Apple job posting hints at LTE for a future iPhone?

What could possibly come after the iPhone 3GS? The iPhone 3GSS, of course! Joking aside, turns out Apple‘s already dropped the 4G bomb on one of its job postings in May 2009 while seeking for a “Cellular Technology Software Manager” with “expert knowledge of… WCDMA/UMTS, HSPA, HSPA+, LTE etc.” That’s right, LTE. Now, we’re not saying this means a 4G-powered iPhone is next in line in the annual product cycle, nor does this listing confirm Apple’s favored 4G radio (be it a decoy or an eventual change of heart), but given AT&T’s interest in LTE plus its prolonged love affair with Cupertino, it’s pretty hard to not consider LTE as a realistic option on future Apple portables. Frankly, it won’t be the end of the world if a 4G iPhone fails to turn up this summer — most of us here would rather have something with improved battery life, real multitasking, and 720p camera over those insane data speeds. No, really.

[Thanks, Bryan]

Apple job posting hints at LTE for a future iPhone? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Mar 2010 23:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Line 6 peripheral brings MIDI and iPhone closer than you ever expected

It’s no amplifier substitute, but Line 6 has come up with something potentially even better for the budding songwriter buried deep within your rhythmic veins. The MIDI Mobilizer for iPhone and iPod touch is an app-based peripheral that lets you record, playback, store, and transfer MIDI sequences and parameters using the MIDI Memo Recorder software. While it does sound convenient in theory, we’ll have to wait until we can try the dongle out for ourselves. At this point in time, price of the Mobilizer is TBD and the release date is the ever-vague Spring 2010. As for the recorder app, it’s currently available on iTunes free of charge, although it’s more or less useless without the complementary hardware. For now, you’ll just have to settle with living vicariously through the promo video, after the break.

[Thanks, Fred]

Continue reading Line 6 peripheral brings MIDI and iPhone closer than you ever expected

Line 6 peripheral brings MIDI and iPhone closer than you ever expected originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 21 Mar 2010 08:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Synthtopia, Vetaville  |  sourceLine 6, iTunes  | Email this | Comments

Quad-copter responds to your voice, isn’t coming to a toy store near you (video)

Quad-copter responds to your voice, isn't coming to a toy store near you (video)

Hey, remember Taiyo’s voice controlled toy helicopter from last year? This is way cooler. Like, way cooler. It’s an autonomous quad-copter created by the Robust Robotics Group at MIT. It hovers and flies a bit like the AR.Drone that had us smitten at CES this past January, but this one has a lot more brains. It response to natural (though slowly delivered) language voice commands that look to be processed on an iPhone before being sent to the helo. In the video embedded below you’ll see it responding to the command “Fly past room 124 then face the windows and go up.” Sure enough, it does as instructed, and while we don’t know how many takes that particular feat of robotic subservience took to pull off, we’re suitably impressed. Mind you, this is a research project and not any product ever destined for retail, so after watching that video a few more times we’ll just go back to crashing our Picco Zs into the walls — and each other.

Continue reading Quad-copter responds to your voice, isn’t coming to a toy store near you (video)

Quad-copter responds to your voice, isn’t coming to a toy store near you (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Hack A Day  |  sourceDirection Understanding, Robust Robotics Group  | Email this | Comments

Sausage stylus for the iPhone now on sale in the US

So you thought awesome gear never made the transition from Korea to the USA, huh? Not so in the case of the infamous sausage stylus we spotted a month ago. That cold weather peripheral — allowing its ingenious users to operate a capacitive touchscreen with gloves on — has made the big leap over to the Americas and can be yours for the low (seriously low) price of $0.99. Naturally, it’s a sausage, so it will be compatible with not just iPhones but anything receptive to capacitive touch, although you should be cognizant of the “not for consumption” label — compatibility with human stomachs is unlikely.

Sausage stylus for the iPhone now on sale in the US originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Crunch Gear  |  sourceCase Crown  | Email this | Comments

Engadget for iPhone / iPod touch 2.0.1 now available!


Hey guys, some fun news to share: Engadget for iPhone / iPod touch 2.0.1 was just approved by Apple and is now available on the App Store! The big new feature is landscape mode in article, comment, and sharing views, but we’ve also bumped up font sizes, made some improvements to the commenting experience, and added the ability to edit tweets directly in the app. Oh, and you can also now email photos from galleries from within the app, and customize the toolbar. Of course, that’s in addition to our regular features like offline viewing, built in streaming for The Engadget Show, and in-app tip submissions — you know, for when you see the iPhone 3GT leak out.

So what are you waiting for? You can download the app right here, or just click the image above — if you’ve already got it installed the update should be waiting for you right this second. Full changelog after the break.

Once again, a big thanks to the team at AOL that makes these apps happen: Sun Sachs, Andy Averbuch, Hareesh P, Anibal Rosado, Rajesh Kumar, Rich Foster, Claudeland Louis, Mike Wolstat, Eric Wedge, Vikas B R, Milissa Tarquini, Asha Indira and Bob Gurwin. High fives all around.

P.S.- Updates for the BlackBerry and webOS apps should hit in March, and that’s also when we’re scheduled to launch our Android app — stay tuned!

Continue reading Engadget for iPhone / iPod touch 2.0.1 now available!

Engadget for iPhone / iPod touch 2.0.1 now available! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Daimler’s Smart Drive kit for iPhone gives you big buttons, a dent in your wallet

If you’re one of the trendy hipsters driving a Smart Fortwo, here’s another way of pimping up your ride: Daimler has announced a Q2 2010 launch for its Smart Drive kit for the iPhone. As pictured above, the kit consists of a cradle for handsfree communication plus charging, and an app that “combines all the features needed on the road” by the means of “extra-large buttons and extra-large letters.” You’ll get access to your usual music library (plus Internet radio), contacts, phone functions and map by Daimler (points-of-interest data from Microsoft Bing). There’s also the handy “Assist” feature that can automatically mark your parking location when undocked, and can provide GPS coordinates to the Smart hotline for roadside assistance. What’s more, Daimler’s currently working on a camera for this kit that can identify speed limit signs, and can then warn you if you’re speeding. Want it? You’ll need to fork out a dear €240 ($326) for the cradle (which may or may not be necessary), then a one-off €9.99 ($14) for the app, and finally the optional annual €49.99 ($68) for on-board European and US maps plus live traffic data. We’ll reconsider if the app can also start our car.

[Thanks, Jason]

Daimler’s Smart Drive kit for iPhone gives you big buttons, a dent in your wallet originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Feb 2010 18:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceBenz Insider  | Email this | Comments

RIM CEO claims we are staring ‘down the barrel of a capacity crunch,’ should all get BlackBerrys to prevent it

Capacity crunch, isn’t that a breakfast cereal? RIM’s Mike Lazaridis seems to have been a real grouch at MWC this week as apparently he hasn’t stopped talking about the doom and gloom awaiting mobile carriers over the next few years. Focusing on the bandwidth-hungry North American market, Lazaridis has criticized the apparently irresponsible network saturation growth, which he sees as being primarily driven by app-centric operating systems. If you’re wondering who he could possibly be referring to, let Mike clarify it — according to him, you could carry five BlackBerry devices for each iPhone on a network. As evidence of his firm’s focus on efficiency, he points us to that freshly demoed WebKit browser, which he claims uses a third of the bandwidth required by the competition from Apple and Google. If only he wasn’t implying that owning a BlackBerry would save the internet, Mike’s sales pitch would be rather compelling — those are mighty impressive numbers he is citing.

RIM CEO claims we are staring ‘down the barrel of a capacity crunch,’ should all get BlackBerrys to prevent it originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Feb 2010 03:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink 9to5Mac  |  sourceDaily Telegraph, Economic Times  | Email this | Comments

Apple locks down iPhone trademark, includes ‘electronic games’ category

Patently Apple has sniffed out the latest, and most comprehensive, trademark registration acquired by Apple on the subject of the iPhone and we thought we’d have a peek. Already entitled to use the brand name under international categories 9 (mobile phone and digital audio player) and 38 (electronic data-transmitting device), Apple has now added category 28, which reads shortly and sweetly as a ‘handheld unit for playing electronic games.’ Before you freak out and start fusing this into your iPhone 4G fantasies, note that Apple filed the claim for this trademark way back in December 2007. So nothing necessarily new on the tech front, but this document provides the broadest brand protection yet — including the bitten apple graphic alongside the name — and could strengthen Cupertino’s case in its forthcoming battle for the iPad moniker.

Apple locks down iPhone trademark, includes ‘electronic games’ category originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Feb 2010 12:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TiPb, Patently Apple  |  sourceUSPTO  | Email this | Comments

How many oranges does it take to charge an Apple? (video)

We’ve seen lemons power a digital clock, and we’ve seen an Orange tent energize a gaggle of Apples. But have you ever wondered how many oranges it would take to charge just a single Apple? Name games aside, we have to hand it to Imperial Leisure, the company that executed a new iPhone-centered advertisement aimed at raising awareness for Jaffa oranges. We won’t spoil the whole thing for you, but we will say that you’ll be far hungrier after watching than you are right now. Video’s past the break, per usual.

[Thanks, forumz]

Continue reading How many oranges does it take to charge an Apple? (video)

How many oranges does it take to charge an Apple? (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Feb 2010 13:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Daily iPhone Blog  |  sourceImperial Leisure  | Email this | Comments

DARPA-based Siri virtual assistant hits the App Store, smartphone sentience can’t be far behind (video)

zDARPA-based Siri digital assistant hits the App Store, smartphone sentience can't be far behind (video)

It’s been well over six months since we first got wind of Siri, the DARPA-inspired smartphone app that pledged to take all the hassle out of… well… life. It’s a virtual assistant that can take care of menial tasks, things like finding restaurants, hearing reviews, and even booking tables — all with your voice. Siri asks simple questions and reacts to your answers, and while it sadly seems to have lost some of its military feel since its DARPA days (bummer), it’s a lovely companion to your happening lifestyle. Plus it’s free, and free is good! Check out a demonstration video after the break, and hit up the App Store to make with the download. Meanwhile, if you’re on some other smartphone platform you’ll have to wait. We fully expect Siri will break free of its current monotasking abode sometime in the future, but we don’t know when. We just don’t know when.

Continue reading DARPA-based Siri virtual assistant hits the App Store, smartphone sentience can’t be far behind (video)

DARPA-based Siri virtual assistant hits the App Store, smartphone sentience can’t be far behind (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceSiri  | Email this | Comments