Viber’s free, no-registration 3G VoIP app officially launches on Android

Hey there, friends. Do you have the voice-calling blues, wishing for a better way to talk to your friends — without using your minutes? Consider Viber, a free VoIP app that launched for the iPhone last year. Usable over 3G or WiFi, with built-in SMS, it requires no registration, using your existing phone number and contact list. Our only quibble? A disheartening lack of Android support. But our spirits are lifted today, with the app making its way to the everyone’s favorite olive-green market. It has all the compelling features of the iOS version, plus a few extras we saw in the limited beta, like pop-up text message notification, in-app call logs, and the option to use Viber as your default dialer. The company must be doing something right, as it claims 12 million active users just seven months after launch. Interested in being one of them? Check the full PR — with video! — after the break.

Continue reading Viber’s free, no-registration 3G VoIP app officially launches on Android

Viber’s free, no-registration 3G VoIP app officially launches on Android originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jul 2011 03:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceViber  | Email this | Comments

Baidu Browser tips hat to old Steve Jobs quote, copies Chrome’s special sauce

Could this be a case of Baidu’s browser in Chrome’s clothing? The Wall Street Journal seems to think so and the Chinese company isn’t exactly dismissing the KIRF claims. Announced back in April, the recently beta-released Baidu Browser brings a “sleek, stripped-down interface” eerily reminiscent of Google’s web-surfing entry (or a likely fork of Chromium). The copycat similarities don’t just end in the looks department: there’s also an app store, fast-tab functionality and familiar menu icon placement. In its defense, the company claims its 30,000 plus free app offerings, in addition to China-specific entertainment features are enough to set it apart. Sure, this may seem like a case of the Asian search giant that doth protest too much, but it’s the company’s desire to drive traffic to its own engine that has us seeing Google.

[Thanks, Hardy]

Baidu Browser tips hat to old Steve Jobs quote, copies Chrome’s special sauce originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Jul 2011 19:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceWall Street Journal  | Email this | Comments

Baidu Browser tips hat to old Steve Jobs’ quote, steals Chrome’s special sauce

Could this be a case of Baidu’s browser in Chrome’s clothing? The Wall Street Journal seems to think so and the Chinese company isn’t exactly dismissing the KIRF claims. Announced back in April, the recently beta-released Baidu Browser brings a “sleek, stripped-down interface” eerily reminiscent of Google’s web-surfing entry to an otherwise Internet Explorer 6-loving Chinese population. The copycat similarities don’t just end in the looks department: there’s also an app store, fast-tab functionality and familiar menu icon placement. In its defense, the company claims its 30,000 plus free app offerings, in addition to China-specific entertainment features are enough to set it apart. Sure, this may seem like a case of the Asian search giant that doth protest too much, but it’s the company’s desire to drive traffic to its own engine that has us seeing Google.

[Thanks, Hardy]

Baidu Browser tips hat to old Steve Jobs’ quote, steals Chrome’s special sauce originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Jul 2011 19:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceWall Street Journal  | Email this | Comments

Apple: Mac OS X Lion to hit the App Store tomorrow


Well it looks like the cat’s finally out of the bag virtual box. Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer just confirmed during today’s earnings call that Mac OS 10.7 is due to hit the Mac App Store tomorrow, making Lion available as a 4GB download for $30. The new operating system packs 250 new features, including an iOS-like app launcher, multi-touch gestures, AirDrop for direct file sharing, and system-wide Resume. More enhancements that will feel particularly familiar to iOS users include a new version of Mail with conversation view, and reverse touchpad scrolling. We’ll have a full review of Lion later this week, but check out our hands-on preview for our initial impressions. Want to collaborate on projects with multiple machines? Lion Server will also be available as a $50 download — for those of you that need to support an entire pride.

Apple: Mac OS X Lion to hit the App Store tomorrow originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Jul 2011 17:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

iUsers frees your iPad of monogamy, enables multiple user profiles



Share an iPad? A new tweak is on its way to that other app store that should make your life a little easier: user profiles for iOS. The mod, dubbed iUsers, adds a user login button to the iPad’s lock screen. The tweak segregates application data and preferences between users, meaning that user A’s Angry Birds score won’t muddle and mix with User B’s perfect three-star rating. App installations, music, and video content are currently shared between users, but the tweak’s creators hope to remedy that in a future update. It’s a jailbreak only mod, of course, but still a neat feature we’d love to see implemented in future versions of iOS. The iUsers tweak should be hitting Cydia soon, but folks who want an early peek can snag it now by following the instructions in the source link.

iUsers frees your iPad of monogamy, enables multiple user profiles originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 17 Jul 2011 14:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceBlogdoiPhone  | Email this | Comments

Zinio adds full Froyo and Gingerbread support, now available for all Android devices


Earlier this summer, Zinio released its reader app for a small handful of Android tablets, bringing more than 20,000 full-format magazine titles to the Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, and a half dozen other slates. Now, the app is available for all current Android 2.2 Froyo and 2.3 Gingerbread devices, including tablets and smartphones. At launch, you’ll have access to a dozen free current issues, including ESPN The Magazine, Maxim, and Robb Report. You’ll be back to paying full rates after downloading those 12 single issues, however, so prepare for a bit of sticker shock when you’re ready to hit the subscription page.

Continue reading Zinio adds full Froyo and Gingerbread support, now available for all Android devices

Zinio adds full Froyo and Gingerbread support, now available for all Android devices originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Jul 2011 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceAndroid Market, Zinio  | Email this | Comments

Apple intros App Store volume purchasing, businesses enthused

Got iOS devices deployed across your enterprise? Listen up. Apple’s just announced the Volume Purchase Program, enabling businesses to procure applications from the US App Store en-masse. Upon registering with Cupertino, corporate overlords can then access a web-form to acquire and sling apps to their plebeian employees at will. And for those needing custom corporate-only software? It looks like bespoke B2B applications — even ones built by third parties — will soon be distributed via the same mechanism. We’re not orchard owners, but them Apples are looking mighty tasty, and it’s past BlackBerry season, right?

Apple intros App Store volume purchasing, businesses enthused originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Jul 2011 08:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink MacRumors  |  sourceApple  | Email this | Comments

Line2 brings phone functionality to iPad for 10 bucks a month (video)


Remember that ridiculous Steven Slater rap video promoting Line2’s in-flight texting app? Well, the VoIP company just dusted off the point-and-shoot and hopped back over to YouTube, this time peddling a complete telephony solution for iPad. Launching July 28th, the service will let you place phone calls using a wired headset or the built-in speaker and mic, listen to voicemail, and send texts from a single HD interface. After a one-week trial, you’ll pay $10 per month (or $100 per year) for the privilege, though with free number porting and unlimited domestic calling that’s a fairly solid deal. Many of us barely use our cell phones to place phone calls anymore, but if you’re looking to extend that little-used functionality to your tablet, then Line2 for iPad may be ringing. We haven’t had a chance to go hands-on just yet, but click past the break for a comprehensive video demo, complete with in-app email and an iTunes-like contacts carousel.

Update: Line2 says the app also supports Bluetooth calling on the iPad 2 with any device that features HFP 1.5. Apple restricts functionality, however, so you’ll only be able to use the headset for audio — you’ll still need to place and receive calls directly on the iPad.

Continue reading Line2 brings phone functionality to iPad for 10 bucks a month (video)

Line2 brings phone functionality to iPad for 10 bucks a month (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Jul 2011 04:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceLine2  | Email this | Comments

Video Time Machine for iOS (hands-on)

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when the subject of time travel comes up? If you’re like us, you probably think of flying DeLoreans or malfunctioning hot tubs; maybe even the HG Wells chair with a brobdingnagian spinning wheel on the back. Since these types of time machines (you know, the ones that actually go back in time) don’t exist — that we know of, anyway — we need to find other methods of transporting ourselves to another time. That’s where Video Time Machine comes in handy: it chronicles over a century of compiled movies, commercials, TV broadcasts, and other forms of moving pictures into one clever iOS app. We had an opportunity to get some hands-on time with both the iPhone and iPad apps and did some time travelling of our own. Did it satisfy our hunger for one hundred years of visual treats? Head past the break to find out.

Continue reading Video Time Machine for iOS (hands-on)

Video Time Machine for iOS (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jul 2011 14:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Crayola ColorStudio HD app for iPad swipes its way to your child’s heart

The iPad is not childproof. It’s fragile and expensive and we can’t imagine why you’d want to hand it over willy nilly to your kids. That said, if you’ve got money to burn and don’t mind letting small hands tool around with high-end consumer products, then this should tickle your parental fancy. Announced as a collaboration between Griffin Technology and Crayola, the Crayola ColorStudio HD app for iPad matches a marker-shaped digital stylus — the inventively titled iMarker — with your child’s LCD-colored imagination. The chunky, kid-friendly stylus mocks the tip of a pen, crayon, marker or paintbrush as your doe-eyed youngin’ swipes along 30 plus animated pages — all while sitting too close to the screen. If free is the key to your heart, go ahead and grab this now on the App Store — it’s the marker clone that’ll set you back 30 bills. That said, it’s a small price to pay for your child’s happiness. Also, digital Burnt Sienna — need we say any more?

Update: Turns out our friends at TUAW have already had the chance to sample one of these in the wild. Check out their impressions.

Continue reading Crayola ColorStudio HD app for iPad swipes its way to your child’s heart

Crayola ColorStudio HD app for iPad swipes its way to your child’s heart originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Jul 2011 06:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceGriffin Technology, iTunes  | Email this | Comments