Android Apps Running On an iPad,Can Android Do The Same ?

Great news for the two of you that want to run Android apps on your iPad!

Alien Dalvik, the software layer that allows all Android apps to run on the Android platform, is being ported to various different platforms, including BlackBerry’s PlayBook. More importantly, and certainly more interestingly, Apple’s iPad is also on the list of devices that will soon support Android apps…

While it’s almost guaranteed to offer an experience that lacks that special something, Alien Dalvick adds its own virtual machine between the Android app and iOS that should make the whole thing feel less glitchy than it sounds, though we foresee more than a few bugs creeping in!

“From a user perspective, Alien Dalvik 2.0 is completely transparent and installed without user disruption. Users simply enjoy the same rich Android ecosystem they have become accustomed to via mobile on other key screens, such as playing Angry Birds on HDTV. This all while gaining faster access to a wider range of apps, thus encouraging a higher frequency of downloads and increased ARPU.”

The real question here has to be whether there are any Android apps that we’re desperate to run on our iPads. Perhaps Google’s own Gmail and Music apps would be a plus for many iPad owners, but those just aren’t going to make the jump to iOS thanks to more licensing than anything really needs. Besides Google, most developers are sensible enough to either start on iOS, or port their apps across.

Are there any Android apps you’d like to use on your iPad? Do let us know in the comments!

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With a few swipes you can break into the Apple Store iPad 2 displays

Most of Apple’s retail stores are celebrating their 10th anniversary. For the sake of celebration, Apple threw a bash in terms of giving the stores a lavish makeover.

The iDevice giant has supplied interactive iPads to all of its seasoned stores, to use them in place of the usual paper signs next to the products.

In amidst all these celebrations, one of the Apple Store managers has divulged the fact that these normal display iPads can be switched to new iPad 2 units. merely with the help of few gestures.

The initial understanding was that these display devices can’t be used normally as the home button on them, wasn’t really functional. However, a secret combination of gestures can indeed turn these display iPads into the fully functional ones, and the new iPad 2 displays, on the other hand, can be turned into “normal iPads” with those magical secret swipes.

Almost all the store managers out there are believed to know this fact, but it’s not sure how this was leaked out.


The bottom-line is that those display devices are nothing but normal iPad 2, even though the part numbers are different and unique, and there isn’t too much of a difference between the new iPad2 and the old one.

The bigger question is whether hackers would be able to exploit this point, and if so, what could be the impact! (Apple can say a good-bye to their celebrations in that case!)

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Wanna fly helicopter with your iphone/ipod/ipad?This ones for you

Helo TC is the new iOS accessory to be launched by the Griffin Technology, which is a helicopter. The indoor helicopter can be controled using iDevices like the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

The helicopter is made of the frame, which is a light weight metal and the body is made off black polycarbonate.

The device is quite easy to operate and is made available in two modes: multi touch display which controls the Helo TC’s throttle and the joystick; the second is by using the tilt to fly mode which uses the accelerometers of the iDevice.

This accessory can be recharged from the computer through the USB and infrared can be made use of to control the helicopter from the iDevice. It will cost around $56.6 whereas the app to run the accessory is available free at the Apple iStore.

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Make your ipad screen private from onlookers

3M Privacy Protectors for Tablets: $34 to $39.99

It wasn't long after smart phones became popular that the need for privacy protection on the devices became clear. Now the same thing is happening with tablets, and 3M just stepped in with a solution. The company's new Privacy Screen Protectors for Tablets are designed to help prevent nosy strangers from ogling and snooping Apple iPads and similar devices.

Compatible with touch screens and numerous models from Apple, Samsung, Motorola, BlackBerry and HTC, the new protective films fend off dust, dirt, fingerprints and scratches. For devices with dual orientation, 3M Privacy Screen Protectors give users the choice of keeping information private or sharing it with others by simply changing the orientation of the screen. The new protectors are available at OfficeMax.com, J&R.com, CDW.com and Shop3M.com.


Dhruv

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Is there an ipad for your feet? NO!! check this out

iPad? So yesterday. Why waste your time with a laptop-sized touch-screen when you can make the entire floor of a room in your house one giant iPad?! At least, that's what one tech company is hoping for.

Patrick Baudisch and his colleagues at the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam, Germany, have developed a touch-screen floor prototype device called "Multi-toe." It allows users to log in, type and play music and games just by walking or tapping with their feet on a special silicon/acrylic/glass screen built into the floor.

Why is it necessary? According to the company's Web site, "tabletop computers cannot become larger than arm’s length without giving up direct touch. This prevents tabletop applications from dealing with more than a few dozen on-screen objects."

The "Multi-toe" would have an enormous screen, without taking up the space, and would be able to handle many more objects and programs onscreen at once.

While touch-screens on cell phones and other smaller electronic devices are commonplace now, "touch floors" are still struggling to get off the ground. They have some stiff competition. A similar device developed for mounted LED screens was released in February; a transparent thinner-than-paper polymer skin, developed by DISPLAX Multitouch Technology, can make almost any surface interactive.

But what makes Baudisch's device unique is that his prototype can identify individual registered users based on shoes, where the pressure hits the foot, the size of the foot, how the user walks, etc. It even call users out by name.

The device is able to "ignore inactive users, identify and track users based on their shoes, enable high-precision interaction, invoke menus, as well as track heads and allow users to control several multiple degrees of freedom by balancing their feet," the company's Web site says.

Here's a video showing how it works:

According to NewScientist.com, Baudisch said they have already adapted Multi-toe for the video game Unreal Tournament. With the screen projected on the ground, players are able to move a character by leaning forwards, backwards and from side to side. They can even shoot at each other by tapping their toes. I hope they develop a DanceDanceRevolution game as a standard feature on the device. I would jump all over that!

There are some kinks they would still need to work out though, in my opinion. For one, I could see people with big feet getting frustrated with some of the features, especially the typing. For another, a multi-touch floor is probably not a good idea for a house with kids or pets. One run through the living room with a toddler, or a dog, or a toddler chasing a dog and the neighbors might think you're throwing a rave party.

On the other hand, I could easily see a "Hokey Pokey" game (you put your left foot in, you take your left foot out, etc.) for kids fitting in nicely with this technology. Oh the possibilities...

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No match for the apple ipad

Why should Apple have all the fun in tablet computing? In theory, it shouldn't: There are plenty of bright engineers outside of Cupertino, Calif., and they've got a good choice of non-Apple mobile operating systems on which they could try to build a respectable iPad competitor.

Hewlett-Packard, which has the webOS software it acquired when it paid $1.2 billion for Palm, Inc. two years ago -- and which HP is now shipping on its new TouchPad tablet.

The Wi-Fi-only TouchPad looks like the iPad and costs the same too: $499.99 for a model with 16 gigabytes of storage, $599.99 for a 32 GB unit. Its 9.7-in. touchscreen matches the specifications of the iPad 2, but this tablet weighs a little more: 1.6 lbs., versus 1.3 lbs. for Apple's device.

HP doesn't advertise battery-life estimates for the TouchPad, but this devices passes one crucial test: You can park it on a coffee table, then pick it up and use it over the next few days without worrying about having to recharge it.

But that's a problem: With Apple's lead in ease of use and applications, it's not good enough to match the iPad's price and some of its specifications. A competitor needs to be cheaper or better, if not both. And the HP TouchPad is neither.

The TouchPad's biggest strength is its elegant webOS operating system, which still does multitasking better than Android or Apple's iOS. To see what applications are open, press the button below the home screen and they'll appear in miniature form like a hand of cards on a table; tap one to select it, or flick it towards the top of the screen to close it.

Like earlier webOS phones and Android devices, the TouchPad syncs easily to such cloud-based services as Google's contacts and calendar applications.

The TouchPad's web browser include an extra excluded from the iPad and not shipping on some Android tablets, a version of Adobe's Flash software. So you're less likely to hit a page that requires you to reach for a laptop to read it.

But webOS also represents the TouchPad's biggest weakness: Not enough programs run on it. Of the 6,200 programs available for webOS, only about 70 percent run on the TouchPad, HP spokeswoman Molly Coleman wrote. And of those, only some 300 have been upgraded for its larger screen.

The TouchPad includes a few highlights, such as a tablet-sized editions of Facebook (still somehow absent from the iPad), Rovio's Angry Birds game, Epicurious's eponymous recipe database (as seen in the photo above of a TouchPad atop an iPad 2) and Skype video-calling support for its webcam.

But it's missing others. For instance, the Kindle shortcut on the screen of TouchPad I reviewed (which was loaned to me by HP's PR department) was only a placeholder advising that a TouchPad version of Amazon's e-reader was "coming very soon." Other popular tablet applications, such as the Evernote note-taking tool, have yet to ship.

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ipad goes underwater

On a summer outing, the clean air, warm sand and cool water may be refreshing for you, but they're certainly no day at the beach for your devices. Those elements spell potential disaster for the phone, e-reader and tablet you choose to bring along.
Putting them in an aLoksak allows you not only to safely store your devices, and all, even when swimming or scuba diving.Constructed using FDA-approved medical-grade film, these recyclable Polyethylene bags are also good for protecting money, food, documents, batteries, medications, keyless entry devices and more from air, dust and moisture.



Make no mistake though, these bags are tough. They've been tested by the U.S. Navy Experimental Diving Unit Team and certified waterproof to 200 feet by Scuba Schools International (formerly NASDS). And they're temperature rated from negative 40 degrees to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Size-wise, the super baggies are available in a wide range, from 3 by 6 inches to 32 by 16 inches.

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iPad Changes the Life of a Little Girl with a Sight Disorder

While some folks mock Apple’s use of words like “delightful” and “magical” in their commercials, others are firm believers in the empowering abilities of the products. Take Mrs. Bligh for example.

Fiona Bligh’s daughter has Albinism. The genetic condition not only affects skin pigment, but also causes eye problems. Holly Bligh has been struggling in school for years with her poor eyesight and inability to fit in. Then one day, Holly’s mom decided to get her daughter an iPad…

Now, instead of straining to make out words through an unsightly magnifying glass, Holly can pinch and zoom her way through her textbooks.

“Holly’s enthusiasm to read has grown so much, and it’s definitely increased her independence,” Fiona said after purchasing her daughter the Apple tablet. She estimates that “visual fatigue” now takes twice as long to set in.

The iPad has also affected Holly’s social life. The new tablet has made the girl quite popular amongst her classmates.

Fiona was so impressed with her daughter’s quick turnaround, that she emailed Steve Jobs himself to thank him for the device. “I know a lot of people think it’s just a great gadget, but it’s completely changed Holly’s life.”

Touched by her story, the Apple CEO quickly responded:

” Thanks for sharing your experience with me. Do you mind if I read your email to a group of our top 100 leaders at Apple? Thanks, Steve”

Jobs finished the email with a request for a photo of Holly with her iPad.

This isn’t the first time I’ve heard an iPad success story like this. The device is being researched as a learning tool for other disabled children, such as kids with autism. Its simple design and large 10″ display combine to make the perfect sidekick for kids with special needs. I’d say that’s magical.

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3DBoard – Glasses Free 3D Effect for iPhone SpringBoard [Video]

3DBoard is an upcoming Jailbreak tweak that will add glasses free 3D effect to iPhone home screen/Springboard icons.3DBoard is developed by Apocolipse and will be released in Cydia for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch running iOS 4.x soon.

Checkout 3DBoard demo after the jump…

3DBoard uses the iPhone 4‘s sensors to lend the app icons a 3D effect when the phone is tilted. The tweak will be available in Cydia store soon for $4.

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New iPad Commercial ‘iPad is Iconic’ [Video]

Apple has aired a new iPad commercial titled “iPad is Iconic” which shows how versatile the device is. This new iPad commercial showcases some of the high-profile apps available for the iPad.

The commercial comes with the same sound track as with the previous commercials and follows the same theme of displaying different iPad apps. The new ad features apps like Djay, The Wall Street Journal, iBooks, Vanity Fair with Marylyn Monroe on the cover and the 60,000 iPad apps milestone.

Watch the ‘iPad is Iconic’ commercial embedded below:

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