Feb 03
As promised, Pebble rolled out an app store for its iPhone users earlier today, and Android users were left asking for info about when their own would surface. Fortunately, the … Continue reading
Feb 03
Pebble’s appstore for its smartwatches has gone live, arriving in an update for the iOS Pebble app and with an Android version due “very, very soon” the company says. Currently … Continue reading
Feb 03
Even with the recent additions of Vevo, RedBull.TV, and media center app Plex, there are currently only 14 compatible apps available for the Chromecast. That number is about to explode.
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Feb 03
Time and time again an app launches that instantly shoots to global fame in a matter of days. It may be a game or something as simple as a news reader, that particular app holds on to the spotlight no matter what the region or market is. The perfect example from the past is Angry Birds which is now nothing short of a global phenomenon. One recent example is Flappy Bird, an intense, addictive and often infuriating game that debuted on iOS. The developer has now confirmed that Flappy Bird Windows Phone release is going to take place “in 10 days.”
Flappy Bird Windows Phone Release ‘In 10 Days’ original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Feb 03
Pebble Appstore Is Now Live
Posted in: Today's Chili
Pebble was perhaps the only smartwatch that stood out from the crowd last year. What initially started as a crowdfunding campaign is now a product that’s known around the world. Pebble isn’t what it used to be, the company has launched a new model crafted from steel, and it has also launched an app store that contains apps exclusively developed for the popular smartphone. The Pebble appstore was first announced back at CES 2014 and today it has finally been launched. The appstore is now live, touting over 1,000 applications and watchfaces. Its baked into the Pebble app for iOS and Android. Users can peruse apps and watchfaces, then simply download the ones they like from their smartphone.
Pebble Appstore Is Now Live original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Feb 03
One of the most exciting new apps in months has hit Apple’s App Store today: Paper, an app that provides a refreshing new Facebook experience
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Feb 03
Pebble started shipping its new Pebble Steel hardware last week, but until today, the version of the companion app available to the general public didn’t contain any of the version 2.0 goodness that granted access to the Pebble appstore. The new appstore is being billed as the “first open platform for sharing apps optimized for wearables” by Pebble, and as of today, it’s available to the general Pebble-wearing public, so long as you’ve got an iOS device.
The Pebble appstore works with any Pebble running OS version 2.0, which you’ll be prompted to install on your device when you download and install the updated Pebble app. You’ll also get a completely new interface for managing your Pebble and the new apps you can install on it from within the software. As you can see in our review, the update introduces an app and watchface management tray that lets you see what’s already on your Pebble (each smartwatch supports a maximum of 8 third-party apps and faces).
Pebble’s new appstore features apps updated to work with SDK 2.0, and is divided into either apps or watchfaces, with subdivisions within each. The apps section features categories, including fitness apps and remotes, for example, and the watchface category can be organized by popularity, recency or staff picks. In my review, I noted that it struck me as a bit rudimentary, but it’s perfectly functional for a version 1 release, and sort of resembles the early days of Apple’s iOS App Store.
I’ve already got some favourites picked out from the inaugural batch of Pebble apps: Both Yelp and Foursquare’s official software never leave my wrist, and the third-party Huebble app is arguably a better Philips Hue remote than the iOS app itself in many ways. The PipBoy 100 Pebble watchface also provides some great utility, including battery indicator, connectivity loss alarm when you venture too far from your phone, and what amounts to a loose step counter via an XP display and level up system. And if my life was exciting enough that I owned a GoPro, I’d definitely use the remote app for that gadget.
Already, Pebble’s app ecosystem offers up a number of software titles that can replace entire gadgets, with software for tracking daily activity and progress towards a goal, as well as stuff that turns your Pebble into a hardware remote for controlling your smartphone camera’s shutter.
Grab the updated Pebble app now if you want access to all that appstore goodness. Even if you aren’t one of the few pre-orderers lucky enough to have a Pebble Steel, you’re going to feel like you’ve got a brand new device with this update. Android users, Pebble promises you don’t have to wait long – they haven’t put a specific timeline on when the appstore makes it to Google’s mobile OS, but it should arrive “very, very soon” according to the company.
Feb 03
The first in a (relatively short) series of releases for PlayStation 4 this month will be the horror title “Outlast.” Spoken extremely highly of in its first release on the … Continue reading
Feb 03
Paper, Facebook’s new standalone reader app, is now available for download.
Posted in: Today's ChiliPaper, Facebook’s new standalone reader app
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Feb 03
iCPooch Is A Remote Treat Dispenser & Pet Facetime Terminal For Absent Dog Owners
Posted in: Today's Chili
Last summer we covered Petzila’s answer to keeping a pet pooch happy when you’re not at home: a remote treat dispenser called PetziConnect which also let absent dog owners view and talk to their pooch while delivering treats from afar. Fast forward a few months and prepare to greet iCPooch: another gizmo aiming for the not-so-stay-at-home dog owner, but one which takes the remote petting to the next obvious level: doggy facetime.
iCPooch, currently seeking $20,000 on Kickstarter to go from prototype to production, provides a plastic housing for repurposing an Android/iOS smartphone or tablet as a video terminal through which you can see and be seen by your dog when you’re not at home.
So, to be clear, you’re going to have to provide the most expensive chunk of hardware required to power this device yourself, fitting it between iCPooch’s adjustable brackets. Although, your old smartphone that’s languishing unused in a drawer is probably going to be perfectly up to the task of treat-talking Fido.
As with PetziConnect, iCPooch holds pet treats (although it’s specifically designed for larger dog biscuits) that the owner can dispense remotely via the ‘drop cookie’ button in the corresponding app.
The differentiator is that because you’re using a smartphone/tablet, the app can also support placing a videocall (via Skype and piggybacking on your home Wi-Fi network) so you can view your dog while you send a treat, and — crucially — be seen by them. That’s one up on PetziConnect which included a camera and microphone so the owner could see and talk to the dog, but no screen to be seen.
Whether your dog will care as much for seeing your remote visage as receiving the tasty treats that materialise in iCPooch’s tray remains to be seen — and judging by the Kickstarter video, the dog’s Pavlovian attachment is likely to quickly transfer to the tray portion of the device, i.e. the place where the treat appears. But at least you get to pretend they’re really happy to see you.
Also remaining to be seen: whether the remote sight and sound of a beloved owner, coupled with the tasty scent of dog biscuits wafting from a box on the floor, drives Fido into such a frenzy of excitement that he systematically deconstructs iCPooch, returning it to the constituent parts from whence it came.
iCPooch was apparently the brainchild of 14-year-old Brooke Martin, who is credited as inventor and spokesman on the Kickstarter project page, with her dad as founder and COO. The idea came to her after the family dog suffered “separation anxiety” as a result of everyone having less time to spend hanging out at home. Ergo she wanted a way to maintain some contact with the dog, when she was out and about.
The family startup is aiming to raise $20,000 on Kickstarter by March 4 to get iCPooch to market, with an estimated shipment date of this May. Early backers can bag the device for $99. But as noted above, that price-tag does not include the cost of the smartphone or tablet you’ll need to turn iCPooch from dumb plastic to working gadget.
(Petzila’s rival PetziConnect, which incorporates its own HD camera and Wi-Fi connectivity into the treat-dispenser, has not yet shipped but is due to arrive in early 2014. It’s available for pre-order costing $170.)
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