Hasta La Gadget!

It was almost as inevitable as gravity, really. Rovio has teamed up with NASA to offer a special, Curiosity-themed episode inside Angry Birds Space. The trek has the avians scouring 20 levels of the Martian landscape with a few bonuses thrown in for good measure. Just like your favorite childhood breakfast cereal, there’s even a token healthy ingredient — in this case, a chance for gamers to learn about Curiosity’s exploration whenever they’re not busy smashing pigs. Android and iOS users can dip into the new chapter right after they update, but that’s not even the full extent of Rovio’s plans. If the environs of Gale Crater are too limiting, you’ll be glad to hear that the game developer is teasing a full-scale Red Planet variant for the fall.

Continue reading Rovio takes Angry Birds Space for a spin with NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover, teases Red Planet for fall (video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming, Tablets

Rovio takes Angry Birds Space for a spin with NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover, teases Red Planet for fall (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Aug 2012 20:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We hope you didn’t think that Motorola would fight a purely defensive patent war against Apple after Google’s acquisition closed. Just days before a final ruling on its initial complaints, the RAZR maker has filed another dispute with the International Trade Commission that accuses Apple of violating patents through some iOS devices and Macs. Exact details of the dispute are under wraps for now; Motorola, as you’d imagine, only contends that it has no choice after Apple’s “unwillingness to work out a license.” While Apple hasn’t said anything about the subject, we already know how much it disagrees with Motorola’s previous licensing strategy — it’s unlikely Apple will just roll over, no matter what’s at stake.

Filed under: Cellphones, Desktops, Laptops

Post-acquisition Motorola files fresh ITC complaint against Apple originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Aug 2012 19:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’ve been dutifully checking your mobile app updates (you do check, right?), you may have noticed a Google+ upgrade slip through largely unannounced. That revision might be bigger than you think — although its exact value depends entirely on the platform you’re running. If you’re an iOS user, you now have the choice to open web links in Chrome for iOS instead of Safari; it’s not the same as changing the default browser, but it will keep Google fans firmly ensconced in their preferred ecosystem while they’re using Apple devices. On the Android side, it’s now possible to watch live Hangouts On Air sessions if friends aren’t ready and waiting for a chat. Both versions now let teens join any kind of Hangout, and there’s a raft of tweaks on either side of the fence. If you’ve been waiting for either of the two major features to jump in, the app downloads are waiting at the source links.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablet PCs, Software

Google+ update lets iOS open links in Chrome, Android join Hangouts on Air originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Aug 2012 12:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re used to seeing tablet market share illustrated on the world stage. China, however, has usually been untouched. Analysys International has taken a crack at decoding the market and has bucked a few expectations in the process: according to its estimates, the iPad’s lead is even larger in China than it is worldwide. About 72.7 percent of all tablets sold in the country during the second quarter were Apple-flavored, while homegrown hero Lenovo was a distant second at 8.4 percent. Everyone else had to contend with less than four percent and reflected the more diverse Chinese technology sphere — relative heavyweights like Acer, ASUS and Samsung had to hob-nob with brands that have little recognition elsewhere, such as Eben and Teclast.

The researchers credit Apple’s lead, a 7.8-point gain, to a combination of the new iPad and a price-cut iPad 2. We’d add that Analysys’ figures might not tell the whole story, though: China is well-known for its thriving shanzhai market, where legions of KIRFs and very small (usually Android-based) brands likely slip under an analyst group’s radar. That said, it’s still an illustration of how Apple’s influence in tablets is a distinct reversal of its much smaller smartphone share, even in a nation that’s a hotbed of Android activity.

Filed under: Tablet PCs

iPad estimated to be cornering nearly 73% of Chinese tablet market originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Aug 2012 17:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re starting to see a distinct shift in US smartphone market share that leaves Android having to share the spotlight. ComScore’s results for this past June have Google hitting a new high of 51.6 percent share, which still gives it something to crow about — that’s both a small increase over a month earlier and a return to the 51 percent mark. However, Android is still competing with an iOS platform that’s been growing at a healthy rate, reaching 32.4 percent of the American space. The fuel for both sides comes from an all too familiar decline in BlackBerry, Symbian and Windows share. Samsung is still in the top spot as far as manufacturers, although it’s shrinking where Apple and HTC are on the way up. We’ll be looking to see how much the Galaxy S III affects the numbers during the summer, but less patient observers can get the manufacturer results after the break and the full scoop on current market share at the source.

Continue reading ComScore: Android back above 51 percent of US share, iOS still growing briskly

Filed under: Cellphones

ComScore: Android back above 51 percent of US share, iOS still growing briskly originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Aug 2012 12:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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