- Posts tagged microsoft
- Explore microsoft on posterous
Locating the cash: Now Google charge for their Maps API #google #maps #api #developers #yam
Despite refusing to charge end users for their services, it seems Google are getting increasingly comfortable charging developers to use their APIs. Previously you only had to pay to use the Google Maps API if your site or app was charging users. Following Wednesdays announcement there is now a second trigger for charging, as Google has introduced throttling on the API. This follows on from Google introducing charging for their translation API back in August.
The charging structure will work like this. Up to 25,000 standard API calls, and up to 2,500 calls of the Styled Map feature per day will be free of charge. You can then purchase additional calls or license the Premier version of the API.
Pricing is around $4 for every additional 1,000 map loads, and a Premier license "starts at" $10,000 per year. This compares to the Bing Maps model of 125,000 sessions or 500,000 transactions per year for free, then upgrade to their Enterprise license, the pricing of which is not published. Its a "give us a call so we can talk" type of deal.
This move seems to confirm a significant strategic shift for Google.
It will be interesting to see how other location providers respond. Do they also attempt to cash in on location (like the Mobile Operators have long been criticised for doing) or do they attempt to steal market share from Google by changing their fees? It will be interesting to see how or if this spikes interest in the range of free alternatives like the BlueVia Location API, OpenStreetMap, and MapNik. I'm not sure if Fireeagle is still alive?
My other concern is I hope this move does not shift mobile app developers to purely relying on the phones GPS location, rather than using server side location look ups. Ewan over at Mobile Industry Review wrote an entertaining piece on the benefits of server side look up's here, which is worth a read.
What will you use?
@skype celebrate closing their Microsoft deal with a big fat infographic
Tony Bates shares how delighted he is with the official closure of the Microsoft tie up in a new blog post today. Perhaps in a sign of things to come, upon visiting the page I was offered an update to Silverlight!
Most interesting was this rather large infographic:
Sneak peak of Windows 8 App Store
From Silicon Alley Insider, shots of the upcoming Windows 8 app store. From the design it looks like it will work across desktop and mobile. Its an edgy design, could be a risk it dates quickly, although the individual app catalogue page entries are a little more vanilla.
Microsoft Finally Admits Windows Media Center Is A Dud #apple #appletv #microsoftt
I've spent a lot time trying to hook up my PC's with my home theatre system to free my digital music and movies from the confines of my desktop. Over the years I've tried Windows Media Centre on XP and Windows 7, recently moving onto Apple TV.
Interesting data released by Microsoft, as reported by Business Insider, show only 6% of Windows 7 users ever open Windows Media Centre, with 59% of those sessions seeing less than 2 minuted of activity.
The lack of a developer ecosystem offering Media Centre support and tools for 3rd parties meant that Microsoft threw away the opportunity to own the digital living room, before 'apps' and 'app stores' became all the rage. This is even more criminal when you consider they have the Xbox platform as well.
Whilst Apple have referred to Apple TV as a "hobby" rather than a product, it has already surpassed Media Centre in terms of features, including;
- On demand iTunes movie rental
- iTunes library sharing
- The awesome Airplay ultuility for playing out content from iPhone or iPad
- The Apple TV remore control app for iPhone or iPad
- 3rd party apps, like MLB TV, YouTube, Vimeo, and Flickr
Windows Phone Reaches 30,000 Apps #mobile #apps #microsoft
Compared to 425,000 iOS apps and over 250,000 on Android.
Remember its super easy to integrate BlueVia into your Windows Phone apps using our .NET SDk. Watch this: http://vimeo.com/21476215
