Hasta La Gadget!

Today the folks in charge of the software universe at Google have let it be known that they’re adding CardDAV to the list of open protocols for accessing data on mobile apps and devices. This means that your iPhone 5 is now able to sync with your Google contacts list the same way you’re able to sync with Google Calendar and Gmail. Third parties galore – and not just on iOS – will be able to build their own Google contacts wielding apps in the very near future!

One of the most significant changes this will make is allowing Apple to integrate Google contacts into your iOS contacts app. This will not happen automatically, but adding your contacts to your iOS device is quite simple. Google has presented a set of instructions which we’ve reproduced here – follow at will!

1. Open the Settings application on your device.
2. Select Mail, Contacts, Calendars.
3. Select Add Account…
4. Select Other
5. Select Add CardDAV Account
6. Fill out your account information in the following fields:
Server: Enter “google.com”
User Name: Enter your full Google Account or Google Apps email address.
Password: Your Google Account or Google Apps password. (If you’ve enabled 2 Step verification, you’ll need to generate and enter an application specific password.)
Description: Enter a description of the account (e.g. Personal Contacts).
7. Select Next at the top of your screen.
8. Make sure that the “Contacts” option is turned to ON.

This update also works for Android, meaning that on both systems you’ll have IMAP for email, CalDAV for calendar, and CardDAV for contacts. Each will be free and open to software developers that want people to work with this data with their apps and for manufacturers of devices that create their own software builds – like Apple.

[via Google]

Google contacts gain open CardDAV for iPhone freedom is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The Apple patent collection is one that inspires not just a vision of the future as it will be, but one that, even in this most recent collection, shows what will likely never be. The newest set of patents revealed this week at Unwired View show a future iPhone that’s got features that would change the device not in the software department, but in the hardware – three dimensional screens, speakers sitting behind the front glass, and more.

One of these patents shows tactile feedback – here working with a flexible display technology that’ll allow you to have a three-dimensional keyboard. Once you need the keyboard to appear on your display, the keys rise from the surface of the display. Imagine the possibilities if this were able to be applied to games and other apps as well! There’s no knowing how far you could go in the wacky world of bumpy moving screens!

This set of patents also points toward a device whose display’s ability to be flexible is able to react to sound vibrations. With a laser microphone, it’s been suggested, the possibility even exists that there’d be no need for microphone holes anymore. The same would therefor be true the other way around – an iPhone with no need for speaker holes anywhere at all.

Once you’ve got the iPhone 5 in your hand, think about how much of a future push it’d be to have speakers up front – but not through holes, right through the display. And the display can move for a variety of functions. And the whole device is thinner – why not? You’ll find that the future of the iPhone isn’t necessarily shown in the Apple patent collection you’re seeing today, but in science fiction films that are already in theaters – check out Looper this Friday and you’ll see.

iPhone patents point to invisible speakers and disappearing buttons is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Siri’s managed to make it into several Apple devices now, so it doesn’t shock us to spy the company’s attempt to patent the polite (somewhat frosty) tones of its voice navigation system. A pretty deep patent application filed today describes an “intelligent Automated Assistant,” with the claims describing an application that is guided through the user’s speech — and all wrapped in a “conversational interface.” So far, so Siri. The filing elaborates on Apple’s earlier filings, explaining how this digital assistant furthers the users’ demands with additional requests for speech-based information — hopefully resulting in that map location or a movie booking you were after.

This “user intent” is then put to use, launching an additional app or performing the specified function, while non-speech input (presumably like the ability to correct your requests in text form) get a brief mention. We do get plenty of description on commands though, with some pretty thorough response tables and examples of “anchor text” — something that the automated assistant tries to pluck from your ramblings in order to make sense of them. The full version resides at the source below, if you’re looking for 51 verbose pages explaining Siri’s inner workings.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile

Apple files patent application for ‘intelligent automated assistant,’ sounds like Siri originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Sep 2012 07:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gorilla Glass or not, the iPhone 5 might be dubbed to be the “best iPhone yet”, but it sure as heck is not the toughest iPhone out there. After all, how do you rate a device that comes scuffed right out of the box, even before it has been slipped into your pocket? That spells out a poor choice of material and perhaps some quality control issues that need to be looked into, but it still has no negative effect on the sales of the iPhone 5. Well, here is a prank video that AwesomenessTV recorded, pretending to be an Apple employee who clumsily drops the boxes that results in the sound of broken glass, which is not too different from the iMac prank that we saw a while back.

This is going to get old fast though, as how many times can one expect to see the same kind of reaction on the faces of unsuspecting victims? It is going to be the same with new consumer electronics devices, regardless of whether it sports a fruity badge right up front or not.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: DIY nano SIM card for unlocked iPhone 5, iPhone 5 camera reportedly causes purple flare in photos,

We’ve made it through hump day, which means only two more work days to go before the weekend arrives again. Yesterday, we found out about a hack that was resetting Samsung Galaxy S IIIs to their factory settings. Samsung said that the security hole had since been fixed, but today we heard that the remote hack isn’t limited to just Samsung devices. The iPhone 5 might be heading to China soon, and we heard that Apple’s new Lightning connector isn’t identical on both sides. Google maps is rumored to be hitting iOS 6 by the end of the year, which goes hand-in-hand with new report that claims Apple ditched Google Maps because it doesn’t offer turn-by-turn navigation.

Facebook has been axing fake accounts left and right today, while we learned that the Galaxy S III will soon be launching at MetroPCS. Apple has been suspiciously ordering large quantities of carbon fiber, and RIM experienced a stock boost today after its BlackBerry 10 presentation yesterday. Xbox Music pricing details “leaked” out today, and Amazon has launched Vine.com, a new shopping service for those concerned about the environment.

Nintendo gave us a list of 23 titles that will launch alongside the Wii U on November 18, while Boost Mobile announced the LG Venice (which looks awfully similar to the LG Optimus L7). Facebook has implemented Dropbox integration for sharing among groups, and a new Nook video is taking a few shots at both Netflix and Amazon. O2 and HTC announced today that they will be selling an incoming, yet-unannounced smartphone without a charger, seemingly to cut down on the amount of spare chargers floating around out there.

Humble Indie Bundle 6 has a bunch of new games on offer for those who pay more than the average, and Activision delivered new details on the Zombies mode in Black Ops II today. Google launched Google Play services for Android developers today, which allows them to integrate a number of Google services into their apps. Finally tonight, Chris Davies takes a closer look at the fight ahead of the Nook HD and Nook HD+ tablets, Chris Burns has a new review of the HiddenRadio Wireless Speaker, and Ewdison Then has reviews of both the Monster Inspiration Headphones and the BMW X1 Crossover, so be sure to give all of those a look!

SlashGear Evening Wrap-Up: September 26, 2012 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.