Motorola Facebook phone resurfaces as Motokey Social, destined for Telus? (Update: official product page found)

If you thought we’d forgotten all about Motorola’s little Facebook Phone that could, you’d be incorrect. Only known previously as the EX225, it appears the portrait QWERTY may have a final destination and name. According to YS Tech, the device seems set for a collision course with Telus as the Motokey Social, a prepaid feature phone that offers basic access to Gmail, Facebook and Twitter. The leaked specs are right on the money with what we’ve heard already: 2.4-inch touchscreen, 3MP camera and a proprietary platform (read: not Android), which means this could be an inexpensive option to appease the kiddies during the holidays. No official announcement has been made yet, so we don’t have any idea of pricing or availability. Time will tell, as always.

Update: It turns out that Motorola does, in fact, have an official product page up for the Motokey Social.

Article: RSS via Engadget Mobile

Tags: Facebook, Facebook Phone, Motokey Social, Motorola, QWERTY Keyboard, Social Networks

Posted in Facebook, Mobile Phones, Motorola | No Comments »

Panasonic Internet Social Network app: watch shows and Tweet simultaneously

If you spend 24/7 of your life on social networks like Facebook or Twitter and you own a Panasonic smart TV with VIERA Connect, you’re in luck. Panasonic has released a bunch of new apps for its VIERA Connect-equipped 2011 VIERA HDTVs, with one of them being the Internet Social Network app. The app allows users to watch their content they would normally watch on the TV i.e. their favorite TV shows, while they leave their favorite social networks running side by side.

The social network (Facebook or Twitter) will be in a sidebar displaying the newsfeed/main timeline, while the show will be taking up most of the screen. Users can update their statuses or post new tweets without having to leave their show, which makes it great for folks who love letting the world know exactly what they’re watching or what they think about what they see.

Other apps being released by Panasonic include: PlayJam (a game channel with multiple game apps) and BigFlix (an app that lets users access Bollywood Video on Demand). All these three apps will be made free to VIERA HDTVs for free.

Article: RSS via UberGizmo

Tags: Apps, Facebook, Panasonic, Smart TV, Social Networks, Social TV, TV, Twitter

Posted in Apps, Facebook, HI-FI, Social Networks News, Twitter | No Comments »

Facebook Will Give Trusted Friends Keys to Your Account

It’s 2:30am. You’re blind drunk and desperately trying to log into your FB account on your phone—ya know, to see if that hottie from the last bar Friended you yet—but your damn beer sausage fingers entered the wrong password one too many times. What’s a lush to do?

Under a new program that Facebook announced today, you’ll be able to assign three to five “Trusted Friends” special codes that will grant you immediate reentry to your account if you’re locked out. Sure, you could just perform a password reset, but that’s assuming you have access to your email—not likely on account of those sausage fingers or the double vision.

In addition, Facebook also announced App Passwords. The program reportedly will issue application-specific passwords for logging into third-party applications, similar to Google Authenticator’s single-use password feature. It is expected to roll out in the next few weeks.

Article: RSS via Gizmodo

Tags: Facebook, Security

Posted in Facebook, Internet, Security | No Comments »

Facebook Messenger for BlackBerry takes on BBM

Dedicated app for BB users

Facebook Messenger has landed on BlackBerry, the social networking site has announced, bringing with it a load of new features into the mix.

“In this version, we’ve included a bunch of new features and performance improvements designed to make your messaging experience even better,” says Facebook on the new app, that joins the Android and iPhone versions that are currently available.

One of those new features is the ability to see who’s online and who’s on mobile, and know when the other person is typing. It’s also easier to send messages to the people you message most.

The new Facebook Messenger for BlackBerry is available in the App World now.

The app is standalone – not just an extension of the current Facebook apps – and ties in with the Message side of your Facebook persona. This means it will bring in all your Facebook conversations no matter where they took place, also offering additional features like one-click access to messages, location mapping, and the ability to message groups and mobile contacts.

If your message target is a Facebook friend already they will receive the message through the social network, but you can also message non-Facebook friends with notes that will send as texts.

“When you’re on the go, coordinating a bunch of people can be tricky, especially if plans change at the last minute,” said Lucy Zhang, Beluga co-founder and Facebook engineer at the time of the original iPhone launch in August.

“With Messenger, you can quickly start a group conversation and message everyone at once. If you choose to add your location, the people you’re messaging with can easily find each other on the map. You can also attach photos, so everyone else can see and comment on what you’re looking at.”

Article: RSS via Pocket-lint

Tags: Apps, BBM, BlackBerry, Facebook, Facebook Messenger, RIM, Smartphones

Posted in Apps, BlackBerry, Facebook, RIM, Smartphones | No Comments »

T-Mobile Bobsled VoIP hits iPhone, Android and browser

T-Mobile has extended its Bobsled VoIP service, broadening use from Facebook to cover access from the browser, from new Android apps, and with apps for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. In addition to the new apps, there are also free mobile and landline calls in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico, though the Android/iOS software currently only supports calls direct to Facebook contacts.

If you want free general calls, you’ll need to log in through the browser interface instead. Still, using the mobile apps you can make Bobsled to Bobsled calls, cross-platform between Android and iOS, and leave voicemails that get flagged up on your Facebook contacts’ walls. It’s also possible to record a voice message and leave that pinned to someone’s wall, rather than actually talk to them.

In effect it’s a clever way for T-Mobile to potentially get onto hundreds of thousands of iPhone homescreens, despite being the only major US carrier not offering the new iPhone 4S.

Bobsled for Facebook can be installed from this link: http://apps.facebook.com/bobsledbytmo. Meanwhile, the Bobsled app for iOS can be downloaded here [iTunes link] while the Android app is here.

Article: RSS via SlashGear

Tags: Android, Apps, Bobsled, Facebook, iOS, T-Mobile, VoIP

Posted in Android, Apps, Facebook, iOS, T-Mobile, VoIP | No Comments »

Hands-on: Facebook iPad app – Facebook FINALLY comes to the iPad!

It’s been a long time coming, but Facebook has finally pulled the switch to release its official iPad app onto the App Store. The Facebook iPad app has been rumored to be in the works for a very long, the latest rumor being it possibly launching during Apple’s iPhone 4S event, which of course didn’t happen. Thankfully, we Facebook / iPad users didn’t have to wait long as the app has officially been released.

If you’ve been using Facebook on your iPad in the past, you know you either had two choices to get your social media fix: use the iPhone app or just go to the website in order to get your daily dose of Facebook goodness. Now the iPad app allows you to get the full Facebook experience straight from the app itself. Wall posts, messages, and notifications can all be viewed from within the iPad app.

We went ahead and did a walkthrough video of the app in action on an iPad 2 below. Check it out. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll watch a grown man eat Doritos and drink Sprite while Facebooking.

Article: RSS via IntoMobile

Tags: Apps, Facebook, iOS, iPad, Video

Posted in Apps, Facebook, iOS, iPad, Videos | No Comments »

Facebook Now Scans All External Links to Keep Grandma Safe From Porn (and Viruses)

From now on, every link you click in Facebook will be scanned, in realtime, for viruses, phishing, botnets, and other nefarious internet badness. This is the best news ever for your hapless friends that are constantly duped.

Facebook has hooked up with security firm Websense to make this all happen behind the scenes. Websense will scan a link when you click it, and if it doesn’t find anything funky you’ll proceed directly to the site as usual. If it finds something you’ll be prompted as you see in the photo above, and you can choose to back away or proceed at your own risk. Websense is also looking for sites that are “abusive” and contain racial hatred or illegal porn. So much for tricking your friends into watching that horrible puppy threesome blacksploitation.

Article: RSS via Gizmodo

Tags: Facebook, Security, Social Networks, Websense

Posted in Facebook, Security, Social Networks News | No Comments »

Spotify: 250,000 new users daily after Facebook deal

Spotify is reportedly seeing 250,000 new users join each day, in the aftermath of its deal with Facebook last week, with monthly active users leaping by 1m to 4.4m. The figures, shared by music industry consultancy MusicAlly, contrasts sharply with criticism of Spotify’s decision to tie new sign-ups up with the social network. Spotify currently offers six months of its unlimited access package free to new users.

However, to get that unlimited access package, you’ll need to have a Facebook account, since the company has merged its own login system and that of the social network. In a statement, also given to MusicAlly, Spotify described it as “like a virtual ‘passport’, designed to make the experience smoother and easier.”

Although that mandatory registration didn’t go down well with Facebook’s critics, the usage figures would suggest that people are quite content to register with the service if there’s free music to be had. After the initial six months of unlimited access, Spotify downgrades each account to 10hrs of access per month, obviously hoping users will stump up cash for what previously they got free.

“To us, this is all about creating an amazing new world of music discovery. As most of our users are already social and have already connected to Facebook, it seemed logical to integrate Spotify and Facebook logins. We already use Facebook as part of our backend to power our social features and by adopting Facebook’s login, we’ve created a simple and seamless social experience.

From today, all new Spotify users will need to have a Facebook account to join Spotify. Think of it as like a virtual ‘passport’, designed to make the experience smoother and easier, with one less username and password to remember. You don’t need to connect to Facebook and if you do decide to, you can always control what you share and don’t share by changing your Spotify settings at any time.

We’re constantly trying new things, always looking for feedback and we’re always going to listen to our users, making changes based on this feedback wherever we can.” Spotify statement

 

 

Article: RSS via SlashGear

Tags: Cloud Music, Facebook, Music, Social Networks, Spotify, Streaming Music

Posted in Facebook, Music, Social Networks News | No Comments »

Spotify confirms 6 months free period for new users

No time limit to celebrate Facebook deal

Spotify has confirmed to Pocket-lint that it is doing away with the Spotify Open scheme, the deal whereby you were limited to a monthly playback time of 10 hours and could only play individual tracks 5 times…kind of.

From now on all Spotify accounts will benefit from a “6-month time-limit honeymoon” where you can stream to your PC as much as you like, with adverts.

The trouble is, if you’ve already been a freemium Spotify user for more than 6 months, you’ll not get in on the honeymoon fun.

A statement sent to us read:

“If you’ve had your Spotify Open account for less than six months, you’ll discover that your time cap has gone. And it’ll stay gone until your account reaches its six-month birthday. Enjoy the extra music.

“If you’ve had your Spotify Open account for more than six months, you’ll still be limited by time. As you’ve been with us for a while, the chances are you also enjoyed a six-month period without time limits when you first joined.”

Spotify Premium is unchanged. New Spotify users now need a Facebook account to sign-in, following the partnership that was announced at F8 last week.

Article: RSS via Pocket-lint

Tags: Cloud Music, Facebook, Music, Social Networks, Spotify, Streaming Music

Posted in Facebook, Music, Social Networks News | No Comments »

Spotify hooks up with Facebook for music sharing

Facebook unleashed a whole slew of major announcements today during its f8 developer conference, but one of the deals we’ve been anticipating is some sort of Spotify integration. And indeed, Spotify along with a few other music services have hooked up with Facebook for a new kind of music sharing through the social network’s new Ticker feature.

We’ve seen a preview of the Ticker before, which will appear at the top right corner of your screen, showing real-time status updates from your friends. Now with music integration, you’ll also be able to see what you’re friends are currently listening to on Facebook and you’ll be able to access that music from the Ticker to listen along. When you do so, your friend or friend of your friend, who is listening to that song, will get a notification.

This new form of sharing is what Facebook is calling “real-time serendipity.” This opens up many new opportunities for music sharing and discovery. Spotify will also be powering music in posts with play buttons in the revamped News Feed area. Simply clicking on the play button lets you listen and share free music and lets you help your friends discover new music.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjAr5nGzjV8

Article: RSS via SlashGear

Tags: Facebook, Music, Social Networks, Spotify, Video

Posted in Facebook, Music, Social Networks News | No Comments »