Skype for iPhone updates to 3.0, adds video calling
In a move that’s sure to make users stand up and say “Hallelujah,” the latest update to the Skype app for iPhone finally adds video calling.
The newest version of the app will allow users to make video Skype to Skype calls from their iPhone via Wi-Fi and 3G, and also call Skype desktop users on both OS X and Windows (and we presume their sorely neglected Linux users), as well as those using Skype on their iPhones and iPads.
Naturally, if you’re on an iPad, you won’t get to send video back — and you have to deal with the iPhone interface since there isn’t a native Skype app for the iPad. But, iPad 2 could change that. If the new hardware is released with a camera, Skype will be ready for it, and hopefully with an iPad-optimized app as well.
So, have fun with video chatting via Skype and let us know what you think of it in the comments!
Thanks for the fast tip, Daniel!
Skype for iPhone updates to 3.0, adds video calling originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 30 Dec 2010 00:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Skype for iPhone updates to 3.0, adds video calling originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 30 Dec 2010 00:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Skype video calling for iPhone is official, available now (update: hands-on)
All signs have been pointing to this release for a few days now, but we’ll admit: we expected Skype to wait until CES next week to pull the covers off what could become its crown jewel service over the coming months. Skype’s official iOS client has finally sprouted the ability to make video calls, allowing iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and fourth-generation iPod touch users to share real-time video amongst each other and users of Skype’s Windows, Mac, and Linux clients along with the ASUS Videophone (obviously, 3GS users won’t have the convenience of a front-facing camera, but they’ll still be able to broadcast video from the rear-facing one). Additionally, you’ll be able to receive video from others if you’re using an iPad or a third-generation iPod touch. The service is free and works over both WiFi and 3G — and considering Skype’s existing PC footprint, we’d argue this stands a very real chance of putting the hurt on FaceTime usage. No word on when Skype will be making video-capable clients available for Android or other mobile platforms, but Skype says that there’ll be “plenty more” announcements in Vegas next week, so we wouldn’t be surprised.
Update: So we just gave 3.0 a spin, calling iPhone-to-iPhone (both WiFi), iPhone-to-desktop (both WiFi), and again iPhone-to-iPhone (both 3G). The first two worked great, although the desktop camera produced better quality. As for the worst-case scenario, 3G-to-3G video calling, well… we wouldn’t recommend it unless absolutely necessary. Video after the break, and be sure to note the battery life — after about 10 minutes of use, we dropped from 66 percent to 61.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Continue reading Skype video calling for iPhone is official, available now (update: hands-on)
Skype video calling for iPhone is official, available now (update: hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Dec 2010 00:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Verizon iPhone to launch after CES, says BusinessWeek
It’s beginning to look a lot like the week after Christmas, when East Coast denizens dig out from their snow cover and the incoming emails from vendors exhibiting at the Consumer Electronics Show (which starts January 6 in Las Vegas) form a digital blizzard of their own. One product that everyone would like to see at CES, for better or worse, is the Verizon version of the iPhone — but it’s highly unlikely that it will put in an appearance.
Despite the out-there rumor floated earlier this month that the VZW iPhone would debut immediately after Christmas, there’s no sign of the device yet. The latest suggestion of a whisper of an actual introduction date, however, comes courtesy of sources to BusinessWeek’s Peter Burrows.
In an article today addressing the conventional wisdom about winners and losers when a Verizon iPhone hits the market, he passed along a tidbit from a person “familiar with Apple’s plans who is not authorized to discuss them publicly.” The source told Burrows that “Apple’s introduction of an iPhone for use on Verizon’s network will come sometime after the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in early January.” The story’s lead paragraph says the CW is that the iPhone on Verizon could come by Valentine’s Day, but there’s no particular sourcing for that date.
Of course, ’sometime after CES‘ could technically include any date from January 10 of 2011 up until the start of the following CES in 2012. If you asked me to predict a date, with no inside information… well, let’s look at the calendar. CES wraps up on January 9th; Macworld Expo kicks off on the 26th. Put your finger on the Tuesday in between the two and you get January 18.
There’s a problem with the 18th, though; Apple has already said that it will announce quarterly earnings on that day. Looking at the past year, there were two major product introductions that happened two days after a quarterly earnings report. The most recent was the “Back to the Mac” event on October 20, with the earnings report on 10/18; before that, back in January, the earnings call on the 25th was followed two days later by a magical and revolutionary product launch on the 27th.
Attention tech journalists and industry analysts: if you weren’t expecting to be in San Francisco on January 20, 2011, maybe you should set up a fare alert and keep an eye on your mailbox… you know, just in case.
[via MacRumors]
Verizon iPhone to launch after CES, says BusinessWeek originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Verizon iPhone to launch after CES, says BusinessWeek originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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BMW releases two apps for iOS
BMW has released two apps for iOS this week. The first one, based on the Mini brand, is called Mini Connected, and allows you to not only track information about your car, but also access web radio and audio version of Internet feeds, hooked up directly to your car’s stereo. And on cars equipped with navigation features, you can even send directions and searches back and forth from your iPhone to the car’s systems, and vice-versa.
The BMW Connected app does the same thing, only across the manufacturer’s vehicle lineup. Interesting, not only that these apps exist (there are already a few solutions for doing all of these things out there), but that they’re created and “sold” (both are free) by the car’s manufacturers themselves. In essence, an Apple app is being used to market the functionality of these automobiles.
I expect to see plenty more examples of branded apps like these at CES next week, and we’ll be covering as many of them as we can right here on TUAW.
BMW releases two apps for iOS originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
BMW releases two apps for iOS originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Angry Birds creators: Apple still does mobile apps best
In a recent interview, Peter Vesterbacka of Rovio (the makers, if you haven’t heard by now, of Angry Birds) says that from a developer viewpoint, Apple is the platform to go with. “They have gotten so many things right,” says Vesterbacka, “and they know what they are doing and they call the shots.” He says that Android’s issue isn’t so much about device fragmentation as it is “ecosystem fragmentation” — by spreading itself out so much, Google’s smartphone OS has “so many different shops, so many different models” running that it’s tough for developers to find their own place in all of the chaos.
Vesterbacka also makes the point that much of the Angry Birds success has come simply from marketing. His two steps to succeeding on the App Store are first to “create a great app,” and then to “get the message out.” He repeats that a few times — Angry Birds itself is definitely a solid game, but part of the reason that Rovio enjoys such success is their effective marketing and reaching the people who are interested in buying their game.
You can watch the full video of Vesterbacka’s interview with Google after the break. Personally, I think a lot of the success that Angry Birds has had is a “right time, right place” kind of thing. That’s not to take anything away from Vesterbacka and Rovio — his insights are certainly dead-on and he clearly knows what he’s doing, and the company deserves all of the success it has earned. But with a platform as big as the iPhone, there was bound to be a killer app at some point, and Angry Birds is definitely one of those.
[via 9to5Mac]
Continue reading Angry Birds creators: Apple still does mobile apps best
Angry Birds creators: Apple still does mobile apps best originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 20:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Angry Birds creators: Apple still does mobile apps best originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 20:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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DataMan tracks your data usage, sends alerts for data caps
Unless you’re on the AT&T unlimited data plan, you may be sweating those data caps on your iPhone. If you go over a certain amount of data usage on your iOS device, you’ll wind up with overages. Couple that with the fact that our iDevices appear to upload info in the wee hours of the night and consumers wind up wondering just how much data they are using on a daily basis. Yes, you can drill down into Settings > General > Usage to see your data, or use the AT&T myWireless app, but those are slightly inconvenient and don’t provide alerts or detailed info. Enter DataMan, which features data tracking and push notifications to let you know when you’re getting close or going over your data plan allowances. Does it work? Absolutely. I tested the app for a few weeks and found it quite simple to use.
Gallery: DataMan
Continue reading DataMan tracks your data usage, sends alerts for data caps
DataMan tracks your data usage, sends alerts for data caps originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
DataMan tracks your data usage, sends alerts for data caps originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Radio Shack has yet another iPhone promotion now through Friday
Yup. The boys are at it again with another $50.00 off the normal iPhone prices. If you’re feeling a bit retro you can score a 3GS for $48.99 with a contract.
A top of the line iPhone 4 with 32 GB is $248.99.
Radio Shack had a similar promotion earlier this month, but this latest offer does not include the attractive Trade and Save buy back program.
The first sale was a sell out, and a check of three of my local Shacks showed none had any iPhones in stock to sell, unfortunately, so if you want to take advantage of this one, better move fast. The promotion runs through this Friday, and getting the discount requires a new contract or qualifying renewal.
Radio Shack has yet another iPhone promotion now through Friday originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Radio Shack has yet another iPhone promotion now through Friday originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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VerbalVictor app gives a voice to those who can’t speak
Created by a caring father and his students at Wake Forest University, VerbalVictor is an interactive communication tool for people who are unable to speak. The application was developed by Paul Pauca for his five-year old son, Victor, who has difficult talking due to a rare genetic disorder that delayed his speech development. Mr. Pauca tried several specialized speech devices to help his young son, but they were either too low tech or too expensive to be practical. Knowing that his Wake Forest students could do better with current consumer technology, Paul recruited his students to design this iOS application as part of a class project.
VerbalVictor presents the user with a series of images and associates these images with pre-recorded phrases. An individual only has to touch the appropriate image to communicate with those around him. For example, tapping on an image of a kitchen could playback the phrase “I am hungry.” Rather than a series of generic images and robotic voices, the application can be personalized for each individual user. Pictures of familiar environments can be imported into the app using the on-device camera and a relative or friend can record his or her voice to accompany each image. The application will sell for $10 in the App Store and will be available sometime next week for iPhone and iPad owners.
[Via Engadget]
VerbalVictor app gives a voice to those who can’t speak originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
VerbalVictor app gives a voice to those who can’t speak originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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iPhone and iPad among eBay’s "top-shopped" items in 2010
eBay listed its “Top Shopped” items of 2010 this week and the iPhone 4 rose to the top, beating out classic toys like Barbie and Hot Wheels. While the iPhone 4 took first place, the iPad was not far behind, occupying fifth spot behind Barbie, Hot Wheels and military jackets. Interestingly enough, this iOS duo are the only two electronic devices to make the top ten list which is heavily dominated by pop culture including icons like The Beatles, popular events like the World Cup and fads like Silly Bandz.
Together the iPhone 4 (1.6 M related items sold) and iPad (600 K related items sold) accounted for over 2.2 million related items sold. This “Top Shopped” list is compiled from U.S. eBay listings that include the key terms, like iPad, in the title and were active beween January 1, 2010 to December 19, 2010. Anyone who has casually shopped eBay for an iPhone 4 can easily corroborate these findings. At any given time, the sheer number of auctions for the iPhone 4 is staggering, especially when you add in the copious listings for iPhone 4 accessories.
eBay’s Picks for America’s “Top Shopped” and Pop Culture Obsessions of 2010:
- iPhone 4
- Barbie
- Military jackets
- Hot Wheels
- iPad
- World Cup
- The Beatles
- Silly Bandz
- Alice in Wonderland
- New Orleans Saints
- Marc Jacobs
- LeBron James
[Via The Los Angeles Times]
iPhone and iPad among eBay’s “top-shopped” items in 2010 originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
iPhone and iPad among eBay’s “top-shopped” items in 2010 originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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iPhone-controlled beer cannon is the robot friend of our dreams (video)
If your morning’s been running low on a little thing called awesomeness, hurry past the break and gorge yourself on the stuff in the embedded videos. For the more patient among you, we’ll set the scene. A young chap by the name of Ryan has repurposed an old mini-fridge from his college days into a beer-firing drone, which can accept instructions on beer brand, temperature, and destination, before launching it at the target with a force of 50psi. An embedded webcam assists the iPhone user in aiming the throws, while it’s also said to record every toss and tweet it out for posterity as well. If this thing could slice bread, we’d probably offer to marry it.
Continue reading iPhone-controlled beer cannon is the robot friend of our dreams (video)
iPhone-controlled beer cannon is the robot friend of our dreams (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 08:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.