Hasta La Gadget!

Having trouble selecting those tiny links with your big, ol’ digits on that swanked-out slab? Don’t you worry, Google’s just made some slate-friendly improvements to its bread and butter search site, and it’s available for iPad and Honeycomb 3.1+ users. On deck for this UI refresh: a much simplified search results page, larger-sized buttons and text, and a quick access button located below the search box that skips you off to “Images, Videos, Places, Shopping and more.” There’s also been some visual tweaks made to its image search results, with enlarged previews, faster thumbnail loading and continuous scrolling. If you’re not seeing this overhauled layout just yet, sit tight — the update’s expected to roll out in the next few days.

Google refines search experience for big-fingered tablet owners originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jul 2011 22:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Services like Spotify, which had an anything but subtle launch last week, help solve the evergreen issue of limited local storage by streaming millions of tracks to your devices. But streaming services require cell reception to operate (unless you’ve elected to store music locally), and often carry monthly fees. We’ve spent a fair amount of time testing Kingston’s Wi-Drive, which lets you access music, videos, and other files from a handful of devices simultaneously over WiFi — assuming you’ve loaded that content to the portable media server’s 16GB ($130) or 32GB ($175) of built-in storage. The device worked well during our review process earlier this month, and now you can pick up one of your own at sites like Amazon and Newegg, or at Fry’s and J&R US retail outlets. The server is likely to be a better fit for families than individuals simply looking to boost their iOS device storage, due to both price and capacity limitations, but if you need to stream media to several devices at once during your next road trip, for example, then the Wi-Drive may be worth the investment.

Kingston Wi-Drive for iOS hits stores today, lets you create your own portable music server for $130 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jul 2011 16:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Earlier this week, DigiTimes alleged that Apple was considering an additional manufacturer to produce the supposedly looming — but really more mythical — next generation iPad. Fast forward to now, and the Taiwanese publication reports that Cupertino has had a sudden change of heart. Foxconn — who is currently the sole producer of the slate — has reportedly convinced Apple to keep its manufacturing exclusive until the end of this calendar year. All isn’t lost for Foxconn’s competition though: the rumormonger suggests Pegatron still has a shot at a ten million production run for the next iPhone, and whatever iPad’s 2012 will bring. Unmentioned in the report, however, is whether enough salt exists in the world to cover the next round of claims, later this week.

Apple actually not looking for additional iPad manufacturers, still BFFs with Foxconn? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Jul 2011 06:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With nearly 350,000 apps and counting, the iPhone‘s maximum capacity of 32GB doesn’t allow you to even scratch the surface of the App Store’s catalog. Throw in an HD movie, some TV episodes, hundreds of tracks and a few thousand photos, and you’ll be chewing through those available bytes in no time. Most manufacturers compensate this limitation by including a microSD slot for additional storage, but not Apple — you’re stuck with that original capacity until you’re ready to upgrade to a new device. Luckily, for those who need more storage now and don’t mind paying for it, AirStash, Seagate’s GoFlex Satellite, and now Kingston’s ultra-slim Wi-Drive allow you to boost gigs without upgrading, or switching to another platform. None of these pocket servers come without compromise, however — you’ll be spending over $100 for even the most basic option, while adding yet another device to your portable mix.

Continue reading Kingston Wi-Drive wireless storage for iOS review (video)

Kingston Wi-Drive wireless storage for iOS review (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Jul 2011 14:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The iPad is not childproof. It’s fragile and expensive and we can’t imagine why you’d want to hand it over willy nilly to your kids. That said, if you’ve got money to burn and don’t mind letting small hands tool around with high-end consumer products, then this should tickle your parental fancy. Announced as a collaboration between Griffin Technology and Crayola, the Crayola ColorStudio HD app for iPad matches a marker-shaped digital stylus — the inventively titled iMarker — with your child’s LCD-colored imagination. The chunky, kid-friendly stylus mocks the tip of a pen, crayon, marker or paintbrush as your doe-eyed youngin’ swipes along 30 plus animated pages — all while sitting too close to the screen. If free is the key to your heart, go ahead and grab this now on the App Store — it’s the marker clone that’ll set you back 30 bills. That said, it’s a small price to pay for your child’s happiness. Also, digital Burnt Sienna — need we say any more?

Update: Turns out our friends at TUAW have already had the chance to sample one of these in the wild. Check out their impressions.

Continue reading Crayola ColorStudio HD app for iPad swipes its way to your child’s heart

Crayola ColorStudio HD app for iPad swipes its way to your child’s heart originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Jul 2011 06:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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