Huddling around the iPhone, squinting at a tiny LCD is no way to spend your game nights. Even with an iPad the idea of multiplayer, single-device, cheek-to-cheek gaming doesn't sound much more appealing... unless it's one of those parties, perhaps. Anyhow, Griffin is apparently looking to make four-way iDevice gaming a little more palatable with the PartyDock, just spotted crossing the great FCC. It has a dock connector for your iPhone, iPod, or iPad and four simple wireless controllers for interacting with four-player games, pumped to your TV over composite and component. It basically creates a simple gaming console out of your portable device, an interesting idea, but what will make or break it will naturally be the software. Griffin has a few four-player games it will release for the thing, but short of a flood of titles hitting the App Store we have a hard time believing this will be a hit -- whenever it ships, and for whatever it sells for.

Griffin's PartyDock does four-player iPhone/iPad gaming with just one device originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 10:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When it comes to being ushered along to your destination at a high rate of speed within a cocoon of luxury, it's hard to go wrong with the Mercedes S Class. However, if this $90,000 (and way, way up) sedan isn't special enough for you, teutonic tuner Brabus is happy to make some... improvements. The company bumps the power up to 750hp, good for a top speed of 211mph whilst also providing a wealth of iDevices to those being coddled inside. There's an iPad (with keyboard) at each of the rear seats, an entertainment system built into the back of both headrests powered by a 64GB iPod Touch, and a 15.2-inch display that swivels down from the ceiling to expose the output from a tunk-mounted Mac Mini. Even for the most ardent of Mac lovers it's a bit too much, but if it weren't it wouldn't be a Brabus. The cost? Nobody's saying, but don't expect this very special kind of excess to come cheap.

Continue reading Brabus iBusiness luxury sedan puts an iPad at every seat, a Magic Mouse at every hide-covered armrest

Brabus iBusiness luxury sedan puts an iPad at every seat, a Magic Mouse at every hide-covered armrest originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 10:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Who knew that credit card processing would be the new hotness for smartphones? The Square mobile payment system has been making waves by letting small businesses receive credit card payment directly on their smartphones. Now, mophie and Intuit are looking to get in on the same action with their Complete Card Solution for iPhone. It's a $179 package that includes both mophie's card-swiping phone case and the 3.0 version of Intuit's GoPayment app. After a quick application users are said to be approved (or, erm, declined) within 15 minutes and can immediately start accepting payments. Full details, including just how much users will be forking over in fees, after the break.

Continue reading Mophie and Intuit partner to create Complete Card Solution for iPhone, try to make Square look square

Mophie and Intuit partner to create Complete Card Solution for iPhone, try to make Square look square originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 03:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, it didn't take long for the Apple Peel 520 to go from pioneering phone-maker to competition. Enter the tPhone, an also derivatively named and similarly positioned device that attaches to an iPod Touch and turns it into a phone. This one packs a 1,200mAh battery, 50 percent larger than the Apple Peel, but offsets that by existing as a "super-duper thick" hard case that clips on to the Touch. It naturally also offers a SIM slot and a dock port, augmented by a handy microUSB port on the side. It'll set you back ¥700, about $100, so you're paying a bit of a premium over the $75 Apple Peel. Worth it given the extra bulk and cost? That depends: just how big are your pockets?

tPhone competes with Apple Peel 520, turns your iPod Touch into a chubby phone originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Aug 2010 12:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Square payment system hasn't exactly had a smooth road to availability, with deliveries put on hold back in June due to an ominous "credit processing and risk issue." If that didn't scare you away from accepting small payments from the company's tiny credit card swipers, rejoyce, because they appear to be shipping again -- at least to some. Sally over at the Square support forums posted that she was sent the following message:

We started rolling out Square card readers and one is now coming your way from our fulfillment center in Saint Louis. It will arrive on your doorstep in the next few days.

A few others it seems have also received the same note. How about you? Is your little, different credit card reader on the way?

[Thanks, Sam]

Square mobile payment readers now shipping again to tiny transaction tycoons originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Aug 2010 10:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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From the outside of its white box, labeled "Phone no. 4," it's clear to see that the Air Phone 4 is trying awfully hard to be an iPhone 4. But then we already knew that. How does it compare to the real thing in the real world? Not well, according to intrepid reviewer Stuart Ashen. The external metal surface (which you might be familiar with) is here actually plastic, so you don't have to worry about dropped calls if you fondle it the wrong way, but the phone is said to have awful signal regardless -- despite showing full bars even when missing a SIM. Ashen concludes the thing is an "astonishing bit of copycat work" held back by "the worst touchscreen ever." (Yeah, it's resistive.) Oh, and that Facetime app we spotted before? It "doesn't seem to work properly," about the kindest thing that can be said about this junker. If you'd like to see the full (and thoroughly entertaining) review, it's embedded for you right after the break.

Continue reading iPhone 4 KIRF reviewed, can its 'WVGA screen village' compare? (video)

iPhone 4 KIRF reviewed, can its 'WVGA screen village' compare? (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Aug 2010 10:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you're an iPhone user, the only privacy notice you'll see from an app regards your current location -- as much a warning about the associated battery hit from the GPS pinging as anything. If you're an Android user, however, things are different, with a tap-through dialog showing you exactly what each app will access on your phone. But, do you read them? You should, with Lookout running a sort of survey across 300,000 apps on those two platforms, finding that many access personal information even though they seemingly don't need to. One particularly scary instance, an app called Jackeey Wallpaper on Android, aggregates your browsing history, voicemail password, text messages, and even your SIM ID and beams it all to a server in China. That this app has been downloaded millions of times is a little disconcerting, but it's not just Android users that have to fear, as even more iPhone than Android apps take a look through your contact infos. What to do? Well, be careful what you download to start, on Android read those privacy warnings... and we're sure Lookout wouldn't mind if you took this opportunity to download its security app.

Lookout's App Genome Project warns about sketchy apps you may have already downloaded originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 08:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you're an iPhone user, the only privacy notice you'll see from an app regards your current location -- as much a warning about the associated battery hit from the GPS pinging as anything. If you're an Android user, however, things are different, with a tap-through dialog showing you exactly what each app will access on your phone. But, do you read them? You should, with Lookout running a sort of survey across 300,000 apps on those two platforms, finding that many access personal information even though they seemingly don't need to. One particularly scary instance, an app called Jackeey Wallpaper on Android, aggregates your browsing history, voicemail password, text messages, and even your SIM ID and beams it all to a server in China. That this app has been downloaded millions of times is a little disconcerting, but it's not just Android users that have to fear, as even more iPhone than Android apps take a look through your contact infos. What to do? Well, be careful what you download to start, on Android read those privacy warnings... and we're sure Lookout wouldn't mind if you took this opportunity to download its security app.

Lookout's App Genome Project warns about sketchy apps you may have already downloaded originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 08:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With the iControlPad seemingly slipping further and further from reality, iPhone gamers with an affinity for buttons have fewer reasons to get out of bed in the morning and face the world. If that's you then it's time to wake up, Sunshine, because the iPhone Game Pad is here to bring a little light to your life. It's a somewhat chubby slip-on case that, as of now, works only with the original model iPhone. (There's a 3G/3GS model to come.) On the face it offers four primary control buttons plus a D-pad, what appears to be Select and Start buttons, plus a pair of shoulder buttons atop. This combination should make it perfect for emulation hounds or any 'ol heathen who values tactility over design purity. As of now it's just a prototype, but if you have the resources to bring this thing to production the folks at CP Design who crafted it would surely love to hear from you.

Continue reading CP Design's iPhone Game Pad prototype does Donkey Kong Country right (video)

CP Design's iPhone Game Pad prototype does Donkey Kong Country right (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 08:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It's safe to say that General Motors is struggling for relevancy these days and, while the Chevy Volt could be a huge step into the modern era for the company, that still leaves every other car looking a bit -- traditional, technology-wise. OnStar is going to help, expanding its Volt-specific controls to the entire 2011 lineup of GM cars. When we saw OnStar's Volt app earlier this year we loved how it not only let you control recharging but also unlock the doors and monitor system specs from anywhere. While monitoring recharging status obviously won't be much good if you're rocking a good 'ol ICE vehicle, you will still be able to start the car remotely, unlock doors, and also monitor stats like tire pressure and oil level from your iPhone, BlackBerry, or Android handset, as demonstrated in a video after the break. Yes, you'll need to be an OnStar subscriber to use the app, with rates currently starting at a somewhat steep $18.95 per month. Now, if only there were an app that could help us to afford a new ZR1.

Continue reading OnStar expands smartphone control over entire 2011 GM lineup

OnStar expands smartphone control over entire 2011 GM lineup originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Jul 2010 10:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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