Hasta La Gadget!

Did you empty your piggy bank for a Logitech Revue after the first Honeycomb sighting about a month ago? If not, there’s new fuel for the Google TV set-top box hacking fire… so get your Hamiltons in order. Channel Android’s latest reel showcases a newer, more polished leak of Honeycomb that reflects the preview we spotted running on Sony hardware last week. It’s not without its fair share of bugs, and you’ll need to install the first leak to avoid turning your device into a paperweight (read: brick), so proceed at your own risk. Also of note: apps built specifically for TV have started to pop up in the marketplace — it seems devs have been busy since Google dropped the SDK a while back. For a closer look at the payoff straight from the hive, take a look at the video above or check out a slideshow of some Google TV apps that are in the Market now put together by NewTeeVee.

Logitech Revue gets second Honeycomb leak, TV apps sneak into Market originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Sep 2011 19:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You’ve most likely heard plenty about NFC-capable smartphones, but little in the way of actual real-world uses for the chip. Well, MasterCard’s looking to change all of that, and throw in a few innovations of its own courtesy of its in-house R&D labs and Google. Shown off at an event today, the company demoed the Google Wallet application we first learned about back in May — which is gearing up for an official launch sometime “soon.” Running on Sprint’s Nexus S 4G — with a planned expansion to multiple devices — users can connect a Citi MasterCard account to the service, and tap-to-pay at any retail location outfitted with a PayPass station. The transactions take place as instantaneously as you’d expect, with spending alerts notated automatically in-app, as well as via text message. If you’re the paranoid type or just a spendthrift, the app offers plenty of options to set spending limits, approve / block purchases via category (i.e. dining, entertainment) and enable alerts for overseas activity. Currently, the Google Wallet service is Android-only, and that’s probably a direct result of the AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile backed mobile payment rival, ISIS.

But the company’s also got one eye fixed squarely on the future — scheming up alternate implementations for payment on-the-go through its MasterCard Labs division. Focusing on its QkR platform (an obvious play on QR codes), these concepts ranged from television audio signals encoded with purchase data, audible to a phone running the QkR app, or fast-food tabletops embedded with NFC and QR codes that’ll allow customers to scan for coupons, order remotely and apply the discount — all without leaving their seats. The most interesting use of the new platform, however, had nothing to do with mobile phone use and everything to do with an Xbox Kinect. Utilizing the gesture recognition tech, items could be selected on-screen by holding your hand over an item and navigating through the checkout process. We know, yet another great proof-of-concept, but tuck away that cynicism for a second — a company representative confided to us that soft-pilot testing of QkR is already underway, with an official announcement slated in the next two weeks. And don’t worry about it being a Google OS-only affair, QkR’s been tested across iOS, Windows Phone Mango and even BlackBerry. Whether or not the innovative payment system’ll launch with all of these mobile OS on-board wasn’t clear, but we were assured there’d be at least two partners on board. Jump past the break to get a close-up view of our hands-on with the future of payment.

Continue reading MasterCard demos Google Wallet, QkR platform for mobile payments

MasterCard demos Google Wallet, QkR platform for mobile payments originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Sep 2011 17:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you aren’t playing with Turntable.fm’s addictive, online group-listening service, you’re missing out. But on the other hand, you’re getting more work done than the rest of us.

Now you can take Turntable.fm to go with its new iPhone app. It provides all the features you’ve come to know and love in the browser-based version — creating and joining listening rooms, virtual DJing, chatting and social media integration — in a pint-sized capacitive touchscreen form.

Turntable.fm is one of a number of music-streaming services to attract a following in recent years. Spotify, which has Android and iPhone apps, is one option. Rdio, which offers offline syncing, has iPhone and iPad apps. And Pandora remains a classic in the music-discovery arena.

The layout and user experience of the Turntable.fm iOS app is much like that of the Turntable.fm website.

After opening the app for the first time, you log in through Facebook (like with the web version) before arriving at the familiar main screen: A tidy list of rooms with the name, the song playing there, the number of people listening in and the number of DJs. You can search for a specific room or create your own.

Once you’ve entered a room like, say, “Coding Soundtrack,” you’ve got your avatar-filled virtual jam space with a “This song is … Lame or Awesome” meter at the bottom and up to five DJs seated across the top of the screen. Selecting an individual avatar in the room (to follow, or just check out their name) is all but impossible unless there’s only three or four people in there, a problem often shared on the browser version.

In the upper right, you can access the chat log and your queue or share what you’re listening to on Facebook or Twitter, or through e-mail. If you’re DJing from the iPhone, rather than a Mac, Windows or Chromebook laptop, your avatar is (appropriately) holding an iPhone.

If you exit the app while you’re still in a room, music will continue to play.

Generally, the app is slower than its web-based counterpart. It took me a few seconds to enter any room, and another three to five for the song to start playing. And of course, you’ll sacrifice streaming quality for portability by using your phone’s 3G connection. Occasionally, my music would cut out for a few seconds. That’s the price of admission with a streaming mobile app.

With Turntable.fm’s iPhone app, you and your friends can easily take turns playing DJ without breaking out a laptop, making it ideal when you’re out and about at a park, or at a coffee shop that’s playing less-than-stellar beats (just use your headphones, please!).

Go get yourself the app and let’s jam. I’ll be in the “I <3 the ’80s” room.

What’s the point of dropping a few Benjamins on a tablet if you can’t watch video on-the-go? Although much fuss has been made of Cupertino’s reluctance to add Flash to its line of iOS devices, the kings of content (read: networks) are still scheming up ways to port the prime time eye candy to your portable slates. Shoring up that streaming divide are a trio of new apps from NBC, TNT and TBS that deliver full episodes of the networks’ fodder to your iPad, albeit with some authentication required. Unlike other premium mobile video services, these three apps come free of charge. So, go ahead and hit up the source below to get your SVU to go.

Continue reading NBC, TNT and TBS iPad apps add full-length episodes, won’t bring back Steve Carell

NBC, TNT and TBS iPad apps add full-length episodes, won’t bring back Steve Carell originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Sep 2011 16:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink MacRumors  |  iTunes (1), (2), (3)  | Email this | Comments

We got a taste of Windows 8 back at D9, but the real bounty is waiting in Anaheim. The company’s kicking off its Build conference with a full-on developer preview of its next major desktop operating system, still code-named Windows 8 for the time being. According to Steven Sinofsky — president of the Windows and Windows Live Division at Microsoft — the company has “reimagined Windows,” bringing about a “new range of capabilities” that coders will begin to dig into sooner rather than later. As we’d seen before, the “Metro-styled” user interface is front-and-center, bringing graphical elements of Windows Phone 7 to desktop, laptop and tablet users of the future. Internet Explorer 10 is also onboard, as well as a focus on “apps” that can communicate with one another, and content that can sync across devices. Folks comfortable in a Win7 environment ought to be right at home here — Win8 is built on the same foundation, though the retooled Task Manager and Windows Explorer should tickle the average fancy.

The Windows Store will enable devs to hawk their apps to any nation where Windows is sold, and yes, support for ARM-based chipsets is proudly included alongside compatibility with x86 devices. In other words, everything from “10-inch tablets to laptops to all-in-ones with 27-inch HD screens” will be able to ingest Win8 with ease. That’s a markedly different take than the folks in Cupertino have expressed, with an (admittedly limiting) mobile OS being chosen to run the tablet side of things. Only time will tell which mantra proves more viable, but we’re guessing the both of ’em will find varying levels of success. Microsoft has also confirmed backwards compatibility with “devices and programs” that support Windows 7, and while an exact time has yet to be revealed, we’re told that developers will be able to download the Windows Developer Preview via the new Windows Dev Center later this week. Full fact sheets can be seen in the source link below, and our hands-on impressions of the new code can be found right here.

Update: Downloads are live! Get in!

Continue reading Microsoft launches Windows 8 developer preview, downloads are live!

Microsoft launches Windows 8 developer preview, downloads are live! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Sep 2011 12:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Windows 8 Developers Guide [PDF], Fact Sheet [PDF]  | Email this | Comments