Hasta La Gadget!

There are now over 1,348 approved apps for the iPad. That’s on top of the 150,000 iPad-compatible iPhone programs already available in the App Store. When Apple’s tablet PC launches, just hours from now, it will have a software library greater than that of any handheld in history — not counting the occasional UMPC. That said, the vast majority of even those 1,348 iPad apps are not original. They were designed for the iPhone, a device with a comparatively pokey processor and a tiny screen, and most have just been tweaked slightly, upped in price and given an “HD” suffix — as if that somehow justified the increased cost.

Besides, we’ve seen the amazing potential programs have on iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile and webOS when given access to a touchscreen, always-on data connection, GPS, cloud storage and WiFi — but where are the apps that truly define iPad? What will take advantage of its extra headroom, new UI paradigms and multitouch real estate? Caught between netbook and smartphone, what does the iPad do that the iPhone cannot? After spending hours digging through the web and new iPad section of the App Store, we believe we have a number of reasonably compelling answers.

Update: Now includes Wormhole Remote, TweetDeck, SkyGrid, Touchgrind HD, GoToMeeting, SplitBrowser, iDisplay, Geometry Wars and Drawing Pad.

Continue reading iPad apps: defining experiences from the first wave

iPad apps: defining experiences from the first wave originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Apr 2010 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With not so much as a hint of fanfare (and a very loose definition of “coming soon“), Amazon has quietly unleashed its Kindle app for Mac. The 22MB file is for Intel-based machines only, OS X 10.5 and above. Nothing too fancy, it does exactly what you’d expect in terms of functionality… and not much else. What else is there to say? Time’s a-wastin’, hit up the source link to download.

Kindle for Mac now finally available originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon is today adding BlackBerrys to its stable of Kindle-compatible devices and also taking the opportunity to remind us that it’s working hard on Mac and iPad versions of its software. The app is a freebie download for Americans (sadly it’s not international just yet) and should offer the same functionality as its PC and iPhone brethren — namely automatic syncing via Whispersync and what Amazon hopes will be a seamless reading experience from one device to the next. There’s also an in-app book store, as well as the ability to create bookmarks and view annotations from other portable Kindle readers. Go download it at the Amazon link if you care, or move right along if you don’t.

Kindle for BlackBerry e-reader app now available originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Feb 2010 03:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In what we’re hoping bodes well for future Kindle iterations, Amazon‘s pulled out its credit card and picked up New York-based startup Touchco, who specializes in — you guessed it — touchscreen technology. The company will be merged with Lab126, a.k.a. the Kindle hardware division. Here’s why we’re excited: the startup claims its interpolating force-sensitive resistance tech can be made completely transparent, works with color LCDs, and can detect “an unlimited number of simultaneous touch points” as well as distinguish between a finger and stylus. Current cost estimates put it at less than $10 per square foot, which The New York Times says is “considerably” less expensive than the iPad / iPhone screens. We’re not expecting to see immediate results with this acquisition, but given the proliferation of touch in the latest batch of e-book readers, it’d be foolish of Amazon not to join in on the fun. Ready for the Kindle 3 rumor mill to start up again?

Amazon buys touchscreen startup Touchco, merging with Kindle division originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We hate to iPad-ify the news so bluntly (matching lower back tattoos aside), but the timing of this one is uncanny. Mere days after Apple’s announcement of a deal with Macmillan for its new iBooks store, and right after a shakycam video of Steve Jobs predicting some publishers would be pulling books from the Kindle due to a lack of satisfaction with Amazon’s prices, Macmillan’s books have mysteriously disappeared from Amazon.com. Even the paper ones, like the new Wheel Of Time book, pictured to the right. You can of course buy books from the other retailers that Amazon’s systems support (along with Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.ca), but there’s no getting a Macmillan publication straight from Amazon.com. Without a peep about the issue from Amazon or Macmillan, it’s easy to see this as some sort of wild glitch — after all, what could possibly cause such a rift between these two companies to end sales of all Macmillan books, instead of just the e-books for Kindle? Hopefully we find out soon, before our heads implode conspiratorially.

Macmillan books gone from Amazon.com, Steve Jobs grins wryly from his throne of golden iPads originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 Jan 2010 13:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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