As we move ever closer to the launch of Windows 8 we also near the relaunch of Microsoft’s music services. All traces of Zune branding are being replaced with the upcoming Xbox Music. On trying to go to www.zune.net we now get a re-direct to Xbox.com to be told that Zune Music is now Xbox Music. We’re going to miss that crazy pink and white website but it's had its time. Microsoft didn...
Microsoft have now officially unveiled their new music service. Simply called Xbox Music, it's going to begin rolling out tomorrow. Designed to replace the Zune services of old, Xbox Music will bring with it new capabilities and eventual availability on other platforms in the coming year. We had already reported that Microsoft would be adding a free streaming aspect to the service,...
Read all about artists in the music hub It would appear that Microsoft is updating the Music & Video hub with new features. According to a number of Windows Phone Central readers who reside in multiple markets, the hub now pulls down and displays the biography of an artist that's currently being viewed on a Windows Phone. This functionality was restricted to the US. When selecting...
It looks like the 26th will be a major day for Microsoft as Windows 8 gets released, Surface RT tablets reportedly go on sale, third-party Windows 8 Pro tablets become available, Holiday Stores open and new services launch. That last one is the focus here with Xbox Music aka Zune Music for days of yore. As of right now, most of the core of Xbox Music looks to be just a re-brand of the...
Nokia's custom audio equaizer for the Lumia 820 Just this morning we reported on Nokia’s exclusive Dolby Headphone system coming to their new Lumia Windows Phone 8 lineup. The technology would be used to augmented and enhance the native Windows Phone capabilities, giving users a great music experience. As it turns out, video of the app already exists and was demonstrated in New York. We...
Lyrics for your Windows Phone was recently updated which added a few performance tweaks and Music ID. Lyrics is integrated with Zune to pull up not only the tracks in your music library but also the ability to list the lyrics as well. Lyrics by Musixmatch has a library of over 5.5 million officially licensed lyrics in eighteen languages. If the lyrics are in the library, Lyrics will...
Shake your booty with Zane Lowe and Nokia Zane Lowe has announced an array of dates for his UK university tour, which kicks off in Lincoln tomorrow. The established DJ, who also currently hosts the BBC Radio 1 Evening Show, has partnered with Nokia to "connect" the tour. This is an opportunity for Nokia to work on promotion while we wait until recently announced hardware is available to...
It may have take a while but Nokia Music is now available in the U.S. Windows Phone Marketplace. The music app is an exclusive to the Nokia Lumia Windows Phone and allows users to stream music from a collection of over 150 exclusive playlists. In addition to the playlists, users can tap into a library of millions of songs and generate their own playlists. To enhance their music...
Enjoying music collections while on the go is a breeze with Windows Phone. Simply synchronise selected media onto a device and either Zune or the Windows Phone Connector for Mac will do the rest. But what if you wanted to organise music into moods, easy-to-sync lists or to quickly extract favourite music? This is where playlists come in. Many make use of playlists in media players...
SkyDrive and punk rawk go well together, says our editor Microsoft has reportedly added support for album art in its SkyDrive cloud storage service, which could be the first step in the direction of a Windows integrated Xbox Music solution. Xbox Music is set to replace the current Zune Pass that many have grown fond of with unlimited access to a large library of music. Should one happen...
Hey DJ!, previously known as Speak To Play, is a Windows Phone app that enables users to tap a button to speak, and state clearly an <artist>, <song>, <playlist> or <genre> and the app will start up whatever matches in your music collection. Sounds pretty neat already, right? We previously covered the app when it was rebranded, was updated with new features and...
Aupeo! is now packing a punch on Windows Phone and released an app on the Marketplace last week. The app enables users to listen to over 120 pre-developed stations, which cover a range of genres including pop, rock, R&B, heavy metal, country, techno, classical, and punk. Stations that follow a specific theme, genre or music mood can also be selected. In addition to the above...
Although it’s been a slow news weekend there have been a few bits worth mentioning but not necessarily getting a full on post—mostly because they’re somewhat interesting but not necessarily important. This weekend's stories are: Does Nokia have an exclusive early release for Windows Phone 8? We call shenanigans. Nokia's stock - now with even more junk! Nokia Music gets...
The Sonos multi-room streaming music system is probably my favourite piece of musical gadgetry right now. I listen to a lot of music and it's often a pain to keep plugging in my phone or mp3 player into a system in each room. It took me plenty of deliberation, but eventually I succumbed to buying a few bits of the Sonos kit. Now I could have music playing throughout my small apartment...
Nokia Music has been updated to version 3.0, and we've got some information regarding what's included in this release. According to the changelog provided in the Marketplace description, which we believe to be slightly off, the following has been included: Download all types of mixes to listen to offline 'Pin to start' any mix so you can quickly play your favorites See...
Coming off a big presentation yesterday at E3 2012, Microsoft has updated both the Zune and XBox websites to introduce Xbox Music. Xbox Music will replace Zune as the Microsoft-branded music service. The Zune page comes in the form of a simple FAQ and offers very little information other than the fact that XBox Music will bring new ways to and share across Xbox, Windows and Windows...
Slacker Radio has announced plans to arrive on the Xbox 360. The service, which is already available on Windows Phone (see our review), will bring music and content to Xbox LIVE Gold subscribers. The free radio app will be made available on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace and will pack Kinect features for gestures and voice commands to be supported. Over 200 music stations are included in...
The Windows Phone UK team held an exciting event in Camden last night. The Into Live Event saw live performances from local bands, and even the popular Noisettes. As well as the music, a steady flow of food and alcohol were on the table with each attendee receiving two free drink tokens (much like the HTC launch event for the TITAN and Radar). I went along with Robert Brand from Glance...
Back in early April we reported on the new streaming music app Beem by Windows Phone Development MVP Den Delimarsky. The app taps into Digitally Imported (www.di.fm), the popular electronic dance music site which features everything from Techno to Trance to Chillout to Progressive making it quite the value. What's more, both the service and app are completely free and the app doesn't...
There's no shortage of those with creativity in the Windows Phone universe but here's one that will surely blow you away. Musical talent Matt Oglesby stitched together this 'Metro' song using nothing but his Nokia Lumia 800 and some free music apps found on the Marketplace. The result? After two hard days he cobbled together what you see and hear above. Color us impressed. Head to Matt'...