The "welcome pack" of WWDC2014

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This WWDC has something special: is the number 25, and it marks a quarter century of developer conferences full of innovations and that have moved to a lot of developers. Perhaps that is why in the welcome pack, this year Apple gives all the lucky attendees who won the lottery ticket, a voucher for $ 25 digital stores of the company. 

In this card can read the phrase "25 years and coding". We also have the most common items, such as the official jacket of the conference and landyard accreditation.

In a few hours we will detail how to follow the keynote live, and of course promptly informed of all developments.

Why Shazam, Siri and iTunes Beats could return to it throne

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Now that the alleged purchase transaction Beats by Apple comes in, an idea I had in mind is strengthened. I think Apple is preparing a very important to retrieve the status of champion of the music that has always had thrust. It is a theory. Has little evidence to support it and some of them are confirmed rumors that could almost as surely we could discard. But I find it interesting to share. 

Last month, Bloomberg uncorked a story that reads as follows:

"The company [Apple] are planning a song recognition functionality in an update to iOS, its mobile operating system, which would allow users to identify a song and artist using an iPhone or iPad".

For this new feature, Apple would partner with Shazam and we should expect to see these new features in iOS 8. Last year Shazam updated the application, and added a feature that to label the permanent listening songs. Even if you close the app on the iPad, Shazam will listen in the background. Shazam is also able to identify the series that we are seeing in these times just by the sound. Interesting. 

Siri and Beats come into play

"Hard to believe in coincidences, but is even harder to believe in anything else" - John Green, writer.

Do you know what would be cool? You always have to tell you when to listen. Siri would be much more useful if we could activate it with a simple "Siri, tell me what the weather today in San Francisco" without having to press a button. A voice activation as currently enjoyed by users of a Moto X. 

Shazam integration in iOS 8 can be start with "preventive" identifying songs in an integrated manner. This functionality is built into the independent music or rumored iTunes Music app. But I am convinced that this partnership with Shazam is not a coincidence and that will give rise to in the future further integrated into the system with Siri. Apple is testing the water with his toe to check the temperature before diving into the pool, there is more to look at Touch ID and its inevitable expansion to pay with the iPhone.

"There's an ocean of music out there. And there's absolutely no curation for it" - Jimmy Lovine, CEO of Beats.

On Friday we saw how Apple made ​​history by breaking his record of acquisitions with Beats Electronics and discussed what could be making the rapper and producer Dr. Dre's company in California. Little mentioned streaming service Beats Music has many ballots to fill the gap that Apple has left its musical offer unbelievable. 

There is something beyond headphones and Beats streaming

Sell ​​one company to another is often motivated not only by money but also by the promise to enhance, accelerate and enlarge the products the company already had in mind. I think the healing music that was mentioned Lovine was in the Beats's plans but lacked something to carry it out. To suggest appropriate songs requires a scale and a user base that only has iTunes today. More than 800 million accounts, most of them with a credit card entered.

Shazam could be a part of the puzzle to help Siri to offer music recommendations: 

-Siri, play some music that I like. -Based on the latest songs you've tagged, this is a very good selection. Playing music.

Apple needs to change a market that had won on merit. It is high time to reclaim what is theirs again, will see if the alliance with Shazam and buying Beats lead it in the right direction.

Apple and Dr. Dre

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The Financial Times was the first to break the news and say that Apple is negotiating the purchase of Beats Electronics , which was quickly confirmed by sources of Bloomberg , Wall Street Journal and Re/ode. According to these publications, the deal would be watching next week confirmed and close the Apple 's largest acquisition to date , worth 3,200 million.

Immediately, everyone started asking what Apple sees the company founded by the famous rapper Dr. Dre and music producer Jimmy Iovine. Will the flashy music head? Will it streaming music service? What is missing from Apple and it is found in Beats Electronics? For some, it comes to acquiring a company whose profits and generous margins marry perfectly with the business of Apple, others interpret that Apple desperately needs something to patch the drop in music sales on iTunes.

The potential of Beats for Apple

When a company buys another, our part of the brain responsible for imagination takes flight. From buying Beats by Apple confirmed, would be bringing their hardware section:

• Headphones for music: Apple renewed the design of the headphones that come standard with the iPhone and iPod showing the EarPods at the launch of iPhone 5. Apple could exploit the technology and know-how to create Beats external headphone brand that Apple sold separately. 

• Speakers: Beats Pill is a portable speaker that works by bluetooth. Apple tried to enter this field with your iPod Hi-Fi but withdrew the product shortly. It was clear that this was not it thing.

• BeatAudio: few know that Beats has licensed this technology to car brands like Chrysler.  The Chrysler 300S features a premium sound kit technology company. Given that Apple is in full swing with it CarPlay not be strange if they had some kind of integration in mind and presence in our cars in the future. 

Then there is the software part, which has curiously been the least discussed in the beginning, but that seems to be gaining momentum. In Appleismo already talked Beats Music, yet another streaming service for iOS and OS X sucking a piece of cake. Although the business model of Spotify and company continue to generate many questions about its profitability, the fact is that it is removing presence iTunes and Apple does not have a streaming service itself. iTunes Radio and iTunes Match are two services that do not supply this lack in so Apple Beats Music can be very interesting to Cupertino.

iTunes Radio. Apple empieza a hacer pruebas en Latinoamérica

iTunes Radio, Apple Inc.

Como ya hablábamos en un post anterior -WWDC2014- iTunes Radio se está preparando para la ampliación a otros países.

De manera oficial, iTunes Radio sólo está disponible en EEUU y Australia. Para poder saltarse las restricciones de localización es posible, ubicar nuestra AppleID en EEUU, pero al parecer en Ecuador el servicio ha aparecido de improvisto. Eso significa que desde Cupertino están probando para seguir ampliando su mercado de música por streaming.

Desde Ecuador se ha comprobado el acceso a iTunes Radio a través de iTunes de escritorio para Mac, pero sin resultados con los dispositivos iOS o el AppleTV. Se trata de un acceso intermitente, originado por las pruebas, como ha pasado ya en Reino Unido, donde se espera para este año el lanzamiento, junto con Canadá.

Por el momento, el uso de iTunes Radio ha aumentado hasta alcanzar una cuota de mercado del 8% en EEUU. Se sitúa ya como tercer servicio de música por streaming relegando al cuarto puesto a Spotify con una cuota del 6% -hablando exclusivamente del mercado Estadounidense_. Por delante quedan Pandora 31% y iHeartRadio 9%.

Quizás veamos un movimiento en las filas alcanzando a iHeartRadio en la próxima Keynote. Reino Unido, es el punto de entrada a Europa, y Ecuador, puede ser un punto de inflexión para la Radio de habla hispana.

También se ha rumoreado la expansión de iTunes Radio a otras plataformas como ya lo hizo iTunes con Windows. ¿Android y Windows serán los próximos objetivos de expansión?

Esperemos poder disfrutar de este servicio en España, a finales de 2014 o principios de 2015. 

¿Vosotros de qué servicio streaming sois?