Hasta La Gadget!

The British Broadcasting Corporation has made its iPlayer app plans that extra bit more official by announcing that iPad- and Android-specific versions of its software will be arriving by the end of this week. The iPlayer is a free TV catchup service hosting the best and most popular (those two being almost mutually exclusive categories) from the BBC’s catalog of recent programming, and the new native apps promise to bring that to your portable device in a touchscreen-optimized format with a “simple and intuitive design.” The finishing touches are being applied right now and the apps should be with us before the week is through, but the real cause for excitement is that the BBC plans to take the iPlayer out for an international walk, which will likely rely on such platform-specific apps for distribution and the collection of subscription fees. Then we can all watch Question Time together, yay!

P.S. – Take note, Android users, that you’ll need to have Froyo and Flash Player 10.1 installed on your phone or tablet in order to partake in the new app. Sort of a one step forward, one step back maneuver.

[Thanks, Jules]

BBC iPlayer app coming to Android as well as iPad by the end of this week originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 04:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Did you know that Wikipedia is celebrating its 10th anniversary this week? It is, on January 15th! It’s hard to believe that the ‘edited by the everyman’ encyclopedia has been around that long… or maybe we’re just getting old. Either way, co-founder of the site (and man of many personal appeals) Jimmy Wales took the opportunity to answer some questions about the past, present and future of Wikipedia, and, when asked about the growing prevalence of mobile apps and app stores, well, Wales had plenty to say, including that models such as the iTunes app store can represent a dangerous “chokepoint” and that they could be “a threat to a diverse and open ecosystem.” He also added that mobile devices are owned by people, and those people should control their own devices. We can see where Jimmy’s coming from in some ways — apps are a wholly new, untested way of ingesting content, but we have a hard time swallowing wholesale that the app store model could threaten internet freedom more than an issue such as net neutrality. But you know, if you ask us nicely, Jimmy, we might just take your word for it. Hit up the ‘more coverage’ link to check out a video of Jimmy Wales waxing philosophical about the birthday celebration.

Wikipedia celebrates 10th anniversary, co-founder Jimmy Wales opines on app stores originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 13:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Now, wait. Don’t just write Dokobots off because you hate Foursquare… this one has robots! While we’ve seen plenty of similar uses for geolocation, Dokobots operates as a sort of global scavenger hunt, with the ability to ‘scan’ the map of your surrounding area for items needed to charge up and repair your little robots. So far, we haven’t gotten up the steam to walk the block and a half to pick up the batteries we need, but there’s also a magnet tool for the super lazy, and other Dokobots will ‘visit’ your location over time, allowing you to record and photograph those moments for posterity. While we can’t say yet if this game has staying power in our app catalog, it’s definitely adorable at first glance. Dokobots is a free application available now in iTunes.

Dokobots game for iOS brings together the inevitable: robots and geolocation originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 14:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s time to put away childish things (Tweetie) and step up to Apple’s new Mac App Store. Twitter’s coders have decided to inaugurate the App Store’s arrival on Macs around the world tomorrow with a new version of their client for the platform. Such is the scuttlebutt coming from Razorianfly, who also managed to snatch up the screenshot above, though further details are predictably scarce. All we’re told is that the new Twitter for Mac will have the option to perform real-time updates, native re-tweeting support, and a funky option described as “drag and drop” tweets. Well, there had to be some intrigue to this software update.

Twitter for Mac expected to launch with Mac App Store tomorrow originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 19:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You can read your Amazon-bought ebooks on your Kindle, your PC, your Mac, your mobile, and even on your iPad. Now, it’s time to have them, contained in a tailor-made application, on your Android and Windows tablets as well. Amazon has just announced its intention to introduce a free app for reading Kindlebooks on devices running Google and Microsoft’s operating systems, which will expand its device compatibility list as the year goes on. Amazon specifically notes that these apps are intended for upcoming devices, which probably foreshadows the sort of tablet-heavy year we’re going to be having. Skip past the break for the full announcement.

Continue reading Amazon promises tablet-specific Kindle app for Android and Windows slates

Amazon promises tablet-specific Kindle app for Android and Windows slates originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 09:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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