shazam

Music discovery app Shazam launches for Windows Phone 8

Windows Phone 8 users can now add more music to their lives, courtesy of Shazam.

Officially unveiled Thursday in the Windows Phone store, the Shazam app works its musical magic by identifying the song currently being played in proximity to your phone. You can then buy the song through Microsoft's Xbox Music service or through Nokia Music if you're using a Nokia Lumia phone.

Shazam adds a social aspect as well. You can share and comment on your musical discoveries with your Facebook friends and Twitter followers. You can also tag any song so that other people can … Read more

Star Apps: Counting Crows

For some audiophiles, Counting Crows and The Wallflowers will forever be associated with the mid-1990s--along with Netscape Navigator, Hotmail, and of course, Windows 95. But don't call their joint summer outing a nostalgia trip. Velvet-tongued Counting Crows vocalist Adam Duritz, hot off the heels of The Outlaw Roadshow (alongside a slew of new indie bands), prefers to view his comparatively intimate Wallflowers double bill as a much-needed respite.

Other than sharing a decade, the comradely combos have shared previous tours, a track (Duritz sang on The Wallflowers' "6th Avenue Heartache"), and even a producer (T-Bone Burnett, back … Read more

iPhone 5's record preorders, early lines

Monday's tech news roundup is bringing the snacks:

People are already in line for the iPhone 5 at the iconic Apple store in New York City. They lined up eight days before it launches on Sept. 21. But motivation to sit there isn't only fueled by fandom. It's fueled by marketing and media attention. The first guy in line hopes to promote his social networking app, Vibe. A few others are there sponsored by the electronics trade-in Web site Gazelle. There's also someone promoting his online financial service. On launch day you can expect more businesses … Read more

Shazam app now works with TV on 160 U.S. channels

Shazam announced today that it's expanding its mobile app, best known for its music identification service, to work with more TV content.

The "Shazam for TV" part of the app now works with programming at any time of day on over 160 U.S. channels, the company said, with the exception of some local-only shows such as news broadcasts.

Here's how it works: if a viewer is watching "Mad Men," the app can pull up cast information, actor photos, gossip, trivia and social networking activity surrounding the show. If it's a sports event, … Read more

Shazam for iOS adds TV to its list of media it can identify

One of the first apps that showed off the power of early iPhones was Shazam, the app that let you hold up your iPhone to "listen" to music playing and could identify the artist and offer you options to buy that music.

Today, Shazam Entertainment announced a new update with Shazam 5.0 that makes the app even better than before. The company says the app now launches a second faster to let you identify media much more quickly. It also can take as little as 1 second to identify media once you touch the button, and even starts "listening" the second you open the app in case you're trying to identify media in a hurry.… Read more

Starbucks serves up free iPhone apps

The next time you go into a Starbucks for a drink or snack, you could end up walking out with a free iPhone app too.

Apple and Starbucks have long had a partnership that gives Starbucks customers a way to download free music tracks from Apple's iTunes Music Store, and the two companies are now coming together to do the same with paid applications.

Using the same "Pick of the Week" cards the two companies have been using since April 2008, Starbucks is now using that same system to dole out iPhone applications.

Just like for music, users can find free cards waiting for them at the cash register with codes on the back that can be entered into iTunes or the App Store to get the application.

The first application to be offered for free is Shazam Encore (iTunes), a music-identifying app that sells for $5.99 in the U.S. version of the App Store. That's a considerable deal compared to new music tracks, which typically top out at $1.29.

Starbucks declined to comment on the addition of apps, including whether this takes the place of or simply joins music tracks as part of the Pick of the Week program. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1495: Lytro: the "magic camera" that's blown our minds (Podcast)

On today's show, we fall in love with Lytro, the game-changing photo technology that we can't wait to get our hands on. Get in line, geeks. Also, will Yahoo buy Hulu? And can we call it Ya-Hulu if they do-do? Plus, Apple scores the broadest patent ever, which makes us wonder if the patent office is even trying anymore, and Shazam is coming to your TV.

Music app Shazam gets new Facebook features

Shazam, the mobile application that has enthralled millions of listeners with its ability to detect and identify a song--largely ending the need to Google lyrics--has gotten a little bit more social. Namely, the latest update to its iPhone app (and soon Android app) added Facebook integration, which wouldn't be a terribly big deal except that the social music space continues to be so interesting to watch.

Now, when you "tag" a song by running it through the Shazam system to identify it, or just open up the app for browsing purposes, you have an option called "… Read more

Shazam for your TV: Hands-on with Gracenote

One of the most impressive smartphone/tablet apps is Shazam, which can identify seemingly any song played within the range of your phone's microphone. Now the same functionality is available on Sony's 2011 Internet connected TVs, and we took it for a spin on the KDL-46EX720.

The service, which Sony is branded TrackID, relies on a "fingerprinting" technology powered by Gracenote--a company formerly known as CDDB and bought by Sony in 2008. The way it works is simple: anytime you hear a song or snippet of music on your TV, you can hit the "TrackID&… Read more