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Swiss watchmakers are teaming up to fight Apple and Google
Swiss watch companies are finally waking up to the potential of smartwatches, with the launch of models from three different companies. Mondaine, Alpina and Frederique Constant have revealed their take on the smartwatch today, and they're all very similar, and very familiar. All three are powered by MotionX, a new "open platform" for watchmakers to build smartwatch features into traditional watches.
Nominate your favorite iPhone navigation app for TUAW's Best of 2011
During December and January, The Unofficial Apple Weblog is soliciting your nominations and votes for the best products for Mac, iPhone/iPod touch, and iPad. We'll start with nominations in a category, and then tally your votes for the top-nominated products a few days later. The winner in each category receives the highly-coveted title of TUAW Best of 2011. Today's category for nominations in the TUAW Best of 2011 awards is iPhone navigation apps. These are the apps that give you turn-by-turn directions as you make your way around town, and they've been getting better as time goes by. Perhaps you are a fan of the free crowdsourced nab app Waze, which has a 4 out of 5 star rating on the App Store with over 29,000 user reviews. Or maybe you love the TomTom U.S.A. app ($39.99) with its ability to guide you with celebrity voices (Homer Simpson, anyone?). GPS by TeleNav is another popular and free navigation app, and there's always the MotionX GPS Drive app ($0.99, with one year of Voice Guidance for $9.99). Maybe you're a geocacher who doesn't care about getting from point A to point B, but you do want to find all of the caches in your area with the official Geocaching app ($9.99). And then there's always Navigon, with a host of features like in-app purchases of Zagat information. TUAW wants to hear from you -- what's your favorite iPhone navigation app? Leave your nomination in the comments below. Voting will start soon! Nominations close at 11:59 PM ET on December 22, 2011.
MotionX-GPS Drive exports full-screen nav on Pioneer and JVC head units, has love only for iOS (video)
MotionX-GPS has been a solid choice in the iPhone and iPad navigation game for some time now, but only recently has started to stretch its legs a bit. The app now has compatibility with a series of JVC and Pioneer head units (listed out below) that enables full-screen 3D navigation. In this mode the mobile device basically turns in to a remote control with a simplified interface, with POI searching and of course media playback. Connectivity is not using the Terminal Mode standard, this works exclusively with the iPhone and iPad, and we're told that sadly the company has no plans on supporting any other platforms going forward. So, if you're not on iOS you'll just have to find your own way to wherever you're going.
Jawbone Era sticks an accelerometer in your noise-canceling headset, we go hands-on
With a fantastic Bluetooth headset on the market and a pumpin' portable speaker to blast out jams, how could Jawbone improve their product lineup? Well, we still think a stereo headset might be swell... but that's not what the company delivered today. No, this is the Jawbone Era, the world's first Bluetooth earpiece with a built-in accelerometer for motion-sensing apps, and plenty more improvements where that came from. There's a new version of the company's NoiseAssassin noise-canceling algorithms that adjusts inbound volume and equalization to let you hear better, an extra-large 10mm cone speaker with a larger range of frequencies, two processors, more memory, and an hour of extra battery life compared to the Jawbone Icon, to be specific. With only two motions currently recognized -- a double-tap to begin / end / switch calls and a rapid shake to pair -- the accelerometer's a bit of a gimmick for now, but Jawbone suggests more gestures are probably on the way. In the meanwhile, the other advancements might make the Era worth the price of entry -- which is $130, by the by. We've spent about five hours with the headset already, listening to music and taking calls, and while the accelerometer seems almost wasted at present, there's no discounting that new 10mm driver and the audio it can pump out. While no substitute for a set of quality dedicated earbuds, it sounded worlds better than the Jawbone Icon's tiny, tinny drum, and playing Pandora tracks we no longer felt an overpowering desire to take it out of our ear -- making a cyborg existence all the more bearable, we suppose. We'll bring you a full review soon, but if you're already sold, you'll find four different Era designs on sale at Jawbone's online store... oh, right about now. PR after the break. %Gallery-114734%
Camera phone inventor makes a FaceTime call from racing yacht
In a fitting tribute to a technology that he had a hand in creating, entrepreneur and sailing yacht racer Philippe Kahn recently used a satellite hookup and his iPhone 4 to make a FaceTime call to his office from dead-center between Santa Cruz, California and Honolulu, Hawaii. While the video isn't as smooth as what we're used to via land-based Wi-Fi and broadband networks, it's pretty incredible to see Philippe talking to a co-worker from the deck of the racing sailboat Pegasus in the Pacific Ocean. Kahn is a pretty bright guy. He was one of the founders and former CEO of Borland, an early programming tool development company, is credited with the invention of the mobile camera phone in 1997, and is now the CEO of FullPower Technologies, the company behind the MotionX GPS apps for iPhone and iPad. Kahn's invention of the mobile camera phone was triggered by the birth of his daughter Sophie in 1997; he mentions during the video that he called his "camera phone baby" at home using the same setup. Thanks to Richard for the tip!
Buyer's Guide: 33 things you don't need if you have an iPhone
Every time I walk through Warehouse Stationery (New Zealand's equivalent to Office Depot) or Dick Smith's Electronics (pretty much Best Buy), I'm struck by how probably half the products in each store are pretty much useless to me since I've got an iPhone. Thanks to the apps that come pre-packaged with the iPhone and the more than 100,000 third-party offerings now available in the iTunes Store, the iPhone has gained functionality that might have seemed hard to fathom under three years ago when Steve Jobs first announced the device. "A widescreen iPod with touch controls... a revolutionary mobile phone... a breakthrough internet communications device... these are not three separate devices. This is one device." So Steve Jobs told us all back at Macworld Expo 2007. But since then, the iPhone has grown to be much more than just those three concepts. What follows is a sort of anti-buyer's guide, a list of products and devices that you may never need or even want to buy again (or receive as a gift) if you have an iPhone. Some of these are certainly open for debate, but more than a few of them are products that, for all intents and purposes, are completely unnecessary if you have an iPhone. (Items in bold also apply to the iPod touch).
Fullpower demos the MotionX Recognition Engine, forces its intern to run around like a crazy person
Among the excitement, the glamor, and the danger at D7 (what, didn't you see Woz roll in on his Segway?) was a tech demo delivered this morning by none other than Philippe Kahn and the gang from Fullpower. The company was on hand to talk a little bit about its MotionX Recognition Engine, a system designed to study "how you move, as opposed to reading to it." The first device on display was a headset that utilizes said engine, the company's trademark "TapTap" and "ShakeShake" commands, an accellerometer, and a GPS for things like answering the phone and accessing spoken updates to the user's location. According to the company, the same technology used in the headset can be embedded in phones and other devices. Also on hand was the company's new imaging tool, which supplies image stabilization to cameraphones. As you're no doubt aware, the fun is just beginning... stay tuned for all sorts of D7-related craziness, right here.
MotionX: Poker Quest
One of the first apps I downloaded when I inherited my brother's old iPhone was MotionX Dice. It was brilliant in its execution: 3D dice rendered with loving detail, lots of custom dice and perfect use of the accelerometer. MotionX games are variations on a theme, however, and they've taken their MotionX Poker system, wrapped it in an Egyptian theme, and cranked up the fun. The game is simple: roll the dice to get a hand, choose which you keep and which you put back, and repeat until the hand is over.What's the big deal about a dice-based poker app? Well, for one, it's one of those games you can pick up and play within seconds. Dice poker, for whatever reason, feels less like "real" poker, and my brain tends to relax more than it would playing a "real" poker game (such as Apple's Hold 'Em game). It's mostly a casual game, but there are enough stats and surprises to keep you playing after the initial gee whiz factor wears off.To keep games fresh, designers often add unlockable content and statistics. With Poker Quest, the unlockables come in the form of additional themed dice, levels and "my treasures." The treasures are triggered when you achieve a notable event, like "Win ten career hands." The stats are plentiful including how much you've played, how much you've won, and a detailed breakdown on what hands you've had when you play. I didn't unlock any levels, but the gameplay shouldn't change, just your surroundings.Dice poker games are relatively easy to craft and they are very easy to play. It's nice to see MotionX bringing some style to the genre, however. Their trademark animated 3D dice and gorgeous textured backdrops add just enough flair to the poker dice game to make things really fun for repeat play. If you're still not sold, try the free version of MotionX Poker Quest [App Store link]. The full version costs $2.99 [App Store link], which is a fair price if you like dice, poker or quick, casual games.%Gallery-43166%
MotionX Dice lets you roll dem bones on your iPhone
The folks at Fullpower kindly sent us a note about their new iPhone app, MotionX Dice, and after giving it a try, I can say it works as promised -- if you want a good-looking and fun way to roll dice on your iPhone, this is it. There are several types of well-rendered 3D dice and tables to choose from. The actual "rolling" is done by shaking the iPhone, which is a good time. The app will eventually be raised in price, but right now it can be found for free on the App Store. Frankly, this kind of pricing change smacks of top apps list scamming to us, but we'll give Fullpower the benefit of the doubt, as they say it's a promotion.However, we do have a bone to pick with Fullpower about this app. As fun as Yahtzee is (though there is one set of Poker dice, so you can play that, too), most of the dice that TUAW nerds -- or former TUAW nerds -- roll are of the d8, d10, and d20 variety. Any chance we can get a few of those added into the dice-rolling mix? d6s are all right for some damage types, but we can't roll a Nat 20 or break out the d4 Magic Missile with the program as it is.
