Hasta La Gadget!

A video discovery app that takes all of the UI greatness of Pulse and smashes it into an environment dedicated to searching through not only your favorite blogs’ feeds of videos, but YouTube, Netflix, and Hulu as well. This app has been out for more than a few weeks, but here in its newest iteration it’s become something of beauty – and it’s free, to boot. You’ve got a “What’s Hot” section for new video discovery and a way to search for the video you want across multiple platforms spanning essentially the entire web – what more could you ask for?

The folks at Squrl have a search engine for instantly playable videos from YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, Ted (aka Ted Talks), AOL, Vimeo, Blip.TV, and more. This list is expanding in Squrl, and the app works just as well on the iPhone 5 as it does on the iPad – and the iPhone 4S/4, the iPod touch, and the rest, too, of course. You can make your own profile and share your favorite videos if you want, or you can remain entirely anonymous.

You can add your own feed collections or you can use the app purely for search. Add the Android feed and you’ll find our favorite sister-site Android Community featured prominently – but you want to stick to Apple, right? There’s an Apple feed as well. You can connect to your Facebook to show an interest graph for yourself over time, this generating suggestions from the app itself as it gets to know you better. It’s one of those things that seems a bit creepy to some people and quite magical to others – I tend to lean towards the latter.

You’ll want to check out the competition in Flixter and Dijit, Showyou and every other app just like this one if you want o judge the best user interface experience for yourself, but the end result right this minute will be thus: Squrl is fresh, it works, it feels nice to use, and it’s free. This app is up on the iTunes App Store right this minute and you can hit up Squrl.com to see if they plan on releasing any Android-based solutions in the near future – or Windows Phone, for that matter too.

Be sure to head down to our iOS App Reviews portal for more of the best for your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch from all angles. Games, utilities, oddities, and everything in-between – have at em!

Squrl for iOS Review is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If you didn’t pre-order an LTE version of the iPad mini last month, not all hope is lost. Both AT&T and Verizon are now offering the smaller iPad as well as the 4th-gen iPad. AT&T says that you can purchase the new iPads at any of their physical locations, although they don’t mention anything about availability on their website, but the two devices appear to be ready for purchase at ATT.com.

There’s no word on how many units AT&T and Verizon have available, but don’t count on an abundant supply. So, if you’re planning on getting an LTE version of the iPad mini, there’s really no better time than right now to head to your preferred carrier store and pick one up before they’re sold out. Apple’s website still lists a two-week delay.

Apple launched the iPad mini and the 4th-gen iPad on November 2, while LTE versions would begin shipping a couple weeks afterward. Of course, as with any Apple product launch, the iPad mini sold out fairly quickly, although not as quickly as with past product launches — customers could still grab a black 16GB WiFi model well after the initial launch at midnight.

The iPad Mini LTE version comes in black and white variants, and prices start at $459 for the 16GB version, while $659 will get you a full-blown 64GB model. The 4th-generation iPad with LTE starts at $629 for 16GB and goes all the way up to $829 for a 64GB version. Apple’s website lists the 4th-gen iPad LTE with a one-week ship date.

iPad mini LTE and 4th-gen iPad now on sale at AT&T, Verizon is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The artist responsible for some of the most iconic album covers in rock and roll history, the man known as Roger Dean, has taken part in the creation of a game by the name of Dragon’s Dream. This game takes some fabulous ethereal environmental elements from Dean’s artworks and creates a multi-level set of worlds for you, a tiny dragon, to fly around in. The game exists as a sort of classic-feeling side-scrolling flying adventure and has you seeking full-sized versions of the artworks at hand by beating each level with just a set of taps and holds.

This game works perfectly well on each of the different iDevice screen sizes – iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch alike. It takes a simple game mechanic – holding your finger down on your display to make the sprite flap his wings – and makes an above-and-beyond beautiful bit of brilliance to make it a must-own app for your high-definition devices. Everything from the game environments to the loading screen back out to the title logo has been designed by Dean.

For those of you unaware, Roger Dean is the man behind your favorite progressive rock album covers – Yes and Asia being some of the more famous. Having also created one of the most well-known logos for a video game in the history of the universe – Tetris – allows Dean the clout to create the game we’re seeing here, top to bottom.

“We have taken many elements from the Dragons Dream paintings; landscapes from Arches Morning, 1st April, Birdsong, Morning Dragon, Elbow Rock and Sea of Light all come together to create two new worlds, making this application an essential element of my artwork portfolio.” – Roger Dean

You’ll be able to pick this game up from the iTunes App Store starting on the 18th of November starting at £2.99. The release may be international by that time – for now we’re sure it’ll be out in the UK at least. Here’s crossing your fingers and toes!

Roger Dean’s Dragons Dream for iOS Review is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Apple faces a second attack on its use of FaceTime, with web software firm VirnetX dragging the Cupertino firm back into the courtroom over video calling tech in the iPhone 5, iPad mini, and other hardware. VirnetX, which scored a $368m win against Apple earlier this week, claims the new smartphone and 7.9-inch tablet – as well as the 4th-gen iPad with Retina display, the 5th-gen iPod touch, and the latest batch of Macs – are just as guilty of infringing its networking-based patents as earlier iOS gadgets.

“Due to their release dates, these products were not included in the previous lawsuit that concluded with a Jury verdict on November 6, 2012″ VirnetX said in a statement today, explaining its double-dip legal strategy. The company is hoping for damages and injunctive relief; last time around, it sought around $700m, though the judge granted roughly half of that.

Four US patents – Nos. 6,502,135, 7,418,504, 7,921,211 and 7,490,151 – are at the heart of VirnetX’s complaint, referring to how VPN connections are established for secure point-to-point communications between devices. In general that technology is used for businesses to share files securely with remote workers, but VirnetX successfully argued that Apple uses the same, patented technology when it establishes FaceTime video calls.

Apple, unsurprisingly, argued that the smaller company is chasing cash for something that it didn’t create. “VirnetX is not entitled to money for things they did not invent” Williams, Morgan & Amerson lawyer Danny Williams said as part of his final closing statement at the last trial. “The VirnetX technology, if used, is a small part of very large, complex products.”

No trial date for the new case has been confirmed, and Apple is yet to comment on the extended allegations.

Apple faces second FaceTime lawsuit over iPhone 5 and iPad mini is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Three months is a long time in tablet-land, it seems. Since we last brought you a buyer’s guide, a few things have changed. In fact, this is probably the biggest shake-up yet, with not only the long-rumored iPad mini making an appearance, but also new offerings from two other big guns — Microsoft and Google. Oh, and that means there’s a whole new species of device altogether. With Windows RT finally shipping, there’s new hardware to go with it, and we expect to see more popping up on the list in the months to come. This is all good news for you prospective tablet owners, as more competition can only mean more choice. With more options, though, comes more confusion. That’s where we come in, armed with a few notable picks. Read on to find out what made the cut this season.

Continue reading Engadget’s tablet buyer’s guide: fall 2012 edition

Filed under: Tablets, Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, ASUS, Google

Engadget’s tablet buyer’s guide: fall 2012 edition originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Nov 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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