Hasta La Gadget!

We’ve already seen Epic Games and Id Software show off their respective game engines for iOS devices, but they’re only now finally giving folks a look at the first actual games that will use them. The first of those to roll out will apparently be Id’s Mutant Bash TV, which looks as impressive as the Rage demo promised (although that’s aided in part by being on rails), and will cost just $0.99 for the standard version or $1.99 for the Retina Display-enhanced version. Seemingly even more impressive than it, however, is Epic Games’ Infinity Blade, the game counterpart to the Unreal Engine 3-based “Epic Citadel” demo that was released back in September. While it may look like yet another God of War clone, it sounds like Epic has something quite a bit different in mind — the game’s creative director (of Shadow Complex fame, incidentally) recently described it as a mix of Karateka, Dragon’s Lair and Punch-Out. Head on past the break to check out the trailer, and hit up the link below for Touch Arcade’s preview of Mutant Bash TV (no video for it just yet, unfortunately).

Continue reading Epic Games, Id Software show off jaw-dropping new iPhone games

Epic Games, Id Software show off jaw-dropping new iPhone games originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Nov 2010 21:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Although Skyfire for iPhone is almost exactly like its Android counterpart, it’s still not available for download in the App Store due to server issues, so we thought you might want to see how it works. We’ve seen improvements on the Flash-to-HTML5 conversion servers in the past day or so, which makes watching videos a breeze. The app itself serves as a fully functional browser with the usual features you’d hope to find: bookmarking, a dedicated search bar, custom homepage, and even private browsing. Pages render rather quickly, although scrolling and pinching to zoom is a little rough around the edges. As for actually watching Flash videos, it couldn’t be easier — once you’ve navigated to a page embedded with a video, a popup window will appear and you’re good to go. Sadly, though, the browser lacks the ability to scrub videos. But hey, if you’ve been waiting three-plus years to play flash videos on your 3.5-inch display, Skyfire might (or might not) be the solution to your burning desire. Be sure to check out the browser in action after the break!

Continue reading Skyfire for iPhone hands-on (video)

Skyfire for iPhone hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 19:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s been over two months since it was first submitted for approval, but the Skyfire 2.0 web browser for iPhone is now finally, officially available for download, complete with the ability to play Flash videos… sort of. To get around the iPhone’s Flash restrictions, the browser actually transcodes the video in a way that lets the phone only see HTML5, and it compresses all videos by about 75 percent in the process to ease bandwidth concerns. Of course, that workaround also means that Flash video is the only type of Flash that the browser supports, and the company also notes that Hulu is currently blocked but that “scores of other premium sites are supported.” Skyfire also points out that the browser has more than just Flash going for it — it’s a full-fledged Webkit browser in its own right, and packs a few other tricks like easy sharing to Facebook and Twitter, and a so-called Facebook Quickview mode. Head on past the break for a quick video overview, and hit up the App Store now to grab the browser for the “special early adopter price” of $2.99.

Update: Skyfire is now “sold out.” What could that possibly mean? Find out right here.

Continue reading Skyfire browser for iPhone hits the App Store, ready to play your Flash videos (update)

Skyfire browser for iPhone hits the App Store, ready to play your Flash videos (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Nov 2010 16:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There’s always been tension between Apple’s tight control of the iOS App Store and the DRM-free license requirements of the GPL, and it seems like things are coming to a head over VLC, the open-source video player. As you’ll recall, VLC was just released for the iPad and iPhone in the past few months, but the port was done by a company called Applidium — not VLC developer VideoLAN, which holds the copyright and licenses the code under the GPL. VideoLAN now says that since VLC for iOS includes Apple’s FairPlay DRM, it’s in violation of the GPL and must be pulled — and that “concerned users are advised to look for applications on more open mobile platforms for the time being.” That’s certainly fair enough, although we do find it a bit sensationalist that the takedown notice was sent to Apple and not Applidium, since it’s technically Applidium that violated the GPL. Then again, the statement was written by VideoLAN developer Rémi Deni-Courmont, who is also senior MeeGo software engineer, so we can see why he’d be interested in promoting a “more open” project. Whatever the case, it doesn’t seem like VLC for iOS is long for this world — you’d best go grab it as quickly as possible. Like, now.

Update: It seems like there’s significant dissension in the VideoLAN ranks, as the project’s official Twitter page now says there are no problems and is linking to another forum post with some armchair legal analysis of Apple’s App Store Terms and Conditions. That sounds like we’re in for months of arguing, since huge GPL projects like VLC have layers upon layers of nested copyrights, and no one person can really pursue action without the consent of everyone else, but we’ll keep an eye on things. In the meantime, we’d suggest VideoLAN find a lawyer or two to give them a definitive answer on the GPL / App Store question — it’ll save everyone a lot of time and frustration.

VLC for iPhone and iPad may disappear thanks to GPL complaints — go get it now originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Nov 2010 13:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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And now we’re at a crossroads. Apple is about to start hitting the wireless media streaming game hard with AirPlay and an armada of third party manufacturers. Meanwhile, Sonos is improving its already impressive streaming ecosystem with a now-shipping Sonos Wireless Dock (WD100) for your iPod or iPhone that can stream your device’s music digitally to any of your Sonos ZonePlayers. It’s not that bad a buy at $119, especially if you already have a big investment in Sonos. Plus, Sonos has plenty of other perks (like great support for online streaming music services) that it would be happy to point out to you. Still, we can’t help but wonder what this sort of product will look like in an AirPlay-contoured market, say, one year from now.

Continue reading Sonos Wireless Dock for iPod and iPhone is out now for $119

Sonos Wireless Dock for iPod and iPhone is out now for $119 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Oct 2010 11:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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