Google Adds Pinch-to-Zoom to Nexus One

Google has updated its Nexus One Googlephone to use multi-touch gestures. Specifically, pinch-to-zoom now works.

The update brings some other new goodies, such as Google Goggles (which initiates a search by pointing the phone’s camera at something), some changes to Google Maps and fixes for 3G connectivity problems.But it is the unlocking of the multi-touch gestures that will be of interest to most Nexus owners.

Or at least, to users in the united States. Googlephones sold in other parts of the world already had full multi touch support. Updates will come over the air — just wait for a message from Google and then go ahead with the installation. After a reboot, you can now lend your phone to friends and not feel embarrassed as they instinctively pinch the screen and nothing happens.

New Software Update for Nexus One Phones [Google]

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Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com


Helinet Brings Live Aerial Video to Cops’ Smartphones

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Remember the helicopter footage of the police chasing OJ Simpson in his white Ford Bronco on Los Angeles’ Interstate 405? Now imagine being able to watch that on your smartphone–instead of your TV set–and even tilt, zoom and pan the camera to get different views, similar to what you would do with Google Earth.

A new mobile technology product called HT 4Sight promises to bring live, encrypted video feeds direct from air crews to smartphones on the ground. Initially, the product is being targeted at law enforcement and security officials.

“Usually aerial images are sent to a command center and then attached to a voice feed,” says Ron Magocsi, chief technical officer of Helinet, a company that got its start by offering aerial charter services. “But now everyone has a cellphone and we wanted to find a way to distribute these images easily so you can get it wherever you are.”

Footage shot from helicopters is popular with law enforcement and TV stations. But, so far, that feed has been directed to a ground station where it is viewed on a PC or re-broadcast to TV sets. Poor cellphone connectivity and the lack of bandwidth have held back efforts to offer live streaming video on smartphones.

Helinet says it has developed a solution to that problem. All that’s required in the smartphone is a software client that can be installed in the phone by syncing it to the computer. I saw a demo showing live video on an HTC smartphone at my desk in San Francisco. The video was streamed from the city of Ontario, California in near real-time.

“What you are seeing is virtually no breakups in a video feed that is coming from an airborne platform,” says Magocsi.

ht4sight_300dpi1Here’s how it works. Helinet uses a gyro-stabilized high-definition camera system from Axsys that is mounted on a helicopter. A camera operator can either control the camera system directly or set some co-ordinates for the camera to lock on to.

The resulting live video stream is compressed from 1.5 Gbps (gigabits per second) to 18.3 Mbps (megabits per second) and then sent from the aircraft to the ground.  On the ground, it is de-compressed back to the 1.5 Gbps HD stream.

Microwaves are used to downlink the data stream  from the helicopter to a ground station. A directional antenna that is set pointing to the ground station transmits HD images up to 120 miles away with no loss or breakup.

Once the data stream is received on the ground it is decompressed and then down-converted from HD to standard definition video. The video is also cropped so viewers can see it on their phone without significant distortion. Ultimately, this video is streamed via the internet using the JPEG 2000 compression standard.

“For viewers, what this means is that when they are accessing the video, they are accessing our server through the internet,” says Magocsi.

What makes all this remarkable is that it happens in near real-time. “We work with customers that can’t have any delay,” he says.

The initial downlink of data introduces a 100-millisecond delay and additional processing could add up to a second or two.

Viewers can use either cellular or Wi-Fi networks to view the video feeds. And they can monitor up to four live video feeds on a single device. This kind of multi-casting also allows for hundreds of viewers to log in simultaneously to watch a feed.

Helinet is focusing on offering the technology to security officials so they can respond better to crisis situations because of their ability to access real time intelligence anywhere. But it’s easy to see how the idea can work for sports broadcasts and other specialized events.

For now the technology is available for BlackBerry and Windows Mobile devices only, says Helinet.

Photo: (UNC-CFC-USFK/Flickr). Photo illustration: Helinet


Teenager invents low-frequency radio for underground communications

You know what’s really annoying? Teenagers. Even more annoying? Teenagers inventing legitimately useful things and getting awards for it. Meet Alexander Kendrick, the 16-year old inventor of a new low-frequency radio that allows for cave-texting, which isn’t some fresh new euphemism, it just means people can finally text while deep underground. How deep, you ask — well, Alexander’s team of intrepid explorers went far enough (946 feet) to record the deepest known digital communication ever in the United States. What you see the young chap holding above is the collapsible radio antenna, though plans are already afoot to ruggedize and miniaturize the equipment to make it more practical for cave explorers and rescuers. Way to go, kid.

Teenager invents low-frequency radio for underground communications originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 06:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple Change Quietly Makes iPhone, iPad Into Web Phones

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Apple updated the iPhone software development kit on Wednesday to allow internet telephony apps to work on the 3G network. The little-noticed move effectively unlocks the ability for the iPhone — and the upcoming iPad — to be used as web phones.

ICall, a voice-over-Internet Protocol (VOIP) calling company, said the latest revisions in Apple’s iPhone developer agreement and software development kit enable the iPhone to make phone calls over 3G data networks. ICall promptly released an update to its app today, adding the 3G support.

Because the iPad includes a microphone and will run iPhone apps, that means the tablet will gain internet telephony, too.

The FCC on Thursday issued a statement applauding Apple’s policy change.

“I commend Apple’s decision to open its platform to 3G calling, an action that will create new opportunities for entrepreneurs and provide more choices for consumers,” said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski.

Previously, Apple’s policy had prohibited VOIP functionality on 3G networks — Skype, for example, was crippled so that its voice calling capabilities would only work over a Wi-Fi connection. The only way to use VOIP iPhone apps over 3G was by hacking (i.e., jailbreaking) the device.

Apple and AT&T had a secret agreement to ban apps that would let iPhone users make phone calls using the 3G data connection to prevent cutting into AT&T’s profits. That agreement was revealed in summer of 2009 when the FCC asked Apple and AT&T to explain why Google’s Voice app was rejected from the iPhone store.

After the FCC announced it was planning to extend internet openness rules to mobile networks, AT&T in October 2009 announced it would extend VOIP to 3G networks for the iPhone.

It appears that AT&T’s policy change is only now coming into effect, beginning with iCall and a few other VOIP apps that can now work with 3G.

At the same time, however, Apple has put in a roadblock to true 3G openness, because most phones’ SIM cards won’t fit in the iPad’s unusual micro SIM slot.

“I applaud Apple’s decision to allow iCall to extend its functionality beyond Wi-Fi and onto the 3G networks,” iCall said in a press statement. “This heralds a new era for VOIP applications on mobile platforms, especially for iCall and our free calling model. I hope that now more developers will begin using our VOIP as a platform to integrate VOIP into their applications.”

Though VOIP services offer cheaper calling plans to consumers, Tero Kuittinen, an MKM Partners telecom analyst, said the impact of VOIP on the telecom market won’t be immediate. He noted current VOIP technologies suffer from poor voice quality compared to traditional cellular calls, and with the current state of network congestion, it’s not going to get much better anytime soon.

“There’s a handful of kids who have always wanted to just make their voice calls on VOIP, but regular consumers have not been very excited about it,” Kuittinen said. “With voice over IP over 3G, the quality isn’t going to be there for quite some time.”

He added that VOIP will probably be much more popular when telecom companies roll out their faster fourth-generation networks, dubbed Long Term Evolution.

The move won’t necessarily change things for the famously rejected Google Voice app for the iPhone. Google Voice lets users channel all their calls through a single Google Voice number, which offers cheap international calls, free long-distance calls, free text messaging and voicemail transcription.

Google Voice is not a VOIP service. The calls are placed on a cell connection and use the minutes on a mobile phone. Circumventing Apple’s blockade, Google recently released a web-based version of Google Voice, which can be accessed through the iPhone browser. But that web-based version of Google Voice still depends on the iPhone’s telephone app to actually place the calls.

Google did not have an announcement regarding Google Voice in light of Apple’s new policy.

“We haven’t heard any updates regarding our native app for the iPhone,” a Google spokeswoman said.

Many have speculated that Apple would not allow Google Voice in its App Store to protect its partner AT&T’s profits. When asked why Google Voice was rejected, AT&T said it had no part in the decision, and Apple said it had not rejected the app and was still examining it.

Apple has been considering the Google Voice app since at least July 2009.

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

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iCall Download Link [iTunes]


Apple Tablet Will Likely Support 2 Kinds of Apps


In addition to launching its tablet Wednesday, Apple will likely introduce a new programming solution for iPhone developers to easily tablet-enable their apps.

Developers polled by Wired said they expected additions to Apple’s software-development kit that would help make iPhone apps work at any resolution, for full-screen support on the rumored device.

But how will that work? The tablet will likely support all iPhone apps out of the box in their current 480-by-320 resolution. These apps will probably be able to run in the background, perhaps in separate windows. It’s unlikely they’re going to automatically maximize to fill up the tablet’s screen, which is rumored to be 10 inches diagonally, developers polled by Wired.com agreed, because that would result in a blurry, pixelated mess — not Apple’s style.

Therefore, it’s likely that Apple will offer a quick workaround for developers to rescale their apps for full-screen tablet support.

For people who buy the tablet, that means we’ll see a slightly bifurcated world of apps. We’ll be able to access all iPhone apps in small windows, and some of those apps will be resizable to fit the tablet’s larger screen.

“It’s easy to imagine how Apple might offer tools to make it easy for me to not have to make all my graphics from scratch,” said Bart Decrem, CEO of Tapulous, developer of the popular iPhone rhythm game Tap Tap Revenge. “That’s one of the things I’d be on the lookout for.”

“We’ve made a big investment,” he continued. “People have made huge investments in their games. I’d expect Apple to accelerate the process of having lots and lots of apps that feel native and migrate from a fixed-resolution world to resolution independent.”

Decrem said he could not comment on whether Tapulous would be appearing as a presenter at Apple’s Jan. 27 event in San Francisco, where the Cupertino, California, company is rumored to be launching a tablet. Tapulous appeared in the recent September iPod event to present a new game, Riddim Ribbon.

Multiple independent reports agree on the physical description of Apple’s tablet: a blown-up iPhone or iPod Touch with a 10-inch screen. But the software experience has remained a mystery. Offering a glimmer of insight, The New York Times just a day before Apple’s product event has published a bold report claiming the tablet would support all 100,000 iPhone and iPod Touch apps currently in the App Store.

“It will run all the applications of the iPhone and iPod touch, have a persistent wireless connection over 3G cellphone networks and Wi-Fi, and will be built with a 10-inch color display, allowing newspapers, magazines and book publishers to deliver their products with an eye to the design that had grabbed readers in print,” NY Times wrote.

Corroborating NY Times‘ report, McGraw-Hill CEO Terry McGraw said in a live TV interview that McGraw was developing e-book content for the Apple tablet. He explained that the tablet’s OS was based on the iPhone OS, meaning McGraw’s e-book iPhone apps will be easily portable to the tablet.

Other iPhone developers polled by Wired agreed that Decrem’s theory was solid. They said the SDK needed to be updated with new tools streamlining migration to the upcoming tablet. Jeff Meininger, iPhone developer of Snaptic, said Decrem’s proposed solution regarding resolution-independence would work.

“It would be the simplest and most effective way to be able to support all iPhone apps,” Meininger said. “It’s absolutely technically feasible.”

David Castelnuovo, developer of the immensely popular iPhone game Pocket God, said it was likely Apple would offer some new sizability code in the iPhone SDK with the tablet in mind. But he said it wouldn’t be a blanket solution for all 100,000 apps in the App Store.

Pocket God, for example, is game that involves torturing pygmies on an island, and it would have to be redesigned for a tablet with a bigger island and more pygmies, Castelnuovo said. So, some quick and easy sizability code will likely accelerate full-screen tablet support for form-based apps such as Facebook. For games or apps with more complex interfaces, it could take more thoughtful tweaking.

“Ideally we wouldn’t want to just scale [Pocket God],” Castelnuovo said. “We’d want to make the world bigger.”

Just how big a portion of the App Store will support full-screen tablet resolution will be up to the developers. Appcelerator, a company that helps developers build cross-platform mobile apps, polled 554 developers on their interest in coding for the tablet. 51 percent of respondents said it would be “very important” for them to port iPhone apps for the tablet “in a simple, easy fashion without too much cost or delay.” Thirty percent responded “Somewhat important” and 19 percent responded “Not important.”

It remains a question whether Apple will launch an entire section in its App Store for tablet apps. Decrem said he doubts that, because all iPhone apps will work with the tablet. He said it’s realistic that developers will state in their apps’ descriptions whether they feature full tablet support.

We’ll find out soon. Stay tuned on Gadget Lab for full, live coverage of Apple’s tablet event, which kicks off 10 a.m. PDT Wednesday.

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A mockup of an imaginary Apple tablet: Stephen Lewis Simmonds


A Closer Look at Haiti Quake Survivor’s Use of Tech

woolley Dan Woolley was all over the news last week as the tech geek who survived the Haiti earthquake with the help of a first-aid iPhone app, his digital SLR and, of course, a lot of luck.

The religious man credits his survival to God and all those praying for him. But in an interview with Wired.com, he reveals that he was even more technologically resourceful than initial reports suggested.

After the quake struck, burying the Hotel Montana in rubble, Woolley, a web programmer, came up with some clever techy ideas. In addition to consulting the iPhone app First Aid & CPR for advice on treating cuts, Woolley used his digital SLR’s focusing light to help illuminate his surroundings. He snapped photos of the wreckage, using the flash to help him search for refuge. His viewfinder revealed a crumbled elevator shaft, where he prayed, rested and bandaged his wounds. Then, Woolley set his alarm to go off every 20 minutes to stay awake, fearing that if he fell asleep, he could go into shock. A French rescue team dug him out of the shaft 65 hours later.

Help Haiti Recover

That was the gist of the story broadcast news outlets reported last week on Woolley, but there’s more.

While waiting for rescue, Woolley recorded voice memos for his family with his iPhone. And when he was feeling discouraged, he used the iPod app to listen to music.

How did his iPhone battery last an amazing 65 hours? Woolley had a Mophie “Juice Pack” battery extender that he plugged into his iPhone, giving it several hours more juice. He also stopped using the alarm after feeling reassured that he wouldn’t go into shock.

When the battery meter sank to 20 percent, Woolley shut off the iPhone to save the power. Before he did, he had stored some text messages calling for help, figuring he would have them ready to send in case he could get a miraculous cell connection.

“It really was an incredible tool in my pocket, and I was really glad to have it,” Woolley told Wired.com on the phone.

dan woolley
Woolley clarified that he was using the app not to learn to treat his cuts, but rather to ensure he was doing it properly.

“I don’t know if I would’ve necessarily done things differently if I didn’t have [the iPhone app],” Woolley admitted. “At a point of great inner turmoil it was great to have something that was definitive. It’s not like I read it and I learned and said, oh really I should tie the wound? It’s more like OK, this is what I do. All right, I’m doing the right thing.”

Woolley added that many on the web criticized him for not having a first-aid kit with him. He said critics were missing a major point about the importance of the iPhone, and other similar app-powered smartphones, such as Google’s Nexus One, being a general-purpose tool that you carry with you everywhere.

“For people who pointed out I should’ve had a pocket first aid kit, the reason they’re wrong is I wouldn’t have it in my pocket,” he said. “How many people have gone out of their way to add one more thing to their pocket? What was valuable about the iPhone is it was already in my pocket. And I thought, it would probably be a good way to have some first aid tips in here, so I downloaded that app. That’s the value of this utility.”

Woolley was one of reportedly 23 survivors rescued from the rubble that buried Hotel Montana in Port-au-Prince, Haiti after the massive earthquake. He was shooting a video about poverty-stricken children in Haiti with his friend David Hames, a filmmaker, when the quake struck. Hames was not found.

“My iPhone did not save me, God and the prayers of tens of thousands of His people did,” Woolley said.

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Photo courtesy of Dan Woolley


Google Promises Fix to Nexus One 3G Problems

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Google Nexus One customers could finally have a fix to at least one of their problems. Google says it will soon release a patch that will improve the spotty 3G coverage that has left many Nexus One customers frustrated.

“Our engineers have uncovered specific cases for which a software fix should improve connectivity to 3G for some users,” a Google employee commented on the company’s Nexus One forum.”We are testing this fix now and initial results are positive.”

Google hopes to offer the fix as a software update by wireless download to Nexus One users in “the next week or so.”

Nexus One is the first smartphone to be sold by the search company itself, rather than a manufacturing or carrier partner. The HTC-designed device runs the Android 2.1 operating system and is available for $180 with a two-year contract on T-Mobile. An unsubsidized version of the phone costs $530.

Though the Nexus One gained approval for its fast processor, vivid display and slim design, the device has also been plagued by consumer complaints. Unreliable 3G connectivity and Google’s poor customer service have been the biggest peeves. Customers have complained that the Nexus One does not latch on to 3G network and keeps switching to the slower EDGE network.

Google isn’t promising that all Nexus phones will be fixed with its update. “It may be, however, that users are experiencing problems as a result of being on the edge or outside of 3G coverage, which a product fix cannot address,” says the Google employee.

Still, at least for some, the 3G patch should put an end to those “Can you hear me now?” conversations.

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Photo: Nexus One/ (Jon Snyder/Wired.com)


Drowning in a Sea of Rumors? There’s an App for That

screenshotA simple iPhone application aggregates tech rumors and lets you join the fun by picking which are the winners (iTablet: tomorrow) and which are the lame ducks (Zune phone: ever). Better still, the Prediction application was approved by Apple and appeared in the store today, just in time for the biggest rumor-fest of the year, Apple’s (probable) iSlate event tomorrow.

Prediction pulls in the rumors and pushes them to your iPhone. They are organized by event (the upcoming Mobile World Congress, for example) for easy browsing, and you can vote for the outcome of each, choosing Correct, Partially Correct or just plain Wrong. You can even add your own speculation and share them with other users.

Grab the app right now for $3, or play along with an old-fashioned PDF, available from the site of Prediction’s developer, David Weiss. Download, grab a beer and play along.

Prediction Score Card [Unweary via ]

Prediction [iTunes]


Entelligence: Here’s what I want in my next phone

Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he’ll explore where our industry is and where it’s going — on both micro and macro levels — with the unique wit and insight only he can provide.

By my last count, I regularly carry as many as five different devices in my bag, with lots of overlapping functions. But I seldom want to carry more than two, and one of those is always going to be a phone. As good as today’s phones are, however, I’m still left wanting. I use of a lot of different phones in the course of my work and while the perfect device still doesn’t exist for me, we’re getting very close. Here’s what I’d like to see in my next phone — and I’d like it this year, please.

First, the table stakes. It’s got have a great voice capability — I want to make crystal clear calls and never drop them. It’s also go to have perfect contact and calendar features, a modern web browser, and an email client optimized for both Exchange and Gmail. Of course, a robust set of third party applications are a must, including a good RSS reader that syncs to Google Reader and a great version of Tetris.

Continue reading Entelligence: Here’s what I want in my next phone

Entelligence: Here’s what I want in my next phone originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia Gives Away Free, Lifetime Navigation App

on-your-mobileNokia’s own headline sums this story up pretty well: “Navigation on your Nokia. For free. Forever.”

That’s right. If anyone thought that Garmin, TomTom and any other standalone GPS makers were already in trouble after Apple allowed turn-by-turn navigation on the iPhone, now the world’s No. 1 phone maker is giving away a full suite for any compatible Nokia handset, anywhere in the world. And not only is the application itself free: so are those usually lucrative maps and updates.

Free is fantastic and all, but what’s really important here is the fact that the maps are stored on the phone, not trickled to your device from a network. See, when you download Google maps on an iPhone or Android device, you’re at the mercy of of your cell signal. No bars, no map. But Nokia’s model is the same as a dedicated GPS unit: The maps are pre-loaded onto the phone and reside there permanently. In a place where the network doesn’t reach? No problem, maps are available. Don’t want to squander your data plan? No problem, maps don’t suck up kilobytes.

If you have Nokia smartphone, you can grab the download today from the Ovi store (not every handset is supported — the N900 is not on the list, for instance). Along with AGPS support, you get driving and walking directions, Lonely Planet and Michelin guides, weather updates and companion desktop (browser-based) software to manage and search routes form the comfort of a big keyboard. Best of all, the maps are available offline, unlike Google Maps on the iPhone.

Seriously, who would want to be in the satnav-selling game right now? If I had TomTom or Garmin shares (and I don’t), I would be selling them right now.

Ovi Maps [Nokia]