Hasta La Gadget!

Loyal reader Parth Dhebar is keeping us updated on happenings in the San Jose Valley Fair Apple Store this morning, and earlier laptop signings from the Woz have escalated into an impromptu Segway demo courtesy of the eccentric Apple Inc founder. Where he got the personal transporter from, we don’t know, why he’s riding it around and doing his best Paul Blart impersonation is not important, what matters is that we’ve got video of Steve Wozniak on a Segway and it’s right after the break. We’re also told an iPad has emerged out of the ether for the Woz-man and his fellow early bird queuers to have a tantalizing play around with — presumably thanks to Apple Store employees treating their patriarch like they should. The perks of being in the right place at the right time, eh?

[Thanks, Parth]

Update: That’s a 3G iPad old Steve is playing around with! Look at the plastic up top. We’ll do our usual digging to try and find out how that wily superhero managed to get his mitts on a device that’s a good few weeks away from release.

Update 2: We’ve got video of the 3G iPad running Netflix. An Apple engineer apparently walked through the queue with it, it didn’t come out of Steve’s magical trenchcoat pocket.

Update 3: Interested in seeing Woz grab his iPad, sign a few hundred others, and then ride off into the sunset on his Segway? Gallery’s just below.

Continue reading First 3G iPad sighted in the wild, Steve Wozniak plays it cool by riding a Segway (video)

First 3G iPad sighted in the wild, Steve Wozniak plays it cool by riding a Segway (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Apr 2010 08:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There are now over 1,348 approved apps for the iPad. That’s on top of the 150,000 iPad-compatible iPhone programs already available in the App Store. When Apple’s tablet PC launches, just hours from now, it will have a software library greater than that of any handheld in history — not counting the occasional UMPC. That said, the vast majority of even those 1,348 iPad apps are not original. They were designed for the iPhone, a device with a comparatively pokey processor and a tiny screen, and most have just been tweaked slightly, upped in price and given an “HD” suffix — as if that somehow justified the increased cost.

Besides, we’ve seen the amazing potential programs have on iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile and webOS when given access to a touchscreen, always-on data connection, GPS, cloud storage and WiFi — but where are the apps that truly define iPad? What will take advantage of its extra headroom, new UI paradigms and multitouch real estate? Caught between netbook and smartphone, what does the iPad do that the iPhone cannot? After spending hours digging through the web and new iPad section of the App Store, we believe we have a number of reasonably compelling answers.

Update: Now includes Wormhole Remote, TweetDeck, SkyGrid, Touchgrind HD, GoToMeeting, SplitBrowser, iDisplay, Geometry Wars and Drawing Pad.

Continue reading iPad apps: defining experiences from the first wave

iPad apps: defining experiences from the first wave originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Apr 2010 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For all we’ve written and read about the iPad, there’s one thing we don’t know for sure: How people will use it. Apple and co. seem to think it’s going to be your new TV—here’s why they’re right. More »

Look, we’re not sure what appadvice is using to back its claims, but it’s been pumping out supposed iPad app leaks for a few weeks now with screenshots and videos that tell a convincing story. Now they’ve linked us to a host of new iPad apps with Netflix and ABC player being two of the most notable. The free Neflix app is said to be launching along side Apple’s slate on April 3rd letting Netflix subscribers browse and manage their queues. More importantly, it will also allow subscribers to stream Netflix’s online collection of videos. Of course, if this is true then we expect to see a Netflix app land for the iPhone and iPod touch as well in adherence to Reed Hastings’ previous comments.

There’s also a free ABC app tipped for April 3rd giving iPad owners WiFi access to full episodes of shows like Lost and Grey’s Anatomy. And with CBS seemingly getting into the HTML5 game we suspect that the demand for Hulu in the US will dampen if all this comes to fruition — especially if Hulu adopts a subscription model. Not enough? Then check out the 1,350 (and counting) approved iPad apps in the source link below or preview 700 of them in a video after the break where you’ll also catch a few more Netflix and ABC screenies. We’ll have to wait until Saturday to see how many of these actually appear in the iTunes App Store.

Update: Looks like these apps are coming straight from Apple’s app database since AppShopper is also showing Netflix and ABC Player iPad apps. Don’t believe it? Then why not grab some screenshots of your own direct from Apple’s servers. This is legit folks.

[Thanks, Sean M.]

Continue reading Netflix streaming, ABC, and 1,348 more iPad approved apps revealed

Netflix streaming, ABC, and 1,348 more iPad approved apps revealed originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Apr 2010 03:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Netflix has started to ship the discs required to stream over the Wii to some of its customers, the company announced Thursday. Netflix is sending the discs to only a small group of people and will use their feedback to “ensure that we deliver a great experience to everyone when we launch,” marketing exec Jessie Becker said in a blog post.

Any Netflix member with an unlimited plan for $8.99 per month or higher, a broadband connection, and a Wii console will be able to access the service at launch. To sign up, reserve a copy of the Wii disc online, and Netflix will send you an e-mail once it launches.

Netflix first announced plans for streaming on the Wii in January. The company said at the time that it was planning for a spring launch.