Shazam and eBay have teamed up to offer Android users a nice freebie. From now until January 1, 2012, Android Shazam users can enjoy unlimited song tagging without having to buy Shazam Encore. “This is the first exclusive App sponsorship deal agreed by eBay anywhere in the world, and the first time Shazam has selected a partner to provide free services to their customers,” reads the press release. The company’s self-titled, free application gives users the ability to tag up to five songs each month, after which Shazam Encore must be purchased. “In addition, we’re pleased to offer Android Shazamers access to the Shazam Friends social feature, allowing them to share their music discoveries with their Facebook friends and family while discovering exciting new music and content themselves in a continuously updating feed.” The full press release is after the break.

Shazam Launches “Unlimited Tagging” Globally in Free App for Android

First of its Kind Sponsorship with eBay and

Facebook® Integration with Shazam Friends makes Discovering and Sharing Music Effortless

London, UK – 28 April 2011 – Shazam®, the world’s leading mobile discovery company, today announced a major update to its Shazam App for Android which brings with it two exciting new features: unlimited tagging sponsored by eBay for all Shazamers using the Shazam Free App and “Shazam Friends”, a real-time feed within the App of songs that Facebook friends have tagged, creating a continuously updating list for Shazamers to discover and share new music with their friends.

This is the first exclusive App sponsorship deal agreed by eBay anywhere in the world, and the first time Shazam has selected a partner to provide free services to their customers.

Alex Musil, Executive Vice President of Product Marketing at Shazam said, “eBay is a brand people know and love, and we’re excited to announce them as our exclusive sponsor, bringing all Android Shazamers the benefit of unlimited music discovery.” Musil continued, “In addition, we’re pleased to offer Android Shazamers access to the Shazam Friends social feature, allowing them to share their music discoveries with their Facebook friends and family while discovering exciting new music and content themselves in a continuously updating feed.”

This update of the Shazam Free App – which usually comes with five tags per month – will enable new and existing users to receive free unlimited Shazaming until January 1, 2012.

Steve Yankovich, Vice President of eBay Mobile said, “Like eBay, Shazam connects consumers with the content, products and information they want.  We are excited to sponsor Shazam’s Android App offering millions of consumers the chance to do even more of what they love, while expanding their ability to Shazam and share the music they’re most passionate about.”

Shazam Friends is easy to set up and, upon updating the App, a new “Friends” tab will appear.  Once a Shazamer logs into their Facebook account and confirms they would like to connect and share with friends, they can:

·         Browse all of their friends’ tags, watch music videos, read reviews, access biographies and get artist tour information

·         See all recent tags from a particular friend in one list

·         Add friends’ tags to their Shazam tag list

·         Purchase the track

·         Where available, use streaming services to play the song from their playlist

·         Post tags to Facebook and Twitter, add comments, and give their friends a chance to comment

·         Encourage friends to join them in using Shazam Friends

Shazam Friends is already available in both Shazam Free and Encore Apps on Apple’s iOS devices and now on Android devices. Shazamers can manage the sharing of their tags and decide to stop sharing at any time, while still being able to see their friends’ tags. For two friends to see each other’s tags, they both have to connect their Facebook accounts to Shazam.

A trio of Apple patent applications unearthed this morning may help shed some light on future features and functionality headed to a new crop of iPhones. Then again we all know how easy it is for patents to lead absolutely nowhere. The first and most notable of the bunch is a haptic feedback concept employing a “grid of piezoelectronic actuators” that combine to form a fully tactile touchscreen. In theory, the device could vibrate these actuators in different combinations and at different frequencies to provide a variety of tactile responses. Interesting as it may be, this isn’t the first apple patent to cover a haptic feedback solution for a touchscreen — another notable concept came in late 2007 and has yet to bear fruit. At the same time, it’s good to see that Apple recognizes the downsides of touchscreen-only devices and is working on creative solutions for the problem. From the application:

However, one of a touchscreen’s biggest advantages (i.e., the ability to utilize the same physical space for different functions) is also one of a touchscreen’s biggest disadvantages. When the user is unable to view the display (because the user is occupied with other tasks), the user can only feel the smooth hard surface of the touchscreen, regardless of the shape, size and location of the virtual buttons and/or other display elements. This makes it difficult for users to find icons, hyperlinks, textboxes or other user-selectable input elements that are being displayed, if any are even being displayed, without looking at the display.

The other two patents covered this morning are also of interest, the second covering fingerprint identification as an input method. This concept also addresses the usage of a touchscreen without the need to look at it during operation — providing a system whereby a device will be able to identify different fingers by fingerprint and the mere touch with a specific finger will result in a corresponding function. In other words, while in a certain mode an iPhone might perform the following functions when touched anywhere by the following fingers:

Last up this morning is an application that places an RFID tag reader in the actual display panel of a device, allowing it to read RFID tags. We’re not sure exactly how a device will benefit from having the RFID antenna in the screen as opposed to in another area of the case but hey, patent attorneys need something to do on slow days, too.

[Via MacRumors]

Read (tactile touchscreen)
Read (fingerprint ID)
Read (RFID)