It's here, the moment BlackBerry owners been waiting for since the original iPhone launched: iMessage. Apple has just announced its new data-based push messaging service at WWDC, which looks to be a full-on competitor to the venerable BBM. This service works on an iOS device of any flavor, and lets you send text messages, photos, videos, and contacts to anyone else with one too. It also supports group chats and integrates with the new
Notification Center in iOS 5. According to Scott Forstall, it "works over WiFi or 3G, in case you were wondering," which is yet another blow for RIM. The final nail in the coffin for those of you who simply 'can't live without BBM:' delivery and read confirmations. Boom.
Developing...stay tuned to our liveblog for the latest.
Apple unveils iMessage, its BBM competitor, at WWDC originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Jun 2011 14:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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We expressed our excitement when we
first heard about Getaround, the personal car rental service that enables users to rent out their autos by the hour or day, and at TechCrunch Disrupt the service has officially gone live for drivers outside the Bay Area. The company also announced an accompanying car kit that allows potential renters to unlock their temporary ride using just an iPhone app, at which point they can access a physical key inside. The company says it functions just like any other keyless entry device, and can be set up in as little as five minutes. Worrisome owners should also know that when you offer up your ride you get full insurance coverage from the Getaround folks, so all liabilities are transferred to the individual behind the wheel. Renters get rated by car owners so there's definitely an incentive to keep things neat and tidy, though we'd totally get downrated for neglecting to return the seat to its original position. Be sure to check out the demo video at the via link, you'll wish you thought of this yourself.
Getaround car sharing service goes live, rent out your ride with an iPhone app and car kit originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 May 2011 08:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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We've seen panorama add-ons for the iPhone
before, but Kogeto's offering is quite a bit more pocketable than other crowd-funded solutions. The Kogeto Dot snaps onto an iPhone 4 in your choice of pastel colors, and catches 360-degree video when placed face down. It's got an accompanying iOS app that will un-distort the video for sharing, or even broadcast it on the net in real time. We got to check out a prototype, and though there's still some residual distortion at this point in time, we're assured that it'll all get straightened out if and when the project meets its funding goal. Interestingly (and annoyingly), this implementation requires your iPhone be held perpendicular rather than upright, making previewing a capture virtually impossible until after you've stopped the recording, which seems unnatural to us. Combine that with a minimum Kickstarter pledge of $98 to secure one of your own, and suddenly the less-portable and lower-degree alternatives start sounding a little more attractive. If you're still interested, hit the source link below and get in on the action. Promo video after the break.
Continue reading Kogeto Dot brings bite-size panoramic video recording to iPhone 4 (hands-on)
Kogeto Dot brings bite-size panoramic video recording to iPhone 4 (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 May 2011 13:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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HBO Go has been live on the iTunes App Store and Android Market for just a few short hours, but we've already put it through the paces, poking and prodding on our iPad and iPhone, to see what all the hubbub's about. We're pleased with the hefty amount of video that HBO's offering up here, and the interface is pretty intuitive as well. Still, browsing through the myriad content on the iPad's larger screen is definitely a bit more leisurely than on the iPhone's 3.5-inch counterpart. Both apps sport the same feature set, so searching for content, saving things to watch later, and blasting updates to Facebook and Twitter will work well on whichever device you choose. To make the deal even sweeter, it's free for current subscribers, so there's really no reason to not check it out for yourself -- unless you don't have HBO, in which case we have a video walkthrough embedded after the break.
Continue reading HBO Go mobile app hands-on
HBO Go mobile app hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Apr 2011 13:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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While the folks "familiar with the matter" continue to debate over whether or not we'll actually see a real life
iPhone nano at some point in our lifetime, the crafty
KIRFers in China have taken matters into their own -- apparently undersized -- hands. Yes people, what you see above is a Shanzhai-crafted shrunken iPhone 4 running an iOS rip-off based on Java, garnished with a 1.3 megapixel camera. All it takes is a measly ¥380 (approximately $58) to be the coolest kid on the block with the "next iPhone" -- and maybe a quick trip to China.
iPhone nano may not exist, but this KIRF does originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Apr 2011 03:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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You may not have known this, but besides missing a 3G radio, the WiFi-only
iPad also lacks the A-GPS chip that enables exact GPS positioning versus less-accurate WiFi triangulation. Well, according to
Tablet Monsters, if you've got an iPhone with iOS 4.3 and are subscribed to
Personal Hotspot, your shiny slate should be able to tap into the GPS chip of it's smaller-screened family member. Reports in the
MacRumors forums confirm that people are indeed seeing this added functionality on both iPad 2 and the original. Though the native Maps app is reportedly working perfectly there's talk of unfriendliness in turn-by-turn GPS apps -- though this could have to do with the refresh rate of the transmission. If you're already shelling out for the Personal Hotspot plan this is a nice added bonus, and makes the choice between the 3G iPad and the WiFi one just a little bit easier -- assuming you've got an iPhone of course. Still skeptical? Check out a video of it in action after the break.
Continue reading iPhone Personal Hotspot transmitting GPS information to tethered iPads?
iPhone Personal Hotspot transmitting GPS information to tethered iPads? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Mar 2011 20:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Sure, there are nifty apps that allow you to simulate a keyboard on your iPhone, but Ion Audio has gone ahead and created a physical one to match the newly announced
iType. The iDiscover keyboard, along with the companion iDiscover Keyboard app, has 25 keys and effectively turns your iPhone into a music studio complete with synth-action keys, and pitch and modulation wheels. Better yet, it doubles as a controller for MIDI software on either Mac or PC.
The iDiscover keyboard turns your iPhone into a piano and more originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Jan 2010 16:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Attention
iPhone owners that have been praying for a physical keyboard forever: your prayers have been answers... kind of. Ion Audio has debuted its iType iPhone keyboard at
CES, and we can confirm that it does indeed work as advertised. Once you pop your iPhone or iPod touch into the dock at the top of the board, you're free to type away to your heart's content -- if you're in the iType app, of course. Unfortunately, because of the closed nature of most of the iPhone platform, you can't just start typing in any iPhone app; you have to type in the iType app and then copy and paste to the app you want. It's surely an annoyance, but if you're sick of the soft keyboard and need some relief, it's your best option for now.
iType keyboard brings a physical keyboard to the iPhone, but there's a catch originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Jan 2010 14:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Well, we just got a demo of the
L5 Remote at ShowStoppers and we're glad to report that the IR accessory for iPhone / iPod touch works exactly as promised. The IR signals are outputted by a small dongle that attaches to the dock connector of your device that works in conjunction with a free app from the company. During our first attempt at a demo, the software -- which is still in BETA version -- crashed, but the same can't be said the second time around. Programming a new device is as easy as pointing any IR device at the receiver and pressing the buttons that the app dictates. Programming multiple rooms, changing button layouts, and managing multiple devices is a snap, though we wish you didn't have to use the iPhone upside down to use it. According to reps on site, it should be shipping by the end of February, and once it does, you'll never have to worry about losing a remote again.
Continue reading L5 iPhone IR dongle / remote software hands-on
L5 iPhone IR dongle / remote software hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Jan 2010 22:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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If you were thinking offline Gmail on your desktop was the greatest thing since sliced bread, prepare yourselves people. If an
MWC keynote from Google's VP of engineering, Vic Gundotra, is any indication, the same functionality might be coming soon to an
iPhone /
Android phone near you. Amongst other things, the souped up web app boasts an overhauled interface, supports labels, and of course, offline access. Despite our own hunch that Google's just using black magic and voodoo to make this happen, Gundotra claims that it's all made possible through HTML5 standards -- AppCache being the biggie. This development certainly opens the doors to more offline-enabled web apps in the future -- Docs, anyone?. Of course, we know Apple has a thing about people
messing with its own apps, so it's probably going to take some time / knee-breaking to get them to come around, but for some reason, we don't think it'll take as long with Android. There's a demo video available after the break, and please, try to contain yourselves.
Continue reading Google demos offline Gmail for iPhone, Android at MWC
Filed under: Cellphones
Google demos offline Gmail for iPhone, Android at MWC originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 18:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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16 gigs ain't enough space for all those episodes of
The Hills on your iPhone? Well, if you've got a Buffalo
NAS such as the
LinkStation Mini or Pro, you can now access all your files remotely on your OS X mobile device through an optimized web page straight from your device. The really nifty part is that you can stream MPEGs over 3G (and presumably EDGE, though we don't know why you'd want to) -- although it took around 60 seconds to buffer a TV show episode in the demo we got. The Buffalo rep we spoke with informed us that an actual app would be available in the App Store sometime this quarter, but if you're itching to catch up with LC and the gang, be sure to check out any one of the aforementioned devices that support the service and you could be streaming pronto.
Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Video, Storage
Buffalo's Web Access hands-on: remote access from your iPhone originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 20:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Say wha'?! An
iPhone in a hue other than black, white, or silver? While a red model has been
rumored since before the 3G even launched, we've never thought about a pink one -- let alone one hitting eBay. The text on the back of the device convinces us that this isn't a simple
ColorWare job, but there aren't any photos of the back of the packaging either. Our take? Some OEM in Asia whipping up custom colors. But hey, Macworld's just under a week away, so who knows?
[Thanks, Gav]
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds
Mysterious pink iPhone 3G hits eBay, cue onslaught of rumors originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 03:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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