Hasta La Gadget!

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.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

We’ve already seen Epic Games and Id Software show off their respective game engines for iOS devices, but they’re only now finally giving folks a look at the first actual games that will use them. The first of those to roll out will apparently be Id’s Mutant Bash TV, which looks as impressive as the Rage demo promised (although that’s aided in part by being on rails), and will cost just $0.99 for the standard version or $1.99 for the Retina Display-enhanced version. Seemingly even more impressive than it, however, is Epic Games’ Infinity Blade, the game counterpart to the Unreal Engine 3-based “Epic Citadel” demo that was released back in September. While it may look like yet another God of War clone, it sounds like Epic has something quite a bit different in mind — the game’s creative director (of Shadow Complex fame, incidentally) recently described it as a mix of Karateka, Dragon’s Lair and Punch-Out. Head on past the break to check out the trailer, and hit up the link below for Touch Arcade’s preview of Mutant Bash TV (no video for it just yet, unfortunately).

Continue reading Epic Games, Id Software show off jaw-dropping new iPhone games

Epic Games, Id Software show off jaw-dropping new iPhone games originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Nov 2010 21:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Ars Technica  |  Touch Arcade  | Email this | Comments

So apparently the hidden island of Lilliput has cellular coverage, but who cares — it’s still gonna be another crap movie. Way to ruin Gulliver’s Travels with Jack Black.

Joe: “Finally, Angry Birds the way it was meant to be played.”
Darren: “That’s a big iPhone.”
Josh T.: “The monolith taught the monkeys to kill, also, how to make conference calls.”
Paul: “Time-traveling Jack Black plants hidden iPhone reference in Jonathan Swift novel.”
Thomas: “It’s holding you wrong.”
Tim: “Eighteen months ago, the first evidence of intelligent life off the Earth was discovered. It was buried forty feet below the lunar surface, near the crater Cupertino.”
Vlad: “It’s just a jumbo iPhone, I don’t see what all the fuss is about.”
Sam: “What does this mean? It’s so bright, so vivid.”
Sean H.: “And so did the tiny scholars toil for decades to unravel the mysteries of the blue block, and the significance of its question marks.”
Richard Lai: “Paul Miller makes a cameo appearance in this scene, tut-tuts at the low pixel density.”
Myriam: “I’m crushing your head! I’m crushing your head!”

Continue reading Caption contest: Gulliver’s iPhone makes it big in Hollywood

Caption contest: Gulliver’s iPhone makes it big in Hollywood originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Nov 2010 12:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink BenM.at  |  YouTube  | Email this | Comments

Your iPhone’s passcode entry can’t block everything, it seems — at least not with iOS 4.1. We’re hearing various reports that simply inputting a random number in the emergency call field, pressing call, and then promptly hitting the hardware lock button will take you to the Phone app, thereby granting you access to the call history, voicemail, and address book. We’ve tried this with iPhone 3G, 3GS, and 4, all with the same result. We can’t get out of the field without trying to place a call, and after that we’re still stuck back at the passcode screen. Additionally, selecting “share contact” and then the camera icon will give you access to the photo album. Pay mind that your particularly paranoid pals could probably use this to see if you really did stop calling your ex and delete all his or her pictures. We won’t judge, but they will. Video proof of concept after the break.

Update: Feel free to hold down the menu button to access voice control and play some locally-stored tunes while you’re at it. And if you’ve got 4.2 beta like some of our staffers do, this “trick” should work just the same.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading iOS 4.1 glitch lets you bypass lock screen to access Phone app, photo album (video)

iOS 4.1 glitch lets you bypass lock screen to access Phone app, photo album (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Oct 2010 21:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Boy Genius Report  |  Viddler, 9 to 5 Mac  | Email this | Comments

If you’re a numbers geek, you’re trying to be scientific about your next smartphone purchase, or you just like pretty colors, you might appreciate DisplayMate’s latest report rounding up examples of all (well, most) of the latest and greatest display technologies out there: IPS LCD, Super AMOLED, AMOLED, and TFT, represented by the iPhone 4 and Droid, the Galaxy S, the Nexus One, and the iPhone 3GS, respectively. Noticeably missing is SLCD, the technology HTC has been using to make up for lost ground on its AMOLED shortage from component supplier Samsung, but we’ve got a hunch DisplayMate’s hard at work at adding that into the mix.

Anyhow, considering the sheer number of variables the firm takes into consideration — everything from color depth, to brightness, to reflectance, to color gamut — there’s no clear-cut winner, but the Droid and iPhone 4 are obviously a cut above the rest with generally higher scores and better performance across the board. The Galaxy S’ Super AMOLED turns in a decent performance, too, but takes a little hit for its 16-bit color depth and blown-out colors. Of course, if you consider any of these — even the crappy TFT on the 3GS — to a phone from five years ago, it still looks like science fiction… so you really can’t go wrong, can you?

Latest smartphone displays pitted in no-holds-barred deathmatch originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Sep 2010 23:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  DisplayMate  | Email this | Comments