For better or worse, it seems that GPS services are rapidly approaching their mid-life crisis . After rampaging through a host of makeovers (see more: here and here ) that would make even the most ADD-popstar dizzy, the phoenix of the navigation industry is now trying its hand at a new augmented mobile reality . Sitting pretty at $2.99 in the App Store, Lustancia’s TapNav app swaps the virtual maps for a real-time AR overlay via your iPhone’s camera. It’s not a killer feature by any means, but if you’ve ever found yourself wondering just which turn your PND is indicating, then this is for you. Sexy robot-voice assistance and routing stay free, but you’ll have to pony up for that turn-by-turn navigation after the sixty day paid trial. Astonishingly brief press release after the break. Continue reading Lustancia’s TapNav app takes your iPhone for an AR-assisted spin Lustancia’s TapNav app takes your iPhone for an AR-assisted spin originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Jun 2011 10:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Posts Tagged ‘apple-iphone’
Lodsys hits devs with lawsuit, $1,000 offer, and 1,000 words of eloquent prose
June 1st, 2011 
jedwan Are you sick of hearing from Lodsys ? We know devs are, but the rather outspoken patent troll is at it again, hitting the blog to defend its good name. Hidden among today’s posts is an announcement that the firm is taking the next steps with its accusations, filing a lawsuit against some of the developers it previously targeted and, get this, blaming Apple. It explains: “Lodsys chose to move its litigation timing to an earlier date than originally planned, in response to Apple’s threat, in order to preserve its legal options.” We’re not sure which developers are targeted by this suit, specifically, but the firm has promised a $1,000 payment to each dev, “if it turns out that the scope of Apple’s existing license rights apply to fully license you with respect to our claim relating to your App on Apple iOS.” Devs may be tempted to spend that promised gift on a well-deserved vacation (or a WWDC conference pass ), but with layers of LLCs protecting the man behind the curtain at Lodsys, we wouldn’t be surprised it the firm disappeared before anyone sees a cent (or 99) of payment. Unfortunately, it appears that the saga continues, so if you’ve had enough of the patent troll, feel free to enjoy the rest of our content, Lodsys free . [Thanks, Andrew] Update: We’ve been told that the list of devs named in the lawsuit include: Combay, Iconfactory, Illusion Labs, Shovelmate, Quickoffice, Richard Shinderman, and Wulven Game Studios. Lodsys hits devs with lawsuit, $1,000 offer, and 1,000 words of eloquent prose originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 May 2011 18:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Posted in engadget 
Tags: apple, apple ios, apple-iphone, appleios, breaking-news, conference-pass, developers, intellectual property, iosdevelopers, iphone, lodsys, paten, patentinfringement 
No Comments »RecognizeMe unlocks your jailbroken iPhone using your face, anyone else’s (video)
May 19th, 2011 jedwan We don’t often jailbreak our iPhones to test apps, but a facial recognition unlock tool seemed a worthy excuse, so we gave it a shot. RecognizeMe uses the front-facing camera in your iPhone 4 (and iPad 2 , eventually) to unlock the phone for its owner. Unfortunately, it also unlocked the device for Brian Heater (center), our resident 900 number enthusiast, and Bianca Bosker , Huff Po ‘s tech editor and our only other friend in the newsroom. The app includes a setting for verification threshold, so we played around with that, trying a dozen times to get the app to ignore Brian, but even at 80 percent it was recognizing both of us (65 percent was the cutoff for Bianca). Bumping the threshold up to 100 percent finally locked Brian out, but at that level, the device wouldn’t unlock for anyone, making it totally secure — and totally busted. Verification took a full 25 seconds to timeout (compared to 5-15 seconds to grant access at lower levels, depending on lighting conditions), so using this app requires p-a-t-i-e-n-c-e. At this point, RecognizeMe is a $7 gimmick that might impress your grandmother (assuming she doesn’t ask to try it herself), but if you need to keep your device under lock and key, a tried-and-true passcode is still the way to go. Continue reading RecognizeMe unlocks your jailbroken iPhone using your face, anyone else’s (video) RecognizeMe unlocks your jailbroken iPhone using your face, anyone else’s (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 May 2011 12:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Posted in engadget Tags: apple-iphone, appleipad2, bianca-bosker, brian-heater, finally-locked, grandmother, ipad, iphone, iphonejailbreak, jailbreak-app, jailbroken, phone, still-the-way, totally-secure No Comments »Apple proposing smaller SIM standard?
May 18th, 2011 admin It looks like the Micro SIM (announced with Apple’s first iPad last year) is destined to shed a few more grams, an Orange spokeswoman said — contradicting an earlier rumor claiming that Apple is trying to kill off the chip altogether. SIM cards in their current form have been in use for over a decade (a Micro SIM is simply a standard chip without the extra plastic), and today’s devices look nothing like the cell phones of 2001, so it’s no surprise that the SIM we’ve come to love and loathe has run its course. If adopted only by Apple devices, however, a new form factor would be an incredible setback for iPhone unlockers , since an unlocked device is useless unless multiple carriers offer a compatible SIM. Apple has submitted its proposal to ETSI with support from Orange, which says we may even see the smaller SIM sliding into devices next year. Apple proposing smaller SIM standard? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 May 2011 17:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Posted in Cell Phone, engadget Tags: apple-iphone, Cell Phone, current, engadget, entry, iphone, orange, orange iphone, sim No Comments »iZettle’s chip-reading Square competitor will take your money, no swipes required (video)
April 29th, 2011 admin Everyone seems to be getting on board with Square’s iPhone credit card reader — Apple started selling the device in its stores last week, and even Visa has taken a financial interest in the company. However, due to the popularity of fraud-fighting chip-enabled smart cards on the other side of the pond, Square’s offering doesn’t quite fit the bill. iZettle has a similar solution for Europe that includes the ever-so-necessary smart card reader, which the company is launching in Sweden this June. Not only does it enable you to accept credit card payments from friends or customers, the app adds a social twist. Merchants can email a photograph and receipt to buyers, who can then share their latest spoils on Facebook . Of course, if this starts to catch on, it could make explaining that “awesome deal” you scored on a new laptop that much more difficult when it pops up on your significant other’s news feed. [Thanks, David] Continue reading iZettle’s chip-reading Square competitor will take your money, no swipes required (video) iZettle’s chip-reading Square competitor will take your money, no swipes required (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Apr 2011 23:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Posted in engadget Tags: apple-iphone, appleiphone, chip and pin fraud, engadget, europe, facebook, iphoneapp, izettle, mobile-payments, mobilepayment, smart card, swipes-required, video No Comments »iPhone turntable concept brings dropped calls to your record collection
April 28th, 2011 jedwan Any audiophile worth their weight in 180 gram vinyl will gladly tell you that nothing sounds quite as good as a record . Unfortunately, the format has a few major drawbacks, like a lack of portability and the fact that it really sucks at making phone calls. The iPhone, on the other hand, is light years ahead of those fronts — well, one of out two ain’t bad. This new concept from designer Olivier Meynard offers the best of both worlds, embedding a horizontal iPhone dock next to a wheel of steel, so you can play back your favorite LP through the built-in speakers and encode those tracks as MP3s, which are uploaded to your handset as it charges. Finally, a way to turn your long out of print prog rock albums into ringtones, as they were meant to be heard . iPhone turntable concept brings dropped calls to your record collection originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Apr 2011 11:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Posted in engadget Tags: apple-iphone, concept, entry, handset, making-phone, nothing-sounds, olivier-meynard, oliviermeynard, smartphone, turntable No Comments »iPhone turntable concept brings dropped calls to your record collection
April 28th, 2011 admin Any audiophile worth their weight in 180 gram vinyl will gladly tell you that nothing sounds quite as good as a record . Unfortunately, the format has a few major drawbacks, like a lack of portability and the fact that it really sucks at making phone calls. The iPhone, on the other hand, is light years ahead of those fronts — well, one of out two ain’t bad. This new concept from designer Olivier Meynard offers the best of both worlds, embedding a horizontal iPhone dock next to a wheel of steel, so you can play back your favorite LP through the built-in speakers and encode those tracks as MP3s, which are uploaded to your handset as it charges. Finally, a way to turn your long out of print prog rock albums into ringtones, as they were meant to be heard . iPhone turntable concept brings dropped calls to your record collection originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Apr 2011 11:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Posted in engadget Tags: apple-iphone, concept, format, iphone, mp3, offers-the-best, sucks-at-making, tracks-as-mp3s No Comments »White iPhone 4 hands-on (again)
April 28th, 2011 jedwan Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet… Gallery: White iPhone 4 hands-on (again) White iPhone 4 hands-on (again) originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 28 Apr 2011 11:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Posted in att, engadget Tags: 16gb, apple-iphone, appleiphone, att, engadget, engadget-mobile, entry, friend-via, iphone, iphone 4, iphone4, mobile, patience, white, white iphone 4 No Comments »White iPhone 4 coming to Best Buy on Wednesday?
April 26th, 2011 admin That, friends, is an inventory listing from Best Buy indicating the mythical white iPhone 4 will finally be in stock and for sale this Wednesday, April 27th (just in time to be overshadowed by rumors of the iPhone 5). Of course, we’ve seen it pop up in inventory systems before, including Best Buy’s , only to be let down when the alleged street date came and went without so much as a glossy-white glimmer of hope. But, we’ve heard straight from Apple’s Phil Schiller that it would ship in the spring , and with one already finding its way into the hands of a lucky Londoner a Wednesday release for the paler-than-black iPhone is looking plausible. Still, we’re not quite ready to call this one confirmed. [Thanks, Anonymous] White iPhone 4 coming to Best Buy on Wednesday? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Apr 2011 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Posted in engadget Tags: apple, apple-iphone, appleiphone, bestbuy, entry, hands, leak, leaks, mythical-white, wednesday, white iphone 4 No Comments »Exclusive: White iPhone 4 lands at Vodafone UK
April 22nd, 2011 admin Well, would you have a gander at that? That , friends, is Apple’s long-awaited , hardly-forgotten white iPhone 4 , and so far as we can tell, this is actually the real deal. We’ve seen retailers making space for the elusive handset over the past few months, and earlier today, we heard that Vodafone UK’s inventory systems were showing the white iPhone 4 as shipping in. Now, we’ve secured a few images of a 16GB model from a separate source that has seemingly made its way into the hands of one lucky customer (read: bloke) over in Britain. As the story goes, the carrier’s point-of-sale system rang it up as a black iPhone, and shortly after the sale went down, Voda sent out a notice to halt sale of these gems ” until next week .” Just so you know, the MC60 4 B/A model number shown here is particularly interesting when compared to our own in-house UK iPhone 4; the latter, which is also a 16GB edition, sports a model number of MC60 3 B/A. We suspect we aren’t going too far out on a limb by suggesting that the “3″ and “4″ are there to represent hue variations, and if you’d like to stretch the theory one step further, MC60 5 B/A represents the 32GB black iPhone 4. In other words, don’t be shocked when the white 32 gigger rolls in as MC60 6 B/A. So, is this the first legitimate sign that a white iPhone 4 is but days away from going on sale? We’re hardly experts in meteorology, but it sure felt like spring in Londontown today. P.S. – 9 to 5 Mac suggests that it’ll be landing on April 27th , at least in the Netherlands. [Thanks, Anonymii] Exclusive: White iPhone 4 lands at Vodafone UK originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 15:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Posted in att, engadget Tags: after-the-sale, apple, apple-iphone, engadget, entry, going-on-sale, gsm, leak, netherlands, over-the-past, smartphone, theory, white, white iphone, whiteiphone No Comments »
