Smartphones

Use iPhone 4 Personal Hotspot to add GPS to Wi-Fi-only iPads

Zachery Bir, on his Urbanape blog, explains how he used an iPhone 4 with the new Personal Hotspot feature in iOS 4.3 to add GPS to his Wi-Fi-only iPad. A tweet from Bir earlier in the day caused some skepticism when he posted:

From a technological standpoint, I must admit I was a bit skeptical as well. When deciding on which iPad 2 to get, I debated many of the same pros and cons as other customers wondering if the $130 upgrade to enable 3G on an iPad was worth the money.

Ultimately, I decided to put the extra money toward more storage and I settled on a black, 32Gb, Wi-Fi-only iPad 2. Upon seeing a post from Daring Fireball's John Gruber about Bir's findings, I feel as though my decision may well be completely justified. … Read more

Amazon putting finishing touches on app store

The Android Market is about to face stiff competition in the next few weeks once the Amazon's app store goes live. In fact, the long awaited application distribution center may be the biggest competitor to the Google store, even more so than GetJar.

Earlier this week, Android users found that they could navigate their browser to amazon.com/apps where they would see a short list of apps and games. As initially discovered by AndroidNews, the Amazon store offered a few titles at prices lower than the Android Market, some as much as 40 percent less.

While most apps … Read more

How to connect an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch to your TV

Your iOS device is good for accessing media on the go, but there may be times when you want to share your movies, photos, and music, or play games on a TV. Connecting your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch to your TV is simple, but you have to select the right cables first.

HDMI adapterApple's Digital AV Adapter is the highest-quality video transfer, and is the only cable that will do mirroring with the iPad 2. It's also compatible with the iPad, iPhone 4, and iPod Touch (fourth generation). When you've connected your television with the … Read more

RIM launches Facebook for BlackBerry 2.0 beta

BlackBerry-maker RIM hasn't always seen a rosy reception of its Facebook for BlackBerry app, but the version 2.0 beta might change some minds with its much deeper integration.

Facebook for BlackBerry 2.0, which launches today in a limited beta, gets a laundry list of new additions, big and small. There's Facebook Chat, which you can access from the Facebook application or launch from within your BlackBerry contact list. You'll also get notified of new Facebook chat messages in your message list.

RIM has also created a logical new way to get to all your menu … Read more

The 404 779: Where St. Patrick's Day is just an excuse to wear green (podcast)

The 404 Digest for Episode 779

We reveal the viral marketing company behind the Times Square video hack. Natali Morris brings an interesting question from the New Yorker about the secret of boyhood friendships. Check out Molly Wood's listing for a white 64GB Apple iPad 2 signed by the SXSW@CNET crew--all proceeds go to the Red Cross for the Japanese tsunami relief efforts! Video Voicemails from Emily in Toronto, Daniel in Colorado, and Rich from Cleveland--thanks, guys! Kodak Deal of the Day: Vizio RazorLED 32-inch 1080p LED LCD HDTV with Wi-Fi with free shipping for $449.99.

Episode 779 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

New group pushes car integration of phone apps

Auto manufacturers, systems suppliers, and consumer electronics makers have formed a consortium to maintain and develop a standard that helps turn mobile devices into automotive infotainment portals. Formerly overseen by Nokia, the newly formed Car Connectivity Consortium counts Daimler, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai Motor Company, Toyota, and Volkswagen among its founding members. In addition to car companies, systems suppliers Alpine and Panasonic and consumer electronics makers LG Electronics, Samsung, and, of course, Nokia are founding members of the new group responsible for maintaining the Terminal Mode standard.

"The Car Connectivity Consortium now has the power to turn Terminal Mode … Read more

Froyo running on 61 percent of Android devices

Android 2.2 Froyo is far and away the most used version of the mobile operating system, a developer page has revealed.

According to data that Google compiled over the 14-day period ended March 15, Froyo was running on 61.3 percent of all the devices that accessed the Android Market. It was followed by Android 2.1 Eclair with 29.0 percent share. Android 1.6 Donut and Android 1.5 Cupcake accounted for 4.8 percent and 3.0 percent of the market, respectively. The recently released Android 3.0 Honeycomb nabbed just 0.2 percent market share.… Read more

Android at CES 2011: Where are they now?

As we get ready for CTIA 2011 next week, it's worth revisiting some Android devices announced two months ago at CES to see where they are today. While most of the phones and tablets have started trickling out to their respective carriers, some have yet to receive a launch date.

The most prolific Android announcement was the Motorola Xoom, which went on to win CNET's Best of CES award. Loved by critics, particularly because it offered features missing from the iPad, it would no doubt be a runaway hit, right? Not quite.

Unfortunately the sticker price was slightly higher … Read more

The 404 778: Where we've stepped in the Oatmeal (podcast)

Comics, graphics, and quizzes from The Oatmeal are all over the Web, so we're lucky to catch its creator Matt Inman during his countrywide tour to support his new book, "5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth."

The book is a collection of Matt's favorite comics and includes 25 previously unseen works plus a pull-out poster included with every copy. We also have three signed copies of the book to give away on a future show, so check back for your chance to win.

Matt tells us about his history with the Internet with stories about how he came up with the name, his former obsession with Gillian Anderson from "The X-Files," and offers tips on what to do when you meet your idol--in this case, cartoon legend Gary Larson.

After the break, Matt pulls out his laptop and shows us how he creates characters using Adobe Fireworks, software usually designed for graphics editing that Matt appropriates for The Oatmeal.

Using just this software and an Apple Magic Mouse, he quickly takes us through the processing of designing one of his recurring characters--the angry fat man!

Stop by The Oatmeal to check out more of Matt's work. His new book is available for $7.71 on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

We'll end today's show with the Kodak Deal of the Day: a Lenovo Z560 Core i5 Dual 2.66GHz 16-inch LED laptop with free shipping for $599.99.

Episode 778 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

How to use Home Sharing on your iPad, iPhone, or iPod

Before iOS 4.3, Home Sharing was only for PCs, but now you can share any computer's iTunes library with your iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch over your Wi-Fi network. This allows you to access more music, movies, or podcasts from multiple computers without burdening your device's storage.

Once you set up your Home Sharing account on your computers and devices, sharing is easy. Here's how to do it:

Set up your Home Sharing account To do this, you'll need iTunes 10.2 or later. Go to the "Advanced" menu, select "Turn on … Read more