NBC rebrands Olympics app as NBC Sports Live Extra, promises streams for a wider athletic universe

NBC rebands Olympics app as Sports Live Extra, promises live streams for a wider athletic universe

NBC’s Olympics Live Extra may have lost its original raison d’être after the flame was extinguished in London, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to purge the app from your phone’s home screen. An update for Android and iOS users alike is giving the title new life as NBC Sports Live Extra, and the name makes it quite obvious that you’ll have a lot more to watch than just biathlons and fencing. NBC expects to offer live streaming for the European PGA, LPGA, MLS, NHL, Notre Dame, PGA, Ryder Cup and other events or leagues culled from the channel formerly known as Versus. Highlights, social sharing and other side features will carry over as well. You don’t have to do a thing beyond check for a new version to make the switch to the already updated apps, but you will have to subscribe to conventional TV to use them properly: NBC is requiring TV Everywhere authentication for access to most of what’s on offer from NBC Sports Network and the Golf Channel.

Continue reading NBC rebrands Olympics app as NBC Sports Live Extra, promises streams for a wider athletic universe

Filed under: , , ,

NBC rebrands Olympics app as NBC Sports Live Extra, promises streams for a wider athletic universe originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Sep 2012 05:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceApp Store, Google Play  | Email this | Comments

Citizen Eco-Drive Proximity watch notifies iPhone owners without betraying their nerd status

Citizen EcoDrive Proximity watch notifies iPhone owners without betraying their nerd status

It’s hard to deny that Bluetooth watches usually lack the social graces you need when dressing to impress. Citizen doesn’t want to leave you a binary choice between technology and poshness, however. The company’s upcoming Eco-Drive Proximity watch has all the respectability of an analog steel timepiece, but it quietly syncs to an iPhone 4S (or newer) through Bluetooth 4.0. Miss a call, get a message or approach a meeting, and the seconds hand will point to a word on the dial indicating what needs attention — there’s no broadcasting your geek credentials to everyone in the room. The iPhone syncs its time with the watch if you’re so inclined, and a search mode will ping the handset if it’s lost under the couch. Expect to pay $550, or about as much as many mid-tier quartz watches, when the Proximity goes on sale in the fall. It’s certainly not a trivial price next to other Bluetooth watches, but the public acceptance factor may be more than worth the premium.

Filed under: ,

Citizen Eco-Drive Proximity watch notifies iPhone owners without betraying their nerd status originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Sep 2012 04:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceA Blog To Read  | Email this | Comments

Wahoo KICKR Power Trainer lets iPhone cyclists feel the simulated burn (video)

Wahoo KICKR Power Trainer lets iPhone cyclists feel the simulated burn video

Wahoo Fitness’ BlueSC cycling sensor is well and good for iPhone owners that always have fair weather and friendly roads to ride. For everyone else, there’s the company’s just-unveiled KICKR Power Trainer, a bike training system that uses a Bluetooth 4.0 link with Apple’s device (or an ANT+ bike computer) to come as close as possible to the real thing. The KICKR can change resistance as soon as third-party iOS apps like Kinomap Trainer and TrainerRoad give the word, either arbitrarily for a routine or to replicate that on-asphalt feel at up to a 15 percent hill grade. Wahoo claims the super flywheel and wheel-off design improve the sensation of the virtual road and keep the measurements for both power and speed accurate over the long haul. If there’s anything holding back indoor athletes, it’s the launch. The KICKR will only land in US basements and living rooms come November, and while we haven’t been quoted a price, we’d wager that it’s much more likely to fall in line with the cost of a regular bike trainer than a sensor like the BlueSC.

Continue reading Wahoo KICKR Power Trainer lets iPhone cyclists feel the simulated burn (video)

Filed under: , ,

Wahoo KICKR Power Trainer lets iPhone cyclists feel the simulated burn (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 03:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceWahoo Fitness  | Email this | Comments

Goophone I5 manages to KIRF the 2012 iPhone weeks in advance

Goophone I5 manages to KIRF the 2012 iPhone weeks in advance

Here’s something you still don’t see every day: a KIRF that’s unveiled before the device it’s supposed to copy. Although the 2012 iPhone may not show for weeks, the Android-based Goophone I5 is already doing a remarkable job of aping Apple’s rumored style, including that two-tone look that we’ve all seen before. Just don’t get notions that it’s the bargain of the century. Where most rumors point to a bigger screen for the real thing, the I5 is making do with a 3.5-inch screen similar to that for Goophone’s iPhone 4S imitator, the Y5. Performance isn’t likely to jolt the engineers in Cupertino out of their seats, either. Mum’s the word on whether or not the I5 will beat its inspiration to the store shelf, but we’d wager that it will cost a lot less.

Filed under: ,

Goophone I5 manages to KIRF the 2012 iPhone weeks in advance originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 08:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TechCrunch, Nowhereelse.fr (translated)  |  sourceGoophone  | Email this | Comments

Garmin, Navigon GPS apps now consider mass transit, remember where we parked

Garmin, Navigon GPS apps now consider mass transit, remember where we parked

Third-party navigation apps still tend to fall apart when the keys are out of the ignition — try to cut back on car use and you’re often kicked over to another app with its own set of rules. Both Garmin’s StreetPilot Onboard app and its Navigon equivalent are getting a much more holistic experience through respective upgrades due this fall. Android and iOS users alike can soon buy an Urban Guidance pack that factors buses, subways and other forms of public transportation into their on-foot routes. The playing field is leveling off for drivers willing to stretch their legs, too: iPhone owners with Navigon’s app get the same last-mile walking directions and parking finder as their Android counterparts. StreetPilot iPhone app users are left out of this last addition, but they’ll see compensation in the form of an optional Panorama View 3D mode and the Google Street View they’re about to lose from Maps in iOS 6. The updated titles will still cost $30 for Navigon-only regional packs, $50 for editions with US-wide maps and $60 for all of North America, although you’ll need to spend $5 more ($3 during the first two weeks) for Urban Guidance and $10 for the Panorama View 3D pack.

Continue reading Garmin, Navigon GPS apps now consider mass transit, remember where we parked

Filed under: , , ,

Garmin, Navigon GPS apps now consider mass transit, remember where we parked originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 04:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceGarmin StreetPilot Onboard (iOS), Navigon (Android), (iOS)  | Email this | Comments

Flipboard adds dedicated video channels, decides reading isn’t everything

Flipboard adds dedicated video channels, decides reading isn't everything

Flipboard supports video, but it’s always been focused on modernizing the reading experience. Until today, that is. The app is taking advantage of YouTube channels to give readers — sorry, viewers — a steady stream of video pattered along common themes. Basic feeds for concepts like cooking, music and news sit side-by-side with more esoteric sections for ‘influencers,’ fashion and (our favorite) science. Is it the end of reading? We don’t think so, but it does mean we won’t have to hop to another app to get our moving picture fix, which we’re sure is as much Flipboard’s dream come true as it is ours.

Filed under: , ,

Flipboard adds dedicated video channels, decides reading isn’t everything originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Aug 2012 14:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink PaidContent  |  sourceFlipboard  | Email this | Comments

Netatmo Urban Weather Station tells iOS users when it’s safe to brave the great outdoors (video)

Netatmo Urban Weather Station tells Android, iOS users when it's safe to venture outside video

We haven’t seen weather stations garner the same level of clever mobile integration as other pieces of household gear — like, say, thermostats. Netatmo wants its newly available Urban Weather Station to inject a similar dose of life into a category that some of us still associate with the thermometer by the window. The aluminum tube design certainly gives a fresh look to the WiFi-linked indoor and outdoor sensors, but the real trick is the matching iOS (and eventually Android) app. It’s for more than just gauging the wisdom of biking to work: the free app tracks historical trends and shares them with fellow users in a network that Netatmo hopes will provide a better understanding of wider-scale and longer-term trends. The sensors go beyond just obvious air quality, humidity, pressure and temperature conditions as well, flagging noise levels and warning if the CO2 levels are high enough to warrant airing out the house. The $179 price for the Urban Weather Station isn’t trivial, but neither is knowing just how well you can cope with your environment.

Continue reading Netatmo Urban Weather Station tells iOS users when it’s safe to brave the great outdoors (video)

Filed under: ,

Netatmo Urban Weather Station tells iOS users when it’s safe to brave the great outdoors (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Aug 2012 11:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceNetatmo, App Store  | Email this | Comments

T-Mobile memo asks staff to sell ‘against the iPhone’ on September 21st

TMobile memo asks staff to sell 'against the iPhone' on September 21st

T-Mobile has been virtually screaming for an iPhone deal, but a memo leaked to TmoNews suggests Apple isn’t prepared to listen just yet. The note tells carrier staff they’ll get training material to learn “selling against the iPhone” from September 21st onwards. Why does that date sound familiar? Although we don’t know if T-Mobile has an inside track on Apple’s plans or is just making assumptions based on rumors, that’s not the language we would associate with a carrier that has a new agreement to sell the iPhone — not unless it’s using a loose definition of the word “against,” at least. As a consolation, T-Mobile is reportedly supplying updated micro-SIM kits on August 29th to emphasize its improving support for unlocked iPhones on refarmed 3G spectrum. Nothing’s official until Apple struts on stage, of course; you may nonetheless want to research alternatives if getting a cheaper contract phone on Magenta trumps having Cupertino’s latest and greatest.

Filed under: ,

T-Mobile memo asks staff to sell ‘against the iPhone’ on September 21st originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Aug 2012 00:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceTmoNews  | Email this | Comments

Apple promotes pair of execs to Senior VP level, Bob Mansfield to hang around after all

Bob Mansfield of AppleIt’s a day of upheaval in the boardroom at Apple — in the good sense. Remember how Hardware Engineering Senior VP Bob Mansfield said he would retire in June? He’s had a change of heart and will keep working on future products. Meanwhile, two of the vice presidents who’ve been mainstays of Apple’s recent plans, Mac Software Engineering VP Craig Federighi and Hardware Engineering VP Dan Riccio, have been promoted to Senior VP. All three will report directly to CEO Tim Cook, and both Federighi as well as Riccio will get their first turns at Apple’s executive management team. While the shift isn’t going to signal a dramatic change in strategy, it’s notable that Riccio’s role is expanding: he’s moving from his earlier iPad focus to overseeing all the hardware Apple makes. We can only guess at what the ultimate goals might be for the new assignments, although we can imagine Apple jumping through hoops to keep a hardware executive as skilled as Mansfield on its side.

Continue reading Apple promotes pair of execs to Senior VP level, Bob Mansfield to hang around after all

Filed under: , , ,

Apple promotes pair of execs to Senior VP level, Bob Mansfield to hang around after all originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Aug 2012 16:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

IDC: iPhone wait cuts Apple’s China phone share by nearly half, Lenovo seizes the opportunity

Lenovo LePhone K2 hands-on

There’s a lot of talk of a new iPhone coming soon, and the Chinese know it. IDC researchers estimate that Apple’s share of smartphones in the country was sliced almost in half during the second quarter, to 10 percent, as expectations and rumors led the local population to wait for the big update. Better competition also played a part in denting iPhone shipments, although it’s not Apple’s chief rival Samsung who’s responsible. Rather, it’s China’s own Lenovo that had the most impact. It broke into the double digits with a second-place 11 percent share thanks to recently started indirect sales of its Android-dominated lineup, while Samsung saw its own share dip slightly to 19 percent. Chinese companies ZTE and Huawei bracketed Apple at third and fifth. We wouldn’t be surprised if the balance of power shifts in about a month, but the impacts to Apple and Samsung alike show just how tough it can be to stay on top in one of the fastest-growing markets on Earth — especially one with so many local brands.

Filed under: ,

IDC: iPhone wait cuts Apple’s China phone share by nearly half, Lenovo seizes the opportunity originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 25 Aug 2012 19:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceReuters  | Email this | Comments