Hasta La Gadget!

If you’ve got Comcast service and an iOS device, there’s no reason you can’t download the brand spanking new Xfinity TV DVR remote app right now, but it won’t have the software’s spiffiest feature — direct-to-device streaming video. That’s set to roll out in either “a couple of weeks” or “by the end of the year,” depending on which Comcast representative you ask, and we got to try it for ourselves (along with the rest of the app) at the Web 2.0 Summit this week. Right now the featureset is fairly limited — you just pick programs from a guide and either watch them, beam them to your TV, or tell your DVR to record — but what is there was leagues more intuitive than a physical remote and about as responsive as we could hope for. Comcast tells us that Apple itself helped insure the user experience was polished, and it showed in every swipe and tap we made. Find out more and watch the app in action after the break!

Continue reading Comcast Xfinity remote for iPad does streaming video, we record some for you (video)

Comcast Xfinity remote for iPad does streaming video, we record some for you (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Nov 2010 16:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How confident is RIM in its forthcoming tablet’s ability to take on Apple’s iPad? Confident enough to create a YouTube video showcasing it, that’s how confident. Research in Motion posted up a video comparing the two devices.

The video showcases the seven inch business-minded tablet’s browser speed, its ability to run Flash, and its handling of the HTML5 standard.

Check out the video, after the jump.

The Xfinity remote app Comcast CEO Brian Roberts showed off earlier this year is now available in the app store for the iPad and iPhone. Currently they allow Comcast customers with compatible digital TV service to browse listings and On Demand content from their portable device and change channels right from the app. Video streaming, additional remote features and enhanced search are all promised for future releases, while other platforms should also get their own versions soon. Android apps are promised for later this year, with Blackberry to follow. For now, check out the press release and original demo video embedded after the break or grab the app from iTunes and break out your Comcast e-mail address to try it out prior to a live demo at 8:30 (EST) this evening at the Web 2.0 conference. It may not be the improved interface for our cable boxes we’ve been expecting for such a long time, but it’s at least a step in that direction.

Continue reading Comcast Xfinity remote app for iPhone, iPad launches, video streaming & Android version on the way

Comcast Xfinity remote app for iPhone, iPad launches, video streaming & Android version on the way originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Nov 2010 11:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blackberry’s Playbook tablet will go on sale in the first quarter of next year for “under $500″, according to Blackberry co-CEO Jim Balsillie. Speaking to Bloomberg, he said that the 7-inch tablet “will be very competitively priced.”

$500 seems to be the limit for non-Apple tablets, and if this is a real price and not just a spoiler to stop be-suited business-types from buying an iPad in the next few months, then it will join the Samsung Galaxy Tab in the marketplace for undersized tablets. This $500 is actually a surprise, as Blackberry is selling the Playbook as a business machine, and we were expecting a high price to match.

The trouble is, $500 is still too much. How can you charge essentially the same price as Apple does for the iPad, but for a machine with a half-sized screen? Worse, Blackberry isn’t exactly known for it’s third-party apps, and choosing the horrible Adobe Air runtime won’t help.

The Playbook might support Flash, but that is increasingly irrelevant as more sites switch to where the money is and serve iPad-friendly HTML5 video.

It’s getting hard to see who will buy the Playbook. And remember: by the time it actually limps into stores, the iPad 2 will be either available or imminent.

RIM to Sell Tablet for Less Than $500 to Take on IPad [Bloomberg]

See Also:

• RIM Unveils Tethered Tablet, the BlackBerry PlayBook
• Tablet Wars: How the BlackBerry PlayBook Measures Up
• Video: Adobe Air, Flash Demonstrated on RIM PlayBook Tablet …
• Official: Samsung Galaxy Tab $600 on Verizon
• Samsung Galaxy Tab: Cheaper Than iPad, But Not Really

If you like Blackberry’s physical form factor and Android’s app marketplace, and you want to spend less than $200, Motorola’s Droid Pro was tailor-made for you. Verizon’s online preorders for the feature-packed smartphone start tomorrow, Nov. 9th; it will ship and be available in stores Nov 18th.

Physically, the Droid Pro has a 3.1″ touchscreen along with a full QWERTY-keyboard, a 5MP still and video camera, 4 GB of memory (2GB internal), Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity and a 1 GHz processor. On the software side, it’s running Android 2.2 (Froyo), Adobe Flash Player 10.1, with QuickOffice’s productivity and both Google’s or Exchange’s push email, calendar and contact support built-in.

Verizon and Motorola also tout the device’s security features (VPN integration, remote wipe, and complex password support, with Device and SD card encryption in early 2011) and global-readiness for road warriors, offering voice and data in over 200 countries.

The Droid Pro costs $279.99 up front with a two-year service agreement, with a $100 Verizon debit card following later in the mail. Net, it’s $20 less than iPhone 4, all the new Windows Phone 7 handsets, the Samsung Galaxy and even Motorola’s own Droid X (which still ships with Android 2.1).

But the Droid Pro’s $180 is quite a bit more than all of Verizon’s Blackberries, which range between free and $150 out-of-pocket with the same two-year contract and data plan terms. A few users might like what they see and being willing to pay a little more than the Blackberry or a little less than those other smartphones.

DROID PRO By Motorola Now Available [Verizon]
DROID Does Business [Verizon]

See Also:

• The New Droid Pro – Or Should I Say, “Android Bold”?
• Apple Tries Short-Circuiting Droid With Patent Lawsuit
• Hands On With the Motorola Droid X
• Motorola Droid Rules Android
• Verizon, Motorola Unleash the Droid – Video – Wired
• Motorola Upgrades the Droid With Droid X
• The R2-D2 Droid Phone You're Looking For