Could this spell the end of the “Framily”? CNET reported Tuesday that Sprint is quietly testing less-expensive versions of the more traditional family plans offered by rivals AT&T and Verizon Wireless, presumably in an effort to share all of that unlimited data with loved ones. And there are plenty of other items of interest for our mid-week recap, so buckle up, click through, and enjoy the ride!
iTunes U 2.0 Update Delivers Promised Course Creation Features
Early last week, Apple announced a big update to iTunes U was on the way, and right on schedule, version 2.0 hit the App Store on Tuesday. iTunes U 2.0 is likely to be a really big deal for educators, who can now create, edit, and manage courses for the first time from an iPad, but students will love it as well for the ability to start class discussions and ask questions from everyone’s favorite tablet. Teachers in 69 countries will now be able to create iTunes U courses, and that content can then be made available from the app in 155 countries.
Digital Music Sales Take a Dive, No Relief from Streaming
Unless you were one of the few performers on Disney’s Frozen soundtrack, it’s been a pretty rough year thus far for albums. According to Ars Technica, the album featuring the runaway smash “Let It Go” sold 2.7 million copies across all formats, while Pharrell Williams truly had something to be “Happy” about by topping the singles chart with 5.6 million digital downloads alone. But that’s where the good news ends: Including physical and digital media, the album-based music business dropped 15 percent over the last year, while a similar 13 percent drop in digital singles was yet another reminder that streaming isn’t really picking up the slack. Folks are loving that old vinyl, however — the venerable format saw a 40 percent increase in sales this year. Go figure!
Free Documents 5 Adds Background Music, Book Reader Mode
Readdle had something to cheer about Tuesday with the release of Documents 5.1, which the developer calls “a big update” to its universal file manager app. Music fans will love the new background mode, while ePUB and FB2 lovers will now find that Documents can function as a full-fledged book reader, complete with day, sepia, or night modes, plus bookmarking, thumbnails, and font selection. The iPhone version of Documents 5.1 finally gains support for Add-on hooks to other Readdle apps, while the update borrows a feature from one such app (PDF Expert 5) with continuous scrolling of PDF files. Documents 5.1 is now available from the App Store, and it’s free for all.
MEGA Sync Client Now Available for OS X
As if there weren’t already enough desktop sync solutions for cloud storage providers, MEGA has finally jumped into the pond with its promised OS X Sync Client, which allows users to finally make use of that 50GB free storage by syncing folders from the Mac or PC. Like other services, the process is fully automated and all data is encrypted end to end, so your bits and bytes can’t be intercepted, even while in transit. MEGA also has iPhone and Android mobile clients, and has promised native iPad support, which remains the one last major area left to cover.
BlackBerry Tries to Explain Upcoming Passport Smartphone
If you follow smartphones, you may have heard about BlackBerry’s somewhat bizarre forthcoming handset (pictured above between iPhone and Android handsets) and wondered, “What’s that all about?” Glad you asked, because BlackBerry this week attempted to explain the square Passport, comparing it to an IMAX movie screen when stacked up against the rectangular devices from the competition. The unique 4.5-inch HD display has apparently been designed with productivity junkies in mind, and BlackBerry claims spreadsheets in particular will look great on that decidedly squarish display. Hey, we’ll give them this: You probably won’t ever see another handset that looks like it!
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