Hasta La Gadget!

Now well into its fifth year of life, iOS has always been known for its exceptional polish — and also, its glaring feature holes. But, just like clockwork, each year since its 2007 debut, those shortcomings have been addressed one by one in a sweeping annual update. In 2008, the platform was opened up to developers giving us the App Store, 2009 saw the introduction of copy and paste — which we’d argue is still the best implementation to date — and last year “multitasking” finally made a presence. So what has Apple chosen to rectify in 2011? Well, for starters, notifications gets a complete overhaul with Notification Center, tethered syncing dies at the hands of iCloud and messaging gets a do-over with the birth of iMessage.

If you recall, we first got acquainted with iOS 5 in May after downloading the developer preview, but how does the final release stack up? And does it have the chops to compete with the latest from Mountain View and Redmond? After drudging through seven betas, we’re ready to conquer all that the final release has to offer, so join us, if you would, past the break.

Continue reading iOS 5 review

iOS 5 review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Oct 2011 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Even if you were one of those Apple fans who was less than impressed by the iPhone 4S, there is still reason for excitement — and that reason’s name is iOS 5. If you’ve got an iPhone 3GS, 4, third- or fourth-gen iPod touch, or either of the iPads you can download Apple’s latest and greatest mobile OS right now. That’s right, all the fun new features like pull-down notifications, iCloud, iMessage, Find my Friends, Twitter integration and lock screen access to your camera will be at your disposal. Sadly you will not be getting a taste of Siri, which appears to a 4S only feature for now. Still, there’s more than enough here to make it a worthy upgrade to your device. So, what are you waiting for? Go hit that update button now.

Update: Just so you’re aware, you’ll need iTunes 10.5 installed to get the latest iOS. There’s also an update to OS X coming down the pipes — version 10.7.2 — which officially delivers iCloud to your Mac. Huzzah!

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

iOS 5 and OS X 10.7.2 available for download: get your iCloud and iMessage on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Oct 2011 13:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The new iOS 5 goes live soon, bringing with it revamped notifications and more than 200 new features for your iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. These are the top ten, and then some more. More »

If you drive, and if you read Engadget (which…you do), there’s a good chance you’ve spent some time using an iOS device in the car. You’ve probably also spent some of that time wishing there were a better way to integrate your phone or pod with the car itself. There have been devices to help you bring Pod and vehicle together in an unholy union of distraction since that first physical scroll wheel hit the scene, from maddening tape adapters and FM tuners to more integral solutions like Ford’s Sync system. The whole time, we were kind of just wishing they’d figure out a way to let us mount the thing directly in the dash, and have our way with it as we do in all other situations. Pioneer’s AppRadio approaches that — it looks unapologetically like a bigger iPod in landscape mode, complete with minimalistic physical controls and a laid-back, no-nonsense look about it. Does it, in fact, make the iPhone more useful while you’re in the car? Turns out, it’s a yes and no kind of thing.

Continue reading Pioneer AppRadio review

Pioneer AppRadio review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Oct 2011 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The iPad’s stills camera might be terrible, but as a video camera it’s pretty good. And combined with iMovie in the big screen, it’s hard to beat. But even the big ol’ iPad is prone to shake, and iMovie has almost no special effects. Which is where Luma comes in.

Luma is a third party video-shooting app for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. It adds a few filters to your footage, but its main purpose is as an image stabilizer. When engaged (it switches off in low light), the stabilizer will iron out bumps and jiggles in real time as you shoot.

And it works pretty well. I tested it by walking around my apartment with the iPad held out in front of me. The result isn’t steadycam smooth, but it’s way better than you’d get otherwise. The iPhone 5 will have anti-shake tech baked in, but Luma has some other tricks up its sleeve. It corrects the rolling shutter effect, for one. Rolling shutter is the jelly-like look that happens as the shutterless chip scans its way down the frame. It’s ugly, and Luma kills it.

The filters aren’t bad, either. You get B&W, high-contrast B&W, and “grunge,” which is a slightly soft, vignetted look with slightly brighter colors. There’s also a horrible negative effect you’ll want to avoid, and an optical zoom engaged by pinching (avoid this on the iPad’s low-res camera).

I will probably use Luma for all video shooting now, as there are no penalties in terms of speed and resolution, and the stabilized video looks great. What’s more, the app is free.

Luma product page [Midnox via iPhoneography]

See Also:

• How to Convert Video to Work With iPad iMovie
• New iPhone Software Beams FaceTime Video Calls to TV
• FiLMiC Pro Gives You Control Of Your iPhone's Video Camera …