Hasta La Gadget!

Despite being able to write level, I still manage to run out of space at the end of the line

Wacom, the graphics tablet company, has launched a drawing and note-taking app for the iPad. Called Bamboo Paper after its Bamboo line of styluses, the app is both simple and good.

Bamboo Paper follows the excellent Penultimate in its simple approach. You get little more than a sheet of virtual paper on which to scrawl your doodles and letters. Ink choice is limited to six colors, nib thicknesses to just three. You also get an eraser, undo and redo and a bookmark function. This last appears to do little more than put a marker in the corner of the page.

And that’s about it. You only get one notebook, and–compared to Penultimate– the range of paper styles is very limited. But Bamboo Paper has it where it counts: the handwriting engine.

Few apps come close to Penultimate’s ink engine (NoteShelf is one notable exception). But Wacom’s might actually be better. The feel of the “ink” appearing under your stylus tip as you write is very natural, and if you flick the tip (or your finger) quickly, the line feathers to nothing, just as it would with a felt-tip pen or a brush.

Wacom also seems to have cracked the problem of the wayward wrist. The iPad’s multi-touch screen is great until it mistakes your wrist, or at least the meat of your little finger and hand, as a writing device.

The usual way around this is for an app to provide a “wrist-guard” which you pull up to electronically mask off an area of the screen. Bamboo Paper doesn’t do this, but it doesn’t get confused, either. This is particularly ironic as my actual Wacom Bamboo Pen and Touch tablet fails so completely in this regard that I can’t use it.

Two other features that Penultimate lacks are pinch-to-zoom (and the related drag with two fingers to pan), and a long press to bring up the pen controls under your finger.

You’ll have to decide which is best for you. I have moved onto NoteShelf for its close-up abilities, but Bamboo Paper might be a candidate to replace it.

Bamboo Paper [iTunes]

See Also:

• Wacom Stylus for iPad Is Not What You're Hoping For
• Wacom Bamboo Tablet To Make Mincemeat of Mice?
• PenMoto Magnetic Ring Makes Pens, Styluses Way More Useful …
• Fingers-On With The Chunky Alupen iPad Stylus

The WebOS nuts at PreCentral have received an anonymous tip-off that HP’s imminent slate won’t be able to edit Office docs out of the box. As much as we’d like to dismiss this as a retaliatory rumor put out by BlackBerry, it emits an unfortunate whiff of truth. While HP has previously made a big deal of the TouchPad’s inclusion of the Quickoffice app, it has only said it’s “working with Quickoffice” to include document editing, and it has never demoed editing in action. The company has recently been trying to boost its app count, but perhaps it should have put more effort into securing core functionality instead. A glimmer of hope, though: the same tip-off also suggested that at least some editing capabilities will be introduced “via a downloadable update in Q3 2011”. Hey, what’s the rush?

HP TouchPad rumored to lack document editing at launch originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Jun 2011 09:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not only does Lightbox for Android fill in the Instagram-sized hole in the Android Market with slick sharing of filterized pictures, it also does what iCloud does: beam the photos you take on your phone to your tablet and web browser instantly. More »

Sony didn’t make a big to do about the arrival of its Music Unlimited service on Android — perhaps it’s the fact that the market for streaming music on mobile devices is getting a bit crowded these days, with recent arrivals from Apple, Google, and Amazon. Or maybe it’s that the mention of Qriocity, the service that powers the offering, is still likely to leave a bad taste in the mouths of lots of folks, after the whole, well, you know. Whatever the case may be, the app is now available as a free download for those with Google’s dessert-based operating system on their handsets, plus either the $4 a month basic or $10 a month premium plan.

[Thanks, Archon810]

Sony Music Unlimited hits Android, hopes you don’t know why ‘Qriocity’ sounds so familiar originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 21:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Sphero Golf app lets you control the Sphero robotic ball in a raucous game of nighttime golf

Remember Sphero? You will after you watch this awesome video showing it being used with the Sphero Golf app.

Sphero is a robotic, smartphone-controlled orb. We first saw Sphero back in December, and then got to see it in action at CES 2011. Measuring in at 2.9 inches in diameter, this omni-directional spherical roller-bot is Bluetooth-controlled, induction-charged, and compatible with both iOS and Android devices. Also cool: there’s an open API so developers can write their own apps that work with the nifty gadget.

It’s a little difficult to actually see Sphero Golf in action in the video since it’s shot at night, but the plethora of glow bracelets, glow glasses, and glow hats, paired with some seriously dance upbeat tunes, make it exciting nonetheless.

Sphero is set to be priced at $130, and a purchase will include the Sphero orb, Sphero Golf, and two other apps. A handful of other Sphero-based games will also be available at launch on the Apple App Store and Android Market.

Although it won’t be available for purchase until late 2011, if you already know you definitely want one of these Bluetooth-controlled balls, you can reserve one today.

Check out the video preview of the app, and Sphero, in action below.