September 7, 2010

Apple rumor twofer: Expose-like multitasking in iPhone OS 4.0, international iPad launch on April 24th

We're not quite at the height of Apple frenzy, but looking at the bell curve, we're only a standard deviation or two from its zenith (we imagine the fever pitch will be in tandem with Saturday's iPad launch, if history and human nature tells us anything). Of course, that doesn't stop the rumor mill from amping up production, and so on with the show! First on the docket, remember last month's discovery of multitasking comments in the iPhone SDK 3.2 beta? Well, Apple Insider's apparently got it on word from its network of sources that OS 4.0 will in fact include multitasking, with app switching purportedly done by double-tapping the home button and selecting the appropriate active app icon. If you ask us, that sounds similar in function to command / tab switching, but the people claiming to be in the know liken it more to Expose for OS X.

Taking a step back to focus on the actual hardware for a moment, iPad in Canada is hearing that local Apple store employees have been told April 24th is a "black out period," meaning no one is allowed to take that day off. That usually coincides with major product launch, and we did hear the international iPad debut would be late April, but Apple's yet to make its non-US plans concrete. It is the last Saturday of the month, however, and perhaps it'll coincide with the other countries as well. As always, none of this is confirmed and shouldn't be taken as gospel in any way, shape, or form. We can't stop you from getting your hopes up, but don't blame us if those dreams get shattered by a sucker punch of reality.

Apple rumor twofer: Expose-like multitasking in iPhone OS 4.0, international iPad launch on April 24th originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 18:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple rumor twofer: Expose-like multitasking in iPhone OS 4.0, international iPad launch on April 24th

We're not quite at the height of Apple frenzy, but looking at the bell curve, we're only a standard deviation or two from its zenith (we imagine the fever pitch will be in tandem with Saturday's iPad launch, if history and human nature tells us anything). Of course, that doesn't stop the rumor mill from amping up production, and so on with the show! First on the docket, remember last month's discovery of multitasking comments in the iPhone SDK 3.2 beta? Well, Apple Insider's apparently got it on word from its network of sources that OS 4.0 will in fact include multitasking, with app switching purportedly done by double-tapping the home button and selecting the appropriate active app icon. If you ask us, that sounds similar in function to command / tab switching, but the people claiming to be in the know liken it more to Expose for OS X.

Taking a step back to focus on the actual hardware for a moment, iPad in Canada is hearing that local Apple store employees have been told April 24th is a "black out period," meaning no one is allowed to take that day off. That usually coincides with major product launch, and we did hear the international iPad debut would be late April, but Apple's yet to make its non-US plans concrete. It is the last Saturday of the month, however, and perhaps it'll coincide with the other countries as well. As always, none of this is confirmed and shouldn't be taken as gospel in any way, shape, or form. We can't stop you from getting your hopes up, but don't blame us if those dreams get shattered by a sucker punch of reality.

Apple rumor twofer: Expose-like multitasking in iPhone OS 4.0, international iPad launch on April 24th originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 18:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HDTV Listings for March 31, 2010

What we're watching tonight:

  • Fox (720p) has Human Target at 8 p.m. and American Idol at 9 p.m.
  • NBC (1080i) has Mercy at 8 p.m. and Law & Order: SVU at 10 p.m.
  • ABC (720p) airs The Middle at 8:30 p.m., Modern Family at 9 p.m., Cougar Town at 9:30 p.m. and Ugly Betty at 10 p.m.
  • Comedy Central (1080i) has South Park at 10 p.m. and Ugly Americans at 10:30 p.m.
  • Discovery (1080i) has Mythbusters at 9 p.m. and Is It Possible at 10 p.m.
  • Spike (1080i) has the season premiere of The Ultimate Fighter at 10 p.m.
  • DirecTV (1080i) has Underbelly at 10 p.m.
  • MTV (1080i) has the season finale of The Real World at 10 p.m. and Real World Reunion Special at 11 p.m.
  • Bravo (1080i) has Shear Genius at 10 p.m.
  • A&E (720p) has Dog the Bounty Hunter at 10 p.m. and Billy the Exterminator at 10:30 p.m.
  • Showtime (1080i) has Inside NASCAR at 10 p.m.
  • USA (1080i) has the season premiere of In Plain Sight at 10 p.m.
  • TBS (1080i) has House of Payne at 10 & 10:30 p.m.
  • ESPN (720p) has USA/Mexico Women's Soccer at 9 p.m.

HDTV Listings for March 31, 2010 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 18:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Reports of webOS 1.4.1 update now coming in

It doesn't appear to do anything groundbreaking like overclock your Pre, but it looks like the webOS 1.4.1 update is now starting to trickle out to at least a few lucky users. According to PreCentral, one of the first reports to come in was from a Pre user who also happened to be one of the first to get the webOS 1.4 update while he was in Vietnam, and has now managed to snag the 1.4.1 update while residing in Holland. That was later followed up with a second report from a Sprint customer in Washington, but things seem to have been relatively quiet since them. Still no official word from Palm either, but the update does seem to be as minor as the number revision suggestions, with it weighing in at just 6MB. Receive yours yet? Let us know in comments.

Update: So that's what the update does -- according to Recombu, the update should allow European webOS users to finally spend their hard-earned quids and Euros on paid apps. PreCentral additionally reports that O2 Germany customers can now download the Mobile Hotspot app. Cheers!

Reports of webOS 1.4.1 update now coming in originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 18:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Reports of webOS 1.4.1 update now coming in

It doesn't appear to do anything groundbreaking like overclock your Pre, but it looks like the webOS 1.4.1 update is now starting to trickle out to at least a few lucky users. According to PreCentral, one of the first reports to come in was from a Pre user who also happened to be one of the first to get the webOS 1.4 update while he was in Vietnam, and has now managed to snag the 1.4.1 update while residing in Holland. That was later followed up with a second report from a Sprint customer in Washington, but things seem to have been relatively quiet since them. Still no official word from Palm either, but the update does seem to be as minor as the number revision suggestions, with it weighing in at just 6MB. Receive yours yet? Let us know in comments.

Update: So that's what the update does -- according to Recombu, the update should allow European webOS users to finally spend their hard-earned quids and Euros on paid apps. PreCentral additionally reports that O2 Germany customers can now download the Mobile Hotspot app. Cheers!

Reports of webOS 1.4.1 update now coming in originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 18:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Droid mercifully gets a manual 2.1 update option

As is pleasantly often the case with Android devices, it turns out there's already a quick, easy, nearly painless way to circumvent the phased rollout of Android 2.1 to Verizon's Droids out in the field. Anyone who's already been through this will feel right at home with the process: grab the binary straight from Google (so you know it's legit, which is always nice), rename the file, transfer it to your microSD card, and reboot to the recovery mode screen. The rest is pretty self-evident, and when all is said and done, you'll have a Droid equipped with the very latest and greatest that Google has to offer. Let us know how it goes, y'hear?

Droid mercifully gets a manual 2.1 update option originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 15:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First cut of MeeGo available today for N900 and Atom devices

While making it crystal clear that this is only intended for developers that want a mega-early look at the platform, Intel and Nokia's MeeGo team has just announced that the very first cut of the melded Moblin / Maemo mobile platform is available for download. Specifically, users of N900s, Atom notebooks, and Atom-powered Moorestown MIDs have all been gifted with their own distributions, which will boot off a USB stick or directly on the devices themselves. Sadly, the MeeGo user experience -- the good stuff, that is -- isn't included here, so if you flash your N900 you're going to end up booting into a terminal console, but hey, some of you sickos are into that sort of thing, aren't you? Next up for the team is a release billed 1.0 that will come in May, and we're told details on the road to that version will be unveiled over the coming days. Take care of yourselves if you go for it, alright?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

First cut of MeeGo available today for N900 and Atom devices originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 15:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ask Engadget HD: Best remote with WiFi & EPG?

We've always preferred our program guides up on the screen where our eyes already were, but having a list to skim over without squeezing the action into a corner or hiding it behind text is too appealing for some to give up. So what do you do if you're like Jorge stuck using a remote rendered useless without its EPG info from Philips?

"My Philips WiFi RC9800i remote's screen EPG service was terminated on 03/01/2010. I can't find the tvCompass remote for sale anywhere, which in theory has the same feature, so I was wondering, is there any other remote control, current or recently discontinued, that includes an EPG feature? Is there a remote with an EPG updated from TitanTV?"

We spotted the tvCompass ESPN branded remote in stock at Target for a smooth $299, but is that really the best alternative? We guess there's always an app or two available for your mobile device of choice, but universal remote functionality would likely still be missing. So, outside of buying a high end Samsung TV or waiting for Sling's Touch Control 100, what's the best option?

Ask Engadget HD: Best remote with WiFi & EPG? originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 14:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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T-Mobile says myTouch 3G Fender Limited Edition now ‘making its final encore’

Greener pastures are likely on T-Mobile's Android horizon, but let's be real -- this is probably the first, last, and only opportunity you'll ever have to own a Fender-branded phone, which might just be enough of a draw to give you pause. T-Mobile's official Twitter account just belted out a tweet saying that the most unusual version of HTC's Magic to launch anywhere in the world, the myTouch 3G Fender Limited Edition, is "making its final encore" right now in "limited quantities," so interested parties probably want to high-tail it down to their local store -- especially since it's still showing out of stock online. Any takers?

T-Mobile says myTouch 3G Fender Limited Edition now 'making its final encore' originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 14:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rockchip’s prototype RK2808-powered Android smartphone spotted… finally!

The Ramos W7 Android-powered MID has come to pass, but for the last year one question's remained: where is that RK2808-based handset we were promised? Finally Rockchip has provided us with some pictures of its prototype called, of all things, Smart Phone. There is a dearth of specs at the present time, but from what we do know it will have a predictable emphasis on multimedia playback (including H.264, RMVB, MPEG-4, AVS, WMV9, and 720p video). If you're a manufacturer (or would like to be), drop 'em a line -- presumably, you'll be able to get more complete specifications. And then be sure to drop us an email with the info. We'd appreciate it!

Continue reading Rockchip's prototype RK2808-powered Android smartphone spotted... finally!

Rockchip's prototype RK2808-powered Android smartphone spotted... finally! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 13:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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