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What's up, Shazam?

So the makers of Shazam decided to make a so called premium app which comes for $5.99. It features unlimited tagging, lyrics, biography, discography, directly purchasing through the marketplace, watching YouTube videos related to the tagged songs and that's pretty much about it.
First I was like "wtf? What tagging limit?". Then I saw and installed the update that came for free Shazam today. And guess what. Tagging is now limited to 5 times a month. Not to mention that the free version of course doesn't offer any of the goodies the premium version comes shipped with. Premium doesn't even have a trial to check out if these additional features are really worth the price. And oh.. If you update your free copy of Shazam, you'll quickly notice that it disappeared from the apps list, just to be found in the games hub now. What the heck? Since when do music related apps belong there?
Shazam Encore, which the premium app is correctly named, doesn't even integrate in the Zune hub, which in my opinion would make sense.
What do you guys think about what Shazam is pulling off there? Is this restricted to WP7 only? Or does it affect iOS and Android apps as well?

No this is not limited to wp7, this happened on iOS and then on android as well. This seems to be how they operate and since I do not have my phone right now and will have to reload all my apps I am sure I will get stuck with the downgraded free app.

If that's the way they go now, I'm pretty sure they check the version of the app we use and if it's not the limited free version, they'll just refuse the service.
Sent from my HD7 T9292 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

I read a shazaam feature is coming with Mango. It will be built into Zune, Shazaam wont be needed anymore.

vetvito said:
I read a shazaam feature is coming with Mango. It will be built into Zune, Shazaam wont be needed anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, Bing Audio. The question is just, if it's as good as Shazam is. Seeing that bing maps doesn't even support most of the countries in Europe. Works pretty well for larger cities in Germany, but there's still lots of unknown places. If Bing Audio ends up the same, I'm afraid it won't be any thread to services like Shazam. But we'll see.

If Bing Audio is as ****ty as Bing Map is in my country I suppose it will be mediocre and we will still need Shazam for a long time.
Anyway, thanks for the tip, I will not update Shazam.

arturobandini said:
If Bing Audio is as ****ty as Bing Map is in my country I suppose it will be mediocre and we will still need Shazam for a long time.
Anyway, thanks for the tip, I will not update Shazam.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Word on different forums is that if you have installed the free Shazam app before May 11th, you will have no tagging limit. That was supposed to be some sort of launch bonus. I haven't tried it yet after I installed the update. But I'll do so tomorrow and report back.

dkp1977 said:
Word on different forums is that if you have installed the free Shazam app before May 11th, you will have no tagging limit. That was supposed to be some sort of launch bonus. I haven't tried it yet after I installed the update. But I'll do so tomorrow and report back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did, and indeed I have no tagging limit.
So you mean, if ever I update Shazam - and only if I update - then the limit will appear?

No, I think it has to do with your original "purchase" (install) date, not the date of the version currently installed. If you locked in prior to the change, you should always have free tagging. You just won't have the rest of the new features of Encore (which do sound pretty nice - but still not worth $6 to me).
I downloaded the update this morning, and I don't see any limits appearing in the app so far. My original install date was January 5th.
[Edit] Correction -
Apparently if you originally downloaded prior to the change, you also get some of the Encore features. From the Marketplace description of the free version:
Start your music journey and enjoy Shazam to:
• Identify what song is playing and buy the track direct on Zune Marketplace
• Read album reviews, artist biographies and discographies
• Watch YouTube videos for tagged artists from within the App
• View lyrics and sing along to tagged tracks
• Sort tags by date, artist and track
• Store your tagged tracks and easily view your tag history
This App gives you 5 Tags per month*. For unlimited tagging and exclusive features try our premium App – Encore.
*If you’ve been using Shazam on your current Windows Phone 7 phone since before May 11, 2011, you’re still entitled to unlimited tagging.

Thanks RoboDad for this very detailed answer.
One more question, since you updated, is Shazam located in the Game Hub?
Thanks

Yeah, something is wrong somewhere. It shows up in both the app list AND games hub for me. But, I had previously pinned it to Start, and that link no longer works. And to aggravate things even more, I can't pin the new version to Start at all. I assume they'll fix it soon.

RoboDad said:
Yeah, something is wrong somewhere. It shows up in both the app list AND games hub for me. But, I had previously pinned it to Start, and that link no longer works. And to aggravate things even more, I can't pin the new version to Start at all. I assume they'll fix it soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Many thanks. One more good reason not to update.

RoboDad said:
Yeah, something is wrong somewhere. It shows up in both the app list AND games hub for me. But, I had previously pinned it to Start, and that link no longer works. And to aggravate things even more, I can't pin the new version to Start at all. I assume they'll fix it soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since the update it movied out of the app list and onto the Games Hub... had to repin it (from inside Games Hub).

Am I the only one to think that Shazam's attitude is not very fair?
Basically, Shazam is proposing an update that will actually limit your app and make it worse (e.g. tag limitation, app installed in the game hub, etc.)
Their goal being to make you purchase their $5.99 version.

It's their program, they can do this if they choose. ATT used to charge a monthly fee for this type of service. Do they still do that? It's still functional as a trial app though.
The game Triangula did the same thing. It was a free game with no ads.
The most recent update, added ads to the free version and required you pay to get the updates and go ads free.

munkeyphyst said:
It's their program, they can do this if they choose. ATT used to charge a monthly fee for this type of service. Do they still do that? It's still functional as a trial app though.
The game Triangula did the same thing. It was a free game with no ads.
The most recent update, added ads to the free version and required you pay to get the updates and go ads free.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you miss some major points here. Triangula is fully playable, even with adds. Shazam on the other hand is barely usable upon its limitation to just 5 tags a month. Triangula full comes for what? Like 1.99? Shazam goes for 4 bucks more. So it's extremely cut in its functionality while costing 3 times as much as Triangula.
Of course it's their product and they can do whatever they want to. But I believe they're gonna lose a whole lot of customers this way.

Avandor said:
Since the update it movied out of the app list and onto the Games Hub... had to repin it (from inside Games Hub).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
D'oh! You're right, of course. I was trying to pin from the [defunct] shortcut in the app list. Thanks!

munkeyphyst said:
The game Triangula did the same thing. It was a free game with no ads.
The most recent update, added ads to the free version and required you pay to get the updates and go ads free.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not to pick nits (OK, so I like to pick nits, so sue me ), but that isn't quite the way things went down with Triangula (or with Shazam, for that matter).
If you had already downloaded the free version of the game before the paid version came out, you got a free upgrade to the paid, ad-free, deluxe version. Well, at least I did .
And it's the same with Shazam. Users who secured their "purchase" of the free version prior to the release of the premium version still get unlimited tagging. So no one is losing anything. If someone didn't take the time to download the app prior to the change, then they never had the promise of free, unlimited tagging.
And, as has already been mentioned, this is no different from the way the app is already marketed on Android and iOS, so it isn't exactly news.

mine dissapeared from my app list and is NOT found in the games hub but when I find shazam on the marketplace on my phone, it just gives the option to share (as if it was already installed) this happened after the update. It is as if it is installed in a repository that is unable to be reached by windows phone (or the shortcut was broken by the update). Anyone else experience this?

I cant even find it in the marketplace anymore 0.o on my pc and on my phone its not even their. Is it not their for anyone else?

life without gapps aka google apps

Moderators PLEASE READ THIS THREAD BEFORE DELETING IT LIKE YOU DID THE LAST ONE
I did a couple of different searches on this board, looking for an alternative to gapps aka google apps. What viable alternatives to the google play store are there? google hangouts and google mail? I came across a thread discussion nogapps and the blank store that comes with it, but i'm not overly convinced that it lacks google's data mining processes.
I am not asking for sites that provide "pirated software" as I already know where to get that. I am asking for a "store" where I can search various phrases, and get a good return without those apps being relinked to google play store.

Have you tried the Amazon App Store? (Yes, they have Android apps)

Am I correct in assuming you are looking for a market that is completely separate from Google's servers? If privacy is your concern, you should know that all services that are provided for "free" employ some sort of data mining, because that is how they can afford to keep those services running. Since Google Play is the largest repository for Android apps, you would be hard pressed to find another service that hosts all of the same .apks, as that would seem redundant.

There simply is no viable alternative to the Play Store.
You can get alternatives, but they won't be nearly as good.
As for the rest of the gapps there are plenty of alternatives that are just fine or better.
Why are you so against gapps though? Washington doesn't care what apps you use.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using xda premium

Even if the app doesn't mine your data, your ISP still does ...

plenty
well there are plenty stores available on internet. if you are on android 4.1 and rooted then you can install NOKIA app store. well its tricky to use, you can find a apk on xda. when you install it just install aptitode market from there, though aptitode can be installed alone too. you can find almost all apps. but still google holds android that will mean they will have the maximum apps and secure and most updated apps. even developers always put latest updated apps on play store first. well i used wildfire which has no gpu so cpu has to do work for most of operations which makes slow and to overcome the low space on that phone i sometime skip the gapps. it depends if you want surveillance free android then go for other market apps.:silly:..google even know when you are walking. i read this on xda somewhere.:laugh:
choice is yours.

100s of stores are available nowadays...
Gmail alternate is aosp email
Maps run without email account...
What else u need?

doctor_droid said:
What else u need?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A way to synchronize (not backup/restore) my contacts and calendars on the Internet (Mega, Dropbox, whatever...) to be shared among other devices. This is bare minimum.
Then, if I could also synchronize (again, not backup/restore)some system stuff like WiFi passwords, call logs, SMS/MMS, instant messaging stuff and some application settings, this would be an extra great feature.
Can you do it without GApps? If you know how to, please share!

I don't know if this idea will benefit the app devs. Getting rid of the play store is like taking away one of their BIGGEST market place. What do you think?

People wouldnt feel the need to seek alternatives if Google wasnt so hardcore with it
Like dam, is it really even reasonable to keep location tracking in the background 24/7 and 15 different types of loggers at once? You'd think those morons would understand how large of a percentage of their would-be-users would actually use more of their services if they didnt chose to make it an all or nothing affair. I literally use only the playstore, and because of whats needed for that I go ahead and utilize the sync. I would definitely be open to gmail, g+, etc. if they werent so retarted with it. Rant over.

carlfinity said:
don't know if this idea will benefit the app devs. Getting rid of the play store is like taking away one of their BIGGEST market place. What do you think?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think more about my privacy than the app business.
I wish in could use something like CM with some synchronizing mechanism.
Unluckily for me I have a non-dumb-phone, a netbook and a desktop PC.
I use all three for work and would need some synchonization mechanism for calls, SMS and other stuff.
Do you have a suggestion in this direction?

I have read the opening post. So please remember that.
However, this kind of question will always lead to warez sites.... As it already has. And will continue to. And another thread asking same thing will lead to warez app responses yet again.
Google play store and Amazon are really the only ones that are legit and most other sites offer cracked versions of paid apps.
Obviously a website dedicated to Development and developers will not approve of most of the recommendations here, which I have deleted.
Please don't open another one of these threads. There's been enough answers provided already. So this thread is closed.
Thanks for understanding,
Darth
Forum Moderator

Gear S2 app wish list

Alright guys, let's hear it. So far the app catalog on offer is quite simply appalling. Granted, you don't need a lot of apps on a smartwatch to provide a great experience, but there's some obvious things missing for now.
Here's my wish list for a full package.
Messaging apps: Whatsapp, Telegram, Facebook Messenger. I don't need a fully fledged app, just the possibility to send a NEW message, not just reply.
Music apps: I use Spotify and would love to be able to scroll through my playlists and the other ways of selecting music. Not just basic music playback controls.
Sleep tracking: There is an app in the store, but looks so amateurish I find it hard to trust it.
Shazam: Would love it!
Google search...: I wouldn't even care that the speech to text would be handled by S-Voice, but give me a way to quickly search something online. Cortana/Siri/Google Now style

I would add these to the list:
Navigation: Being water resistant, this watch would be perfect to keep track of your speed and bearing while sailing. A GPS speed app and a simple Compass app would be lifesavers.
Web browser: One can dream...
Productivity: A decent pdf reader (the one in the story is nearly unusable)

semarac said:
I would add these to the list:
Navigation: Being water resistant, this watch would be perfect to keep track of your speed and bearing while sailing. A GPS speed app and a simple Compass app would be lifesavers.
Web browser: One can dream...
Productivity: A decent pdf reader (the one in the story is nearly unusable)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand the Navigation and Productivity, but why would you want to browse the web on a tiny watch screen?

Willyman said:
I understand the Navigation and Productivity, but why would you want to browse the web on a tiny watch screen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Besides the cool factor, i reckon having a web browser would reduce the need for some apps. For instance, we would be able to go on facebook and send messages, use online RSS feed readers like feedly, use WolframAlpha, browse forums, etc! Obviously, using a web browser on such a small screen is bound to be a cumbersome experience. However, on those rare occasions when you cant take your phone out of your pocket (either because it's inappropriate or because you're afraid it will get damaged or lost) having a web browser on the gear s2 would be pretty useful!

Navigation using Here Maps is readily available, but I hope we can get google map or waze available too for navigation....
Sent from my SM-N910C using Tapatalk

Will receive the gear s2 in a week or two. Would love to have...
Paypal
Whatsapp and/or Line
Spotify
UBER

tasker (with widget), whatsapp (view conversations, reply, create), alarmpad (/set phone alarm, with tasker alarm) gmaps (preferably without companion app), google now Ù

I saw on the spec sheet it has a barometer, I have the 3G version on Verizon, I would love to have (as mentioned above on the first):
Speedometer - as I have an old diesel truck with a speedometer that doesn't work, been using Ulysses Pro
Better Weather App - Would be nice to see the barometer measurements within the weather app
Internet Browser - For those with the 3G version, would be nice on a rare basis, although I agree it would be cumbersome, having the functionality would be nice.
Google Play Music All Access - I pay $10/mo for Google Music, would be nice to have support for that, but I doubt it ever will since its not Android Wear
EDIT: Just looked through the Gear App Store, I see there is a barometer app now available, my bad.

Jesiah said:
Will receive the gear s2 in a week or two. Would love to have...
Paypal
Whatsapp and/or Line
Spotify
UBER
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uber is now available on the gear app store (wasn't there a few hours ago, so seems like it was just launched). Just installed and seem to be working nicely (didn't book a car, just checked it's running, finding location etc)

Endomondo
Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

Guitar tuner. Since there is a mic, this will come in handy
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

bgoh82 said:
Guitar tuner. Since there is a mic, this will come in handy
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aaah that's a great idea indeed.
---------- Post added at 11:20 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:26 AM ----------
Avatiach said:
Uber is now available on the gear app store (wasn't there a few hours ago, so seems like it was just launched). Just installed and seem to be working nicely (didn't book a car, just checked it's running, finding location etc)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to know! Thanks.

I wish for the ability to sideload apps, especially Google Apps ie:Android pay, to take advantage of nfc! ! The ability to stream Google music, I have the 4g version! I'm just saying!
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

For those interested, eBay app is now also available at the store

Unit converter, currency converter. Currency converter is helpful during travel to convert prices with ease
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

remote camera control

i only wants a countdown app, like the "final countdown" on android.
plus one (or more) watchface, witch count down till the date / time witch i added.
It would be pretty useful for me.

remote camera control. I also use Handcent and currently the app isn't compatible with the S2. I get the notification but have to read it and reply from the phone. For that reason, I had to switch back to the stock messaging app which I hate. Handcent is totally non-responsible on the issue (well on any issue it seems). They quit answering questions/concerns on their facebook page. They now have a google page but you have to request to join. Been waiting 2 1/2 days to get approved to make a comment.

Better KeyBoard

maybe not considered apps, but...
have Wake Up Gesture option: Last Viewed.
ability to add custom ringtones (for 4g model).

ENoteGear: Evernote on Gear S2!

I am not affiliated with the developer.
Finally an evernote client for our s2s! It will list your folders and display notes. I must say it needs some work with display of text. Navigation is seemless. I would vote for a recent list as well as a voice to text note taking story.
Cost is $2 and a bit deceiving since the cost is incurred in the host app.
Im posting here to see what people also think and to rally the potential users for the dev. Maybe he is an xda member his dev name is Rumata on the galaxy store.
Sent from my SM-G925V using XDA Free mobile app

Good to hear!
I use Evernote every day. Having it on my watch would be terrific. Someone was saying in the "wish list" thread that they wanted a shopping list app. I use Evernote for my shopping list so if this app provides the ability to check things off, then that would be wonderful!

flemdroid said:
I am not affiliated with the developer.
Finally an evernote client for our s2s! It will list your folders and display notes. I must say it needs some work with display of text. Navigation is seemless. I would vote for a recent list as well as a voice to text note taking story.
Cost is $2 and a bit deceiving since the cost is incurred in the host app.
Im posting here to see what people also think and to rally the potential users for the dev. Maybe he is an xda member his dev name is Rumata on the galaxy store.
Sent from my SM-G925V using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I installed it on my watch but have no idea where to download the EnoteGear app on the phone! It's not available in the Play store.
As for the additional charge, I don't think it's deceiving, it's the only way they can sell the app to people like me who for some reason have no access to paid apps in the Gear App store. I have contacted Samsung about this issue and after a week all I got is an automated reply. It seems that paid apps are not open to all markets yet, I would just like SAMSUNG to confirm that.
Sent from my HUAWEI MT7-L09 using Tapatalk

actual I use both evermore and google keep, would be nice to also have a google keep gear edition.
Thx. Will try enotegear later

I have 2600 notes in my Evernote notebook and the gear app freezes every time I choose the notebook. With a smaller notebook with 220 notes on it I don't have any problem. So if you're planning to use this app with large notebooks save your money this app will not work. I hope that the developer will find a solution. At the moment the app is useless for me.

Where did you find the app for the Gear S2? I can't find it in the Galaxy app store. Maybe a location thing as I am in Canada.

It's better to pay on Google app store than Samsung app store so that you can use Google's refund policy. There are no refunds on Samsung App Store.

Tizen companion app for Google now / Google assistant

While we all know Google will unfortunate never release a tizen app for Google assistant... for those of us who use the watch tethered to an android phone (most of us) surely someone can come up with a companion app that if nothing else served as a bluetooth conduit to the phone so that we can issue voice commands through the watch's microphone and get responses over the watch speaker?
Sent from my STV100-1 using Tapatalk

I've also wondered if this is possible. I'd like voice commands to control my home automation on my watch via GA.

there is a way to call google now search programmatically as described here (http://stackoverflow.com/questions/...mmatically-initiate-a-google-now-voice-search)
Besides that, the Gear API lets do STT (speech to text) https://developer.tizen.org/develop...ive-application/uix/stt?langredirect=1#create
So, I´m thinking the posibility to make an Gear App that catch the voice, and send it as text to an Android companion app.... then the andorid app coud pass the text query to google now and return the results back to Gear in text or formatted html
If you want voice responses, TTS API in Gear can do the job.
It´s just an idea, I´m so begginer right now to figure if it´s possible to do with success.
(sorry about possible english mistakes)

punk84z said:
there is a way to call google now search programmatically as described here (http://stackoverflow.com/questions/...mmatically-initiate-a-google-now-voice-search)
Besides that, the Gear API lets do STT (speech to text) https://developer.tizen.org/develop...ive-application/uix/stt?langredirect=1#create
So, I´m thinking the posibility to make an Gear App that catch the voice, and send it as text to an Android companion app.... then the andorid app coud pass the text query to google now and return the results back to Gear in text or formatted html
If you want voice responses, TTS API in Gear can do the job.
It´s just an idea, I´m so begginer right now to figure if it´s possible to do with success.
(sorry about possible english mistakes)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds cool - I suspect a lot of people would love that capability...SVoice is a little limited, unfortunately.

Sad! Nobody's working on this.?
Sent from my SM-N930T using Tapatalk

RaymondPJR said:
Sad! Nobody's working on this.
Sent from my SM-N930T using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have this in my plans, but due to lack of free time - i have absolutely no clue when i can finish this. But if somebody will not make this faster - i will try to bring at least basic functionality. But no promises as for now.

goodwin_c said:
I have this in my plans, but due to lack of free time - i have absolutely no clue when i can finish this. But if somebody will not make this faster - i will try to bring at least basic functionality. But no promises as for now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A million thanks just for working on it! I can wait.?

punk84z said:
there is a way to call google now search programmatically as described here (http://stackoverflow.com/questions/...mmatically-initiate-a-google-now-voice-search)
Besides that, the Gear API lets do STT (speech to text) https://developer.tizen.org/develop...ive-application/uix/stt?langredirect=1#create
So, I´m thinking the posibility to make an Gear App that catch the voice, and send it as text to an Android companion app.... then the andorid app coud pass the text query to google now and return the results back to Gear in text or formatted html
If you want voice responses, TTS API in Gear can do the job.
It´s just an idea, I´m so begginer right now to figure if it´s possible to do with success.
(sorry about possible english mistakes)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This would work. One downside is you're still using Samsung's voice recognition to determine what you initially said. Another option would be Google's cloud speech API to get native Google recognition on the gear - but it's not free on a large scale.

Google assistant sdk is out. Anyone trying to create an app ?
https://developers.google.com/assistant/sdk/prototype/getting-started-other-platforms/

Phlip00ws6 said:
This would work. One downside is you're still using Samsung's voice recognition to determine what you initially said. Another option would be Google's cloud speech API to get native Google recognition on the gear - but it's not free on a large scale.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How much?

Joell27 said:
How much?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
$0.006 / 15 seconds

Phlip00ws6 said:
$0.006 / 15 seconds
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm lost. If you were to develop an app it would cost those that download it how much?

Joell27 said:
I'm lost. If you were to develop an app it would cost those that download it how much?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It costs the developer that much. It's free for the users. Let's say I make an app with cloud speech, first I would associate my Google dev account with the cloud API, then add it to my application. Now every time someone uses my app to access the API, my account is charged at the .006/15 seconds rate (after free first 60 min/month).
As you can imagine, with thousands of people using the application costs can get pretty high. These costs are usually offset by advertising or subscriptions.

This would be fab...look forward to seeing what the Devs are able to do in time.
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

Would really make the S3 the best smartwatch ever

Am going to try to work on this in my free time

[/COLOR]
Charlbuks said:
Am going to try to work on this in my free time
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am a UX designer. I gladly help with any design if you need.

too bad it won't happen Samsung always tries too hard and unfortunately dropped the ball when it comes to smart watches instead of using Android Wear with oem skin on top they completely came up with their own ui and code apparently making it impossible to use the apps already on Android Wear market

how can we record voice on the Gear and send it to a companion app ?
if this is possible, I have an idea to process it on the Android side.

Companion App ready for release
I can't use a smartwatch without Google integration, I find them useless without an assistant. I've therefore spent a lot of time and money trying to get the Gear to interact with Google, and finally it's paid off.
My team have just put the finishing touches on our Gear Assistant Bridge and have it in testing now, hopefully it'll be up in the stores within the month. We're waiting on a small bit of code from one of our Dev's regarding a minor assistant reply and that's it!
This tizen native companion app lets you interact with Google Assistant on your Samsung Gear; it also provides interactive results formatted for the gear screen. Future updates will unlock additional features already mostly coded and ensure stability.
Finally, our team has also been working on a Tizen native (standalone) port of the Google Assistant. We anticipate this to be available shortly after the GA for Devices SDK goes live.