Pocketables

OnLive lets you play console games on your mobile device

While some users are content with simple touch-based games on their mobile devices, for quite a while we have been trying different methods to improve our mobile gaming experience with more full-featured games and better controllers. Google realized this, and built support for game controllers into the Android Ice Cream Sandwich update. Now, OnLive has released a service that makes mobile gaming much more appealing by allowing you to play current console games on your smartphone.

Just to be clear, the console games do not actually run on your smartphone or tablet. OnLive actually runs them on their servers, and delivers the game to you via the cloud. This allows relatively high-power games to be played on low-powered devices without performance problems or even much battery drain, provided you have a good network connection.

The service has actually existed a while allowing users to play games over the cloud on their PCs and TVs, but today marks the company's first venture into mobile. For $10 a month, you get access to 100 free gaming titles, and you can also pay extra to purchase such popular games as Assasin's Creed Revelation, L.A. Noire, and Batman: Arkham City.

Currently, OnLive supports both the iPhone and most popular Android devices, including the Sensation, Evo View, Galaxy Tab, and Nexus One. Most other high-end Android devices should work, but some may have problems with the Bluetooth controller.

However, only 25 select games run on mobile devices with only touchscreen controls. To get access to the rest of the library, you will have to purchase OnLive's universal gamepad for $50. Still, if you are an avid gamer then $50 up front and $10 a month is a pretty small price to pay for the latest and greatest games on your tablet or smartphone.

[OnLive via AndroidCentral]

Microsoft lets you try out Windows Phone on your iPhone or Android device

Most of are content with our iPhones and Android devices, but even if you don't consider some of the issues with both platforms, Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 has been looking pretty good. Its devices have some great hardware, and the OS itself is relatively new and refreshing with its tile interface.

Microsoft is hoping to capitalize on these feelings, and has set up a website where you can actually use your iOS or Android device (it works in Chrome too) to try out the interface of Windows phone 7. Of course, the lists and calendars are not filled with your personal information, but you can still get a pretty good idea of how the interface works.

Oddly, I was actually unable to get the demo to play on my Nexus S 4G running Cyanogenmod Gingerbread, but it worked on an iPhone 4 and other Android devices I tried. And when it did work, it actually ran quite smoothly for a web app, and is certainly a well made demonstration.

It remains to be seen whether this will actually help Windows Phone sales, but I do have to give Microsoft points for trying to win us over with what is an admittedly great promotion. If you want to see it in action for yourself, just hit up the source link below.

[Windows Phone Demo via MSN]

Developers get limited Siri access with iOS 5.1

Siri is pretty awesome already, but Apple thinks that it can be even better in the future. The company has stated that Siri is just a beta, and with the next iOS update, it seems that our little personal assistant will be getting some extra training. 

Most notably, Siri will now be able to interpret text in some other apps that she may not have been able to do such a thing in before. That's a pretty awesome addition in itself, but it really should've been included from the get go. 

She's also going to be capable of flipping the switch for WiFi and Bluetooth. Again, I feel that this is the kind of stuff that Siri should have been able to do right from the start, but then again, I'm not an expert on how artificial intelligence interprets speech. 

Siri is great, but I'm finding that she's more of a gimmick than anything else. I'm hoping for massive battery life improvements for 5.1; I couldn't care less about the person who lives inside the device.

[Ars Technica]

i'm Watch smartwatch aims to merge the Nano and Live View

"i'm Watch" is the name of a new accessory for smartphones. Where they come up with these names, I honestly don't know, but the i'm Watch can best be described as Sony Ericsson Live View functionality merged with an iPod Nano with a watch kit. It's a watch that looks very much like an iPod Nano in a watch kit, but when you start looking at the menus you will see a lot more features that you'd expect to see on smartphones rather than a watch - or a Nano. The i'm Watch runs a very custom version of Android 1.6 on a 240 x 240 pixel display, has 4GB of storage, and connects to a smartphone via Bluetooth. Through that connection it gets both an internet connection and a phone connection, allowing it to be "smart." 

Features of the i'm Watch include a music player, access to things like Twitter and Facebook, and the ability to see the address book on the watch and call contacts from it, read messages, and naturally see a weather forecast (can never have enough of those widgets). The watch will be shown off at CES in January and not ship until the end of that month - meaning that a lot of details are still unknown. The iPhone is for instance listed as compatible, but good luck getting things like messages out of that thing with Bluetooth. It's probably more compatible with some phones than others.

It's a nice accessory, and what I always wanted the iPod Nano to be. It does however have some very obvious flaws right there in the specs sheet. 24 hours of battery life in standby with Bluetooth on isn't much. Not their fault, really, as you can only fit so much into a case that small. The  €250 price, which is even €50 off normal, is also not exactly in the impulse buy range. With models going all the way to €9999 (no that's not a typo) they're obviously targeting people with a lot of money as well as people with a lot of money, but that might hurt consumer adoption. Still, I would very much like one as I love the concept. As I mentioned above I don't think my iPhone will be able to do much with it (though providing it with an internet connection might be enough), but my Android tablet certainly could. 

[i'm Watch]

Gooapple V5 runs Android beautifully, inside and out

If you're not a fan of iOS, but you absolutely love the iPhone 4's design, what you see in the picture above is probably blowing your mind. It's called the Gooapple (Google + Apple) V5, and it's an iPhone 4 . . . running Android. 

And when I say it's an iPhone 4 running Android, I mean that it's an exact replica (on the outside) of Apple's previous generation smartphone running Android Gingerbread. It's got the same exterior design, and even the same 960 x 640 "Retina" display that Apple uses. In fact, it's so similar that someone from Gooapple actually took out the V5's display and threw it in an iPhone 4. It worked, by the way; you can see the video for proof after the break.

The cost for the Gooapple V5 is roughly a 1/4 of what Apple's iPhone 4 currently costs. Based off of what I've seen, it's certainly a knockoff worth looking at twice. 

Next iPhone may finally have a larger 4-inch display

Since the dawn of Android smartphones with huge 4 and 5-inch screens, there have been rumors that Apple would update their flagship smartphone with a larger display. The rumors were most prevalent concerning the update to the iPhone 4, but they were proved untrue when Apple released the iPhone 4S.

Now, a source has come foreword with what may be some more credible evidence of a larger iPhone screen for the next Apple device. According to a tipster from Asia, Japan Display alliance members Hitachi and Sony are producing displays for two next-generation Apple products. Of the two, the source mentioned specifically that one was for the iPad 3, but did not know what device the 4-inch display he saw was for. 

If the 4-inch display is indeed headed to Apple, I would guess that both the iPhone and the iPod touch would get the new larger display, as they have traditionally kept the devices very similar. Of course, they have also traditionally kept the displays on these devices small. Many think this is because the average reach of a thumb when using a smartphone one-handed just covers a 3.5-inch display, but some users and reviewers also tout the 4-inch display as the best balance of size and usability. 

There is really no telling whether Apple will begin using larger displays in its iPhones, but with current competition heating up some would consider it necessary. Do you think Tim Cook will keep the iPhone and iPod true to Steve Job's wishes, or will he bend to public will and add a larger display?

[Electronista]

iOS 5.0.1 didn't quite help the iPhone 4S battery problem

If you've been following the iPhone 4S scene for any amount of time, you'll know that it's not without its problems. In fact, it has quite a few, and none of them has been more frustrating for me than the battery issue. 

iOS 5.0.1 was pushed out two weeks ago tomorrow, and was supposedly supposed to fix all of the iPhone 4S' battery problems. At first I thought it did, but I am pretty sure that something's still wrong.

My typical charging cycle is this: after the battery runs down to 20% from a normal day's use (usually 6:00 p.m.,) I charge the phone up to 100%, set it next to my bed, and go to sleep. Before the update, I'd wake up with 50% battery. After the update, it would typically be >95% and I could get through my day just fine.

But this morning, I woke up and looked at my phone and this is what I saw. I didn't touch the darn thing all night. I didn't turn on anything that I didn't have on before last night, so I'm positive that I'm not at fault. Plus, I've only got three apps that run at night: Mail, Messages, and the Phone. 

Unless I'm missing something here, this is completely normal usage with abnormal battery problems. iOS 5.0.2 is supposedly coming in the next few weeks and will hopefully bring further battery life. I'm skeptical, though, as that's what 5.0.1 was supposed to bring. 

If things don't get better soon, I'm going to swap my current iPhone with another one. And if that doesn't solve anything . . . well, that Lenovo phoneblet is looking mighty fine.

How's your battery holding up?

Siri Proxy lets you voice control your home automation systems

Apple's Siri voice control system has gotten a lot of media coverage in the month since it shipped on the iPhone 4S. On one hand, the system works great and gives users some new options for controlling their phone. On the other hand, the system's inability to understand certain accents, server trouble causing it to not work at all sometimes, limited functionality outside the US, and the fact that it's only available on the 4S despite working perfectly well on jailbroken iOS devices have put a dampener on the situation.

Voice control isn't exactly revolutionary either, so there's a debate over how much this iteration of it really changes things compared to existing systems on Android and other OSes. I'm also pretty sure that roughly 98% of what Siri is used for is just useless messing around, like asking it if it loves you. Fart apps 2.0, in some way. Thanks to a new "hack" called Siri Proxy, however, that might all change.

Google patents pattern lock, saves Android from slide-to-unlock

When we reported on Apple's patent on slide-to-unlock, we were worried that it would cause problems for just about every other touchscreen device on the planet. Because the patent was so broad, Apple would be able to sue everyone else out of existence. 

Fortunately for Android users, Google has just been granted a similar patent on their pattern lock, which can unlock smartphones and also take the place of a PIN. In the case of an Apple lawsuit, Google could simply switch to this lockscreen (which is already an option in Android) that would surely be protected.

Google's patent also details a feature new to Android, one where certain patterns could launch actions without fully unlocking the device. For example, drawing a "c" on the left of your screen could open a calender popup with that day's events. This would be similar to Apple's lockscreen notifications and HTC's lockscreen app launcher, so hopefully we see it in stock android soon.

Of course, even if this was Google's idea I wish they didn't have to patent it. It may provide them protection from Apple, but the kind of market where you must have your own patents to ward off attacks is extremely bad for startups. Hopefully this changes soon, but for now at least Android partners are a little safer from patent litigation.

[MobileSyrup] 

How viable is the iPhone 3GS now, 2.5 years after its release?

As Calob already reflected upon a month ago, the iPhone 3GS has been around since June 2009 and is really starting to stretch the limits of how long we expect a smartphone to be on the market. Not only did Apple make sure iOS 5 would work on it (mostly), they even kept it around as a low budget model that's still being sold. In a day and age where the first-generation iPad from 2010 is even considered something of a relic, Apple actually chose to keep an even older device on the shelves. Who on Earth would use such an old phone these days?

That, ladies and gentlemen, would be me. Yes, I'm still using the 3GS. I bought it on launch day here in Norway on July 31, 2009, and it's been with me through thick and thin ever since. It has seen two major software updates in its lifetime, and it's currently running iOS 5.0.1. So, how viable is the 3GS now, a full two-and-a-half years after its release?