doubleTwist, the slick media player for Android, is growing. A lot.
Last February we reported that the application had passed a major milestone, drawing one million users per month between its mobile and desktop applications.
Today, the company is sharing a much bigger number: they’re getting 1 million users per day between doubleTwist on Android phones and tablets.
Now, obviously this doesn’t mean the user base has increased by a factor of 30 (some people are going to use the app many times a month). But it’s a sign that the company is getting significant traction, and that its users keep coming back for more. This is a particularly big deal on mobile, where users are notorious for being fickle and giving up on an app after a day or two.
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Today, the Android media player doubleTwist reached a big milestone: 1 million active users between its mobile and desktop apps.
We’ve been following the media player closely for over a year now, watching to see if it would find enough adoption to make it the premiere Android alternative to iTunes.
Back in November, the company launched its wireless syncing software called “AirSync” that automatically syncs your music, movies, and photos whenever you’re in wireless range — and offers us a glimpse into the future of mobile tech. → Read More
Earlier today, Winamp released a new version of its Android application that allowed users to sync their music wirelessly with their Windows desktop (disclosure: Winamp and TechCrunch are both owned by AOL). It’s a great feature, but in the race to become the ‘iTunes of Android’, another contender may already be about to lap Winamp.
We’ve been tracking DoubleTwist and its close affiliation with Android for over a year now. The company offers a desktop media player that looks a lot like iTunes (which is no accident given the ‘iTunes for Android’ theme), and it’s added support for the Android App Store, a music store through Amazon MP3′s API, and a directory of Podcasts. Today it’s launching what’s probably its coolest feature yet: wireless sync. And it’s not just for music — DoubleTwist will let you wirelessly sync your movies, music, and photos. → Read More
What does Yammer’s David Sacks have to do with Apple’s reception hiccup? And what does DoubleTwist’s Jon Johansen have to do with Google Me? To be honest, not a whole lot. But we had both founders in on Friday morning, for our fifth episode of TechCrunch NOW.
For those who are unfamiliar with the program, TechCrunch NOW is a daily show (Monday-Friday, 3 PM PST) where we combine an assortment of entrepreneurs, investors, reporters and other tech personalities to debate the top headlines. This week, our line-up included Cyan Banister, founder of Zivity (and host of Speaking Of), Brian Singerman of Founder’s Fund, Ryan Sweeney of Accel Partners, Andy McLoughlin, co-founder of Huddle, Michael Seibel, CEO of Justin.tv, Evan Soloman, VP of Marketing for Justin.tv, and our OMG/JK dream team MG Siegler and Jason Kincaid. More on this episode ahead. → Read More
doubleTwist, the ‘iTunes for Android’ software that lets you sync your media files with dozens of devices, including Android phones, is one step closer to being a full-fledged solution for media sync on Android. The company has released a native Android application, available on Android Market for free, which offers users a polished media player capable of playing both audio and video.
Android is notorious for coming with a clunky default media player, and doubleTwist easily bests it, sporting a much cleaner interface, the ability to import iTunes playlists, and support for audio/video podcasts. That said, there are already plenty of third party solutions that also beat the stock Android player. So what makes doubleTwist different? → Read More
doubleTwist, the ‘iTunes for Android’ software that lets you sync your media files with dozens of devices, including Android phones, is one step closer to being a full-fledged solution for media sync on Android. The company has released a native Android application, available on Android Market for free, which offers users a polished media player capable of playing both audio and video.
Android is notorious for coming with a clunky default media player, and doubleTwist easily bests it, sporting a much cleaner interface, the ability to import iTunes playlists, and support for audio/video podcasts. That said, there are already plenty of third party solutions that also beat the stock Android player. So what makes doubleTwist different? → Read More
Android Market is finally getting a robust desktop presence. But we don’t have to Google to thank for it — it’s coming from doubleTwist, the syncing software that allows you to sync your media with Android phones (it also supports myriad other devices). The new feature is launching today with the latest update of doubleTwist for Mac, and will be included with the Windows version soon. doubleTwist is also offering a web version of its Android Market directory, which you can access at http://apps.doubletwist.com.
I’ve made no secret of my dislike for the current version of Google’s official web presence for Android Market — it offers a sampling of Android’s top apps, but it’s ugly and doesn’t offer a full listing of what’s available (it doesn’t even offer a search function). → Read More
Over the last six months, doubleTwist, the iTunes alternative that lets you manage your music, videos, and photos, has really been stepping up its game. In October the company integrated an Amazon-powered MP3 store, allowing users to download and sync their music directly with any of hundreds of compatible devices, much as they would with the iTunes/iPod combo. And today it’s adding a new feature that makes it an even more viable iTunes competitor: support for podcasts.
Co-founder Monique Farantzos says that doubleTwist has built and integrated a podcast search engine with 20 times as many podcasts as iTunes offers. Rankings are based on popularity (as opposed to a simple listing that would grow unmanageable with that much content). The new feature is launching on Windows now, with Mac support for podcasts coming next month. → Read More
Big news for doubleTwist, the iTunes alternative that allows you to manage media for hundreds of devices, including Android phones, the Palm Pre, and BlackBerry. Tomorrow, the company will announce that it has forged a partnership with T-Mobile, which is now promoting it as the supported way to sync media to its line of Android phones. As part of the deal, T-Mobile will begin displaying doubleTwist banners in their retail stores and on T-Mobile.com. And perhaps most important, doubleTwist will come pre-installed on some Android devices, including the new Fender/Eric Clapton myTouch 3G handset.
For those that haven’t used it before, doubleTwist is a media management program that’s both visually and functionally similar to iTunes in many respects, but with one big difference: it will work with nearly any device (iTunes only plays nice with iPods and iPhones). You can drag and drop songs to playlists, sync music, photos, and video to your devices, and share your media with friends using integrated Facebook and Flickr support. In effect, doubleTwist can serve as an “iTunes for Android”. The software is impressive in its own right, but the company has also gotten quite a bit of attention because it was co-founded by DVD Jon, who serves as CTO. → Read More
Last week doubleTwist, the media management software company with DVD Jon as its CTO, released a remake of Apple’s classic 1984 commercial featuring none other than Steve Jobs as a malevolent dictator. The commercial closed with a promise. “On October 6th, doubleTwist brings you Choice“.
Today, doubleTwist has revealed what it means by that: doubleTwist now includes an integrated Music Store, powered by Amazon’s MP3 Store. But unlike iTunes, this app will let you transfer your files to non-Apple devices. The store includes Amazon’s catalog of over 5 million songs, allowing users to purchase songs either as albums or individual tracks (there’s also plenty of free songs available). From a design standpoint, it’s clear that iTunes served as a big inspiration — if you’ve ever used the iTunes Store before, it will take you all of thirty seconds to figure out how to use this one. → Read More
On January 22, 1984 during the third quarter of the SuperBowl, Apple broadcast one of the most famous television commercials of all time. Based on a dystopian future George Orwell described in his novel 1984, the ad features a procession of soulless drones trudging into a large room to listen to the unquestioned words of their dictator whose face is being projected on a large screen. Moments later, a beautiful woman bounds into the room, evading capture by armed guards by only a few meters, and hurls a large hammer into the screen that explodes in a dazzling display of light. And so we were introduced to the Macintosh, Apple’s new weapon to take on the monolithic IBM.
What a difference 25 years can make. Now Apple has grown from underdog to a tyrant in its own right, preventing other devices from tapping into its iTunes software and restricting what users can install on the iPhones that they’ve purchased. And doubleTwist, which makes software that lets you use iTunes seamlessly with other devices, is calling it out in spectacular fashion. They’ve just unveiled their new commercial (embedded below) that’s nearly a shot-for-shot remake, featuring an army of iPod-wearing clones sitting in silence as their master — sporting Steve Jobs’ familiar round glasses — commands that “no other choices shall detract from our glory”. → Read More
DoubleTwist, a universal media management desktop application for Macs and PCs, not only has a clever marketing team behind it but also seems to be something a lot of people have been waiting for. The free software, which works like a multi-platform version of iTunes with a social networking component, has been downloaded hundreds of thousands of times since it launched in February (exact number aren’t disclosed for the time being).
Users can share music files, photos or videos across (almost) any device via drag and drop and share the files with others. DoubleTwist’s main selling point: It supports hundreds of devices, from cell phones or mobile gaming devices to portable music players. For example, the software can sync all music files you bought on iTunes with your Blackberry, Nokia phone, Kindle or Sony PSP without you having to worry about file format compatibility. Media files can then be uploaded to sites like Flickr, Facebook or YouTube from within doubleTwist. → Read More
DoubleTwist, a universal media management desktop application for Macs and PCs, not only has a clever marketing team behind it but also seems to be something a lot of people have been waiting for. The free software, which works like a multi-platform version of iTunes with a social networking component, has been downloaded hundreds of thousands of times since it launched in February (exact number aren’t disclosed for the time being).
Users can share music files, photos or videos across (almost) any device via drag and drop and share the files with others. DoubleTwist’s main selling point: It supports hundreds of devices, from cell phones or mobile gaming devices to portable music players. For example, the software can sync all music files you bought on iTunes with your Blackberry, Nokia phone, Kindle or Sony PSP without you having to worry about file format compatibility. Media files can then be uploaded to sites like Flickr, Facebook or YouTube from within doubleTwist. → Read More
DoubleTwist, a universal media management desktop application for Macs and PCs, not only has a clever marketing team behind it but also seems to be something a lot of people have been waiting for. The free software, which works like a multi-platform version of iTunes with a social networking component, has been downloaded hundreds of thousands of times since it launched in February (exact number aren’t disclosed for the time being).
Users can share music files, photos or videos across (almost) any device via drag and drop and share the files with others. DoubleTwist’s main selling point: It supports hundreds of devices, from cell phones or mobile gaming devices to portable music players. For example, the software can sync all music files you bought on iTunes with your Blackberry, Nokia phone, Kindle or Sony PSP without you having to worry about file format compatibility. Media files can then be uploaded to sites like Flickr, Facebook or YouTube from within doubleTwist.
It’s safe to say Apple isn’t probably a big fan of the software. But doubleTwist co-founders Monique Frantzos and Jon Lech Johansen (better known as DVD Jon) silently enhanced the app in the last few weeks and told me today they have more plans for the future. → Read More
Apple may be known for its advertising prowess, but this little marketing coup is going to go down as one of the most hilarious ad placements in recent history. doubleTwist, the company co-founded by renowned software reverse engineer DVD Jon, has managed to place a banner for its product directly next to the main entrance to Apple’s flagship San Francisco store.
The ad invites passersby to try “The Cure for iPhone Envy”, which they can use to access their “iTunes Library on any device. In Seconds”. It’s clearly a message that Apple doesn’t want anything to do with. We’re hearing that Apple employees are currently scratching their heads as to how this appeared. So how did this wind up only a few feet from the store’s entrance, and directly beneath a giant Apple logo? → Read More
DVD Jon built a little web-based application that takes files from almost any device and puts them onto any other device or social network. It’s basically a big honking anti-DRM machine, allowing you to pop stuff out of iTunes and onto anything you’d like. It works by “playing” the music in the background and recording it as an MP3. It seems to only work on AAC DRMed music right now but the company plans to keep pounding until they destroy the DRM hegemony: “Digital media is dominated by two players, Windows Media and iTunes, and they each have their own agenda…we see ourselves as the Switzerland of digital media. We are format and device agnostic.” No OS X or iPhone support yet, but it’s coming. Product Page via CNET → Read More
