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Snappgrip makes one-handed iPhone photography a snap
Taking iPhone photos or videos and trying to zoom, focus, and snap the shutter with just one hand has been pretty much impossible until now. A Kickstarter-backed project created the Snappgrip, now being sold through BiteMyApple.co. This little device adds a comfortable hand grip and controls you'd expect to find on top of a DSLR to your iPhone 5/5s, adding a companion app to help you shoot, edit and share your images. Specifications Price: US$69.99 Weight: 2.7 ounces (76.5 grams) with iPhone 5/5s case and wrist strap Connectivity: Bluetooth Tripod Mount: Universal 1/4" thread Power: Built-in battery, micro-USB charging cable, ~60 hours standby mode battery life Design Highlights The Snappgrip consists of two pieces; a rather plain black or white plastic iPhone case that can be locked onto a Bluetooth-connected hand grip. On top of that hand grip is a big chrome-plated focus/shutter button, a toggle switch for zooming in and out, and a large thumbwheel for changing the photo mode in the Snappgrip app. On the side is a button to detach the iPhone and case from the hand grip, and on the bottom is a micro-USB port for charging (covered with a tiny rubber door), an on/off switch, and a standard 1/4" tripod threaded mount. There's also a small set of holes into which an included hand strap can be looped. Once you've locked the iPhone and case into the hand grip, it's easy to hold the entire thing with one hand. The Snappgrip has a good feel to it and counterbalances the weight of the iPhone well. I have rather small hands and had no problem using my index finger to press the focus/shutter button or toggle the zoom. I did find that I needed to use my thumb on the aptly-named thumbwheel to move it to the different setting detents. Functionality Highlights The Snappgrip is paired with the iPhone through the iPhone app -- you cannot use Bluetooth settings to pair. Turn on the Snappgrip and a blue light flashes to indicate that it is disconnected; tap the Bluetooth button in the Snappgrip app and pairing is done with just one more tap. I had issues getting the Snappgrip to pair consistently, meaning that after I turned off the device and disconnected, the next time I turned the device on and tried to pair it indicated that the iPhone and Snappgrip were communicating, but they weren't. The only way I could get the two talking again was to turn off the Snappgrip, kill the app, go into Settings > Bluetooth and "forget" the Snappgrip, and then go through the pairing process again. Fortunately, Snappgrip inventor Lee Harris was able to give me a quick response and noted that this happens on occasion when there are a lot of low-energy Bluetooth devices in the area. Sure enough, I had a number of such devices in the area, and so getting to a location where the only two Bluetooth devices were my iPhone and the Snappgrip resolved the issue. Harris also says that an app update later this month should help resolve the issue. The app is in portrait mode, which is a little odd given that most of the images I was shooting were in the comfortable landscape orientation. As such, you the controls are sideways when you're looking at them. For shooting, you have single-shot, continuous, video, scenes and timed shot modes. The scenes mode provides a choice of night, portrait and landscape modes, while timed shots can be set up to take the picture 5, 10 or 20 seconds after you press the shutter button. Snappgrip's app has its own photo library so you don't fill up your Photo Stream with pictures. Images can be shared to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, or emailed. An "Effect" button provides a way to add tags to an image, select from 18 different filters (one of which, Soft Focus, crashed the app every time I tried to use it), add a number of borders from a button confusingly titled "Sences", adjust color saturation, add some frames (most of which just get overlaid on the image rather than framing it), crop the image, create a simple collage, or apply a bokeh effect. Unfortunately, the slider for the bokeh effect disappeared before I could adjust it, making that effect basically worthless. There's another button for exporting images to the iPhone album, and a last button for deleting a photo. While I was impressed with the quality of the hardware (with the exception of what seems to be an overly-sensitive Bluetooth chipset), the app appears to me to need some definite work. Since the app first made it to the App Store in November of 2013, it has been updated six times for "bug fixes". It's good to see that Harris and his team are working on fixes, but the app has a long way to go before it will be as useful as other photography apps. Conclusion Snappgrip provides a much-needed accessory for iPhone photography in that it adds a comfortable and usable hand grip. However, issues with Bluetooth conflicts and the app made it problematic for me to use it for a lot of photography. If you have very few Bluetooth devices and can put up with the quirks of the app at this point, you'll find Snappgrip to be a very useful tool for turning your iPhone into a "real" camera. Rating: 2-1/2 stars out of 4 stars possible
Talkcast tonight, 7pm PT/10pm ET: CES Edition!
All-new dial-in experience! See below -- do not call into Talkshoe, we won't be there. Be sure to set up Fuze Meeting before the show if you want to join in live. As with most Sundays, we're going to wrap up the weekend with the TUAW talkcast! Last week's show included a variety of predictions and a nice discussion of where we think Apple is headed in 2014 (spoiler: We decided they were headed to Awesomeopolis). This week we have special guests! Adam Christianson of MacCast fame will be joining us, as well as beloved friend of the show, iMore's own Peter Cohen! Along with my compatriot Mike Rose, we will spend a bit of time discussing CES and look ahead to when some of those announcements might become reality (because Kelly loves a good crazy theory), and cover a little bit of the (Apple) gaming news we've had lately. Reminder on new-style talkcasting: With some help from the fine folks at Fuze, we're using a new system to record the show. This should let everyone listen in live -- and, if you want, raise your hand as you would in the Talkshoe room to get unmuted and chime in. You can join the call in progress (meeting # is 20099010) at 10 pm ET from any computer via this link; if you download the Mac or Windows Fuze clients ahead of time, you'll get better audio and a slicker experience, but browser-only will work fine. Just click the phone icon to join the audio once you're in. Using an iPhone or iPad? Grab the native clients from the App Store and get busy. (Even Android users can join the party.) Still feel like using the conventional phone dial-in? Just call 775-996-3562 and enter the meeting number 20099010, then press #. While the Fuze web and native clients have a chat channel, we'd like to reserve that for host participants, requests to talk and other real-time alerts... so the full-on chat for the show will appear in this very post at 10 pm tonight. You'll need Twitter, Facebook or Chatroll credentials to participate in the chat. We'll remind everyone to check back in at that time. Your patience and forbearance with our new tech is appreciated in advance. For the time being, the podcast feed of the show will continue to originate from Talkshoe and should be there within 24-36 hours. See you tonight!
Nyko unveils PS4 Intercooler, double-capacity DualShock 4 battery pack
In an effort to address gaps left by Sony when designing the PlayStation 4, accessories manufacturer Nyko has unveiled two new peripherals for the console which should keep it running cooler, longer. One of the most salient gripes against the PS4 is that the DualShock 4 controller runs out of juice very rapidly, especially when compared to the Xbox One's controllers. To combat this, Nyko has revealed a new version of its PowerPak replacement battery that boasts a 1,000mAh cell. While independent tests of the as yet unreleased battery are still a ways off, that much stored charge should provide about twice as much power as the DualShock 4's native battery. For those worried about their new machine overheating, Nyko also unveiled a new generation of its Intercooler accessory. Like earlier models, the Intercooler automatically senses temperature changes in the PlayStation 4 and ramps up the speed of its fans to compensate for the increased heat. Helpfully, Nyko has designed the Intercooler (pictured above) to be as sleek as possible, so while it will add a bit more bulk to the back end of your PS4, the system's stark aesthetic remains uncompromised. Both the Intercooler and the PowerPak are slated for release later this year. The former will feature a $25 price tag, while the latter is priced at $20.
CES 2013 through the eyes of our contest winner (video)
Many entered, but it was Daniel Orren who sent in a great green-screened video that snagged him a temporary spot on the Engadget crew at this year's CES. Hanging with the team in our trusty trailer, getting comped meals, roaming the floor, wearing mind-controlled cat ears -- honestly, it's probably just easier to list all of the things the photographer didn't do the other week in Vegas. With the dust settled, we asked Orren how he enjoyed the trip. "The showroom floor was a lot bigger than I had anticipated originally, so naturally this was great as there were more gadgets." Amongst the highlights: "My favorite times would have to be hanging with the Engadget crew, it's nice just chatting with everyone about all the cool stuff you've seen that day/week and just geeking out." And as for that inevitable question, the one we ask ourselves right around this time each year, " I'd love to go back to CES if given the chance, and who knows, maybe I'll just go on my own in a few years." Also included in the prize package was an Engadget Show segment to call his very own. When he wasn't occupied with the Steambox and 4K TVs, our film crew was following Orren around to find out what it's like going to CES as a first-timer. Check in after the break for the results.
The Engadget Show 40: The Best of CES with Kaz Hirai, 50 Cent, Ken Block and Arianna Huffington
The craziest week of the tech year is at end, and we have to say, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Sure, it wasn't quite as epic as it has been in years past, but CES is still the show that sets the stage for the rest of 2013. By that measure, we may well be seeing an interesting shift. With the loss of Microsoft, some smaller companies have been using the show to make names for themselves amongst the 4K TVs released by the bigwigs like Samsung, Sony and LG. The Pebble smart watch, the Oculus Rift and the Razer Edge all scored big. We take a look at the products and discuss how things like crowdfunding are affecting the world of hardware startups. We've also got interviews galore -- we'll be talking with Sony CEO Kaz Hirai, SMS Audio CEO (and rapper, we're told) 50 Cent, rally car driver Ken Block, Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington, Stern Pinball CEO Gary Stern, MakerBot CEO Bre Pettis and CEA president Gary Shapiro among many, many others (including a very special appearance from Gallagher -- this is Vegas, after all). Daniel, the winner of our Bring a Reader to CES contest will show you what it's like going to the show for the first time and our editors discuss how this year's event compares to years past. And, of course, we've also got lots of floor time with our favorite gadgets from the show. Toss on a comfortable pair of walking shoes, because it's time to do CES all over again.
Distro Issue 74: The CES 2013 wrap-up and the fight for the second screen
Now that we're all back to the normal grind outside of the confines of a double-wide trailer, it's time to reflect on the last week's events in chilly Las Vegas. In a return to weekly installments of our tablet mag, we recall the high points of CES 2013 with a look at the battle surrounding second screen tech. We also discuss of all of the Ultra HD news and rundown the Best in Show items in all of the major categories. Eyes-On takes a gander at QNX's Bentley, Hands-On wraps the final two days from the show floor and travel photographer Austin Mann visits for the Q&A. The end of another week is here, friends, so grab your device of choice and cozy up for an extra helping of leisurely gadget reading. Distro Issue 74 PDF Distro in the iTunes App Store Distro in the Google Play Store Distro in the Windows Store Distro APK (for sideloading) Like Distro on Facebook Follow Distro on Twitter
Black Powder Media's Impulse Controller hands-on (video)
Black Powder Media showed up at our double-wide HQ with a couple Bluetooth Impulse Controllers on hand for us to play with. This tiny Bluetooth 2.1 controller is actually a jack of all trades device as it will control your phone, tablet or PC for gaming, multimedia control, remote camera trigger and even help find your keys -- via a free app -- if you lose them. We had a chance to play a bit of Pac Man and Temple Run on an iPad and the control was really quite good, though, the device's housing isn't complete as you can plainly see in the pic above. Tactile feel was great with the right rubbery clickiness to the various buttons on the face and shoulder keys on the rear. The D-Pad can be flipped to the opposite side of the controller using the small mode key so that lefties can join in the fun, too. To protect your Impulse Controller while it is tethered to your keychain it comes wrapped in a very clever plastic housing that doubles as a stand for your phone while playing a game in either portrait or landscape mode. We definitely are looking forward to seeing the final polished product, but until then have a peek at our quick video tour and photo gallery.
Sony handcrafts its CES products in reverse-teardown (video)
If you were following Sony's CES press event in detail, you might recall it launched with a quick video of a new Sony product made by hand. We now know that was to be the Xperia Z, and now the company's released a curiously relaxing video of a (largely) off-camera tinkerer crafting the aforementioned phone, a Cybershot RX1 and one of its HD camcorders. All within five minutes. We doubt this is how the electronics-maker's real production line works, but at least you get a glimpse into how Sony ensures its new flagship phone is kept 'omnibalanced'. (Hint: there's not much space left beneath that glossy back panel.)
IK Multimedia's iRig HD adapter for iOS, Mac lets guitars ride the Lightning port
IK Multimedia spent a lot of time at CES 2013 courting Android musicians, but we neglected to mention equal attention spent on iOS at the show through the iRig HD. The company's new adapter pipes audio from a guitar or other instrument with a quarter-inch plug into Lightning-equipped Apple devices, keeping them in IK's musical world (and inviting terrible Metallica puns). It's not exclusively built to jam with an iPad mini or iPhone 5, either, as a modular approach brings the analog-to-digital conversion both to earlier iOS gear and to Macs' USB ports through relevant adapters. About the only disappointment is the absence of firm launch details, although those should be coming "soon."
Making the virtual a reality at CES 2013
Microsoft's decision to drop out of CES prompted a lot of questions with regards to the future relevance of CES, not the least of which was how much the industry really needed an in-person tech trade show in an age where business is primarily done online. Of course, there's still a fair amount of value in offering members of the media and buyers the opportunity to actually interact with the technology in person. And while software companies have long been a staple of the show, their presence is most often an acknowledgement of hardware partners. It's fitting, then, that many of the show's offbeat highlights came in the form of companies looking to offer hardware solutions to our increasingly virtual world. Parrot's always-amusing CEO, Henri Seydoux said it best while showing off the latest additions to the company's AR.Drone on our stage. "Today, the kids have video games," he told us. "They've replaced toys, because it's a much more interesting experience. With the drone, we've tried to make toys as fun as video games." And it's easy to see how such a product can be taken as a real-world answer to smartphone gaming, with video from the built-in camera being overlaid with AR content.
Runbo X5 and X3 rugged Android phones moonlight as walkie-talkies, cost just $320
We've seen a handful of rugged Androids in our time, but none are as affordable and as weird as these ones at CES. The backstory here is that a couple of Chinese guys in camouflage gear approached us at our CES stage, and after an awkward conversation, it turned out that they just wanted to show us the three rugged phones they brought all the way from Shenzhen. Starting from the right we have the Runbo (like Rambo?) X1 IP67-certified featurephone cum walkie-talkie, which packs a 2-inch 176 × 144 display, a 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera, a laser pointer, quad-band GSM plus 800MHz CDMA cellular radios, 400 to 470MHz range for the software-configurable walkie-talkie (parts of the spectrum may require a licence, depending on your country), a surprisingly loud speaker and a 2,200mAh battery. This will be available for ¥980 or about $160 on Taobao online store (the Chinese equivalent of eBay) in the next couple of days, and we've been told that there will also be a variant with GPS added. But the real stars of the show are the two brick-sized vanilla Android 4.0.4 devices. The phone pictured in the middle is the Runbo X5, a device featuring a 1GHz dual-core Cortex-A9 MTK6577 chipset, 1GB RAM, 4GB storage, microSD expansion, a 4.3-inch 800 x 480 IPS display, an app-triggered laser pointer, an eight-megapixel main camera, a 0.3-megapixel front camera, a super loud speaker (again) and a massive removable 3,800mAh battery. And yes, this also comes with a 400 to 470MHz walkie-talkie radio (up to 10km range; with detachable antenna), along with the additional 850/1900/2100 WCDMA radio, two SIM slots (WCDMA plus GSM), WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0 and GPS. These specs are the same for the Runbo X3 on the left, except for the smaller 3.5-inch 800 x 480 IPS panel to make space for the QWERTY keyboard below it. The best part here are the prices: both of these IP67-certified devices are available on Taobao or the official website for just ¥1,999 or about $320, which is a bargain for both the ruggedness and the fact that these double as standard walkie-talkies. US folks can also order directly from eBay for $380, which is also a steal. But does this surprisingly low price reflect the quality? Find out in our hands-on after the break.
Editorial: TV gets prettier, smarter and dumber
Good ideas are hard to predict, both before and after they are introduced as prototypes. The push-button (touch-tone) telephone was conceptually launched to the consumer market at the 1962 Seattle World's Fair, 21 years after the device was invented by Bell Telephone labs. Another 20 years after the Seattle exposition, touch-tone phones finally penetrated 50 percent of American homes. A general lack of tech frenzy, and monopoly pricing control, slowed adoption. But it's also true that the new phones didn't solve a fundamental problem. They sped up dialing, which solved a non-essential but important user-interface problem of rotary dial phones. Each year at CES, tech enthusiasts get a chance to glimpse prototypical ideas and guess whether they will endure. In doing so, one question should remain central: "What problem is being solved?"
How hardware startups changed the face of CES
It was all bad timing, really. Just ahead of CES 2012, Microsoft announced that year's event would be its last, blaming product schedules that just didn't match up with the annual show. There was no question that the tech giant's absence would be felt the following year, the first time in recent memory the Consumer Electronics Show wasn't kicked off by a Microsoft keynote. It signaled, perhaps, a slight shift away from the days of huge companies dominating the event's headlines -- a phenomenon helped along by the recent attention-grabbing successes of a number of crowdfunded projects, many of which were present at the show. The move from Bill Gates to Steve Ballmer was one thing, but a CES without Redmond? That was just unheard of, a specter that loomed over the show, even as the CEA happily announced it had sold out the company's floor space in "record time." In the end, of course, Microsoft was still at the show, albeit in a less overt form, by way of third-party machines from Sony, Samsung and the like, and in the form of a cameo by none other than Ballmer himself -- a sort of spiritual baton-passing to the company's keynote successor, Qualcomm. Heck, even the Surface Pro reared its head backstage at the show.
CES 2013: PC and processor roundup
The most hyped tech news isn't always the most important. Having had a few days to dwell on what CES 2013 meant for computing, and for mobile computing in particular, we've settled on some less-than-obvious highlights. So, if you'd like to know how Intel stole the show but not our hearts; how Qualcomm's weird keynote was overshadowed by a late, secondary announcement from Samsung; and how some of the most exciting PC trends were mainly conspicuous by their absence, then please read on. It'll be like juice with bits, but only the bits that matter.
CES 2013: Audio roundup
With CES 2013 wrapped up, it's safe to say that audio wasn't exactly a hallmark of the show in the gadgety sense. As a whole, manufacturers brought their latest creations, but even calling most of them evolutionary would be a stretch. That point was confirmed when Sennheiser, an audio maven, focused its attention on its rare Orpheus headphone system -- something manufactured decades ago. This year, the show felt like a minefield of updates and lineup extensions, with companies -- and Carly Rae Jepsen -- exclaiming, "me too!" When Parrot unveiled Zik last year it was crazy to see all that tech jammed into a pair of headphones, but that quickly became the norm. Now, it's totally common to see the likes of NFC, inductive charging and wireless connectivity in audio gear. It wasn't a total snooze fest, though. Sure, nothing really stood out the way an 8K UHD TV could, but that doesn't mean it won't be a solid year for audio. However, it may just be a bit boring now that good sound and the latest tech are being brought together at every corner. Join us after the break for this year's sonic standouts.
CES 2013: Best in show
Selecting the best in show is no easy task, because CES covers such a crazy range of devices: refrigerators, tablets, smartphones and even technologically advanced cutlery. This year was no different. We've combed our CES 2013 coverage and narrowed it down to the biggest announcements that had us chattering at this year's show. Join us after the break for CES 2013's very best.
CES 2013: Interview roundup
Our CES plates were jam-packed full of eye-opening conversations this year. We had the chance to speak to top tech luminaries, entrepreneurs, celebrities and fellow journalists. Much of that opportunity arose from the return of our stage, parked right in the middle of the Las Vegas Convention Center's Grand Lobby. We blew things out this year, packing the schedule from the show's opening on Tuesday morning to its close on Friday night. Below we have a list of the interviews we did at this year's show, both on-stage and off, so you can relive the thoughts, theories and comments that defined this year's Consumer Electronics Show.
CES 2013: Crapgadget roundup
For every big name present at CES, there are literally hundreds of smaller companies littered throughout the show's many halls and venues. We make it our mission to walk every aisle in search of hidden gems. However, that treasure hunt sometimes leads us to the most useless of products, otherwise known as Crapgadgets. While there was plenty of shameless branding in Vegas this year, we didn't find nearly as many pointless novelties as we expected. Nevertheless, it just made the ones we did spot all the more special, so head past the break to see what took top honors as this year's "worst in show."
CES 2013: Smartphones roundup
Smartphones at CES? Believe it or not, the mobile industry had a somewhat unremarkable presence at this year's show, as key handsets were few and far between. Most phone makers are much more keen to announce flagship devices at either Mobile World Congress in February or their own press events, so the newsmakers in this genre for CES 2013 were lesser-known companies like ZTE, Huawei and Sony. After the break, we'll break down the biggest news from mobile over the past week and find out what's in store for us as we face the coming months.
CES 2013: Gaming roundup
Ultra High Definition TV and -- surprisingly -- gaming took the spotlight at this year's Consumer Electronics Show. Who'da thunk it? Certainly not me, Engadget's resident gaming dude. But here we are, with NVIDIA's first game console, Razer's modular PC rig, Valve's Steambox prototypes and Xi3's first example of third-party, Valve-backed Steambox hardware and, and ... maybe we're getting ahead of ourselves. Let's look back to January 3rd, before NVIDIA's press conference, before Razer's Project Fiona unveiling and before Valve surprised us with hardware prototypes. Those were simpler times -- times when Valve hadn't yet launched its multi-front attack on what we're still calling console gaming. It seemed unlikely that we'd see such a concerted effort to move PC games from the exclusionary world of desks and home offices into living rooms this early in the year. Yet, again, here we are.
