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Canopy offers curated shopping on Amazon
So many of us love shopping on Amazon, but at times the choices can be overwhelming. Canopy (free) is a new iOS app designed as sort of a front door for Amazon, offering community-curated shopping suggestions for items offered on the online shopping venue. The ad-free app allows you to create an account, save things in personal collections, and search to see what others say about items sold on Amazon (you don't have to have an account to use the app if you don't want to bother). Yes, Amazon allows comments and they are really helpful, but the elegant design of Canopy and the 'likes' and comments from users may give you better direction in finding what you want. I looked around in several of the categories and found useful suggestions, as well as finding items that wouldn't have turned up doing a standard search in Amazon. If you find something you like, you're directed straight to Amazon to buy your item. If you have an account, you can share your comments and your best (and worst) finds. In use the app worked just fine. The design made it easy to explore, and there's no question I was finding interesting items that wouldn't pop up in the usual Amazon search unless it was very specific. Canopy should help you look for gifts during this holiday season, and your recipients might really appreciate your creativity in gift giving. Canopy requires iOS 7 or later. It's optimized for the iPhone 5 and 6 series of phones, but it is not universal, and only runs in portrait mode, which is a really dumb decision since many iPad cases are set for landscape. On the iPhone it's not an issue. That's my only gripe, and I think Canopy is worth a look.
Canopy's Sensus app enhancing case hands-on
We saw Canopy and its Sensus last year at CES with what appears to be similar hardware, but really isn't. In our conversation with Sensus' VP of Software Engineering Joel Stewart this evening, he explained that the company was caught in the iPhone 5 Lightning connector storm and rather than push out a product that would almost assuredly fail, they took time to regroup and even redesign. As a reminder, the Sensus case augments the iPhone's input by adding input on the back and sides of the case via capacitive touch. Gone is capacitive input on the case; it's been replaced by pressure-sensitive pads on the back and down the sides. App choice has improved in some ways due to the pressure-sensitive pads. For example, flipping the case over and putting a cup on the case when the weighing app is running will see the case read out the weight of the cup on it. Follow on for some pics of the new packaging, case and a short demo video.
Sensus case brings touch input to the back and side of your iPhone
If you're one of the select group of iPhone owners who feels that their device simply doesn't have enough touch input options, Canopy is showing a new accessory at CES 2013 that more than addresses that problem. Called the Sensus, it's a case for the iPhone 4, 4S and 5 that bestows the devices with additional touch surfaces on the back and right side. The Sensus, which will sell for between US$59 and $99 when it arrives this summer, connects to the phone's 30-pin or Lightning connector for power and offers a passthrough for charging and data. When used with apps specifically designed to take advantage of it, the case adds 10 points of multitouch input. Canopy has a suite of apps in the works for the device, as core iOS functions and existing apps do not support it. The company does say, however, that app makers can add Sensus functionality with just a few lines of code via an SDK available now. It's uncertain how many are exploring the possibility of doing so, though. Among Canopy's own apps are a Braille keyboard and a camera that uses the right-side panel for all input, so your fingers don't get in the way of your viewfinder.
Canopy Sensus case adds backscreen and side touch to iPhones (hands-on)
Canopy promised a whole new world of smartphone control with its Sensus iPhone case in the fall, and we've at last had a chance to gauge how well it works here at CES. If you'll recall, it delivers 10-point touch input across the back and sides that lets apps add interaction without blocking the screen -- think of the PlayStation Vita's back touch and you've got the idea. That theoretically sounds great for gamers, but we'd like to see how well it works outside of a dedicated console. In practice, the case isn't much different in dimensions to a standard protective iPhone case, if a little chunkier along the base. The whole thing locks in to the iPhone 4's connector. although there's still another port to charge through there. The case also has integrated apps attuned for the blind, with Braille entry possible using all those multiple touchpanels. We've got a quick tour of how it all works after the break and you can expect to land this summer, where pricing will be somewhere between $59 and $99. Follow all the latest CES 2013 news at our event hub. Mat Smith contributed to this report.
Canopy's Sensus gaming case protects your iPhone 4 / 4S, adds plenty of new touch sensors (update)
There's no doubt that smartphone accessories can get expensive, so how about a case that doubles as a gamepad? Billed as "protection with a purpose," Canopy's Sensus case aims to do just that. While there are several peripherals that add keyboards and joysticks to smartphones, Sensus goes one step further by adding touch input to a device's entire outer surface. The case's sensors recognize an additional ten touch responses, including controls on the sides and back of a device similar to the rear touchpad on a PS Vita. The focus with Sensus is to provide its users with unique touch input combinations that avoid taking up precious screen real estate. Most likely due to its uniformed design, Sensus is currently only being offered for the iPhone 4 and 4S; the outfit is taking pre-orders at $39 a pop, with shipments expected to begin in the first quarter of 2013. If you'd like to get a better feel for what Sensus has to offer (we know, we know), check out its demo video by visiting the source link below. Update: The folks from Canopy let us know that the previously mentioned $39 price is for pre-orders only -- the Sensus will retail for $59, so get in early if you're looking to save some money.
'Sensus' case adds even more touch surfaces to iPhone
Devices to add more inputs to the iPhone are nothing new; there are a variety of keyboard peripherals, arcade sticks and game controllers to enable additional interaction with apps. But a peripheral that adds additional touch surfaces... that's new.A company called Canopy has developed this unlikely device, in the form of a case called "Sensus" (the one above is a transparent prototype). It's designed to enable touch controls on the back of the phone – like the Vita's rear touchpad – as well as the sides."The sensors can handle up to ten independent responses," marketing coordinator Ian Spinelli tells me at GDC Online. These inputs add to the screen's six, enabling play for "multiplayer or mutant." The idea isn't so much about getting more fingers on the phone, but rather taking fingers off the screen, to avoid obscuring the game.Spinelli offered examples of possible interactions, including swiping the edge of the case to strafe and tapping to pull a trigger."Right now we're doing a private SDK." In the future, developers will be able to download the SDK to add more touchiness for free, though Canopy has yet to determine if the actual developer hardware (a test unit of the Sensus) will also be free.Update: Canopy informed us that dev kits and the SDK will be free to developers.
