Hasta La Gadget!

With Apple having recently introduced its novel Passbook feature in the latest version of iOS, it’s only natural for app makers to try and take advantage of such miscellaneous hub. With that in mind, Gyft — a 2012 TechCrunch Disrupt finalist — has made its application fully compatible with Cupertino’s newfangled iOS 6, adding support for the iPhone 5’s 4-inch screen and, most importantly, the ability to add gift cards from many retailers to Passbook; some of which include Amazon, Target, Lowe’s, GAP, American Eagle and Starbucks. You can grab the Gyft (v1.2) application now directly from your iDevice, or there’s always the link below if that makes it slightly easier for you.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software

Gyft for iOS now compatible with Passbook, adds gift cards from more than 200 retailers originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Sep 2012 16:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sure, we tested the iPhone 5‘s camera in the well-lit streets of New York City, but if you’re wondering how Apple’s latest functions when used primarily as a shooter, TREK has a pretty remarkable look. Photog Austin Mann and a few of his closest pals took a pair of iPhone 5s to Iceland following launch weekend in a bid to test the unit’s durability, capability and image quality next to the 4S. After two days of geyser spray and admitted “drops in mud,” the uncovered 5 seemed to be a-okay, and when it comes to output from the sensor, that’s worthy of praise as well.

The low-light capabilities of the 5 are perhaps the most impressive upgrade compared to the 4S, with much less noise seen in shots from the former. He also gushed over the panorama mode, which admittedly churned out some pretty seamless results of the Icelandic countryside. As for shutter speed? That too has been “significantly” improved over the 4S. He interestingly noted that Snapseed was acting a bit wonky with iOS 6, but one has to wonder how much smoothing will be done by the Nik team now that Google’s calling the shots. Hit the source link below for the full rundown, comparisons included, and a video that shows how the iPhone 5 reacts after sunset.

Filed under: Cellphones, Cameras, Mobile

iPhone 5 camera gets tested in Iceland, panorama and low-light comparison with iPhone 4S included originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Sep 2012 13:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft’s desire to avoid a fine combined with a power company’s strict electricity usage rules resulted in the software giant deliberately wasting millions of watts of power, according to the New York Times. Redmond’s Quincy data center, which houses Bing, Hotmail and other cloud-based servers, had an agreement in place with a Washington state utility containing clauses which imposed penalties for under-consumption of electricity. A $210,000 fine was levied last year, since the facility was well below its power-use target, which prompted Microsoft to deliberately burn $70,000 worth of electricity in three days “in a commercially unproductive manner” to avoid it, according to its own documents. The utility board capitulated and reduced the amend to $60k, but the messy situation seems a far cry from Redmond’s pledge to become carbon neutral by this summer.

[Image credit: New York Times]

Filed under: Misc, Alt

Microsoft deliberately wasted energy at data center to avoid fine, says NY Times originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Sep 2012 10:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Netflix’s new user interface experience popped up on Android tablets last year before progressing to the iPad and finally iPhones just last week, but now the company officially announced it’s completing the circle by pushing it to Android phones. As seen on other devices, it’s focused on larger artwork, and offers the ability to scroll through many more titles, as well as search its streaming library from anywhere within the app. Users can tap once on a title to see more info about it or double tap to start playing immediately. The new UI is available on hardware running Gingerbread and above. It may already be appearing on your device but if not, check out the video preview embedded after the break.

Update: We downloaded the app and started poking around and have discovered a rather unfortunate detail left out by Netflix — the new UI is not optimized for high-res displays. Icons, thumbnail images and even the company’s logo are noticeably pixelated on our Galaxy Nexus. Even on the qHD panel of our Droid RAZR M things are pretty fuzzy looking. Hopefully Netflix will address the issue soon and maybe, just maybe, make it look like an Android app instead of an iOS one..

Update 2: We’ve heard from Netflix on the issue, and are told that certain screen resolutions + certain flavors of the OS are resulting in “suboptimal” rendering. Currently it’s doing more testing and making tweaks to improve the experience across the board, we’ll let you know when they arrive.

Continue reading Netflix extends new user interface experience to Android phones (Update)

Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, HD, Mobile

Netflix extends new user interface experience to Android phones (Update) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Sep 2012 08:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Having put the phat back in phablet with its original 4:3 aspect ratio, 5-inch Optimus Vu, LG seems bent on releasing a successor already, the Optimus Vu II, according to a leak from Korean blog Bad IT Tong. The new Galaxy Note II challenger would carry the same form factor and 1,024 x 768 IPS screen as the current Vu model, while doubling the RAM to 2GB, bumping the Qualcomm processor to an 8960 1.5GHz dual-core model (not the international quad-core version) and keeping the LTE radio from its US Intuition variant. It would come out of the box with Android 4.0, an 8-megapixel rear shooter, up to 32GB of microSD storage and a 2,150 mAh battery, judging by the leaked image above — all specs we’ve seen before. There’s no word yet on US pricing, availability, a stylus or an intriguing universal remote app teased by LG, but recent purchasers of the original Optimus Vu might be feeling left in a technology wake.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

LG Optimus Vu II specs leak out: twice the RAM of the original, few other changes originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Sep 2012 07:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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