Google on Tuesday announced the first beta release of its Chrome Web browser for Android-powered smartphones and tablets. The firm’s native Web browser is certainly among the better mobile Web browsers on the market, but with Chrome, Google is focused on aligning its mobile browsing experience more closely with its desktop browser. “Like the desktop version, Chrome for Android Beta is focused on speed and simplicity, but it also features seamless sign-in and sync so you can take your personalized web browsing experience with you wherever you go, across devices,” Sundar Pichai, Google’s SVP of Chrome and Apps, wrote in a post on the company’s blog. Chrome for Android is available immediately as a free download in the Android Market and it is compatible with smartphones and tablets running Android 4.0 or later. An introductory video from Google follows below.

Gamefly announced on Tuesday that its “Unlimited PC Play” beta client is now available for free for all Gamefly members. We first heard about Gamefly’s intentions to launch a PC client earlier this year, allowing subscribers to read news, check out reviews and play hundreds of PC games from dozens of top publishers. ”We are thrilled to finally be able to open up the beta so anyone interested in video games can start using the client, and we are hard at work expanding our catalog of  PC titles for our users to play for free in the Unlimited PC Play section,” GameFly co-founder and SVP of Business Development and Content Sean Spector said. “Casual to hardcore gamers can enjoy titles like Assassin’s Creed, Deus Ex or Saints Row 2, to Earthworm Jim, Jewel Quest or World of Goo at no additional cost to their GameFly subscription.” Gamefly’s full press release follows after the break.

GameFly Launches Public Beta for Digital PC Client — Access to Hundreds of Free PC Games for all GameFly Members in “Unlimited PC Play”

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ – GameFly, Inc., the leading online video game rental subscription service, has launched the public beta for its new one-stop shop PC client. Available to all gamers for free, the PC client features up-to-the-minute news and vibrant games pages with HD videos and screenshots.  In addition to the ability to manage one’s GameQ, all GameFly members have access to hundreds of PC games they can play anytime, anywhere.  The Unlimited PC Play library will continue to grow with more core, casual, classic and independent games that gamers can download onto any of their PCs to play for no additional cost as long as they are active GameFly subscribers.

“We are thrilled to finally be able to open up the beta so anyone interested in video games can start using the client, and we are hard at work expanding our catalog of  PC titles for our users to play for free in the Unlimited PC Play section,” said Sean Spector, GameFly co-founder and SVP of Business Development and Content. “Casual to hardcore gamers can enjoy titles like Assassin’s Creed, Deus Ex or Saints Row 2, to Earthworm Jim, Jewel Quest or World of Goo at no additional cost to their GameFly subscription.”

GameFly will also begin selling PC games at GameFly.com, and on their leading video game mobile App for iOS and Android. There will be over 1,500 Windows/Mac games for sale, in addition to used console games and new console and PC releases for pre-order.

Current Unlimited PC Play publishers include:

1C

2D BOY

Atari

Bohemia Interactive

Capcom

Iceberg Interactive

Interplay

iWin

Kalypso Media

Layernet

Legacy Interactive

Meridian4

MumboJumbo

Paradox Interactive

PlayFirst

Playrix

SelectSoft

SouthPeak Games

Spicy Horse

Square Enix

Strategy First

Telltale Games

THQ

Ubisoft

Viva Media

Apple’s iTunes Match service was supposed to be released to the public by the end of October and while we’re still not sure why the service has been delayed, Apple just released a new beta build of iTunes that allows developers to continue testing the service. Apple’s release notes are as follows:

iTunes 10.5.1 beta 2 is now available and includes a number of important stability and performance improvements. iTunes Match is also now available for testing on Apple TV.

iTunes Match stores your music library in iCloud and allows you to enjoy your collection from anywhere, any time, on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, computer and now your Apple TV.

The new build, iTunes 10.5.1 beta 2, is available for download immediately from within Apple’s developer portal. Once released, iTunes Match will allow users to mirror their iTunes libraries in iCloud for $25 per year.

During the AsiaD conference in Hong Kong on Wednesday, Google’s Android boss Andy Rubin said his company’s upcoming music store “will have a little twist.” Rubin confirmed Google “won’t just be selling 99 cent tracks,” which suggests it might take a subscription-based approach, or even offer ad-based free listening as Spotify does. Google Music beta already allows users to store up to 20,000 in the cloud. Reportedly, Google is only close to sealing a deal with EMI snd has not yet signed each of the other major record labels. Rubin explained that Google’s image as a search engine may have contributed to a stall in the deals. “Google is in the very very early phases of adding consumer products to our portfolio,” Rubin said during AsiaD. “The media industry didn’t see us as that. They saw us a search company.” Reports surfaced on Tuesday that suggested Google will launch its music store this quarter, but a separate story from The New York Times has said it could launch in the coming weeks.

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Apple’s Siri and Nuance-powered “Assistant” voice control feature expected to launch with iOS 5 has hardly been a secret, and now MacRumors has commissioned a video mock-up of the service based on what we know so far. The video shows, for example, that a user might be able to hold down the home button to activate the application and speak a command, not unlike Apple’s simple voice controls today. Assistant should step today’s capabilities up quite a bit, however. The service will likely scour your phone’s contents or the web to deliver results, and it may even be capable of replying to you; in the MacRumors video, Assistant asks the user if he would like to text a contact’s mobile or work number. We expect to hear more about Assistant during Apple’s iPhone event on October 4th. Read on for the full video.

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Apple released iTunes 10.5 beta 9 to developers on Friday. Apple said the new release includes a number of bug fixes and performance enhancements. The update is required for developers currently testing Apple’s iTunes Match beta. Additionally, Apple reiterated that iCloud libraries will be deleted at the end of the beta period. Apple said known issues include:

• The scan & match feature is not yet complete. Some songs may not match (even if they is available in the iTunes Store) and will be uploaded to iCloud. Other songs may match to a different version of the same song on the iTunes Store.
• You can only add music to iCloud from one computer at a time.
• After updating to iOS 5 beta 7, your music may fail to play. If this happens, turn off iTunes Match in Settings > Music, then turn it back on.

Read on for the full release notes from Apple.

iTunes 10.5 Beta 9 Release Notes

iTunes 10.5 beta 9 includes several performance enhancements and bug fixes, and is a required update for all subscribers to iTunes Match beta.
Your iCloud libraries will be deleted at the end of this beta.

Backup regularly and do not delete the music you add to iCloud from your computer. Apple may periodically delete all iCloud libraries during the beta period. This will require you to scan, match, and upload songs again. Also note that some of the features and optimizations of iTunes Match may not be available during this beta.

About Subscribing
iTunes Match beta is available to iOSdevelopers in the United States.
•    iTunes Match beta is available as an automatically renewing subscription for $24.99 per year. You may cancel at any time from your Account settings.
•    You can subscribe to iTunes Match using iTunes 10.5 beta 9 on your Mac. iTunes Match is not available with iTunes for Windows at this time. You cannot subscribe to iTunes Match from your iOS device.

•    You can access your iCloud library on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch with iOS 5 beta, or your other computers with iTunes 10.5 beta 9.
•    Once subscribed, you can add up to 25,000 songs to iCloud, and iTunes purchases do not count against this limit. iTunes Match will not add your apps, books, movies, TV shows, ringtones, and audiobooks to your iCloud library. These items can continue to be synced to your iOS device with iTunes. iTunes LPs and iTunes Extras are also unsupported.

•    iTunes Match includes limits to how you may access your iCloud library:
-    You can use iTunes Match on up to 10 computers and iOS devices, up to five of which can be computers authorized with your Apple ID.
-    You can only associate computers and devices with a different Apple ID once every 90 days.

Getting Started
To subscribe to iTunes Match:
Install iTunes 10.5 beta 9 on your Mac Open iTunes and choose Turn On iTunes Match from the Store menu Click the Subscribe for $24.99 button and follow the onscreen instructions. Once complete, your Music library will include songs on your computer and in iCloud.

Once iTunes has completed matching your music with the iTunes Store, you may begin accessing your iCloud library:

• From your iOS device:
• 1.    Tap Settings > Music > turn iTunes Match ON. This will disable syncing music with iTunes.
• 2.    Press the Home button and tap Music.

• From your other computers:
• 1.    Install iTunes 10.5 beta 9 on your other Macs
•  2.    Open iTunes and choose Store > Sign In. Sign in using the same Apple ID you used to subscribe to iTunes Match.
• 3.    Choose Store > Turn On iTunes Match
• 4.    Click the Add This Computer button 5. Once complete, your Music library will include songs on your computer and in iCloud.

Known Issues

• The scan & match feature is not yet complete. Some songs may not match (even if they is available in the iTunes Store) and will be uploaded to iCloud. Other songs may match to a different version of the same song on the iTunes Store.
• You can only add music to iCloud from one computer at a time.
• After updating to iOS 5 beta 7, your music may fail to play.    If this happens, turn off iTunes Match in Settings > Music, then turn it back on.

Thanks CDeeRON!

Earlier reports of a redesigned iPhone 5 with a larger display and an elongated home button gained momentum on Wednesday when a new iPhone icon was discovered by 9to5 Mac. The icon was found within official Apple software — the latest Photo Stream beta for developers — and it clearly shows a phone that deviates sharply from the current iPhone 4. The display appears to encompass more of the phones face and the home button is most certainly not round, as it has been on each of the previous four iPhone models. This is just an icon we’re looking at, of course, but it could be a safe bet that Apple’s forthcoming fifth-generation iPhone will resemble the design seen above. A closeup of the iPhone 5 icon follows below.

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Research In Motion announced on Friday that BlackBerry App World 3.0 is now available for download from the BlackBerry Beta Zone. The updated app store offers a number of improvements, including the ability to search for applications directly from the new home screen. Users will be able to sort search results by name, price, rating, release date, best match and most popular. RIM also added quick access to “Games” and “Themes” subcategories directly on the new home screen. “Spotlight banners” will showcase hot new applications that RIM wants to highlight, too. Finally, users can choose to share new applications via Facebook, Twitter, BBM, SMS or email.Read

Apple’s official iCloud.com website is now live for developers as part of a new beta phase of the service. The website is complete with web applications for Calendar, Contacts, Mail, iCloud for Pages, iWork and Find My iPhone. It also currently has a look and feel very reminiscent of iOS, which we like. We already know that Apple will offer iOS users 5GB of free iCloud storage, but the Cupertino-based company also revealed the official pricing for those who want a bit more storage. Users can sign up for an additional 10GB of storage (15GB total) for $20 per year, 20GB of additional storage for $40 per year, or 50GB of added storage for $100 per year.

Google’s latest social networking effort may finally be the winner the Internet giant has so desperately been looking for. The invite-only beta service launched late last month and as per the company’s statements made during its earnings call on Thursday, it has already amassed more than 10 million users in just over two weeks. According to user statistics supplied by third-party social monitors SocialStatistics and FindPeopleOnPlus, the overwhelming majority of people using Google+ so far are male. FindPeopleOnPlus tracks nearly a million Google+ profiles and it shows that about three quarters of Plus users are male. SocialStatistics uses a significantly smaller sample of about 30,000 user profiles, but it suggests that 87% of Google+ profiles belong to men. There’s no question that Google+ is the talk of the Web right now, but those looking for a network with a decent sized female population should probably look elsewhere — mySpace, perhaps?

[Via Mashable]

Read [SocialStatistics] Read [FindPeopleOnPlus]

Microsoft is prepping to release a Windows 8 preview build during its Worldwide Partner Conference on July 11th, according WinRumors. Reportedly, the Redmond-based firm will “detail Windows 8 substantially,” during the conference, and it could present a second preview “building Windows 8″ video, which we hope will show off several of the OS’s new features. Microsoft first took the wraps off of its Windows 8 demo during the D9 conference in June, when Microsoft’s Steven Sinofsky discussed the Metro UI and other features that will apply to both PCs and tablets. So far we know that Windows 8 will include Internet Explorer 10, and will be able to run both desktop applications as well as HTML 5 and Java apps that are designed for tablet-sized devices. Microsoft’s current demo devices run on Intel processors, but there are reports the company is running tests on ARM chips as well. The Consumer Electronics Association also announced on Thursday that Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer will give the opening keynote during the annual Consumer Electronics Show in January 2012 — and we suspect we’ll hear a lot more about the new OS at that time.

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Google announced and launched its Music Beta service on Tuesday, and record execs aren’t too pleased with its decision to move ahead before reaching a deal. “People are pissed,” one record label exec told Hollywood Reporter, which explained in one article why it took so long for Google and the music industry to reach an agreement. Reportedly, Google offered some labels larger advances than others, which resulted in some firms holding out for more money. Similarly, the music industry is concerned that Music Beta users will upload music stolen from P2P sites — that the industry already wants removed from Google’s search results — to Google’s music storage locker. Lastly, the recording industry was concerned that Google’s music service could weaken the revenue stream from other sources, such as Apple’s iTunes. Ultimately, driven by competition from Amazon’s Cloud Drive, Google decided to pull the trigger and launch anyway.

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A preliminary build of Microsoft’s Windows 8 desktop operating system has made its way onto the web. Available via illegal download, the software does not seem to have a look and feel all that different from its predecessor — Windows 7. The software bears the build number 7850 and is, in all likelihood, far from what we’ll see when officially released. Regardless: if you’re curious, and would like to have a look for yourself, hit the jump. There are several additional images waiting for you.

[Via Engadget]

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Fring, the makers of the self-titled, cross-platform, mobile voice and video chat client, are beginning to dabble in group video chat. In a recent YouTube video, the company showcased its latest software build — currently in beta — running a group video chat session on iOS. The feature will allow up to four users to simultaneously connect, face-to-face in a Brady Bunch-like mosaic as seen above. The beta is currently accepting applicants, so if you think you’re worthy — or just love playing with new software — hit the jump, watch the video, and follow the read link to apply.

[Via AppScout]

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Motorola on Wednesday announced the pre-release of a software update that will ultimately find its way to ATRIX 4G devices across the country in the near future. In a call for beta testers on the company’s support forum, Motorola announced that it is seeking 1,000 ATRIX 4G users to test a pre-release version of the device’s first software update. The big question on users’ minds, of course, was weather or not the update would enable HSUPA. Many ATRIX 4G users have openly complained of slow upload speeds, and over 1,100 people have signed a digital petition in protest of AT&T’s disabling of HSUPA on the device. AT&T would later confirm that HSUPA had been disabled on the ATRIX, though the carrier did note that full 4G upload speeds would be enabled on the smartphone in the future. Responding to questions in the call for beta testers, a Motorola rep identified as Mark (Forums Manager) confirmed that this first software update for the ATRIX will not enable HSUPA. “HSUPA is not included in this update though a future update will enable it,” the rep wrote on the forum. “More details to come from AT&T.” Registration for the software trial is open until 12:00 p.m. EDT on Friday.

Thanks, Zack

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