Hound for Android: Free voice search app from the makers of SoundHound

SoundHound Inc, makers of the SoundHound, have just unleashed the Hound; a new, stripped down of its song-identifying app.

Hound operates on a Shazam-like basis, only instead of searching for a song by placing the phone next to a speaker all searches are generated by voice commands. You simply tap the button, speak the name of the song or artist (or both) and the Hound will have a go at searching for your track.

While not ideal for finding out what’s playing on the radio (a la Shazam) it is a good way of searching for a specific song that you want to buy on the go.

Hound also it links up nicely with the Amazon MP3 and YouTube apps. So if you’ve just watched that episode of Glee, you can fire up Hound and simply say “The Chain by Fleetwood Mac”, and there’ll be little Amazon and YouTube links to click on at the bottom of the screen.

In a sense, it’s basically a tool that allows you to voice search for MP3s on Amazon and videos on YouTube. But one that works quickly and looks good. Plus it’s free so if you just like the idea of having voice search for your musical needs, then the Hound is for you.

The full version of SoundHound is a little more advanced and comes in free (ad-supported) and paid (no ads) editions (SoundHound Infinity).

As well as offering the voice activated search, SoundHound allows you to a hum, whistle or sing a tune into your phone’s mic and it’ll do the best to find the track for you. It’s effectiveness depends on your ability to whislte/how tone defa your singing is, but it’s pretty genius and works most of the time.

You can also search for songs with SoundHound by holding in up to a speaker in the manner of Shazam and (whisper it) Sony Ericsson’s Track ID.

While SoundHound is available for both iPhones and Android devices, Hound is currently and Android-only deal.

Miro 4.0 Launches With Android Media and App Syncing

The open source media player Miro just unveiled version 4.0 of its product, which includes media syncing for Android handsets and tablets. The software also makes it possible to buy Android apps from Google’s Android Market and Amazon’s Android app store. It’s easily the biggest update yet for Miro, which delivers an open-source alternative to iTunes for the Android ecosystem and a direct challenge to other contenders like DoubleTwist.

The new update also includes a home sharing feature that makes it possible to play any Miro library content on any computer in the home network. The software uses the iTunes DAAP protocol to facilitate this kind of networking, which means Miro shares will also be available to any other DAAP client and play media from other DAAP servers, including network attached storage (NAS) drives in your home network.

Another notable feature is the inclusion of the Miro Video Converter, making it possible to convert any video file to make it playable on most handsets and other devices. And finally, Miro continues to include a BitTorrent client to download media from various torrent sites.

Miro is published by the non-profit Participatory Culture Foundation as an open-source project, and it has been trying to compete with iTunes and other media players for a long time. The makers of Miro told me in March they’ve been clocking about two million active users per month and a total of five million downloads of the application over the last year.

The Participatory Culture Foundation has long pushed to empower independent content makers to find new audiences online, which has been reflected in Miro as well. The software includes a media guide that showcases audio and video podcasts. This is the first time Miro has actively embraced mobile devices.

The new update squarely focuses on Android, but the makers of Miro aren’t ignoring iOS entirely: They’ve been working on a Miro app for the iPad, which should be available in about three weeks, according to Participatory Culture Foundation Co-Founder Nicholas Reville.

Samsung Galaxy Gingerbread update – what it means for your phone

Samsung has confirmed that the much delayed Gingerbread update is set to hit its Galaxy range at the end of this month. But what exactly will the new OS version do for your Galaxy S or Galaxy Tab device?

Better UI

Android 2.3 brings with it a number of tweaks and improvements to the Android interface. Admittedly, not all of these will be noticeable on the Samsung Galaxy range owing to the presence of the company’s own custom UI, but the should be some clear improvements nonetheless.

As well as improved navigation, there’ll be an improved copy and paste function for text. Pressing and holding on a word will allow you to copy that word, while you will also be able to manually adjust the parameters of your copied text by “dragging a set of bounding arrows to new positions,” as the Android Developers blog puts it.

Unfortunately, we probably won’t see the improved Android 2.3 keyboard on Galaxy devices, because Samsung tends to go with its own solution. However, it’s certainly not a bad keyboard in its own right, and there are plenty of fine alternatives on the Android Market anyway.

Improved performance

Arguably the biggest improvements in Gingerbread, however, relate to general performance. According to Samsung, “multimedia content now has a lower CPU consumption rate, while support for more powerful 3D Graphics enables an enhanced mobile gaming experience.”

This was certainly borne out when an early build of the 2.3 update for Galaxy devices leaked out back in April. Sites like GSMArena took the opportunity to run some benchmark tests, and found that graphical performance on the Galaxy S was significantly improved when running on 2.3.

It’s not just the CPU and GPU performance that will be improved by the 2.3 update, either. According to the Android Developers blog, Android 2.3 “takes a more active role in managing apps that are keeping the device awake for too long or that are consuming CPU while running in the background.” The result is not only a freeing up of more processing power, but an increase in battery life into the bargain.

When can we catch the Gingerbread, man?

All these subtle improvements and more (see below) will be winging their way to a Samsung Galaxy device near you over the coming weeks. According to Samsung, “the upgrade path will begin with Galaxy S in the UK from late May,” but will be dependent on each network’s own software approval process. After the last false start on Samsung’s part, operators will doubtless want to be extra sure that this update is exactly right.

When the update does turn up, you’ll only be able to access it through Samsung’s Kies desktop program, so be sure to have it installed and up to date.

A lot of attention has been created by this 2.3 update for the Galaxy range, but it’s easy to see why. A new OS serves to freshen up an older device and makes it feel like new. In this case, it will also turn your Galaxy device into a better, faster unit.

Xperia Arc, Play get Android update

Sony Ericsson rolls out first update for Xperia play and Xperia arc fixes bugs, adds Facebook Inside and updates the core system to Android version 2.3.3.

Sony Ericsson has officially announced the launch of its first update for the users of Xperia Play and Xperia Arc smartphones, which will now be upgraded to Android Gingerbread version 2.3.3.

Besides, they will also get the recently launched feature 'Facebook inside Xperia' that was introduced during the launch of the new range of Xperia Mini's. The feature allows users to share, like and connect on Facebook in a faster and easier way that is not possible through an application or through website.

The feature works side-by-side with TimeScape user interface that track various social networking websites for contacts of the user and brings it all to a single place. The Facebook for Android app is also available on the phone that delivers faster and more accurate results related to the contacts.

The operating system upgrade has been made with the feedback received from various users around the globe. The update brings along list of fixes and optimisations along with the new operating system that includes, better touch interface, battery usage optimisation, Wi-Fi and software stability. Last but not the least, it also improves the high definition video recording performance on the Xperia Arc.

The update is available in some countries for now but is expected to be rolled out globally very soon. The software update will be available for update over the air and through the PC software as well. In case of India it will be through the use of computer only.

Google Maps 5.5 for Android Fixes things and Adds Features

Google Maps on Android is possibly the most used version of the google maps and google is not leaving it behind. F

Check-ins and ratings have now been added to the Places page within the Maps application.

New check-in and rating buttons added to Place pages. The below Post from the Google Mobile Blog demonstrates the new features.

Now when you open a Place page from your mobile device, you can check in to places withGoogle Latitude or submit a rating or review by clicking on two new buttons at the top of the listing.

This past week I had the chance to explore the Computer History Museum during my visit to San Francisco from across the pond in London. Once nearby, I could quickly open the museum’s Place page and check in.

When I was ready to leave and head to lunch, in a few seconds I could go back to the Place page and rate the museum – which certainly earned the 5 star rating it received from me.

Update home and work address for your Latitude Location History

Last month we released the Location History dashboard for Latitude which estimates how much time you spend at home, work, and everywhere else. If your home or work address changes, or you’d rather set a different address to represent ‘home’ and ‘work,’ you can now edit these addresses within Latitude.

Change home/work location from Location History dashboard

View the redesigned transit station pages

It’s been about two years since we added transit directions in Google Maps for Android. Since then, we’ve increased the coverage from 250 cities to more than 440 and counting – the most recent being Washington, D.C. To make it easier to plan your transit route, we updated the transit station pages in this release to better organize the information you need.

Each page now includes a list of upcoming scheduled departures for different lines, all the transit lines serving the station, and links to nearby transit stations.

Download Google Maps 5.5 for Android here to try out the new check-in and rating buttons, update your Latitude Location History home/work address, check out a transit station in a nearby city, or just make sure you have the latest version of Google Maps for Android. This update requires an Android OS 1.6+ device anywhere Google Maps is currently available.