Hasta La Gadget!

Here’s something that should help Trent reach a level of moderate contentment. Although we already knew that Apple was expanding its parental controls with iPhone OS 3.0 into the realm of TV shows, movies and App Store apps, a report today about the rejection of Makayama’s Newspaper(s) app provides a good example at the ramifications of such alterations. According to iLounge, it was rejected due to a picture of a topless woman under the section for UK-based tabloid The Sun. The accompanying letter suggested a resubmission once 3.0 (and subsequently the parental controls) go public, which we take to mean that the questionable content will suddenly be okay for the App Store once it’s behind the appropriate age gate. We won’t know for sure until everything falls into place, but sounds like this is one part of the submission approval process that’ll soon end up much less frustrating for developers.

[Via 9 to 5 Mac]

Filed under: Cellphones

iPhone OS 3.0’s parental controls to assuage some app submission woes? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 May 2009 20:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vinyl has been on the verge of a big-time comeback for ages now (and for some of us, it never ceased to be the format of choice anyway), so we’re pretty happy to see that even the land of zany iPhone / iPod apps is no longer immune to its charms. The spinning vinyl app by Theodore Watson makes use of the iPod touch’s accelerometer to control the speed that the “record” is played at. The video (which is after the break) might make you a little sick when you watch it, but it sounds great. Analog rules, doesn’t it?

[Via Make]

Continue reading Vinyl record iPod touch app gives you the spins

Filed under: Cellphones

Vinyl record iPod touch app gives you the spins originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Apr 2009 20:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There’s really no easy way to say it — Creative‘s TravelSound i85 is bordering on unsightly, so devout fashionistas should probably look elsewhere. For those who always put design second and utility first, this here device adds a portable speaker and FM tuning abilities to Apple’s fourth-generation iPod nano (the tall, thin one, for those unaware) and even includes a built-in rechargeable battery for pumping out up to 15 hours of house jams. Aside from operating as a gaudy wrist adornment, it can also double as a stand (horizontally or vertically), though there’s no Dock Connector pass-through (just a miniUSB plug). Worth $99.99? That’s between you and the monster underneath your bed.

[Via FarEastGizmos]

Filed under: Peripherals, Portable Audio

Creative TravelSound i85 adds external speaker, FM tuner to iPod nano originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Apr 2009 18:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While the British military has had a love-hate relationship with Apple’s darling, the US armed forces are reportedly warming up quite well to the iPod touch. A fresh Newsweek report asserts that the touch is increasingly replacing far more expensive dedicated devices in the field, noting that it is being used to spearhead the future of “networked warfare.” Equipped with a rugged shell and software developed by language translation firms (among others), the device is being used to aid communications and acquire information from databases. In fact, the US Department of Defense is “developing military software for iPods that enables soldiers to display aerial video from drones and have teleconferences with intelligence agents halfway across the globe,” and snipers are already utilizing a ballistics calculator to add precision to shots. And hey, it’s not like easy access to Tap Tap Revenge is really bad for morale, either.

[Via CNET]

Filed under: Handhelds, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Apple’s iPod touch tackling “networked warfare” for US military originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Apr 2009 08:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The iPod has never had FM radio, and at this point it’s safe to say it probably never will. But if you want to sample some old-fashioned terrestrial radio now and then, Griffin has you covered. The company just introduced the Navigate, which brings FM to any iPod or iPhone with a dock connector.

As well as an FM radio, the Navigate includes in-line volume and scan controls, so you can hunt for a station without taking your music player from your pocket. You plug your own headphones or earbuds into the Navigate, so you’re not stuck using a default pair. The Navigate sells for $59.99, which seems a little too high to me, too.