DARPA looking to develop iPhone and Android apps, App Store

Sure, in the past we’ve got a hearty chuckle out of initiatives that involved Redfly terminals and Clippy variants, but the question remains: how can we get cutting-edge tech into the hands of soldiers faster? We’ve recently come across some RFIs for DARPA projects aimed at developing apps and an App Store for Android and the iPhone OS, with two in particular — Mobile Apps for the Military (DARPA-SN-10-27), and Transformative Apps (DARPA-BAA-10-41) — catching our eye. The agency is calling for apps for battlefield, humanitarian, and disaster recovery missions, including command and control, mission planning, surveillance, reconnaissance, and language translation. Of course, if you start taking commercial smartphones out to the field there’s the small matter of network coverage — if you thought that getting a reliable connection in midtown Manhattan was an issue, what about downtown Kabul? Looks like DARPA also has plans for a military that brings its own towers with them, light-weight mobile base stations that could create a “secure mobile tactical network … compatible with commercial smartphones.” What do you think? Looking to help your country out, make a bit of money, or maybe a little of both? Check the links below to start your lucrative career as a military contractor. And tell ‘em Engadget sent you.

[Thanks, Sriram]

DARPA looking to develop iPhone and Android apps, App Store originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pioneer VSX-1020-K AV receiver with iPhone app up for pre-order

In the market for AV gear that “Works with iPhone?” Looks like Pioneer’s trusty old VSX-1019AH (with its built-in iPod dock) just got a formidable ally in the form of the VSX-1020-K. This bad boy not only packs in the features you expect from an AV receiver (including connections for HD video, HD audio, wireless and analog components, 1080p video conversion and upscaling, support for 3D video and more) but the company throws in a free custom iPhone / iPod touch app for exploring your inner audiophile — and getting your room to sound just so in the process. Up for pre-order now at Amazon for $549. Screenshots and further details after the break.

Continue reading Pioneer VSX-1020-K AV receiver with iPhone app up for pre-order

Pioneer VSX-1020-K AV receiver with iPhone app up for pre-order originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tag: Microsoft’s first Android app is it

Everybody loves a world’s first. So we might as well mention that Microsoft just released its very first application written for Google’s competitive Android smartphone platform: Microsoft Tag Reader. Tag, as you might recall, is Microsoft’s pseudo QR code implementation that uses high capacity color “barcodes” to link back to content. Download the app from the Android Market, scan a Tag with any camera enabled Android phone, and the linked data will automatically load on your device, be it a web page, video, advertisement, coupon, etc. Of course, readers without tags are as useless as tags without a wide swath of people with devices to read them — so really, Microsoft has no choice but develop its Tag apps (already available for WinMo, Symbian, Blackberry, and iPhone handsets) for as many platforms as possible. First!

Tag: Microsoft’s first Android app is it originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 06:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Facebook app now available for Zune HD (update: it’s also broken)

You’ve been up nights, we know, and now Microsoft has finally ended your torment: the long-promised Facebook application is now available for download to the Zune HD. Go wild, but not too wild, alright everybody?

Update: So we just got a chance to download and play with the app a little — and just like the Twitter app, things don’t seem to be quite fully baked at launch. We couldn’t get anything of the tabs to load apart from our personal photos, and there wasn’t any confirmation when we sent in a Zune music status update — although it did show up on Facebook, so it obviously worked. The photo viewer lets you leave comments, but you can’t pinch-to-zoom — or zoom at all, actually. We’re sure Zune HD owners will be happy — it’s free, after all — but we’re going to assume Microsoft and Facebook have something far better planned for Windows Phone 7 Series.

Update 2: It’s not just us — the official Zune Twitter account confirms that the Facebook app is “experiencing some issues accessing data.” We’ll let you kow if we hear anything else.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Facebook app now available for Zune HD (update: it’s also broken) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 22:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget for iPhone / iPod touch 2.0.1 now available!

Hey guys, some fun news to share: Engadget for iPhone / iPod touch 2.0.1 was just approved by Apple and is now available on the App Store! The big new feature is landscape mode in article, comment, and sharing views, but we’ve also bumped up font sizes, made some improvements to the commenting experience, and added the ability to edit tweets directly in the app. Oh, and you can also now email photos from galleries from within the app, and customize the toolbar. Of course, that’s in addition to our regular features like offline viewing, built in streaming for The Engadget Show, and in-app tip submissions — you know, for when you see the iPhone 3GT leak out.

So what are you waiting for? You can download the app right here, or just click the image above — if you’ve already got it installed the update should be waiting for you right this second. Full changelog after the break.

Once again, a big thanks to the team at AOL that makes these apps happen: Sun Sachs, Andy Averbuch, Hareesh P, Anibal Rosado, Rajesh Kumar, Rich Foster, Claudeland Louis, Mike Wolstat, Eric Wedge, Vikas B R, Milissa Tarquini, Asha Indira and Bob Gurwin. High fives all around.

P.S.- Updates for the BlackBerry and webOS apps should hit in March, and that’s also when we’re scheduled to launch our Android app — stay tuned!

Continue reading Engadget for iPhone / iPod touch 2.0.1 now available!

Engadget for iPhone / iPod touch 2.0.1 now available! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PocketGear acquires Handango, becomes world’s largest cross-platform app store

Now this is intriguing. PocketGear has just acquired its former competitor Handango in the cross-platform app store space, and can now claim a library of software that places it right alongside Apple’s App Store in terms of the pure number of applications on offer. PocketGear has been busy providing the infrastructure for things like Samsung’s TouchWiz widget store and Palm’s Software Store for a while, whereas Handango used to be the largest independent app store out there, and their consolidated catalog will offer more than 140,000 applications on all the major non-Apple platforms: Android, BlackBerry, Palm, Symbian, and WinMo. The number of actually useful apps has not been disclosed, but we love the idea of an independent competitor nudging the proprietary stores along so let’s hope things go well for them. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading PocketGear acquires Handango, becomes world’s largest cross-platform app store

PocketGear acquires Handango, becomes world’s largest cross-platform app store originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wired’s tablet app goes on show: developed on AIR, heading to the iPad (video)

Mmm, digital magazines. They are the little bites of paid-for content that all the publishers believe we should be deeply enthralled with. Hoping to show us why exactly it is that we should all care (and pay) for prepackaged digital content is Wired’s latest and most comprehensive demo of its tablet app. Setting aside hopefuls like the Joojoo and Adam for a moment, it is clear that this is intended for Apple’s iPad — the device that stands by far the biggest chance of making the digimag concept a commercial success. Interesting choice of development partner, then, as Condé Nast has opted to use Adobe’s AIR platform for the underlying mechanics. Adobe promises its Packager for iPhone will allow devs to easily port AIR apps to run natively on the iPad, but until Apple gives its official ascent to the final code, nothing is guaranteed. As far as the app goes, it’ll come with Twitter and Facebook integration, and navigation is geared toward the touching and swiping model so prevalent today. See it on video after the break.

Continue reading Wired’s tablet app goes on show: developed on AIR, heading to the iPad (video)

Wired’s tablet app goes on show: developed on AIR, heading to the iPad (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Feb 2010 05:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon to allow unlimited Skype calling over 3G starting next month


We may be way off base here, but we’re pretty sure the game just got upended. Days after AT&T appeased the masses by finally enabling 3G streaming over the iPhone’s SlingPlayer app, Verizon Wireless has one-upped that gesture in a big gargantuan way. Starting next month, all Verizon Wireless customers with smartphones (and an accompanying data plan) will be able to make and receive unlimited Skype-to-Skype voice calls to any user in the world over its 3G network. Let us repeat that: VZW, which is known historically as one of the most controlling carriers in this great nation, is opening up its 3G network for limitless Skype calling. The forthcoming Skype Mobile application will also support Skype Out calling, instant messaging between Skype users and an ability to “remain always connected… to see friends’ online presence.” Nine smartphones will be compatible at launch (the full list is after the break), and we’re guessing that more will be added in due time. Sprint, T-Mobile, AT&T — your move. Make it count.

Continue reading Verizon to allow unlimited Skype calling over 3G starting next month

Verizon to allow unlimited Skype calling over 3G starting next month originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 11:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Twenty-four telecom operators unite to form Wholesale Applications Community

Big doings over in Barcelona today. Twenty-four telecom operators, with the support of the GSMA and three major hardware manufacturers, have formally announced they will come together to form the Wholesale Applications Community. Essentially, the goal of the alliance will be to create a viable, cohesive and open industry platform for mobile app developers. Members of the Community will include AT&T, China Mobile, China Unicom, Deutsche Telekom, NTT DoCoMo, Orange, TeliaSonera, Sprint, Verizon Wireless, and Vodafone among others, and they’ll be supported in their endeavors by LG, Samsung and Sony Ericsson. The total customers of the group is about 3 billion, giving WAC (our name) some considerable — albeit theoretical for the moment — power. The group plans to work on coming up with a standard for working across platforms over the next twelve months. WAC’s website just went live a bit ago — there’s a link to it below — and the full press release is after the break.

Continue reading Twenty-four telecom operators unite to form Wholesale Applications Community

Twenty-four telecom operators unite to form Wholesale Applications Community originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Feb 2010 05:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SlingPlayer Mobile v1.2 enables 3G streaming on the iPhone, now ready for download

We knew this was coming, and sure enough, Sling hasn’t kept us waiting for long. Our beloved readers have inundated our tip jar with the news that the 3G-enabled flavor of SlingPlayer Mobile is now live on the App Store, and from what we’re hearing works very well. The placeshifting app will set you back just under $30, but will allow you to finally take your cable, satellite or PVR content on the move with you. We say finally, 3G streaming has been available on other phones for a while now, but good to see AT&T and company see sense and enable the goodness for the iPhone. Get downloading and commenting — how does it compare to sliced bread?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

SlingPlayer Mobile v1.2 enables 3G streaming on the iPhone, now ready for download originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Feb 2010 03:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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