Both the iPhone and Android versions of Bing’s aptly-titled Bing for Mobile app have been updated today, and these aren’t exactly minor bumps — particularly in the iPhone build, where you’ll now have access to location-based reminders, voice search, social network check-in capability, visual search, and an advanced restaurant finder. The Android software is no slouch, either, getting a home screen widget that’s capable of searching the content of other apps on your phone, dining reservations, and more. Both versions are available now, so check ‘em out in the App Store or Android Market, respectively.

Bing apps get refreshed on Android, iOS originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 17:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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An analyst named Trip Chowdhry at Global Equities Research set off a firestorm of rumors last night after he claimed that Steve Ballmer would appear onstage with Steve Jobs at WWDC for exactly seven minutes to announce Visual Studio development for the iPhone — and the maelstrom of crazytalk quickly expanded to include everything from a Bing partnership to Silverlight for the iPhone. Turns out all that chatter was just as insane and untrue as you’d expect, though: Microsoft’s official Twitter account just clamped down on the speculation, saying that Ballmer isn’t speaking at WWDC, or appearing on Dancing with the Stars. Sorry kids — looks like we’ll have to just hold out hope for next season.

Debunk: Steve Ballmer not speaking at WWDC originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 May 2010 14:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Got a first-gen iPhone with nothing to do and nothing to hope for? Don’t throw it out just yet, you might be able to recycle it as an extremely fancy readout display for the Redrock Micro “focus control system.” The microRemote is, fundamentally, a focus ring detached from the DSLR it controls. It can operate all by its lonesome, but the big attraction here is adding an iPhone or iPod touch to provide visual clues to the aspiring focus master. You get aperture, zoom, and some focusing assists on the display, and then make your selection using some familiar twirling action on the knob to the side. Starting at around $1,000 this summer, this setup can hardly be considered an impulse buy, but we’re sure somebody somewhere has a usage scenario that would justify the cash layout. Check out the microRemote on video after the break.

Continue reading microRemote DSLR focus controller uses iPhone for visual readouts (video)

microRemote DSLR focus controller uses iPhone for visual readouts (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Apr 2010 05:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There’s a surprising abundance of tech geared toward helping out people with visual impairments, but you won’t find too many smartphones populating that sphere of electronics. Aiming to reverse this trend, LookTel is in the Beta stage of developing so-called artificial vision software that combines a Windows Mobile handset with a PC BaseStation to provide object and text recognition, voice labeling, easy accessibility and remote assistance. It can be used, much like the Intel Reader, to scan text and read it back to you using OCR, and its camera allows it to identify objects based on pre-tagged images you’ve uploaded to your PC. Finally, it allows someone to assist you by providing them with a remote feed of your phone’s camera — a feature that can be useful to most people in need of directions. Skip past the break to see it demoed on video.

[Thanks, Eyal]

Continue reading LookTel’s ‘artificial vision’ makes Windows Mobile useful to blind people (video)

LookTel’s ‘artificial vision’ makes Windows Mobile useful to blind people (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 05:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We expect to learn a lot more about Microsoft’s plan to entice developers to Windows Phone 7 at the MIX 2010 developers conference. Until then (March 15-17), aspiring WP7 devs have to rely upon rumor and innuendo to feed their curiosity. So here you go: three purportedly official Microsoft docs from January that provide a glimpse into Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS 7.0 Application Platform. First up, the docs claim that WPOS 7.0 is built around Silverlight, XNA (like the Zune HD), and the .NET Compact Framework — a mostly clean break from WinMo’s past as far as developers are concerned. Native apps are restricted to OEMs and mobile operators in order to extend the experience and functionality specific to a phone or network. Even then, they’ll be limited to a set of managed APIs that Microsoft will audit during the app submission and provisioning process. Sound familiar?

As you’d expect, the OS supports preemptive multitasking — not that Microsoft will necessarily allow its devs (OEMs, mobile operators, and independent software vendors) to send their apps to the background. The primary development tools include Microsoft’s Visual Studio 2010 and Express Blend used in combination with a Windows Phone emulator. Check the docs in the gallery for the full read and be sure to hit up XDA-Developers if you want to commiserate with your like-minded peers.

Windows Phone 7 development policies and guidelines leaked? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Feb 2010 05:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Forget everything you know about Windows Mobile. Seriously, throw the whole OS concept in a garbage bin or incinerator or something. Microsoft has done what would have been unthinkable for the company just a few years ago: started from scratch. At least, that’s how things look (and feel) with Windows Phone 7 Series. This really is a completely new OS — and not just Microsoft’s new OS, it’s a new smartphone OS, like webOS new, like iPhone OS new. You haven’t used an interface like this before (well, okay, if you’ve used a Zune HD then you’ve kind of used an interface like this). Still, 7 Series goes wider and deeper than the Zune by a longshot, and it’s got some pretty intense ideas about how you’re supposed to be interacting with a mobile device. We had a chance to go hands-on with the dev phone before today’s announcement, and hear from some of the people behind the devices, and here’s our takeaway. (And don’t worry, we’ve got loads of pictures and video coming, so keep checking this post for the freshest updates).

First the look and feel. The phones are really secondary here, and we want to focus on the interface. The design and layout of 7 Series’ UI (internally called Metro) is really quite original, utilizing what one of the designers (formerly of Nike) calls an “authentically digital” and “chromeless” experience. What does that mean? Well we can tell you what it doesn’t mean — no shaded icons, no faux 3D or drop shadows, no busy backgrounds (no backgrounds at all), and very little visual flair besides clean typography and transition animations. The whole look is strangely reminiscent of a terminal display (maybe Microsoft is recalling its DOS roots here) — almost Tron-like in its primary color simplicity. To us, it’s rather exciting. This OS looks nothing like anything else on the market, and we think that’s to its advantage. Admittedly, we could stand for a little more information available within single views, and we have yet to see how the phone will handle things like notifications, but the design of the interface is definitely in a class of its own. Here’s a few takeaways on what it’s like to use…

Continue reading Windows Phone 7 Series hands-on and impressions

Windows Phone 7 Series hands-on and impressions originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Feb 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We caught up with Else at CES to check on how they’re doing with the First Else since we last saw them back in November. According to CTO Eldad Eilam, the basic functions of the ALP-based phone are finally done and dusted, so now Else will mainly focus on fine-tuning its snazzy visual effects until beta around the end of March. There’s no doubt that it’s also finalizing plans — pricing, content distribution, and remote sync service, etc.– with various partners in the US and Europe. If you happen to be in Asia, then sorry — apparently Else has no intention to visit you guys just yet, but you might get lucky if you sneak into Sharp’s factories in Japan or China. For the rest of us, we shall continuously gaze at our hands-on videos until First Else’s expected end-of-Q2 launch — we’ve got a new one for you after the break.

Continue reading First Else hands-on: ‘still alive and kicking’

First Else hands-on: ‘still alive and kicking’ originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 10 Jan 2010 21:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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