Mobile recap: iOS Android Wear; Pebble Time Steel; Huawei Nexus, and more for Saturday, March 7, 2015

Mobile recap: iOS Android Wear; Pebble Time Steel; Huawei Nexus Kevin C. Tofel Mar 7 2015, 6:20am PDT In the final run up before the Apple Watch launches, an interesting rumor made the rounds: Google is allegedly working on bringing Android Wear watch support to iPhones. On the surface that may sound odd: Why would Google even consider such a thing? The reality is: […] Read More » Report: Android OS coming to virtual reality headsets Signe Brewster Mar 6 2015, 5:01pm PDT Google has reportedly hired a team to build a version of the Android operating system for virtual reality headsets, the Wall Street Journal reports. Vice president of product management Clay Bavor and engineering director Jeremy Doig are leading the VR team, which includes “tens of engineers,” according […] Read More » Pandora to release day pass for ad-free listening Janko Roettgers Mar 6 2015, 3:55pm PDT Pandora is looking to add a paid day pass to its service later this year, company executives revealed during Pandora’s investor day Thursday. The day pass will give users a way to listen without advertising interruptions, and they won’t have to subscribe to the company’s Pandora […] Read More » What Apple Watch does, in Tim Cook’s own words Kif Leswing Mar 6 2015, 1:53pm PDT On Monday, Apple will officially launch the Apple Watch, its first completely new product since the iPad was introduced in 2010 as well as its first major launch under CEO Tim Cook. Gigaom will be covering what Apple has in store live from the Yerba Buena Center on Monday. But Apple […] Read More » Apple reportedly wants to get rid of free on-demand music Janko Roettgers Mar 6 2015, 10:53am PDT Love free stuff? Then you won’t like Apple’s new music subscription service, which the company is expected to launch later this year. Apple is planning to launch the service without a free tier, and instead plans to charge every user after a limited free trial, according […] Read More » US firm runs mass copyright shakedown in Canada Jeff John Roberts Mar 6 2015, 7:48am PDT When Canada’s new copyright rules went into effect in January, critics feared that someone would use them to run settlement extortion schemes of the sort that have long plagued the American legal system. Those fears have proved to be justified. This week, a second U.S. company has come into Canada, apparently using an […] Read More » Why Apple Watch apps should be usable in 10 seconds or less Kevin C. Tofel Mar 6 2015, 7:02am PDT As Apple reportedly prepares developers to ready the first batch of Apple Watch apps, the company is setting a guideline: Try to keep your app usable in 10 seconds. That tidbit comes from Bloomberg in advance of next week’s “Spring Forward” Apple event where the new watch is […] Read More » FTC’s Brill sees consumer consent as key for health, finance apps Jeff John Roberts Mar 6 2015, 6:30am PDT When normal people use a new app, they don’t wade through hidden service terms. Many just click “OK” and hope for the best. This might be fine for a game of Candy Crush, but it can be risky in the case of apps that monitor things like your bank account or […] Read More » Decentralized webmail outfit Mailpile scraps beta program for now David Meyer Mar 6 2015, 6:25am PDT When I wrote about the decentralization movement a year back, one of the big pro-privacy hopes was Mailpile, which is ambitiously trying to build a user-friendly yet rock-solid encrypted webmail system with a hybrid desktop/in-browser approach. On Friday, Mailpile’s Bjarni Rúnar Einarsson announced the rejection of […] Read More » The music industry’s broken business could change in 2015 Jeff John Roberts Mar 6 2015, 5:00am PDT The music business has been screwed up for a hopelessly long time, but change is afoot: Congress, courts and the Justice Department are all poised in coming months to shake up how companies and consumers pay for music. The big question, though, is whether this flurry of activity […] Read More » Review: Mophie Juice Packs for iPhone 6, 6 Plus Kevin C. Tofel Mar 5 2015, 12:40pm PDT To many iPhone owners, Mophie’s Juice Packs are the standard when it comes to handset battery cases. No, Mophie isn’t the only company in this market, but over the past few years, its Juice Pack line has become popular as a way to both protect an iPhone and […] Read More » Watch Hilary Mason discredit the cult of the algorithm Stacey Higginbotham Mar 5 2015, 12:15pm PDT Want to see Hilary Mason, the CEO and founder at Fast Forward Labs, get fired up? Tell her about your new connected product and its machine learning algorithm that will help it anticipate your needs over time and behave accordingly. “That’s just a bunch of marketing bullshit,” […] Read More » Microsoft queues up DocumentDB for broad availability Barb Darrow Mar 5 2015, 11:56am PDT Microsoft continues to fill in the check boxes for its Azure cloud. Example: Azure DocumentDB, Microsoft’s take on NoSQL databases a la Couch or MongoDB, will be generally available April 8, the company said Thursday. The beauty of these document databases is they can ingest JavaScript […] Read More » The Apple Watch will tell you if your train is running late Kevin Fitchard Mar 5 2015, 11:11am PDT Apple and its developers are announcing a lot of apps being retooled for its new smart watch, launching next week, but one particular app caught my eye. Crowdsoured public transit app Moovit says it will have an Apple Watch-optimized version of its app ready when the […] Read More » House of Cards season 3 debut causes traffic and Twitter spikes Janko Roettgers Mar 5 2015, 10:18am PDT Netflix still isn’t releasing any ratings for season 3 of House of Cards, which premiered on the service last Friday, but there are some indicators suggesting that the show is doing pretty well: Traffic management specialist Sandvine reported this week that the Netflix traffic of one […] Read More » Meerkat founder: “The novelty of livestreaming wears off” Carmel DeAmicis Mar 5 2015, 10:10am PDT Video livestreaming app Meerkat is the tech world’s latest darling, but its co-founder isn’t so sure it will outlast the hype. If you missed the initial Meerkat news wave, here’s a quick overview: It lets you livestream video of whatever you’re doing from your phone whether you’re […] Read More » Personal drone registration will become necessary, U.K. Lords say David Meyer Mar 5 2015, 7:34am PDT A U.K House of Lords committee has recommended that, in the long term, people operating drones for leisure may need to register them so their owners can be traced. The House’s European Union Committee issued a report on Thursday into various aspects of drone regulation. It […] Read More » With Dropbox Groups, businesses can finally sort folders based on departments Jonathan Vanian Mar 5 2015, 7:00am PDT Dropbox is rolling out a new feature called Groups and a related API that should make it easier for businesses to manage all of their content stored in Dropbox, the file-sync-and share company is set to reveal on Thursday. The new feature is now available for […] Read More » Would Apple really stick a USB port on an iPad? Kif Leswing Mar 5 2015, 6:41am PDT Yesterday’s Bloomberg report on big iPad delays seems to have gotten a few people in Apple’s supply chain talking. On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal and Digitimes both followed up with their own stories on the rumored “iPad Pro” with a 12.9-inch screen. However, some of the details in […] Read More » Why a new 12-inch MacBook Air could debut alongside Apple Watch Kevin C. Tofel Mar 5 2015, 6:18am PDT A 12-inch MacBook Air is in production for the second quarter of this year, reports the Wall Street Journal. That leads to a question about Apple’s “Spring Forward” press event this coming Monday: Will Apple introduce a new laptop alongside its Apple Watch? There’s little doubt plans to reveal […] Read More »