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Eye-Fi Direct Mode setup can be tricky

Sometime in the middle of the night, Eye-Fi released both the “Direct Mode” software update for its Wi-Fi enabled SD cards, and a new iOS app that works with” this mode. An Android app is also available.

Together, these pieces of software lets you snap photos on any camera and have them show up on your iPhone, iPad or Android device, beamed through the air over Wi-Fi. The Direct Mode actually turns your SD card into a tiny Wi-Fi hotspot, allowing devices to connect. Once you get it working, it works great. But it is a little tricky to set up. Here’s how.

First, slot your Eye-Fi card into your computer or card reader and run the Eye-Fi Center software to update the card’s firmware. Then go grab the new universal iOS app from the App Store.

Done? Good. Now, follow Eye-Fi’s own instructions to set up the Direct Mode. This involves checking a box and hitting save.

Then you need to connect your iPad or iPhone to the wireless network that the card has created. This is where things can get a little sticky.

The card will only fire up its own Wi-Fi network if it doesn’t recognize any other networks in the area. The idea is that you would use your existing network to transfer photos if you are at home or at work, and the Direct Mode would only kick in when you’re out and about. So, in order to use the Direct Mode at home, you’ll need to remove your local network from the card. This is easy to do in the settings. Then hit the “Start Direct Mode Network” button to force it to start up.

Once that’s done, fire up the Eye-Fi app on your iOS device and sign in to your account. Choose Settings>Eye-Fi Card Settings and tap on the name of your card on screen. Press the “Copy” link to copy the password to the clipboard, then go to the Settings app and connect to the Eye-Fi card’s network just like you would any other. I couldn’t get my iPad to see this network until I stopped the card from looking for my home network, as detailed above.

If this works, remove the card from your computer and put it in the camera. Switch on and test. You may have to force a reconnect since your iDevice will probably have re-joined your home network in the meantime.

Once you’re up and running, the transfers work great. I have mine set to receive only JPEGs (in the setting on the iOS app) to keep things fast. The camera is set to shoot RAW + JPEG, which lets me upload the RAWs into Lightroom later. I haven’t yet tried the combo out and about, but in limited testing it works great, with transfers coming across in seconds and getting saved in the camera roll, ready to be Instagrammed.

The only real problem is using the setup in the range of a known Wi-Fi network. Even if you have disabled the network on the card itself, your iOS device won’t connect to the Eye-Fi hotspot automatically if it sees another network it recognizes. And there appears to be no way to force the card to transfer to your iOS device via the home network. This shouldn’t be a problem out in the street, though.

Finally, there is one other oddity. The geotagging function on the card seems to think that I’m in somewhere called Nan Nan in Thailand. This is really rather strange.

Setting up Eye-Fi Direct Mode with an Apple iPhone or iPad [Eye-Fi Support]

See Also:

• Eye-Fi 'Direct Mode' Send Photos Direct to iPad
• Eye-Fi Mobile X2 With 'Direct Mode' Beams Photos to Your iPad …
• Marry Your Camera to Your Mobile With This Wireless SD Card …

Ok, so you won’t be getting an iPhone refresh this summer. But according to a trio of sources speaking to Reuters, the next-generation iPhone should be shipping in September — as we’ve heard before — with production starting in July. One source said that the iPhone will feature a faster processor, naturally, and look largely similar to the iPhone 4. If true then prepare to see it unveiled at Apple’s fall event, usually held in early September.

Next-generation iPhone coming in September? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Apr 2011 00:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve just laid eyes on a video from the prolific leaksters over at Tinhte, who claim they not only have a white iPhone 4 from Apple, but it’s one with a “test version” of iOS that nobody else has yet seen. It’s difficult to ascertain how legitimate this software is — it could just be a neatly done jailbreak mod — but that site has a track record of getting its hands on Apple gear ahead of the pack. With that said, the multitasking menu shown here substitutes the current use of apps’ icons to represent them with a visual of each app’s open window. You can tap on a window to expand it (replete with animation) to fill the screen or long-press on it to bring up the familiar “x” button for shutting it down. This is all accompanied by a new “Search iPhone” dialog at the very top, which sends you into Spotlight search that looks very much the way it currently does (though it seems to no longer be accessible with a left swipe from the first homescreen as on previous versions of iOS). Jump past the break for the video.

Update: A second video has been uncovered, this one showing that we’re looking at a prototype unit and taking us on a tour around its body. A visit to the Settings menu shows a 64GB storage capacity, while app folder creation is also handled a little differently from iOS 4. The presence of the Touch Fighter app on this phone, which Apple built to show off the capabilities of earlier versions of the handset, and other internal-looking software seems to point to this indeed being some form of iOS beta build. Of course, it might not be iOS 5 at all, but simply a never-released version of iOS 4. All we know for sure is that the video’s after the break.

Update 2: All indications are that this is indeed an early, unreleased version of iOS 4. Interesting, but probably not something to get your hopes up about.

Continue reading White iPhone 4 used to demo new multitasking, Spotlight search in ‘test version’ of iOS? (video)

White iPhone 4 used to demo new multitasking, Spotlight search in ‘test version’ of iOS? (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 09:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Are you familiar with the HBO Go online streaming service that lets subscribers catch up on HBO’s award-winning and ass-kicking TV content? Well, ‘appy news for you, dear reader, for it’s about to hit smartphones and tablets early next month. Android and iOS HBO Go apps have been teased by a new video on HBO’s YouTube channel, with promises of “instant and unlimited access” to “every episode of every season” of your favorite shows, garnished with a selection of hit movies. The apps and streaming will be free to HBO subscribers, who’ll be able to get their Sopranos nostalgia on over 3G as well as WiFi. May 2nd is the date on which the teaser video ends, though it doesn’t explicitly say that the service will be enlivened then. We’ll just have to wait and see.

[Thanks, Joe]

Continue reading HBO Go app set to stream its way to iPhones, iPads and Android devices

HBO Go app set to stream its way to iPhones, iPads and Android devices originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 05:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple claims the Galaxy Tab (right) is a shameless copy of the iPad (left). Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

Apple says it’s sick and tired of Samsung ripping off the iPad and iPhone, and the Cupertino, California, company is filing papers.

In a lawsuit filed Friday, Apple accused Samsung of committing patent and trademark infringement with its Galaxy line of mobile products. That includes the Galaxy S smartphone and the Galaxy Tab tablet.

“It’s no coincidence that Samsung’s latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging,” an Apple representative said in a statement provided to All Things Digital. “This kind of blatant copying is wrong, and we need to protect Apple’s intellectual property when companies steal our ideas.”

Samsung is also a supplier of components to Apple, and manufactures at least some of the A4 and A5 processors used inside the iPhone, iPad and Apple TV, as well as solid-state disk drives used in many Apple products.

Tech giants are already tangled in a number of patent lawsuits filed in years past related to smartphones. Nokia filed suit against Apple in 2009 for patent infringement, Apple filed a patent lawsuit against HTC in 2010, and Microsoft has gone after Google’s partners offering Android-powered products.

In the suit filed against Samsung, Apple contends that Samsung is copying Apple’s products on both the hardware and software levels.

For instance, Apple says the Galaxy Tab “slavishly copies” Apple’s product design, using a rectangular body with rounded corners, a black border and an array of app icons similar to the iPad’s.

Apple also names the Galaxy S, Epic 4G and the Nexus S smartphones, according to a brief report in The Wall Street Journal. The lawsuit filing has yet to appear in the official PACER database.

Wired.com noted last year that the Samsung Vibrant, the predecessor of the Galaxy S, strongly resembles the iPhone.

See Also:

• Apple Tries Short-Circuiting Droid With Patent Lawsuit
• Patent Lawsuit Threatens to Clip Twitter’s Wings
• TomTom To Contest Microsoft Patent Lawsuit
• Paul Allen Files Patent Lawsuits Against Entire Web … Except Microsoft