Hasta La Gadget!

You can toss it on a plane. You can toss it on a train. You can toss it in a car. You can toss it near and far.

Kiloo’s new Frisbee(R) app for iOS gives geeks a safe environment to toss the disc (so no more broken windows or dents in the lawn). We managed to keep that little blue saucer parallel to the ground for several seconds during our hands-on. It even flew through one or two of those enormous black and white hoops (enormous relative to the finger-nail-size frisbee). Many of the interface elements feel like they were borrowed from Angry Birds, from buttons and other graphics, to the way you progress through levels. This brought a certain familiarity to the game, though gently sliding a Frisbee(R) across the screen is arguably much less addictive than catapulting feathered fowl to their explosive deaths. We tossed (or flicked) the disc on an iPhone, but if you’re ready to step up to the big leagues, the free app is available for iPad (and iPod touch) as well. Jump up and catch it at the source link.

Frisbee Forever app hits your iPhone screen, doesn’t crack it originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 07 May 2011 02:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Having spent a good part of our day yesterday negotiating with iTunes and downloading a whopping 666.2MB file to update our iPhone to version 4.3.3 — a version, we might add, whose sole claim to fame is the removal of things — we know well the pains of updating Apple’s mobile software. Those aches, however, may soon be coming to an end. 9to5Mac has multiple sources informing it that Apple and Verizon are scheming to start delivering iOS updates over the air from this fall, or just as soon as iOS 5 is made available. Untethered OS updates are a familiar feature to users of other smartphone operating systems and even the iOS-infused Apple TV, but getting Apple’s mobile devices up to date has so far always required going through the company’s own cable and software.

There’s no reason to believe this wireless update feature will be limited to Verizon, mind you — that’s just where the informants are coming from in this instance — though Apple will almost certainly have to alter the file sizes of its updates. We can’t think of many carriers who’ll be happy to push more than half a gigabyte of data per user per update. Additionally, since iTunes currently acts as the major backup hub, 9to5Mac speculates Cupertino must be working on a cloud backup service as well, which would seem a very sensible idea. Of course, that doesn’t paint a very happy or busy future for iTunes, but so what?

iOS 5 updates expected to be carried over-the-air, at least for the Verizon iPhone originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 May 2011 04:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Electronic House just announced its pick for 2011 Home of the Year, and from the look of things, this iOS-enabled abode has the stuff to put your robotic butler out of work. The mammoth craftsman’s interiors, designed by OCD poster boy Jeff Lewis, were automated by HD Media Systems using the Savant app. Everything from lighting to shower temperature are controlled using wall-mounted iPads or a series of unencumbered iOS devices. A pre-programmed “party button” immediately adjusts lighting and temperature, and bumps music to the 15 different Sonance in-ceiling speaker zones while displaying a slideshow on monitors dispersed throughout the house. Among the extravagant extras at work here are a switch in the master closet for flipping on the iron in the laundry room, a chandelier that flickers when it’s time to switch out the toilet paper, and a virtual butler that warns of impending visitors. Looks to us like Rosie the Robot’s days are numbered. Check out the source link for more automated overkill from this year’s runners up.

Electronic House crowns iOS-equipped dwelling 2011 Home of the Year originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 May 2011 07:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A cardboard cut-out, really? You pasted a 50-inch rectangle of stiffened paper to the wall in order to preview the flatscreen of your dreams within your new Vitsoe shelving system? For shame. A true nerd, nay, a real man would have cast aside those arts and crafts for Panasonic’s new Viera AR Setup Simulator app. Just grab the wall or pedestal AR marker from the printer and place it wherever you hope to showcase that new Panny. Then watch the app augment your reality through the iPhone’s camera. Don’t cost nothin’ but your time, starting with the 60 second video embedded after the break.

Continue reading Panasonic Viera AR Setup Simulator app augments the reality of your TV dream (video)

Panasonic Viera AR Setup Simulator app augments the reality of your TV dream (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Apr 2011 08:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you missed the opportunity to get your hands on Fring’s limited Group Video beta, fret not, because the free service has just gone live for everyone on this planet. What this means is that all Fringsters on compatible iOS 4.x and Android 1.5+ devices (1GHz and above recommended) can now have up to three friends on one video call, and as before, you can do so over either WiFi, 3G, or 4G. Hit your nearest app market for the software update to join the fun, and head past the break to see how Group Video works.

Continue reading Fring Group Video goes live, enables four-way mobile video calls for free

Fring Group Video goes live, enables four-way mobile video calls for free originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Apr 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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