sense

Best iPad app you've never tried: Gravitarium2

I wish I had invisible fingers.

That's the only way I can figure to get maximum enjoyment out of Gravitarium2, a dazzling iPad-only app driven entirely by your digits.

It works like this: you're presented with an animated star field of sorts, packed with little randomly moving blips. When you touch a finger to the screen, the stars gather and explode from that spot. Drag your finger around and the stars follow.

Doesn't sound like much, does it? Wait. The blips change color. They change speed and direction depending on how you tap and drag. And when … Read more

ITC says HTC violating two of Apple's patents

Apple scored a legal victory today when the U.S. International Trade Commission made an initial ruling that HTC had violated two of its patents.

The ITC administrative law judge's initial determination was that HTC infringed on two of the 10 patents Apple had filed a complaint over in March 2010, according to an HTC statement. The ITC still needs to make a final ruling on the complaint. A loss carries the threat that HTC's products would be banned from coming into the U.S., and Apple only needs to get a favorable decision on one of the … Read more

Apple fires second legal salvo at HTC

Apple is doubling down on its legal assault against HTC.

Citing the U.S. International Trade Commission Web site, the Foss Patents blog reported today that Apple has filed a second complaint against HTC. Targeted in the complaint are more than a dozen Android smartphones and its Flyer tablet.

According to Foss, Apple is claiming that five patents are being illegally used, including one used for scrolling operations, another for programmable tactile touch-screen displays, and one for a double-sided touch-sensitive panel, all of which are used in another complaint against Samsung.

The other relates to the ability to scroll, zoom, and rotate content on a screen, while the last references "portable computers."

Apple wasn't immediately available to comment on the complaint.

HTC expressed its disappointment with the further legal entanglement.

HTC is dismayed that Apple has resorted to competition in the courts rather than the market place," said Grace Lei, general counsel for the company. "HTC continues to vehemently deny all of Apple's past and present claims against it and will continue to protect and defend its own intellectual property as it has already done this year."

HTC has had success with its early embrace of the Android mobile operating system and was the first company that Apple targeted legally in regard to Android. When Apple filed its first complaint and a parallel lawsuit in March, Apple alleged that HTC was illegally using 20 patents related to the iPhone. … Read more

Play air guitar with your iPhone

Playing air guitar to your favorite song just got a lot cooler. Two gadget-loving guys have come up with Air Guitar Move, a device that lets you strum the air using the iPhone or iPod Touch.

The entire set consists of two apps and a guitar pick with an accelerometer inside. The first app, called Free Play, lets you strum the air using the pick as you see fit. The second app, Arcade, is a rhythm action game that lets you strum along with songs, similar to games such as Rock Band and Guitar Hero.

Interestingly, former Guitar Hero engineers are overseeing production of the project. This means we might see more apps that are compatible with the Air Guitar Move in the future. … Read more

HTC working to bring parts of new Sense UI to older devices

One of the coolest aspects about the upcoming HTC Sensation 4G is the new HTC Sense user experience, which brings a number of slick features like the enhanced lock screen. Of course, if you're still locked into your older HTC device, you may just be green with envy, but there's now hope that you'll also be able to get a taste of the new UI.

The prospects actually didn't look so good last night when HTC responded to a customer via its Twitter account and said that hardware requirements would limit Sense 3.0 to its … Read more

HTC Sensation 4G to heat up T-Mobile's summer; hands-on impressions

For cell phone fanatics, there's nothing worse than hearing about a cool new device launching overseas and having to wait to see when and if it will land in the States. Thankfully, this isn't that kind of story. Announced alongside the global launch in London today, HTC introduced its latest Android smartphone for the U.S. market, the HTC Sensation 4G, which is slated to hit T-Mobile this summer.

Long rumored as the HTC Pyramid, the Sensation 4G comes with all the talked-about hardware improvements, including a dual-core 1.2GHz processor, a 4.3-inch HD (540x960-pixel resolution) Super … Read more

Google to crack down further on ads for fake goods

Google is promising a few improvements to its online ad system to help stop the spate of advertisers hawking counterfeit items.

In a blog posted yesterday, the search giant tallied the number of advertisers using AdWords at more than 1 million spread across at least 190 different countries. As a result, finding specific accounts that advertise phony products can be a challenge. Google was able to shut down around 50,000 such accounts just in the second half of 2010, but the company admits that more needs to be done.

To help stop the proliferation of fake items sold through … Read more

Google faces new French antitrust claims

A search company has made fresh antitrust complaints against Google to the European Commission, alleging that Google blocked some of its rivals from using its AdSense advertising platform.

Today, 1plusV--the publisher of legal search engine eJustice.fr, which has a longstanding complaint against Google--said AdSense was "the only truly effective way of obtaining targeted advertising on a search engine," and Google's refusal to allow vertical search engines such as eJustice.fr access to AdSense was designed to stifle competition.

According to 1plusV, when eJustice.fr complained to the Commission over other practices in February 2010, Google delisted … Read more

Google's double standard on user-generated content

Updated 5:05 p.m. PST with comment from Google.

When it comes to user-generated content, Google has adopted a "do as I say, not as I do" policy.

The company's AdSense team sent out a reminder to its partners today that contained a few jaw-dropping statements about Google's policies on the content produced by AdSense partners. "You are responsible for ensuring that all of your content, including user-generated content such as forum posts, blog comments or outside feeds, is in compliance with AdSense policies on any page or site for which you've enabled … Read more

Dig it! Grateful Dead game truckin' toward release

Bust out the tie-dye and patchouli oil, buds. A Grateful Dead game is on the way.

Asheville, N.C., casual-game developer Curious Sense is designing and developing the social game with Grateful Dead Productions and Rhino Entertainment, the Warner Music Group subsidiary that's managed the iconic band's intellectual property since 2006.

The title will be geared for online and mobile play and should be out in August for an as-yet unnamed price model (don't even think of bootlegging it, man).

"We've found a great partner in Curious Sense. They are lifelong Dead Heads who have some brilliant plans to take our fans on a very cool journey," David Lemieux, legacy manager for the Grateful Dead, said in a statement. "We can't wait for everyone to check out the fun new toys we are building."

The developer hasn't detailed gameplay yet (Adam Blumenthal of Curious Sense tells CNET the company's waiting until the game's closer to completion to spill more info). It will say, however, that the title will immerse players in a Grateful Dead universe of music and visuals such as album cover art and band members' likenesses, and worlds will include spots from Dead lore like San Francisco and Giza, Egypt.

"At every turn whimsy, surprises, pranks, and miracles may be presented," the developer says on its site, not mentioning whether any of those miracles will be psychedelic in nature. … Read more