Facebook rolls out the share button to mobile users

Designed to encourage mobile users to share more types of content with their friends, Facebook is rolling out a new share button for the mobile interface.

Detailed by Techcrunch earlier today, Facebook has launched a share button on the mobile version of the social network and is planning to add sharing capabilities to both the iOS and Android applications at a later date. While the ability to share a particular article, video or picture is commonplace on the Web version of Facebook, mobile users can simply tap on the new share link in order to pass along an interesting piece of content to their friends. When a user brings up the mobile version of the social network, they will notice a new Share button to the right of the Like and Comment buttons. 

Tapping the new share button brings up an interface that allows the user to write a comment that goes along with the shared content. In addition, the user can isolate the post to a specific subset of their friends through groups or post it publicly in order to reach all subscribers.

Once the user is satisfied with the post, they confirm the sharing action by tapping the Share button in the top right corner of the screen. Alternatively, cancelling the post returns the user to the news feed. The new share button is only appearing within the News feed at this point. When visiting a personal page of a friend or a brand, the share button hasn’t been incorporated within the design yet.

The launch of the new sharing feature marks a trend in Facebook’s strategic approach to mobile. While the inclusion of the sharing button isn’t a technical achievement by any means, the priority of improving Facebook’s mobile interface is evident. According to Facebook’s third quarter results, the social network has approximately 600 million active mobile users each month. In addition, about 120 million of those active users check Facebook exclusively through a mobile device. The addition of the share button on the mobile version of the site could result in a spike in the amount of articles, videos and pictures that are shared each day. 

With the addition of the share button for mobile users, this brings Facebook more in line with social network competitor Twitter. On the web version of Twitter, users are encouraged to retweet posts and share them with friends. It will be interesting to see if mobile users on Facebook transition from the Like action to the Share action. Potentially,  it could significantly increase the amount of shared content people find in their News feeds each day and possibly drown out other status updates from friends and family.

However, it could be extremely helpful to brands and advertisers since the share action is more valuable when attempting to spread a particular piece of content. In a related story noted by The Next Web, Facebook is also rolling out a new feed that allows a user to view posts from brands and other pages into a completely separate feed. While posts from those pages will still appear within the News feed, users can visit this page in order to view recent updates only from liked pages.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/facebook-share-button-on-mobile/

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Google Play Music unveiled with iTunes beating Scan and Match feature

Google Play Music enables sharing with friends via Google Plus

Google has beaten its cloud rivals to the music punch by allowing users to store all their tunes digitally…and for free.

The new Google Play Music service, which comes to Europe on 13 November, will feature a Scan and Match option that will scan your library and save it to the cloud – making them all accessible from any Google device.

While the likes of Amazon and Apple will charge you £21.99 a year (or only let you upload 250 songs for free) Google Play Music will allow up to 20,000 songs stored online, and can be played back on any internet-connected device at up to 320Kbps quality.

Play, collaborate and listen

The new Google Play Music platform will allow users in Europe to purchase and download music for the first time, and will also enable sharing to your friends via Google Plus.

These 'social recommendations' will allow you to share the song with unlimited people and they'll be able to listen to it once before being given the option to buy it, too.

And the big news for unsigned artists is they'll also be able to get their wares up on Google Play Music, as well - joining the other big names like iTunes and Amazon in being able to share their sounds.

The Google Play Music release date has been set for 13 November, when the likes of the Google Nexus 4 and Google Nexus 10 go on sale, freshly baked with Android 4.2 from the outset. There's no work on the cost per track as yet, but it's unlikely to be overly expensive given how much the average cost of each song is for the US version of the portal.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-phones/phone-and-communications/web/internet/google-play-music-unveiled-with-itunes-beating-scan-and-match-feature-1108451

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Huawei Ascend Mate could be 6.1-inch giant

Do you want to be friends?

A mammoth 6.1-inch smartphone could be in the works over in China, as details of the Huawei Ascend Mate get their first airing.

According to a report from MyDrivers, the super sized device was apparently spotted on Huawei's Chinese website, sporting a huge 6.1-inch, 1080p display which would put the 5.5-inch Samsung Galaxy Note 2 to shame.

As well as the screen size, other details of the monster phone were also leaked, including a 1.8GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM and 4,000mAh battery.

World's most powerful smartphone

If these specs are to be believed then the Ascend Mate is set up to be the world's most powerful smartphone, an accolade currently held by its closest rival, the Galaxy Note 2.

The Ascend Mate will apparently measure a relatively slender 9.9mm in depth, and while there's no official word from Huawei about the device, it wouldn't be a surprise to see other manufacturers take on Samsung's mega-super-phone.

There are no details surrounding a potential Huawei Ascend Mate release date or price, so we've contacted the Chinese firm to see if it can shed any light on the news.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/huawei-ascend-mate-could-be-6-1-inch-giant-1105522

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Google brings Chrome browser to Intel smartphones

Chrome has made friends with Intel

You can now enjoy Chrome for Android on your Intel-powered smartphone, as the browser now supports x86 devices.

In the UK, the Motorola Razr i will be the first phone to take advantage of the new app, as its Ice Cream Sandwich software is compatible with Google's own-brand browser.

However anyone with an Orange San Diego won't be able to reap the rewards of the updated browser, as it only runs Android Gingerbread, and the Chrome app demands ICS or higher.

Limited appeal

Although this is a positive step forward from Google, the reality is that there are just a handful of smartphones with Intel inside in the world, but we expect more handsets to arrive next year.

Intel phones still suffer from app compatibility issues, as a number of applications in Google Play have been specifically coded to run on handsets with ARM chips.

This means only about 70 percent of apps in Google Play work with Intel phones, however we're told Intel is working closing with developers on porting over the remaining 30 percent.

The Intel-compatible version of Chrome is now available to download in the Play store for free.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/google-brings-chrome-browser-to-intel-smartphones-1100124

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Here's where you can use the iPhone 5 'ultrafast LTE'

While our friends across the Atlantic have been basking in the full shine of fast LTE wireless network connectivity, here in Europe the adoption rate has been... well, let's just say, less than stellar.

But fast or not, LTE adoption in Europe is happening. It's the 4G we've all been waiting and now that the mobile hardware has matured enough, Apple is finally confident enough to hop on the LTE bandwagon. But are the carriers ready?

Here are the LTE carriers, which would support the iPhone 5:

USA

• AT&T
• Sprint - CDMA iPhone
• Verizon - CDMA iPhone

Canada

• Bell (including Virgin)
• Rogers (including Fido)
• Telus (including Koodo)

Japan

• KDDI - CDMA iPhone
• Softbank

Germany

• Deutsche Telekom

UK

• EE a.k.a. Everything Everywhere (Orange & T-Mobile)

Australia

• Optus (including Virgin)
• Telstra

South Korea

• SK Telecom
• KT

Hong Kong

• SmarTone

Singapore

• M1
• SingTel

Going through the fine print we also found that unlocked iPhone 5 models may support LTE networks outside the country of purchase when using a valid SIM from a supported carrier, though certain limitations apply. LTE roaming may not be available in-between all carriers and band support does not necessarily guarantee support on all LTE networks running on the same bands.

The list of carriers offering LTE is certainly not long and the coverage in Europe is rather flimsy. Let's hope that a popular device such as the iPhone would be able to change the odds into the customer's favor.

Source

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/heres_where_you_can_use_the_iphone_5_ultrafast_lte-news-4795.php

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