Hasta La Gadget!

If we referred to an Apple or Android army, you might assume we’re talking about a legion of brand-loyal fanboys, with which most Engadget commenters are intimately familiar. Defense contractors, however, are trying to turn the US Army into a lethal Apple / Android force with soldier-centric apps. Harris Corp. has a tablet app in the works that allows soldiers to control IP cameras on UAVs for more pertinent intel on the ground while simultaneously sending that information to command centers anywhere in the world. Meanwhile, Intelligent Software Solutions aims to bring mapping mashups to the battlefield (no purpose-built device needed) with an app that combines smartphones’ geolocation with historical data to show troops what’s been going down in the area — from IED explosions to insurgent arrests. Best of all, these apps lower training costs since most warriors are already fluent in Android or iOS and the consumer handhelds can be cheaply ruggedized to replace the more robust $10,000 units in the field today. Should protective measures fail, the devices’ (relatively) low replacement cost makes them “almost disposable.”

Apple and Android get drafted, soldier-centric Army apps coming soon originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Mar 2011 02:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, it looks like you weren’t imagining things if you thought in-app browsers or web apps saved to your iPhone’s home screen seemed slower than Safari itself. Ars Technica has now confirmed that pages or web apps loaded using those methods aren’t receiving the JavaScript boost added to Safari in iOS 4.3, which the site found to be about 2.5 times faster than Safari in iOS 4.2. The problem is that those apps don’t have the necessary permissions to execute dynamically generated native code stored in writeable memory (as Safari does), which basically leaves them running at the same speed they did in iOS 4.2. Not surprisingly, that has prompted some to speculate that it’s all part of a grand plan on Apple’s part to force developers to use full-fledged apps instead of mobile apps, but Ars Technica points out that it could just as easily be due to some technical problems. Hit up the source link below for all the technical details.

Web apps found to be lacking Safari’s speed bump in iOS 4.3 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Mar 2011 17:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Another issue appears to be plaguing those who’ve upgraded to iOS 4.3, though thankfully this one won’t make them late for work. We’re seeing dozens of reports online of iPod touch users, particularly those with fourth generation models, who are seeing odd graphical glitches since updating to 4.3. These are most noticeable on the lock screen, as you can see above and in the focus-challenged video below, but people are reporting other issues as well, like overlapping icons and other pixel oddities. If you’re seeing similar weirdness make sure you chime in down at the support forums linked below — oh, and feel free to click in the poll as well.

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[Thanks, Jesse]

Continue reading iPod touch showing freaky graphical glitches after iOS 4.3 update? (video)

iPod touch showing freaky graphical glitches after iOS 4.3 update? (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Mar 2011 10:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If a broken clock is right twice a day, Apple’s is off twice a year these days — once each time Daylight Savings Time needs to be calculated in territories that depend on it. iPhone and iPod touch users are reporting on Twitter and the official Apple forums that the Clock app is been demonstrating all kinds of erratic behavior — regardless of phone model or AT&T / Verizon pedigree — with some alarms going off early, others late, and plenty of others working perfectly. Amusingly, still others report that DST adjustments occurred in places that don’t recognize DST at all: “My iPhone 4 had the wrong time this morning – in Phoenix,” reports user M Gnu, “We don’t do DST, but iPhone apparently thinks otherwise.”

Since DST went into effect on Sunday in the US, many didn’t notice issues until this morning, but even eagle-eyed iPhone owners could have a nasty surprise as one Engadget reader reports: “My iPhone 3GS changed time correctly yesterday, but for some reason over night it reverted back an hour, thus leaving me an hour late for work.” There doesn’t seem to be a single easy fix, but affected users report a variety of ideas might work — restarting the device, changing the Time and Date setting away from Automatic, calling the iPhone with another phone, or turning on and off Airplane Mode.

How’s your iDevice hanging? Let us know below.

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[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Apple’s iPhone / iPod touch daylight saving time woes continue originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Mar 2011 10:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unfortunately we knew that iOS 4.3 wouldn’t end up shipping with those nifty four- and five-finger gestures, but what we didn’t know was how easy it’d be to enable them. That’s right, getting even more touchy-feely with your brand new iPad 2 is just a few clicks and a 4.5GB download (to your Mac) away — if you’ve got $5 for Xcode of course. Sound intriguing? Click past the break for the info.

Continue reading How to enable multitasking gestures in iOS 4.3

How to enable multitasking gestures in iOS 4.3 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Mar 2011 08:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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