YouView explain where they are: Android app, Internet television and how they're doing!

   YouView are a UK company which offer you subscription free TV and all you really need is to buy the box and hook it up to your internet and you're good to go. With such a simple solution it's not too much wonder than the  box is being labelled as the "fastest growing TV product in the UK."

   YouView's CEO, Richard Halton, said that the system s now live in more than 400,000 homes in the UK and about 2.2 million video streams are viewed each week. That includes an average of 3 hours of week of on demand TV per box and about 60% of the users make the most of the OnDemand services which are offered on the platform.  YouView don't have exact details on which providers offered how many of those boxes, but TalkTalk said that they've installed 230,000 so that means the rest are BT and other sales of the boxes.

   Halton was keen to emphasise that this is only a good start, he said:

"We are far from resting on our laurels … If launching was crossing the start line, this is the first marker."

   YouView have confirmed that there will be support for internet TV channels coming to their set top box! The company said that this will give the company a massive boost from their current line up of 70 live TV channels which they offer already. YouView did say that initially the TV channels will be offered through BT and TalkTalk so you'll need to be a customer of one of those companies initially and don't worry you can get both HD and standard definition TV shows from these providers.

   There will be a software update for the YouView boxes which will add in the availability this summer and the hope is that it will be ready for BT's new sports offerings! After this integrating update there will be another one in autumn this year which will add pause, skip and record features.

   YouView also confirmed where they are with their Android app. Obviously mobile devices are vital to television offerings these days and the company already has an app for iPhones out in the wild, but YouView have said that the Android app will have the exact same functionality as the iPhone app and it will be available in "the next couple of weeks". The app will be optimised for the Samsung Galaxy S2, Galaxy S3, Galaxy Ace, Nexus 4 and HTC One S and it should work on any device with Android 2.3 or greater!

Via PocketLint (1), (2) and (3).

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Everything else from Nokia's Lumia 925 reveal: Oggl, Apps and the Amber update!

   Ok, so we already know what Nokia will be bringing us on the device front, but the guys also announced a few other things which will be coming our way over the next few months and lets have a little look at them too!

Nokia's Amber Update!

   

   Nokia is hard at work on a new software update for all their devices running Windows Phone 8. The update brings with it FM Radio support for all devices with the exception of the Lumia 620 which doesn't have a FM Radio chip. Other things like tap to wake will be in there as will Nokia's new Smart Camera application which we saw demoed on the Lumia 925 earlier!

Oggl to fill the Instagram void!

   Ok that subtitle was a tad misleading, basically what me mean is that Nokia have seemingly tried and failed to get Instagram (Facebook) to bring an official version of their app to the Windows Phone platform. So what better way to get around this then with the announcement of a new service which gives you a legitimate way to use the platform without a dodgy third party app. That's where Nokia's partnership with Hipstamatic has paid dividends and the app called 'Oggl' will launch on Lumia smartphones soon!

   Nokia describe the app as:

"Allowing people to take and share high quality pictures with like-minded creatives and photography enthusiasts from around the world. In addition to sharing photos on Oggl, users can simultaneously share photos on social networks including Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Tumblr, Flickr and Instagram."

Nokia concede that apps are the biggest issue!

   Nokia's Global Head of Smartphone Marketing, Vesa Jutila, said after the event that "the biggest complaint is that customers are missing the apps they want."

   That's part of the reason why Oggl has been drafted into the Windows Phone arena, but other apps which he said were popular on other platforms which people were missing were Google+ and Amazon Cloud Player. Jutila said that there were "some gaps" but Nokia are aware of them and are "addressing this very strongly" in collaboration with Microsoft. He continued:

"[Developer attention] is very much driven by the absolute volume of Windows Phones in the market. That's why we're so pleased when other manufacturers also make Windows Phones."

   Engadget did ask if Nokia had a strategy if other Windows Phone OEM's ducked out and fully committed to Android and he said that there isn't a strategy should that happen!

Via WMPowerUser and Engadget.

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