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The iPad App Store is open! Here are the best of the apps so far—the ones you’ll actually want when you finally get your iPad. More »

Right on cue (sort of), Verizon Wireless’ branded V Cast Apps market has finally seen the light of day. We’ve actually heard about the store since last summer, but it wasn’t until the carrier’s LTE forum at CTIA that we had a confirmed date. As noted then, the first device to get the portal is the BlackBerry Storm2, with other RIM devices (and hopefully other mobile platforms) in the coming months. It’s not taking the place of BlackBerry App World, so now that we’ve got two coexisting markets on one device, it’s time to see just how strong that V Cast branding is…

[Thanks, Cameron]

Verizon’s V Cast Apps store is a go, first on BlackBerry Storm2 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 07:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Whether or not you think the iPad is in and of itself a worthy purchase, let’s not forget the investment doesn’t end at the retail counter or online shopping cart. Two little newsbits have popped up to serve as a helpful reminder to just that effect. The first comes way of verbiage from the iPad end-user licensing agreement dug up by MacRumors; in a nutshell, it suggests that while iPad OS 4.x updates will be provided gratis, subsequent releases (5.x, 6.x, and so on) could be offered at a premium, à la how iPod touch handles firmware. This is far from a confirmation, but it’s well within Apple’s right to do so. The second bit is derived by The Consumerist by way a supposed leaked app store video. Comparing the prices of iPad-optimized software with the iPhone equivalents showed quite a hefty uptick in consumer cost — e.g., $4.99 Flight Control HD vs. $0.99 Flight Control. The pool of eight apps seen in the video would cost $53 in all to purchase, while the same set for the iPhone is $27. That screen real estate don’t come cheap, y’know — that is, should the prices seen prove legit. At this point we can’t confirm, and more than likely, we won’t know for sure until the eleventh hour.

Update: The BBC has word direct from developers that iPad apps will indeed be costlier than their iPhone / iPod touch brethren. Multiple devs are cited in the Beeb‘s article saying that their 99 cent apps will grow in price to $1.99 and $2.99 price points for the slate device [thanks, Ben].

iPad’s trailing costs: like the iPod touch, only bigger (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Mar 2010 21:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, look at this. If you’ve been desperate to know what your App Store experience would be like on the iPad, here’s a chance to live the dream. Apparently these shots were discovered while the App Annie folks (an app tracking and analytics site) were “searching for clues” on the device and this “actual feed” was stumbled upon. While that’s all very unclear, what isn’t unclear is that Apple will be using the HD moniker to denote applications that have either been tweaked in a special iPad version, or have had their resolution upped so they wouldn’t just be scaled standard apps. Additionally, we’re seeing some applications that aren’t even available on the iPhone right now, such as the $49.99 OmniGraffle, which we’re assuming will be very close to its desktop counterpart — a good sign that iPad apps are majorly upping the functionality. One more long shot after the break for your viewing pleasure.

Update: Looks like App Advice has even more screenshots for your viewing pleasure.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading iPad App Store screenshots leaked

iPad App Store screenshots leaked originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Mar 2010 18:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BlueAnt’s been slinking along in the shadows of the (thankfully) dwindling Bluetooth headset market for years now, and aside from that one voice-controlled V1 that popped two years ago, we haven’t seen much from the outfit that really got our juices flowing. Until today, naturally. The rugged, May-bound T1 headset ($79.99) doesn’t look drastically different (or smaller) than the aforesaid V1, but it’s the firm’s first to feature Wind Armour Technology — something that’s engineered to “deliver clear audio in wind speeds up to 22mph.” It’s also built to withstand the occasional drop and bout with dust / moisture, and in case that’s not enough, it’ll also audibly announce who’s calling so long as they’re in your address book. As you’d expect, A2DP streaming audio is fully supported, as is multipoint (which allows it to remain connected to two phones at once and respond to whichever rings first). In related news, the company also announced its new Q1 app for Android (due April 1st), which helps Q1 headset users by reading text messages aloud to you via a presumably flawed text-to-speech system. Hit up the source links for the fully skinny on each, or just hop on past the break for a pair of superbly informative videos.

Continue reading BlueAnt intros rugged T1 Bluetooth headset, sophisticated Android app

BlueAnt intros rugged T1 Bluetooth headset, sophisticated Android app originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 11:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Business Wire [T1], [Android app]  | Email this | Comments