With just two tweets Microsoft has managed to make Google look very silly and stopped anyone feeling sorry for the search company over losing out in recent patent bidding wars. We all know that Android is doing very well on smartphones and tablets with over 550,000 devices being activated on a daily basis. This isn’t […]
The Chrome Web Store welcomed a new arrival today, and it goes by the name of appMobi XDK. While the addition is targeted squarely at developers, it’s entirely free and packs quite a doozy — cross-platform HTML5 software development from within the web browser. As you might expect, the tool is perfect for making applications to run within Google Chrome, but get this… it’s also capable of creating native apps for submission to Apple’s App Store and the Android Market. Like any competent development environment, it features a full set of debugging tools, along with the ability to test your apps via on-screen emulation and directly from your target device. Hardware integration is accomplished with JavaScript hardware abstraction, which enables access to the camera, GPS, accelerometer and the like. Further, the platform boasts full compatibility with PhoneGap, which means you can easily transition if you’ve got a project in the works. If you’re already hooked, be sure to check out the PR after the break, which describes such goodies as in-app purchasing and secure user authentication, which are made possible with appMobi’s cloud services.
Continue reading appMobi XDK delivers free cross-platform dev environment to Chrome Web Store
appMobi XDK delivers free cross-platform dev environment to Chrome Web Store originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Aug 2011 01:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Ever misplaced your hard earned MacBook Air or had an entire project vanish at the hands of a dirty thief, only to be gone forever? Well friends, the time is coming soon for the Find My Mac feature to provide a highly sought after sigh of relief, Find My iPhone-style. Apple has released the software into the wild for registered iOS devs, with the only other requirements being OS X Lion and an iCloud subscription. Using WiFi networks to locate your missing appendage via a web browser or iOS device, the location tool offers you a number of anti-theft options — send a threatening message, lock down the machine remotely, or even wipe the machine’s drive clean. Perhaps we will see this security detail launch with iCloud in fall, which was also released in beta form earlier this week.
Apple offers Find My Mac for beta testing, wants to play Cops and Robbers originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Aug 2011 23:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Gallery: Twitter.com for iPad eyes-on
Twitter.com for iPad eyes-on, now with 100 percent more HTML5 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Aug 2011 22:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
It, as they say, is on. Google’s with a post not-so-subtly-titled “When patents attack Android,” which directly addresses what he calls a “hostile, organized campaign against Android by Microsoft, Oracle, Apple and other companies, waged through bogus patents.” Drummond then goes on to cite a number of examples of this “organized campaign” from those trying to “strangle” Android, including Apple and Microsoft teaming up to buy Novell and Nortel’s old patents “to make sure Google didn’t get them,” Microsoft seeking $15 licensing fees for each Android device, and lawsuits against the likes of Barnes & Noble, HTC, Motorola, and Samsung.
According to Drummond, those efforts amount to a “tax” that makes Android devices more expensive for consumers and manufacturers alike, and that “instead of competing by building new features or devices, they are fighting through litigation.” He further goes on to bemoan the “anti-competitive strategy” that’s “escalating the cost of patents way beyond what they’re really worth,” and closes things out by noting that he’s encouraged by Justice Department investigations into the aforementioned Novell and Nortel patent issues. Hit the source link to read the full post yourself.
Update: And now, shots have been fired from both sides. Brad Smith, Microsoft’s General Counsel, has shot off the following tweet: “Google says we bought Novell patents to keep them from Google. Really? We asked them to bid jointly with us. They said no.” We’re guessing the truth lies somewhere in between, as it always does.
Update 2: Hoo boy! The hits just keep comin’ out of Redmond. Frank Shaw, lead corporate communications for Microsoft has just tweeted an image of an email between Brad Smith and Kent Walker (Google’s General Counsel) that appears to corroborate the claims that Microsoft wanted to team up with El Goog.
Google slams Apple and Microsoft, claims ‘hostile, organized campaign’ against Android waged through ‘bogus patents’ (update: Microsoft responds!) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Aug 2011 17:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Mac OS X Lion merges some aspects of iOS with the Mac environment, like the new Launchpad feature for launching apps.
OSX Lion has already begun to blur the lines between Mac and iOS. But in a note to investors today first reported by Barron’s, a Jefferies & Co. analyst believes the two will completely merge by 2012.
How will this be accomplished? On the hardware end, analyst Peter Misek posits that Apple could use the A6 quad-core processor to unify its mobile and computing devices.
“We believe Apple is ready to start sampling the A6 quad-core app processor and will be the first to such multi-device platform capable of PC-like strength,” Misek says.
We’ve already said that it’s possible that Apple plans to eventually eliminate its professionally-targeted device lines, especially since size is such a determining factor in consumer purchases now. Having one unified experience across devices, especially when they’re so similar in size (11-inch MacBook Air? 10-inch iPad? Completely different user experiences?), would certainly make sense and simplify consumers’ computing. OSX Lion, which debuted recently, married some aspects of iOS with Mac OSX, but a little less successfully than many had hoped. And more widespread cloud-based storage like iCloud will keep things smooth and consistent no matter what device you’re using.
One of the key points Misek’s note makes in Apple’s merging of the two distinct operating systems (well, slightly less distinct now with OSX Lion) is that Apple hopes to provide a seamless experience for its users across multiple devices.
“Users want to be able to pick up any iPhone, iPad, or Mac (or turn on their iTV) and have content move seamlessly between them and be optimized for the user and the device currently being used,” he says in the note. If OS X and iOS are separate entities, that’s more difficult to accomplish.
And by using a single processor type across handheld devices like the iPhone, as well as larger ones like the MacBook Air, implementing that single, unified OS becomes much more straightforward than needing to adapt it to different chipsets. Of course, higher-end products like the iMac or MacBook pro may require a little bit longer to completely merge into this ARM-based ecosystem.
“Apple can use a 32-bit ARM architecture to address the vast majority of the OS X ecosystem’s needs in 2012-13 except for high-end professional devices,” Misek wrote in his note. “When 64-bit ARM is available in 2016, we believe Apple will have a single OS and hardware architecture.” Rumors about Apple switching to using ARM architecture in both its MacBook Airs and Macs have persisted for a while now.
In addition to making sense for users, unifying OSX and iOS would also benefit Apple. iAd would have a significantly larger audience. App developers would potentially have less differentiation to deal with between products, especially now that HTML 5 is really taking off. Misek believes lower research and development costs would be required as well, as innovation would be performed on a single OS instead of paralleled across multiple ones, and content licensing would become a more streamlined process.
For better or worse, Instagram’s taken the iOS-capturing world by storm. And if you’re wondering what our qualification for “by storm” is, well… let’s just say The Biebs blasted out his first image on the service last month. As the story goes, four young lads with a fistful of dollars and boundless imaginations started up the famed app on October 6th, 2010. Today, there’s still only four employees, but the user base has expanded just a wee bit. The outfit just saw its 150 millionth photo uploaded (shown after the break!), with the current rate clocking in at around 15 images per second. Naturally, we took the opportunity to ask one of those four what this meant for a future Android release, and while he confirmed that he had nothing to announce right away, he did mention that the (still free) iOS build is just “the beginning of what’s to come.” So, how’s about dropping a link to your favorite Instagram down in comments below? Best one wins!
Instagram hits 150 million uploads in nine months, still won’t talk about Android plans originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Aug 2011 15:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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This fall, smartphones are going to be better than they’ve ever been. That’s true every year, but iOS 5 and Windows Phone 7.5 are looking pretty fantastic. What about Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, though? More »
You’ve seen us on Flipboard, Boxee, Roku and even the world wide web. And now, you can see even more of us, slotted between some of the world’s greatest technology sites in Editions. It’s a snazzy new iPad news app, taking its place alongside a smattering of formidable alternatives while presenting a highly customizable view. Upon first launch, you’re presented with a veritable plethora of options, enabling users to create an “Edition” consisting of local news, technology, business, politics, etc. You’re even able to add and subtract actual news sources from within a category, amongst other subtle personalization tweaks. Of course, you can download our app on a handful of platforms, but if you’re looking for a bit of variety (and really, why wouldn’t you be?), hit the source link to give ‘er a go. It’s free, after all.
Update: Seems to be US-only for now, but we’re told it’ll hit the UK and Canada “in the coming months.”
Disclaimer: This app was created by AOL, who keeps the lights on around here.
Editions iPad app: yet another way to ingest your technology news (and Engadget!) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Aug 2011 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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IPhone prototypes may be locked up tighter than this lamppost in Naples, Italy. Photo Charlie Sorrel
Does the name of today end in a “y”? Why, yes. Then it must be time for another iPhone 5 rumor. This one, as unsubstantiated as any other, is worth passing on simply because of the crazy levels of paranoia contained within.
According to Charles Arthur at the Guardian, iPhone 5 units are already installed in carrier facilities and are undergoing testing. Of course, being an Apple product, it must remain secret at all costs, and you can be sure that the handsets weren’t tossed into a Jiffy bag and mailed over to AT&T and Verizon. Nope. The iPhone 5s are locked inside specially constructed boxes, like pirate treasure:
[M]y understanding is that barely anyone inside the carriers gets to open those boxes, and even when they do the hardware is encased in a dummy body which means there’s no clue to what the actual phone will do.
Arthur goes on to speculate on the methods Apple might have to instantly identify any leaks, and also asserts that the whole Antennagate mess could have been avoided if Apple had simply let more people test the handset in the wild before launch.
I love this story, and I imagine that top level telco employees have to undergo an Indiana Jones style quest every time they need to access to iPhone 5. The liver-spotted, besuited executive enters a secret floor of the AT&T building carrying aluminum briefcase which is handcuffed to his emaciated wrist. At each of several progressively heavier doors he has to scan his watery retinas and worn-out fingerprints to gain access.
Finally, in the Testing Chamber, he unlocks the case. It hisses as the air pressure equalizes, and he draws out a small light gray microfiber bag, printed with the Apple logo in darker gray. Inside the bag is a small, polished weight, perfectly spherical but for a small flat circle the size of a dime. The executive places it on an empty plinth next to the unibody aluminum box securing the iPhone. He waits. His breathing stops. The sphere sinks a millimeter and something inside the box clicks. The lid pops open. The executive breaths, and the giant stone ball remains safely in its niche in the wall, ready to chase an unauthorized invader at a later date.
Next iPhone in October? I’ll stick to September – and here’s why [Guardian]
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