(Video) Looking back at the Jawbone Jambox – Review and Audio Quality Test

jawbone jambox bluetooth wireless speaker audio quality test somegadgetguyMoving forward, I’ll be testing more accessories like I do smartphones.

You can find a collection of videos where I test the speakers on phones for example, using the same audio and video clips, so you can see and hear the differences between different phones. Bluetooth speakers are becoming very popular, and now I’ll be building that same audio test into my reviews. Starting with a speaker which really helped to popularize wireless audio, the OG Jawbone Jambox.

Coming soon, reviews on the HMDX Jam and Nokia Play360
Shop for the Jambox on Amazon.

Apple extends older app support for legacy iOS users

itunes app store legacyFragmentation is a fact of life. As new gear arrives, older gear will stop receiving support. As developers move on to newer operating systems users can become frustrated when some devices get updates and others don’t.

Apple weathers this storm better than most of their competition, but even they aren’t completely immune. They are taking a savvy step towards improving the experience for people using older iOS devices. The iTunes store now allows you to install older versions of apps. That way, if developers are supporting newer version of iOS than what’s on your phone or tablet, you’ll be able to backtrack to versions which do support your iDevice.

This kind of legacy support really improves the experience for people who hold on to their tech for as long as possible. If you’ve got an older phone, tablet, or iPod Touch give it a whirl.

(pic via Reddit)

Target Ticket has iTunes and Amazon in their video streaming sights (not really Netflix though)

target ticket online movie store beta somegadgetguySo, a lot headlines talking about the Target Ticket beta keep comparing it to Netflix. Netflix is an all-you-can eat subscription service. You pay monthly to watch all you want. iTunes and Amazon built services which allow customers to rent or own digital copies of individual movies and TV shows (though Amazon now also has an all-you-can eat component with Prime, but I digress).

Now which of those to services do you think Target Ticket more closely resembles?

Target will be launching with 15,000 titles, and we’re expecting pricing similar to Amazon and iTunes. Movies can be rented for around $3-4 per title or owned for around $13-15, and Target is promising compatibility with Android, iOS, Mac, and PC. Content providers including ABC, AMC, CBS, CW, Fox, FX, HBO, The WB, NBC, Showtime, Starz, and USA are already on board.

Target Ticket is currently only available to Target employees with no official word on when it’ll open it’s digital doors for business.

So what do you think? Is this a service you’ll try out when it leaves BETA? Is there room for another movie “store”? Drop a comment below.

Apple Intros iTunes Radio to compete against Pandora, Spotify, Google, Microsoft, etc…

itunes radio announced somegadgetguy streaming internet musicThe iTunes Radio announcement was one of the first things discussed during Apple’s keynote today, but Tim Cook ran over it so fast, I think you can still see tire tread on its back.

What should have been one of the more interesting services announcement for Cupertino was largely ignored. Apple created the online music sales market as we know it today, yet even with that legacy, very little was said about iTUnes Radio. With a nod and a collective shrug, we just took it for granted before moving on to hardware announcements.

Simply billed as “coming soon” on the official iTunes site, Radio will be another streaming service designed to compete with offerings from Pandora, Spotify, Google, and even Microsoft. It will allow you to build “stations” for your favorite music, and those stations will be synced across all of your devices via iCloud, so iPhones, iPads, and Apple TV can all get in on the act.

On a personal note, it’s a little shocking that even Microsoft was able to beat Apple to a service like this. Plus, it’s uncharacteristically tame of Apple not to work being late into more of a consumer oriented selling point. In the past being late to a service, Apple would’ve boldly claimed that they waited to perfect the offerings which were obviously inferior or confusing to consumers. There was no such bravado on display here today, and lacking that confidence is a dangerous place for Apple to be in this viscerally competitive market.

Full deets on Apple.com

Breaking Bad fans sue Apple over Season Pass Shenanigans

better call saul breaking bad apple lawsuit news itunes season pass somegadgetguyUh-oh! Apple better call Saul!

So what happens when seasons are sold on services like iTunes, but show runners divide seasons halfway through the year. AMC has recently exploded with a number of very successful shows like The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad. In order to spread content out throughout the year, and keep production costs in check, both shows have employed split seasons, airing half of a season before taking a mid season break and returning to finish the season arc.

That division is whats at argument with services like iTunes. Apple see each “half season” sold as its own unique DVD box set, and they want in on the action. For Breaking Bad “Season 5” Apple sold the first eight episode arc under their Season Pass service for $22 with the promise “this season pass includes all current and future episodes of Breaking Bad season 5”. A different season pass is required for the back eight episodes, and they’re treating it as if it’s a separate season. Of course this conflicts somewhat from AMC’s marketing which has billed Season 5 as having a 16 episode arc.

Now Noam Lazebnik of Ohio is filing a class action suit against Apple to get Apple to honor the Season Pass arc based on AMC’s definition of what constitutes a season of television, mid-season break or otherwise.

“When a consumer buys a ticket to a football game, he does not have to leave at halftime. When a consumer buys an opera ticket, he does not get kicked out at intermission…”

Hit the jump for the full filing (via Scribd)

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