Dec 06

Coach Claims iPhone App Helped Save B-Ball Player’s Life

Posted in: Apple, apps, iPhone, Medicine, Phones, Smartphones, Today's Chili


A high school coach claims that a first-aid app on his iPhone helped him save a basketball player’s life.

Can’t say we haven’t heard this story before.

Xavier Jones, 17-year-old basketball player at Verne Lutheran High School, stumbled when attempting to receive a pass, and his heart stopped beating.

Eric Cooper, coach of the basketball team, said he had downloaded a $2 iPhone app Phone Aid last week to brush up on CPR. Thanks to the app’s refresher, he was able to successfully administer CPR to Jones to save his life, according to the Los Angeles Times.

“It was really fresh and clear in my brain,” he said. “We are trained in CPR, but the iPhone app was a stabilizer for us.”

This story is extremely similar to that of Dan Woolley, who used an iPhone first-aid app to help him treat his wounds and ultimately survive the Haiti earthquake in January. Woolley gave Wired.com a closer look at the tech he used until a rescue team dug him out of the rubble.

Incidents like these highlight the implications of having data seamlessly integrated into our everyday lives through apps and versatile devices we carry everywhere, such as the iPhone.

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Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com


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Dec 06

Fring adds Dynamic Video Quality to its video calling apps

Posted in: Android, app, apps, ios, iPhone, ipod touch, IpodTouch, Today's Chili, video

Fring is working hard to seize on this (hopefully temporary) gap in the video chat firmament, where Google is lacking in a first party mobile video chat solution, Apple’s supposedly open FaceTime standard has yet to be opened, and Skype is dragging its feet on a mobile video call implementation. We’re not sure how long that will last, but until then we’re happy to have Fring sprucing up its own cross-platform solution. Fring just pushed out new Android and iPhone versions of its app that include “DVQ,” or “Dynamic Video Quality” for video calling. It’s pretty simple: the video quality automatically (and asynchronously) adjusts to use your available bandwidth, with an emphasis on keeping the audio stream pure and uninterrupted. It might sound like a no brainer, but it’s a nice touch — particularly for folks straying from WiFi and trying their luck with carrier data. Check out a video of DVQ in action after the break.

Continue reading Fring adds Dynamic Video Quality to its video calling apps

Fring adds Dynamic Video Quality to its video calling apps originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Dec 2010 15:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 06

Google eBooks is live: just in case Amazon, B&N, and Apple aren’t enough

Posted in: adobe, Android, apps, e reader, e-book, e-books, e-readers, Google, ipad, iPhone, nook, reader, Today's Chili, video

You hear about this whole e-books thing? We hear it’s gonna be a pretty big deal. Google, always with its finger on the pulse of our ever-evolving digital lifestyles, has decided to take a wild stab at this nascent market, and is launching Google eBooks today. Formerly known as Google Editions, the Google eBooks ecosystem is actually a pretty grand gesture, and seems to combine most of the positives of the primary e-book contenders (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Apple, naturally), while skimping on the UI flourishes, in traditional Google fashion. Books you buy are stored in the cloud, with your progress synced Whispersync-style, and can be read on your choice of native Android, iPhone, or iPad apps; from your browser; or on any device that supports the Adobe Digital Editions DRM for PDF and ePub files, which includes the B&N Nook and the Sony Reader (and plenty of other devices). Google is also trading on its vast repository of public domain books, with 3 million free eBooks on offer at its Google eBookstore, in addition to traditional paid fare. It’s certainly a crowded market, full of sharp elbows, but it seems Google is having no trouble adjusting.

Continue reading Google eBooks is live: just in case Amazon, B&N, and Apple aren’t enough

Google eBooks is live: just in case Amazon, B&N, and Apple aren’t enough originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Dec 2010 12:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 06

Slow Down app slows down your tunes until you slow down your car (video)

Posted in: app, AppStore, iPhone, Today's Chili, video
Slow Down app slows down your tunes until you slow down your car (video)

Speeding is easy to do, and like it or not having someone else in the car nagging you about it actually can help. What to do if your mother is unavailable? Check out Slow Down in the App Store. It’s a product of the Belgian organization OVK, Parents of Children Killed in Road Accidents, and it has a very simple idea: if you drive too fast it slows down your music, as demonstrated below. Cross the limit and your thumping beats get run through molasses, but get back to a legal speed and Joanna Newsom’s lilting highs stop sounding like a zombie’s baleful lamentations. We’re not entirely sure whether the app works outside of its native land at this point, and given how unreliable the indicated speed limits in navigation software tend to be we’re not sure we want it to. But, if you have a bad habit you can’t kick, this free app might just help.

Continue reading Slow Down app slows down your tunes until you slow down your car (video)

Slow Down app slows down your tunes until you slow down your car (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Dec 2010 09:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 06

Looxcie outs iOS-compatible lifecasting camera, early adopters get the boot

Posted in: Apple, camcorder, camera, ios, ipad, iPhone, ipod touch, IpodTouch, Today's Chili

Thinking of grabbing Looxcie’s remarkable Bluetooth-based Borg-cam as a $200 stocking stuffer this year? Hold on a twirl, and make sure you’re paying for the one that actually plays nice with your mark’s favorite smartphone. You see, the company had to make a hardware modification this week to the original Looxcie to make it compatible with iOS devices, and while that’s complete now, you’ll want to buy the new Looxcie LX1 if your giftee owns an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. Otherwise, you’ll be buying a device that’s Android-exclusive for the very same price. Got an Android phone to begin with? We expect the seething anger of Looxcie early adopters will soon afford you some deep discounts on the now-inferior original. PR after the break.

Continue reading Looxcie outs iOS-compatible lifecasting camera, early adopters get the boot

Looxcie outs iOS-compatible lifecasting camera, early adopters get the boot originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Dec 2010 03:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 04

Apple’s iPhone 4 (legitimately) on sale for the first time: $50 off at Radio Shack

Posted in: Apple, AppleIphone, ios, iPhone, retail, sale, smartphone, Today's Chili

Missed out on Black Friday? Good on you. Now, still in the market for an iPhone 4? If so, you should probably point your vehicle to the nearest Radio Shack, STAT. For the first time since going on sale in June, Apple’s iPhone 4 is legitimately on sale from a retailer that actually exists and won’t sell your personal information to some goon in an offshore paradise you’ve never heard of. (No, Walmart’s $2 savings doesn’t count.) We’re told that the $50-off sale is being done to ramp up awareness surrounding Radio Shack’s (admittedly low-key) wireless business, and if we had to guess, we’d say it’ll probably work to perfection. Ever since the handset began shipping this summer, the going rate was $199 (on contract) for the 16GB model or $299 (also on contract) for the 32GB flavor; this deal hacks $50 from each, and there’s even an 8GB iPhone 3GS for $49 if you’re looking to take things even lower. Better still, The Shack‘s offering a $75 trade-in credit on any functional / non-cracked iPhone 3G as well as $125 for a 3GS in like condition, meaning that you could walk in today, hand over your 3GS, and walk out with an iPhone 4 for $25 (plus activation fees). Naturally, the deal’s only available in brick-and-mortar locations (read: not online), and the fun comes to a close on December 11th. So, who’s in?

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Apple’s iPhone 4 (legitimately) on sale for the first time: $50 off at Radio Shack originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Dec 2010 14:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 03

iPhone App Slows Down Music When You Speed

Posted in: Apple, apps, Cars, iPhone, Phones, Today's Chili

The Slow Down App from OVK on Vimeo.

While driving, it’s tempting to hit the gas when one of your favorite jams plays on the stereo, but a new iPhone app discourages music-induced speeding.

Shown in the video above, the app Slow Down uses the iPhone’s sensors to track how fast you’re driving. If you go a few miles over the speed limit, it slows down the tempo of any track playing from your music library. And if you exceed by more than 6 miles per hour, the music stops completely until you resume driving at a normal speed again. Goofy but clever, though I’d imagine it getting annoying when you need to pass people up on the freeway.

Slow Down is a free app [iTunes] in the App Store.

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Dec 03

How to Print With Any Printer From iPad, iPhone

Posted in: Apple, ios, ipad, iPhone, Phones, Tablets and E-Readers, Today's Chili

Apple’s latest mobile operating system update introduces a much-demanded feature: wireless printing. Problem is, it will only officially print from printers labeled “AirPrint-compatible,” which you likely don’t own. However, if you want to print from just about any printer, there’s a mod for that.

AirPrint Hacktivator offers a solution for Macs to set up wireless printing with iOS 4.2 with any printer shared on your network. Here’s how to set it up, with instructions courtesy of the hack’s maker, Netputing.

You will need:

  • Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.5
  • iTunes 10.1 (if you have neither, select the Apple icon in the upper-left corner of your screen and click “Software Updates” to download the latest software.
  • iOS 4.2.1 on an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad (click “Check for Updates” in iTunes if you don’t have the latest iOS.)
  • AirPrint Hacktivator [.zip]

Instructions:

1. Copy the AirPrint Hacktivator software into your Applications folder, then launch the app.

2. Toggle the switch to “ON.”

3. Enter your admin password.

4. A window will prompt you to add the printer you want to use with AirPrint.

5. The hack will launch the Print & Fax utility in your Settings folder, and you’ll be able to perform the add-printer task here.

6. And you should be ready to start printing!

See the video below by Netputing for a visual tutorial.


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Dec 03

Dispute over Square card reader patent gets litigious

Posted in: iPhone, Law, lawsuit, patent, Today's Chili

As folks who follow such things may be aware, there’s been some dispute over the origin of Square’s card reader technology more or less since the company (led by Twitter’s Jack Dorsey) went public with it last year. That dispute has now gotten even more contentious, however, with Square and its chairman, James McKelvey, taking aim at REM Holdings and Robert Morley, who actually holds the patent to the technology. The key issue is that McKelvey is not listed as one of the inventors in the patent, despite claims that he was the one that actually conceived the idea in a “flash of inventive insight,” and that he and Morley worked together to develop the idea (and later discussed obtaining patent protection with Jack Dorsey). And that’s pretty much where things stand at the moment — Square is requesting a court order to add McKelvey as a co-inventor on the patent, but there’s no indication as to when or if that will happen.

Dispute over Square card reader patent gets litigious originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Dec 2010 14:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 03

ThinkFlood’s RedEye universal remote control becomes web compatible, leaves past woes in the dust

Posted in: Android, BlackBerry, ios, ipad, iPhone, IphoneApp, PC, remote, remote control, RemoteControl, Today's Chili, web browser, WebBrowser

After going through some rough times with its RedEye mini dongle and doing right by replacing them, ThinkFlood appears to be running full beam ahead once more. Specifically, the company has announced that RedEye owners will soon have the ability to setup and control their remote systems straight from their PC or mobile browser. On the mobile front, apparently the web app will even work on Android and BlackBerry devices, despite being optimized for Safari on iOS — hinting that non iPhone owners could possibly let their phones control more than their social lives soon. Setup wise, the web version also allows users to automatically align and move multiple buttons at once, plus assign commands to over 70+ keyboard shortcuts. Combined with the ability to make adjustments using a mouse on a computer’s larger screen, tweaking custom RedEye remote layouts just got infinitely easier — you hear that Harmony? The iOS app 2.0 update is also now available as a free ‘Plus’ download in the iTunes store, and finally supports the iPad’s lovely screen in either orientation. In a sense, it’s further substantiating the tablet’s new career path as a jumbo-buttoned geezer remote of the future, but hey — no gripes here.

Continue reading ThinkFlood’s RedEye universal remote control becomes web compatible, leaves past woes in the dust

ThinkFlood’s RedEye universal remote control becomes web compatible, leaves past woes in the dust originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Dec 2010 10:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Marketwire  |  sourceRedEye  | Email this | Comments

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