Back in early March, it became clear that content from Fox and Universal Studios would be held back from being available in the all-encompassing iCloud, presumably due to the HBO release window stranglehold impacting both libraries. Today, however, the tides of change are having an impact of their own. Mac Rumors is reporting that Universal titles no longer boast the unfortunate warning that they used to, allowing iTunes users to enjoy titles from iTunes in the Cloud. Regrettably, Fox titles still exhibit the hold back, but we're told that negotiations are ongoing to remedy that. So, movie plans back on for this evening?

Universal Studios' films now available on iCloud, Fox still grounded originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 07 Apr 2012 18:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Mac Rumors  | Email this | Comments

Nearly a year after it debuted and caught our eye as an incredibly well structured Twitter client for the iPhone, Tweetbot's latest revision uses Apple's cloud servers to sync the experience instead of just content. Version 2.2's iCloud based syncing of account settings, timeline position, DMs and Mute filters lets those deep in the iLife go from iPhone to iPad or vice versa without missing a beat. The only possible fly in the ointment? The tablet and phone version are still separate apps that cost $2.99 each, but satisfied customers who have already ponied up can start enjoying their seamless transitions as soon as they've updated.

Tweetbot for iOS updated with iCloud syncing of timelines and more across devices originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 07 Apr 2012 14:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink @tweetbot (Twitter)  |  iTunes - iPhone, iTunes - iPad  | Email this | Comments

What would you choose?

I asked a question on Twitter a little while ago, and wanted to get an even bigger idea of what everyone thinks. This is a serious question — would you choose an iPhone 3GS over the Nokia Lumia 900? You can get iOS 5, a decent camera, HD video recording, iMessage, the App Store, iTunes, and of course, everything else you’d get with an iPhone. On the Lumia 900, you have a larger and much better display, 4G LTE, and a clean and sophisticated OS.

Not like we haven't seen this dog-and-pony show before, but Flurry's latest round of analytics -- which measured revenue of 11 million daily active users from mid-January through the end of February 2012 -- shows Amazon's Appstore pulling in a shocking amount of revenue given the short life that it has lived. Apple's strength in sales has been well documented, but the latest report shows that for every $1 generated in the iTunes App Store, $0.89 is being spent in the Amazon Appstore. Looking more broadly, the numbers show that just $0.23 are generated in the Google Play halls for every $1 spent in the App Store, but that's hardly a new phenomenon; the ease of sideloading (amongst other factors) has raised complaints from Android developers for years now. Flurry's conclusion is that Google's core strength simply isn't in running a store -- something it's about to do once more with Android slates -- while both Apple and Amazon excel in doing just that. Curiously, Windows Phone and BlackBerry were left off of this report, but we're hoping to see those cats thrown in the next 'go round. After all, RIM sure seems certain that its developers are making out just fine.

Flurry's analytics: Apple's App Store revenue still leading, but Amazon Appstore close behind originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 31 Mar 2012 11:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Electronista  |  Flurry  | Email this | Comments

Did you, like most of us, mourn the death of Microsoft's Courier like it was a relative that you never got to know as well as you would have liked. Well, as long you're willing to settle for just a single screen and are comfortable with Apple products, you might be able to fill that void in your life. Taposé delivers many of the same features as the Redmond concept, but within the confines of the iPad's 9.7-inch display. The $2.99 app, which has been in the works for some time, hit the app store yesterday, delivering the ability to copy and paste content from the web, mark it up with text and doodles then sync your notes online. You get 400MB for free with the purchase of the app, but unlimited cloud storage will set you back $30 a year. The information collecting doesn't end with snapshots of websites either, you can add audio, video and maps and do it in a dual pane layout that mimics the two-panel Courier. Hit up the source link to download it now and see it in action after the break.

Continue reading Tapose resurrects Courier concept for the iPad, rubs salt in your wounds (video)

Tapose resurrects Courier concept for the iPad, rubs salt in your wounds (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Mar 2012 13:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink SlashGear  |  Tapose (iTunes), Tapose (blog)  | Email this | Comments

Online movie streaming in the United States is expected to top both DVD and Blu-ray use for the first time ever in 2012, according to a study from IHS Screen Digest. The study suggests that in 2012, Americans will legally stream 3.4 billion movies online — twice the 1.4 billion streamed in 2011 — while DVD and Blu-ray movies watching this year will to 2.4 billion from 2.6 billion in 2011. Last year, the unlimited-streaming services offered by Netflix and Amazon Prime accounted for 94% of all paid online movie viewing in the U.S. Additionally, consumers paid an average of $0.51 for every movie streamed online, compared to $4.72 for DVD and Blu-ray discs. “We are looking at the beginning of the end of the age of movies on physical media like DVD and Blu-ray,” IHS analyst Dan Cryan said. “But the transition is likely to take time: almost nine years after the launch of the iTunes Store, CDs are still a vital part of the music business.”

[Via Bloomberg]

Read

Let's just call Issue 31 the New Issue, shall we? That's what Apple did this week with the refresh of the iPad, and in this week's refresh of Distro, we'll bring you our first-hand impressions of Cupertino's latest slate. Also in this issue, Darren Murph takes a look at the challenges of bringing wireless to the disconnected, in "Internet Tales from the South Pacific," and Steve Wozniak tackles the Distro Q&A like only he can. We'll also bring you our reviews of Lytro's debut light field camera and Dell's XPS 13 Ultrabook. So go on and download the new issue.

Distro Issue 31 PDF
Distro on the iTunes App Store
Distro in the Android Market
Distro APK (for sideloading)
Like Distro on Facebook
Follow Distro on Twitter

Distro Issue 31: Tales from the South Pacific, Apple's new iPad and the Woz originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Mar 2012 09:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  iTunes, Android Market  | Email this | Comments

Apple announced during its press conference on Wednesday that the latest version of its mobile operating system would become available for download later in the day. iOS 5.1 has now been released for the iPad 2, iPad, iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and second and third-generation iPod touch handhelds, and the new iOS build brings Japanese language support for Siri along with a number of additional updates. We detailed key changes in our exclusive hands-on with the software last month. iOS 5.1 is currently in the process of being made available through iTunes and over the air, but impatient users can download the appropriate update via the read link below.

Read

The Withings Baby Monitor has already been available in the UK for sometime now and recently made a splash over at the FCC. Now the iOS accessory is finally for sale here in the good ol' US-of-A, for the rather staggering price of $299. That's right, this sensor-packed web cam probably costs more than your handset. Then again, that $20 set of audio-only monitors you picked up at Walmart can't keep you abreast of the temperature and humidity in your child's sleeping quarters or let you watch your newborn sleep with the aid of a night vision mode. You can get the associated WithBaby app for free in the iTunes App Store now. The only question is, whether or not you love your baby enough to spend $300 on an iPhone accessory. We won't judge you either way. Check out the PR after the break.

Continue reading Withings Baby Monitor makes its official, expensive US debut

Withings Baby Monitor makes its official, expensive US debut originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Feb 2012 23:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Withings  | Email this | Comments

Adobe on Monday announced the latest addition to its iOS software lineup. The company’s Photoshop Touch app for the iPad hit Apple’s iOS App Store a little early over the weekend before being pulled, but now Adobe’s highly anticipated image editing software is back for good. While the iPad version of the app isn’t nearly as robust as Photoshop for Windows and OS X, Photoshop Touch does feature a number of advanced capabilities similar to those found in Adobe’s desktop software, including layer support, a variety of editing tools and even the ability to extract objects from within an image. ”People will be amazed with what they can create on the iPad using Photoshop Touch,â€� David Wadhwani, SVP of Adobe’s Digital Media Business Unit, said in a statement. “Photoshop Touch combines the magic of Photoshop and its core features with the convenience of a tablet, bringing image-editing power to the fingertips of millions of people.â€� Photoshop Touch for the iPad is available in Apple’s App Store immediately for $9.99. Adobe’s full press release follows below.

Adobe Photoshop Touch Now Available for iPad

Highly Anticipated App Brings Image-editing Power of Photoshop to Apple iPad 2

BARCELONA, Spain — Feb. 27, 2012 — At Mobile World Congress, Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq: ADBE) today announced that Adobe® Photoshop® Touch is now available for iPad 2, via the iTunes App Store*. Adobe Photoshop Touch offers core Photoshop features, as well as new capabilities for creating and sharing in an app custom-built for tablets. The app is a central component of Adobe Touch Apps, a family of six intuitive touch screen applications, inspired by Adobe Creative Suite® software. iPad versions of the other Adobe Touch Apps are expected later this year.

Photoshop Touch gives users the ability to combine multiple photos into layered images, make essential edits and apply professional effects to create beautiful artwork, touch up photos, paint, lay out ideas, and much more. The Scribble Selection Tool allows users to easily extract objects in an image by simply scribbling on what to keep and, then, what to remove. With Refine Edge technology from Photoshop, even hard-to-select areas with soft edges are easily captured when making selections. Photoshop Touch helps users quickly find images and share creations through integration with Facebook and Google Image Search.

“People will be amazed with what they can create on the iPad using Photoshop Touch,� said David Wadhwani, senior vice president and general manager, Digital Media Business Unit, Adobe. “Photoshop Touch combines the magic of Photoshop and its core features with the convenience of a tablet, bringing image-editing power to the fingertips of millions of people.�

“Adobe Photoshop Touch offers a huge convenience factor and funnels cool Photoshop features tailored for the iPad,� said Brian Yap, creative director at Boxing Clever. “Nearly all of the features I imagined being in Photoshop Touch are there, including the depth in layers, the extraction tools, and fade tool.�

“I love the organic process of working on the tablet. With Adobe Photoshop Touch, I have a new form of image creation with familiar tools but in a more relaxed work space, allowing me to rediscover image making through play rather than production,� Dan Marcolino, owner of Marcolina Design & MarcolinaSlate.

In addition to Photoshop Touch, Adobe expect to release the following touch apps for the iPad in the coming months: Adobe Collage for moodboards; Adobe Debut for presenting and reviewing creative work; Adobe Ideas for sketching; Adobe Kuler® for exploring color themes; and Adobe Proto for website and mobile app prototyping.

Pricing and Availability

Adobe Photoshop Touch is available today in the iTunes App Store for US$9.99. Photoshop Touch is available in most geographies with English language support. The app will run on iPad 2 running on iOS5. Visit www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-touch.html for more information on Photoshop Touch. Customers may submit feedback on the community powered feedback site: http://feedback.photoshop.com/photoshop_family. Users may also connect with the Photoshop Touch Team directly on Facebook, via Twitter or on the Photoshop blog. For Photoshop Touch how-to videos, visit http://tv.adobe.com/show/learn-photoshop-touch/.

Vonage on Wednesday unveiled a new mobile app for the iPhone and Android smartphones that affords free calling and messaging along with cheap international calling rates. Vonage Mobile allows users to make free “high-definition” voice over IP calls among each other over Wi-Fi, 3G or 4G data connections, and low-cost calls can also be placed through the app to any landline or cell phone globally. The New Jersey-based Telco says its international calling rates are 70% lower than rates from major carriers and 30% lower than Skype. ”Vonage Mobile consolidates the best features of our prior applications, while adding important functionality, better value and improved ease of use,” Vonage CEO Marc Lefar said in a statement. “It combines the best of free high-def voice and messaging along with incredible value for traditional international calls, all while using the existing mobile number and address book for unsurpassed ease of use.” Vonage’s full press release follows below.

Vonage Launches New Mobile App Providing Free Calling and Texting to Other App Users around the World

Savings of more than 70 percent on international calls to those without the app

HOLMDEL, N.J., February 8, 2012 – Vonage Holdings Corp. (NYSE: VG) announced the launch of Vonage Mobile^®, the new iPhone^® and Android^â„¢ app that lets users make free high-definition calls and send free texts to all users of the app, worldwide¹. The app works over Wi-Fi, 3G and 4G wireless data networks.

When calling those who have not yet downloaded the app, Vonage Mobile provides ultra low-cost international calling with per-minute rates that are on average 70 percent less than major mobile carriers and 30 percent less than Skype^™2. Users can instantly add calling credit directly from the app through iTunes^® or Android Market^™ in increments of $4.99 and $9.99.

Vonage Mobile uses the phone’s existing mobile number and contact list, eliminating the need for unique user names and duplicate identities for contacts. Users can instantly build a free global calling and texting network using the app’s multi-invite system from their existing contacts.

“Vonage Mobile consolidates the best features of our prior applications, while adding important functionality, better value and improved ease of use,� said Marc Lefar, CEO of Vonage. “It combines the best of free high-def voice and messaging along with incredible value for traditional international calls, all while using the existing mobile number and address book for unsurpassed ease of use.�

In addition, calls to any phone in the United States, Canada or Puerto Rico from anywhere in the world will be free for a limited time³.

Users do NOT need to be a Vonage customer to use the app. However, as an added benefit to all app users, calls to Vonage home or business lines are also free. The Vonage Mobile app can be downloaded to any iPhone or Android device for free; and it also works on the iPad®, iPod Touch® and Android™ Tablets.

For more information on Vonage Mobile, please go to iTunes, Android Market or www.vonagemobile.com.

Are you ready for a showdown? You're in luck! In the latest edition of our fine weekly, Myriam Joire tackles wrist-top computing, comparing the inPulse and WIMM One smartwatches. Also in this issue, Zachary Lutz takes the BlackBerry Curve 9360 for a spin; Dana Wollman puts HP's latest Envy 15 through the paces; and Joe Pollicino tries to keep Klipsch's Mode M40 headphones in place. If that wasn't enough to pique your interest, our former editor-in-chief, Ryan Block, returns to take on the Distro Q&A and Box Brown offers a comic look at becoming an iBooks Author. So go on and get to downloading!

Distro Issue 26 PDF
Distro on the iTunes App Store
Distro in the Android Market
Distro APK (for sideloading)
Like Distro on Facebook
Follow Distro on Twitter

Distro Issue 26: Smartwatch face-off, Ryan Block and more originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  iTunes, Android Market  | Email this | Comments

Apple has hired a former marketing executive from Microsoft to help promote the App Store and iTunes in Europe, MCV reports. Robin Burrowes, former head of Xbox LIVE marketing in the EMEA region for Microsoft, joined Apple in January according to his LinkedIn profile. His formal duties at Apple remain unclear — Burrowes’s profile only states that his role involves “App Store Marketing” — but the executive’s background suggests gaming will be a strong focus. Apple has hired a number of executives with experience in the gaming market recently, including Nintendo’s former head of public relations Robert Saunders and former Activision, EA and Xbox PR head Nick Grange. The video game industry finds itself among a number of businesses that have been disrupted by Apple’s iOS lineup, and the company’s recent hires suggest that Apple intends to continue pushing the gaming capabilities of its mobile device lineup.

Read

After finally issuing a version of its TWC TV app for Android tablets and phones (sans-line TV streaming, for now) Time Warner Cable has finally made its iOS version, which launched last March on the iPad, compatible with the iPhone and iPod Touch. There's no additional charge for the app which allows for the aforementioned live TV viewing (as long as you're on your home WiFi) and DVR scheduling, and the accompanying blog post reveals the available list of channels has reached 196. We should probably mention that the app is unlikely to play nicely with any jailbroken iOS devices it encounters, so some extra hackery may be in order to get things working there. Otherwise, Time Warner customers can grab it now from iTunes at the source link below.

[Thanks, Jason]

Time Warner Cable app streams live TV to iPhones, no longer iPad-only originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  iTunes, TWCableUntangled  | Email this | Comments

After finally issuing a version of its TWC TV app for Android tablets and phones (sans-line TV streaming, for now) Time Warner Cable has finally made its iOS version, which launched last March on the iPad, compatible with the iPhone and iPod Touch. There's no additional charge for the app which allows for the aforementioned live TV viewing (as long as you're on your home WiFi) and DVR scheduling, and the accompanying blog post reveals the available list of channels has reached 196. We should probably mention that the app is unlikely to play nicely with any jailbroken iOS devices it encounters, so some extra hackery may be in order to get things working there. Otherwise, Time Warner customers can grab it now from iTunes at the source link below.

[Thanks, Jason]

Time Warner Cable app streams live TV to iPhones, no longer iPad-only originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  iTunes, TWCableUntangled  | Email this | Comments

After finally issuing a version of its TWC TV app for Android tablets and phones (sans-line TV streaming, for now) Time Warner Cable has finally made its iOS version, which launched last March on the iPad, compatible with the iPhone and iPod Touch. There's no additional charge for the app which allows for the aforementioned live TV viewing (as long as you're on your home WiFi) and DVR scheduling, and the accompanying blog post reveals the available list of channels has reached 196. We should probably mention that the app is unlikely to play nicely with any jailbroken iOS devices it encounters, so some extra hackery may be in order to get things working there. Otherwise, Time Warner customers can grab it now from iTunes at the source link below.

[Thanks, Jason]

Time Warner Cable app streams live TV to iPhones, no longer iPad-only originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  iTunes, TWCableUntangled  | Email this | Comments

After finally issuing a version of its TWC TV app for Android tablets and phones (sans-line TV streaming, for now) Time Warner Cable has finally made its iOS version, which launched last March on the iPad, compatible with the iPhone and iPod Touch. There's no additional charge for the app which allows for the aforementioned live TV viewing (as long as you're on your home WiFi) and DVR scheduling, and the accompanying blog post reveals the available list of channels has reached 196. We should probably mention that the app is unlikely to play nicely with any jailbroken iOS devices it encounters, so some extra hackery may be in order to get things working there. Otherwise, Time Warner customers can grab it now from iTunes at the source link below.

[Thanks, Jason]

Time Warner Cable app streams live TV to iPhones, no longer iPad-only originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  iTunes, TWCableUntangled  | Email this | Comments