Hasta La Gadget!

My, how time flies. Can it really be 30 years since the original Frogger was released into arcades in 1981? To celebrate the anniversary, Konami has unleashed a new version of the game into the App Store known as Frogger Decades. Along with the familiar highway scenes, you’ll be treated to new environments such as swamps and islands, along with opportunities to solve puzzles along the way. A classic D-pad controller is built-in for those seeking a slice of nostalgia, but you’re also free to hop about using touch input on the screen. The game retails for $2 with versions for the iPhone and iPad, and it supports competitive play via the Open Feint network. We know what we’ll be doing tonight. Care to join us?

Frogger Decades leaps into App Store, still going strong after 30 years of being hit by trucks originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Sep 2011 02:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Since the death of Gears we’ve been, rather impatiently, awaiting the return of offline access to our Google apps. Well that day has finally come — provided you’re a Chrome fan. The fine folks in Mountain View just unveiled a new app for their browser (which means it also works on Chome OS) called Offline Google Mail that will keep you connected to your all-important messages even when you can’t get a connection. You’ll notice the app looks a heck of a lot like the web app for tablets, and that’s because that’s basically what it is. There are some differences — keyboard shortcuts work — but at it’s heart it’s the same HTML5 browser app mobile users have been enjoying for some time. To install the offline version you’ll have to uninstall the standard Gmail Chrome app, which is a little odd, but there’s nothing stopping you from typing Gmail.com in the address bar. Docs and Calendar are also going offline. Starting today the feature will be rolled out to users over the next week. To activate it just look under settings for an offline tick box. At the moment Docs is view only when disconnected, but Google promises offline editing is coming soon. Hit up the more coverage link to install Offline Gmail now.

Update: Google reached out to us and it turns out both can run side by side just fine. We were experiencing a bug that shouldn’t effect most users since we hadn’t let the Gmail app update recently.

Gmail, Google Docs and Calendar finally regain offline access originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Aug 2011 12:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Convert all your WordPerfect files to PDF with Adobe’s CreatePDF

Aside from the bloated carcass that is Photoshop, and the CPU-taxing nightmare that is Flash, Adobe is also known for the slimline, efficient and easy to use Acrobat and Acrobat Reader, applications for authoring and reading PDF files. Who am I kidding? Acrobat is pretty much the most complicated, slow and cumbersome way to do anything with a PDF, which is why I’m skeptical that Adobe’s CreatePDF for iOS will even work.

The $10 universal app takes files of many formats and converts them to a PDF. If this sounds familiar then that’s because we have recently seen two other apps which do the same and more, for less money: Print to PDF lets you convert anything to a PDF using the standard iOS print dialog, and also automatically catalogs web pages and emails. The other, PDF Converter, also ties in Dropbox support and converts several formats that Adobe’s app won’t, including Pages and Keynote files.

CreatePDF works through the “Open In…” dialog, letting you send documents ready to be processed. Once done, you can use the same method to get the PDFs out, or you can mail them. No Dropbox or other storage option is supported.

That said, you get proper PDFs from supported formats, including preservation of links in converted Word docs (PDF Converter loses these) and also support for Adobe’s own Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign file formats. Here’s the full list:

• MS Word (docx, doc), Excel(xlsx, xls), PowerPoint (pptx, ppt)
• Adobe Illustrator (ai), Photoshop (psd) and InDesign (indd)
• Images – JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF, TIFF
• RTF, Text and WordPerfect
• OpenOffice and StarOffice documents

Maybe I’m being tough on Adobe for its desktop crimes — the mobile Apps, like the excellent Adobe Ideas, are way better and more focussed than what has come before. And until there’s one perfect PDF app that will convert all file formats, it looks like we’re stuck using a handful off apps. At least iOS has folders, I guess.

Adobe® CreatePDF [iTunes]

See Also:

• Hands-On with PDF Highlighter, the iPad's Best PDF App?
• PDF Converter for iPad, An Indispensable Tool
• Print to PDF, A Virtual Printer for Your iPhone, iPad

If you’re a fan of TomTom’s Go Live series of nav units, you’ll get a kick out of what the company announced today. Hitting retail and online stores in October is “the world’s first portable navigation device with a suite of popular travel apps,” the Go Live 1535M. That’s right folks, this piece of dashboard flair will allow you to use Yelp, TripAdvisor, Expedia and Twitter all from the comfort of its 5-inch touchscreen. In addition to the new application integration, the GPS juggernaut’s classic features will be available as well: hands-free calling, real-time traffic info, local search, fuel prices and weather forecasts. Sounds great, right? But what’s that… you already sprung for the 2535M model? No worries, mates — you’ll be able to download the new features this fall via software update. Pricing for these app-enabled navigators will start at $250 which includes a free 12-month subscription to TomTom Live services. Pretty soon, you’ll be able to make that dinner reservation while TomTom tells you how to get there, seconds before you tweet about it.

Continue reading TomTom announces Go Live 1535M in all its app-wielding glory, offers dashboard tweeting

TomTom announces Go Live 1535M in all its app-wielding glory, offers dashboard tweeting originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Aug 2011 16:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There’s nothing worse than missing out on your favorite street meat because you’ve only got plastic. But even smaller vendors may soon be able to process that dollar hot dog with a credit card, as Verizon Wireless is making Intuit’s GoPayment card reader available in its 2,300 retail stores. The small business-friendly machine plugs into a BlackBerry, Android or iOS device to transform the smartphone or tablet into a credit card processing machine using a free app. After a $30 mail-in rebate, the hardware is free with no monthly fees and a 2.7-percent fee per transaction. Merchants who upgrade to the premium version for $12.95 per month will only have to fork over 1.7-percent fee per swipe, bringing the net income on that dollar tube of processed meat to just over 98 cents. Plus, Intuit is throwing in two months gratis for the paid version. Check out the full PR after the break, and don’t forget the ketchup and mustard.

Continue reading Verizon to offer Intuit’s GoPayment in retail stores, free after rebate

Verizon to offer Intuit’s GoPayment in retail stores, free after rebate originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Aug 2011 13:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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