Overnight Recap: Shazam Encore 6.0, MediaFire Streaming, BBM Confidence

The week may not be quite over, but most Americans are looking ahead to the extended Memorial Day weekend. And what better way to enjoy three days of fun and sun than with some app updates and improvements? We've got a few of those for you in our Thursday recap, along with some bold words from BlackBerry's founder on BBM's chances for survival with iPhone users, so read on for more.

Shazam Encore 6.0 Adds Interactive Maps, Universal iPad Support

Sure, the media recognition app Shazam is available free, but those of us who consider ourselves tagging pros think little of dropping $6.99 to nab Shazam Encore, which has just been updated to version 6.0. In addition to finally adding native iPad support (the app is now a universal build), the update adds interactive maps for discovering what's popular elsewhere on the planet. Shazam Encore now runs in the background so it can tag content while you're composing an email or even playing a game, and a new home screen serves up real-time updates of what's being tagged for U.S. television viewers. The update is free for existing users, and available now in the App Store.

MediaFire Adds Support for Native Music, Video Streaming

The folks at MediaFire have always been pretty generous with the free cloud storage space (50GB is nothing to sneeze at!), but it's been hindered by the inability to stream music and videos from its client software. That changes Thursday, as the company's blog announced a milestone of 30 million registered users who will now be able to natively stream video and music via the web, iOS or Android. For existing users, the celebration comes with one added bonus: 50 percent off a first-time purchase of Pro or Business storage plans, which start at $2.49 per month for 100GB of cloud storage.

BlackBerry Founder Confident iPhone Users Will Flock to BBM

The man who gave birth to Research in Motion (now BlackBerry) may be gone from the company he founded, but he's got a few things to say about its chances for success. Bloomberg reported Tuesday that Mike Lazaridis has gone on the record with his confidence that iPhone and Android users will drop their existing messaging apps in favor of BlackBerry Messenger, which will be available this summer for the first time outside of BlackBerry hardware. “BBM is by far the most compelling wireless experience and wireless social-networking environment,” Lazaridis said. A favorite of 60 million BlackBerry customers around the world, the free BBM service sends more than 10 billion messages each day -- but will iPhone users be willing to drop iMessage or any number of other services to use it?

Clear for iOS, Mac Updated  Email Lists

Realmac Software announced Wednesday that it's scratched another item off its own to-do list by adding the ability to email Clear lists on the iPhone or Mac. The new feature can be found in the Actions menu on the desktop version, or simply shake your iPhone to call it up. The developers claim emailing lists was "a feature we've received a lot of requests for," so it's likely more than a few readers will also be scratching it off their wish lists this week.

Amazon Kindle Fire HD Now Available in Over 170 Countries

Americans take for granted their ability to saunter over to Amazon.com and pick up a Kindle Fire HD, but starting today, customers in more than 170 countries around the world can do the very same thing. Shipping on June 13, the Kindle Fire HD and Kindle Fire HD 8.9 are Amazon's best-selling item since launch, now available to order for customers in Ireland and Gibraltar from www.amazon.co.uk; for customers in Austria and Luxembourg from www.amazon.de; and for customers in Monaco from www.amazon.fr as well as "various retailers" around the world.

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