Hasta La Gadget!

Poor Microsoft. You generously welcome a Startup Weekend on your campus, where all manner of geeks and techies code their hearts out for 54 hours straight, you throw in the BizSpark program to encourage them to use your tools, and what do you get in return? Learn That Name, voted best app in show and designed for use on Apple’s iPhone and Palm’s Pre. Gee thanks! On the bright side, we congratulate Microsoft for allowing people to write for their platform(s) of choice — and hey, it’s not like Redmond has been lacking in innovation lately, right? Video demo of the name memorizing game / app is after the break.

Continue reading iPhone app scoops best software prize on Microsoft campus

Filed under: Cellphones, Software

iPhone app scoops best software prize on Microsoft campus originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Sep 2009 10:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not to knock cellophane tape as a method for in-car iPhone navigation, but if you want to use the new TomTom app in a more proper setting, you’ll want the official TomTom car kit. In addition to enhancing the GPS signal and charging your iPhone, it’s also got hands-free dialing and a speaker that’s (presumably) better than the phone solo for giving directions. At a rumored price of just under $200 with software, it’s not a bad deal if you were planning to shell out $100 for the US maps, anyway. We’re still on the fence, but the hypnotic soundtrack of the promotion video is admittedly alluring. See for yourself after the break.

[Thanks, Arthur]

Continue reading TomTom’s iPhone car kit promo video is enticing, but still no mention of price or release date

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Transportation

TomTom’s iPhone car kit promo video is enticing, but still no mention of price or release date originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Aug 2009 03:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The problem with banks, you see, is that they’re one of the few remaining weak links in our ultimate goal of eliminating all human interaction. If you’ve got a check you need to deposit in your account, you’ve got to trek all the way out to your local branch; sure, granted, you can slip the check in an ATM, but your odds of encountering another living creature in the process of doing that are nonzero. Fortunately, USAA — which counts military personnel as a significant percentage of its customer base — is helping to close that loop with its “Deposit@Mobile” service, a component of its just-launched mobile banking app in the iPhone’s App Store. The secret, you see, lies in the iPhones magical camera which can “take” a “picture” of the check, transmit it to USAA, and boom — your cash is instantly deposited. No muss, no fuss, and no pesky people to get between you and your hard-earned cash. Of course, that doesn’t change the fact that you’ve got to get the check from someone in the first place… but, you know, one thing at a time.

[Via The New York Times]

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

USAA’s Deposit@Mobile app puts check deposits a mug shot away originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Aug 2009 21:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Everyone and their uncle Steve uses WinCE terminals to execute cashless transactions these days, and while you’d expect Apple to remedy that right quick, the Square credit card reader has beaten it to the punch. Plugging into the headphone jack of either an iPhone or iPod Touch, the dongle takes a swipe of your card, the seller enters the purchase data and you do your best penless John Hancock on the touchscreen. After that, a receipt is delivered by email and the app retains geotagging data for each transaction. Spiffy, right? Well, there is a surcharge to pay, and it’s still in early alpha testing in New York, but should it prove popular, there’s no reason not to see this appendage make an appearance on Android or WinMo phones as well. Rest easy, Gotham, we’re sure nothing could possibly go wrong.

[Thanks, Derek]

Filed under: Cellphones

Square iPhone Payment System turns your phone into credit card reader originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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More often the object of dread than fascination, the humble bathroom scale has been given a makeover by Withings, which has injected the Connected Body Scale with WiFi and an online progress tracking system not too dissimilar from that used by Nike+. This sleek metallic device is accurate to 100 grams — oh yes, it’s metric, like it should be — and conducts a body mass analysis that can tell you the uncomfortable truth, should you care to know it. Accessing progress data can be done via a free iPhone app or the company’s website, which is also the best place to plop down the €129 ($184) entry fee. And don’t tell us you’re not interested, somebody is buying up all those Wii Fit boards and it sure as hell isn’t us. Video after the break.

Update: Withings tells us that pound measurements are also available for you eccentric old schoolers, and September should see a US release as well, so good news all around.

[Via Chip Chick]

Continue reading Withings Connected Body Scale remembers what you’d rather forget

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Wireless

Withings Connected Body Scale remembers what you’d rather forget originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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