Hasta La Gadget!

Last week, the online grapevine foretold that T-Mobile users would have complimentary calling over WiFi. Now, the pink provider’s powers that be have made good on the gossip and officially made free WiFi calling official. The service is available to those with Android handsets with the carrier’s Smart Wi-Fi app preinstalled and are on T-Mo’s Even More or Even More Plus plans. All others wanting a dose of free will have to pony up for a new plan — you didn’t think it was actually free, did you?

T-Mobile confirms gratis WiFi calling for the magenta-clad masses originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 May 2011 21:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Whoops. If you’ll recall, Sony held what can only be described as an emergency press event in Japan a week ago in order to issue a number of assurances about the resumption of service as it relates to the PlayStation Network and Qriocity. Seven days later, things are still as dead as they were pre-Cinco de Mayo. This evening, the company’s Senior Director of Corporate Communications Patrick Seybold punched out a quick update to let the world know that they could actually leave the house and find something else to entertain ’em — like it or not, PSN isn’t coming back online today. The reason? On May 1st, Sony was apparently “unaware of the extent of the attack on Sony Online Entertainment servers,” and now, it’s spinning its wheels in order to restore security on the network and “ensure” that user data is safe. Mr. Seybold seems to understand that you’re overly anxious about getting back into the swing of things, and he’s even going so far as to ask your trust that Sony’s doing “everything [it] can” to get the lights blinking once more. Oh, and if you were planning on visiting that source link just to find the new ETA… don’t. Sony’s planning to update you “as soon as it can.”

[Thanks, Alex]

Sony misses promised PlayStation Network and Qriocity restoration date, begs for more patience originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 07 May 2011 03:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After months of speculation, Time Inc. has finally inked a deal with Apple that will allow print magazine subscribers to access the company’s iPad editions for free. Beginning this week, subscribers to print versions of Sports Illustrated, Fortune, and Time will be able to download the iPad counterparts at no cost, directly within the magazines’ apps. Today’s deal comes just a few months after the company struck a similar arrangement with HP, but iPad users, unlike TouchPad readers, still won’t be able to purchase exclusively digital subscriptions to Time Inc.’s stable of publications. It’s no secret that Time Inc. wants to incorporate digital subscriptions to its iPad model, but negotiations have hit some roadblocks, largely thanks to disputes over how Apple shares subscriber data. Publishers say they need that data to apply the TV Everywhere model to magazines, but Apple thinks subscriber information should only be shared on an opt-in basis. We don’t really expect Apple to budge any time soon, but execs at Time Inc. seem optimistic, telling the Wall Street Journal that today’s deal proves that the two parties are “moving closer” on the issue — apparently not close enough, however, for Apple to comment.

Time Inc., Apple to offer free iPad downloads to print magazine subscribers originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 May 2011 10:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Good news for Android users who hate paying for stuff: according to new numbers from Netherlands-based mobile analytics group Distimo, there are now more free apps available for Google’s mobile OS than the iPhone, at 134,342 to 121,845. There are a few things to consider here: first, when one adds free iPad-only apps, the total number of gratis iOS apps increases to a more competitive 132,239. And then there’s Apple’s sometimes rigorous vetting process, which has probably played a role in its numeric slippage — after all, this report doesn’t highlight things like legality, repetition, or the overall number of apps dedicated to making farting noises. Also, Apple has a lot more premium apps, giving it the overall lead at 333,124 to 206,143 — but between Android’s rapid growth and what the report terms iOS’s relative stagnation, Distimo expects Google to take the top spot in five months’ time, outnumbering iPhone and iPad apps combined — a rough scenario for Cupertino to stomach, no doubt, but at least the company will still have Windows Phone to kick around a while longer. [Source link requires registration]

Shocker! Free Android apps outnumber free iPhone apps originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Apr 2011 22:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s been one week since Google pulled the PSX4Droid emulator from the Android Market without warning, and today its lead developer has decided to take a stand — ZodTTD’s made a new version of the app free of charge, and is hosting it at his personal website as a downloadable APK. He now claims that not only did Google pull his app, the company has frozen his developer accounts, effectively restricting his ability to publish to (and profit from) the Android Market until this gets sorted out. We can’t confirm his story at this point — and we hear things may not be quite as cut-and-dried as he claims — but we can tell you that if you happen to have a legally-obtained PlayStation BIOS and ROMs sitting around, you’re only a few clicks away from being able to use them on your Android phone. Not a bad deal, eh?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

ZodTTD makes PSX4Droid 3.0 free, claims Google booted him from Android Market originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 04:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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