Section: Apple, Computers, Mobile Computers, Peripherals, Storage, Web, Web Apps, Websites Pogoplug is one of the easiest ways to store your content online and access it anywhere. Up until now, you could access that content from the website, or any numbers of apps for iPhone and Android. Today Pogoplug has announced that you can access all your content more easily on the iPad with it’s newest app. The Pogoplug iPad app does exactly what you’d expect, it lets you view all you Pogoplug content on you iPad. The app, called PogoplugHD, is laid out very simply, with your library breakdown by media type on the left hand side, and all your content on the right. With it, you’ll be able to stream music and movies to the iPad, as well as access Word documents and PDFs. If you can’t wait for iOS 4.2 in November, PogoplugHD will even let you print your documents from the iPad. Without multitasking on the iPad, the music streaming is good, but not great. The rest of the content would make sense to access from Pogoplug, however. When multitasking does arrive in iOS 4.2, PogoPlugHD will be even better, allowing you to stream music to your iPad no matter where you are. Until then, it’s still a great way to access potentially terabyte of your data on a 10-inch tablet no matter where you are, provided you have Internet. Read [PogoplugHD iTunes link] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Gadgets / Other, Features, Originals When it came time to write about the gadgets I have and use everyday, I was actually a bit worried that I wouldn’t too many gadgets to speak of, or too much to write about them. I have since realized that I may actually have more than enough to write about. So, here’s my list of gear that I use most everyday. The gadget that gets the most use would be my 13-inch MacBook Pro (2009). I got it to replace my previous 15-inch MacBook Pro (2006) that was on it’s last legs. The small size made it easy to take with me to events like CES, TechCrunch Disrupt and the CEA Lineshows, as well as back and forth to class everyday. It serves me well, doing everything I need it to for blogging, gaming and coding. It will likely last me a bit longer than the 15-inch did, especially given the new battery, but it may eventually be joined by an iMac for a better experience in gaming and iPad coding. I occasionally use the Logitech V470 Bluetooth mouse next to the laptop, but usually only when I’m playing StarCraft II or Team Fortress 2. If you haven’t guessed by my last two computers, I’m a bit of an Apple fan(boy). Next to the MacBook Pro is my iPhone 4 which I waited in line for hours to get on June 24. I had to buy out of my T-Mobile contract on the myTouch 3G I had previously, but it was worth it. I’ve used my iPhone 4 much more, and it’s become almost invaluable to me. It’s much faster than the myTouch was, and there’s no constant anxiety of not having the latest and greatest I had with Android. Not to mention the games are just so much better, and I can play them without having to miss calls which happened far to often when I was using an iPod touch in conjunction with the myTouch 3G. With the iPhone, I’m currently using a pair of Etymotic Research hf3 in-earbuds, which I will have a review of soon. I also at times use a pair of Apple In-earphones with Monster SureTips. You’ll also see that I have a Nook next to my iPhone 4, though I haven’t used it much since getting the iPhone. It’s a wonderful device, if a bit slow, but something about it just makes me want to use it. It could be the design, or the fact that it runs on Android. Unfortunately for it, it might eventually get replaced by the new Kindle. My last three gadgets are pictured below, and are my gaming consoles (minus the iPhone, of course). I have a Nintendo DS, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. They’re all used fairly regularly, and will see a lot more use in the coming months as the holiday gaming season comes in full force. Gaming is what I do a lot of the time when I’m not writing, and between the three consoles I can get most of the experiences I’d want, with the exception of a few Wii-only Nintendo games. If they aren’t being used for gaming, the 360 and PS3 serve as media playback for Blu-rays, DVDs and Netflix. Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones 
The Samsung Epic 4G launched on Tuesday, August 31, and seemed to be well received by Sprint customers who eagerly purchased the device. There was no doubt the Epic 4G is a very solid device based on specs, but with its expensive price tag, many questioned the popularity of the device, especially considering its similarly spec’d cousin—the Vibrant—was once priced for a penny. Today, Samsung put those concerns to rest as it released a press release claiming the Epic 4G “became one of Sprint's best-selling devices for first-day sales.” Sprint doesn’t go as far to say it was the best selling device, but “one of the best” is still promising. Unfortunately, Sprint didn’t release any official statistics on launch day sales. Having reviewed the Samsung Epic 4G, I know how great of a device it is and I am not surprised at all it sold as well as it did. Even though $250 may be a little excessive for a smartphone, especially when every other high-end cell phone is offered for $199, but thankfully Amazon and Wirefly are offering the Epic for $199 on a two year contract. As long as Sprint can keep the Epic in stock, it should have a very hot selling device on its hands. Read [BusinessWire] Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Audio, Video, Communications, Computers, Features, Originals, Columns, Who's On Crack 
What's the most common phrase heard around the Gadgetell newsroom? Is it "I love Apple?", "that's cool!" or "sweet!"? Answer: none of them, it's "they are on crack". This week we take a look back at the things that made us chuckle in the tech world. This week, it seems there was more folks on dope than not. Lets get to this weeks accused: - Skype 10-way
- Facebook plays with subscriptions
- Our Shawn Ingram promises to change to Palm’s webOS
- Apple decides buttons aren’t evil?
Skype plans for your 10-way I love Skype as much as the next techie, but 10 way calling? Oy. Getting just one of my friends in front of the computer with me at the same time is sheer serendipity. But 10? Is this mandatory? Our Editor Robert Nelson has the scoop: “A new posting over at the Skype Blog has formally introduced the latest in terms of Skype for Windows—Skype 5.0, which is still in beta (currently beta 2) but will allow for group video calling with up to 10 people.” Just leaked from the DEA investigation over at Skype HQ:
Marketing “Well how many users can we do at once?”
Engineering “how many do you want?”
Marketing “Well, the anniversary of that crazy night in Fiji is coming upon us, can you do 10?”
Engineering “Ewww” What’s better is currently, all ten of your friends need to running the same Beta. Awesome. You’ve got a better chance of herding cats - I can’t get my machines to run the same version of anything. Potential for business customers? Sure. For the rest of us? Nope. 
Facebook try’s subscribing to users Our Turun Kunwar as the story, “Facebook is working on a new "stalker button" that will allow you to see all of the updates of a given user. It basically works when you subscribe to a friend which will in turn provide you with all of the juicy goodness in the form of their updates. Think of this as DVR for Facebook!” Um, you mean in its current state, Facebook is for something else? 
Gadgetell writer promises to switch mobile phones What our writers won’t do for you, our valued readers. Just this week, writer Shawn Ingram promised to jump ship on his current phone and pick up a webOS phone. “Please, Palm make a WebOS 2.0 phone with specs at least on par with, or better than the iPhone 4. I'd do everything I can to switch to such a phone, I promise.” Promise? While he held up short of a pinky-promise, I think we can take Shawn at his word. Shawn clearly wants only adequate hardware to run the coveted webOS on. Can HP deliver on that? I can tell you that Shawns problem with the hardware is not cosmetic. You see, Shawn wears those shoes with the toes in them, the Vibram Five Fingers so you know, fashion is not the issue. So what is lacking in the current Palm Pre Plus offerings? (sorry Shawn. Though, to my credit, I’ve held off seven months to find a way to work that into a post.) You can bet I’ll be here to hold Shawns feet to the fire on this promise, only we’ll make sure the Five Fingers don’t melt. 
Apple adds buttons it thought were silly last time. The Shuffle 2.0 was cool: a clip, a button and music. The Shuffle 4.0 is cool: a clip, a button, and music. So who the heck designed 4.0? Apple just emailed me an answer to that question, “you are looking at the line wrong. If you look at it with in a non-linear time fashion, you can see that 4.0 logically follows 1.0 in design.” Silly me, I was looking at it wrong; because it looks like Apple realized they messed up something good and then went back to it. Cool. Our Shawn Ingram again writes, “the new Shuffle looks less like the last version, and more like the second generation, but focused on just the buttons. It has the same features as the previous version, including Voice Over, and playlist support. Apple also added Genius Mixes to the new Shuffle, making it easier to find similar songs.” Does that mean the internal antenna of iPhone 4 will magically go back into the case for iPhone 5? You can bet I’ll be looking at the line wrong then, too.
Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Computers, Mobile Computers While it was nice that Samsung finally announced the Galaxy Tab tablet, they did fail to offer up any official details in terms of pricing. That said, that little lack of information has lead to some speculating and because of that we are beginning to see a wide variety of prices. Gadgetell is here to clean up the confusion a bit. It costs $895.
To begin with, the 16GB Galaxy Tab was spotted in a product listing with online retailer Expansys sporting a €679.99 price tag (about $895 US). No, it costs $890 or $1020, definitely. Furthermore, some have tipped the price in France and Germany to be €699 (about $890 US) and €799 (about $1,020 US) respectively. Sorry, no, it costs $970 plus. Then again, the official German O2 Twitter account has made mention of a €759 (about $970 US) price tag with a €99 (about $127 US) deposit and €27.50 (about $35 US) a monthly price thereafter. And now we’re just dreaming - it’s only $250. And then, then there was the mention of how it will cost just €200 (about $250 US). Like I said, a wide variety of prices. With that, I think a wait for something official from Samsung may be in order. Via [Engadget] and [CrunchGear] and [DailyMail] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, VoIP A new posting over at the Skype Blog has formally introduced the latest in terms of Skype for Windows—Skype 5.0, which is still in beta (currently beta 2) but will allow for group video calling with up to 10 people. Of course, the catch with that is you will need all of those 10 people to be running the same beta edition, which that alone could prove to be a daunting task. But just in case, you can also expect to find a “refreshed user interface” as well as “better stability and quality” in this latest Skype for Windows beta. Read [Skype Blog] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Video, HDTV It looks like Roku fans have two other devices to look forward to seeing come available. The devices in question are the Roku XD and the Netgear Roku XD Player both of which have recently been spotted in an FCC listing. The Netgear Roku XD Player is sporting the model number of NTV250 and has HDMI, composite, Ethernet and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n connectivity. So far so good, but the real interesting part here is that the device is made by Netgear (as implied by the name). And because of that some have begun speculating that it will actually be a home media streaming device as opposed to the standard Roku. Of course, I like to read the NTV in the model number as Network TV, which sort of makes sense when thinking of a home media streaming device. The second device is the Roku XD which is sporting the model number of 2050X and appears to be the more standard Roku set-top box. And by that I mean a standard streaming device. Via [WirelessGoodness] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Web, Web 2.0 / Social Networking Facebook is working on a new “stalker button” that will allow you to see all of the updates of a given user. It basically works when you subscribe to a friend which will in turn provide you with all of the juicy goodness in the form of their updates. Think of this as DVR for Facebook! Thank goodness that this feature is currently only in testing mode because we all know how much Facebook really needs another to stalking feature. Here’s what Facebook had to say: "This feature is being tested with a small percent of users. It lets people subscribe to friends and pages to receive notifications whenever the person they've subscribed to updates their status or posts new content (photos, videos, links, or notes)."
As shown in the picture below, you can see that Miss Alison Duckface’s status update shows up on her subscriber’s news feed. Just be mindful when you break up with someone to not forget that they’ve subscribed to your feeds. If this stalking button were to come to fruition, let’s just hope that it will be an opt-in feature and not something jammed down our throats. Via [AllFacebook] Full Story » | Written by Tarun Kunwar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile Those looking to make a purchase direct with Verizon and save a few bucks as compared to the regular $199.99 purchase price of the Droid X can now opt to go pre-owned. Yup, Verizon is now offering (still with a two-year agreement), the Droid X for $149.99. Granted, as of now there are none in stock. Not bad, a $50 savings sounds good. Me personally, I don’t mind going pre-owned, that is as long as I am buying from a reputable company. If nothing else, this method of purchase could get a Droid X in your hands sooner as the new model is now sporting a shipping date of September 15th. Product [Verizon] Via [Droid-Life] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Smartphones, Mobile, Gaming, Portable The Angry Birds game that has taken so many people hostage is expected to be released for Android today, which means the Android version of the game will join the already available versions found in the App Store, App Catalog and Ovi Store. Yup, Angry Birds was available for webOS before Android, shocking. But that aside, according to a recent blog posting over on the Rovio website; “Due to the massive response and demand from the Android community, we have decided to make Angry Birds Lite Beta available for everybody through the Android Market this Friday.”
Of course, as you have read, the version that it going to hit the Android Market today will not be the final version. But hey, at least you can begin get your fix. Read [Rovio.com] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Computers, Mobile Computers, Gadgets / Other, ebooks So Samsung has finally announced the Galaxy Tab, the 7-inch Android tablet we’ve been hearing so much about. Like most Android devices, Samsung didn’t stop at just putting a new UI over Android and adding some apps readily available in the Market, it built a custom app for some of the features we’d expect a tablet to have. One of the most popular uses we’ve seen of tablets so far (namely on the iPad), is reading eBooks. Rather than relying on users to get their own apps, Samsung built it’s own launcher for reading eBooks, newspapers and magazines. Together they bring 2.2 million books, 2,500 magazines and 1,600 magazines. For eBooks, rather than building it’s own store like Apple, or relying on Google, Samsung brought in Kobo for reading books. Kobo offers many more books than iBooks for the iPad, including popular authors that Apple lacks such as Steig Larsson, author of the Millennium Trilogy. Kobo specifically designed the included app for the Galaxy Tab, so it should use the screen size and pixel density fully. The other apps included in the Readers Hub as PressDisplay for newspapers and Zinio for magazines. Of course, users are free to download their own reading apps from the Android Market, and they should scale well, especially is they use Google’s UI guidelines. So, the Amazon and Nook apps might scale well, but it’s nice to know that at least one of the proven stores will definitely work well and look good on the 7-inch screen. Read [Korea Newswire Kobo Release] and [Samsung] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Gadgets / Other It’s never been much of a secret, but now it’s finally official: Samsung has announced the Galaxy Tab, and has confirmed the final specs. The announcement happened at IFA in Berlin, so we haven’t had a chance to actually touch it yet, but we at least have final specs. The Galaxy Tab is officially a 7-inch Android tablet running Froyo with TouchWiz on top of it. It was announced for Europe as having HSUPA and HDSPA+ 3G, and not the Verizon-approved CDMA, but that could always come later. It has two cameras, a 3 MP back-facing camera with LED flash as well as a 1.3 MP front-facing camera for video chat. Inside there’s all the standard accelerometer, geo-magnetic sensor, light sensor, WiFi (802.11n included), Bluetooth 3.0, and Samsung even managed to add in a gyroscope just like the iPhone 4. For storage, the Galaxy Tab comes in 16 and 32 GB models, both expandable with microSD cards. It runs on a 1 GHz Core A8 processor, and Samsung says the battery will last for seven hours or video playback. To top it all off, the 7-inch screen has a resolution of 1024x600, which gives it a higher pixel density than the iPad. Reports out of Berlin seem to indicate that the Galaxy is finally the Android tablet we’ve been waiting for. The screen size means its easy enough to hold with just one hand, and the display is certainly bright and seems to show colors well. SlashGear has noted that while the phone is light, and solidly built, it it a bit plasticky. Kat Hannaford at Gizmodo was apparently down on the device before she played with it, but said she came away impressed with the Galaxy Tab. Finally, Engadget noted that Samsung “has set the gold standard for Android tablets.” Is that’s true, we certainly have a lot to look forward to whenever Samsung gets around to announcing pricing and availability for the US. Read [Samsung] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Gadgets / Other While the biggest news in Android tablets may be the Galaxy Tab, Toshiba isn’t content with letting Samsung take all the spotlight at IFA. At the show in Berlin, Toshiba announced it’s own, bigger tablet, the Folio 100. The Folio 100 is a 10.1-inch Android tablet, running on an Nvidia Tegra 2. It runs on Froyo with a custom skin laid on top of it, which doesn’t look too bad. For specs, the Folio 100 has 16 GB of storage (exapandle with the card reader), a 1.3 MP front-facing camera, Blueooth, HDMI, and a USB port. Unfortunately, the battery is only supposed to last for 7 hours with 65% web browsing, 10% video playback, and 25% standby. That’s not much compared to the iPad. While comparing the Folio 100 to the iPad, while the iPad has a 1024x768 display, the Folio 100 only has 1024x600 basically the same sort of display you’d expect to find on a cheap netbook. The other disappointment with the Folio 100 is the lack of the Android Market on the device. Toshiba’s press release notes that the Folio 100 has some software like Opera Browser, Evernote, Fring and Document to Go as well as a Toshiba-branded media player. When Engadget got a chance to touch and check out the device, it noted that it could not find the Android Market on the device. That doesn’t mean it’s not buried somewhere, or might be added later, but we can assume for now that it’s not on the device. If that is the case, Toshiba may have killed the Folio 100 before release. That is, of course, if the battery life and display didn’t kill it already. Read [Engadget] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
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