Hasta La Gadget!

With a variety of portable power accessories, most Scosche products are designed to keep gadgets up and running, not to get our own blood flowing. The company’s new Bluetooth myTrek pulse monitor pairs with an iPhone or iPod touch to motivate you to keep going and going, however, pumping “inspiring” audio alerts through your headphones during a workout, while also tracking pulse, distance, speed, pace, and calories burned. The arm-strap uses a pair of LEDs, along with a photo sensor and accelerometer to capture vitals as it rests strapped to your forearm, providing five hours of continuous feedback before needing its own boost using the included USB cable. You’ll need to have your iOS device within 33 feet of the device to record your workout, so the myTrek may be better suited for trips to the gym than, say, a run through the park in the rain. It’s also rather pricey, at $130, but if you’re already dropping a grand or two for your gym membership each year, a gadget that lets you elegantly track your progress may be within reach.

Continue reading Scosche myTrek sends workout vitals to your iPhone, starts shipping now for $130 (video)

Scosche myTrek sends workout vitals to your iPhone, starts shipping now for $130 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Aug 2011 21:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cablevision took a major step into the future back in April when it opened up its full channel lineup for viewing on the tablet with Optimum for iPad, and now it’s bringing that experience to other iOS devices. The new app, simply called Optimum, runs alongside the original and works on iPhones or iPod Touches, bringing the same controversial ability to stream live TV or play back video on-demand — provided the viewer is still at home. That tether to your service address takes most of the shine off of viewing on mobile devices, but we won’t argue too much about adding extra screens for no additional charge. The iPhone app launches at versino 2.0, sharing features with the newly updated iPad app including the ability to work as a remote control for the cable box and schedule DVR recordings remotely. Hit the source link below to grab either app from iTunes or check out the press release after the break.

Continue reading Cablevision’s Optimum app hits 2.0, brings cable TV streaming to iPhone, iPod Touch

Cablevision’s Optimum app hits 2.0, brings cable TV streaming to iPhone, iPod Touch originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Aug 2011 10:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google curiously chose not to make its iOS app for Google+ a universal app when it first released it last month, but it’s now finally letting iPad and iPod touch users in on the act as well. Unfortunately, the iPad part of the equation comes in the form of a blown-up iPhone app rather than a properly optimized version, although that’s not exactly surprising considering it’s much same situation that Honeycomb users still find themselves stuck with. Also included in the update are additional Huddle settings, aggregated circle add notifications to cut down on some of the noise, and the usual performance and stability improvements. You know what to do to get your hands on it.

Google+ iOS app now supports iPad and iPod touch, still not optimized for iPad originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Aug 2011 17:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s a well-known fact that China’s Great Firewall isn’t particularly friendly with certain foreign online services, and sadly, it appears that we may now have a new victim joining the likes of Facebook, Twitter and, sometimes, Android Market. According to Windows Phone Sauce blogger Kane Gao, many Windows Phone 7 users in China have had limited access to the Marketplace over the last few days — they can’t download any app, but they can still browse content and receive update notifications.

While Microsoft’s service has yet to go live in China, Chinese users could still purchase apps by changing all of their profile location settings to the US. Alas, this trick is of no use now, though it’s unlikely that Microsoft’s the culprit here — it wouldn’t make sense to block genuine US users who are visiting China. Fortunately, Kane had no problem getting to the Marketplace via a US VPN, which is a big tell-tale sign showing that the Great Firewall has decided to barricade WP7’s very own app market. The reason? We’ll never know, and there’s no telling on whether this is a permanent ban, either. Nokia, being a big player in the country, sure hopes not.

[Thanks, JagsLive and Rahul]

China loses partial access to Windows Phone 7 Marketplace, Great Firewall to be blamed? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Aug 2011 09:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

They’ve gone by many names — “programs,” “executables” and “applications” — and the development of technologies such as HTML5 calls their nature into question. But the explosion of apps that have set the mobile device market alight over the past several years have been around for almost as long as digital computing has. Disagree with that statement whilst chatting with those who took early programming classes, and you may be staring down a punch card to the face.

In terms of consumer technology, though, apps have migrated from PCs to video game consoles (where they’ve been long burnt into ROMs) to smartphones and tablets, and now — perhaps — back to televisions proper. One thing we’ve learned over the course of that history is that companies will rarely refuse an opportunity to turn a successful “purpose-built device” into an app platform given enough marketplace success.

Continue reading Switched On: When apps meet traps

Switched On: When apps meet traps originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 07 Aug 2011 18:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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