt-Galerie and will follow an extended opening schedule throughout the week:

  • Thursday: 8 AM to 10 PM
  • Friday: 9:30 AM to 10 PM
  • Saturday: 9:30 AM to 12 AM

As the iPad 2 is reportedly sold out in several European countries, the new Dresden store might be a good opportunity for German Apple fans to find units available. Apple is working on dozens of grand openings for 2011: at least two new stores are planned for Italy; a new one in Anchorage (Alaska) and openings in Paris and Palo Alto are planned as well.

iPad 2 Reportedly Sold Out in Australia, Italy, UK, Canada

Attention, potential iPad 2 buyers: following the international rollout of the device across 25 countries last Friday, it appears that the device can’t be found anywhere. Every store has run out of iPads. The Apple online store reports a 3-4 weeks delay in many countries. Authorized resellers have run out of tablets, too. Apple fans worldwide are going crazy whilst Steve Jobs is enjoying an iPad 3 and an iPad 4 prototype in his home office.

Apple-related jokes aside, a number of reports in the past days have surfaced indicating several international Apple retail stores and resellers are completely out of stock. The Daily Mail says UK stores were sold out of iPads on Friday night / Saturday morning; rumor has it the same is happening in Italy, Canada and Australia. Of course Apple didn’t provide any detailed sales numbers and they haven’t issued a press release (yet), but basing on these initial reports it looks like the iPad 2 was off to a great launch.

Or, as some people speculate, the long lines around the globe and the multiple sell-outs were nothing but a clever marketing strategy to cover the fact that Apple is having production issues with the iPad 2 and large scale shipments. Stores are out of stock and Apple.com returns a 4-week long wait, but according to several bloggers this is due to the fact that Apple is having problems with the iPad 2 manufacturing chain – a rumor that was semi-debunked by Apple itself by launching the new tablet in March (rather than June) but that might still partially hold true if reports of these rapid sell-outs are real.

Reportedly sold out or not, if you’re really willing to get your hands on an iPad 2 now the best method is, yet again, the simplest one: drive to an Apple Store and ask. Then, leave a comment below and let us know.

Never-used 20th Anniversary Macintosh Available on eBay

In the spring of 1997 Apple released a $7,499 computer produced in 12,000 limited copies and designed by Jonathan Ive. This computer, the Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh, was in fact the first “big project” for Ive at Apple, but its sales didn’t go very well. Widely regarded by true Apple aficionados as a unique piece of Apple history that can also run Mac OS 9 (initially developed with System 7 in mind), this Macintosh model was built by Ive to “have a very small footprint” on the desktop and be easy to “move around”. Many see it as the father of the popular iMac line that was introduced a year later, and to good reason: the Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh provided a better way to manage and install cables, had a standalone keyboard and, overall, was the first example of “all-in-one” design.

A never-used Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh has surfaced on eBay, and it’s currently bidding at $1,025.00. The box was opened for inspection, but the computer was never used and the packaging parts are still sealed. From the description of the item:

The TAM comes in one large box, with four smaller boxes inside consisting of the accessory box, keyboard, system and subwoofer. The accessory box was opened only to inspect the condition of the batteries out of concern that the corrosion of them over time could have damaged other components. The batteries did in fact expand but did not leak, causing no damage to any of the other accessories. The accessories themselves are all new, otherwise untouched, including the thick users manual which is still shrink-wrapped, and a special TAM pen and pencil set which come in a special Apple embossed leather case. The system and subwoofer boxes remain sealed, and therefore are to be in perfect condition, but because testing was not performed this system is being sold in as-is condition. Servicing of TAM’s is no longer available directly from Apple, but may be available thru an independent authorized service center.

The “TAM” was only released in the US, Japan, France, Germany, and UK – this is a great chance to get your hands on it if you’ve got money to spend (the auction will likely go up very soon) and you want to add a piece of Apple’s Macintosh history to your collection. Check out a video of Jony Ive talking about the Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh below, courtesy of Electronista.
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Fruit Ninja Recreated In Motion Tracking Simulator

What’s better than slicing fruit on your virtual touchscreen? How about slicing fruit with a virtual lightsaber? Four students at the FH Wedel University of Applied Sciences in Germany took it upon themselves to implement Fruit Ninja with a Wiimote, 5.1 sound, and something called CAVE (Cave Automatic Virtual Environment). Haptic feedback can be felt through the floor (what the students call a “butt-kick”), and a total of four displays surround students as they stand within an enclosure and wave a Wiimote. Bombs explode, beam swords are raised, and it could be the next Dance Dance Revolution if you’re for a good cardio workout. It’s certainly more practical than real life Fruit Ninja. Check out the vid after the break.

[thegadgetsite via Crunchgear]

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WWDC To Be Software Focused, No iPhone 5 Launch?

There is speculation today from Loop Insight that this year’s WWDC, to be held from June 6 , will not include any new hardware announcements – namely the iPhone. Apple said in its press release earlier today that WWDC ’11 will  focus on unveiling “the future of iOS and Mac OS.”

Based on information from his sources and the focus of the press release, Jim Dalrymple believes that this means more than just a strong focus on iOS and OS X, but a complete focus on the software driving Apple’s hardware forward. The iPhone 5 has, until now, largely been expected to launch as previous iPhones have, during the WWDC launch. Dalrymple contemplates that instead of a new iPhone taking stage it would be Lion, which is set to launch around WWDC and the ever-important iOS.

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