Hasta La Gadget!

If you’re the kind of person who’s always listening to music and wouldn’t be caught dead headphone-less, pause that song for a quick second and check out Seamless. This lightweight app links your iPhone‘s Music player to iTunes on your Mac in a pretty clever — not to mention Cupertino-esque — fashion. The whole crux of it is the “transition,” which simultaneously fades out a song on one end while bringing it to full blast on the other. All it takes to get started is a quick $1.99 download for your i-device and free Mac-centric companion app. Does it work as advertised, or is it really just a gimmick? Head past the break for a quick rundown of just how seamless this utility really is.

Continue reading App review: Seamless for iOS and Mac (video)

App review: Seamless for iOS and Mac (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 Apr 2011 13:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Good news for Android users who hate paying for stuff: according to new numbers from Netherlands-based mobile analytics group Distimo, there are now more free apps available for Google’s mobile OS than the iPhone, at 134,342 to 121,845. There are a few things to consider here: first, when one adds free iPad-only apps, the total number of gratis iOS apps increases to a more competitive 132,239. And then there’s Apple’s sometimes rigorous vetting process, which has probably played a role in its numeric slippage — after all, this report doesn’t highlight things like legality, repetition, or the overall number of apps dedicated to making farting noises. Also, Apple has a lot more premium apps, giving it the overall lead at 333,124 to 206,143 — but between Android’s rapid growth and what the report terms iOS’s relative stagnation, Distimo expects Google to take the top spot in five months’ time, outnumbering iPhone and iPad apps combined — a rough scenario for Cupertino to stomach, no doubt, but at least the company will still have Windows Phone to kick around a while longer. [Source link requires registration]

Shocker! Free Android apps outnumber free iPhone apps originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Apr 2011 22:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Many of us use apps to buy stuff these days, whether its grabbing the latest e-book from Amazon, or a Groupon for a day of pampering at the local spa. Seems obvious now, but it wasn’t (at least according to the USPTO) in 2004, when Microsoft filed a patent application for the idea — and that application was recently granted. The patent claims a way to make purchases through an network-connected portal with a “streamlined interface” (to “streamline” the process of parting you from your money, no doubt). The portal maintains a list of selling sites and exchanges info as needed to let buyers pick up what the seller’s putting down. Now, we aren’t intimately familiar with the ways shopping apps work, but the patent language appears broad enough to cover apps that make internet purchases without using a full-on web browser — though only a federal court can say for sure. The only other question is, what are Ballmer and his boys going to do with these newly granted IP powers?

Microsoft patents apps that let you buy things, Ballmer to go on licensing spree? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 00:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Over the last few months, Chinese site cnBeta’s been busy dishing out alleged screenshots of Windows 8 at its infancy, though few have caught our attention until this new batch came along. Assuming this isn’t the work of some cruel joke, it appears that Microsoft’s next flagship OS will be shipped with its very own built-in app store, which is simply dubbed Windows App Store at this stage (and now we see why Redmond keeps fighting the good fight over the “App Store” trademark). As with previous Windows milestone builds, the final appearance may differ slightly, but word has it that this new store’s passed its internal tests and will soon go beta. While it’s too early to tell, here’s hoping that this feature will open the floodgate to a whole bunch of cheaper Windows software.

[Thanks, Stephen]

Update: Turns out the above screenshot had already appeared on waybeta last month, and the actual news here is that now we seem to have a Chinese version of the app store, possibly by way of a language pack.

Windows 8 app store revealed in leaked screenshots, ready for beta testing? (Updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 23:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The $350 ContourGPS sits among the top-tier of consumer-friendly helmet cams, but it’s always posed one major problem: you can’t really tell where it’s pointing. Sure, it shoots a pair of wicked lasers out of the front, but it’s always a challenge to gauge the extents of its 135 degree lens. We knew there was a secret trick in there waiting to be unleashed, which we got to play with at CES, and now here it is. Contour has released its Connect View functionality for iOS, letting you view live footage from the camera right on your phone. Keep reading for our full impressions.

Continue reading ContourGPS Connect View app hands-on

ContourGPS Connect View app hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 03 Apr 2011 16:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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