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Doxie Go portable scanner creates searchable PDFs without a PC, syncs to almost anything
As far as scanners go, Doxie makes some of the more interesting products on the market. There's one problem though... the bright trail of hot pint hearts splashed across the front. Thankfully, the upcoming Doxie Go dons a more conservative shell that will look just as at home in a CEO's office as it would in a 16-year-old girl's bedroom. The Go is a portable scanner with built-in memory for up to 6,000 pages, and you can even add on more storage through the USB port or SD slot. All scans are automatically fed through OCR software and turned into searchable PDFs. To get the scans on your PC you actually sync the Doxie Go to your Mac or Windows machine. You can also sync with your iPhone, iPad or send your documents straight to Dropbox, Evernote or Google Docs from the Doxie 2.0 desktop app. You can pre-order the Go now for $199 and it'll start shipping in late November. Check out the gallery below and PR after the break. %Gallery-136890%
Motorola Lapdock 100 hits Sprint October 21st, earns employees extra scratch
Ready to play PC with your smartphone? If you aren't picking up a Lapdock 100 from AT&T on the 17th, you won't have to wait very long -- Motorola's faux-laptop phone dock has been outed for a October 21st launch date for Sprint via an employee rewards email. Passing the Lapdock 100 Sprint Rewards Me training quiz nets employees $10 in Sprint scratch and the opportunity to sell you a rig that lets a handful of devices play netbook. The laptop shell gives users a full Firefox browser, Quick Office, Google Docs, Adobe Flash, a PC-like File Manager and a luxurious 10.1-inch screen. Still no word yet on just how much this ultra-portable peripheral will set us back, but we'll keep hoping that it's cheaper than the Atrix 4G's axed lapdock. [Thanks, David]
Lapdock 100 brings a Webtop IQ boost to Moto phones on Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T
Looking to harness all the power of your smartphone PC-style? Motorola is looking to help with its Lapdock 100 for a number of devices, including the Atrix 2, Photon 4G and Droid Bionic. The laptop shell sports a 10.1-inch screen (smaller and hopefully cheaper than the Atrix 4G's axed lapdock), keyboard with dedicated Android keys, touchpad, multi-tasking and tabbed web-browsing via WiFi or your phone's data plan. You'll also be able to utilize a full Firefox browser, Adobe Flash, Quick Office, Google Docs and a PC-esque File Manager. Just in case your smartphone's SD card doesn't offer enough storage space, the dock packs two USB ports for all those extra documents you might collect. Looking to stay ultra-portable, the peripheral weighs a hair over two pounds (less than 1Kg) and touts five hours of battery life -- which can also be used to recharge that tired handset if needed. If you're looking to snatch up one of these bad boys, you'll have to wait until October 17... and even then, it'll only hit shelves at AT&T. Verizon and Sprint customers will get their chance "later this quarter" and there's no word yet on pricing. Need more info? Hit that coverage link for product page and get yourself better acquainted.
Google Docs gets a refresh, fills out the screen for Honeycomb
When Google dropped its official Docs app into our workaholic hands earlier this spring, we'd noted it wasn't exactly tablet-ready. Well, all that's changed with the Mountain View-based company's latest update to its Android app, this time optimized for Honeycomb's wider layout. Now, when users opt to edit on-the-go from their slates, they'll be treated to a three-pane interface offering access to collections, document lists and even a preview panel. El Goog's also tossed in support for over 46 languages across all Android 3.0 and up tabs. Go and ahead and hit up the source below for a download, or simply update if you're already packing.
Google Drive could finally be ready for launch, may just be rebranded Docs
GDrive, GDisk, Google Drive - whatever they're calling it these days - is coming. At least according to our friends over at TechCrunch. The service has not just been a rumor, but an actual product since 2007. Sadly though, it never made it past the dogfooding stage. The internal cloud storage tool for Googlers has been highly anticipated, but in 2010 it seemed like the final nail was put in its coffin when Docs was turned into a makeshift replacement with the ability to store any file. Well, Google Drive still exists, and speculation is that Google Docs will eventually be rebranded as Drive and relaunched with non-Docs file storage moved to the forefront. What's more, it's rumored that there will be a desktop syncing component, similar to Dropbox. Of course, the image above (from a Google-sponsored presentation) and recently discovered mentions of Drive.Google.com in Chromium don't necessarily mean anything. But, if Google actually plans on taking this Chrome OS thing seriously, Drive seems like a natural companion service. For now though, we're just going to have wait patiently to see what, if anything, comes of these latest rumblings.
Four websites that need iPad apps
The iPad is an amazing device for surfing the web. Its large screen and multitouch gestures make it feel like you're actually holding a web page in your hands. Web browsing on the iPad is going to get even better with the release of iOS 5. That's when Safari on iPad gains Reading List and Reader functionality and the all-important tabbed browsing. However, as good as the iPad is at handling web browsing, some websites would clearly benefit from a dedicated iPad app. When viewed on an iPad, these sites lack key features that they show off to full effect when used with desktop browsers. Other websites have a high amount of interactivity that may work on an iPad, but that interactivity doesn't translate well to a touch interface. I realize that any website could be made into an iPad app. Most websites, however, don't need them. Here at TUAW, for example, there's not much interactivity that goes on when you visit beyond clicking on articles and posting comments. Both of those things are handled easily on an iPad. The same goes for other mainly news-driven sites where the main feature is reading -- dedicated apps really aren't needed. For more complex interactions, an app is a big help. Here's my list of four websites that need an iPad app... and also one service (or group of iPad apps, really) that needs a website. 1. Facebook.com Facebook is the biggest offender among websites missing an iPad app. Why? Well, the site does have 750 million users. By the beginning of next year there will be 50 million iPads on the market -- and most of those iPad owners use Facebook. However, the site's traffic doesn't alone dictate the need for an iPad app. No, Facebook.com needs an iPad app because its web functionality is cumbersome when viewed through Safari on the iPad and some features are missing entirely. The biggest missing feature while viewing Facebook's website on the iPad is Chat. There's just no way to chat with all your Facebook friends through Facebook.com on the iPad. There's also no way to upload photos or video to your wall, as tapping on "Upload" won't access your Camera Roll or Photos libraries on your iPad. Furthermore, Facebook relies on a lot of pop-up windows that you need to scroll through. These windows normally appear when you click on "X number of people like this" links below a wall post. If the list of number of people who "like" that post is long, you have to scroll through it to see everyone on the list. This is doable on the iPad by using two-finger scrolling, but many iPad users don't know about multitouch scrolling of a window within a web page; this contributes to the overall poor user experience for Facebook.com on the iPad. Thankfully we know that Facebook is working on an iPad app, which looks to be both cool and very functional Now all we have to do is hope Facebook actually decides to release its iPad app to the public. Soon. 2. Mint.com I'm a Mint junkie. It's the perfect solution for keeping track of multiple financial accounts. What's more, after Intuit bought the company, fears of Mint getting fouled up turned out to be largely unfounded; the site has actually only gotten better. However, Mint.com needs an iPad app. Why? Primarily because Mint features a huge amount of user interactivity. Not only can you see a complete overview of your financial accounts on the website, you can edit transactions, set budgets, create goals, and view trends -- from a desktop browser, at least. None of those features work well (most, not at all) on Mint.com on the iPad. Mint fans have been waiting (mostly patiently) for an iPad app for some time. When I interviewed Mint's founder Aaron Patzer, he told me that the company was working on an iPad app. That was over 18 months ago. More recently Mint has asked its users to hold on a little longer as the developer teams are "busy developing an iPad app." The iPad app won't be a simple rework of the iPhone version, but it will be "a brand new experience." Let's hope so. 3. LinkedIn.com If you're looking for the Facebook equivalent for business relationships, it's LinkedIn. The site allows users to keep connected with their colleagues and business contacts; it's a great alternative to Facebook or other more casual 'friend' networks, especially when you don't want to risk your boss seeing those pictures of you in compromising situations. While LinkedIn.com is mostly functional through Safari on the iPad, the site offers a high amount of interactivity via searching for contacts or jobs, updating your profile, creating status updates, etc, that could benefit immensely from a dedicated iPad app. It's worth mentioning that LinkedIn deserves credit for being the company that took what was one of the most horrendously designed UI's of any iPhone app (they originally let users change the color scheme of the app, allowing them to choose from over a dozen colors -- including hot pink) and completely reimagined it, turning it into one of the slickest -- both in design and navigation -- iPhone apps on the market. That gives me a lot of confidence that LinkedIn will be able to pull off a killer iPad app. Thankfully on the day LinkedIn announced its overhauled iPhone app, I learned from a source familiar with their mobile plans that the company is indeed working on a dedicated iPad app. However, like Facebook and Mint, there's no set time frame for a release. 4. Google Docs Google Docs is great. The suite of web apps from the search, email and advertising giant allows you to create and share documents, spreadsheets, presentations and more all through your desktop web browser. While Google does offer limited functionality for Docs on the iPad through a mobile version of the site, the mobile version lacks the rich editing capabilities of the desktop web-based version. That's due in part to some limitations in the iPad's mobile Webkit implementation. You can switch to the desktop view in Docs on your iPad, but don't expect it to behave quite like the original. It's true that there are iPad office application suites that work well with Google Docs. QuickOffice Pro HD and Documents to Go both allow you to download and edit documents from your Google account (see our head-to-head review here). Less-expensive, and correspondingly less functional apps for editing include Office2 HD and GoDocs. None of these truly delivers the simplicity and functionality of Google's cloud offering. When looking at the iPad as a serious productivity device, Apple's leading the with its iWork suite -- but Pages, Numbers and Keynote don't interoperate with Google Docs in any meaningful way, forcing users to go through hoops to get at their files. It's a frustrating hiccup in what should be a really easy and graceful workflow. That's why Google could transform the tablet document-editing space by creating a best-in-class dedicated iPad app for its suite. Go all the way or don't go at all. Apple's showed it can be done and I'm sure there are many users who would prefer an alternative to shelling out $10 an app for the iWork suite for rich text, presentation, and spreadsheet editing. Then again, it's not necessarily clear that Google has a strong motivation to make the iPad even more of a world-beater, so we may be stuck with third-party solutions on this one... or Apple could add the Docs API to iWork and turn everything upside-down. And three apps (or one service) that needs an iPad-compatible website... iCloud.com Yes, like MobileMe's website (www.me.com) before it, navigating to www.icloud.com on an iPad brings you to an iPad-specific web page that informs you that if you want to check your iCloud emails, contacts, or calendars on an iPad you have to do so through the Mail, Contacts, and Calendars apps that ship on the device. That's well and good, and the iPad apps function better than any web apps ever could -- but if it's not your iPad you want to check your email on and you are using an iCloud email account, you're out of luck. There is simply no easy way to check your iCloud (or MobileMe) email on an iOS device unless you enable your account to be used with the built-in apps on the device. (You may be able to get around this by using a third-party browser like iCab that allows you to spoof the user agent, but it's clumsy.) As far as iPhones go, I get the limitation. How often do we use someone else's phone to check our email, right? But on an iPad, which is more of a multi-user device (think sharing with the family or traveling in a group with one iPad, as you might do on a long trip across Europe), there's no way for multiple people to check their iCloud emails without all adding their accounts in the Mail, Contacts, and Calendars settings on the iPad. Doing so will of course enable all email accounts to show up in Mail, potentially causing confusion, privacy concerns, or emails being sent from the wrong account. Apple, if you are listening, I implore you to allow access to iCloud email accounts through Safari on the iPad -- even as a 'pro' option enabled in the account settings. It's an unnecessary barrier. So that's my list of the biggest iPad app-less offenders. I'd love to hear from you which websites you think really need an iPad app. Let me know in the comments!
Gmail, Google Docs and Calendar finally regain offline access
Since the death of Gears we've been, rather impatiently, awaiting the return of offline access to our Google apps. Well that day has finally come -- provided you're a Chrome fan. The fine folks in Mountain View just unveiled a new app for their browser (which means it also works on Chome OS) called Offline Google Mail that will keep you connected to your all-important messages even when you can't get a connection. You'll notice the app looks a heck of a lot like the web app for tablets, and that's because that's basically what it is. There are some differences -- keyboard shortcuts work -- but at it's heart it's the same HTML5 browser app mobile users have been enjoying for some time. To install the offline version you'll have to uninstall the standard Gmail Chrome app, which is a little odd, but there's nothing stopping you from typing Gmail.com in the address bar. Docs and Calendar are also going offline. Starting today the feature will be rolled out to users over the next week. To activate it just look under settings for an offline tick box. At the moment Docs is view only when disconnected, but Google promises offline editing is coming soon. Hit up the more coverage link to install Offline Gmail now. Update: Google reached out to us and it turns out both can run side by side just fine. We were experiencing a bug that shouldn't effect most users since we hadn't let the Gmail app update recently.
WhiteHat Security hacks into Chrome OS, exposes extension vulnerability at Black Hat
It's been a rough Black Hat conference for Google. First, FusionX used the company's homepage to pry into a host of SCADA systems, and now, a pair of experts have discovered a way to hack into Chrome OS. According to WhiteHat security researchers Matt Johansen and Kyle Osborn, one major issue is Google's vet-free app approval process, which leaves its Chrome Web Store susceptible to malicious extensions. But there are also vulnerabilities within native extensions, like ScratchPad -- a note-taking extension that stores data in Google Docs. Using a cross-site scripting injection, Johansen and Osborn were able to steal a user's contacts and cookies, which could give hackers access to other accounts, including Gmail. Big G quickly patched the hole after WhiteHat uncovered it earlier this year, but researchers told Black Hat's attendees that they've discovered similar vulnerabilities in other extensions, as well. In a statement, a Google spokesperson said, "This conversation is about the Web, not Chrome OS. Chromebooks raise security protections on computing hardware to new levels." The company went on to say that its laptops can ward off attacks better than most, thanks to "a carefully designed extensions model and the advanced security available through Chrome that many users and experts have embraced."
Will iOS 5's Safari deliver better support for web editors?
One of the long-standing frustrations for anyone who's tried to edit blog posts or web documents using Mobile Safari is the absence of support for the HTML5 contentEditable attribute. The attribute, which began as an Internet Explorer 5.5 feature and later found its way into most modern browsers, is part of the suite of tools that made it possible for older versions of Google Documents and other inline editors to do their rich-text WYSIWIG editing magic. [Commenter Darren notes that Google Docs itself does not use contentEditable anymore, but instead does all the editing using a custom JavaScript editor. –MR] Unfortunately, up through iOS 4.3 there's no support for the contentEditable attribute in Mobile Safari, which means that popular web editing tools either don't work at all or have to provide severely limited iOS-specific versions. According to this thread on Hacker News, it looks like things may be changing in iOS 5; preliminary tests on the beta seem to show that the attribute is working as expected in the new version of Safari. If this does prove out for the final builds of iOS 5 (and that's a reasonably substantial 'if,' since we're still several months away from release), we could be looking at a dramatic improvement in support for virtually all web-based rich text editing tasks on the iPad. For those of us who have struggled with this issue for a while, it's welcome news indeed. Thanks to Gary Poster for his question.
Google Apps is moving on, you'll need an HTML5 browser to go with it
HTML5 beckons the world with its dashing logo and also, we suppose, all the clever little things it can do. Desktop notifications in Gmail and folder-dragging in Docs already refuse to work with anything less -- and before long that will apply to the entirety of Google Apps. Come August 1st, you will find that Gmail, Calendar, Talk, Docs and Sites are all unsupported unless you're using either the current or last major release of Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome or Safari. An older browser won't suddenly stop working with Google Apps, but it will begin a steady descent into oblivion. Hey, being popular means you don't have to be nice.
MeLLmo's Roambi Flow will create interactive business documents for iPad
We've taken a look at MeLLmo's Roambi in the past and were fairly impressed with the instant interactive visualizations created for business data and statistics. With Roambi, you import data created in another program or system (often Excel or another CSV-based spreadsheet program for personal data, or large-scale business analysis systems in enterprise use), and the app generates the dynamic charts using that data. The free Roambi Lite service works with Excel files; Roambi Pro adds on-demand connectivity to Google Docs and Salesforce CRM; and Roambi ES3 links to IBM Cognys, Oracle, Microsoft and SAP business systems. MeLLmo is adding new capabilities to the product line with Roambi Flow, a new app and content system which will create original documents using Roambi from the ground up. It's the sort of process imagined when the iPad was first conceived. Imagine creating a business analysis and having your static graphs spring to life. In theory, it could be used for anything from a science paper to a full corporate annual report; putting the deeper analysis of the Roambi graphs into the narrative content means that readers can construct their own interpretations of the data along with the conclusions or observations in the digital publication. The point-and-click interface is simple enough that most people will be able to create an elegant, interactive document either on the iPad or from a desktop browser. The initial version of Roambi Flow will be available in June working with the Roambi ES3 enterprise system, which costs hundreds of dollars per user seat. Later in 2011, the Flow product will extend out to Roambi's software-as-a-service offering for non-enterprise customers. In the meantime, to give the basic Roambi visualizer a try, check out the free app on the App Store.
Google adding Netflix, Hulu support, offline Gmail, Calendar and Docs to Chrome OS this summer, prices hardware at $20 per month
Google's currently in the process of detailing Chrome OS' latest improvements and there are a couple of big 'uns: Netflix and Hulu support will be available right out of the box for the pair of new Chromebooks -- one from Samsung and one from Acer. An improved file manager has also been added to the upcoming version of Chrome OS, plus offline versions of Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Docs -- all will be made available for Chromebook users this summer. You can learn more about these improvements in the video after the break. Far more monumental, Google's also just announced the cost of these Chromebooks and there's no upfront payment to speak of. Instead, Chrome OS laptops will be distributed on the basis of a recurring monthly subscription, which will cost $28 per user for businesses and $20 per user for schools. That includes regular software and hardware upgrades. Hardware as a service, folks! %Gallery-123369%
Google Docs gets an Android app, we go hands-on with tiny spreadsheets (video)
Staring at spreadsheets crushed down to unreadable sizes on a 4-inch phone screen is far from pleasurable but, clearly there is a demand. In fact, we've been clamoring for a proper Google Docs app for ages, even though sometimes we're not entirely sure why. It was only a matter of time before Google finally got around to appeasing us mobile workaholics and put an official app in the Android Market. Well, our masochistic prayers were answered -- the Mighty Goog unleashed the new, native Google Docs for Android app and we rushed on over to the Market, clicked the install button, and gave it a whirl. %Gallery-122400%
Google Docs gets an Android app, lets you capture text with your phone's camera
Google's had a mobile-friendly version of Google Docs available for some time now, but it's now finally gone the extra step and released a dedicated Android app. That will of course let you access and edit your documents on your smartphone, but the real standout feature is the ability to capture text with your phone's camera and have it instantly made editable thanks to some optical character recognition. Google notes that won't work with handwriting or some fonts, but it promises it will get better over time. Hit up Android Market to try it out for yourself.
April Fools' Day roundup: Google overload edition
Ah, April 1st. It's that time of the year again when the internet is rife with odd news and pranks. As before, news sites like us end up with a healthy stream of tips throughout April Fools' Day (thanks, by the way), so let us round up some of the best findings for your comedic appetite. Contenders include the usual suspects like Google and ThinkGeek, the former of which dominating the gigglesphere this year with some new "features." We also have some interesting submissions from Hulu, a font company, and probably plenty more to come as the day progresses, so keep watching this space as we add new entries to this post. Right, let the fun commence after the break.
Google Docs now on Jolicloud Desktop, Joli OS
It already has one of the cutest names in cloud computing, and now it has Google Docs, too. Following up on its integration of Dropbox, Jolicloud just added support for the online office suite, which means you can access and edit all of your important missives and memos via the Jolicloud Desktop or Joli OS. Setting it up is as simple as clicking a button to link the two accounts -- after that, you can browse, edit, and do whatever you do in Google Docs, and because it's all stored in the cloud, you can pick up on one device where you left off on another. Sound familiar? For complete instructions, follow the source link below.
ScanDrop comes to Mac: makes scanning to cloud services simple
I've been a fan of a paperless workflow for a couple of years now, and I rely heavily on Evernote for organizing everything scannable that crosses my desk. One of the tools I've found invaluable for speeding up the scan and filing process is ScanDrop, as it allows me to scan a document and do basic image editing. I can also send a PDF to Evernote with a name, tags, and the appropriate Notebook setup without having to juggle files between multiple applications. Unfortunately, this has also kept my scanning leashed to Windows, since ScanDrop didn't exist for Mac OS X. I was delighted to find out that OfficeDrop has debuted a Mac OS X version on the Mac App Store at the bargain launch price of US$1.99. If you aren't an Evernote user, ScanDrop also works directly with Google Docs and OfficeDrop's own commercial cloud service, or you can scan files to any location on your drive, enabling you to sync documents to Dropbox, iDisk or similar solutions. The only downside is ScanDrop depends on the service to do optical character recognition (OCR), so you'll need to be an Evernote Premium user, a subscriber to OfficeDrop, or put up with the limitations with Google Docs' OCR. If you're saving to your drive, you may need to find an additional tool for OCR or live without searchable text documents. Make sure to read over the details about scanner support to make sure ScanDrop will work with your hardware before you click purchase.
Google Docs: now supporting mobile editing in 45 languages
Never mind the fact that you'll need to have a basic grasp of English to even understand this report -- if you're an avid user of Google Docs on your Android 2.2+ phone, you can now edit in 45 languages. Heck, even if you're not using Android, you can surf on over to docs.google.com with any iOS 3.0+ device and accomplish the same thing. Would it make it any clearer if we spoke slowly and removed all adjectives? [Thanks, Calvin]
Google brings Cloud Print service to mobile Google Docs, Gmail
You'll still need to have that Windows PC acting as an intermediary, but folks looking to use Google's Cloud Print service now at least have considerably more devices at their disposal to print documents from. Following up its roll-out to Chrome OS netbooks last month, Google has now announced that it's begun rolling the service out to its mobile Google Docs and Gmail sites, which you'll be able to use to print documents from most mobile devices that supports HTML5 -- those running Android 2.1+ or iOS 3+, for instance. What's more, while you will still need that Windows PC connected to your printer for the time being, Google now notes that both Mac and Linux support are "coming soon."
Google Docs introduces video player, yet another way to kill time in the office
Google's headed ever deeper into the clouds this year with a new function for Google Docs: video playback. As of this week, users can upload videos (up to 1GB) in a supported format, and make them available for viewing in Google Docs. As with the previous video sharing set up, you can still download video, including previous versions. Google engineers have warned of excessive processing time, but once videos are up, viewing is as easy as clicking play -- and having a Flash player, of course. We're not entirely sure what the advantage is over Youtube, but we're on board for anything that lets us share our love of creepy robot workout videos with our coworkers.
