If you don't have Android 2.3 -- or don't want to root your phone to install the leaked Music app -- take a look through our gallery, and then read on for our initial hands-on impressions.
Continue reading Leaked Android Music app images and hands-on review
Leaked Android Music app images and hands-on review originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/05/leaked-android-music-app-hands-on/
When Bangstyle, the image-based site devoted to hair styling, came onto the scene in 2011, it hoped to fill a hole in online platforms for professionals and styling enthusiasts. As the company releases the third iteration of its app next week, it marks two years of working to solidify itself as an industry mainstay, a pursuit in which it has in many ways succeeded. Everyday users know Bangstyle for its wealth of imagery of cuts and updos, and it has been touted as a replacement for the tradition of bringing a torn-out magazine photo to the hair salon. At its core, though, Bangstyle was designed to solve an industry-wide visibility problem by giving professionals a much-needed portfolio platform from which to publicize their work. Founder Geoff Nelson said he was seeing great work from stylists prior to creating Bangstyle, but they weren’t uploading it because they either didn’t have websites or did have ones that were difficult for them to manage technically. Bangstyle does that and then projects stylists’ work to potential clients nationwide. Next week’s app updates include more search filters, new photo editing capabilities, curated hair collections updated daily, and a “Stalk” function, the equivalent of “following” on any other social media site. Nothing groundbreaking, but necessary improvements if Bangstyle wants to remain #1 in the online hair universe. The app is intended for hair artists on every level, from editorial stylists to those working in salons. It found a key user base in beauty schools, because students are simultaneously looking for work to emulate and need an avenue to find jobs while self-promoting. In professional salons, stylists pull up their Bangstyle profiles so clients can pick a look from their range of work. The people who are most active are, of course, those who take themselves seriously as a personal brand. Bangstyle is currently seeing 400-500K monthly actives, with mobile composing 70% of total user interactions. Nelson estimated that professionals make up about 60% of the user base and are averaging between 20 and 30 uploads each. Nelson has worked hard to make Bangstyle a community destination by feeding into the culture of hairdressing. Because he views hair stylists as artists in essence, rather than trade workers, Bangstyle includes the kind of lifestyle content that would inspire their work. Pin-worthy subjects like food, fashion, photography, and architecture play prominently on the site in articles and images. Bangstyle
TechMedia Network, the digital tech and science publisher, announced yesterday that it has acquired Bestofmedia Group for an undisclosed sum, adding three new tech publications to its roster. The acquisition presents an opportunity to leverage TechMedia Network’s commerce functionality with Bestofmedia’s community brands, making clear that TechMedia Network’s definition of digital media is vertical media. I gave Greg Mason, the CEO of TechMedia Network, a call this morning to get some more details on the deal. TechMedia’s e-commerce site TopTenREVIEWS currently drives 1 million purchases per month, a rate it hopes to see jump when sales are integrated with Bestofmedia’s sites, Tom’s Hardware, Tom’s Guide, and Tom’s IT Pro. The goal is to nestle content, advertising, community, and purchase recommendations into one money-making user experience. The question is how to convert Tom’s readers to sale. Pairing content with commerce on a site like TopTenREVIEWS, when the reader is already looking to make a purchase, is much easier than moving a user from content to purchase when they aren’t necessarily in the mindset to buy. TechMedia Network’s solution is pretty simple: use TopTenREVIEWS. The Tom’s sites currently engage in commerce to the extent of linking through to merchants. Mason said the newly acquired sites would likely have more direct linkage from product reviews and feature stories to TopTenREVIEWS’ review platform, which is already effective at converting consumers to sale. The thinking is that if you’re reading an article on identity theft, you might be interested to take steps to protect your identity. That’s where they link you through to TopTenREVIEWS. Because tech news is inherently product-based, this plan stands a better chance than it would on many other news sites. But that is assuming that a person reading a feature story will convert to a purchase mindset simply by entering the TopTenREVIEWS environment. Moving forward, TechMedia Network is looking to get into the UK market, Mason said. Bestofmedia has a European center of gravity but has little presence in the UK; TechMedia Network has none there. They also plan to develop the editorial staff and content for Tom’s Guide and Tom’s IT Pro, as Tom’s Hardware is currently Bestofmedia’s primary traffic driver. Mason wouldn’t give numbers, but he said that both TechMedia Network and Bestofmedia are profitable. Aside from ad and commerce revenue, TechMedia syndicates its content to media sites including Yahoo, TechCrunch’s parent company AOL, MSNBC, and FOX. As a
After announcing today's 100 million Android-download milestone, Skype celebrated the occasion with a totally overhauled, refreshed Android app that's supposed to "make your interactions easier and put conversations first." And with a cleaner, lighter, and lightening fast UI, it may just live up to its promise.
