May 04

Apple granted design patent for iPhone 3G, 3GS

Posted in: Apple, iPhone, iphone 3g, Iphone3g, patent, Today's Chili

Hot on the heels of the “ornamental design” patent covering its original iPhone and iPod touch, we’ve got a second USPTO patent granted to Apple covering what looks to be the more curvaceous iPhone 3G and 3GS. Jonathan P. Ive and Steve Jobs are among the inventors credited with the usual list of references including the LG KE850 Prada and Meizu M8 look-a-like devices. Don’t get too hung up on the missing “home” button — a US design patent covers any device “substantially similar” to the images above. What that means only a judge can say.

Apple granted design patent for iPhone 3G, 3GS originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 May 2010 07:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 04

ShutterSnitch Beams Photos from Camera to iPad

Posted in: ipad, Today's Chili

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If you have an Eye-Fi card and an iPad, you need ShutterSnitch. The $8 iPhone and iPad application lets you beam photos as you shoot them direct to the iPad where they are displayed on the large 10-inch screen. This is useful for “tethered” shooting where you may want somebody else to monitor the images as you shoot, or just to help you out with a giant image preview.

ShutterSnitch has a built-in FTP-server, which is how it communicates with the Eye-Fi (Canon and Nikon transmitter accessories also work). As you shoot, the pictures are sent over the Wi-Fi network (you’ll need some kind of router here, as the iPad can’t create an ad-hoc network) and appear on the screen. You can also set rules that trigger on-screen messages based on the photos’ metadata. For instance, if your auto-ISO creeps up to high, a warning will flash up.

There is also an on-screen, full-color histogram. This alone could be worth the price for many. From the app you can email photos, rename them and run slideshows, although I can’t spot any way to add the pictures to your photo-roll.

The application also works on the iPod Touch and iPhone, but really, the point here is that lovely big iPad screen. And we will also point out that this app is a lot cheaper than Apple’s way of getting photos into the iPad, the $30 Camera Connection Kit. RAW photos can be sent across, too (along with video) but not displayed. Given this limitation, we expect the best workflow is to shoot RAW+JPEG with the camera and just send the JPEGs across, saving the RAW files for later. You get the previews, and those small JPEGs will be a lot faster to load, too.

ShutterSnitch [2nd Nature via Rob Galbraith]

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May 04

Bell Novatel MiFi 2372 deemed unsafe for human use, recalled

Posted in: Today's Chili
Bell Novatel MiFi 2372 deemed unsafe for human use, recalled

We knew there had to be a catch with the Novatel MiFi 3G routers — they were just too convenient. But, little did we know that catch involved danger to our health and wellbeing! Bell Mobility has been sending UPS couriers around (real people holding envelopes, not unicorns) to owners of the Novatel MiFi 2372, delivering dire-sounding letters (a copy can be found after the break) telling them to discontinue use of their routers due to faulty battery packs and, if that wasn’t enough, they were all remotely deactivated yesterday morning. Owners are told to send their MiFis back to the company for replacement, a process said to take a whopping six to eight weeks. Novatel is sending U998 Turbo Sticks to those affected for use in the interim, but that doesn’t do you much good if your device lacks USB ports, like our unfortunate tipster’s iPad. We can understand the frustration of giving up your gadget for two months, the alternative doesn’t sound too appealing either.

Update: Kevin from Novatel dropped us a comment with the company’s official statement. We have it after the break.

Update 2: A Novatel rep would like us to clarify that the couriers in question are from UPS, and also come equipped with return envelopes for the affected 2372s. So, if anyone from FedEx tries to deliver any documentation about this situation, it’s probably a trap.

[Thanks, Justin]

Continue reading Bell Novatel MiFi 2372 deemed unsafe for human use, recalled

Bell Novatel MiFi 2372 deemed unsafe for human use, recalled originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 May 2010 07:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 04

Attention, readers: Send us your DIY goodness!

Posted in: Today's Chili

Crave is launching a new feature showcasing the best do-it-yourself creations readers are putting together on the fly. So, what are you working on in your top-secret lab?

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May 04

Quintaxial Tripod Heads Twist Five Ways

Posted in: Today's Chili

Tripod-maker Induro has tried to combine the quick-adjusting ball-head and the slow-but-accurate pan-tilt head into the new PHQ-series of tripod heads. While these two new heads don’t quite manage this feat, they pack in enough smart gimmicks and features to make your old head look positively primitive.

The idea of these pan heads (there are two, identical in features but different in size) is to get your camera level, fast, and then let you pan smoothly or shoot panoramas. The first (and best-named) part of this is the quintaxial (five-way) adjustment. A couple of levers let you get the head level, and the bottom section rotates to let you point the right way.

The top-plate also rotates for pans, and with a slot-in accessory you can make sure your lens is positioned to rotate around its nodal-point for panoramas (the nodal-point is the spot around which the lens should spin to make the images line up with minimum distortion). This plat will also let you slide the camera sideways to take a second shot for 3D photos.

The head bristles with bubble-levels (five of ‘em), the handles fold and collapse for transportation and you can lock the motion on any axis. And yes, the head is compatible with Arca-Swiss plates.

The PHQ1 and PHQ3 do not yet have prices listed, but I managed to track down details via Twitter: The PHQ 1 will cost $230, and the PHQ3 $290. This fits with the generally reasonable prices of other Induro gear.

PHQ Pan Heads [Induro. Thanks, Mr. Hobby!]


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May 04

Sony Qlasp earbuds wrap around your lobes, appeal to your sweet tooth

Posted in: audio, earbuds, earphones, headphones, Music, sony, sound, Today's Chili

Sony’s candy-colored PIIQ headphone lineup isn’t for everyone, but at least the new lollypop-styled Qlasp earbuds have a useful feature: an integrated flexible clip designed to keep them firmly affixed to your head as you skate, swing and slide through your active hipster day. Sure, you could just slap a pair of Lobies on your Klipsch and get the same effect with better sound, but at the cost of uglification; for a mere $25, these low-end Sony units might get the job done without telegraphing your geekiness to the world. Taste all five flavors of Qlasp at the source link.

Sony Qlasp earbuds wrap around your lobes, appeal to your sweet tooth originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 May 2010 06:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 04

FilesTube: Search for Download Music, Videos, and Files

Posted in: Features, Music, search, Today's Chili, videos, Web Sites

This article was written on December 10, 2007 by CyberNet.

FilesTube Search Just last week we introduced you to BeeMP3, a search engine for music, and then a few weeks before that we showed you a RapidShare search engine. Now wouldn’t it be nice if there was a way to combine the features of both sites into one convenient search engine?

As it turns out there is such a site, and it’s called FilesTube. It scours the Internet looking for all different types of files, and even includes downloads from RapidShare.com, MegaUpload.com, YouSendIt.com, SaveFile.com, and FileFront.com. The site is definitely not limited to results from those sites alone though, and performing a search for a file will prove that since you can always see the direct URL from which the file is hosted.

If you’re searching for music you’ll even have the luxury of using a built-in music player that lets you listen to a song before you even download it:

FilesTube

You can register for an account if you would like to receive a few additional features, such as download history tracking and MP3 music playlists. You’ll also be able to embed a music player with songs on your own site, but have some consideration since other websites will be the ones hosting the files.

And be sure to take advantage of the built-in filetype search filter located next to the search box. If you’re trying to find a specific type of media, such as videos or music, it will greatly help filter through your results.

FilesTube Homepage
Thanks for the tip Jason!

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May 04

Floating Shelf Hides iPod Dock, Speakers

Posted in: Accessories and Peripherals, Today's Chili

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If Ikea made an iPod dock, it would look like the Hohrizontal 51. Resembling nothing as much as the Lack floating shelf the Swedish furniture-as-crack super-chain, the Hohrizontal combines iPod dock, amp and speakers into a minimalist block. Unlike anything from Ikea, it costs around $660.

In addition to the iPad connector, you can also hook up a TV or other MP3 player to pump sound through the two 25W speakers. In fact, you can leave the TV on the shelf: it supports up to 25kg, or 55-pounds. The Hohrizontal will also let you run composite video-out (we’re guessing this comes from the iPod) and audio-out, for connection to a home-theater setup.

It’s actually a rather neat piece of furniture, although we can’t help but think that this is ripe for an Ikea-hack. After all, Lack shelves start at just $10 and are almost as easy to cut as cardboard, so stuffing a couple of speakers and a dock in there should be simple. If you actually want to buy the Hohrizontal 51, though, head over to Germany, or trawl the slew of linked Flash-based sites for possible mail-order.

Hohrizontal 51 [Finite Elemente via Oh Gizmo and Cult of Mac]


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May 04

Dropbox Updated for iPad, External Editing Added

Posted in: ipad, Media Players, Software, Today's Chili

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The Dropbox iPhone application has been updated to work better with the iPad. Along with the usual cosmetic changes, it also adds one essential feature: the ability to choose an application with which to open your documents.

Dropbox is a cross platform file-syncing service. You install it on your OS X, Windows or Linux machine and what you see is a folder. Anything you keep in this folder is mirrored across machines, and stored in the cloud. You can also access these files at any time from your iPhone and now, your iPad.

Last week we brought you a guide to keeping plain text files in sync between your iPad and your Mac using Simplenote and Notational Velocity. The most commonly suggested alternative in the comments was Dropbox. Until today, though, that was messy, as there was no way to get files out of your Dropbox to edit them on the iPad.

This update does just that. Pick a file: a photo, text document, PDF, spreadsheet or anything supported on the iPad. Tap the “Open In” icon and choose from the list of available apps. You’re done.

The problem is that you can’t yet save anything back into Dropbox. This is a limit of the other apps, but we can foresee a third-party text-editor, say, that would offer to send the file to Dropbox. There are also hacks to let you email your files into Dropbox, but this still creates the problem of duplicate files, essentially a new version of your file every time you save. Messy.

Still, we know a lot of Gadget Lab readers are Dropbox users, so enjoy the new interface and the new “Open In” command, and join us in quietly grumbling that Apple really messed up file-organization on the iPad. Free, available now.

Dropbox for iPhone and iPad [iTunes]

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May 04

Bill Gates: Microsoft pursuing ‘a lot of’ tablet projects, pen-based input will be ‘mainstream for students’

Posted in: interview, Microsoft, plans, tablet, tablets, Today's Chili

Few people would’ve taken the news of the Courier’s demise lightly, and while Microsoft sought to comfort us, it’s never quite as reassuring as when you hear it from the progenitor himself:

“Microsoft has a lot of different tablet projects that we’re pursuing. We think that work with the pen that Microsoft pioneered will become a mainstream for students. It can give you a device that you can not only read, but also create documents at the same time.”

So yes, Microsoft ain’t quttin’ on tablets just yet, and don’t you even dare question the utility of the stylus. Bill Gates has been an unashamed promoter of pen-based computing for the longest time, and it’s fun to see that even cold hard facts are insufficient to shake his confidence. Having spoken out against the iPad’s lack of keyboard or pen input back in February, Bill has seen the American market gleefully embrace Apple’s touchscreen device, something he acknowledges by agreeing that “both in general and in the specific, Apple’s done a great job.” But he still expects students to be drawn to pen-friendly mobile devices. Well Bill, give the other Steve a call and get him to bring one out and we shall see, eh?

Bill Gates: Microsoft pursuing ‘a lot of’ tablet projects, pen-based input will be ‘mainstream for students’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 May 2010 05:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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