Hasta La Gadget!

Like its contemporary, Canabalt, The Incident is a game that knows exactly what it is — and is not — and plays to those strengths to a T. The basic premise of this iPhone title is simple enough, and in that simplicity (as with many great games) lies its power. You are Frank Solway, a lone man involved in a day that has gone completely out of whack — namely, objects have begun falling from the sky, and you need to get out of the way. That’s it. That’s the whole game. You dash and jump while all manner of items come hurtling towards you from above; Mini Coopers, Ikea bookshelves, bikes, fences, arcade cabinets… really just about anything you can think of. Your goal is to avoid what’s coming next (teased by a flashing white strip along the top of the screen), grab the variety of power-ups that happen by, and keep getting as high as you can to reach checkpoints. It’s amazingly fun, and the charm of the game is doubled by developer Big Bucket’s use of retro, 8-bit graphics along with a pitch-perfect chiptune soundtrack. The effect is terrific, blending the best of what we love from our NES years with the kind of gaming that’s perfectly suited to a mobile device. We can’t overstate how polished The Incident seems — the developers have made all the right decisions, and the result is a game you pick up quickly, but can’t put back down. If you’ve got $1.99 to spare, why are you still reading this?

Continue reading App review: The Incident

App review: The Incident originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Aug 2010 21:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So, Apple was none too pleased with that potentially malicious PDF exploit found inside iOS 4 and pretty quickly released an update to fix it. There’s just one problem: the patch left iPhone 2G and iPod touch 1G users still vulnerable. As is anyone with a jailbroken device. Cue Jay Freeman, or Saurik to the online / IRC community. In an odd twist of fate, Saurik has finished what Apple didn’t, releasing a PDF Patch that’ll fix the very vulnerability you used to jailbreak that device in the first place. In fact, it works on every device, so you don’t have worry about updating just yet. It’s available now in the Cydia market. And hey, be safe out there.

iOS PDF exploit patch available on Cydia: have your jailbroken cake and safely eat it, too originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Aug 2010 15:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember that nasty PDF bug that allowed potentially malicious code to be executed on your iOS device? Right, the one that Apple recently patched with the iOS 4.0.2 software update, slamming the door on jailbreakme.com. Well, if you own the original iPhone or iPod touch you’re still at risk since Apple’s update isn’t compatible with those devices. Hell, many iPhone 3G owners are also at risk after rolling back their handsets to iOS 3.1.3 due to sluggish (to put it mildly) performance running iOS 4. So what can you do to protect yourselves? Jailbreak. As counterintuitive as that sounds, Jay Freeman (aka @saurik) just released a patch onto Cydia (search for “PDF Patch”) for all iOS devices, no need to update to 4.0.2. Of course, jailbreaking presents its own set of risks, so be careful — and for crissake be sure to change the root password if you install SSH.

Older Apple iOS devices must jailbreak to be secure — oh the irony originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Aug 2010 02:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re gonna proverbially bear hug your iPod touch into a working cellular device, might as well get it in the trendiest color available, right? The Apple Peel 520 has now been shown off in white, a more stylish option for those wanting a case, extended battery, and freedom from the shackles of limited SIM options (at the expense of some functionality and ease of use, naturally). Still in production with no release date, but hey, if you’re the sort who likes to live on the outer fringes of consumer electronics, keep this import in mind. No promises it’ll work with whatever Apple has up its sleeve next, though.

Apple Peel 520 gets a white finish, odds placed on beating white iPhone 4 to market originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Aug 2010 01:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Knowing how many calories you’ve burnt on that bike ride is a great motivator. For iPhone-toting cyclists, bike speed data is just a mounting kit away. LiveRider, the mounting system from New Potato Technologies, secures the iPhone (or iPod Touch) to the bicycle handlebars so that the screen is readily visible. The shock-absorbing cradle protects the phone from vibration and debris.

A permanently-sealed sensor mounted near the rear wheel measures bike speed and pedal tempo. The sensor transmits the data directly to a 2.4 GHz RF wireless receiving unit inside the mounting hardware that connects to the phone.

The LiveRider app takes advantage of iPhone features such as the GPS and accelerometer. Location and tracking information, inclination data, speed, and all other ride details are saved in the app’s file system. The information can be reviewed graphically or exported into various formats for number crunching and data anylsis.

LiveRider is iPhone 4 ready, but it’s also compatible with iPhone 2G, 3G or 3GS models and iPod touch 1G, 2G models with OS 3.0 or higher.

Weighing only 3 ounces and costing $100, the mounting kit is a steal. The LiveRider app is available as a free download from the iTunes Store.