Tag Archives: app

Beer cannon flings you a cold one on (iPhone) command

Technology, Video, , , , ,

Now this is flipping brilliant.  A college student has transformed his old mini fridge into a beer cannon!  Check this: Using a custom-made iPhone app, he can select a desired beer brand (the system vends four types of beer), adjust the fridge temperature, manage the beer’s final destination, and fire the beer with a force of 50psi to the selected position.  That’s right–the fridge is decorated with a webcam and the app has a viewer to help guide the beer to its target.  In addition to launching beers on command, the fridge records every fling and broadcasts them via Twitter so that all your friends can know when you’re using the coolest thing ever invented…ever.

[Via Gizmodo]

OnLive comes to iPad with limited functionality, bright future

News, Technology, , , , , , , , , ,

OnLive, that gaming on-demand cloud-based service you’ve been hearing so much about, has found its way to the iPad but not in the way you might suspect.  No you cannot demo and purchase games on Apple’s ubiquitous device; what can do, however, is hook up to OnLive’s servers to watch other people play games.  With the free OnLive Viewer app you can spectate live gameplay, view and rate Brag Clips, add your favorite players to a friends list and send them messages, and view trailers for current and upcoming games.  Says John Spinale, OnLive VP of Games and Media: “Watching live games and interacting with the people playing them takes social gaming to an entirely new level. It’s unlike any other experience. And people love it.”

But this is just the beginning for OnLive on portable devices.  The company promises that the update will receive an update sometime next year that will allow users to demo, purchase, and instantly play games and create Brag Clips–so much more than just spectating.  What they’re waiting for is games to become “touch- or motion-aware” so that gameplay is more suitable for a touchscreen experience a la the iPad.  CEO Steve Perlman says that the app “is the last piece of the puzzle to unify the worlds of TV, computing and mobile all under one real-time cloud-based platform, enabling previously inconceivable experiences, capabilities and live, video-rich social interaction.”  Beyond gaming, Perlman’s plan is to have the app bring the touch-based Windows 7 OS to OnLive users, effectually porting Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight to iOS and Android devices.

For now you’re stuck with spectating–but it’s not all that bad actually. Download the free app here and give it a whirl.  An Android version is currently in beta.

[Via IGN; Gizmodo]

Augmented reality-based instant translation? There’s an app for that.

Technology, Video, , , , , , , ,

This has to be the coolest app made for the iPhone yet.  Word Lens uses augmented reality to instantly translate printed words from one language to another.  It’s simple: Hold up your phone’s camera to a sign containing foreign words and the app will convert it to your native tongue on-the-fly.  This terse explanation doesn’t do the app justice; you’ve gotta watch the demonstration above to get the full effect.

An app so powerful has to have limits, right?  Word Lens only supports Spanish-to-English and English-to-Spanish translation for now and it cannot read very stylized fonts, handwriting, or cursive.  The demonstration shows the app working quite flawlessly; realistically there will be times when conversions are not 100% accurate so the developer (Quest Visual) allows users to manually type in words to find translations.  But here’s a plus: the app does not rely on network or Internet connectivity to make translations happen.

Word Lens is available now as a free download in the App Store; however you must pay $4.99 for an in-app purchase language pack to get things started.  It’s compatible with iPhone 4, 3GS, and the latest gen iPod touch.

Free Tron LiveCycle app looks like fun!

News, Technology, , , , ,

Today Coca-Cola launched a Tron: Legacy app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch owners.  But nevermind the Coke Zero sponsership; this game appears to look awesome in theory.  It’s being touted as the “first location-based video game” and the objective is simple: Build a Light Wall as you move about the real world and earn points by forcing other players to crash into it.  The app uses the iPhone’s GPS to track your location and show you on a Grid-themed map where other players are located.  Coke promises to push out updates to the app surrounding the release of the film it’s based on, and you can expect new single and multi-player modes to come with them.  Also, an Android version is on the way.  But enough blabbing; get a better idea of how the game works in the video above and download the *free* app right here.

[Via Gizmodo; TechRadar]

SlingPlayer comes to iPad

News, Technology, , , , , , , , ,

Just one week after previewing SlingPlayer for iPad the developers at Sling Media pushed out the app into Apple’s App Store.  So if you own a SlingBox go and get it!

But not so fast!  There are two stipulations that must be discussed.  First, SlingPlayer for iPad is only compatible with Sling SOLO and Sling PRO-HD boxes; all the rest are left in the dust, unfortunately.  According to Engadget Sling will soon offer a $50 voucher for those who are itching to upgrade to a newer box.  What’s interesting is that SlingPlayer for iPhone has a wider compatibility range; it works with the aforementioned boxes and the SlingBox PRO.  And that brings me to point number two and more bad news.  If you already purchased the $29.99 app for iPhone, you’ll have to shell out another thirty bucks to use the iPad version of the same app.  Well, it’s not exactly the same app since the iPad version is tailored for a larger screen, but still.  Sling assures that users can use the iPhone app to stream content on the iPad in a “Compatibility Mode”, but these users will not experience the “higher quality resolutions” provided in the iPad version.  If I may quote Jigsaw from Saw, the choice is yours.  Full PR after the break.

[Via Engadget] Continue reading SlingPlayer comes to iPad →

Twitter intros push notifications for @mentions

News, Technology, , , , , , , ,

This week Twitter introduced a neat new feature for mobile users: push notifications for @mentions.  Whenever you are mentioned in the Twittersphere you can make it so that you receive a text message or push notification from the Twitter app so that you’re instantly notified about it.  The push notification part only works with the latest version of Twitter for iPhone, for now.  Twitter is also bringing push notifications for Messages to Twitter for iPhone, a feature that Blackberry users have already been privy to.  To enable these new notifications, tweak your settings at twitter.com/devices.  Twitter says they’re working on bringing these new slate of features to Android and Windows Phone 7 users soon.

[Via TwitterBlog]

This week in Google news: Hotpot, Boutiques, and mobile updates for Docs & Voice

News, Technology, , , , , , , , ,

This week proved to be a busy one for the G-Men who’ve been hard at work making new and exciting things for us to play with on our desktops and mobile devices.  There’s much to discuss, so let’s dive right in.

Hotpot: Google calls Hotpot “a local recommendation engine powered by you and your friends.”  It’s essentially Google’s version of Yelp.  You can search the over 50 million places Google has data about and rate the places you’ve visited using a five-star system.  When you give a location a positive review, Hotpot will recommend other places to you that are similar to place you visited.  For example, if you give a seafood restaurant a five-star rating, Hotpot will show you other similarly themed restaurants in your city that you’ll likely enjoy.  You can also share your places rating with friends and see the places they’ve recommended using Hotpot.  Using a Google account you can access the Hotpot rating app to get started.  You can rate places, invite friends to the service, and view their recommendation on the desktop in Google Maps using that app, and you can rate on-the-go using the Maps app on Android devices.

Boutiques: The team at Like.com are now Google employees, and together with the search giant they have created Boutiques.com, “a personalized shopping experience that lets you find and discover fashion goods.”  An odd niche website for Google to invent but hey–they’re Google and they can do what they want.  Though the algorithms behind the site are likely complex, the way it works is pretty simple.  You can build your own personalized boutique and get recommendations of products that match your taste, or you can browse through curated boutiques and take style cues from celebrities, stylists, designers, and fashion bloggers.  The site layout is fresh and simplistic, and advanced search filters are present to help you sort though everything from shoes to clothes and handbags.  There’s even iPad app available to access Boutiques in tablet form.  Ladies, have at it.

Docs: You’ve been able to access Google Docs on various mobile platforms for some time now, but today Google announced that users will have the ability to edit their documents on a mobile device.  Head over to docs.google.com on a supported phone (these include Android with Froyo (2.2) and iOS devices with v3.0 or higher, including the iPad) to begin a mobile edit session.  You’ll notice a new “edit” button in the top right corner. Edits appear in “near realtime” between mobile devices and the desktop.  And if you’ve got an Android-powered phone, you can enter text using your voice.  Google’s rolling out this new feature to English-language users “in the next few days” so look out for it!  Video demo here.

Voice: A native Google Voice app is finally available for iPhone users.  In addition to all the GV features you already know about, the new app brings push notifications (the app will alert you instantly when you receive a new voicemail or text message) and speedy phone call connections.  If you’ve got an iPhone running iOS 3.1 or later, click here to download the app.  For now, this is a U.S.-only offering.

[Via GoogleBlog, here, here, here & here]

Control YouTube Leanback with YouTube Remote app using Android device

News, Technology, , , , , ,

Ya’ll remember the introduction to YouTube Leanback, the minimalistic way of browsing and watching YouTube videos on the desktop?  Well now that YouTube and the Leanback viewing experience has found a second home on the television through Google TV, the search giant has decided to create and disseminate a YouTube Remote app for Android users (sorry, iPhoners) that allows you to control Leanback using your phone.  Setup is simple.  You “pair” your phone to your television (or PC) by logging into your YouTube account on both screens and boom!  Now you can “find and queue up videos to watch, send them all to Leanback with a single tap…[and] play, pause, skip forward and back and even control the sound volume.”  The power of YouTube user control lies in the palm of your hand.  The free Android app is available for download today.

[Via YouTubeBlog]

SlingPlayer has arrived for Windows Phone 7 users

News, Technology, , , , , , ,

If you’re an early adopter of the Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system and a proud owner of a SlingBox, listen here!  What was hinted at back in October has been made available to purchase–SlingPlayer for WP7 devices.  Jump into the Windows Marketplace and you’ll find SlingPlayer Mobile for $29.99.  Select, download, and let the streaming festivities begin.  Full PR after the break.

iPad owners, SlingPlayer is coming for you too.

[Via Engadget] Continue reading SlingPlayer has arrived for Windows Phone 7 users →

Facebook announces new features on the mobile front

News, Technology, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Today Facebook’s Mark Zuckerburg hosted a “mobile event” at Facebook HQ in California.  Almost immediately Zuckerberg shot down rumors of a Facebook cell phone–rats!  What they really called the press event for was to express their interest in “making mobile more social.”  Let’s breakdown the new Facebook app enhancements.

(1) Single sign on. This makes logging into your FB account in multiple apps a snap, as long as the developer incorporates the FB single sign on API inside their app.  Here’s how it works: Once you log into the FB app on your phone, you can then log in to any other app that supports single sign on without typing in your username and password.  No more tedious typing, no more worrying about forgetting your password.  The following Android apps support single sign on today: Flixster, Groupon, Loopt, SCVNGR, Yelp, and Zynga Poker.  These updated apps will make their way to the iPhone “soon.”  And loads more are on the way.  (video demonstration)

(2) Location APIs. This one is directed towards the developer community, but it will result in significant upgrades for users.  Today Facebook has opened up all three location APIs for developers: read where your friends are; write and publish check-ins; search for relevant places.  Up until now, mobile users could only see in the news feed people checking into locations using Places only.  Now that developers have access to the location APIs, they can make their apps support Facebook location notifications.  For example, now you can check into a location using Foursquare, Loopt, or Yelp (and many others) and this information will show up on your mobile and desktop news feed.  In other words, Places can now be integrated into third party apps so users can see and interact with their FB friends within other apps.

(3) Deals platform. Facebook has teamed up with many local businesses to provide users with a new “deals platform.”  Here’s how it works.  With Places users can sign in to locations (ie. a restuarant) and share where you are with friends and see which of your friends might be nearby.  The updated version of Places incorporates deals notifications.  Local business will be able to offer users deals when you check in to their place using FB on your phone.  Now when you search for nearby places a yellow icon will appear next to those places that are offering deals.  Click the yellow icon to view the deal, check in to Places to claim it, and then show it to the cashier to receive your discount.  Note that these deals run on the merchant side, not Facebook.  There are four type of deals: “individual deals for a discount, free merchandise or other reward; friend deals where you and your friends claim an offer together; loyalty deals for being a frequent visitor to a place; and charity deals where businesses pledge to donate to a cause when you check in.  Business like Chipotle, Gap, and McDonald’s are already supporting the deals platform.  Click here to view the current list supporters.  Deals works on the Facebook for iPhone app and at touch.facebook.com on other mobile devices.  (video demonstration)

In addition to these three major announcements, Zuckerberg also set aside time to discuss software updates to the Android and iPhone version of the Facebook app.  The Android 1.4 update brings Places and Groups to the app and a refresh to the notifications application.  Facebook says, “Clicking on a notification now won’t send you off to the browser.  Instead, as long as that notification has an appropriate destination within the application itself, you will be taken there.”  Score!  The iPhone 3.3 update brings Deals and Groups to the app, along with a starred friends list in Places and a new Photos composer.  Both free updates are available to download right now.

[Via FacebookBlog, here & here]

Flash comes to iPhone in Skyfire browser [Update: sold out?; Update 2: it’s back]

News, Technology, Video, , , , , , ,

Somehow, someway Skyfire has managed to clear its mobile Skyfire browser–Flash support and all–through the Apple gates and into the App Store.  As detailed in early September, Skyfire does not actually run Flash video; instead it trancodes the content using Skyfire’s servers from Flash to HTML5.  So if you’ve been looking for a Flash fix on your iOS device here’s your $3 solution.

Note: The Webkit-based browser will not support all Internet Flash content; for example, Flash games and apps are not supported, and Hulu content is blocked.  Skyfire promises that “scores of other premium sites are supported”, so stay hopeful!  Look after the break for an updated video demonstration.

Update: An app can’t be “sold out”, can it?  According to Skyfire: “The user experience was performing well for the first few hours, but as the surge continued, the peak load on our servers and bandwidth caused the video experience to degrade.  Thus we are effectively ‘sold out’ and will temporarily not accept new purchases from the App Store.  We are working really hard to increase capacity and will be accepting new purchases from the App Store as soon as we can support it.”  Ah, that explains it.  Keep tabs on their Facebook and Twitter accounts for updates on the matter.

Update 2 (11/5): In a short blog post Skyfire CEO Jeff Glueck assures iOS users that “we’re working around the clock to add capacity for more users.”  And here are the specifics: “We are going to open batches of downloads for new users over the coming days. The first batch will be in a few minutes on the Apple App Store. It will be first come, first serve.”  The first batches are coming to the US only, “with additional country support to follow shortly.”

[Via Engadget] Continue reading Flash comes to iPhone in Skyfire browser [Update: sold out?; Update 2: it’s back] →