Category Archives: engadget

NY State attorney general asks smartphone manufacturers to help combat theft

NY State attorney general asks smartphone manufacturers to help combat theft

Smartphone thefts are running rampant -- especially in New York City -- so much that the practice of grabbing the expensive phones is being referred to as "Apple picking." Bloomberg announced yesterday that New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman has sent letters to executives at Apple, Google, Microsoft and Samsung asking for information and cooperation on measures to diminish theft.

In his letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, Schneiderman said, "I seek to understand why companies that can develop sophisticated handheld electronics, such as the products manufactured by Apple, cannot also create technology to render stolen devices inoperable and thereby eliminate the expanding black market on which they are sold."

Schneiderman has concerns that the manufacturers have benefited from sales of replacement devices. In his letter to Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, he chided the search engine company by saying, "Foreign trafficking of stolen devices has proliferated, and an abundance of domestic black market resellers, including right here in New York, means as a practical matter that phones do not, contrary to your website's assertion, become unusable."

It's not as if the industry is just sitting back and watching this go on, contrary to Schneiderman's assertions. Apple has been working closely with the New York Police Department to track down stolen devices, and the entire wireless industry is cooperating with the Federal Communications Commission to form a central database of stolen devices to prevent them from being reused. That database, which Engadget notes is up and running, should allow for individual devices to be rendered unusable by carriers after being reported as stolen.

NY State attorney general asks smartphone manufacturers to help combat theft originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 13 May 2013 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source

Google Glass may gain iOS direction, text message support soon

Like it or hate it, Google Glass has recently been discussed on a lot of tech blogs. Tim Stevens at our sister site Engadget has been trying out his Glass around the house and on hot motorcycles, and a lot of other tech bloggers shelled out $1,500 to get the developer version of the device. One big negative for Apple fans has been that currently, only Android users get support for navigation and SMS text messaging. Now, Frederic Lardinois at our other sister site TechCrunch has news that iOS support may be coming soon.

Lardinois was at the Google New York office yesterday picking up his own Glass and was told that turn-by-turn directions and SMS will soon be possible "independent of the device the user has paired it to." Right now, Glass will happily pair with your iPhone to get online (Glass doesn't contain its own cellular radio), but the higher functions need a Glass companion app running on an Android phone.

Glass not only requires a mobile phone for connectivity while on the go, but location information as well. As Lardinois notes, "Glass is just another device that uses your phone's personal hotspot feature. This means Glass shouldn't have to depend on any application that runs on your phone, so the original restriction of making navigation and SMS dependent on the companion app was always a bit odd."

The general public will most likely have to wait at least a year for widespread availability of Glass, so it's comforting to know that our Borg implant high-tech eyewear should work happily with iOS by that point.

Google Glass may gain iOS direction, text message support soon originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 03 May 2013 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source

HAPIfork Kickstarter campaign goes live

Stick with us on this one: Yes, the HAPIfork is still just a Kickstarter project, as its US$100,000 campaign has just gone live on the fundraising site. And yes, most Kickstarter projects make better ideas than actual products. But the HAPIfork, unlikely as it may seem, was one of the biggest stars of CES 2013 back in January, so we figured it only right to let you know that you can now back and buy it if you're so inclined.

Our friends at Engadget got to go hands-on with the latest version of the fork, which purports to help you track how quickly you eat (with the option to send your eating information back to an iPhone app if you like), and will vibrate to warn you if you're chowing down too fast. The bad news about the fork is that it's apparently very big -- the onboard electronics make the thing way bigger than your standard fork, which makes it a little unwieldy. But Engadget reports that the idea generally works: After a few vibrations, you get the idea, and the fork could actually slow down quicker eaters.

At any rate, if that kind of thing sounds appetizing to you, you can get the HAPIfork at a discounted rate of $89 through the Kickstarter. That price is limited to the first 2,500 buyers, and then the price goes back up to the usual $99 (the company is planning to expand that in the future, to a cheaper model and a more premium model with a few extra features). If you've been waiting to get your hands on one of these since CES, there you go.

HAPIfork Kickstarter campaign goes live originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 17 Apr 2013 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source

SugarSync gets a fresh, new UI and improved search in version 4

SugarSync, which allows you to share your documents, photos, music and other files between computers and mobile devices, has updated its iOS app to version 4.0. The new version features a major redesign which, as you can see above, looks quick slick and functional.

In addition to the new app-wide interface, there are two big, new features. Cloud search is a system-wide search that allows you to find files sync'd by SugarSync, no matter which computer or device they happen to be on. And the new "Open In" feature allows you to take photos, videos and other documents from other apps on your mobile device, and open them up inside SugarSync's folders, where you can share them off to anywhere else.

SugarSync's a great app that's gotten even better with this update. It's a free download from the App Store, and while you can pay for more storage if you like, everyone using the app gets 5 GB of storage for free.

[via Engadget]

SugarSync gets a fresh, new UI and improved search in version 4 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 16 Apr 2013 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source

Romo iPhone robot to charm his way into your heart in June

Over the past few years, TUAW has featured several posts about a cute little robot with an iPhone for a brain, Romo. It was first featured on TUAW sister site Engadget's Insert Coin feature series in late 2011, and was successful in its original Kickstarter funding round. Last fall, Romo's creators, Romotive, went back to the Kickstarter well to fund a newer, updated model of the little robot that could. That round was also successful, and now Romo (US$149.00) is available for pre-order on the company's website for delivery in June.

The newer model is faster, has a tilting "head' so he can follow your movements, and works with an iPhone 4, iPhone 4S or fourth-generation iPod touch as his brain. Any other iOS device can control him, so Romo's the perfect place to reuse a previous-generation iPhone or iPod touch if you want to get a new one. There's a telepresence mode that works with the iPhone 4S and is useful if you want others to be able to control Romo remotely for work or play.

If you missed any of the earlier info about Romo, here's a TED Talk video featuring Romotive founder and CEO Keller Rinaudo introducing Romo to a crowd as well as a promotional video from the company's website. We're attempting to get a visit from Romo for a full TUAW review in the near future.

Romo iPhone robot to charm his way into your heart in June originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 09 Apr 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source

Apple product placement in Netflix’s House of Cards

Apple product placement in Netflix's House of Cards

Placement of Apple products in TV shows and movies is usually a subtle way for the company to insert its product line into the psyche of the viewing public. Engadget's Sharif Sakr thinks that Apple and the people behind Netflix's streaming series House of Cards may have gone a bit too far with product placement.

As Sakr notes, House of Cards is a "big deal," a streaming exclusive that is funded by Netflix and that doesn't have to be edited to fit into specific broadcast time slots or to add advertisement breaks. But he was stunned with just how blatant the product placement was. There was one scene in the show -- see the image at the top of this post -- in which there are nine Apple devices being used by two people.

Subsequent shots show the main character (played by Kevin Spacey) talking to his wife, who is also using an iPhone. Cut to another angle, and we see that Spacey's character uses an iMac as his primary computer.

While most product placements are subtle and almost unconsciously viewed, Safr notes that the excessive display of Apple products has destroyed the credibility of House of Cards for him. Do you watch House of Cards? If so, do you think that the overuse of Apple product placement has ruined the series for you? Let us know in the comments.

Apple product placement in Netflix's House of Cards originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source

Engadget interviews Daniel Graf about Google Maps for iOS

Engadget interviews Daniel Graf about Google Maps for iOSWhen it became clear that Apple Maps was quickly falling flat on its face, everyone waited with bated breath to see what Google had up its sleeve for its own standalone maps app. By all accounts, Google Maps for iOS is indeed the cream of the crop, and Engadget recently sat down with Daniel Graf, Director of Google Maps for mobile, to get the inside scoop on its creation.

The interview focuses on just how Google took its curated Maps experience for Android and improved upon it for iOS. If you're at all interested in a behind the scenes look at iOS's most popular navigation app, give it a read.

Engadget interviews Daniel Graf about Google Maps for iOS originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 30 Jan 2013 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source

Could your iPad case stop a bullet?

Our friends over at the newly remade Engadget get to have all the fun. In order to test a VestGuard UK iPad panel that purports to be bulletproof, they actually pulled out some bullets and guns. They snapped the case on a first-gen iPad, grabbed both a 9mm and a .357 Magnum, and got to shooting. Both firearms were fired at the case in a relatively straightforward way, with the iPad leaned up against some bales of hay, protective case facing the incoming bullet.

So did it work? You can see both bullets fired in the picture above, and the case did work: Neither bullet, even at such close ranges, made it through the case. So the good news is that yes indeed, this case could save your life. The bad news, as you can also see above, is that your iPad is toast no matter what it's wearing. Apple's Gorilla Glass touchscreen might be awesome, but it will easily break during any "ballistic events," as VestGuard UK calls a bullet hit.

The iPad case can be purchased for

Netflix for iOS has second screen remote control for PS3

There's a sweet feature that's hidden in Netflix's mobile apps for iOS and Android, in the form of a remote for Netflix on Sony's PlayStation 3, Engadget reports.

When you use the iPad or iPhone app to play a video while on the same network as a PlayStation 3 (also running Netflix), you'll see an option to watch on your device or the PlayStation. Opt for the latter, and you can control the PS3 playback with your iOS device.

It's a very cool feature that must have been implemented only recently (which is probably why it's poorly documented). Unfortunately, this trick seems to be limited to the PS3. As long as Netflix can see which devices you're logged in on, however, it should be able to control them as well. We can expect to see more of this cross-device app action in the future, especially as cloud apps and services like this become more and more prevalent.

Netflix for iOS has second screen remote control for PS3 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 26 Sep 2012 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source

Nvidia’s Quadro K5000 GPU coming to a Mac Pro near you, and it’s fast

Graphics card maker Nvidia has announced that its brand new Quadro K5000 GPU will be available inside of Apple's Mac Pro computers, and Engadget recently got a chance to see the new cards in action. The cards will offer 4 GB of graphics memory and some superfast performance, and will be able to support up to the new 4K video standard (which is what the television manufacturers are planning as a resolution after the current 1080p).

As you'd expect, Engadget says everything ran very impressively. Adobe Premiere Pro ran without a hitch, even when including plenty of video effects and processing. But that isn't really a surprise, as a super card like this shouldn't struggle in a demo situation. We'll probably need a brand new Mac Pro with one of these in it to really know for sure how the card works. Anyone have five or six grand they can spare?

Nvidia's Quadro K5000 GPU coming to a Mac Pro near you, and it's fast originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 07 Sep 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source

Rumor: Apple holding an iPhone event on September 12

We've been doing our best to keep unfounded rumors to a minimum around here, just because Apple hype can sometimes get a little high. But this is one that's passed the sniff test already, so much so that you might as well try keeping your calendar clear for September 12.

That's the rumored date of a possible iPhone event held by Apple, according to a growing list of sources. iMore heard the date first, then AllThingsD's sources also corroborated, saying there will be an event that week. Now Jim Dalrymple at The Loop has given his confirmational "Yep" to the pile of evidence.

TUAW's sources give 9/12 a "99%" thumbs-up as well, but we should point out that Apple's fiscal forecasting calls for profit margins to drop based on a product transition in the quarter ending September 30. That means that any new products coming that late in the quarter would have to be high-impact indeed to have a substantial an effect on profit margins. Pre-orders for a new iPhone (or a revised, smaller iPad) starting in mid-September, assuming that both products are more expensive to manufacture than the current incarnations, might move the needle enough to make the margin guidance come out as expected.

At any rate, it's enough to circle the date -- in pencil, at least. Don't get out the pen until Apple gives an official announcement, but if September 12 is indeed the day, we'll expect that to show up in the next couple of weeks.

[hat tip Engadget]

#next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; } #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }

Continue reading Rumor: Apple holding an iPhone event on September 12

Rumor: Apple holding an iPhone event on September 12 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 30 Jul 2012 17:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source

You’re the Pundit: Identify the Icons

When it comes to evaluating the next big thing, we turn to our secret weapon: the TUAW braintrust. We put the question to you and let you have your go at it. Today's topic is the iPhone prototype icons.

We were having a look through the prototype gallery over on our sister site Engadget, and a shot of some early icons caught our eye. Some icons seem to have persisted almost unchanged to modern iOS (Safari, Weather, Stocks), others underwent major redesign (Phone and Mail).

Looking back at these prototypes, do you think Apple was really going to give us a 4-by-4 puzzle game (shades of OS 9!) and what was up with some of those icons like the lightning bolt, the yellow bar, and the airplane? The blue icon on the bottom bar was the contacts app, right?

If anything, it's surprising how close, at least in terms of general functionality, this icon set was to the final version: from SMS to Mail, Photos to iTunes. And that doesn't even mention the dock at the bottom.

What do you think of these early icon designs, and what are your thoughts about how their design has evolved in the last 5 years? You tell us. Join in the comments with all your analysis.

#next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }

Continue reading You're the Pundit: Identify the Icons

You're the Pundit: Identify the Icons originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 27 Jul 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source

Engadget speaks with Twelve South on keeping the company small

Engadget has posted a must-read writeup on one of our favorite companies here at TUAW, Twelve South, the makers of the popular BookBook cases and the PlugBug power accessory for Apple devices. It's long, but it shows how Twelve South is a lesson in focused vision: Making really great high quality products for the Apple audience.

It doesn't hurt, of course, that Apple buyers tend to appreciate quality with their wallets, but Twelve South has carved out a really excellent niche for itself over the years.

It's also wild to hear the story behind the company: They nabbed a sales deal with Apple even before a production deal was made for their products, and they only solidified that by happening across an extra contact in China. And Twelve South's philosophy of staying Apple is maybe the most interesting thing in the whole writeup.

"Every time I'd walk into an Apple Store, I'd see heaps of 'Mac-compatible' accessories," says co-founder Andrew Green. "Mac users don't want compatible. They want exclusive." Twelve South made the commitment to serve Apple users on their own terms, keeping his company small and focused for exactly that reason, and that's partly why Twelve South has seen so much success with its products.

Engadget speaks with Twelve South on keeping the company small originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 01 Jun 2012 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source

Engadget examines iPad prototype parts

I don't know about you, but I woke up this morning with a great deal of excitement -- this is the week we'll find out about the next-generation iPad. Our sister site Engadget is feeding the excitement with a hands-on look at some iPad prototype parts that they acquired through the good graces of the folks at M.I.C. Gadget.

A quick look at the bits and pieces confirms what we've heard before. The case of the new device is slightly thicker with a "slightly more emphasized" curvature from the flat bottom to the sides to possibly make room for a larger battery and/or a 4G LTE radio, and there's a larger diameter hole for the camera lens (see below -- does this suggest a more powerful rear camera?).

Other than that, there's not too much of a difference. The new case appears to work with the Apple Smart Cover and the many other magnetically-augmented covers and cases, and there is a home button. Sorry to tell those of you who are dreaming of a haptic feedback electronic home button, but it appears that your third-gen iPad is going to have a belly button just like its predecessors.

Engadget examines iPad prototype parts originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 05 Mar 2012 11:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source

Apple previews Mountain Lion, next version of Mac OS X

Apple on Thursday released an early preview of Mountain Lion, its next version of Mac OS X, to developers and select publications. The reviews are now hitting the Internet.

The general consensus about Mountain Lion is that it brings some of the best features of iOS like Notification Center, AirPlay mirroring, GameCenter and iMessage into OS X. These features are not tacked-on mobile versions, but fully integrated in a way that works on a desktop operating system. You can check out some of the early reviews at The Loop, Macworld, Engadget, The Verge, Laptop Magazine, CNET, and PC Magazine.

Apple's preview page for Mountain Lion is also live. The next version of Mac OS X is expected to ship this summer and will be available from the Mac App Store. Pricing is not available, but, based on Apple's history, it should be reasonably priced.

Apple previews Mountain Lion, next version of Mac OS X originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 16 Feb 2012 08:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source

Engadget’s Distro Finally Hits the App Store


Engadget recently announced that it would be entering the digital magazine market with a digital magazine dedicated to bringing the best of each week’s tech news to you in one place. Today, they have announced that Distro is available for free in the App Store.

It was hard to imagine what Engadget was getting at with this new magazine. The website is known for up-to-the-minute news about all things tech-related, so it seemed strange to come out with something that brings old news to its readers. It turns out, the idea is working great. I took a quick peek through a couple of issue and I love it. The news does not feel the least bit old. Stories within these pages are more like feature pieces that don’t really require timeliness.

The app comes with six back issues in its debut. Each magazine only has about seven or eight stories, plus an editor’s letter and a weekly comic. It is laid out beautifully, looking just like a high-quality magazine. You can view each page as a thumbnail and the Table of Contents includes links to pages.

Engadget promises that Distro will not be iPad-exclusive. Later this week, back issues of Distro will be available as PDFs and can be read on any platform. Future development will include Android and other mobile operating systems.

Although Distro should be sitting on your Newsstand shelf with the release of iOS 5, it’s not. Unfortunately, free apps can’t be a part of the Newsstand party. I think that is a silly requirement. My local magazine shop offers a whole rack of free publications as well as the rows of paid periodicals. Hopefully, this will change because Distro belongs on Newsstand.

Engadget’s new tech magazine is available for free. New issues come out weekly, with the next one scheduled to be released this Friday, October 14. Pick it up in the App Store today.

Engadget Unveils Distro – All New iPad Tech Magazine


Engadget DistroThe staff over at Engadget are pleased to announce the creation of their new iPad magazine, Distro. Detailing the week’s technology news as it happened, this publication assembles each story in what claims to be a pretty package and delivers it to you in a format that can easily be viewed offline and at your convenience.

While no specific release date was disclosed, the magazine is expected to be released for the iPad soon, with promises that they are already hard at work to make it available for other platforms.

Intended to be distributed for free, it comes with the promise of making the news easy to understand and follow while keeping you from being overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of what is available within.

Describing the design of their magazine as ‘not quite linear’, they claim you do not need a table of contents because you can easily scroll from left to right to move between articles and if you want to dig deeper into the one you are currently reading just slide down the screen.

Having hired a team of designers, the publication repurposes web content but not in a way that resembles the way it looked online. The magazine looks pulled together and professional and closely mimics the bright colours and modern design of other successful tech magazines.

While the point of Distro is to deliver the entirety of Engadget to your device, they also claim to be including additional supporting documents and information in an effort to broaden your understanding of the articles and topics that are of interest to you.

When Distro launches, I’ll be sure to pick up my copy –but I wonder if the news will feel stale and out of date?

Launched in 2004, Engadget is a web based tech magazine covering topics ranging from global trends in consumer electronics to the latest gadgets.

TUAW at the NYC Engadget meetup August 25

Yes, Engadget will be having one of their reader meetups next week and myself and fellow editor Dave Caolo will be there to personally meet and greet you Apple fans in attendance. If meeting two handsome geeks isn't enough to draw you to the event, we'll also be giving away a ton of loot -- just about everything we've reviewed since the summer began!

The event is an all-ages shindig at Guastavino's, which is located at 59th Street in New York City. Show up by 6:30pm on Thursday, August 25 to queue up and (we hope) get inside. The venue only holds 1,000 of us, so please be patient if there's a long line.

No, Android fans, we will not be in a dunking tank.

TUAW at the NYC Engadget meetup August 25 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 18 Aug 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source

Engadget goes hands-on with iOS 5

Our big sister site, Engadget, had a chance to go hands-on with iOS 5 the other day at WWDC and took oodles of screenshots to enjoy. TUAW, of course, has a number of writers who also have had a day or two to grope the new iOS, but who are limited by Non-Disclosure Agreements to what they can say about pre-release software.

As a result, we're going to point you to Jacob Shulman's lovely screenshots and galleries so that you can get a developer's-eye view of the new features that make iOS 5 so enchanting. Among my favorites? The notification screens seen above.

So many of us have wanted to be able to check mail, messages, weather, stock prices, and more at a glance -- this fall, it all comes to iPhone. I'm also pretty happy with the improvements to the camera app and the ability to bring up the camera from the lock screen. No more fumbling through unlocking the iPhone, finding the camera app, and then finally getting the camera pointed at the subject -- which has moved on in the interim.

Enjoy the photos at Engadget, and let us know what your most highly anticipated iOS 5 feature is.

Engadget goes hands-on with iOS 5 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source

Engadget app updated with landscape mode, save for later options

Our good friends at Engadget have posted an update to their iOS app. The new version introduces a landscape viewing mode for all of the included content and new "save for later" options that will send your favorite Engadget posts off to reading services like Evernote, Instapaper, and Read It Later. The app is still free, and the new version is available right now in the App Store.

We've got our own app on the App Store, and you may recall that it was updated for Retina Display compatibility a few months ago. It still doesn't run natively on the iPad just yet, but we're told an update for that is still in the works. Presumably we'll see some of these Engadget updates on our app as well. As grandma always said, patience is a virtue... so don't worry, the updated (and free) TUAW app is still coming soon.

Engadget app updated with landscape mode, save for later options originally appeared on TUAW on Sat, 14 May 2011 02:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments