TechFlash: Seattle's Technology News Source

iHear Network

| FREE | iHear Network

iHear Network's Android app turns tweets to speech - TechFlash: Seattle's Technology News Source

From left: iHear Network COO Matthew Markus, CEO Matt Fitzsimmons and CTO Geoff Simons. iHear Network has developed an Android app that converts tweets to speech. The company, founded by Matt Fitzsimmons, Matthew Markus and Geoff Simons in February 2011, offers a free Android app that allows you to hear geotagged tweets (tweets that have been geographically identified or sorted) that have been converted to speech. Users can choose a city, state or country and hear what people are saying in that community in real time. Fitzsimmons said the app has already been downloaded 10,000 times and the next release will include real-time chat capabilities, more location-based sources and photos. (An iPhone version is also in the works.) The company was one of six startups to present at the MIT Enterprise Forum of the Northwest’s Spring Northwest Startup DEMO last night. TechFlash caught up with Fitzsimmons to see what he has planned for the Seattle startup. Tell us a little bit about what you guys have created. "As it is now, you probably know more about what your friends in (other states) are doing because of Facebook than you do about just what’s going on right across the street from you. We’re looking to bring the content that’s created in your community to life and present it to you in a way that’s easy to consume... We started with Twitter because it’s a high density source and you can hear content basically from anywhere in the world. "(The app) is kind of like a radio station at this point. It’s pretty interesting when, at certain times, the community can agree on a common focal proint. When there’s an external event happening, this tends to happen naturally. For example, the earthquakes in Japan: Right after they happened, I positioned the app right Read More

Whrrl

| FREE | Pelago, Inc.

Foursquare rival Whrrl brings 'check-ins' to Android phones - TechFlash: Seattle's Technology News Source

It's been more than a year since Foursquare launched its Android app, one of the reasons why the mobile location service continues to lead the pack. But Seattle-based Pelago, maker of the competing Whrrl app, is trying to make inroads on its larger rival. Today, Pelago made a step in that direction with its own Android application, which allows users to share their location by checking in at local establishments. "But we didn’t just build an Android app for you… we also included a custom Whrrl widget for your Android phone, which will turn it into a compass for ideas you want to do," the company notes in a blog post. "Based on where you are, Whrrl will show you the closest ideas saved to your want-to list. You can then click the idea and map it." Whrrl is hoping to set itself apart from Foursquare, Gowalla and others by touting what it calls "societies," real world groups built around various interests. There are currently more than 3,000 societies set up on Whrrl. By participating in the societies, users earn the chance to win prizes ranging from gas to shows in Las Vegas. Here's a closer look at how the new Android app works. Read More

Bing on VZW

| FREE | Microsoft Corporation

Bing debuts its Android app, as Microsoft moves onto Google turf - TechFlash: Seattle's Technology News Source

Microsoft's Bing team today is debuting its new application for Google Android, expanding its footprint in the mobile world. As a follow-up to the well-received Bing app for the iPhone, the rollout for Android continues the pragmatic approach that the Bing team has been taking in the mobile world -- embracing mobile operating systems that compete with Microsoft's own Windows Mobile and Windows Phone platforms. That said, the Bing rollout on Android is truly the tech industry's equivalent of confronting the enemy on its own turf, given Google's position as the Internet search king. The pressure is on Microsoft to deliver a high-quality release, given the native Google search functionality built in to Android devices. In a blog post announcing the news, the Bing team says its Android app is available as of today to Verizon Wireless customers. No word yet on availability for Android devices from other wireless carriers. We knew this was coming, but the release appears to be sooner than expected. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Bing for Android would be out "in the next few months." Update, 12:30 p.m.: A Microsoft representative says "there are plans to expand the Bing for Mobile Android App to devices with other U.S. mobile operators later this year. We don’t have specific timing to share at this time." Microsoft has an existing mobile search deal with Verizon, and that played into the decision. "Given the deep partnership with (Verizon) on Bing search, we’ve decided to roll out our Bing search experiences on (Verizon) first," the representative said. "We’re working to make Bing available on the other mobile operators and their Android devices." Read More

IMDb Movies & TV

| FREE | IMDb

IMDb launches Android app - TechFlash: Seattle's Technology News Source

Amazon.com has been taking its Kindle electronic book app to multiple devices. Now it's doing the same with its Internet Movie Database (IMDb) site. IMDb is launching an app for Google Android devices, letting users get movies information, trailers and showtimes and shop for DVDs and Blu-ray discs. IMDb already has an app for Apple's iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. IMDb has also created an "interactive" Twitter account @imdbbot that lets people tweet a question about a celebrity name or film and get an answer back. Amazon acquired IMDb for an undisclosed price in 1998. It's become a well-established source of movie and TV info for the general public, and it also has a paid service for Hollywood types, with showbiz contacts, film production info, and movie and actor rankings. The site has been steadily adding content in recent years, acquiring Box Office Mojo, a site that tracks movie grosses, and Without A Box, an indie film promotion site. Given IMDb's ambitions to become a web video powerhouse, it will be interesting to see if it makes more full-length movies and TV shows available via the apps. Follow my updates on Twitter. Read More

Glympse

| FREE | Share your where

Glympse puts location-sharing on Facebook before Facebook does - TechFlash: Seattle's Technology News Source

Redmond-based location-sharing startup Glympse has updated its apps for iPhone and Android to give users the option of automatically showing a dynamic, live map of their location to their Facebook friends. The new feature expands the service beyond its existing distribution channels of email, Twitter and text messages. It also puts Glympse out in front of Facebook's own plans. The popular social networking service has signaled its intent to integrate location-sharing as a native feature of the site, but it hasn't been rolled out yet. Glympse, launched last year by three Microsoft veterans, lets people share their location on maps with specific people or groups for limited periods of time, which they can specify and control to maintain privacy. Common uses include sending a message so that other people can see where Glympse users are when they're late for a meeting, or taking a long trip. Recipients of the Glympse users gain access to live maps that show the location of Glympse users in real time, with an arrow moving along a road if they're driving, for example. In that way, it's more sophisticated than simple declarative check-in services, such as the popular Foursquare. Glympse's Facebook integration uses a Facebook Connect unified login to allow people to choose to share an embedded map as part of their news feeds on the site. Apart from the location, the real-time map can show the speed of travel and the estimated arrival time, if the user designates a destination. The user sets the amount of time the location-sharing lasts, up to four hours, and after it expires, friends can only see where the Glympse user was immediately before the time period was over. Apple approved the update to the free Glympse iPhone app on Thursday, and the Android app was made available in the Read More

Blue Nile Mobile Diamond Search

| FREE | Blue Nile, Inc

Bling on the go? Blue Nile takes diamond shopping mobile - TechFlash: Seattle's Technology News Source

I have to admit, when I first saw this, I was thinking possible April Fool's joke. But Blue Nile assures me it's for real. The Seattle online diamond retailer just announced a mobile app for iPhones and Android phones that lets people search and shop for diamonds on the fly. Does Blue Nile really expect people to buy expensive bling using their phone? The answer is yes, but not necessarily for impulse buying. The company says people for years have been printing out diamond pricing sheets from its website and taking them to brick-and-mortar jewelry stores to comparison shop and, in many cases, haggle with merchants. Blue Nile hopes the new app will let people do that with their phones, and, if they can't find a better deal in the stores, buy with Blue Nile. "Now, they can go from store to store carrying Blue Nile’s diamond search in their hand," said Blue Nile spokesman John Baird. "The average Blue Nile customers spends approximately $6,000 on a diamond engagement ring purchase, so this is a very powerful tool for that shopping process." The new mobile apps allow comparing prices, quality, and search more than 50,000 diamonds. Blue Nile isn't the only Seattle ecommerce company diving into mobile. Online retail giant Amazon.com has mobile apps for shopping and its Kindle electronic books, and drugstore.com just came out with an iPhone app for its beauty.com makeup products website. Follow my updates on Twitter. Read More