Author: Rosa Golijan

I’d buy an iPad just to read comic books. Think I’m nuts? I probably am, but see how you feel after this first look at what Panelfly, maker of a popular comic book iPhone app, is building for the iPad.

Instead of simply scaling up the existing iPhone app, the folks from Panelfly put their heads together with the Sugarcube dev team and brainstormed. With all the talk of the iPad and how it could restore comic books to their former glory, they realized that they needed to revamp the app and make a version specifically for the iPad. This way they could take full advantage of the device’s screen size and provide a new way of purchasing and interacting with the content.

The way the Panelfly iPhone app works is that you download the app for free from the app store and then add comics to your library through in-app purchases. Stephen Lynch, CTO and designer at Panelfly, hinted that the company is currently exploring several different purchase models for the iPad version, but was unfortunately unable to elaborate even when I tried to coax out whether there’d be a subscription option.

As far as reading and navigating content on the new iPad app goes, let’s just say it’ll blow us all away. From what Stephen was able to share with me, Panelfly “didn’t want to stray too far from the native Apple UI elements, [they] wanted to create something that was [theirs] as well as a platform that gave the content the respect it deserves.” And from the looks and sound of it? They’ve succeeded.

Be sure to click on the images in the gallery for the full-sized view. It’s worth it.

Call me a geeky comic book lover, but apps like this one are what I’m looking forward to when it comes to the iPad. The gadget won’t replace my computer, it won’t replace my TV, and it won’t replace any other device I’ve got around the house. But it will be what I sit down with when I want to catch up on some comics, magazines, journal articles, and what will be formerly known as “print” media.

How did one of the world’s largest search engine companies wind up deciding to collaborate with the one federal agency most renowned for spooky spying?

Let’s review. Someone hacked Google. Google hacked right back. Then Google decided to piss some people off by refusing to continue censoring search results in China—the country of origin for the original cyberattacks.

Now the big G is working with some G-men in hopes of gaining “more certainty about the identity of the attackers.” According to the NYT, there’s also a rather good reason that Google choose the NSA out of all the government agencies around:

By turning to the N.S.A., which has no formal legal authority to investigate domestic criminal acts, instead of the Department of Homeland Security, which does have such authority, Google is clearly seeking to avoid having its search engine, e-mail and other Web services regulated as part of the nation’s “critical infrastructure.”

That along with remarks that the agreement between Google and the NSA “will not permit the agency to have access to information belonging to Google users” is hardly enough to comfort any paranoid minds, but what are we supposed to do? The deal’s made. [NY Times]

Many airlines offer in-flight wi-fi and though you might not choose flights based on download speeds, it helps to know what to expect from each carrier. With your help, we conducted our first Mile-High Wi-Fi Test. Delta Airlines won.

The Idea

We’ve tested 3G data speeds in the past, so as in-flight wi-fi became more widely offered we decided that its performance needed to be rated as well.

Our staff can only rack up so many frequent flier miles before we get a stern talking to from our fearless leader, so we thought of asking Gizmodo readers for help. Over the holidays, many people joined Gizmodo’s Mile-High Club, and the results came pouring in. (Of course it didn’t hurt that we shared some coupon codes for free in-flight wi-fi.)

The Methodology

We asked readers to use Speedtest.net when they traveled—checking upload and download bandwidth along with ping latency, reporting the numbers back to us along with a goofy self-portrait, a la Brian Lam. We logged the speed test results along with the airline and the flight route. Our first round of testing accounts for December 2009 and January 2010.

The Results

Don, our resident number cruncher, processed all the data from the first round of testing. We did throw out a few data points which were deemed incomplete or inaccurate, and had to exclude one airline—United—for the time being because we did not have enough data for a meaningful average. All of these numbers are preliminary, but we were surprised that one airline in particular was able to rise up past the others. Here’s how our tally looks right now:

American Airlines:
Download: .88 Mbps
Upload: .23 Mbps
Ping: 231.87 ms

Virgin America:
Download: .57 Mbps
Upload: .25 Mbps
Ping: 276.44 ms

Delta:
Download: .93 Mbps
Upload: .29 Mbps
Ping: 177.91 ms

AirTran:
Download: .86 Mbps
Upload: .30 Mbps
Ping: 192.24 ms

If you prefer graphs, today is your lucky day:

Now, based on these averages, things boil down to this:
Fastest Download: Delta (.93 Mbps)
Fastest Upload: AirTran (.3 Mbps) *
Lowest Latency: Delta (177.91ms)
*Note that Delta’s average was very close, at .29 Mbps

So, overall Delta Airlines handily outperformed the rest, but again, this is just round 1. Besides, it seems worth noting that despite differences in broadband speeds, all four of those airlines use GoGo in-flight Internet to provide the wi-fi service.

This Is Just the Beginning

We call this the first round because we’re far from done. We want to keep collecting data on in-flight wi-fi and keep getting better and better results. The more data points we have, the better reporting we can deliver on the state of in-air wi-fi.

To help us in this effort, you can simply head to SpeedTest.net the next time you fly and run the test. Send an email to me or to Gizmodo tips with “Mile-High Wi-Fi” in the subject line. Here’s what to include:
• Speedtest.net results, including download and upload speed in Mbps, and ping latency in ms
• Name of Airline
• Departing and destination airports, and type of plane
• A (totally optional) goofy picture of yourself

Not only does additional data help us make more accurate subsequent reports, it’ll help you because airlines will see clearly how the competition is doing. And if there are variables we don’t see yet, such as variations in performance based on route or plane type, we’ll be able to get a better sense of that as well, as we get more data points from you…

The Esteemed Members of Gizmodo’s Mile-High Club

We encourage you to continue taking 2 minutes to check bandwidth, and fire us an email, whenever you connect up in the air. In the meantime, we want to thank each of the boys and gals who participated in this first round of Mile High Wi-Fi testing, the charter members of the Giz Mile-High Club. Here are some of the prettiest from the charter membership rolls:

Original Delta Airlines photo used under CC license from The Rocketeer/Flickr

So you have an old USB HDD enclosure and a plain ol’ DVD drive, but what you really need is a shiny external DVD Drive. Today you’re in luck, because our friends at Lifehacker have instructions for a DIY frankendrive.

This is a neat way to use parts that you’ve got sitting around, but if you don’t already have them all I’d recommend just plain buying an external drive. Unless you’re really into DIY projects, that is. [Hack a Day via Lifehacker]

It’s tough to motivate yourself to keep remotes, add-ons, and games organized. But when the organization system simply depends on shoving a console and all that junk onto an acrylic base that actually looks good? Suddenly things are neat.

The Wii Pedestal Base will make your room look somewhat more stylish for a mere 25 bucks and as a bonus you might finally learn to put the controllers back where they belong. [New PC Gadgets]

We’ve heard rumors that Sony’s PS3 motion controller would be called Arc. Now we’ve got Brian Farrell, President and CEO of game developer THQ, referring to device by the same name. It’s not conclusive, but it’s certainly more evidence. [Kotaku]

Once Apple began allowing VoIP over 3G, we heard that iPhone app Fring had the feature built in—instantly allowing Skype calls over 3G. But we wondered when Skype itself would update their official iPhone app. Their answer? Soon.

You can watch the video above for more details, but according to the Skype blog there’s a reason why we haven’t seen the update yet:

You may have seen other apps offering calls over 3G, but we’re holding ours back for a little bit longer. Why? So that we can give you the very best audio quality we can. When our 3G-capable Skype for iPhone app is released, it’ll let you make calls in wideband audio, giving you greater clarity and fidelity – because that’s what you expect from Skype.

According to our resident iPhone app aficionado John Herrman, the Fring app already works “pretty well,” so I can’t wait to see what we’ll get directly from Skype. [Skype]

We know that Hulu’s free glory days are numbered, but the question that always follows talk of premium pricing for the video streaming site has been whether people actually use it all that much. Well, to me one billion video views seem like a resounding YES.

From the sounds of it, plenty of people would be willing to open up their checkbooks to keep streaming videos. Of course, even those unwilling to pay won’t just be left hanging with nothing to watch because according to Hulu CEO Jason Kilar, a “free version of Hulu will always exist” even though the company is in fact “exploring premium pricing.” Now we just have to wait to find out if, when, and what kind of subscriptions will come. [USA Today]

I never thought I’d call LED lights cute, delightful, or cuddly. But these are. Designed by Diana Lin, the d-light Bubbles are made for squeezing—just don’t be startled by the squeaky wooshhh sound when you fondle the silicone.

The lights are available now for $140. I can’t tell you whether that’s a good deal though, because I haven’t been keeping up on the street price for gropes, but let’s just agree that these are rather neat LED lights. [Yanko Design]

You don’t really need to be an Origami pro to fold Skooba Design‘s RAPS around your gadgets. They’re basically colorful, padded squares which you wrap into an envelope shape around your iPad or other device.

Skooba RAPS are available in various sizes so they’ll fit most gadgets. An iPad-sized medium version will run you about $15, which is a decent price for some extra gadget protection. [Skooba Design]

Nexus One owners can stop being jealous that the iPhone got an update today because an over-the-air update for the Google device is being pushed out starting now. It finally brings multitouch along with some 3G fixes and Google Goggles.

According to Google, the following changes come with the software update:

Google Goggles:
This mobile application will now be available directly on your device by launching it from your All Apps menu. Just use your Nexus One camera to start searching the web

Google Maps:
The Maps application with be updated to a new version, Google Maps 3.4, which will include:
Starred items synchronized with maps.google.com – access your favorite places from your phone or computer
Search suggestions from your personal maps.google.com history – makes it easy to search for places you’ve searched for before
Night mode in Google Maps Navigation – automatically changes your screen at night for easier viewing and driving
Pinch-to-zoom functionality: devices will now include a new pinch-to-zoom mechanism in the phone’s Browser, Gallery and Maps applications

3G connectivity: we will provide a general fix to help improve 3G connectivity on some Nexus One phones

All you need to do to get the update is wait until you “receive a message on your phone’s notification bar. Just download the update, wait for it to install, and you should be all set. This update will be rolled out gradually to phones – and most users might not receive the notification until the end of the week.” Easy. [Nexus One Board]

It seems that we’re getting a first peek at what a Google Chrome OS based tablet may look like. Glen Murphy, Google Chrome’s designer, posted this UI concept video along with some images on Google’s official Chromium site.

There are several things to keep in mind about this mockup though. For starters, it’s only intended as a “visual explorations of how a Chrome OS tablet UI might look in hardware.” Google Chrome OS is not tied to a single device as far as we know. This would mean that there wouldn’t have to be just one single Google tablet such as the concept shown in the video. Whenever we do get to hold a Google tablet, it could be an entirely different experience from what were being teased with right now. [Chrome Source via TechCrunch]

This is the OreObject SPHEREtouch mouse. It’s basically an overpriced touch-sensitive ball. It doesn’t matter that it’s handcrafted out of steel, titanium, or platinum because it still looks more like a tacky paperweight than like a mouse.

Depending on your choice of material, the SPHEREtouch’s price will range from $155 to $255. Sorry, but all the “balls of steel” jokes in the world aren’t enough to make that a decent price for an oddly-shaped mouse with questionable ergonomics that doesn’t even have Bluetooth. [OreObject via Engadget]

Do I even need to explain that a video entitled “One Laptop Per Third World Noob” might be a bit tasteless? Sure, I chuckled at the stick figures and the lewd child pornography references, but I’m also a terrible person.

The video comes from “the twisted minds” of the Upright Citizens Brigade, so you can blame or applaud them for it. I’ll be here feeling guilty for giggling. [UCB Comedy]

After the first firmware update didn’t really fix the flickering screens on 27-inch iMacs, we heard rumors that another was on the way. Well, it’s here. But is it making a difference?

Let us know in the comments if you’re seeing any improvement since the update. [TechCrunch]

Some are frequent keyboard switchers, some are faithful to a single peripheral. But we all still believe that there’s a perfect keyboard out there somewhere. While we’re searching for it we want to know: What are you typing on?

Are you a sucker for that satisfying clickety-clack of an old IBM keyboard or is it all about an input device that matches your decor? Tell us what you’re using and why. Bonus points if you include pictures of your keyboard setup in the comments.

Picture by theopie

UK security agency MI5 has issued a warning regarding freebie flash drives and cameras. Apparently Chinese spies are handing them out to UK businessmen in hopes of infecting their computers with trojans and gaining access to corporate secrets.

Of course old-fashioned methods—sex and money—are still being used as well, but it seems that few people expect an innocent gadget gift to contain danger in the form of a trojan or malware. After all, why else would a security agency’s 14-page report be focusing on this espionage approach more than it did on other tricks?

I guess it’s time for me to become a bit more paranoid about the pile of flash drives I picked up at CES. [Times Online via IEEE]

Note: Pictured flash drive is not a known spy and belongs to Gadget_Guru

Sixteen-year-old Alexander Kendrick has put together a low-frequency radio which allows for the transmission of text messages from caves nearly 1,000 feet underground. I still can’t get a single bar of reception on the subway.

Aside from updating Twitter with messages of “It’s dark in here” while spelunking, Kendrick’s science fair-winning cave-texting device could actually help save lives. Underground rescues in caves or mines are time consuming and dangerous ventures because of the rescue teams’ inability to communicate well—unless they lay down miles of telephone line as a rescue team in new Mexico once did. With this cave-texting system, rescuers would be able to maintain contact and potentially get medical aid where it’s needed a heck of a lot faster.

Of course Kedrick’s project isn’t the first cave radio, but its test was actually “the deepest known underground digital communication ever to take place in the United States.” I hope the text was “Hello World.” [NPR via Slashdot via Make]

Photo by Brad Horn.