Hasta La Gadget!

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

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Transportation

TomTom’s iPhone car kit promo video is enticing, but still no mention of price or release date originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Aug 2009 03:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

The FCC’s next open committee is on Thursday, and maybe — just maybe — we’ll be able to get to the bottom of this whole “App Store / Google Voice rejection” mess. First, the committee plans to look into ways to “foster innovation and investment in the wireless communications market,” issues related to “truth-in-billing,” and exclusivity agreements between carriers and handset manufacturers, which critics say punish consumers in rural areas that the “big four” (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile) don’t serve. Also in the queue, according to Ars Technica, is the wireless open access docket, which will mostly be given over to Skype’s inquiry into Apple’s rejection of Google Voice for iPhone and its relationship to a “pending Petition filed by Skype to confirm a consumer’s right to use communications software and attach nonharmful devices to wireless networks.” And of course, all this goes down a few days after Apple, AT&T, and Google were required to respond to letters from the Commission inquiring about Apple’s dissing the Google Voice app. If you’ve never had the opportunity to sit in one of these sessions, let us tell you — they’re incredibly exciting, fast-paced events. As always, the meeting will be broadcast live over Real Video — hit the read link for details.

[Via Ars Technica]

Filed under: Cellphones

FCC to look into Google Voice, iPhone debacle next week? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

So, there’s good news and bad news. The good news is that Qik for iPhone 3GS is now available, and it’s completely gratis to download. The bad news is that it probably won’t do exactly what you want it to. You see, those on Symbian S60 have grown used to a Qik that can actually stream live video to the internet, whereas this app is currently just a “capture and upload” piece. Moreover, it only works via WiFi, so if you’re not near a hotspot once your video is done, you’ll have to wait until you wander back over to one before it automatically begins uploading. Though, you can let the app automatically inform viewers of where the video was taken (in case you feel like pampering guests who show up unannounced), and you can also frame the video horizontally or vertically. The Qik team assures us that an update is in the works to add 3G uploading, but for now, it’s WiFi or bust. Which is kosher so long as it’s free… we guess.

[Thanks, Jackie]

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Video, Software

Qik for iPhone 3GS now available, still not capable of live 3G streaming originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Aug 2009 02:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

TomTom told us that its long-awaited iPhone navigation app and in-car mounting kit would be landing “this summer,” and at least on our watch, summertime is quickly drawing to a close. If a pre-order listing over at Handtec is to be believed, it looks as if the outfit is exceedingly close to finally having both the software and hardware ready for shipping. The £113.85 ($194) asking price includes a suction mount for your iPhone as well as the mapping software, though there’s no indication of exactly how much the app and hardware will run by themselves. Of course, until the iPhone supports multitasking, using it as a dedicated PND is still a risky move; one stray call during a pivotal moment in your travels and you can consider yourself lost. Oh, and then there’s the fact that this thing has a TomTom logo on it — if the iPhone app functions anything like the company’s high-end GO 740 LIVE, we’d say you’re better off asking Mr. Gas Station attendant (or buying a different brand).

[Via DaniWeb]

Continue reading TomTom’s iPhone car kit and navigation software priced overseas

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Peripherals

TomTom’s iPhone car kit and navigation software priced overseas originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Aug 2009 04:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Native speakers of Welsh, take heed! Orange has announced that a Welsh-language version of the Samsung S5600 will be made available in September. This would make it the first cellphone to handle the language, which has some 600,000 native speakers in Wales. The phone will contain 44,000 Welsh words, and was recently unveiled in Bala, Gwynedd. Also unveiled simultaneously was the first Welsh iPhone app, developed with English-speakers learning the language in mind, and will have a companion “Learn Welsh” phrasebook available in the iTunes store. Iechyd Da!

Filed under: Cellphones, Software

Welsh nab their first native-tongued phone and iPhone app in one month’s time — Cymru am byth! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Aug 2009 04:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments