Hasta La Gadget!

Earlier this year Starz pulled its online content library back from Netflix and now it’s relaunching the old Starz Play branded websites and apps (iOS and WiFi only for now, 3G and Android coming soon) for authenticated streaming, similar to HBO Go and Showtime Anytime. There’s also an Encore Play site, and it plans to launch one for its Movieplex channel in the future. Currently, the services only support logins from Cox cable subscribers, but if you’re not on that pay-TV provider you may not be missing out after all.

Starz has already licensed its content to providers like Comcast for streaming through its Xfinity website and apps, deals which it tells The Hollywood Reporter cover about 70 percent of its customers. Like HBO and Showtime, this probably is not a prelude to offering its service beyond the tethers of cable and satellite, but as exec Ed Huguez puts it, “it is an expression of (Starz’) brand and user interface.” That likely only applies domestically however, as Starz also announced it’s licensing its content to the cable-free HBO Nordic service, and one can see how building up its technology means it could serve up its own streams internationally some day. Even if you get Starz, if your provider is large enough to handle its own business when it comes to online services this probably won’t affect you. However, for customers on smaller cable companies or in the future when deals get renegotiated, you may have another app to add to your drawer for TV Everywhere-style viewing.

Continue reading New Starz Play website and apps stream only to Cox customers, but you might not need them

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

New Starz Play website and apps stream only to Cox customers, but you might not need them originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Oct 2012 10:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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“I can’t remember if I cried when I read about his widowed bride
Something touched me deep inside… the day the music died.”

R.I.P. Ping (09.01.2010 – 09.30.2012)

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Apple

Apple’s Ping no longer pinging back, leaves memories of white noise in its wake originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Oct 2012 15:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Earlier today, Apple CEO Tim Cook issued a public apology to users of the company’s new Maps app. A good portion of the letter addressed the different alternatives that users could take advantage of while Apple was busy improving their own maps. The company is now making it even more convenient to download and install a maps app that isn’t Apple’s own.

The iTunes App Store now has a special “featured” section where Apple has gathered up all of its recommended maps apps into one place, which makes it handy for those looking to get away from the company’s own mapping solution. Some of the apps that they recommend are MotionX, Waze, Mapquest, and TeleNav.

In Cook’s letter, he also mentioned using web apps from Nokia and Google. Apple’s website details how to add shortcuts to these web apps to your iPhone’s home screen. It simply involves tapping the “Share” button in Safari, then tapping “Add to Home Screen”, giving the shortcut a name, and hit “Add”.

All of this is certainly a classy move by Apple, and it’s probably one of the few times that Apple is recommending using an alternative to one of its own apps. I’m sure third-party mapping solutions are seeing an increase in usage as we speak. One company’s misfortune is another company’s fortune.

[via MacRumors]

Apple now makes it super easy to use alternative maps is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Finnish game studio Rovio went from relatively unknown to center stage with the Angry Birds franchise. And in record time, too — the first Angry Birds landed on Apple’s iOS App Store in December 2009, less than three years ago, and has since become an international sensation. The birds spawned a flock of sequels, branded tie-ins, and tons of merchandise. All this adds up to quite a bit of chicken scratch for Rovio, and also quite a bit of pressure to keep the money train rolling.

Today marks Rovio’s first true sequel to the original Angry Birds, and it’s focused on the other side of the farm: the pigs. Enter Bad Piggies. Unlike Angry Birds, Bad Piggies isn’t about flinging anything towards a complicated structure in order to knock it down. Instead, it’s about moving one very green, goofy sounding pig to various points on a map to collect items and reach a goal — it’s much more Cut the Rope than Angry Birds. The same physics-based game mechanics are at play in Bad Piggies that made both Cut the Rope and Angry Birds so popular, and they’re just as fun in this time around. But how do you get said piggy to the goals? You build a contraption, of course.

Each level starts with a build section, allowing players to create all types of vehicles in order to transport the pig from point A to point B (while grabbing collectibles along the way). Only a small handful of build options are available, keeping Bad Piggies just as speedy of a game — to pick up and play while commuting or while waiting at the dentist’s office — as its wildly successful progenitor. It’s hard to say if Bad Piggies will recapture the success that Rovio found with Angry Birds proper, but all the hallmarks are there: quick, fun gameplay, colorful characters, goofy sounds, and accessibility (we couldn’t help but get all three stars on every level, but you don’t have to in order to proceed, should it prove too difficult). Bad Piggies launches tomorrow morning for iOS devices, Mac, and Android.

Filed under: Gaming, Mobile, Alt

Angry Birds sequel ‘Bad Piggies’ launches tomorrow, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Sep 2012 08:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When it comes to Apple-focused audio wares, Bowers & Wilkins makes some of the of the ritiziest options available. Expanding on its its existing speaker range, the company has introduced a duo of new AirPlay speakers dubbed as the A5 ($500) and A7 ($800). Both HiFi boxes are nearly identical from the outside (aside from the size difference), and feature the same black and silver aesthetic as the MM-1 media speakers. The A7 nets you a duo of 25-watt 1-inch Nautilus “tube-loaded” tweeters” (just like the MM-1s), two 25-watt 3-inch drivers for the mid-range and a 50-watt 6-inch woofer, while the A5 shrinks things by forgoing a woofer and using a smaller speaker array of two 20-watt tweeters and two 20-watt mid-range drivers. The speakers on both units are independently driven, and both systems feature an “audiophile-grade” DAC that’ll upscale music streams to a maximum 24-bit / 96kHz sample rate. As you’d expect, the units feature WiFi and Ethernet connectivity and 3.5mm inputs for hooking in sans wireless, but it’s worth noting these audio boxes lack 30-pin docks — at least you still get a remote. Check out the video after the break for a detailed look at both, and the source link below for all the juicy details.

Continue reading Bowers & Wilkins intros classy A7 and A5 AirPlay speakers, leaves out the 30-pin dock

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio/Video

Bowers & Wilkins intros classy A7 and A5 AirPlay speakers, leaves out the 30-pin dock originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 Sep 2012 08:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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