The 3.1 version of the iPhone SDK is available now, bringing a couple new fixes like having the OS simulator “more closely matching the device.” There are also new Interface Builder, XCode and Dashcode changes. [iPhone Developer]
The N97 might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you’re still tempted to pay the $700 entry fee, you could sweeten the deal by throwing in a free-ish laptop — Dell’s currently bundling the Vostro A860 with Nokia’s latest for $730 after a discount coupon. Flip that sucker on eBay for anywhere close to its $379 list price plus some “handling fees” and you might just come close to paying a reasonable price for the N97. Well, sort of reasonable. Those still interested should hurry past the read link, as the full discount will only be available through tomorrow or until stocks last.
Filed under: Cellphones, Laptops
Nokia N97 and Dell Vostro bundled for $730: make one mistake, get one free originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Well, we can think of at least one 13-year-old kid who’ll welcome this next bit of gadget news: it looks like Sony’s OLED Walkman is now on sale over at the Sony Style site. As previously guesstimated, the 16GB model is moving for a cool $299.99, and the 32GB model is priced at $399.99. Order today from Sony and it ships tomorrow, or order from Amazon and it ships on July 3rd. Either way, it’s time to start counting out your pennies.
Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video
Sony OLED Walkman on sale now originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Electronic musicians are always looking for new ways to do the same old things. Case in point: OTTO, developed by Luca De Rosso at the IUAV University of Venice for a master’s thesis. Based on an Arduino and Cycling ’74’s Max / MSP software, you can drop an audio loop in it (via USB) and manipulate it in real time by moving your hands around the touch surface. Sure we’ve heard these kind of edits before, but never on a device that somewhat resembles the old Simon memory game. That has to count for something, right? Suffice it to say: we want one. Be sure to check it in action after the break.
Continue reading OTTO slices beats, has no effect on tin cans
OTTO slices beats, has no effect on tin cans originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Admit it: you’ve been sitting around all day waiting to hear tell of the latest Joybook offering from BenQ, right? Well, have we got the story for you! BenQ’s just dropped word of its newest — the Joybook Lite U102. While we don’t have full specs, we do know that this 10.1-inch baby boasts a 16:9 WSVGA backlit LED, an Intel Atom CPU, and a 250GB HDD, with a 90 percent-sized keyboard. Pretty generic netbook specs, but its super-shiny black shell also makes it decently attractive. The BenQ Joybook Lite U102 will be available any day now in Taiwan, Thailand, and China.
[Via FarEast Gizmos]
Filed under: Laptops
BenQ shocker! Joybook Lite U102 outed originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Can you drive 1,000 miles in your car and spend less than $60 on fuel? That’s the beauty of the Volkswagen Sportwagen TDI diesel, which averaged 43 mpg. It runs forever on a gallon of fuel, entertains you while under way, cruises comfortably at speed, and holds tons of gear. The wagon, which I tested, and the Jetta TDI sedan, belong on your new-car shopping list if you do a lot of highway driving. They’ll hold their own against hybrids that do best in city driving.
Mushroom Networks has been in the “broadband bonding” business for quite a while now, but we’re guessing they’re going to find a few more fans with their new wireless broadband gear, which promises the fastest cellular-based internet connection to date. Like the company’s previous PortaBella device (pictured above, not exactly to scale), its new rig can combine up to four different cellular data cards into a single high-speed connection, but this one is fully portable (just over a pound) and, perhaps most importantly, it has an optional battery pack that’ll let you be truly mobile with it. That, Mushroom says, makes the device ideal for a whole range of applications that can be a bit tricky with a single modem, like mobile TV broadcasting or temporary offices set up in a disaster area. Unfortunately, there’s no word on pricing just yet, but it doesn’t exactly take much guesstimating to figure out that it’s likely not the most cost-effective solution around.
Filed under: Wireless
Mushroom Networks announces new wireless “Broadband Bonding” technology originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Lightspeed Research has released the results of a multi-nation study about cell phone use–and some of them are strange. For example, 13 percent of U.S. subscribers don’t make calls, while 52 percent make at least one call per day. 35 percent never send text messages, but that’s at least somewhat understandable.
You have to wonder what those 13 percent are doing with their cell phones. Do they use them as paperweights? Maybe just play Snake on them? I assume some of that group have cell phones as emergency-only devices, but that’s a pretty large percentage.
The study also reported that women send more text messages than men, with 29 percent compared to 25 percent sending at least one text per day, whereas men and women make the same percentage of voice calls each day. In addition, mobile Web browsing is the most popular daily activity (at 14 percent), while taking photos is the most popular weekly mobile pastime (at 37 percent).
It’s five dollars. It has half the functionality of Twittelator Pro. But Birdfeed just became my default iPhone Twitter app.
It’s fast. The fastest Twitter app I’ve seen since Twitterfon (which isn’t that fast anymore, once it started inserting ads.) The user interface is even cleaner and more spare than Tweetie’s—the app it will inevitably be compared to the most. For instance, the “load more” button at the bottom is gone—you just keep scrolling down, and it keeps loading new tweets.
Gone, even, is the ubiquitous row of buttons that line the bottom of most Twitter apps for one-touch access to mentions, direct messages and other features. You have to slide back to a list-style menu to reach any feature besides the one you’re currently looking at, meaning it’s at least two taps to get from a timeline to mentions or vice versa. It solves this problem in part by making it so that you only have to do that when there’s a reason to—a number pops up in the back button whenever you have new mentions or DMs telling you many are waiting (pointedly, it badges only new mentions and DMs, not new tweets in your overall timeline). The problem is when you use multiple Twitter clients, since you’ll have to look at the same mention twice to get rid of the badge.
Like most every Twitter app except Tweetie, it does cache tweets on your phone, so you can read them offline. Caching is also part of the reason it feels fast. Beyond search and integration with Instapaper, however, it lacks any of the other “power features” that are the bread and butter of say, Twittelator Pro or TweetDeck, like grouping or multiple windows.
It’s the opposite: A remarkably focused and well thought out exercise in restraint. It’s the details like a timestamp marking every time you open the app so you know where you left off, that shine. If you only use the core Twitter features, Birdfeed is the best app you can buy.
That’s not to say it’s necessarily better than TweetDeck or Twittelator. The amazing thing about Twitter is that you can do whatever you want with it, and having all of those features is fantastic if you need them. Birdhouse is simply the most essential Twitter app for iPhone yet—it’s only what you really need, beautifully designed.
It’s not perfect—it freezes for a second when loading new tweets, like you hit the bottom of a timeline and starts pulling in more, and then there’s that account amnesia bug.
But whether or not it’s worth the extra $2 over Tweetie or the same $5 as feature-rich Twittelator Pro depends on how much speed, focus and design really matter to you. [Birdfeed, iTunes]
NewEgg.com, one of my favorite destinations for buying computer hardware, is celebrating our nation’s birthday with an Independence Day Sale. The sale, exclusive to NewEgg.com e-mail subscribers, features a bevy of discounted prices in computer hardware, electronics, peripherals, and accessories–all with free shipping, no less. Discounted prices and/or promo codes are valid until July 6.
I chose four products from NewEgg.com’s special sale and compared their prices to other retailers and online stores. Find out if you should buy that Epson printer, Crucial RAM stick, Lenovo notebook, or Canon PowerShot camera from NewEgg, after the jump.
