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Tokyo University of Technology's Pinch interface creates ad hoc video walls from mobile devices (video)
Most video walls would be just a tad too large for the average living room, but the Tokyo University of Technology might have a clever technique to make them travel-sized. Its new Pinch interface joins mobile devices (currently iOS hardware) into a single display simply by making the namesake gesture between at least two gadgets: WiFi keeps them in sync and recognizes the relative size and orientation. While we probably wouldn't resort to a wall of iPads in place of a large TV, there's clear practical uses like extra-large creative apps, communication and very local multiplayer games. The best news may be that the university isn't keeping the technology to itself. It wants developers to borrow Pinch for their own apps, which could lead to a legion of smartphones and tablets getting extra-cozy.
Apple iMessage sees second outage in a week, iTunes UK follows suit (update: back up, in theory)
Apple may have a lot of iMessage users, but it has also had its share of teething troubles as the chat service (and iCloud) grows. That's certainly been true this month: Apple has confirmed that, for the second time in a week, iMessage is down for at least some users. There's a real chance those conversations won't go through unless it's between iPhone users that can try SMS. More pressing for anyone in the UK is a wider iTunes outage, as we've heard multiple reports of the app and media repository being inaccessible in the country no matter what device they use. We've reached out to Apple and will update if there's an explanation or a repair schedule for either outage. For now, we'd suggest that iMessage lovers communicate through social networks and passive-aggressive word choices in Letterpress. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Update: And no sooner than we post than Apple has iMessage back up and running. Let us know through tips if you're still having iMessage or iTunes UK trouble, however.
FreedomPop ships its 4G-enabling iPod touch case, lets us nearly go phoneless for $99 (update: plan clarifications)
FreedomPop's gamble on free WiMAX data launched in beta at the start of month, but early adopters had to be contented with conventional hotspots and modems at first; those of us with a fixation on data-only cellular handsets had to keep waiting. We can stay slightly cooler-headed now that the provider is shipping its iPod touch 4G Sleeve. Shelling out $99 grafts a 4G hotspot to the back of the fourth-generation media player that gives it independence from WiFi as well as connection sharing with eight other devices -- at least, for anyone willing to burn through that 500MB of free monthly data in record time. About the only catches are the $10 per gigabyte overage fee and a design that's just slightly behind the times for iPod addicts. While some of us will still cling to smartphones for coverage or legacy reasons, others who mostly communicate through Instagram food photos could have that excuse they need to drop cellular phone service once and for all. Update: Thanks to reader (and early adopter) Penn who pointed out that overages are $20 per gigabyte if you're on the free plan -- it's only $10 if you're a regularly paying customer.
The Engadget Show 37: Halloween Spooktacular with Wayne Coyne, movie monsters and ghost hunting!
Welcome boys and ghouls, to a very spooky episode of The Engadget Show. We've got plenty of tricks and treats for you in this Halloweentastic October episode. We kick things off with a trip to Oklahoma City, to the home of Flaming Lips frontman, Wayne Coyne, who talks Parking Lot Experiments, Halloween displays and why if your phone screen isn't broken, you aren't living your life. Next up, we'll show you all the necessary tools for a proper ghost hunt, with a little help from author Mary Roach, Ghost Hunters' Adam Berry and the crew of the Central NY Ghost Hunters. In Vermont, we have a conversation with robot head Bina48 to find out what it really means to be alive and we travel to Los Angeles to talk to movie makeup Wizard Kevin Yagher and the costume experts at Global Effects Inc. And when the Engadget Van breaks down outside of an electronics store, it's up to Tim, Brian and rock band, Free Energy, to solve a very spooky mystery. All that plus a new Ask @hodgman and a gadget table featuring the new iPod touch, Kindle Paperwhite and Galaxy Note II from Dapper Cadaver, our favorite place to buy prop corpses in the Southern California area. Jump on in after the break -- if you dare!%Gallery-168911% Hosts: Brian Heater, Jordan Morris, Tim Stevens Guests: Wayne Coyne, Mary Roach, Kevin Yagher, Adam Berry, Chris Gilman, Jesse Thorn, John Hodgman, Bruce Duncan, Stacey Jones, BJ Winslow Musical Guest: Free Energy Producer: Ben Harrison Executive Producers: Brian Heater, Joshua Fruhlinger Download the Show: The Engadget Show - 037 (HD) / The Engadget Show - 037 (iPod / iPhone / Zune formatted) / The Engadget Show - 037 (Small) Subscribe to the Show: [iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (MP4). [Zune] Subscribe to the Show directly in the Zune Marketplace (MP4). [RSS MP4] Add the Engadget Show feed (MP4) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically. [HD RSS] Get the Engadget Show delivered automatically in HD. [iPad RSS] Get the Engadget Show in iPad-friendly adaptive format.
Apple adds Rubles and other currencies to App Store, bumps minimum price to €0.89 in Europe
After announcing slightly under par financials, Apple has added more ways it can be paid for apps, though it also bumped the minimum freight to get one across Europe. The new lowest price users in France, Germany, Italy and other nations "over there" can pay for an app is now €0.89, a euro-dime bump from before -- apparently due to the weak euro and local tax hikes. On the other hand, Cupertino also added more currencies accepted at its store: South African Rand, Turkish Lira, Russian Rubles, Indian Rupees, Isreali New Shekel's, Saudi Arabian Riyal, Indonesian Rupish and UAE Dirham can all now be used to pay. Apple has tinkered with its prices before in varying amounts overseas depending on the nation, so you may want to check your own country's App Store for the news -- bad or good.
Rara.com expands to iOS, Windows 8 and more countries
Rara.com has been mighty busy since its luddite-friendly music streaming service launched at the end of last year, and now it's reporting the outcome of those 10 months of toil. In addition to an improved web experience and new Android widget, an AirPlay-compatible app for iOS is now available, with software for Windows 8 arriving alongside its launch. Rara's 18 million tracks haven't only invaded other platforms, but other countries, too -- residents of Brazil, Mexico, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, South Africa and Portugal have joined the party, bringing the total number of compatible countries to 27. Lenovo is also getting a piece of the action, as a worldwide agreement means Rara software will now come pre-installed on the manufacturer's Android tablets and Windows 8 gear. Want to hear more about Rara's recent accomplishments? Then head for the PR after the break.
The iPad mini vs. the competition: fight!
The traditional trail of inventory listings, leaked casings and internal components have teased us enough: it's finally time to get down to the nitty gritty specs, and see how Apple's latest (and daintiest) iPad shapes up to the competition. We've collected a trio of like-sized slabs to pit the device against, just for the fun of it. Read on to see how it stacks up against its peers. For more coverage, visit our Apple Special Event hub!
iBookstore lines its shelves with paid content in New Zealand, 17 Latin American countries
iDevice owners in New Zealand and 17 Latin American countries are no longer restricted to a diet composed of free content when it comes to their respective iBookstores. A quick search of the storefronts will reveal virtual shelves stocked with paid-content that haven't yet found their way to the shops' homepages. Reside in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru or Venezuela? Head on over to the appropriate store and books with price tags will be available for purchase. If this is any sign of what Apple has up its sleeve for tomorrow, we suspect that "a little more" will involve a bit of reading.
Node modular iOS sensor hands-on
With the spate of bad publicity surrounding all those Kickstarter projects that never make it beyond the funding stage, there's a certain surreality to actually holding a crowd-funded device in your hands. But here it is, the Node, a project we highlighted in its infancy, way back in February. The whole thing blew way past its funding goal, scoring $76,000 out of a requested $50,000. And now, roughly eight months later, the product has been shipped out to enthusiastic supporters all over the place, inside an unassuming white box. Since its inception, the Node's been an interesting (if not particularly easy to explain) proposition. Now that we've got our hands on one, not all that much has changed -- which is to say, in its early stages, there's a lot of potential, but its still a bit of a hard sell. Hardware-wise, the Node's a solid proposition -- the size and shape of a roll of quarters. The body is made of a white plastic, with Node logos indented on either side. Next to one, you'll find a micro-USB port for charging, and by the other, you get the power button, which also serves to turn on the flashlight module. Inside the body, you've got the battery (which should give you 12 to 14 hours with Bluetooth on), an accelerometer, magnetometer and gyroscope.%Gallery-168812%
Distro Issue 62 arrives with Apple's iPod duo, a superslim PS3 and Wacom's multi-touch display
At its event in San Francisco a few weeks back, Apple had more up its sleeve than just an aluminum-clad smartphone. In the latest issue of our weekly, we put both the new iPod nano and iPod touch through their paces to find out how they fare against their elder siblings. If a duo of PMP reviews doesn't snag your attention, we also throw down the review gauntlet on Wacom's Cintiq 24HD touch and this year's slimmed-down PlayStation 3. Eyes-On peeks at an ultrathin ultrabook, Weekly Stat examines emoticon use and Time Machines tallies up some more gadget history. The week's end is mere hours away and the usual download links that follow can help you settle in for a bit of leisurely gadget reading. Distro Issue 62 PDF Distro in the iTunes App Store Distro in the Google Play Store Distro APK (for sideloading) Like Distro on Facebook Follow Distro on Twitter
The iPod touch doesn't have a light sensor because it's 'too thin'
Kevin Tofel over at GigaOm stepped into the sunlight this past week (a dangerous endeavor for any blogger, let me tell you), and found out something strange about his new iPod touch: It doesn't have an autobrightness function. That's because it doesn't have a light sensor at all, apparently: There's only a manual setting for the brightness, and when Tofel went to Apple's product page for the new iPod touch, he confirmed that there's no light sensor listed in the various features of the device. While older iPod touch models do have the light sensor function, this current model apparently does not. Why not? An iDownloadBlog reader named Raghid Harake emailed Apple Senior VP Phil Schiller to ask him that very question, and he got the answer that the device is just too thin. Schiller confirmed again that the device doesn't have a built-in light sensor, and reported that the design makes the whole thing too thin to fit one in. Indeed, Apple lost more than a millimeter in the latest iPod touch design, and part of that space means losing the light sensor. Was the trade-off worth it? For Apple, apparently so. While some users might be surprised when their iPod touch doesn't automatically brighten up or down when moving into different ambient light situations, Apple decided that feature wasn't as important as slimming the device down. Do you agree?
iPod touch "significantly" less powerful than iPhone 5
Geekbench has some early benchmarks from the iPhone 5 and Apple's latest iPod touch. Though it's a nice improvement over previous models, the fifth-generation iPod touch didn't fare so well when compared to other Apple handhelds. The new iPod touch scored a 619, which places it right below the iPhone 4S (654) and well above the original iPad (454). It pales in comparison to the iPhone 5, which scored an impressive 1,573. Much of this discrepancy can be attributed to the A6 processor and 1 GB RAM present in the iPhone 5. In comparison, the iPod touch includes an A5 processor and 512 MB of RAM. [Via PocketGamer]
You're the Pundit: How low will the mini go?
When it comes to evaluating the next big thing, we turn to our secret weapon: the TUAW braintrust. We put the question to you and let you have your go at it. Today's topic is the iPad mini's price. The low end Kindle Fire retails at $159 and the HD at $199. (Bezos recently confirmed that their devices sell at cost, with no profit.) The Google Nexus 7 is $249. The re-engineered iPod touch starts at $299 for a 32GB unit. The lowest-end new iPads (not the "new iPad", but new 16GB "iPad 2" units) start at $399. Assuming Apple does launch a 7.85" iPad mini unit in a few weeks, how will it price it into this existing marketplace? Does it have to leave room for the iPod touch with its 4" Retina screen, enhanced cameras, and groovy colors? Or can it sell itself at the same price point or lower with its bigger screen and bargain features? (Groovy colors remain welcome, however.) Could Apple launch the mini at $299 or even $199 without undercutting their product line? Or should even the littlest-iPad-that-could bring enough features to the table to match the performance and price of the iPad 2? You tell us. Place your vote in this poll and then join in the comments with all your analysis. %Poll-78245%
Brookstone's Rover 2.0 iOS-controlled "Spy Tank" a blast to drive
With the holiday buying season just around the corner, we're starting to hear and see evidence of some fun iOS-related accessories to pick up this year. Brookstone has started off by supplying us with a Rover 2.0 App-Controlled Spy Tank (US$149.99) to test. Come along for a ride! The Rover 2.0 is a futuristic little streamlined tank powered by two treads, one on either side. A small WiFi antenna screws into the top, and six AA batteries are loaded into the bottom. Flip on the power switch and the Rover sets up its own WiFi network. It seems to take about a minute for a little blinking green LED to appear atop the tank, signifying that the network is up and running. Next, you pop into Settings and change your WiFi network over to the Rover's network, which is immediately recognizable by the word "Rover" in the SSID. Go to the App Store and download the free Rover 2.0 app. Once it's installed on your favorite iOS device, launch it and immediately you'll see a full control panel for the tank, dominated by the video feed from the Rover. %Gallery-168181% There are two ways to operate the tank. First, you have controls for the right and left treads that you can work in tandem. Sliding both controls forward moves the tank forward, sliding both backwards moves the tank to the rear, and turning is accomplished by moving one slider forward and the other to the rear. There's also a G-Drive mode available that uses the accelerometers in your iOS device to help you steer. I found G-Drive to be much easier to use for driving the tank, although your mileage may vary. Along the bottom of the control panel is a line of buttons. On the far left is a "Stealth" button that turns off the green LED and cranks on an infrared headlight, supposedly to allow you to sneak up on your cat or roommate. However, that's only going to work well if your cat is deaf or your roommate can sleep through hurricanes -- the motors on the tank aren't exactly quiet. Next is a Camera button -- tap it to display a slider to tilt the camera up or down. The Path Record button tracks and records a trip with the tank, while the Path Play button is used to repeat that trip with a tap. A Talk button is used like a push-to-talk button on a walkie-talkie, blasting your voice out of the speaker on the Rover. Volume lets you adjust the volume of the sound feed coming in from the Rover's microphone, and Brights turns on a set of four green lights around the perimeter of the Rover. On the bottom of the video image are buttons for Photo and Video, capturing still images and video to store in your Photo Library. Still quality seems pretty good -- the camera captures images at 320 x 240 pixels, and low-light sensitivity is great, even without the infrared light. Video streams at 25 fps, and can be quite blurry when the tank is turning. But enough of the specs and how this thing works. Is it fun? Heck, yeah! I enjoyed running the Rover around my office, into our master bedroom, and amusing the cat (she was more curious than afraid of the Rover). Like any good treaded tank or personnel carrier, the Rover has no problem going right over small obstacles. Check out the video below for an unedited silent view from the Rover -- in case you're wondering, that structure in the one room is a kitty condo... The range of the built-in WiFi network is about 200 feet in an unobstructed area (outside, for example) and 100 feet in the average house. I didn't test the range, although everything worked nicely at about 50 feet when I was operating the tank from upstairs while the tank was on the lower floor of the house. Any negatives? Yeah, the battery life doesn't seem to be anywhere close to the 2.5 hours advertised by Brookstone, and chewing up AA batteries six at a time is not only expensive, but irresponsible. I'd recommend getting some rechargeables, although I don't know how long they'd last in the Rover. Brookstone could also make some extra bucks by selling a rechargeable pack for the Rover (hint, hint). In conclusion, anyone who has ever wanted to drive a remotely piloted camera vehicle of some sort now has a reasonably affordable solution from Brookstone. The fact that it's a lot of fun to drive? That's just icing on the cake.
Atari and Zynga team up to reboot Breakout in 'Super Bunny Breakout' on iOS
Atari may be little more than a vestige of its former self, but that isn't stopping the publisher from crafting new versions of its classic games. "Super Bunny Breakout," for example, is a project created with Ville-crafter Zynga, and it's a new spin on Atari classic Breakout. Not to be outdone, Zynga's added its own Zynga-esque flavor to the game, which means ... in-app purchases. Yes indeed, rather than a regular ol' ball bouncing around a stage, Super Bunny Breakout has players bouncing "a daredevil rabbit with an appetite for revenge -- sadly, that rabbit (and his friends) have seasonal affective disorder (or something) and can't help but lose energy. How to replenish that energy? You'll "collect or purchase coins via in-app purchase," apparently. Despite the stink of in-game purchases, Super Bunny Breakout costs $0.99 and is currently available on iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch through iTunes.
iPod touch review (2012)
When last we got a new iPod touch, the fourth-generation from 2010, it was so thin relative to other devices of that era we said it looked like "a toothpick." Its 7.2mm thinness was unparalleled -- at the time. But now, just two years later, the iPhone 5 is less than a half-millimeter thicker, and that is of course packing a lot more wizardry inside. Suddenly, that toothpick is looking a little portly, which means it's time for the touch to lose a little weight. Enter the fifth-generation iPod touch, the 2012 model that has slimmed down to a mere 6.1mm in thickness. It's also about 10 percent lighter -- despite being grafted with a new 4-inch Retina display. Not only is it bigger and thinner, but it's far faster and has hugely improved cameras on both the front and rear. The perfect PMP package for $299? Click on through to find out.
iFixit tears into the new iPod touch, bemoans lack of repairability
The folks over at iFixit have gotten their tool-sporting hands all over the new iPod touch, giving Apple's latest music player the customary detailed teardown. The alien autopsy-esque dissection reveals the device's A5 processor, flash memory from Toshiba and a lot of parts secured firmly in place. The latter, naturally, has led to a pretty dismal repairability score for the touchscreen player -- a three out of 10 -- nothing new, really, for Cupertino products, though the company seemed to be moving in the other direction with the new iPhone. Check the source link below for all the gory details -- and yes, iFixit even goes so far as calling the device's home button "weak." Oh snap, guys.
Daily Update for October 10, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Apple posts new iPod touch user guide
Customers who pre-ordered the new iPod touch and are waiting for it to arrive can occupy their time by downloading an electronic version of the user guide. The e-book includes 138 pages that covers everything from the hardware features of the device to apps like Passbook and Maps. The guide is available for free from iTunes and can be read using iBooks on any iOS device.
Fifth-gen iPod touch and nano now in stores and in the mail (update: limited release)
If you've been waiting impatiently to get your hands on the latest cellular radio-less iOS device, we've got good news. The fifth gen iPod touch with its elongated screen and colorful backplate is available today in some Apple stores across the globe across the country. And, if you preordered the slinky aluminum and glass media player, it should already be in the mail. The latest edition of the nano, which is becoming more and more like its larger sibling the touch every day, is also popping up on shelves. The seventh generation of the tiny player, complete with multi touch screen and 16GB of storage, is cropping in Apple stores for $149 starting today. Let us know in the comments if you decided to pick up either device.
