Hasta La Gadget!

Talk about timely. We’ve been waiting for months (with bated breath, might we add) for Pleco 2.2 to finally hit Apple’s App Store, and after dealing with a few launch day bugs last week, we can finally say it’s out and ready to dominate any Chinese homework you’ve been hastily procrastinating on. The Pleco Chinese Dictionary is now available in the app store at version 2.2.1, supporting both fullscreen handwriting input and live camera-based character recognition. Have a peek at the video past the break if you’re still curious as to what this app can do for you, and feel free to toss your experiences with it down in comments below. Here’s hoping this is only the first of many languages Pleco decides to tackle — not that we’re much on tossing out subtle hints.

Continue reading Pleco Chinese Dictionary iPhone app now handling real-time image translations

Pleco Chinese Dictionary iPhone app now handling real-time image translations originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Nov 2010 20:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oh boy, here we go. iOS 4.2 is out right now. iPad users finally get sweet, sweet multitasking, while everybody gets AirPlay awesomeness and Find My iPhone for free. More »

If you’re an iPad owner, you’ve probably been on pins and needles lately. That’s because back in September, Apple announced that a full-scale update to the tablet’s OS would be coming in the form of iOS 4.2, bringing a slew of new features to the device. Included in that laundry list is proper iOS 4-style multitasking, folders, major mail improvements, Game Center integration, and Safari enhancements (like find-in-page text searches). Besides those features, the company has been touting two other big changes that could cause a major shift in the way you use your iPad — namely, AirPrint and AirPlay. Both additions leverage your WiFi network, certain connected printers, and the new Apple TV in an attempt to make the company’s slate less like a distraction and more like the center of your digital life.

When the update was originally announced, we took you on a walkthrough of the early developer beta. Though 4.2 will roll out to the iPhone and iPod touch, we wanted to focus on the iPad version, as it represents a major change for the platform. We’ve had a chance to spend time with the final version of the OS (which is actually 4.2.1 now), and put it through its paces. We’ve updated our original guide and given the finished product a critical once over, so read on for our full review!

Continue reading iOS 4.2 review (for iPad)

iOS 4.2 review (for iPad) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Nov 2010 08:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A New York-based teenager may have incurred the wrath of Apple’s lawyers after he took white iPhone delays into his own hands. Seventeen-year-old Fei “Phil” Lam has been selling eager customers converter kits to turn black iPhones into white iPhones.

The kits, which he’s selling for around $279 a piece contain parts supplied by Foxcon–the China-based company that manufactures parts for Apple. Lam speaks fluent Chinese and got in touch with FoxCon through an acquaintance. He sells the kits through his site whiteiphonefournow.com.

Lam claims to have made around $130,000 selling them to antsy Apple fans who apparently can’t sit through anymore delays (the white iPhone, now scheduled to arrive in March, was originally slotted to appear at the same time as the black iPhone 4).

Lam plans to use that money to help pay for school. “I’m very thankful, ’cause for months I was struggling for an idea that would bootstrap my first startup and help pay for college,” he told The New York Observer.

Unfortunately, all of that money may end up going to Lam’s legal expenses. The Queens-based teenage entrepreneur claims to have been contacted by a private investigator attempting to put the kibosh on his burgeoning company. Lam believes that the P.I. may have been hired by Apple.

“There are a couple of other sellers online and somehow I’m the ‘focus’ of it all,” Lam said. “I think this guy is just trying to scare me into stop selling on behalf of Apple.”

Suffering from a little bit of Droid envy? It happens to even the most loyal of iPhone users, and now BoxWave is stepping in to make your life almost complete (we say “almost” because there’s still no native Gmail client for the iPhone, and all your tears aren’t going to solve that). The BoxWave Keyboard Buddy Case is just what it sounds like, a Bluetooth keyboard embedded in an iPhone 4 case, only instead of flipping out like the TK-421 or slide-tilting like the ultra-bulky Nuu Mini Key, BoxWave’s solution is a simple sliding affair that adds very little to the iPhone 4’s profile and hardly anything to its footprint. Also, it’s your buddy. It’ll start shipping next month, and it’s a little spendy at $70, but can you really put a price on the flattery of imitation?

BoxWave’s Keyboard Buddy turns your iPhone 4 into the Droid it always wanted to be originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Nov 2010 20:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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