Hasta La Gadget!

Kind of like eating a peanut butter sandwich with no jelly, the most obvious app missing from the iPad has been Facebook — until today. The New York Times reports that the site has finally confirmed the app’s availability just in time for eager social networkers to like, subscribe and stalk from their slates. According to software engineer Leon Dubinsky, the app will highlight the multitouch awesomeness of the iPad, something that’s unavailable from the website alone even from a touchscreen device. The folks at FB also added that some of the newly released features will be integrated into the iPhone app as well, making it a win / win for iOS fanatics. Consider it liked. Check out the brief PR after the break.

Continue reading The iPad gets a Facebook app, finally

Filed under: Tablet PCs

The iPad gets a Facebook app, finally originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Oct 2011 16:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The New York Times  |  Facebook  | Email this | Comments

Last year’s iPhone 4 launch brought more than 600,000 pre-orders within the first 24 hours. This year, that number nearly doubled, topping one million within one day of the device’s pre-order availability through AT&T, Sprint and Verizon. Those that haven’t pre-ordered the iPhone 4S can line up at Apple stores beginning at 8 a.m. on October 14th, or you can try your luck at pre-ordering now, though you may need to wait an extra week or two to get your hands on Apple’s new iOS smartphone. Jump past the break for Apple’s PR.

Update: Maybe not a huge surprise considering the numbers Apple announced earlier today, but Sprint has just let us know that it has sold out of the 16GB iPhone 4S in both black and white for pre-orders, and that it’s not taking backorders. 32GB and 64GB models are still available in both colors, however, as is the 8GB iPhone 4.

Continue reading Apple iPhone 4S pre-orders exceed one million in first 24 hours (updated)

Apple iPhone 4S pre-orders exceed one million in first 24 hours (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Oct 2011 08:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Apple  | Email this | Comments

Sprint says no to iPhone insurance, AppleCare+ breathes sigh of relief originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 09 Oct 2011 18:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  SprintFeed  | Email this | Comments

With the iPhone 4S, Apple says it will deliver an iPhone that works anywhere in the world, and with fantastic reception. More »

Runmeter uses notifications to give you regular readouts on your progress

It didn’t take long for a clever developer to hack the new iOS5 notification system. Abvio, maker of a clutch of fitness apps, has done some clever things with notifications that will let you leave you iPhone well alone whilst working out, but still be kept up to date.

Abvio’s Runmeter, Cyclemeter and Walkmeter apps have been updated to v6.0, and are ready for iOS 5. These apps all use GPS to track your runs, rides or speedy strolls (pro-tip: any app can be used to track any activity, so you only need buy one), and then do various things with the results. You can Tweet your ride, upload to online tracking site like Daily Mile or just save a log to your calendar.

The interface can be a little convoluted when setting up, but in the field it works just fine.

The notifications now let you pop up various info on the screen, meaning you can leave the iPhone sleeping, with the screen off and not draining the battery, and still get updates.

It works like this: You choose update intervals based on time and/or distance. You then choose what info is displayed. Thus, you could set a pop-up to show every five minutes with total distance, calories burned, or even your heart rate (you’ll need to hook up to an ANT+ sensor to get this). Or you can choose a readout to show up after a certain distance, telling you your current elevation, for example.

I use Cyclemeter, although as I use it on an iPad it’s not ideal unless I’m on a loaded trip. I am currently working on a handlebar mount for the iPad, though, which might make this a rather neat little feature.

This clever use of notifications makes me wonder what else could be done with them. The most obvious to me is turn-by-turn directions in a GPS app, which would be a real battery saver. Any other ideas? Leave ‘em in the comments.

Abvio Apps product page [Abvio. Thanks, Lori!]

Huge 6.0 Updates [Abvio Blog]

See Also:

• Five iPhone Apps That Replace Bike Hardware
• Run-Tracking App Knows When You Stop