Molinker is no more on the App Store — ratings scam results in expulsion

Well, here’s the happy side to the police state known as Apple’s App Store. One of the more prolific app makers out there, Molinker, has been recently unceremoniously expelled from the Apple orchard due to its manipulation of app ratings and reviews. As it turns out, Molinker has been massaging the truth by pumping out false five star reviews for its wares, and now Phil Schiller himself has stepped in and pulled the company’s whole catalog — consisting of more than 1,000 apps — seemingly permanently:

So the App Store is now a bunch of travel guides lighter and Mr. Schiller gets a “good boy” badge from the blog brigade. Good news all around then.

Molinker is no more on the App Store — ratings scam results in expulsion originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Dec 2009 07:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone orchestra at the vanguard of smartphone music-making push

The relationship between cellphones and music has almost always been a quirky one, producing bouts of the surreal punctuated by an occasional flourish of the sublime. Latest to join the melodic fray are Georg Essl from the University of Michigan and his “mobile phone ensemble.” Each of the participating students has designed a noise-making app for his or her iPhone, which is used in conjunction with the built-in accelerometer and touchscreen to make (hopefully beautiful) music. Though we may consider this a gimmick for now, Professor Essl is most enthusiastic about the future prospects of utilizing smartphones to make music with legitimate aspirations. The debut performance of this newfangled orchestra is on December 9, or you can check out a preview in the video after the break.

[Thanks, Ry]

Continue reading iPhone orchestra at the vanguard of smartphone music-making push

iPhone orchestra at the vanguard of smartphone music-making push originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Dec 2009 03:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jibbigo iPhone app translates from English to Spanish and back again

Jibbigo is a recently released iPhone app which promises to help you out the next time you’re desperately trying to make yourself understood by your Spanish-speaking compadres. The app is capable of recording a sentence and translating it — essentially in real time — back to you. As you can see in the screencap above, you can speak either Spanish or English, and the translator will do its work, displaying both your original and a translation into the other language. The dictionary contains about 40,000 words, and the app is aimed at travelers. Jibbigo also requires the iPhone 3GS to make use of the bi-directional translation tools, and the app also reportedly functions a heck of a lot slower on anything other than the 3GS. The app is available now for $24.99.

[Via, iPodnn]

Filed under: Software

Jibbigo iPhone app translates from English to Spanish and back again originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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David Hockney paints with his iPhone, results not typical

Filed under: Cellphones

David Hockney paints with his iPhone, results not typical originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 11 Oct 2009 09:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TomTom’s Car Kit for iPhone will be your co-pilot in October

Well, it just passed through the FCC last week, and it looks like TomTom itself is now finally getting a bit more specific about when its new Car Kit for iPhone will start shipping. While it’s still not providing an exact date just yet, the company’s newly-updated FAQ now says that the device will be available directly from TomTom sometime this October. What’s more, the company also says that the kit (which also works with the iPod touch) will be initially sold without the TomTom iPhone app, contrary to what was previously rumored, although it’s not clear if a bundle with the app will also be available at a later date.

[Via NaviGadget]

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Peripherals

TomTom’s Car Kit for iPhone will be your co-pilot in October originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Sep 2009 14:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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