Perhaps the worst, and least repairable, shortcoming of touchscreens is their failure to act as viable game controllers. Keyboard-equipped smartphones alleviate that pain a little (particularly if you pair them with a Game Gripper), but ultimately we’d all prefer real controllers for our real games. Such was clearly the thinking behind the homebrewed setup here, which combines an HTC EVO 4G — with Android and an NES emulator inside — with an Arduino board, a BlueSMiRF Bluetooth module, and a classic NES control pad. The result might look like a mess of wires, but who cares when you can rock Super Mario 3 the way Nintendo surely intended?

Continue reading NES controller pressed into service to Android overlord (video)

NES controller pressed into service to Android overlord (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 03:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not that we’ve ever been a fan of paying an additional 99 cents to turn an already-purchased track into a seconds-long ringtone, but if you fancied the option in iTunes 9.2.1, we’re sad to inform you that yesterday’s update seems to have nixed said option. But hey, look at this way, now you can learn a new skill: how to make iTunes 10 ringtones free of charge with some filename finagling. The old method still seems to work just fine (instructions via More Coverage link below), so turn that .m4-frown upside down!

Ringtone creationism not for sale in iTunes 10, but DIY method still seems to work originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 23:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Perhaps the worst, and least repairable, shortcoming of touchscreens is their failure to act as viable game controllers. Keyboard-equipped smartphones alleviate that pain a little (particularly if you pair them with a Game Gripper), but ultimately we’d all prefer real controllers for our real games. Such was clearly the thinking behind the homebrewed setup here, which combines an HTC EVO 4G — with Android and an NES emulator inside — with an Arduino board, a BlueSMiRF Bluetooth module, and a classic NES control pad. The result might look like a mess of wires, but who cares when you can rock Super Mario 3 the way Nintendo surely intended?

Continue reading NES controller pressed into service to Android overlord (video)

NES controller pressed into service to Android overlord (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 03:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung just grew its Bada line with a low-end foil to the original Wave, the so-called Wave 723 — and we just happened to catch it hanging out tucked away in a distributor’s booth at IFA this week. Though the leather-grain flip cover is a classy touch, make no mistake that this one is destined for the bottom bits of the full-touch featurephone market segment thanks to a middle-of-the-road TFT LCD that looks pretty washed out and low-res compared to the Wave’s Super AMOLED (interestingly, the 723 is the first Bada phone to use version 1.1 of the platform, whose major addition is support for auto-scaling between multiple resolutions). We were also surprised at how poorly responsive the screen was to touches and swipes; we even thought for a moment that it might be resistive, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Then again, 802.11n support ain’t bad, and Samsung certainly seems as committed to Bada as ever, so we imagine they’ll sell a few. Hit up the gallery!

Samsung Wave 723 flaunts Bada, little else at IFA originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung just grew its Bada line with a low-end foil to the original Wave, the so-called Wave 723 — and we just happened to catch it hanging out tucked away in a distributor’s booth at IFA this week. Though the leather-grain flip cover is a classy touch, make no mistake that this one is destined for the bottom bits of the full-touch featurephone market segment thanks to a middle-of-the-road TFT LCD that looks pretty washed out and low-res compared to the Wave’s Super AMOLED (interestingly, the 723 is the first Bada phone to use version 1.1 of the platform, whose major addition is support for auto-scaling between multiple resolutions). We were also surprised at how poorly responsive the screen was to touches and swipes; we even thought for a moment that it might be resistive, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Then again, 802.11n support ain’t bad, and Samsung certainly seems as committed to Bada as ever, so we imagine they’ll sell a few. Hit up the gallery!

Samsung Wave 723 flaunts Bada, little else at IFA originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The last bastion of Applephone exclusivity in Europe is about to be toppled, according to the Wall Street Journal, as Deutsche Telekom is said to be preparing for the loss of its iPhone 4 monopoly ahead of this year’s holiday shopping season. Citing separate sources familiar with the matter, this report suggests that Vodafone and O2’s German arms are earnestly reaching out for Apple’s latest and greatest, and while distribution deals haven’t yet been finalized, negotiations have reached an “advanced stage.” Much as with O2’s UK exclusivity deal, Apple looks to have opted against extending its arrangement with Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile in an effort to reach the widest possible consumer base. Makes a lot of sense to us, now how about doing the same back home?

WSJ: iPhone 4 to be offered by Vodafone and O2 in Germany as T-Mobile loses exclusivity originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The last bastion of Applephone exclusivity in Europe is about to be toppled, according to the Wall Street Journal, as Deutsche Telekom is said to be preparing for the loss of its iPhone 4 monopoly ahead of this year’s holiday shopping season. Citing separate sources familiar with the matter, this report suggests that Vodafone and O2’s German arms are earnestly reaching out for Apple’s latest and greatest, and while distribution deals haven’t yet been finalized, negotiations have reached an “advanced stage.” Much as with O2’s UK exclusivity deal, Apple looks to have opted against extending its arrangement with Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile in an effort to reach the widest possible consumer base. Makes a lot of sense to us, now how about doing the same back home?

WSJ: iPhone 4 to be offered by Vodafone and O2 in Germany as T-Mobile loses exclusivity originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung may be one of the big players that Microsoft is pinning its hopes on for Windows Phone 7, but you wouldn’t know that from listening to the company at IFA. Speaking to Reuters at the show, Samsung’s head of marketing for its mobile division, YH Lee, said flatly that “we are prioritizing our Android platform,” adding that, “Android is very open and flexible, and there is a consumer demand for it.” Lee further went on to note that the company will continue to focus on its own Bada platform (at least outside of North America), but seemingly downplayed Windows Phone 7 when asked about it, saying only that “there is still some professional, specialized demand there.” Ouch. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, Samsung also says it’s “not seeing visible demand for Symbian.”

Samsung: ‘we are prioritizing our Android platform’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung may be one of the big players that Microsoft is pinning its hopes on for Windows Phone 7, but you wouldn’t know that from listening to the company at IFA. Speaking to Reuters at the show, Samsung’s head of marketing for its mobile division, YH Lee, said flatly that “we are prioritizing our Android platform,” adding that, “Android is very open and flexible, and there is a consumer demand for it.” Lee further went on to note that the company will continue to focus on its own Bada platform (at least outside of North America), but seemingly downplayed Windows Phone 7 when asked about it, saying only that “there is still some professional, specialized demand there.” Ouch. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, Samsung also says it’s “not seeing visible demand for Symbian.”

Samsung: ‘we are prioritizing our Android platform’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After a flood of leaks, Verizon’s just officially announced its prepaid data plan for smartphones. The new 3G Prepaid data package will offer smartphone users “unlimited” data for $30 a month, while feature phone users can score 25MB of data a month for $10 with a 20-cent-per-meg overage fee — all contract-free, of course. The prepaid smartphones include all of Verizon’s Android phones, the Pre and Pixi Plus, as well as most recent BlackBerrys, which is a pretty solid list of choices — and you can sign up for them today or online on September 28. Of course, you’re still on the hook for a full price phone and a voice plan (and there’s no mention of texting), so whether or not this works out to be a deal is up to you, but we’re definitely seeing the prepaid data market start to significantly heat up, and we like it. PR with full device list after the break.

Continue reading Verizon officially announces prepaid smartphone data packages

Verizon officially announces prepaid smartphone data packages originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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