Mmm, cake -- no other confectionery can match its range, be it in the form of birthday, wedding, or bundt. But we never expected to see it integrated with a pico projector. Yet that's exactly what the imagineers at Disney seem to be planning according to a US patent application lovingly titled "Projector systems and methods for producing digitally augmented interactive cakes and other food products." The application includes a set of hilarious illustrations depicting over-sized cameras projecting images and video onto the surface of baked goods in order to promote storytelling and / or interactivity that is unique and individualized. Disney envisions images mapped to the 3D topography of the cake allowing it to sense, for example, when a slice is in the process of being cut (initiating a sword fight with Captain Hook) or removed (water rushes in to fill the void). While we doubt that you'll find these in the aisles of your local Best Buy grocer anytime soon, you might want to check for availability the next time that you book a birthday party at a Disneyland resort. Something tells us that these could be a hit with the youngins.
Notice how we said "hardware," not "phones?" In light of that wild Motorola teaser we just saw and the fact that we know Verizon and Moto are working pretty closely on Android tablets, it's entirely possible that phones won't be the only items on Verizon's docket when it starts pulling the covers off its first consumer-oriented LTE gear at CES in a couple weeks. The fact that there'll be new LTE hardware intros from Verizon at CES is nothing new -- they've been saying as much for a while now -- but the specific mention of Android is a comforting confirmation that we'll probably see the HTC Mecha, that unnamed LG, and perhaps a tablet or two on hand as opposed to MetroPCS' unusual strategy of taking the dumbphone route. 'Bout time the EVO 4G and Epic 4G had to watch their backs, isn't it?
Our buddies over at Aldebaran Robotics in France, makers of the cute little Nao robot, have returned with a new elderly care robot, dubbed Romeo. The much larger humanoid stands 1.4 meters tall (a bit over four and half feet) in his gunmetal Speedo and weighs 40 kilograms (88 pounds). Romeo features 37-degrees of freedom, a four-vertebra backbone, articulated feet, a composite leg exoskeleton, and a revised actuator giving the robot safer control over its limbs. The clean-shaven bot also features a "partially soft torso" -- at least until grandma unleashes her charms. The bot interacts via natural speech and gestures to perform tasks such as taking out the trash, lifting a cup with its four-fingered hand, or fetching food from the kitchen. Romeo will join a long line of robots destined to entertain and help care for the aged and infirmed when he's unveiled in March at a cost of about €250,000 (about $330,000).
Believe it or not, the crew at Engadget HQ will be packing up and headed to CES 2011 a fortnight from today, and it looks as if quite a few undercover products from NEC will be making the same trip. The company has just revealed that its single-screen Cloud Communicator tablet will be on display, but moreover, a dual-screen version will be making it awfully tough for the former to get any attention whatsoever. Now, dual-screen devices aren't exactly new, but an Android tablet with a pair of 7-inch LCDs is definitely more inciting than Kno's education-minded megabook and the two-faced e-readers that swarmed CES 2010. Details on the hardware are few and far betwixt, with NEC only revealing that both panels will be touch-enabled, WiFi, 3G and Bluetooth modules will be baked in and that a stylus will be included for good measure. Also, it'll fully support the use of different programs on each LCD, which -- if executed properly -- could melt our faces into the desert sand below. Sadly, our prying for images got us nowhere, but we're assured to see more at next month's extravaganza. Hang tight.
Show full PR text
NEC to Exhibit a New Line of Android(TM) Products and Service Offerings at Pepcom's Digital Experience and CES 2011
The First Dual-LCD-Screen Android Tablet, LifeTouch and a New Android Application Marketplace Available to Demo in the South Hall 4, Booth 36268
Tokyo, December 21, 2010 - NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE: 6701) announced today that it will participate at Pepcom Digital Experience and CES 2011 on Jan. 5-9, 2011 in Las Vegas. NEC will be debuting a new line of products and service offerings based on the Android platform, including the first showing of its dual-screen Android tablet, the introduction of its Home Gateway Solution designed for cloud access from home and its Android application marketplace, andronavi. NEC will also exhibit its single-screen tablet, initially announced in November 2010, for the first time in the U.S.
NEC products featured at Pepcom Digital Experience and CES 2011 South Hall 4, Booth 36268 include:
* NEC Dual Screen Cloud Communicator Tablet o Android powered tablet with two 7-inch touch screens o Wifi/3G/Bluetooth enabled o Multi-tasking, with the ability to run different programs on each LCD screen – an industry first o Stylus pen for easy input
* NEC Single Screen Cloud Communicator Tablet o Android powered, single touch screen o Wifi/3G/Bluetooth enabled o Camera and SD-card equipped o Slim, lightweight design o Stylus pen for easy input
* NEC Personal Products' Mobile Notebook o Android powered
* NEC Home Gateway Solution o ADSL2+/802.11n/USB2.0/DECT enabled o IGMPv2 Proxy & Snooping/VoIP o Media Control & Serving/Printer & File Sharing o TR069 and OSGi enable services & configurations to be carried out remotely
* NEC BIGLOBE's "andronavi" o Android application marketplace o Japanese content including Manga, Japan related photography, etc. o For more information, visit http://us.andronavi.com
All of the products named in this release will be exhibited at both Pepcom Digital Experience on Jan. 5 and CES 2011 from Jan. 6-9 in Las Vegas.
It's on, suckers. Motorola just sent us this "Tablet Evolution" teaser video for their CES 2011 announcements, and it doesn't mince any words -- it calls the iPad a "giant iPhone" and says the Samsung Galaxy Tab is running Android "for a phone" before closing out with a buzzing bee over that new red Motorola logo. That certainly suggests some Honeycomb action to us -- and it fits perfectly with Andy Rubin demonstrating the next-gen version of Android on a Motorola tablet back at D: Dive Into Mobile. You know, the tablet that's since leaked outwith a Verizon logo on it. Yeah, we're ready for this to go down -- and you know we'll be there live as it happens.
Still haven't nailed down the perfect Christmas gift for that special someone in your life? Shame on you. Just kidding. But on the real, if you've got $2,397.99 and a lust for robotics, there's hardly a better buy available right now than this. The concoction you're peering at above isn't apt to go on sale to the general public again anytime soon, as it's a rare prototype motion capture exoskeleton that was used by (the now-defunct) Ugobe in the creation of Pleo. Word has it that this suit was vital to the R&D efforts surrounding the first edition of the outfit's robotic dinosaur, with one Caleb Chung fitting in and hulking about as computers analyzed and recorded movements. So far as we can tell, all of the circuits and wires are still here, meaning that you actually could use this for R&D of your own provided you had the right equipment to read it. Unfortunately, it'll cost a small fortune to ship a 350 pound crate anywhere outside of the continental US, but for those of you currently living overseas... well, here's your excuse to relocate.
And you thought your year-end PowerPoint -- complete with that snazzy "Ding!" after every slide -- was something to admire. The video below is a Google Demo Slam entrant, going up against a Voice Search piece featuring Maria Sharapova. We know precious little about what it took to create, but somehow or another, a trio of animators created a mind-blowing 450 page presentation in just three days, and none of 'em were located in the same space. Thankfully for you, it's all explained in a blistering one minute, twenty-nine second YouTube clip. Enjoy.
LG's set aside quite a big chunk of change -- 21 trillion won (about $18 billion) -- for investments next year, almost 12 percent higher than its 2010 allowance. And a good chunk of that, 14.2 trillion won, is going to electronics: smartphones, tablets, advanced TVs and components for 3DTVs, according to the Wall Street Journal. (The rest, if you're curious, is going into medical products, electric vehicle batteries, and an assortment of other businesses.) True, LG's position in the smartphone market isn't quite what it wanted -- its now-former CEO Nam Yong claimed responsibility and retired in September -- but we'd be lying if we said we haven't been smittenwith itsOptimus lineup of Android handsets lately, and already we've seen some impressive future devices. Now, those tablet investments... figure out an OS yet? Can we make suggestions?
Get ready humans, because we have an all new Engadget Show that is you do not want to miss! First up, Josh sits down with Mitsubishi product chief Frank DeMartin for a talk about the future of television technology. Next, Paul gets a behind the scenes look at iRobot's headquarters and test-drives military robots in an exclusive new Engadget Show segment. Then, Josh and Paul welcome Aldebaran Robotics to the stage for a never-before-seen demo of their humanoid robot NAO. Shots fly as Nilay joins the roundtable for a look at Ubisoft's new laser tag game, Battle Tag; and the guys recap the year in tech then preview what's on tap for next year at CES 2011. To round it all out, BIT SHIFTER rocks the house with some killer holiday chiptunes music with visuals by noteNdo. What are you waiting for? Watch it now! Hit up the video stream after the break or download the show in HD below!
Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Paul Miller Special guests: Frank DeMartin, Colin Angle, Jean-Michel Perbet, Jérome Monceaux Produced and Directed by:Chad Mumm Executive Producer: Joshua Fruhlinger Editedby: Danny Madden Music by:Bit Shifter Visuals by:notenDo iRobot segment music by: Bit Shifter Opening titles by:Julien Nantiec
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (MP4). [Zune] Subscribe to the Show directly in the Zune Marketplace (MP4). [RSS MP4] Add the Engadget Show feed (MP4) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically. [HD RSS] Get the Engadget Show delivered automatically in HD. [iPad RSS] Get the Engadget Show in iPad-friendly adaptive format.
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now
It's been mostly bad news about content blocks for Google TV since the platform launched in late October, but it sounds like Sony's staying optimistic: Hiroshi Yoshioka, head of the company's TV division, told the New York Times that Sony's Google TV sales have been "in line with expectations," and that "it might take a little longer for users to really start having fun" with the new platform. What's more, Yoshioka also said Sony's TV group and Google collaborate more on Google TV devices than Sony Ericsson and Google do on Android phones, which sounds insane to us -- but perhaps not entirely surprising, given that the Xperia X8 is only just getting Android 2.1.
Of course, all this cheerleading from Sony comes against the backdrop of Google asking TV manufacturers to delay several planned CES Google TV product introductions while it reworks the software and tries to negotiate with the networks on continued content blocks, so "expectations" could mean almost anything, really -- especially since Yoshioka didn't provide any hard Google TV sales numbers and later said that Sony's TV business would fail to meet its targets and struggle to become profitable this year. Ouch. We've got a feeling we'll be hearing more about all this at CES one way or another -- stay tuned.
You have a lot of documents you've acquired over the years, hundreds or thousands in some semblance of order thanks to folders and whatnot. Now, imagine taking the output from hundreds or thousands of others, all with their own ideas about organization, and finding only those pages relevant to a certain topic. That's what legal aides have to do in cases where a major corporation is being investigated, and we're thinking that's a major target market for Xerox's Smart Document Review. It's a prototype touchscreen table that enables users to collaboratively filter documents, starting by indexing a giant pool and then allowing for the creation of "magnets" that contain keywords or other heuristics and dynamically pull out matches, all happening courtesy of animations that look only slightly less sophisticated than those seen in Hackers. Search results can then be dumped to a thumb drive. The prototype table dates back to earlier this year, but Xerox is now making them available as part of a pilot program exclusively for trendy law offices with unisex bathrooms.
Inside Innovation at Xerox: Smart Document Review Technology Puts Millions of Documents at your Fingertips
Documents can be moved across digital table top, similar to real sheets of paper on your desk
GRENOBLE, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Imagine being able to find, open, sort, move and review thousands of documents at the touch of a finger. Or how about sorting through millions of documents in hours rather than weeks?
"We believe that a tool like this will have a major impact on the cost, accuracy and speed of document review." Scientists at Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX) have created a prototype "smart document" review system where users can gather around a large touch-sensitive table top display and sort documents merely by moving their fingers across the screen. The interface is as familiar as using your iPhone or smartphone touch screen – but more than a 150 times larger, making it easy for several people to work together.
Developed by researchers at the Xerox Research Centre Europe, the document review technology assists users to quickly group similar documents. Documents can be put side-by-side for comparison, scaled up or down, or piled in a corner of the table, just as real sheets of papers are placed on a real desk, but with all the capabilities of digital documents. And, by simply pointing to a few relevant documents, the user "teaches" the system what information is important. The system then uses this knowledge to automatically categorize and sort millions of documents in a fraction of the time it takes to do so manually.
The research technology promises to significantly improve the document review process, one of the biggest challenges for document-intensive industries such as insurance, pharmaceutical, medical, financial and legal. For example in the e-discovery process attorneys can examine a small portion of the evidence documents, indicating which ones are relevant to the case and those that are not. The smart document review system then quickly scans the entire repository, automatically retrieving all documents to be read by a professional.
"When you consider the vast number of documents involved in litigation, patent searching, government security and intelligence analyst reports, it's easy to understand how some review efforts involve millions of documents," said Caroline Privault, project leader at the research center. "We believe that a tool like this will have a major impact on the cost, accuracy and speed of document review."
Xerox's document review system builds on previous technology called CategoriX, developed by a team of researchers at Xerox Research Centre Europe. CategoriX itself is currently available as part of Xerox Litigation Services suite of offerings for advanced e-discovery in the legal industry.
CategoriX is an automated document classification tool designed by scientists in linguistics and statistics. This technology combined with the touch-table screen from PQ Labs form the basis of this smart document review prototype.
The prototype system is going through a customer pilot phase before being further developed for commercialization. Availability will be announced at a later date.
View a video demo of the prototype document review system.
About Xerox
Xerox Corporation is a $22 billion leading global enterprise for business process and document management. Through its broad portfolio of technology and services, Xerox provides the essential back-office support that clears the way for clients to focus on what they do best: their real business. Headquartered in Norwalk, Conn., Xerox provides leading-edge document technology, services, software and genuine Xerox supplies for graphic communication and office printing environments of any size. Through ACS, A Xerox Company, which Xerox acquired in February 2010, Xerox also offers extensive business process outsourcing and IT outsourcing services, including data processing, HR benefits management, finance support, and customer relationship management services for commercial and government organizations worldwide. The 133,000 people of Xerox serve clients in more than 160 countries. For more information, visit http://www.xerox.com, http://news.xerox.com or http://www.acs-inc.com. For investor information, visit http://www.xerox.com/investor.
UC Davis's Oliver Kreylos has been responsible for two of our most impressive Kinect hacks yet. He was one of the first to get proper 3D video out of the thing, following that up by pairing up two of the cameras, one to fill in the gaps of the other. You might have thought he was just playing around but no -- oh no. There was a method to the madness and his ulterior motive has been revealed: 3D telepresence. This is what he's been working on all along and he has an early version operational, using the output from two Kinects in a remote office to beam a 3D representation of another person to his display, which he can navigate around (and through) using a Wiimote. Meanwhile, the viewer can see the position of Oliver in real-time, a virtual camera floating around and enabling them to maintain eye contact despite her not actually looking at either physical camera. That demonstration is embedded after the break along with a somewhat fanciful follow-up in which Kreylos engages in a rather... protracted lightsaber battle against the forces of evil.
Is Apple looking to take it to Google and its uppity Maps app? That certainly looks to be the case, with AppleInsider noticing that the company has four new job listings which specify "Computational Geometry or Graph Theory" and "experience developing navigation software" as "valuable knowledge." The obvious implications here are that Apple's looking to craft first-party, full-fledged, turn-by-turn navigation and bring it to its GPS-equipped devices, but maybe the company's previous new hires simply got lost a lot and this is just an attempt to nip that problem in the bud. Either way, the software job market just improved by four. Giddy up, coders.
Soon we'll be hopping on a jet plane, heading to Vegas, living the life, playing with gadgets, and not getting a lot of sleep. Flying to Nevada for CES on a plane is easy, but getting to the airport can be a challenge if you live out in the country. NASA wants that fixed as a sort of spin-off of its Green Flight Challenge, a prize awarded to an aerial vehicle that can manage 200mpg at 100mph while emitting only 78db of noise at 250 feet. It would also need a very short takeoff and landing, something that would allow it to land on what's being called a "pocket airport." These rinky-dink runways would fit on just two acres of land and would launch or receive an (ultimately autonomous) aircraft every 30 seconds. The idea is that such strips could be scattered about suburban areas and provide quick, convenient shuttling to real airports and, presumably, to other pocket airports. Now, we wonder, will we still need to empty our pockets before boarding?
This is the Crossbow TelosB wireless remote platform, and it did an important job for science in January of last year -- it monitored the close proximity interactions among 788 students and staff at one US high school to track a virtual flu. After collecting over 762,000 sneeze-worthy anecdotes among the module-toting teachers and teens, Stanford researchers ran 788,000 simulations charting the path the virus might take and methods the school might try to keep it in line. Sadly, the scientists didn't manage to come up with any easy answers, as virtual vaccination seemed to work equally well (or poorly) no matter who got the drugs, but that if only we could actually monitor individuals in real life as easily as in a study, prevention would be much easier. But who will bell the cat, when it's so much less political to ionize?
Qualcomm and AT&T are no longer talking about a deal, they've agreed to one: pending regulatory checks and other closing conditions, the wireless spectrum that was once dedicated to FLO TV will now be transferred into AT&T's ownership in a $1.925 billion deal. Located in the lower 700MHz range, this bit of wireless space is said to cover more than 300 million people nationwide and AT&T expects it to play an important role in its future 4G network rollout and development. All that due diligence housekeeping will take the two companies a little while, with the deal expected to be finalized in the latter half of 2011, but at least we can rest assured that AT&T's serious about not being left behind.
Show full PR text
AT&T Agrees To Acquire Wireless Spectrum From Qualcomm
Spectrum to help AT&T continue to enhance the mobile broadband experience nationwide
DALLAS and SAN DIEGO, Dec. 20, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AT&T* and Qualcomm Incorporated announced today that AT&T has agreed to purchase spectrum licenses in the Lower 700 MHz frequency band from Qualcomm for $1.925 billion. The move will bolster AT&T's ability to provide an advanced 4G mobile broadband experience for its customers in the years ahead.
Qualcomm currently uses the licenses to support the service business of FLO TV Incorporated, a wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm, and the sale follows Qualcomm's previously announced plan to evaluate strategic options for the FLO TV business. Qualcomm expects that the FLO TV business and network will be shut down in March 2011.
The spectrum covers more than 300 million people total nationwide: 12 MHz of Lower 700 MHz D and E block spectrum covers more than 70 million people in five of the top 15 U.S. metropolitan areas - New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and San Francisco; 6 MHz of Lower 700 MHz D block spectrum covers more than 230 million people across the rest of the U.S.
As part of its longer-term 4G network plans, AT&T intends to deploy this spectrum as supplemental downlink, using carrier aggregation technology. This technology is designed to deliver substantial capacity gains and is expected to be enabled with the completion of 3GPP Release 10. AT&T expects to begin deploying this spectrum once compatible handsets and network equipment are developed.
As more fully described in its separate announcement today, Qualcomm intends to integrate carrier aggregation technology into its chipset roadmap, to enable supplemental downlink to address increased consumer demand for rich mobile media content. AT&T expects to deploy this technology, demonstrating its commitment to deliver a great mobile broadband experience - now and in the future.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, and AT&T and Qualcomm anticipate closing the sale during the second half of calendar year 2011.
*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.
Those cursed limited supplies of the Nexus S have forced the Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy's UK outlets to push back the phone's retail debut by a couple of days. The Gingerbread flagship will now be sailing in on the 22nd of December and even then it'll be available only in "key" stores. Online purchases are encouraged, with an "instant ship delivery" getting the phone out to your nearest Carphone Warehouse branch for collection. Pre-orderers should presumably be getting their handsets on Wednesday too, while the £430 unlocked price has also been confirmed. So it's still good news, you'll just have to be either lucky or good to get your hands on one in time for the Queen's speech.
Show full PR text
Nexus S From Google Now Available from £429.99, free from £30/month
The Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy are today announcing that the Nexus S Smartphone from Google will arrive in the UK in time for Christmas at a great new price.
From 22nd December 2010, the only Smartphone running Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) will be available to buy from The Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy. Due to strong customer interest, limited stock will be available to buy direct at key Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy stores in the UK. All other branches of The Carphone Warehouse will be taking orders via instant ship delivery which will allow customers to pick up the phone from any store at their convenience. Customers can also order online at www.carphonewarehouse.com and www.bestbuy.co.uk. For those looking to upgrade, the Nexus S from Google will be available via direct sales on 0800 925 925. Nexus S will be available from free with a £30/month contract, or on PAYG for £429.99 plus £10 minimum top up with O2, Orange, Vodafone and T-Mobile. In addition, the Nexus S Smartphone from Google will be available SIM free for £429.99.
It's oftentimes hard to gauge the proliferation of electronic devices into everyday life while looking at them from our little bubble of early adopter enthusiasm. A much better vantage point for these things can be provided from the arms of government, among the most change-resistant places on any planet, and American legislators are letting us know that tablets, not the children, are our future. Texas Representative Henry Cuellar recently took the House of Representatives floor with an iPad in tow, which broke with the chamber's etiquette if not its rules. He's not alone, however, in hoping that the House dispenses with its Omega Man-style prejudice against electronics and permits their widespread use by Representatives. If nothing else, distributing bills of law electronically should make a nice dent in the "multimillion" dollar budget currently set aside annually for printing. Let's make it happen, guys.
Let us all warmly greet the Core i5-2300, the i5-2400, and the Core i7-2600, three desktop-bound members of Intel's upcoming Sandy Bridge CPU brigade. You'll note that all three are fully dressed in their retail attire in an image coming from Malaysian electronics store Compuzone, which also has a full pricing and speed breakdown for these central processing units. The 3.4GHz Core i7 part costs 939RM ($301), followed by 609RM ($195) for the 3.1GHz 2400, and 585RM ($188) for the 2.8GHz 2300. It seems like Intel's up to its old tricks again, letting some stock roll out early in distant Asian locales. At least this should mean there'll be plenty to go around once the CES 2011 launch of these chips is out of the way. Hit the source for more details and to scope out pricing for the new LGA1155 motherboards.
Well, it looks like at least some Alienware M17x laptop owners just can't catch a break. While the previous so-called DPC latency issue has apparently finally been resolved, a number of users are now reporting another issue that's only become apparent after the earlier problem was fixed. As it turns out, the symptoms are similar to the stuttering caused by the DPC latency issue (hence the confusion), but the new problems are being blamed on power issues -- namely, that the GPU is drawing more power than the laptop can provide. Worse still is that it seems like those with the highest-end configuration are the most likely to experience the problem, as they're effectively maxing out an already maxed-out system. For its part, Dell has apparently fixed the issue in the most recent revision of the laptop, but users on the Notebook Review forums are reporting that the company hasn't exactly been eager to dish out replacements for everyone affected (which seems to be the only surefire "fix" available).
You can't be surprised at developments like these when you elect a political party whose very name is Conservative, but it's still rather sad to hear that the current UK government is putting pressure on ISPs to "protect children" by universally blocking access to porn websites. It's not outright censorship, you'll be able to "opt in" and restore your freedom to explore adult content (or anything else that's been inadvertently blocked), though it's all a rather misguided effort in our eyes. Claire Perry, one of the leading voices behind this push, cites stats noting that 60 percent of nine- to 19-year olds have found pornography online, yet she fails to elaborate on what's been so traumatizing or debilitating about the experience -- or why violent content is getting a free pass. We still think good parenting -- say, by using the local controls built into your OS or search engine -- is a much cheaper option than some complex censorship wall, but that won't prevent the Conservatives from pursuing legislation over the next couple of years if broadband providers don't figure out blocking mechanisms of their own. For shame, Britain.
Radio Shack's $149 price for the 16GB iPhone 4 just got undercut by a whole two bucks. We've been tipped off to Sam's Club now offering the AT&T-locked device for a $147 fee, subject to the usual two-year agreement. This offer will run all the way until Christmas day, so if you have to have the cheapest possible fourth-gen iPhone, this'll probably be it. The 3GS is also up for grabs at a thrifty $47, emulating its younger sibling's $52 price cut. Is there anyone left who isn'tdiscounting smartphones this month?
Energy conservation isn't just good for the environment, it's also good for the family budget. Being aware of your energy consumption can help you cut costs by as much as 5 to 15 percent, according to some estimates. One product that can help with real time power monitoring of your consumption habits is the Power Cost Monitor, a device we got to spend some quality time with over the summer after Blue Line Innovation kicked off a partnership with Microsoft HOHM. The partnerships are expected to widen today when BLI announces support for Google's competing PowerMeter web monitoring solution. As such, owners of the $249ish PowerCost Monitor WiFi Edition kit will have yet another method for measuring their carbon footprint from a PC or smartphone -- and that's a good thing.
Update: We have the official PR after the break.
Show full PR text
Blue Line Innovations and Google PowerMeter™ partner to add more choice to real time electricity monitoring.
Monday December 20, 2010. San Francisco, California
Google PowerMeter™ broadened its device partners today by adding connectivity to the PowerCost Monitor™ by Blue Line Innovations.
Google PowerMeter is a free energy monitoring tool that helps you save energy and money. Using energy information provided by the PowerCost Monitor, Google PowerMeter enables you to view your home's energy consumption from anywhere online. It incorporates features such as tracking energy over time, always on power, predicting costs, budget tracking and community sharing.
The PowerCost Monitor, which introduced its WiFi Gateway accessory this summer, is the only electricity monitoring product in full device partnership with both Google PowerMeter and Microsoft Hohm®. The WiFi Gateway allows families with a PowerCost Monitor or Black & Decker Power Monitor to view their data on line or through a mobile device and provides them with their choice of online partner. A very simple plug and play configuration allows the consumer the flexibility to change their partner selection at any time.
Peter Porteous, CEO, Blue Line Innovations said, "We are very pleased to be partnering with Google PowerMeter today. Our WiFi launch and partnership with Microsoft Hohm was very successful and now we are able to offer consumers even greater choice and control over energy usage".
Porteous continues, "This really signals our business and product strategy. At Blue Line we see ourselves in the access to data space. Our patented and proven optical sensing technology has been on the market since 2004 and provides a safe, universal and do it yourself (no electrician required) solution for homeowners. The PowerCost Monitor turns dumb meters into smart meters and smart meters into even smarter meters."
"The innovation and investment in smart grid and home automation is really exciting but at the end of the day universal access to real time data is paramount."
Recent industry reports suggest that today only 7% of smart meters deployed are in
broadcast mode and over the next decade only 50% of the market will have smart meters in place. The PowerCost Monitor provides accurate, real time data reporting to approximately 90% of the market today – legacy, analogue, digital or smart meters.
Porteous commented, "This is a very exciting role for us in the home energy management ecosystem. Whether it's helping get real time data to an online partner such as Google PowerMeter, to a utility partner who isn't yet ready to invest in a broadcasting smart meter network or a home automation partner, Blue Line Innovations has a range of delivery systems to provide real time energy data access to that home"
About Google PowerMeter™
Google PowerMeter™ is a free energy monitoring tool that helps you save energy and money. Using energy information provided by utility smart meters and energy monitoring devices, Google PowerMeter enables you to view your home's energy consumption from anywhere online. See http://www.google.com/powermeter/about/ about.html
About Blue Line Innovations
Blue Line Innovations Inc. developed and markets the PowerCost Monitor™, a line of wireless, portable, real-time energy reporting devices for the home. Blue Line Innovations has been active in the business of real time energy feedback for 6 years with over 130,000 PowerCost Monitors™ in the market since 2004. Easy to install, the PowerCost Monitor™, communicates wirelessly to the meter and now through a WiFi Gateway to the internet and Microsoft Hohm® and Google PowerMeter™. Independent research has confirmed that homes using the PowerCost Monitor™ can save up to 18% on their monthly electricity bill. For more information and the retailer in your area see, www.bluelineinnovations.com
Hard to say if you're aware, but Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (best known 'round these parts at CSIRO) was the first to develop the WiFi transmission technologies that are widely used on Planet Earth today, and they've got stacks of infringement lawsuits to prove it. Now, the organization is testing out a radical new approach to solve the rural broadband problem, and rather than relying on newly opened spectrum or other forms of black magic, they're simply tasking existing analog TV antennas to work a little overtime. Put simply, Ngara uses the broadcast towers that already exist in rural towns that receive television signals, and then with a new set-top box and a modified TV antenna, it's able to funnel broadband internet into faraway homes. Recent tests in Tasmania -- sections with higher populations of Devils than Earthlings -- have shown the uplink working just fine, but they're still a good ways out from getting data to download. Project manager David Robertson surmises that it'll be around four years before the technology is ready for the commercial market, and you can bet your bottom (Australian) dollar that we'll be counting down the days. And so will everyone else stuck in the Big Apple wondering why Jimmy McMillan didn't get elected for mayor.
Stop us if you've heard this one before: a cell phone comes with an unlimited music subscription. Now, flip it on its head and say the cellular carrier was the one offering the all-you-can download audio buffet -- built right into a totally unlimited data, text and voice monthly slate -- and you've basically got the new $55 Muve Music plan from Cricket Wireless. Cricket doesn't have the reach of the big four US carriers and may not even have coverage in your area, but that didn't keep it from tempting Universal, Warner, Sony and EMI from signing over millions of songs. It'll debut on the new Samsung Suede featurephone pictured at right, which comes with a "special" 4GB Sandisk encrypted flash memory card (et tu, slotRadio?) that will likely protect the music from prying pirate claws... at least for the weeks or months it takes the open-source community to rip it a new one.
The Suede will reportedly hold about 3,000 songs, which (barring antics) will be irrevocably tied to the phone and only play there, and disappear entirely if users stop paying for the Muve plan. PC Magazine got a brief hands-on with an early version, and says there's a bit of irksome audio compression, but also some Zune-like social networking features, too. The service will debut at CES on January 6th, and spread to other devices and other markets over the course of 2011. PR after the break!
Show full PR text
Cricket Introduces First Wireless Rate Plan with Unlimited Music Included
Innovative, New Digital Music Service Muve Music™ will Debut at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas
2011 International CES
SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cricket Communications Inc., a leading provider of innovative and value-driven wireless services and a wholly owned subsidiary of Leap Wireless International, Inc. (NASDAQ:LEAP), today announced it is the first U.S. wireless carrier to offer consumers unlimited music as part of a new wireless rate plan. This product offering features an innovative new digital music service called Muve Music. It is the first music experience designed specifically for the mobile phone.
"Muve Music is a truly new kind of mobile music experience, and we're excited about its potential to connect fans to the artists they love in a unique and innovative way"
"Cricket was the first to introduce an unlimited wireless rate plan and now we are the first to introduce a new unlimited wireless rate plan that includes unlimited music. With Muve Music, Cricket is bringing together the best of wireless and music in a way no one has ever done before," said Doug Hutcheson, president and chief executive officer of Cricket Communications. "Our recent experience with smartphones has shown us that the right products offered at the right price will be successful with value-oriented customers. We are excited and confident that Muve Music will provide a superior mobile experience for customers who want to create a personal music experience without being tethered to a computer. The result of our collaboration with the music industry during the past two years allows unlimited music downloads, ringtones and ringback tones to be included in a wireless service for a flat monthly rate. We believe the high quality Muve Music experience is the right product at the right time for value oriented customers."
"Muve Music from Cricket is a game changer for everyone," said Ben Bajarin, director of Consumer Technology Practice at Creative Strategies. "By tightly integrating the music service into the handset and the billing plan everyone in the value chain benefits and consumers have a complete music service where the phone is the hub not the PC."
The Muve Music Rate Plan
For just $55 per month, Muve Music customers will get the following features on Cricket's nationwide 3G network:
Unlimited nationwide calling Unlimited nationwide text, picture & video messaging Unlimited global text messaging Unlimited 3G mobile Web Unlimited email Unlimited data back up Unlimited video
And for the first time anywhere in the U.S.
Unlimited full track downloads Unlimited ringtones Unlimited ringback tones
With Cricket's Muve Music rate plan, there are no download fees and no monthly music subscriptions. Customers' data plans will not be impacted by streaming music over the wireless network and customers won't be required to use a credit card to purchase music. Unlimited Muve Music is included in the flat rate monthly wireless service plan.
Introducing the Muve Music Service Experience
Two years ago Cricket, in collaboration with key music industry and technology partners, began to create new IP and design a new music experience to meet the needs of customers for whom the phone, not their computer, is the center of their digital life. Muve Music brings the functionality that resides on many online digital music services to the palm of the customer's hand. The service also delivers innovative new features and functionality that only a wireless network and true mobile offering can provide. With Cricket's new service there are no cables, no drivers, no synching and no complexity. Everything happens over Cricket's nationwide 3G network to deliver a robust music experience to music lovers on the go.
Muve Music will have a robust catalog of music content which includes the four major record labels: Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and EMI Music. This ground-breaking new music service and business model was brought about through a unique collaboration, led by Cricket, between the music industry labels, as well as technology partners Samsung Mobile and SanDisk.
"When we first began working with Cricket to model this new service, we quickly realized what a great opportunity it was to develop the first-ever US unlimited music service that comes bundled with a mobile voice, text, and web plan and is fully integrated into the phone itself," stated David Ring, executive vice president of business development and business affairs for Universal Music Group, eLabs. "There has been nothing like this product or business model ever attempted in this country."
"Cricket has developed a very compelling experience for their customers which is extremely well integrated into the device and wireless service plan through a new business model that establishes a great approach to partnership in the mobile music space," said Michael Nash, executive vice president, digital strategy and business development, Warner Music Group. "We're thrilled to work with their talented team and hope their innovative Muve Music service proves to be influential as we continue to work with the wireless industry to transform the way consumers experience music on mobile phones."
"Muve Music is a first-of-its-kind solution for US consumers," said Thomas Hesse, president, global digital business, U.S. sales and corporate strategy, Sony Music Entertainment. "The inclusion of a premium digital music service in the wireless plan is an exciting new opportunity to expand the market for commercial digital music."
"Muve Music is a truly new kind of mobile music experience, and we're excited about its potential to connect fans to the artists they love in a unique and innovative way," said Mark Piibe, executive vice president of global business development, EMI Music.
The Samsung Suede Debuts as the First Muve Music Phone
At launch, Muve Music will be available on the Samsung Suede™ (SCH-r710), marking the unique integration of an innovative new music service and a phone from a leading global handset manufacturer. The Suede is a high-end 3G multi-media device with a full 3-inch touchscreen display, HTML web browser, virtual QWERTY keyboard and an easy-to-navigate user interface. Most notably, it features a dedicated music button, prominently displayed on the front of the device, that takes customers to the Muve Music experience with one touch.
The Muve Music service also includes a new technology solution from SanDisk that's a key part of the service. Muve Music content is downloaded DRM-free over the air to the phone. It is stored and protected on a special flash memory card. This alleviates the need for any cumbersome digital rights management (DRM) scheme and results in a greatly improved user experience, better handset performance and longer battery life.
Muve Music: Meeting the Customers' Needs
Muve Music is Cricket's latest innovation. It had its genesis in 2007 when the Company observed interesting customer behavior surrounding its newly launched basic ringback tone service. Within a few quarters of launch, Cricket was generating more revenue for the music industry from ringback tones than most U.S. wireless carriers even though Cricket had a much smaller customer base. Continued analysis led the Company to conclude that Cricket's customers loved music but they were not having a good music experience thus prompting the development of Muve Music to provide customers with a way to get the music they love on their wireless phones through a flat-rate plan served by a network they can rely upon.
See Muve Music at CES
Muve Music and the Samsung Suede will debut at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, January 6-10, 2011 and can been seen at South Hall 4, upper level, Room S210 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The service will be available in January 2011, at select Cricket company-owned stores and at www.mycricket.com, as well as through select partner retail outlets. The Cricket Muve Music wireless unlimited plan is $55 per month. The Samsung Suede has an M.S.R.P. of $199.
For more information about Muve Music visit www.muvemusic.com and for Cricket's dynamic device lineup, please visit www.mycricket.com.
About Cricket
Cricket is the pioneer of simple and affordable unlimited wireless services with no long-term commitments or credit checks required serving more than 5 million customers in 35 states and the District of Columbia. Cricket offers wireless voice and broadband Internet services over the latest technology, high-quality, all-digital 3G CDMA2000 1X and 1xEV-DO wireless network. Cricket's nationwide wireless voice service plans include unlimited anytime minutes, unlimited U.S. long distance, unlimited text and picture messaging, unlimited text to Mexico, unlimited Mobile Web, unlimited directory assistance, as well as a variety of calling features and feature-rich mobile applications such as popular games, ringtones and wallpapers. Cricket Broadband provides unlimited Internet access anywhere within Cricket's coverage areas at speeds comparable to DSL. For more information on Cricket, visit www.mycricket.com. Cricket is offered by Leap Wireless International, Inc., headquartered in San Diego, Calif. For more information on Leap, visit www.leapwireless.com.
It's not often you hear of a case causing technical problems with an electronic device, but that's just what a number users have been saying about Amazon's own Kindle Leather Cover. Apparently, the problem stems from the metal hooks used in the case -- they're designed to conduct electricity in the lighted version of the case, but in the non-lighted version they're reportedly causing Kindles to freeze or reboot. While the company hasn't officially confirmed the problem, Amazon has told PC Magazine that its engineering team is looking into the issue, and that it will offer a refund or replacement to anyone experiencing a problem with the case, no matter when it was purchased. Those looking to take Amazon up on that offer can email kindle-response@amazon.com.
Planning to pay Verizon an extra $130 for an iPad + MiFi 2200 bundle? Hold on a sec, because Best Buy's planning to give away hotspots free of charge when you purchase Apple's tablet. This advertisement, obtained by 9to5 Mac, does mention that you'll need to shackle yourself to a carrier for two years to qualify -- unlike Verizon's original arrangement -- but in exchange you get a free Verizon FiveSpot,AT&T MiFi, or perhaps most excitingly, a WiMax-capable Sprint Overdrive. Fine print in the lower-right hand corner suggests that the promo will begin immediately and run through January 2nd. What better way to spend your leftover Hanukkah gelt than on gigabytes of wireless data?
We were expecting to see a slew of new Google TV-powered displays and boxes at CES in a couple of weeks, but now The New York Times is reporting the list of new product partners at the show may be much shorter than expected. The cause is reported to be Google's last minute decision to ask for more time to work on its software first, resulting in no new hardware from LG, Sharp and Toshiba at the show, leaving only Samsung and VIZIO to show off their products. The always popular unnamed sources now peg timing for the next full fledged assault of Google TV hardware as after the company completes updates including the addition of the Android Market some time next year. Of course, Chrome OS and Honeycomb already provide plenty of examples of a disconnect between the good folks at Mountain View and their hardware partners, but with some already casting doubt on the platform's potential, and the company's ability to work out licensing deals with Hollywood, it'd be good to see more than last week's partial facelift as a sign of what is to come.
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.
Electric vehicles took the country by storm this week as both the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Volt were officially released to eager customers - if you're still trying to decide between the two, check out our electric vehicle smackdown, which compares the two EVs based on their most important features. We also took a spin inside Honda's electric Fit, and we showcased a futuristic home decked out with enough solar panels to completely charge an EV. The Sonex airplane also signaled bright horizons for electric aviation as it completed its maiden flight.
Hacked your Kinect recently? Then you probably know something most regular Xbox 360 gamers don't -- namely, that the Kinect's infrared camera is actually capable of higher resolution than the game console itself supports. Though Microsoft originally told us it ran at 320 x 240, you'll find both color and depth cameras display 640 x 480 images if you hook the peripheral up to a PC, and now an anonymous source tells Eurogamer that Microsoft wants to do the very same in the video game space. Reportedly, Redmond artificially limited the Kinect on console in order to leave room for other USB peripherals to run at the same time, but if the company can find a way around the limitation, it could issue a firmware update that could make the Kinect sensitive enough to detect individual finger motions and inevitably lead to gesture control. One of multiple ways Microsoft intends to make the world of Minority Report a reality, we're sure.
The first time we saw the YikeBike we couldn't help but think it was a little too stylistically shaped, a bit too svelte, and a lot too carbon fiber to actually exist in the real world as anything but a prototype. But now, over a year later, here we are looking at a little green "Add to cart" button on the company's website. Yes, the 6 mile range, 15mph top speed foldable cycles are starting to roll out of the warehouse with an estimated ship date of just one week. The best news? The price is $3,595, far from cheap but about $2,000 less than they were originally estimated to cost and a downright bargain for something that offers this unique blend of bizarreness and fun. How much fun? Get a refresher course in the video after the break.
With just five days left for Christmas shopping, Best Buy has enacted a most welcome plan to get you in the door -- effective immediately, it's abolished the infamous 15 percent restocking fee that the company traditionally charged for a wide variety of product returns.The Consumerist reports that computers, tablets, projectors, camcorders, digital cameras, radar detectors, GPS units, in-car video systems and audio equipment will no longer carry the fee, and that iPhones (which incurred a 10 percent restocking fee) are exempt as well. Only special orders will still carry the charge. What's more, the company will allegedly refund any such fees charged since November 17th. Bravo!
So, let's say you're out with a bud. Two buds. Just you three, hanging out, talking up memories of the days when you all kept in touch via the Kin Spot. And then, a monument. Any monument will do. You bust out a point and shoot, scrunch together, and snap a picture. Fast forward to next week, and your buds are still wondering when you're ever going to offload those images and shoot 'em over via email. You've not only let down the two most important people in your life, but you've failed yourself. Enter Samsung's Ucim camera, which sports a full trio of USB ports meant to house three USB memory nubs. When the shutter snaps, it logs images to all three nubs, and when the party's over, you and your two buds grab your respective nubs and part ways. Too bad it's just a concept for now, but here's hoping it becomes much more than that in the near future. Your buds hope so, too.
That slide above is no joke -- it comes from a marketing webinar put on by two companies that count Verizon, AT&T and Vodafone as clients, and it describes a system that identifies customer internet activity and charges a different rate for using Facebook than watching YouTube, while allowing access to Vodafone services for free. Yes, that's basically the nightmare scenario for net neutrality advocates. The two companies behind the slide are Allot Communications and Openet, which sell subscriber-management tools to carriers around the world -- tools that Allot's director of marketing says can scan even encrypted packets to determine what service customers are using and charge accordingly. We're not making this up -- here's the direct quote from the webinar:
[We use] a number of different methods to accurately identify the application -- methods like heuristic analysis, behavioral and historical analysis, deep packet inspection, and a number of other techniques. What's key is that we have the best application identification available on the market, which means that even applications that are encrypted or use other methods to evade detection will be correctly identified and classified... We essentially feed this real-time information about traffic and application usage into the policy and charging system. Each subscriber has a particular service plan that they sign up for, and they're as generic or as personalized as the operator wants.
Yeah, that's not how anyone actually wants the internet to work -- except carriers, who've been saying increasingly insane things about charging even smartphone manufacturers for customer data usage lately. What's more, it's rumored that the FCC will cave to Verizon and AT&T and exempt wireless internet service from major parts of net neutrality regulation it's expected to pass next week, so this nonsense could very well hit the US sooner rather than later. We'll be keeping a close eye on things -- we'll let you know. Meanwhile, listen to the webinar yourself immediately below.
Sure, looking at the future is great and all, and that's what we feel like we're doing with all these wonderful Kinect hacks we've been covering lately. But what about feeling the future, man? That's what the kids at the University of Washington BioRobotics Laboratory are up to, taking the 3D images created by Microsoft's gaming peripheral and combining that with a 3D haptic controller, what looks to be a SensAble Phantom to us. The result? A so-called "haptic handshake," which looks even more uncomfortable than when Hank and Dean do their "Go Team Venture" routine. You can see both embedded after the break and decide for yourself.
It sounds like all of NVIDIA's wrangling and cajoling finally paid off, if a couple of analysts are to be believed -- both say the company's dual-core Tegra 2 chipset is racking up wins in the tablet space. We've seen it seemingly raise the bar for smartphone silicon in the LG Star and tease us in slate after slate, but Citigroup's Glen Yeung says that Samsung has "placed a sizeable order with Nvidia for Tegra 2 chips in the first half of 2011, geared for both tablets and smartphones," and BMO Capital Markets analyst Ambrish Srivastava anticipates the next Galaxy Tab will be one of the devices that use it. If that sounds obvious, remember that Samsung was supposed to be producing a dual-core chip of its own. What could cause companies to embrace Tegra 2, if that's indeed what's happening? Any number of reasons, to be sure, but Glen Yeung also says that Google has made Tegra the reference design for Honeycomb, aka Android 3.0, and so Tegra 2 may sound like a fast track to victory in the budding tablet space. Here's hoping it's a good choice for consumers, too.
Believe it or not, the crew at Engadget HQ will be packing up and headed to CES 2011 a fortnight from today, and it looks as if quite a few undercover products from NEC will be making the same trip. The company has just revealed that its single-screen Cloud Communicator tablet will be on display, but moreover, a dual-screen version will be making it awfully tough for the former to get any attention whatsoever. Now, dual-screen devices aren't exactly new, but an Android tablet with a pair of 7-inch LCDs is definitely more inciting than Kno's education-minded megabook and the two-faced e-readers that swarmed CES 2010. Details on the hardware are few and far betwixt, with NEC only revealing that both panels will be touch-enabled, WiFi, 3G and Bluetooth modules will be baked in and that a stylus will be included for good measure. Also, it'll fully support the use of different programs on each LCD, which -- if executed properly -- could melt our faces into the desert sand below. Sadly, our prying for images got us nowhere, but we're assured to see more at next month's extravaganza. Hang tight. 
It's oftentimes hard to gauge the proliferation of electronic devices into everyday life while looking at them from our little bubble of early adopter enthusiasm. A much better vantage point for these things can be provided from the arms of government, among the most change-resistant places on any planet, and American legislators are letting us know that tablets, not the children, are our future. Texas Representative Henry Cuellar recently took the House of Representatives floor with an iPad in tow, which broke with the chamber's etiquette if not its rules. He's not alone, however, in hoping that the House dispenses with its Omega Man-style prejudice against electronics and permits their widespread use by Representatives. If nothing else, distributing bills of law electronically should make a nice dent in the "multimillion" dollar budget currently set aside annually for printing. Let's make it happen, guys.
Stop us if you've heard this one before: a cell phone comes with an unlimited music subscription. Now, flip it on its head and say the cellular carrier was the one offering the all-you-can download audio buffet -- built right into a totally unlimited data, text and voice monthly slate -- and you've basically got the new $55 Muve Music plan from Cricket Wireless. Cricket doesn't have the reach of the big four US carriers and may not even have coverage in your area, but that didn't keep it from tempting Universal, Warner, Sony and EMI from signing over millions of songs. It'll debut on the new Samsung Suede featurephone pictured at right, which comes with a "special" 4GB Sandisk encrypted flash memory card (et tu, slotRadio?) that will likely protect the music from prying pirate claws... at least for the weeks or months it takes the open-source community to rip it a new one. 
With just five days left for Christmas shopping, Best Buy has enacted a most welcome plan to get you in the door -- effective immediately, it's abolished the infamous 15 percent restocking fee that the company traditionally charged for a wide variety of product returns. The Consumerist reports that computers, tablets, projectors, camcorders, digital cameras, radar detectors, GPS units, in-car video systems and audio equipment will no longer carry the fee, and that iPhones (which incurred a 10 percent restocking fee) are exempt as well. Only special orders will still carry the charge. What's more, the company will allegedly refund any such fees charged since November 17th. Bravo!
No comments:
Post a Comment