Twitter drops stars for hearts

Changing a central item in an established app or service is a tricky thing to get into. Regardless, Twitter has done so with its “stars” and “favorite” option and replaces this with “hearts” and the term “like.” Their reason behind this is the heart is supposed to be a universal signal and it encompasses a greater range of emotion than a star. It would also help new users understand their service better since a heart is more understandable than a star. According to Twitter product manager Akarshan Kumar, “You might like a lot of things, but not everything can be your favorite.” Although it would seem Twitter is falling behind its competitors as Tumblr and the like have been using hearts for a while and Facebook has been using the “like” term. The change will appear on Twitter.com, TweetDeck, Twitter for Windows 10, and also in Twitter's video looping app, Vine. What do you think? Do you approve of the change?

Source: Twitter | Via: Popular Science

Tweetbot 4 gets Apple Watch support

Twitter client Tweetbot 4 releases a new update that adds Apple Watch support into the mix. The app on Apple’s wearable shows Activity Feed as its default and shows other things like Mentions, Favorites, and Follows. You can view individual tweets and choose to Reply, Retweet, or Favorite them. You can even send Direct Messages to users. To send a tweet, you just force press on the Watch, composing messages will be done via voice dictation.

Source: MacRumors | Download: Apple App Store ($5.79)

SoundCloud now has an app to help creators manage their community

SoundCloud as we know is an audio-based app or site that lets you upload audio clips or even sample tracks by some artists. Taking cues from YouTube and its video stars, SoundCloud is helping out content creators on its platform with a new companion app to help them manage their community called SoundCloud Pulse.

The app is designed to make it easier for creators to check on their followers and even help grow them. You can view things like stats on your posts/tracks, reply to people commenting on your uploads, follow other users, and share uploaded tracks privately or publicly to selected users. Other features coming to the app include the ability to upload tracks from your mobile device, edit track information, expand message capability, and more in-depth stats. The app is available for free download on Android.

Source: SoundCloud | Via: Android Community | Download: Google Play Store (Free)

Samsung Galaxy View tablet gets its own CNN News app

With a gigantic 18.4-inch screen, having apps that cater to this very specific screen size might not be too common. That’s the issue with Samsung’s new Galaxy View tablet. It’s up to them to forge partnerships to help make this a compelling device for customers. One of the companies they’ve tapped is CNN, who has made a News app specifically for the tablet.

The new CNN for Samsung Galaxy View app is already up on Play Store, but of course, this will only work with the new tablet. It’s probably up on the Play Store though so updates can be easily dispensed to the app. It features a large magazine type of format with a relatively small slide-out menu though. It emphasizes other areas though like video stories and photo galleries, to fully take advantage of the Galaxy View’s big screen. You can also expect alert notifications for breaking stories and local news and weather updates. The tablet isn’t out yet but we should expect to hear more about it soon.

Source: Android Police | Download: Google Play Store (Free)