Apple teams up with Adobe for iPhone Flash at long last

With Android getting all Flash-ey, Apple's "Goldilocks" position on Flash -- the full Flash player is too hefty, Flash Lite is too weak -- seemed pretty untenable. Now Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen has revealed that Apple and Adobe are "collaborating" on making Flash a reality on the iPhone, citing the technical challenge it presents. What's clear is that with all this work to do, it doesn't seem they're going the watered-down Flash Lite route, but we're trying not to hold our breath for a full-on, Hulu-friendly version that will finally help us get that Doogie Howser fix on the go. Naturally, there's no word on when this will hit.

[Via AppleInsider]

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Video

Apple teams up with Adobe for iPhone Flash at long last originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 31 Jan 2009 21:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

Switched On: With Pre, Palm breaks from the Storm

Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

In a recent interview with Elevation Partners' Roger McNamee, the Palm investor explained that Palm knew it had to step up its game after RIM launched the BlackBerry Pearl, which he described as "the first real consumer electronics product in the smartphone category." The Pearl launch served as the coming out party for the BlackBerry brand among consumers as RIM began stepping up its advertising, and the product's narrower hardware design was a noticeable break with the staid stylings of previous BlackBerry devices.

Indeed, back in November of 2006 as Palm rolled out the somewhat consumer-focused Treo 680, I wrote a Switched On column noting that the Pearl broke with the evolutionary path that RIM had been on and served as an example for the kind of hardware shift Palm needed to make.

Palm finally answered the Pearl with the Centro, a compact, inexpensive, and successful smartphone that has apparently served as the final resting place of the original Palm OS architecture. However, between the release of those two devices, the entry and subsequent SDK of Apple's iPhone proved a far more significant turning point in the evolution of consumer smartphones. The iPhone's resonance and popularity have provoked responses from many competitors, but there is a particular contrast in the flagship CDMA touchscreen handsets released by RIM and Palm --- the other two smartphone developers that grow their own operating systems -- since then.

Continue reading Switched On: With Pre, Palm breaks from the Storm

Filed under: Cellphones

Switched On: With Pre, Palm breaks from the Storm originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 31 Jan 2009 19:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

Philips' 56-inch Cinema 21:9 HDTV: not for Americans

Oh, bollocks! If one particular spokesman who opened up to ZDnet today is accurate, Philips' totally sweet 56-inch Cinema 21:9 HDTV won't ever be sold on American soil. Quite frankly, we're wondering what's up with Philips and its apparent disdain for the US market. It farmed out its Blu-ray / DVD and TV operations in North America to Funai, it didn't even bother showing up in Vegas for CES, and anything even remotely swank that it produces seems to be reserved for those overseas. What happened to the worldwide love, Philips? Did someone give you the impression that Yanks wouldn't buy one of these completely mesmerizing new panels? Sigh.

[Thanks, Sean]

Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Philips' 56-inch Cinema 21:9 HDTV: not for Americans originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 31 Jan 2009 06:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

Another Pre hands-on video with Palm's VP of design

Man, we can't get enough Peter Skillman -- check out this 25-minute Pre hands-on demo Palm's VP of design did at CES. Sure, there's some overlap with what we saw Matias Duarte demo during the announcement and the shorter Skillman video we saw yesterday, but there's also some stuff that slipped under the radar -- like the Touchstone's "gecko feet" in action at 1:48, a kinda-sorta unboxing at 2:29, an impressive email / IM / SMS multitasking demo at 12:10, and a peek at the video player at 20:09. Skillman also confirms that the Pre will do MMS, but video recording capability and Touchstone pricing remain a mystery. There are also some friendly iPhone and BlackBerry comparisons -- amusingly, he asks for a phone from the audience so he can show off the comparatively higher quality of the Pre's screen and gets a little flustered when handed the super-high-density BlackBerry Bold. Whoops! Overall, though, it's interesting to see Petey Skills basically just use the Pre for so long -- he throws quite a bit at it, and it never seems to hiccup or slow down, which is definitely encouraging. Video after the break.

Continue reading Another Pre hands-on video with Palm's VP of design

Filed under: Cellphones

Another Pre hands-on video with Palm's VP of design originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 11:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

WSJ: Dell "preparing a move into cellphones as early as next month"

You know who's blabbing again? That reclusive set of business people who always seem to be "familiar with the matter," that's who. This time, they've got the Wall Street Journal in a twist over renewed rumors that Dell is "preparing a move into cellphones as early as next month." Next month, is of course the big cellphone coming out party known as Mobile World Congress in Barcelona -- an event Dell has flat-out denied any intention to attend. Still, the evidence presented by the WSJ is pretty overwhelming. First, sources say that a variety of smartphone prototypes, including one with a QWERTY-less touchscreen and another with a sliding keyboard, have already been built running Android and Windows Mobile. Second, Dell's smartphone team "spent much of last year" meeting with suppliers, carriers, and Asian phone manufacturers. Dell's team includes the former head of Motorola's phone division (Ron Garriques) and another Moto employee (John Thode) who heads up Dell's netbook group. The latter being of interest since the iPhone and BlackBerry Storm are considered netbooks by their makers. Oh, and Dell still hasn't made good on its purchase of Zing and its plans to build an all encompassing media ecosystem to manage your audio and video files across PCs and mobile devices. Sources do contend that plans have not been finalized and Dell may still abandon the effort. But with Acer making the jump into Smartphones next month and other non-traditional players having great success in the space at the expense of the former cellphone powerhouses, one thing is clear: PC guys "will just walk in" and figure this out. Right Ed?

Filed under: Cellphones

WSJ: Dell "preparing a move into cellphones as early as next month" originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 01:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

iPod / iPhone CES pavilion sells out in record time, quadruples to include Mac products -- goodbye, Macworld?

Damn, it hasn't even been a month since Apple's final Macworld Expo appearance, and it already looks like the show's in trouble -- the CEA just announced that its iPod / iPhone-centric iLounge Pavilion sold out just a week after being announced, and that it's quadrupling in size to include Mac-specific products and retailers as well. That means there's going to be 18,000 square feet of CES solely dedicated to the Apple ecosystem, and without the draw of an Apple product announcement to bring the press to Macworld, it's going to be pretty tough for it to attract the top-tier companies and product launches it needs to survive in the face of the CES juggernaut. We'll see how this plays out -- we've got a feeling next year's Macworld is going to be dramatically different.

P.S.- Regardless of what happens, we still think it's really unlikely that Apple itself comes to CES -- why would it ever want to share the spotlight?

Continue reading iPod / iPhone CES pavilion sells out in record time, quadruples to include Mac products -- goodbye, Macworld?

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

iPod / iPhone CES pavilion sells out in record time, quadruples to include Mac products -- goodbye, Macworld? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Jan 2009 12:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

OnPar's touchscreen GPS rangefinder could almost be a phone

If uPlay's uPro was the "iPhone of golf GPS technology," what then would you call this? Savant GPS has just come clean with what's likely to be the most sophisticated GPS rangefinder to date. The simply-titled OnPar measures in at 4.17- x 2.8- x 0.63-inches and features full touchscreen (3.5-inch) operation. It's also claiming to be the planet's first "GPS rangefinder with a dynamic hole layout display and GPS positioning that provides instant distances to anywhere and remaining distance to the green, personalized club averages, and simple score and shot tracking." The unit is designed to hold up to 300 golf courses with no membership fees or course map fees, and it'll be available for the taking (er, purchasing, we should say) early next month for an undisclosed price.

[Thanks, Scoopster]

Filed under: GPS, Handhelds

OnPar's touchscreen GPS rangefinder could almost be a phone originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Jan 2009 09:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

Days to 1 million: the smartphone wars

In a fit of editorial sobriety, reader Noel just sent us this handy "1 million devices sold" graphic above. The image demonstrates the speed (in terms of days) at which each competing handset achieved the magic milestone. What it leaves out is the footprint at launch which of course, affects the total population able to purchase the device. For example, the iPhone 3G launched in 21 countries simultaneously whereas the G1 launched in the US only. It's also worth noting that the precision reflects that of the announcements made. For example, VZW announced that the Storm hit 1M "through January" which could be interpreted as January 31st or January 27th, the day of the announcement -- and that's just US sales. Still, the table is a valuable tool for the fanboy braggarts and budding marketeers amongst you. Data after the break.

[Thanks, Noel F.]

Continue reading Days to 1 million: the smartphone wars

Filed under: Cellphones

Days to 1 million: the smartphone wars originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Jan 2009 06:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

iSuppli: BlackBerry Storm costs $4 more than its purchase price to build

In a fiscal climate where profit margin reigns intensely supreme, we've got yet another dollop of bad news to heap upon the parfait of pain that is the $199 (after $50 mail in rebate) BlackBerry Storm. Research firm, iSuppli, estimates that the cost for the components and assembly of RIM's BlackBerry Storm are just shy of $203 -- an estimate that does not include software development and uh, bug fixing costs or those attributed to patent licensing, physical distribution, marketing or anything else in the product lifecycle. The most costly component is the $35 Qualcomm MSM7600 processor that gives the Storm its dual GSM / CDMA personality. Now, $203 isn't that big of a spread compared to the per unit cost of a $175 8GB iPhone 3G, $169 BlackBerry Bold, or $144 T-Mobile G1. However, the lost prophets profits add up quickly when you've moved over a million units globally.

P.S. We're not implying that RIM is losing money here (the price is obviously carrier subsidized), only that the Storm is likely less profitable than its peers. But without knowing what VZW pays on a per unit basis, we can't say for sure who's getting the fiscal-shaft.

Filed under: Cellphones

iSuppli: BlackBerry Storm costs $4 more than its purchase price to build originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Jan 2009 04:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

Next-gen iPhone evidence lurking in latest firmware?

Could Apple possibly be working on another iPhone? Well, yes, of course -- but Mac Rumors may have stumbled upon the first solid evidence that there's a major hardware revision in the works (and no, we're not necessarily talking about the nano). Seems that the latest firmware revisions have some juicy metadata buried deep within that refers to a product code of "iPhone2,1" -- a decidedly higher number than the "iPhone1,2" representing the current iPhone 3G. What's more, an ad network is reporting web hits from an iPhone2,1, so it looks like this is very much the real deal; only question is, just what the heck is it?

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Next-gen iPhone evidence lurking in latest firmware? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Jan 2009 22:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

URC's PSX-2 iPod dock enables control via universal remote

These days, it's pretty tough to find an iPod dock that differentiates itself from the crowd. Then again, Universal Remote Control isn't your average iPod accessory maker. Designed specifically for the custom install crowd (but aimed at anyone who appreciates tight home integration) is the PSX-2 Personal Server. Put simply, this doodad enables users to control their iPod like never before by providing users a method of "exploiting all of the iPod's features, including some obscure and rarely-used ones," with any ole IR remote. The device provides "hundreds of discrete IR codes that cover virtually every iPod function, and even functions that aren't available on the iPod itself, such as commands for each of the iPod's EQ settings and the ability to perform alpha searches." Sure, it'll set you back $399, but that's a small price to pay for giving your universal remote one more reason to hang around.

Gallery: URC's PSX-2 iPod dock enables control via universal remote

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio, Portable Video

URC's PSX-2 iPod dock enables control via universal remote originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

Apple vs. Palm: the in-depth analysis

Apple and Palm kicked a lot of dirt at each other last week -- acting Apple CEO Tim Cook flatly told analysts that "We will not stand for people ripping off our IP" when asked specifically about competition like the Palm Pre, and Palm responded with a similarly-explicit "We have the tools necessary to defend ourselves." At issue, of course, is that the Pre employs a multitouch screen and gestures almost exactly like those made famous on the iPhone -- and if you'll recall, Steve Jobs introduced multitouch on the iPhone with a slide reading "Patented!" To top it all off, the past few days have seen a number of media outlets proclaim that Apple's been awarded a "multitouch patent" without so much as a shred of analysis, instead hyping up a supposed future conflict. That's just not how we play it, so we enlisted Mathew Gavronski, a patent attorney in the Chicago office of Michael Best & Friedrich, to help us clear up some of the confusion and misinformation that's out there -- read on for more.

Continue reading Apple vs. Palm: the in-depth analysis

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Apple vs. Palm: the in-depth analysis originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Jan 2009 13:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch

mobiBLU's A10 UFO player may lift off when playing Jefferson Airplane

Is it a portable media player, or just a media player? Should it be worn around the neck, or simply left on the living room table? These questions and more become yours to answer should you choose to invest in mobiBLU's A10 UFO. All we're told is that it's available in glossy red or glossy black and that it features Bluetooth, support for a multitude of file formats, a built-in battery, headphone jack and 2/4/8GB of internal storage. If you look carefully, you'll notice that the red version is actually already starting to float upwards upon the strumming of the first chords in "White Rabbit." Far out, man.

[Via AnythingButiPod]

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

mobiBLU's A10 UFO player may lift off when playing Jefferson Airplane originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Jan 2009 10:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: iPhone watch