Posts Tagged ‘Apple’
Saturday, August 22nd, 2009
Filed under: Handsets, Apple
Not to knock cellophane tape as a method for in-car iPhone navigation, but if you want to use the new TomTom app in a more proper setting, you’ll want the official TomTom car kit. In addition to enhancing the GPS signal and charging your iPhone, it’s also got hands-free dialing and a speaker that’s (presumably) better than the phone solo for giving directions. At a rumored price of just under $200 with software, it’s not a bad deal if you were planning to shell out $100 for the US maps, anyway. We’re still on the fence, but the hypnotic soundtrack of the promotion video is admittedly alluring. See for yourself after the break.
[Thanks, Arthur]
Continue reading TomTom’s iPhone car kit promo video is enticing, but still no mention of price or release date
TomTom’s iPhone car kit promo video is enticing, but still no mention of price or release date originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Sat, 22 Aug 2009 03:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Tags: accessories, Apple, carkit, dock, engadget, engadget-mobile, iphoneapp, iphonedock, messaging, mobile, turn-by-turn, turnbyturn
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Friday, August 21st, 2009
Filed under: Software, Android
While Apple was busy batting away the FCC with its litany of reasons why its app approval process is totally hunky-dory, Google was apparently having it’s own VoIP-related firefight. It seems that an article in the USA Today which hit newsstands this morning alleges that the internet giant sought to block (dare we say reject) a full Skype application from making its way into the Android Market. The story claims that the application was neutered to become “a watered-down version of the original that routes calls over traditional phone networks” — which would obviously cast a decidedly malevolent slant to the benevolent company’s policies.
The story is surely fine fodder for a FUD enthusiast up to that point, but it appears (gasp) that USA Today may have gotten one minor fact wrong. Namely, that Google had any unsavory aim to clip the wings of the Skype app. According to company man Andy Rubin (on Google’s Public Policy Blog), the “lite” moniker was only attached due to technical limitations of the Android platform. In his words:
Here are the facts, clear and simple: While the first generation of our Android software did not support full-featured VoIP applications due to technology limitations, we have worked through those limitations in subsequent versions of Android, and developers are now able to build and upload VoIP services.
As we told USA Today earlier in the week Google did not reject an application from Skype or from any other company that provides VoIP services. To suggest otherwise is false. At this point no software developer — including Skype — has implemented a complete VoIP application for Android. But we’re excited to see — and use — these applications when they’re submitted, because they often provide more choice and options for users. We also look forward to the day when consumers can access any application, including VoIP apps, from any device, on any network.
Note the jab there at the end? Okay, swell. Of course, even if Google had rejected the app outright, users still could have installed the software through other avenues, as the Android Market is only a suggestion — not a mandate — for how consumers should acquire apps on Google’s platform.
[Via TechCrunch; Image courtesy eBoy]
Read – Google-AT&T-Apple fight over Net calls draws FCC interest
Read – Android and VoIP applications
Google refutes USA Today report on blocked Skype application originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Tags: Apple, culture, engadget, messaging, network, Nokia, rumor, voiceoverip, VoIP
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Friday, August 21st, 2009
Filed under: Handsets, ATT, Apple
Whoa — we were just sent AT&T response to the FCC’s investigation into the rejection of Google Voice apps from the iPhone app store, and Ma Bell isn’t pulling any punches: according to the letter, AT&T “had no role in any decision by Apple to not accept the Google Voice application.” That puts the ball pretty firmly in Apple’s court, but it doesn’t close the door on AT&T’s involvement in App store approval shenanigans entirely, since the letter also says “AT&T has had discussions with Apple regarding only a handful of applications that have been submitted to Apple for review where, as described below, there were concerns that the application might create significant network congestion.” Not only did that result in CBS and MobiTV killing the Final Four app’s ability to stream video over 3G, it also explains what happened to SlingPlayer Mobile — we’ll see what the FCC says about that.
Update: And here come Apple and Google’s responses as well! We’re digesting everything as fast as we can, we’re going to do this semi-liveblog style after the break, so grab a frosty and dive in.
Update 2: Okay, so we’ve read through all three filings and broken them down after the break. Our main takeaway? Apple’s being pretty hypocritical by claiming on the one hand that the iPhone is at the forefront of a mobile revolution and then saying iPhone users can’t figure out how Google Voice is different than the iPhone’s built-in functionality on the other. Either your customers are paradigm-busting visionaries or they’re not very smart at all, Apple — you have to pick one. As for AT&T, well, it just seems like it’s worried about its network above all else, and while we think it’s ridiculous that it enforces the VoIP and SlingPlayer ban on the iPhone and not, say, Windows Mobile devices, we can see why the carrier would push those contract provisions hard. In the end, we’re just hoping the FCC forces everyone involved to be more open and transparent about what they’re doing and the deals they’re making — Apple’s not necessarily exaggerating when it says these are entirely new problems, and whatever happens next will set a precedent for a long time to come.
Continue reading AT&T, Apple and Google respond to the FCC over Google Voice and the iPhone App Store
AT&T, Apple and Google respond to the FCC over Google Voice and the iPhone App Store originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Tags: App Store, Apple, appstoreapprovalprocess, AT&T, breaking-news, browser, fcc fridays, games, google-voice, googlevoice, messaging, player-mobile, review
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Friday, August 21st, 2009
Filed under: Announcements
It’s coming originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Tags: accessories, Apple, browser, culture, engadget-mobile, fcc fridays, games, messaging, News
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Friday, August 21st, 2009
Filed under: Accessories
No, someone didn’t just Photoshop the
Duracell logo on a
WildCharge pad — this actually is the newest product from the ubiquitous battery maker. Available this October, myGrid kits (including charger and one power sleeve) will be available for Nokia, Motorola, and Blackberry handsets, as well as the many flavors of Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch. No price yet, but you’ll know as soon as we do.
[Via PhoneMag]
Duracell announces myGrid wireless charger, WildCharge feels a little KIRFed originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 09:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Tags: accessories, Apple, breaking-news, charge, duracell, engadget, images, mobile, review, stumbleupon, television, wildcharge, wireless charging, wirelesscharging
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Friday, August 21st, 2009
Filed under: Handsets, Nokia
The Garmin-Asus nuvifone is finally inbound to domestic retailers, but it’s taken so many wrong turns on the way that it’s given the competition plenty of time to catch up and prepare their own nav-enabled mobile offerings. TomTom’s iPhone kit is due any minute, and now Nokia is getting into the game, announcing the 5800 Navigation Edition. Instead of coming with music it comes with a pre-loaded copy of Ovi Maps and lifetime licenses for voice-guided driving and walking directions. It also includes a car charger and a handy-dandy auto mounting kit, all swingingly demonstrated in a video below, and is set to ship sometime in the third quarter of this year (i.e. soon) at an expected retail of €285 (about $410).
Continue reading Nokia’s 5800 Navigation Edition announced, finding its way to stores soon
Nokia’s 5800 Navigation Edition announced, finding its way to stores soon originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 07:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Tags: Apple, culture, features, games, handsets, internet, News, Nokia, phone
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Friday, August 21st, 2009
Filed under: Handsets, Palm, Apple
Far from being creepy this time around, the latest Palm Pre ad — this one specifically for Bell’s Canadian customer base — is familiar. Very familiar. Plain white backdrop? Check. Peppy male narrator? Check. Hip, upbeat music? Check. Mysterious hands showing off mobile apps and other smartphone capabilities? Check. Side-by-side comparison videos after the break. Hey, at least this one isn’t gonna creep you out.
[Via Pre Thinking]
Continue reading Bell’s Palm Pre commercial couldn’t be more Apple if it had an Orba Squara soundtrack
Bell’s Palm Pre commercial couldn’t be more Apple if it had an Orba Squara soundtrack originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Tags: advertising, advetisements, Apple, browser, canada, engadget-mobile, games, iPhone, messaging, network, News, palm pre, palmpre, podcasts
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Thursday, August 20th, 2009
Filed under: Handsets, Apple
We always suspected the iPhone 3GS was capable of 1080p HD video playback, and now we’ve got proof. Although Apple lists the iPhone 3Gs’s max video playback res at just 640×480, iLounge linked to Chinese forum post claiming that the 3GS could do 30Mbps 1080p playback earlier today — and when we saw that the only thing we needed to do to test it out was download the free FileAid app, well, you know how we’ve just spent the last 20 minutes. We tested out a bunch of HD trailers from Apple’s QuickTime trailer site, some videos we shot with a Lumix DMC-GH1 and some other random videos with general success, but there were some major hiccups: high bitrate 720p video off the GH1 stuttered during playback, and loading the Avatar trailer consistently crashed the phone’s audio driver until we restarted. We tried the same thing on an iPhone 3G and just got error messages at almost every resolution, so it seems like it’s a combination of the 3GS’s extra horsepower and different built-in software at work here — software that’s clearly not ready for prime-time, as evidenced by the bugs. We’re hoping Apple is polishing that up and getting to unlock this functionality, since it’d be sweet to just plug into an HDTV and play video — anyone listening out there in Cupertino? Video after the break.
Read – Apple iPhone specs
Read – Chinese forum posts claiming 30Mbps 1080p playback
Continue reading iPhone 3GS totally capable of 1080p video playback
iPhone 3GS totally capable of 1080p video playback originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 20 Aug 2009 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Tags: 1080p, Apple, engadgetvideo, games, iPhone, iphone 3gs, iphone3gs, network, video
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Thursday, August 20th, 2009
Filed under: Handsets, Nokia
It’s still hard to believe that Nokia’s already upstaging the N97 with the N97 mini just two months after the big guy shipped, but here we are, staring at the FCC documentation. There’s not much to go on here besides this label-location drawing, which is marked with a 1:1 scale — allowing us to set our regular N97 down next to it and show you just how little Nokia achieved with all that development money. Check it after the break, along with another pic of the mini the inimitable Eldar Murtazin just posted to his blog.
[Via Mobile Bulgaria]
Read – FCC
Read – Eldar Murtazin’s blog with additional pic of the mini
Continue reading Nokia N97 mini pops in the FCC, not so much mini-er than the N97
Nokia N97 mini pops in the FCC, not so much mini-er than the N97 originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Tags: Apple, culture, FCC, fcc fridays, handsets, messaging, mobile, N-series, N97, n97 mini, network, Nokia, podcasts, rogers-wireless
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Thursday, August 20th, 2009
Filed under: Handsets, Samsung, GSM, EV-DO, HSDPA, UMTS, CDMA
If you spell happiness T-W-E-L-V-E M-E-G-A-P-I-X-E-L-S, you’re looking in the wrong place. Samsung’s SCH-W830 — along with its SPH-W8300 and SPH-W8350 cousins for other networks — finds inner peace through the simplicity and beauty of a scintillating light show set around an ultra-low res display. You’ve only got two megapixels to work with around back, but seriously, who has time to snap pictures when you’re being dazzled by a seemingly endless array of colored lights? Between that and the spring-loaded opening mechanism, this is a flip fit for the fiddler / fidgeter in all of us, and it’s available now on South Korea’s LGT, SKT, and KTF.
[Via mobile-review]
Samsung’s SCH-W830 is like a window to your soul, if your soul is a circular dot-matrix display originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 20 Aug 2009 00:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Tags: accessories, Apple, clamshell, fcc fridays, games, handsets, Korea, ktf, lgt, lgtelecom, Nokia, Samsung, soul
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
