Dost thine iPad trouble thee?

You know us, we like to keep an ear to the ground and, while our own iPads have been purring along with no more than the occasional crashed app, we’re hearing others have not been so fortunate. A number of persistent issues have been reported by anxious iPadites across the USA, including weak or intermittent WiFi signal, overheating, broken PDF exports from Pages, and the iPad completely forgetting your network settings and password. So we figured what better way to see how widespread these problemos are than to ask the collective Engadget brain trust? Have you experienced any of these symptoms? Found a fix? Returned the iPad, bought a skateboard, and started a new gadget-free lifestyle? Vote in the poll, pretty please, and drop by in the comments to let us know how it’s working out for you.

View Poll

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Dost thine iPad trouble thee? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Apr 2010 17:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EyeTV iPhone app features 3G streaming, Jessica Fletcher fans go nuts

If the thought of watching Murder, She Wrote on a 3.5-inch screen has you, like, totally psyched, you’ll be pleased to know that Elgato has just announced a genuine iPhone / iPod touch app that allows you to view EyeTV content streamed from your home computer via 3G or WiFi (similar to the Live3G web app the company debuted late last year). In addition — this is where things start to get interesting — the thing will let you browse the Program Guide and manage your recording schedules, launching EyeTV on your Mac at home as needed. If you’re an Elgato die-hard, this thing seems to be a no-brainer. Available now in the App Store for $4.99. PR after the break.

Continue reading EyeTV iPhone app features 3G streaming, Jessica Fletcher fans go nuts

EyeTV iPhone app features 3G streaming, Jessica Fletcher fans go nuts originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Apr 2010 13:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPad apps: defining experiences from the first wave


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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Verizon Mobile Hotspot on webOS devices now free, Pre Plus and Pixi Plus fall to $49.99 and $29.99

Whoa, we didn’t see this one coming: Verizon just slashed the cost of its 3G Mobile Hotspot feature for the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus all the way down to $0, effectively giving you a broadband modem for your laptop, iPod touch, and up to three other devices for $60 less per month than you’d pay with a MiFi that accomplishes exactly the same function (and $50 less than any other tether-capable Verizon handset). For some, this alone could be reason enough to take the plunge and become a webOS user, we’d wager. Here’s Verizon’s official statement on the matter:

“Customers who purchase or upgrade to a Palm Pre and Palm Pixi will get the Mobile Hotspot for free. Existing customers who already have the service will find charges on their next bill will be $0.00.”

Add that in to the fact that the Pre Plus is now $49.99 and the Pixi Plus is now $29.99, both with buy-one-get-one-free deals tacked on, and yeah… what do you want to bet there are some wide smiles over in Sunnyvale this morning?

Note: This isn’t an April Fool’s joke — try pricing a Pre Plus on Verizon’s site and add the Mobile Hotspot feature at checkout.

Verizon Mobile Hotspot on webOS devices now free, Pre Plus and Pixi Plus fall to $49.99 and $29.99 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Apr 2010 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wireless-N shocker! Cisco announces E-Series line of home routers

If we know you, you’re about ready to bathe your place of residence in some of those 802.11n waves you’ve been hearing so much about. Well, you’re in luck — the cats at Cisco have announces the Linksys E-Series line of routers for your home, flat, or small business. All of these bad boys feature the all new Cisco Connect software (with exhaustive parental control and a separate password-protected guest network). Priced between $80 and $180, select models include Gigabit Ethernet, UPnP AV Media Server, external storage via USB, Linux, and more. Available now at Amazon, Staples, and Linksys. For the whole sordid tale, peep the PR after the break.

Continue reading Wireless-N shocker! Cisco announces E-Series line of home routers

Wireless-N shocker! Cisco announces E-Series line of home routers originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 13:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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US Airways finally secures Gogo in-flight WiFi, adding to all A321’s by June

We heard last summer that 2010 would be the year for US Airways to gain in-flight internet, and sure enough, America’s worst legacy airline has made good on said promise. As of now, a grand total of five Airbus A321 planes are equipped with Gogo, and if you’re lucky enough to end up on one, you’ll get a single free session through June 1st provided that you’re a first-time Gogo user. Speaking of early June, that’s when all 51 of the outfit’s A321’s will be lit with WiFi, and better still, you’ll be able to see right away if your flight will be wired (or unwired, as it were) at the time of booking. There’s no mention of expansion plans beyond that, and we still haven’t received an apology for refusing us a gratis glass of water on a 6.5 hour flight in August of 2008. No, we’re not bitter. At all.

US Airways finally secures Gogo in-flight WiFi, adding to all A321’s by June originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Mar 2010 20:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Innoband HomePlug AV+802.11n AP Starter Kit review

HomePlug has been around for years now, nearly as long as mobile broadband, Windows Mobile and sliced bread… combined. Unlike any of those three, however HomePlug hasn’t exactly caught fire in the industry. For those unaware, the general principle with these devices is to send network signals (or other signals, we suppose) over a home’s existing power network. In theory, this would prevent someone from being forced to run a 50 foot Ethernet drop, instead using the 50 feet (or more) or power wiring that already resides within the walls of a given abode to transmit the same signals. For whatever reason, early models were plagued with flaky performance and speeds that were far less than advertised. Granted, things have progressed quite aways since the HomePlugs of old, but has the tech finally reached a place where it could be adopted en masse?

We recently had the chance to test out Innoband’s HomePlug AV+802.11n AP Starter Kit, which is a two-piece solution that consists of a transmitting unit (which connects to your router or modem via Ethernet and plugs into a nearby wall outlet) and a 802.11b/g/n WiFi transceiver, which is designed to be plugged into a different wall socket where you need an Ethernet connection or extended wireless coverage. Curious as to how things stacked up? Tap that ‘Read More’ link for the rest of our review.

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Innoband HomePlug AV+802.11n AP Starter Kit review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Mar 2010 15:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba’s QWERTY-equipped K01 slides through the FCC

If you’ve yet to lose faith in Windows Mobile 6.5, or if you’re holding out hope for community-made Windows Phone 7 patches magically upgrading your OS, here’s another handset for your consideration. Toshiba’s K01 comes with a 1GHz Snapdragon inside and a QWERTY keyboard plus 4.1-inch AMOLED touchscreen (capacitive) on the outside. Its stroll through the FCC today revealed support for 850/900/1800/1900 GSM/EDGE frequencies, meaning you may get a choice between AT&T and T-Mobile’s networks. So now that we’ve narrowed down the carriers a little bit and certified this WiFi- and Bluetooth-equipped beastie, all that remains is to wait and see if the pricing is sufficiently alluring to entice all those starry-eyed T-Mobile subscribers who keep giving the HD2 lusty looks. Not long to go now. FCC label pictured after the break.

Update: Looks like this one is headed to Europe and Asia with test reports indicating support for UMTS Bands I and VIII and some expensive 1900MHz data while roaming North America.

Continue reading Toshiba’s QWERTY-equipped K01 slides through the FCC

Toshiba’s QWERTY-equipped K01 slides through the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Mar 2010 05:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nintendo DSi XL review

Since Nintendo first asserted sole domination over the handheld gaming market with the release of the paperback-sized Game Boy in 1989, the company has striven time and again to make its pocket systems smaller, meeting fantastic financial success along the way. Nintendo did it with the Game Boy Pocket, the Advance SP, the Micro, the DS Lite and again ever so slightly with the DSi — the last even at the expense of backwards compatibility and battery life. Now, for the first time in the company’s history, it’s made an existing platform bigger, with questionable reasons as to why. Does the Nintendo DSi XL squash its predecessors flat? Or is Nintendo compensating for something? Find out inside.

Continue reading Nintendo DSi XL review

Nintendo DSi XL review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Mar 2010 15:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Franklin Wireless intros U600 WiMAX modem, R526 and R536 mobile routers

Franklin Wireless supplies modems (primarily of the CDMA variety) to a number of carriers across the Western Hemisphere, and they’ve introduced a handful of rather interesting new products in that vein here at CTIA this week. First up, the U600 is an EV-DO Rev. A / WiMAX hybrid USB modem with a 270-degree swiveling USB connector for those ridiculously hard-to-manage ports (ahem, Apple), integrated GPS, and zero-CD installation — all pretty standard features these days, and we saw a Sprint-branded unit at Franklin’s booth which leads us to believe we’ll be seeing it at retail shortly.

Much more interesting, though, was a pair of pocketable WiFi routers — the R526 and R536 — that support EV-DO and EV-DO / WiMAX, respectively. Most of the units were unbranded, but we did spy an R536 done up in snow white with a Clear logo slapped up top, so you can pretty much gather that this thing will be filling a glaring hole in Clear’s lineup (right now, the best you can do is a USB modem plus the Clear Spot, which is basically a branded Cradlepoint). What intrigued us about the R536 the most was the fact that it’s got the functionality of an Overdrive packed into a smaller, more MiFi-esque form factor without any of the Overdrive’s bells and whistles, so it’ll be a great alternative as long as it performs well and has enough juice to last a couple hours off the power grid; the 3G-only R526, meanwhile, had an Ethernet jack stuck on the side, which is kind of cool in the rare event that you need to connect a WiFi-less device and you don’t want to go through the hassle of installing a new driver. The R526 launches in April (with what carrier, we’re not sure) — as does the U600 — while the R536 should start to trickle out in May.

Franklin Wireless intros U600 WiMAX modem, R526 and R536 mobile routers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Mar 2010 12:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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