Hasta La Gadget!

So you’ve seen how Apple intends to handle printing on its web-centric mobile device, now how about Google? The Mountain View crew has decided to solve one of Chrome OS‘ significant shortcomings — namely the lack of a printer stack or drivers — by interposing itself between apps and the printing hardware. Essentially, when you want to print you’ll be sending your request over to a Googlestation up in the clouds, which in turn will translate those instructions and forward them along to the nearest paper tarnisher. We say nearest, presuming that’s what you’d want, but the big deal here is that you’ll be able to use any device to print on any printer anywhere in the (internet-connected) world. It’s quite the brute force approach, but at least it assures you that whether you’re using a mobile, desktop or web app, you’ll be able to print without fear of compatibility issues. This project is still at a very early stage, but code and dev documentation are available now. Hit the source link to learn more.

Google Cloud Print service aims for unified, universal web printing method originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Apr 2010 07:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A few years back, Telstra — synonymous in Australia with “communication” — told Apple it had no business making a cellphone. Look how that turned out. To make a long story short, the company has since repented, and is on the verge of releasing an app-filled touchscreen phone of their own, the Telstra T-Hub, on April 20th. Thing is, this tablet stays plugged into your wall. Marketed as a “family organizer,” the T-Hub stores contacts, surfs Facebook, plays YouTube, displays photos, accesses personal bank accounts and even sends text messages like a smartphone, but does it all while connected to a landline telephone jack. While existing Telstra customers can get the device for $300 AUD, the company would of course prefer you get it for $35 with a 24-month service agreement… for a minimum total cost of about $1980 AUD with 2GB data per month. We’re not Australian, but compared to US iPhone pricing, that doesn’t sound terribly fair.

Update: Telstra spokesman Craig Middleton tells us the T-Hub isn’t permanently tethered to your wall. While the phone’s base station does connect to a landline telephone jack, the tablet assembly itself is a portable cordless phone with WiFi for web-connected apps. He also adds that the aforementioned 2GB data plan isn’t just for the T-Hub, but rather your entire home internet connection.

Telstra’s landlocked T-Hub tablet phone launches in Australia (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Apr 2010 04:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you make an app for the iPhone, it has to be done Apple’s way or the highway.

That’s the upshot of new iPhone developer rules, released Thursday without fanfare, even as Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced myriad details of the company’s new mobile operating system to a packed room of reporters.

The changes affect the so-called developer’s agreement required to access tools for building apps for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. They add significant new restrictions to software makers hoping to create products for Apple’s mobile devices, which happen to be among the most sought-after in the world. More than a billion apps have already been downloaded so far from Apple’s App Store, creating a billion-dollar software business nearly overnight. It’s also led media companies, including Wired.com owner Condé Nast, to make big bets on emerging platforms such as Apple’s iPad tablet.

With so much at stake, some software developers on Thursday bristled at the new agreement, which for the first time appears to bar any app built using “intermediary translation” tools, such as those made by Adobe, from running on its various mobile devices. Instead, apps must be written directly in Objective-C and other approved languages.

“So much for programming language innovation on the iPhone platform” said Joe Hewitt, developer of the Facebook iPhone app, via Twitter. “I’m upset because frankly I think Objective-C is mediocre and was excited about using other languages to make iPhone development fun again. It’s so hard to reconcile my love for these beautiful devices on my desk with my hatred for the ugly words in that legal agreement.”

Apple has exercised tight control from the start over the iPhone platform, at first refusing to provide a software developer kit, or SDK, of any kind. Under pressure, Jobs ultimately relented, spawning a massive outpouring of creativity. More than 150,000 apps have made their way to the App Store so far.

But Apple’s grip over the iPhone has not loosened — and on Thursday appeared to tighten considerably.

While the long-term implications of the policy change are not certain, immediate losers appear to be providers of software that translates applications built originally for other platforms, like the web, to run natively on the iPhone OS.

A number of companies have created tools offering flexibility to developers who wish to code in different languages and port their software into native iPhone apps. The best-known example of such a tool is Adobe’s Packager for iPhone. The tool lets people build apps using the company’s Flash development tool, then export those apps to an iPhone-native format so they can run on Apple’s mobile devices, which don’t support Flash.

The Packager for iPhone is in public beta now, but will be a part of Adobe Creative Suite 5 when it’s released later this spring.

Adobe’s Creative Suite is widely used by the publishing industry and by videogame designers, and Apple’s new rule throws a wrench into their plans to publish iPad and iPhone versions of their magazines, newspapers and games using Adobe’s tools.

Other cross-compilers (as they’re known) are made by smaller companies like Appcelerator, which are scrambling at the news of Apple’s latest curveball.

“It seems like it will be difficult for Adobe to get around this restriction,” said Ross Rubin, an NPD analyst, regarding the updated iPhone developer agreement. “Apple wants to ensure developers use the technologies exposed in its tools and wants to avoid being an assimilated platform. It extends the Flash ban and says Apple is willing to risk doing without certain content rather than ceding control to Adobe.”

Apple did not return e-mails or phone calls seeking comment.

“We are aware of the new SDK language and are looking into it,” an Adobe spokesman said in a statement e-mailed to Gadget Lab. “We continue to develop our Packager for iPhone OS technology, which we plan to debut in Flash CS5.”

The policy change comes amid a chilling in relations between Apple and Adobe. Addressing his staff shortly after announcing the iPad, Jobs railed against Flash, calling it buggy. He also threw barbs at Adobe for being “lazy,” as first reported by Wired.com.

In the past, Apple’s agreement stipulated that applications “may only use documented APIs in the manner prescribed by Apple” and barred the use of private APIs.

The same portion of the new iPhone Developer Program License Agreement now reads:

3.3.1 — Applications may only use Documented APIs in the manner prescribed by Apple and must not use or call any private APIs. Applications must be originally written in Objective-C, C, C++, or JavaScript as executed by the iPhone OS WebKit engine, and only code written in C, C++, and Objective-C may compile and directly link against the Documented APIs (e.g., Applications that link to Documented APIs through an intermediary translation or compatibility layer or tool are prohibited).

Additional reporting by Wired.com’s Michael Calore.

See Also:

• Flash Lands on iPhone — One App at a Time
• HTML5 for iPad Won’t Kill Flash, But Could Change Apps
• Apple Video Shows iPad Flash Support, But Don’t Believe It
• Why Apple Won’t Allow Adobe Flash on iPhone
• 5 Features the Apple Tablet Definitely Won’t Have — But Should
• Google’s ‘Don’t Be Evil’ Mantra is ‘Bullshit,’ Adobe Is Lazy: Apple’s Steve Jobs

The iPad hit the floor running with over 3,000 tablet apps available on launch day. Naturally, the iPad App Store is a cluttered mess, just like the iPhone’s. In this episode of the Gadget Lab video podcast, I handpick five iPad apps to get you started with your new life as a media-gorging hedonist.

A game I easily became obsessed with was Flight Control HD, a plane-landing simulator that involves drawing paths with your finger to land aircraft. The objective is simple: Land as many planes as you can while carefully avoiding collisions. (Then, brag to your friends about your high score and see if they can beat you.) The game costs $5 (download link).

I also highlighted an app called Beautiful Planet HD. Peter Guttman traveled the world and compiled his photos and writings into what he and software developer Phil Scales call a “reinvention of the travel book.” The app features over 500 beautiful, high-res photos, which can be viewed as a slideshow. I really love this idea of rethinking the idea of the book. The app costs $2 for a limited time (download link).

Third, I covered the Marvel Comics app, which enables you to download and view comic books with an awesome interface. Not only do comic pages look beautiful on the iPad screen; you can also double tap on a single panel to zoom into it and then swipe to the next panel. It’s a lot like viewing an interactive storyboard for a movie, and it’s a fresh new way to read comics. The app is free. Individual comics cost $2 per download, and there are some free comics as well (download link).

A quirky app I covered was Air Harp. As its name implies, it’s an app that allows you to play to a virtual harp. There’s an option to display sheet music and lyrics to learn to play the digiharp and, if you’re ballsy enough, sing along. Air Harp costs $2 in the App Store (download link).

I wrap up with a very simple app: Weather HD, which enables you to check the weather. Mind you, Apple doesn’t include a weather app on the iPad like it did with the iPhone, so I’m betting a lot of people will be downloading this. The $1 app displays high-quality 3-D animations of different weather conditions to complement a temperature reading. It’s extraneous, but what else would you do with all that screen (download link)?

This episode of the Gadget Lab podcast was produced by Annaliza Savage, with camerawork by John Ross and editing by Fernando Cardoso. For more video from Wired.com, go to www.wired.com/video.

See Also:

• The iPad Arrives: The Wait is Over (And Wasn’t Bad)
• Wired.com Buyer’s Guide: Choose the Right iPad
• The Wired Tablet App: A Video Demonstration
• 10 Apps We’re Excited to Try on iPad Launch Day

Apple trained us well with the iPhone. All those $0.99 apps, $1.99 apps, and the occasional $4.99 (or so) app, padded by plentiful free apps, and we laid down / rolled over every time the App Store whistled. Sure, we admit it, after a few months of conditioning we even spent $9.99 on a couple apps, but boy did we do our homework on those ones! They had to be the best, they had to either be the “greatest game ever,” or a vital piece of productivity software we could never live without. But something, somewhere broke within and we were left powerless as the iPad at last made its way out of the box and popped open the App Store for the first time. These pricey apps (the average seems to be double the iPhone price) are dangerously expensive, and we’d like everybody involved to think twice before beating our wallet into submission with these $9.99 and $14.99 “snacks.” Follow with us after the break as we break this down, won’t you?

Continue reading Editorial: iPad app prices are out of control and will kill us all

Editorial: iPad app prices are out of control and will kill us all originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Apr 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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