Tag: spotify
Got yourself an Alexa speaker? Getting an Echo or Echo Dot for Christmas? Well, good news. You can now listen to the Coolsmartphone Podcast or any other podcast through Spotify on your shiny Echo device. Just link Spotify in the Alexa app and you’re away. Once enabled, you …
The lockdown has changed our behaviour. We’re using our smartphones more, downloading more and streaming more. Two recent news stories show this. First, the fact that mobile game installs in India have now topped 7 billion in just 9 months and second, the massive increase in Spotify subscribers. …
I come from a different world. A world where, if you wanted to get your own music in your car, you had to buy a CD and put it in your car CD player. Heck, who am I kidding? I come from a world even earlier than that. …
(Article updated with working YouTube videos) Just yesterday I tried to get a Honor 9X Pro to be a bit more “Googley”. I had a small element of success but things do tend to get worse, as I’ll explain here. Sadly, due to a ban on Huawei (and …
Six short months ago, everyone thought that 2020 would be the year that Huawei quietly disappeared from the European and American markets. Castigated in the USA for their supposed privacy and data protection breaches, named personally by President Donald Trump as being spies for the Chinese government, and …
Some 9 years ago I performed a test of radio streaming over the internet. I was fed up with the slim choice of very “samey” FM radio station so, with the aid of some cabling (or a smartphone FM transmitter) I fed the audio output of my smartphone …
When we detailed the new EE plans you may have noticed that one streaming service wasn’t included in the “data free” list, and that was Spotify. Well, my friends, this morning I can tell you that EE have added Spotify to their Music Data Pass, so if you …
We published our first ever podcast, unbelievably, way back in 2012. On Tuesday we’ll be publishing Episode 244. The number 244, as you may be aware, is the dialling code for Angola. It’s also the year that Philip the Arab became the new Roman Emperor. So… ermm.. to …
Remember the old Apple commercials that came out to promote the release of the first iPhones? The slogan was, “There’s an app for that!” Nowadays, if you have your own home, there truly is an app for nearly everything you could want or need. Today I decided to …
At home I get about 70-odd digital radio stations. I’m quite lucky. Here in the UK there’s now a big range of DAB stations alongside the FM and MW / LW / SW stations. However, this particular radio is a bit different. It’s an internet radio, a Bluetooth …
Yes, I know that pre-orders went live on Friday, but real life took over and I had to fit some blinds. Apologies folks. After our big iPhone XS and iPhone XS coverage you should know everything you need to know. However, if you want to get it from …
So Vodafone called. They said, “Hey man, we’ll give you a holiday in the Caribbean and brand new Audi R8 if you mention the fact that we’re doing to Huawei Mate 20 lite.” “What?” I said, “You mean the one we mentioned last week? The one that’s well …
I mentioned in a post yesterday about my kitchen radio setup. Many years ago, before DAB was ever really a “thing”, I got an internet radio because the choice of FM stations was a bit bland. Now, we’ve got smartphones that can get on-demand content, live radio and …
Yes, the A8, not the S8. The Galaxy A8 is a new mid-range device which fits into that uncomfortable “it’s a bit like an S8 but I bought the cheaper version” slot. It’s a tad heavier than the Galaxy S8, but still has the 18.5:9 screen and glass …
Last year, after a lot of waiting and a lot of discussion, we finally got proper roaming across the bulk of Europe. It doesn’t cost you any extra, and many Brits are only just realising what a good thing it actually is. Fly to Germany, Spain, Cyprus and …
Amazon Echo, the digital assistant, is coming to the UK and Germany this autumn. Hurrah! What is an Amazon Echo you ask? It’s a speaker with microphone that connects to the internet, over WiFi, and has the Amazon Alexa service built in. Amazon Alexa is Amazon’s digital assistant. …
We’re big into Spotify in our house. Since my wife got the service as part of her Vodafone contract she’s always upgraded with them purely to keep the deal. Now she’ll happily gobble through a massive 10GB monthly data plan just to get the inclusive Spotify offering for …
Now, should you perhaps be holding out for a “certain” mobile phone, Vodafone have today announced a little sweetener for you. It’s available for a limited time and they’re offering Netflix and either Spotify or Sky Sports. So you can get either Netflix and the top sporting action …
Those on Windows Phone continue to suffer from app withdrawal. More often than not common apps are now available on the OS, but more often than not these are not the fully developed versions available on Android or iOS. Case in point: in May Spotify released an official app …
The world of music and entertainment has changed significantly over the last decade or so. Before that, we saw vinyl getting replaced by CD’s and then MP3’s. In the last decade people have switched from traditional brick-and-mortar shops to downloading tunes online. However, streaming music services like Spotify …
Poor old Windows Phone, it’s often the forgotten platform and gets lots of things last. Spotify was a prime example, where the app has languished far behind its iOS and Android brothers as they got shiny new features. But today Spotify has shown its Windows Phone app some love …
Recent problems with Spotify subscriptions and accounts for Vodafone customers now appear to have been fixed. We ran a story yesterday highlighting the issue and Vodafone have been working hard to resolve the matter. Some customers had seen their inclusive Spotify Premium accounts getting switched down to free …
Sheesh. Networks really get some abuse at times. The EE Facebook page seems to be overflowing with negative feedback, and every time EE post something there seems to be a barrage of complaints and barbed comments. Honestly, check out their Facebook page. To be honest they’d be better …
Now before you panic, Spotify hasn’t actually turned to the dark side as such.. But it has had one of it’s biggest updates for the web, iPhone and Android since it first launched all them years ago. Spotify are calling this their Best Ever looking Spotify with a …
It was hinted at a short while ago (here to be precise) but it is now official, Spotify users can now stream music for free on the iOS and Android apps, but not Windows Phone yet. This now brings the apps in line with the desktop version of …
According to the Wall Street Journal Spotify is planning free, ad-supported listening for its iOS and Android apps. In the past, Spotify has limited mobile listening to “Premium” paying members. Free, ad-supported listening was only available on desktop and laptop computers. With the policy change, non-paying listeners will …
If you love your Spotify thing but want to stream your music over WiFi then… well, don’t. Just get yourself a Bluetooth speaker or something. What? What’s that? You’ve got yourself some flashy WiFi speakers from Pioneer or Bang & Olufsen? Pardon? You’ve got yourself a posh-looking Samsung …
Music streaming services are fast becoming all the rage and in particular services that are tailored to the individuals listening preferences. With Google having already entered the fray internationally and services such as Spotify already offering a radio streaming service, Apple are slightly behind the curve. However, this …
Spotify’s app for Premium users on Windows Phone has just received an update. Not much in the way of new features this time, but they have introduced scrubbing through tracks, which was a big omission from the last version, so a welcome addition. Other than that there are …
Spotify have released an update to their Android app, which brings notification area controls for the first time. If you have Jelly Bean 4.1 or above, you will now be able to control playback straight from your notifications area, instead of opening the app itself. Radio performance has …
Back in February we covered rumours that Google were about to enter the music streaming game and launch a challenger to Spotify. Well, tonight The Verge are reporting that this is no longer a rumour but actually that Google have signed a deal with Universal and Sony Music for distribution …
Spotify have just released another update for the Android software into the Play market. The update brings a couple of interesting new features, the first being NFC sharing of songs between phones – as long as your phones are Ice Cream Sandwich or above. It also introduces something …
Following the beta launch of their overhauled Android app a few months back, Spotify have now officially released the app on the Google Play store for devices running Eclair (2.1) and higher. The app features an overhauled UI that’s more in line with the Holo ICS theme, and …
Samsung today announced the launch of Music Hub, their own version of Google Music, Spotify and iTunes. Initially launching in the UK, Italy, Germany, France and Spain for the Galaxy SIII, Samsung claim that the new service integrates all your music experiences in one place, millions of songs, …
Spotify have announced plans to update their Android App to be more compliant with Googles new design guidelines. The result is a pretty nifty looking holo themed app that’s been built from scratch to fit in better with the rest of Ice Cream Sandwich. The app is still …
Windows Phone users now have the option of another subscription service in addition to Microsoft’s own Zune Pass. Having recently launched in the US, Spotify have now also released an official app for Windows Phone. As expected, it makes full use of the Metro UI and let’s …
Virgin Media are to team up with Spotify to make over 13 million tracks available through their Virgin TV or Virgin mobile phones. It’s due to arrive soon and will be available for existing and new customers on Virgin Media. Spotify Unlimited is included and lets you listen …