Hasta La Gadget!

It was only a matter of time before Google+ Local started spreading to the mobile space, and iOS looks to be its first landing spot through a rebadge of the Google Places app. Apart from achieving harmony with Google’s rapidly swelling social universe and letting us check Zagat ratings for nearby establishments, the update slips in the same voice search that Google has had in its primary Google Search app: we won’t have to search for the best Vietnamese cuisine with that archaic keyboard. The refresh makes it similarly easy to find locations that aren’t directly close by, and there’s a tighter login process to keep that bar search history away from prying eyes. If you’re a social adventurer with an iPhone or iPod touch, Google just gave your expeditions a shot in the arm.

[Thanks, Bono]

Google Places for iOS becomes Google+ Local, adds voice search in the process originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Jul 2012 05:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple has announced that its Senior VP of Hardware Engineering, Bob Mansfield, will retire and over the course of the next few months transfer his role to Dan Riccio. Mansfield is credited with leading the Mac engineering team since 2005 and took on a more visible role as an exec during the reshuffling in 2008. He’s also mentioned as leading iPhone and iPod engineering since 2010 (when he took over the role from Mark Papermaster in a move curiously timed around those antenna troubles) and the iPad since it began. He’d been with Apple since 1999 when it acquired his previous employer, Raycer Graphics, and most recently popped up on our radar earlier this year while integrating another acquisition, flash memory maker Anobit. If you’d like to get familiar with his replacement, Dan Riccio is currently vice president of iPad hardware engineering. Check the press release after the break for a few more details on both individuals, there’s no word on Mansfield’s post-retirement plans.

Continue reading Apple Senior VP of Hardware Engineering Bob Mansfield to retire, be replaced by Dan Riccio

Apple Senior VP of Hardware Engineering Bob Mansfield to retire, be replaced by Dan Riccio originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jun 2012 18:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple and HTC might be at each other’s throats in court, but they’re living in peace and harmony in Pioneer’s world. The fresh new SMA wireless speaker line supports both Apple’s AirPlay format and HTC Connect-certified DLNA to take audio over WiFi no matter whether it’s coming from an iPhone or a One S. Proof that we can all get along is good in itself, but Pioneer is also throwing in Wireless Direct, a trick that turns the speaker into its own WiFi access point if it can’t latch on to a nearby router. Pioneer’s stratification of the range is dictated by whether you value freedom or raw power. The XW-SMA1 is the baseline with two 3-inch speakers and a 3 / 4-inch tweeter, with a bass reflex port doing its best to mimic a subwoofer; the XW-SMA3 is the exact same with a lithium-ion battery good for six hours of cord-free play, and the XW-SMA4 goes battery-free but rolls in a proper 4-inch subwoofer and an extra tweeter. The lot arrives in August and costs either $299 for an SMA1 or $399 for either of its premium siblings.

Zach Honig contributed to this report.

Continue reading Pioneer SMA wireless speakers put AirPlay, HTC Connect in one happy family (update: hands-on photos)

Pioneer SMA wireless speakers put AirPlay, HTC Connect in one happy family (update: hands-on photos) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jun 2012 22:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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