Engadget Mobile Gallery

iPhone coming to The Shack: Dallas and NYC this month, nationwide in 2010?

by Ross Miller posted Nov 6th 2009 at 7:52PM

So we knew a select number of authorized resellers would start stocking iPhones soon, and thanks to a tipster, it looks like we might be getting a glimpse at a none-too-surprising recipient of the new order. As these pics from an anonymous tipster show, "big hug for your mobile life" retailer The Shack will be getting AT&T's flagship device soon, with a letter supposedly from EVP of store operations Bryan Bevin (found after the break) adding that the 3G and 3GS rollout will begin this month at some company-owned locations in the Dallas Forth Worth and New York City areas, with a nationwide rollout in 2010. Not that you necessarily needed more places to tempt you with the device, but it's always fun to have options.

Continue reading iPhone coming to The Shack: Dallas and NYC this month, nationwide in 2010?

iPhone vs DROID multitouch keyboard showdown (video)

by Nilay Patel posted Nov 5th 2009 at 6:31PM

I just dashed off this quick video for my Twitter followers to demonstrate that the DROID doesn't have a multitouch soft keyboard, and pretty much instantly realized that I should probably share it with everyone else, since we've been getting a lot of questions about it. Long story short, while Android 2.0 and the DROID's hardware support multitouch, the device itself doesn't do multitouch out-of-the-box, and the soft keyboard suffers mightily for it. Why it's missing is certainly open for debate, but for now just know that no amount of hoping, wishing, or booze is going to make the stock keyboard register more than one press at a time. Don't despair, though -- while I'm not a fan, Chris Ziegler absolutely flies on this same keyboard on his DROID. Videos after the break.

Continue reading iPhone vs DROID multitouch keyboard showdown (video)

Public Radio App lets you resume 'This American Life' whenever you please

by Darren Murph posted Nov 4th 2009 at 1:02PM

Now that you've got an NPR-lovin' stereo in your bedroom, the only thing missing in your otherwise completely fulfilled life is an NPR application that enables you to listen to your favorite programs whenever, wherever. If we just rung your bell, you can now drift away and die happy. Available this very moment in the 100,000-strong App Store is the Public Radio App, which essentially acts as a DVR for the iconic station. Once fired up, the app can "pause and rewind public radio streams from NPR, PRI, APM and local public radio stations," and there's even an alarm clock setting that wakes you up with your favorite public radio stream. Unfortunately, on-demand streaming is still a pipe dream, but there's nothing to stop these guys from adding that very feature in the next iteration. Go on -- try and lay off the trigger. It's not like that awfully low $2.99 price point is tempting or anything.

Apple's App Store breaks 100,000 apps

by Paul Miller posted Nov 4th 2009 at 9:47AM

Look, App Store, we just wanted to take this opportunity to say we're sorry about all the fart app jokes. We know it's not easy being a new App Store, making your way in the world, and when juxtaposed against the struggles your competition has had with putting together a compelling app gathering, we know now that our words in those early days were hurtful and lacking in understanding. With 100,000 apps in your store and over two billion downloads, we hope you can be the bigger man here and forgive us. Also, if you have any tips for improving our Canabalt score that would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Dutch hacker seeks out jailbroken iPhones for fame and fortune

by Donald Melanson posted Nov 3rd 2009 at 8:23PM

Jailbreaking an iPhone certainly brings many benefits, but it's also frought with some peril, as amply demonstrated by a Dutch hacker who decided to go snooping around for vulnerable jailbroken iPhones in the Netherlands. While he apparently didn't actually swipe personal information or cause any damage, he was able to find some jailbroken iPhones with SSH running, which allowed him to display a message saying "Your iPhone's been hacked because it's really insecure! Please visit doiop.com/iHacked and secure your iPhone right now!" A noble gesture of a white hat hacker? Not exactly, 'cause that site demands €5 for the "fix" to let folks go back to using their phone securely -- or it did until the hacker apparently had a change of heart and posted the instructions for free, along with an apology for his misguided moneymaking scheme.

[Via TUAW]

China Unicom hits a million 3G users, only sells 5,000 iPhones so far

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 3rd 2009 at 3:22PM

Nearly six months after large-scale trials kicked off, China Unicom -- the only carrier among China's nationals to be deploying HSPA -- has broken the magical million-subscriber mark that have made the leap to its "Wo" 3G network. If you're wondering whether the recent launch of the iPhone on Wo has contributed to that count, the answer is a definitive "no" -- amazingly, a mere 5,000 units have apparently been sold so far, likely due to the phone's prohibitive cost and the availability of unlocked devices and interesting alternatives. Be that as it may, the carrier seems convinced that the iPhone will contribute to Unicom's bottom line in the fourth quarter, countered by continued marketing and build-out costs for Wo. Networks aren't cheap -- particularly when you're dealing with a country the size (and population density) of China.

Apple rejects Macworld iPhone Superguide from App Store... for using the word 'iPhone'

by Nilay Patel posted Nov 3rd 2009 at 2:56PM

The iPhone App Store's arbitrary and inconsistent approval process continues to baffle and annoy on every level, as Macworld Editor-in-Chief Jason Snell just had his iPhone book rejected... for using the word "iPhone" in the title. Apparently Apple doesn't like app names or icons to include the word iPhone or images of the iPhone -- which arguably makes sense on some level -- but you'd think a freaking iPhone reference manual would warrant an exception, wouldn't you? Making matters worse, it appears that one Mr. David Pogue didn't have this problem, as his iPhone: The Missing Manual was approved with title and icon intact. Sigh. Phil Schiller -- deploy!

Continue reading Apple rejects Macworld iPhone Superguide from App Store... for using the word 'iPhone'

Blacksn0w unlock available now for iPhone 3G and 3GS

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Nov 3rd 2009 at 12:23PM

There's no stopping the eternal tug-of-war between the powers that be and the hackers that will, and for the time being it looks like things are back in the hands of the hackers. As of noon today giddy jailbreakers can take the next step and go full-on with blacksn0w, the unlock for the latest 05.11.07 baseband (with tethering enabled to boot). And if that weren't enough, it looks like blackra1n RC3 is alive as well, with Mac and Windows support. What are you waiting for? Hit the read link to get started, if that's your thing. And the battle for the iPhone's immortal soul continues...

[Via On The iPhone]

Adobe engages Apple in passive aggressive warfare with iPhone's Flash message

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 2nd 2009 at 2:58PM

Adobe's seemingly tried everything in its fight to get Apple to tear down enough development barriers to get Flash ported to the iPhone, culminating in a native compilation option in CS5 that... well, really doesn't solve much of anything. So far, nothing's worked. What's next? Get the masses fired up with some old-fashioned propaganda and let 'em riot down at One Infinite Loop, of course! Visiting Adobe's Flash download page from an iPhone now shows a pretty tersely-worded message informing the user that they're getting short-changed simply by Apple's refusal to budge, so yeah, if you hear an occasional cry of "this is outrageous, I'm writing Apple immediately!" while sitting at an airport gate or a coffee shop, you can safely guess what just happened.

[Via Gear Diary]

Orange UK's iPhone contract & pay as you go pricing plans detailed

by Tim Stevens posted Nov 2nd 2009 at 8:29AM

We're just about a week away from the Orange iPhone launch, and if you folks across the pond were wondering what the deal was going to cost you, you now have your answer thanks to a dizzying but thoroughly helpful series of tables that lay out the costs of the phones, plans, and the various accoutrement to be included. Those willing to sign up for 24 months can get an 8GB iPhone 3G for free for a minimum of £29.36 ($48) per month, but step up to the £122.34 ($200) monthly plan with unlimited everything and you'll get a 32GB 3GS gratis. Meanwhile, on a pay as you go plan that same 8GB 3G will cost you £343 ($561), while the 32GB 3GS is a rather more painful £539 ($881 -- haven't you figured out the conversion rate yet?). You know what that means: contract ahoy.

Laziness on the move: robot plays Rock Band on the iPhone

by Paul Miller posted Oct 31st 2009 at 7:36PM

Why confine your nerdy sloth to your living room, where large robots mime fake guitar and serve you sloppy mixed drinks? Take that zest for the sedentary life with you on the road by having one of your robot ninjas steal this iPhone Rock Band robot from its ingenious creator, Joe Bowers. The Arduino-based device uses ambient light sensors to detect the falling notes and then taps out the music with some conductive foam attached to some squeaky fake fingers. Joe did a fairly detailed write-up, and even uploaded his code, so there's presumably nothing stopping you from actually doing something with your life and building one of these with all that free time you've saved up by hacking your way through all the console-based guitar games. Video is after the break.

[Via Daily Mobile]

Continue reading Laziness on the move: robot plays Rock Band on the iPhone

iPhone and Windows 7 don't play nice, Intel P55 chipset to blame

by Vladislav Savov posted Oct 31st 2009 at 5:20PM

The iPhone is one of the most wildly popular phones the world has ever seen, while Windows 7 is well on its way to becoming the globe's most ubiquitous OS. So compatibility between the two would be kinda sorta important, right? Tell that to Intel's quality control team who seem to have somehow missed an issue between Apple's app carrier deluxe and the P55 Express chipset's USB controller. Consistent (and persistent) syncing issues have been reported on Apple's support forums, wherein iTunes on Windows 7 machines recognizes the iPhone, but spits out an "error 0xE8000065" message whenever the user attempts to sync. While some have found limited success with using PCI-based USB cards (and bypassing the chipset), this is clearly a major issue and something Apple would expect to be fixed before shipping its Core i5 / i7 iMacs, which are likely to sport the chipset. Hit the read link for the original thread of sorrow and regret, and do chime in with your own experience in the comments.

[Via The Register]

Jibbigo iPhone app translates from English to Spanish and back again

by Laura June posted Oct 30th 2009 at 10:37AM

Jibbigo is a recently released iPhone app which promises to help you out the next time you're desperately trying to make yourself understood by your Spanish-speaking compadres. The app is capable of recording a sentence and translating it -- essentially in real time -- back to you. As you can see in the screencap above, you can speak either Spanish or English, and the translator will do its work, displaying both your original and a translation into the other language. The dictionary contains about 40,000 words, and the app is aimed at travelers. Jibbigo also requires the iPhone 3GS to make use of the bi-directional translation tools, and the app also reportedly functions a heck of a lot slower on anything other than the 3G. The app is available now for $24.99.

[Via, iPodnn]

Telmap taps NAVTEQ for iPhone GPS solution, understands the inevitable

by Darren Murph posted Oct 30th 2009 at 9:47AM

Man, talk about awful timing. At least TomTom and Navigon were able to sell a few rounds of their pricey iPhone GPS application before Google went and ruined everyone's day (at least in the GPS biz), and now that Google Maps Navigation is but an approval away from hitting iPhone users for free, we've got serious doubts about Telmap's ability to market its newest product. Utilizing NAVTEQ maps and familiar shells like MapQuest Navigation (in the US) and Orange Maps (in France), the company seems quite proud of its newest routing solutions. Oh sure -- there's live traffic, turn-by-turn guidance, in-car and pedestrian modes, etc., but is anyone really doling out cash for a phone-based routing system right now with Google at the wheel? Exactly.

Telus kicks off HSPA+ network with iPhone November 5th, HTC Hero, LG New Chocolate and more to follow

by Donald Melanson posted Oct 26th 2009 at 9:10PM

Telus already announced that it'd be launching the iPhone in November, but it's just now gotten official with an actual date: November 5th -- which just so happens to also be the day that it lights up its brand new HSPA+ network. Unfortunately for anyone hoping that a little competition would spark a price war, Telus is matching Rogers' prices across the board, starting at $99.99 for the basic 8GB iPhone 3G, and moving up to $199.99 for the 16GB 3GS, and $299.99 for the 32GB 3GS (all on a three-year contract, of course). What's more, Telus has also taken the opportunity to offer the first official confirmation of some of the other devices that'll take advantage of its new network, including the HTC Hero, the previously rumored LG New Chocolate (a.k.a BL40), the Blackberry Bold 9700, and the Nokia E71 (plus a USB stick, for good measure). No prices or release dates for any of those just yet, unfortunately, but the Hero and New Chocolate are apparently Telus exclusives.