Apple might have just ruined everyone’s weekend plans by pulling the provocative “Bang with Friends” iPhone app from the App Store.

BWF, which is the “anonymous, simple, fun way to find 
friends who are down for the night,” says Apple has banned it from the App Store, but that it is “working with Apple to get BWF back into the App Store shortly.”

Presumably, users who already installed the app can continue to do whatever one would do with such an app, and Android’s Wild Wild West approach to the Google Play Store almost guarantees it isn’t going anywhere for phablet users.

If you still find that you just can’t get no satisfaction, you might try using FaceTime or maybe even Google’s new Hangouts for iOS app.

Cofounder and CEO Colin Hodge told Valleywag that he’s working with Apple to get the app, which recently crossed the million user mark, back in the iPhone’s warm embrace.

Just don’t accidentally dial your parents while you have those candles lit and Drake playing in the background.

This post was written by Zac Hall from 9to5Mac.
You can view the original post by clicking here.

Earlier this week, Google beat Apple to the punch by launching a streaming subscription music service before Cuperino could unveil its own offering, iRadio.

How did Google managed to do it? Apple has all the music industry clout, so how could Google swing a deal first? Because Google Play Music All Access is essentially a clone of services like Rdio and Spotify, and the contract terms of services like that are easy to copy.

Apple’s iRadio? It’s a wholly different beast.

The Verge is reporting that the major hold-up for iRadio is just that no one’s ever done anything like it. It’s not an a la carte subscription music service so much as a hybrid web and radio service, and so the industry is being a lot slower in signing up.

Google chose to offer a standard subscription music service very similar to those built by Spotify and Rdio, and that meant the terms had largely been established, according to multiple sources close to the talks. Apple, on the other hand, is pioneering a hybrid web and radio service — one that resembles Pandora but melds it with some on-demand features, the sources said. The licensing agreement had to be created from scratch.

“Of course [Apple's] negotiations were going to take longer,” one of the sources said.

In addition, Google was willing to pay advances to music labels for licensed content, something Apple has historically been unwilling to do. That greased some wheels.

iRadio when it launches is likely to be a music radio station discovery service linked to iTunes, in which anyone with an iPhone or an iPad can access “iRadio” to listen to songs they might like, which will then be purchaseable through iTunes with a single click for unlimited listens. It’ll solve an iTunes discoverability problem while simultaneously supporting Apple’s downloads-based iTunes business, which is a multi-billion dollar business for Apple with no signs of slowing down.

Source: The Verge

This post was written by Cult of Android from Cult of Mac.
You can view the original post by clicking here.

This week on The CultCast: Google Maps gets prettier, smarter, and faster; Hangouts is a new chat app with some innovative features; Google Music is too late to party; Erfon eats H’orderves on a space jet with Tim Cook and Richard Branson; and Leander dons his powdered wig to judge an all new Faves ‘N Raves.

All that and more on this week’s CultCast! Stream or download new and past episodes on your Mac or iDevice by subscribing now on iTunes, or hit play below and let the good times roll.

Show notes up next.

Our sponsor

Thanks to Audible for sponsoring the show!

Audible is the best place on the internet to get your audio books and entertainment, with over 100,000 titles to choose from in every imaginable genre. Audible’s spoken entertainment titles also work on any MP3 player, no iPod required.

Get your free audio book now at http://audiblepodcast.com/cultcast.

Have your questions, show topics, comments, and CultCast intros aired on the show

CultCall us! That’s what we’re calling our new CultCast voicemail. Leave your questions, comments, Fave ‘N Rave picks, even your own rendition of the CultCast intro, and we’ll play them on the show. Head to call.thecultcast.com for full details.

You can also leave your comments, topics, or suggestions on our new Facebook page! We always try to include them in the show. Facebook.com/TheCultCast.

Episode

CultCast #72 – Order In The Court!

On The CultCast this week

Erfon Elijah – Cult of Mac writer and host of The CultCast
Buster Heine – Cult of Mac writer and community manager
Leander Kahney – Cult of Mac Master Chief

This post was written by Erfon Elijah from Cult of Mac.
You can view the original post by clicking here.

We showed you significant updates to Google Maps which leaked early this morning, and Google just announced updates to Maps at Google I/O.

Google also announced that its Maps API is used by over 1 million active sites and accessed by 1 billion unique visitors weekly.

Maps will now feature a 5 star rating system for locations across all platforms. Users can now swipe across results in a simple, gesture user interface. Zagat reviews are now more prominent with badges and cards simplifying its appearance. These cards now include a new Offers experience with partners including Starbucks.

Google Maps for Mobile also includes improvements to rerouting in transit and explore features. Google Maps for iPad was demoed during the keynote, which we expect to see with the iPhone update this summer.

Maps on the desktop now includes a new fly-in view for supported locations, which is like a  street view for specific landmark interiors. Public transit information on the desktop is now comparable side-by-side with standard transit and now features a new schedule view.

Google Earth is now viewable on the desktop without an additional download or needed plugins, which brings immersive 3D mapping to the desktop.

You can sign up for the new desktop Google Maps today.

This post was written by Zac Hall from 9to5Mac.
You can view the original post by clicking here.

Well, we can’t say we’re too surprised with this one following this week’s leak, but it’s great to see Google Play game services has been officially confirmed at Google I/O this morning. The service will rival services like Game Center on iOS, and features will include cloud-based game syncing, online multiplayer, and more.

With Google Play game services and cloud-based saving, you’ll be able to sync your game progress across all of your Android devices. So when you complete a level on your Android smartphone, the same level will be automatically completed on your Android tablet.

The new service also delivers multiplayer matchmaking, allowing you to play Android games against your friends online. And like a lot of Google services, this one will be cross-platform, and it’ll be available on iOS, too — so you can play against friends with iPhones and iPads as well.

That’s one thing Game Center cannot do!

Google Play game services also boasts online leaderboards and achievements, so you’ll be rewarded for completing certain tasks within your games just like you do within console games. One of the first titles to support achievements is World of Goo, and you should see an update adding achievements today.

Google Play game services is rolling out to Android devices running 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and above from today.

This post was written by Cult of Android from Cult of Mac.
You can view the original post by clicking here.