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New Facebook feature lets users "Listen With" friends

Facebook has launched a new feature that lets users rock our with their friends in cyberspace and to listen to songs with each other in real-time. The social network has rolled out the “Listen With” button – letting users of music services like Rdio and Spotify share the song they’re currently listening to with their Facebook friends. Both parties, however, will need to be registered users of the music service. “With music services on Facebook, there’s a new way to listen with friends,” said Facebook product designer Alexandre Roach on the Facebook Blog . “This feature lets you listen along with any of your friends who are currently listening to music. You can also listen together in a group while one of your friends plays DJ.” The service works through a chat bar that highlights current listening opportunities with a music note icon. To listen, Facebook users hover their cursor over their friend’s name and then click the “Listen With” button. The chat bar feature also allows friends to discuss the music being played with each other. For those concerned about admitting they’re jamming out to that particularly embarrassing track, users can control who sees when they are listening to a song.

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New Facebook feature lets users "Listen With" friends

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Apple rumour mill turning over next-generation graphics

Now that several months have passed since the release of Apple’s iPhone 4S, the rumour mill has started turning once again as techies everywhere begin to speculate about what’s coming next from Cupertino. If the rumours are true, iPad and iPhone users can expect a boost in graphics that would see next generation models with 20 times better graphic power than the models currently on the market. The boost, according to according to enthusiast site Appleinsider , would come to new devices thanks to Imagination Technologies, who launched its PowerVR Series6 GPU core chip family at CES this week. The new chip has been touted as providing better performance than the current generation, and “enables Imagination’s partners to deliver amazing user experiences in devices from innovative ‘natural’ user interfaces to ultra-realistic gaming, as well as enabling new applications never before thought of from advanced content creation and image processing to sophisticated augmented reality and environment-aware solutions,” Imagination said in a press release. Imagination GPUs are already built into Apple’s central processing units on the iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, and Apple TV – including the A5 chip inside the iPhone 4S and iPad 2, as well as the A4 chip inside the iPhone 4 and first generation iPad

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Apple rumour mill turning over next-generation graphics

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Ofcom say mobile firms deliver better service

Ofcom, the communications regulator, has published the latest of their regular customer satisfaction surveys. Their findings show that the respondents interviewed were happier with the level of service provided by their mobile provider than their online or broadband supplier. This improved level of satisfaction could further boost the popularity of mobile shopping and mobile devices like tablets and e-readers. The Ofcom research was taken from interviews with 3,000 people during September, asking if they had had any contact with their provider in the previous three months, and if they were satisfied with the level of service they received. The survey showed that 7 out of 10 customers were happy with the service their mobile company provided, even after calling about their service or tariff. However, only about 6 out of 10 were happy with their landline and broadband. Landline customer service ratings had improved for Sky, Talk Talk and BT since 2009, according to Ofcom. Yet, on average, these levels of satisfaction were still below those for mobile services

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Ofcom say mobile firms deliver better service

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Apple to become world’s top PC vendor next year, thanks to the iPad 3

Apple’s share of the PC market is set to increase in 2012 to make it the largest PC vendor in the world, especially if the hotly anticipated iPad 3 is snapped up at speed when it finally hits shelves – according to a research firm’s newest figures. Canalys say Apple’s PC market share has jumped from 9 per cent to 15 per cent over the last year alone , partially due to demand for the iPad, which the analysts count as a personal computer. Tablet computers, particularly the iPad, have changed the PC market quite radically over the last year and have been responsible for Apple’s growing market share. Canalys estimate that global PC shipments for the entirety of 2011 will hit 415 million, an increase of 15 per cent year-on-year, driven mainly by tablet sales. Although Apple will be fighting HP for supremacy during the last quarter of 2011, Canalys say that the launch of the iPad 3 next year will see Apple taking a sizeable lead, particularly as the iPad 3 is expected to come with all sorts of bells and whistles – notably a super-fast A6 processor and a slick, high-spec retina screen display. But, it’s expected that the Fire and Nook tablets will make it a little more difficult for Cupertino to turn the as-yet unconverted tablet-toting into Apple acolytes. “Apple has seen its PC market share expand from 9 per cent to 15 per cent in just four quarters, though iPad shipments in its core market – the United States – are likely to come under pressure in Q4 due to the launch of the Fire and Nook at extremely competitive price points,” said Canalys Analyst Tim Coulling in a company statement. “HP and Apple will fight for top position in Q4, but Apple may have to wait for the release of iPad 3 before it passes HP.” Other vendors are finding it very difficult to compete with Apple, due to their inability to produce comparable products at reasonable prices.

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Apple to become world’s top PC vendor next year, thanks to the iPad 3

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Facebook launches iPad app

Finally, social networkers have a better way to connect with friends on their tablet computers. Users can now take to their touchpads with the hotly anticipated addition to Facebook’s mobile services- the Facebook iPad app – yet another way to spend time stalking/looking through photos of friends. The app has been a long time coming for iPad users, with much speculation that the new app would launch at the F8 Conference in September. Software Engineer Leon Dubinsky took to the Facebook blog to highlight some of the app’s new features. He wrote: “With the iPad app, you get the full Facebook experience right at your fingertips. It’s a fun way to keep up with friends, share photos, chat and more. “Photos really shine on the iPad. They’re bigger and easier to flip through, like a real photo album

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Facebook launches iPad app

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Blogger haven Tumblr takes in $85m investment

Tumblr is the latest social outlet to see a surge in spending cash, as venture capitalists – including Sir Richard Branson – poured $85 million into the start-up. First reported by the New York Times and subsequently confirmed by the company itself, Tumblr found the financing through Greylock Partners, Insight Venture Partners, the Chernin Group, Spark Capital, Union Square Ventures and Sequoia Capital in addition to Branson. “This additional capital allows us to continue to scale our business and give real focus to the further development of Tumblr,” chief executive and founder David Karp said in an email. Tumblr launched just under five years ago as a more social alternative to traditional blogging services. Incorporating features such as simple ‘reblogging’ – similar to retweeting, only on a larger scale – the site has grown to become a powerhouse in the social media sphere. A report published by Nielsen earlier this month confirmed the surge of the social standout, saying it had nearly tripled its number of unique US visitors in just one year – and purely on word of mouth advertising. The New York-based firm also recently eclipsed 10 billion total posts, based on nearly 30 million unique blogs, and all signs lead to an IPO for the company some time in 2012

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Blogger haven Tumblr takes in $85m investment

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Press conference sparks rumours of Amazon tablet

Amazon is rumoured to be announcing a new tablet this week at a press conference scheduled for Wednesday in New York. Speculation about an Amazon tablet has been growing for months, reigniting this week when word broke about Wednesday’s press conference. Analysts speculate the Amazon tablet will be a revamped version of the existing Kindle e-reader. It will be priced cheaper, however, undercutting Apple by selling its tablet for $250, but, similar to the iPad, will operate by touchscreen. Unlike other competitors, Amazon is well positioned to take on Apple’s stronghold on the market because of its online store, which makes books, movies and music available to users at the touch of a button. While the Amazon tablet is expected to be a simpler tablet than the iPad, it could offer consumers the features they want most at a lower price. Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman Epps told the New York Times : “The No 1 thing consumers do on tablets is email. The No 2 thing is look up stuff on the web.

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Press conference sparks rumours of Amazon tablet

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First UK art show for Instagram

‘My World Shared’ is the UK’s first art exhibition for Instagram photos, organised by Instagrammers London ( @IGersLondon ), a group of iPhone-equipped photography enthusiasts. Instagram has amassed more than seven million users in just under a year of existence and recently announced that over 150 million photos have been shared on its network. The app’s also just released a major update, v2.0, adding real-time filtering and other features. Instagrammers London is a group of photographers who love using the app and its filters to create images of the capital. They regularly organise photo walks and other social events based around the idea of Instagram photography, but decided to take it one step further and put together an exhibition of their work

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First UK art show for Instagram