Hasta La Gadget!

A little over two years ago, Apple changed the face of mobile computing when it launched the App Store and broke down the barriers between app developers and end users. There was no longer a need for users to go to a third-party web site, hand over a credit card, download an app to their computer, and sync it to their device. The App Store’s integration with iTunes made it easy for the consumer to purchase apps, and purchase apps they did. But while Apple now commands a major lead in the sheer number of apps for the iOS platform, it’s far from game over in the mobile market, and other competitors can catch up. But it’s going to take more than just an app store for other platforms to level the playing field — that’s just the table stakes now. Here’s what mobile platform providers need to compete effectively.

First, the devices must stand on their own. Before Apple introduced the iPhone OS SDK, the developer program and the App Store, the company sold more than a million iPhones and iPod touches. That is, it had captured a large enough market for developers to notice before third-party apps were brought into the equation. Handset vendors and platform providers must have devices that are compelling to consumers out of the box, with features and form factors that attract buyers independently. Seeding a market with quality devices is one way to capture the attention of developers who will all want to be part of a platform with room to grow.

Continue reading Entelligence: App stores are not enough

Entelligence: App stores are not enough originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 Jun 2010 20:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Could Windows Live Essentials really be “better than Mac for photos, hands down,” as per the gauntlet Microsoft’s Brian Hall tossed earlier this month? There’s only one way to find out, and that’s by trying it out yourself with the free download at our source link. The software suite just hit beta with not only the face-recognizing, photo-stitching new rendition of Photo Gallery, but also new versions of Mail, Movie Maker, Messenger, Writer and a Mac-friendly version of the Dropbox-like Sync (no, not that Sync) as well. So… what are you waiting for? Oh, you’re still “awwing” at the image above, aren’t you?

Continue reading Windows Live Essentials beta is ready for your downloading delight

Windows Live Essentials beta is ready for your downloading delight originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 Jun 2010 18:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You may not have an iPhone 4 yet — unless you lucked out on delivery, you’re probably still waiting in line — but if you did receive Cupertino’s latest opinion polarizing handset, you might have noticed it doesn’t come with a tool to edit all the 720p footage of jealous friends that you just shot. Thankfully that can be remedied with a portrait of President Lincoln, as iMovie for iPhone just went live — head on over to the App Store and drop your $4.99.

Update: Oddly enough, we’re not actually seeing iMovie in the App Store on our iPhone 4 — only in the desktop client.

[Thanks, Joel]

iMovie hits iTunes App Store, only for iPhone 4 (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 Jun 2010 00:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pinch to open a stack of feeds in Reeder

For a device so perfectly suited to reading, whether news, magazines of the web, its surprising that the iPad hasn’t yet gotten a really first-class RSS newsreader. Reeder, a quirky RSS reader for the iPhone, was recently updated for the iPad and might be the best reader yet, although you’ll have to re-learn a few things and be prepared for some quirks, and maybe a few crashes.

E-books, magazines and even PDFs can be browsed elegantly on the iPad. RSS fans have a wide choice but nothing that stands out. NetNewsWire, cousin of the venerable Mac app, is fast (at least for the first week before it mysteriously turns to molasses) but feature-light: you cannot subscribe to feeds from within, for example. NewsRack is fully-featured, but can also grow sluggish and takes an age to refresh your feeds.

Reeder strikes a balance, and adds a unique UI to the mix. Here’s how I would use it when I start work in the morning.

I launch Reeder and hit the refresh button. Reeder is a Google Reader client, so it stays in sync with your web and desktop clients. A refresh takes mere seconds: 13 in a quick test. By contrast, NetNewsWire on my desktop took 35 seconds to do the same thing, and doesn’t even pull in your social feeds. Reeder is, compared to anything else, almost unbelievably fast.

Next, things get confusing for the beginner. Instead of the familiar mail-like list on the left side with articles on the right, you have little thumbnails representing each folder of feeds. Touch one and it opens up to show a list of everything in the folder, which isn’t ideal. If you pinch-out instead, the stack expands to show you more thumbnails of the sites in the list, just like pinching photo albums in the Photos app.

Once these have expanded, you’ll see the number of articles on an icon for each feed. You can either repeat the pinch-out to see a preview of the headlines, or just tap to get a more familiar list. It’s a little odd to begin with, but soon it becomes clear that this is a much better way to navigate lots of data than incessant scrolling. Two other nice touches: if you pull an article up or down on the page, the next (or previous) one slides into view. And you can slide an article sideways to reveal the list beneath.

There are further confusions, though. The navigation bar on the left has three parts, and these all change depending on context. Some of these icons are self-evident (the back-arrow, for instance), but other take a while to figure out. You can sort within the stacks-view or list view, showing unread, starred or all items using the top section.

Depending on which of those you pick, you can then sub-sort by time, or by feed, unless you are in a single feed in which case these disappear. It is hugely confusing to begin with but with some practice is very elegant and streamlined. The designers have clearly put a lot of thought into making an app specifically for the iPad, and have thrown out many familiar desktop metaphors to do do it.

You cannot yet subscribe to more feeds from within Reeder, a pain for a power user, but one that can be overcome by opening the site in Safari and subscribing in Google Reader. When it comes to getting info out, though, there’s an embarrassment of options. You can send a story to Instapaper, Read It Later, Delicious (remember that?) Pinboard, Google Reader’s notes, Twitter, Safari and even choose one of two mobilizing options to make the pages friendlier for the small(ish) screen.

There is one big downside. Reeder is crashy, for me at least. It may go for days without a problem but every once in a while it just quits on me, often a few times in an hour. Sure, loading back up is fast, and as the feeds are cached, you don’t even need to even spend the 13 seconds to refresh your feeds, but its a pain. It may, to be very clear, be a rare problem. The App Store reviews are almost unanimously positive, and crashes are a lot easier to fix than bad UI and feature design, two things that Reeder has dead right.

You might have to put in a little work to learn its quirks, but once you have, you’ll find that Reeder is not just a great Google Reader client, it’s one of the most iPad-like third-party apps we’ve seen of any kind. $5.

Reeder [iTunes]

See Also:

• Google Reader Play: iPad-Friendly News Reader
• Newsstand: Probably the Best iPhone News Reader

Lately Apple is trying to throw itself down a recursive rabbit-hole. First there was Apple Store, the iPhone app to buy an iPhone. Now we get Find my iPhone, an iPhone app to let you find your lost iPhone.

The free download from the App store works on any iDevice and requires a MobileMe account. Essentially, it is the same service that you would use if you signed in to MobileMe on your desktop browser, allowing you to see the lost iPhone’s position on a map, send a message and alarm sound to the device, lock it, or remotely wipe all data if it is truly lost.

You’ll the Find my iPhone setting on any iPhone already, as well as having it connected to your MobileMe account, and you’ll also need to have the battery-sucking “push” setting switched on for the account. Push keeps a connection open with compatible accounts so things like email can be pushed to the iPhone as they arrive.

Does it work? Sure. And on the iPad it is especially nice-looking, with a big map to show you just where your lost phone is. But there is one huge problem. You have to enter your MobileMe password every single time you launch the app. If you have a proper, secure password that includes symbols and numbers, you’re going to have a fun time doing that on the iPhone’s keyboard.

Apple suggests that “if you lose your iPhone or iPad while on the go, simply install this free app on any other iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to find it.” Sure, Apple. My MobileMe password is a huge, randomly generated chain of nonsense made for me by 1Password. Maybe I should change it to something easier to remember, like 1234?

As it stands, the idea is great, but the implementation is kind of hopeless. Avoid.

Find My iPhone [iTunes]

See Also:

• 'Apple Store' Application: Buy an iPhone with Your iPhone