iPhones. iPads. Android. Windows Phone 7. And even Jailbroken phones. We’ve updated all of our essential apps lists to include a few forgotten favorites, some long awaited arrivals and, as always, even more amazing apps. Check them out! More »
The Wakemate promises to get you out of bed pain-free, every morning
Wakemate promises to bring you around from the land of dreams into an alert, awakened state every single morning, without a klaxon or bacon cooker in sight.
It’s wristband that monitors your movements throughout the night and, when you get close to your pre-set optimum waking time, it waits for the shallowest part of your sleep cycle before sounding the alarm. The Wakemate pairs with your Android or iOS device via Bluetooth, and uses this to track your sleep and wake you with your favorite music.
Our sleep runs in 90-minute cycles, and ideally we should wake at the part of shallowest sleep. If you feel like your regular alarm clock sometimes drags you from the very depths of sleep, that’s because it is — it’s waking you from deep sleep.
There are iOS apps which use the iPhone or iPad’s accelerometers to do the same thing and — once calibrated — they do a good job. They also require you to sleep with your device in the bed, and for the app to remain powered on, draining the battery rather quickly. Bluetooth also sucks the juice from your phone, but not nearly as much.
The Wakemate is available to buy right now, for $60. Or you could do what I do, and live nine time zones ahead of your employer, so that you can get up as late as you like and still be early.
Wakemate product page [Wakemate. Thanks, Renee!]
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You’re alone, driving your car down a windy road and dark doesn’t even begin to describe what it looks like out there. You slow down and make guesstimate turns with a 67% confidence that you’re going the right direction and not gonna die. Heart pounding, heavy breathing, goddamn it’s scary. More »
Sure, you could have fired up Fring to make four-way video calls from your iPad 2 this whole time, but you’d have saddled with an iPhone-sized interface on your 9.7-inch IPS screen. And, as we say around the Engadget compound — tablet optimized or get the frack out. OK, we don’t really say that, but everything is better when it’s designed for the screen you intend to use it on. So, we’re very pleased to tell you that Fring has been updated with proper iPad support (cue cheers). Basically there’s no reason to use Facetime now, with its lame single-caller and WiFi only limitations. Hit up the source link if you’re in the group video chatting mood.
Fring optimizes its four-way video calling app for smiley iPad 2 owners originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Jun 2011 06:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
You probably wouldn’t pay $6 for an iPhone app that lets you browse through car models and pump stereo exhaust sounds directly to your drums. But a $6 Aston Martin Experience app that also displays speed and Gs as you film your drive from behind the wheel of a 2011 Rapide? We might be in love. The British automaker’s latest app can do all of the above, and also includes a list of “top roads” — most of which are in Europe. Our friends at Autoblog paired the app with a loaner Rapide (and we thought playing with cell phones was cool), driving up California’s Aston-approved Pacific Coast Highway. The reviewers may have spent more time focusing on the car than the app, but when you’re driving a $200,000, 477 horsepower aluminum beast for the first time, the iPhone easily becomes an afterthought. Aston claims that the Experience can be had with any other car, but if you’re looking to get the experience, be prepared to spend a little more than six bucks.
Aston Martin Experience could be the ultimate iPhone accessory, but you’re gonna want the car originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Jun 2011 02:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Hate gridlock? We’d surmise you aren’t alone, so pardon our excitement surrounding the latest addition to TomTom’s longstanding iPhone app. New in version 1.8 is the addition of HD Traffic, which extends congestion data to both “major” and “secondary” US roads. Existing TomTom Traffic subscribers get the functionality gratis, with the rest of us dishing out $20 via an in-app purchase. Free for all who upgrade are multi-stop routes, allowing one to tweak excursions to your heart’s content — provided you can count those diversions on one hand. The updated app is already live in the App Store, but please, pull over before downloading — cool?
Continue reading TomTom’s iPhone App gets updated, brings HD traffic updates along for the ride
TomTom’s iPhone App gets updated, brings HD traffic updates along for the ride originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Jun 2011 19:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Weather can be such a fickle bastard. A rainy forecasts turns good, a supposed great day becomes terrible. WHO KNOWS WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN. Still. I use weather reports to give me a general idea of the temperature. WT360 for iPhone let’s me know the weather nearly a year into the future. More »
We played this addictive gem of an award-winning app on a friend’s iPhone last year and actually considered cutting our friendly ties to Android just to get in on the action. Small wonder then that creator ZeptoLab caved in to pressure from the iOS rival’s community, making Cut the Rope a one-week GetJar exclusive. It’s a tactic we’ve seen competitor Amazon tackle before — one that should help boost this Silicon Valley-based app store’s visibility. String-slicing fiends can get to feeding their inner hungry, hungry Om Nom now, and give a much needed break to those over-slung simulated fowls.
[Image courtesy iTunes App Store]
GetJar gets Cut the Rope exclusive, candy-craving monster makes Android debut originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Jun 2011 03:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Those of you toting around an HTC Flyer probably just got an update that loaded OnLive Viewer on your 7-inch tablet. Don’t get too excited though, the name of the app says it all — this is a viewer not a player. So, if you’ve got a voyeuristic streak, you can watch others shoot their way through F.E.A.R. 3, but you won’t slowing down time yourself. If that sounds like a blast but you don’t have a Flyer, fear not, the folks at the XDA forums were kind enough to rip the APK and post it for all the world to enjoy. We successfully tested it on a Droid X, and reports are that it’s up and running on the EVO 4G, Desire HD, and even a hacked Nook Color. Once installed you’ll just need a WiFi connection (the app kicks you back to the homescreen on 3G) and low expectations — the video quality was less than impressive. Hit up the source link to download it for yourself, and check out the video our tipster sent us after the break.
[Thanks, Phil]
OnLive Viewer hits HTC Flyer, ripped and posted for other Android gaming voyeurs (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Jun 2011 06:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
If you’ve lost sleep over the lack of a dedicated Skype app for your iPad, you can rest easy tonight knowing somewhere out there it does exist — or at least a promo video does. Earlier today, someone over at Skype unintentionally (we assume) posted what looks like an ad for a real-deal app for the iOS slab. Of course, the evidence has since been pulled, but you can check out a ripped version (sans audio) after the break. It looks like the days of blowing up ye ole iPhone Skype are numbered.
Update: The folks over at TUAW had a chat with Skype’s Rick Osterloh about the iPad app, and he says you can expect most of the functionality to carry over from the iPhone. There are, unfortunately, a few desktop features, like file sharing, that won’t make an appearance. Sadly, Osterloh didn’t spill the release-date beans.
Continue reading Skype for iPad leaked in promo video
Skype for iPad leaked in promo video originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Jun 2011 16:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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