Far be it from Samsung to announce an extremely high-end US-only smartphone -- the Infuse 4G for AT&T, pictured above -- without a global equivalent, and it's starting to look like we'll get that equivalent in just a few weeks' time. JK Shin, president of Samsung Mobile, has now gone on record saying that we'll get a new Galaxy S device at Mobile World Congress in February that'll feature Gingerbread, a dual-core processor (whether that's Tegra 2, Orion, or something else entirely, we're not sure), and the Super AMOLED Plus technology that debuted at CES last week. Shin's also saying that we'll get a peek at Sammy's plans for the Galaxy Tab line for 2011, which we're guessing will include that lovely 7-inch Super AMOLED display that's been kicking around. Should be an exciting show, to say the least.
It's time to start penning the epilogue to the story of how Verizon and the iPhone came to be happily betrothed yesterday. We've already heard a good deal about how the last suitor failed to live up to expectations, but this report keeps the focus predominantly on the newlyweds and their courtship. The agreement came last year and was brokered by Verizon President Lowell McAdam and Apple COO Tim Cook, with input from CEOs Ivan Seidenberg and Steve Jobs (naturally), and though the commercial aspect only took about a day, the preceding technical hurdle was a six-to-nine months ordeal. That entailed putting Verizon cell towers at Apple HQ to check signal and avoid reliability troubles, as well as having Verizon's Executive Director of Technology David McCarley work in Cupertino for more than a year. As for the rest of the deal, both parties agreed to share inside knowledge (Verizon's network plans for Apple's device plans -- wouldn't you like to know) and Verizon had to agree to a logo-free device. Which, given the sure-to-be mindblowing sales, probably isn't a hard pill to swallow.
Being locked in a car with General Motors representatives for the better part of a day gave us plenty of time to talk about... well, just about everything. On the list of topics was discussions about what's next for the company in the Volt space. Back then they said there'd be more of the things coming, and now they're giving a little more information, confirming that a hatchback and crossover SUV will be similarly electrified sometime within the next three years. A little further down the road GM will roll out its next-generation battery technology, currently under development at Argonne National Laboratories. These mixed-metal oxide batteries add nickel and cobalt to the battery cathode mix, while the cells themselves remain lithium-ion. This is said to double capacity of any given battery, meaning the Volt could go just as far with half the weight. Or, you know, twice as far with the same weight. Isn't math fun?
We know very well what Google considers beta -- after all, Gmail, Docs, and Calendar all shared that status until mid-2009 -- but here's a chance to check out an experiment from Mountain View that's "still in its earliest stages." Google Translate for Android is celebrating its first birthday this month, and to celebrate, an update will be pushed out offering a number of UI tweaks as well as an alpha version of Conversation Mode. Never heard of it? A demo was given at IFA 2010, but in case you're still in the dark, it essentially lets two speakers talk to one another in their respective native tongues while the app speaks real-time translations. Right now it'll only do English and Spanish -- and even then expect some hiccups with "regional accents, background noise or rapid speech" -- but the Babel fish has to start somewhere. Need more dialects / languages? Be patient, get a job for Google, or better yet, seek gainful employment with NIST / DARPA. Video from the IFA presentation is after the break and starts around the 26-minute mark.
Let's just end the speculation right here: a Sprint-locked CDMA iPhone on the heels of Verizon's wouldn't be much of an "industry first," so we're thinking that whatever the company has to unveil on the evening of February 7th in New York will be of a very different flavor. The event invite goes on to say that they'll show "that the impossible is possible," which could very well mean the Epic 4G is getting Froyo. Burn! Also look for guest David Blaine to hold his breath in a tank of things that bite for 45 minutes or so, which will make for an awesome liveblog (yes, we'll be there).
Yes, folks, more fun infotainment systems to hope that your manufacturer of choice picks up before your 'Ol Bessie gives up the ghost and has to be put out to pasture. Regardless of which logo you prefer on your grille there's a good chance that Harman works with them, and so maybe they'll pick up this. It's called the Experimental HMI and it's basically a netbook for your dash -- minus the keyboard and junk. It's running an Atom processor and has a Flash-based interface, making it easy to develop for. The killer app at this point is an augmented reality navigation system you can see demoed in the video below, but it'll ultimately be up to the manufacturers to do what they will with it.
We don't see too many spectrumanalyzers 'round these parts, and when we do the applications are usually pretty obscure. But catching cheating cheaters before they cheat again? That we can understand -- and apparently that's exactly what happened in Taiwan recently, when folks being tested for government jobs were overseen by folks packing a Rohde and Schwarz FSH4 spectrum analyzer. In addition to being a "closed book" test, this one was also a "closed phone" test, and the analyzers allowed examiners to listen for (and pinpoint the location of) mobile phone signals. As of right now, it looks like officials have uncovered three prospective cheaters, although additional evidence will have to be offered before a conclusion is made (perhaps they were just sexting). Can we offer a friendly word of advice? The next time you're taking a test somewhere, and the room is full of people outfitted with large spectrum analyzers and Secret Service-style earbuds, you'd probably want to take that as fair warning and turn off your celly.
Alright, folks -- if you've already got a T-Mobile UK account in your back pocket, you can breathe a sigh of relief, because that ugly new data cap doesn't apply to you. It took the operator just a day to realize that putting a hazy "fair use" restriction of just 500MB per month on existing accounts wasn't going over too well with its customer base, so they've conducted a "further review" and decided that they'll instead only be applying the rule to new and upgrading customers as of February 1 only. We wouldn't call this an outright win by any stretch -- the policy is still enormously restrictive, vague, and a pretty clear-cut disadvantage of the competition-reducing Everything Everywhere hookup, and it looks like they'll still end up tagging you as soon as you try to upgrade your plan or your hardware anyway... but we'll take whatever reprieve we can get.
Did you sit through all three of the lengthy, expository videos that lovingly and exhaustively detailed every aspect of the Model S's design and engineering? If so, you'll be familiar with Peter Rawlinson, Tesla Chief Engineer and genuine car nut who, in previous lives, held the titles of Chief Engineer of Advanced Engineering at Lotus and Principal Engineer at Jaguar. His latest creation, the Model S, shares some frame concepts the products of one of those companies and some styling cues from another, but it's safe to say this is an all new car that has been obsessively designed starting with a "blank computer screen" as he puts it. He was kind enough to spend some time talking tech with us, and you can read the highlights below.
The Model S, though naturally having a radical powertrain, has a suspension setup that doesn't look exactly other-worldly, but that's not to say it's entirely normal. It's double-wishbone up front and a multi-link setup in the rear, with the motor attached to a subframe and situated between the rear wheels. The battery pack keeping the show on the road is not situated behind the driver like in the Roadster, rather forming a sheet that looks to be about four inches thick. This sheet is is a structural member of the car, helping the chassis to resist twisting. It's the lowest point in the car (other than the tires), sitting about level with the hubs on the wheels. Peter indicates that this gives the car an unusually low center of gravity, which helps to reduce the amount it rolls in corners.
It's so low that the car, despite its considerable 4,200lb bulk, can make do with relatively thin anti-rollbars. We asked Peter if we're getting to the point where the CG is so low, beneath the roll center of the car, that it would actually cause it to lean into corners. The Model S isn't quite there, apparently, but according to Peter that is apparently not as desirable a suspension effect as one might think, causing an unsatisfactory driving sensation, among other things.
The car will be offered in four ranges, with battery packs offering 160, 230, or 300 miles worth of juice. Each pack will be the same physical size and each can be removed in under a minute -- assuming you have your sockets handy. About 30 bolts are entailed and, while we still don't have hot-swappable battery stations available anywhere, Peter indicates that's absolutely still a goal for the Model S. That said, 480 volt charging will be supported by the car, which in other EVs provides an 80 percent charge in about a half-hour.
The motor itself is a variation on that sitting amidships on the Roadster, this time liquid cooled, as are the batteries, enabling the car to maintain optimal temperatures. There is no transmission as such, just a simple reduction gearbox and differential. Peter wouldn't quote any drivetrain loss figures but indicated it'd be considerably lower than your average five speed setup, which can range between 10 to 20 percent of power gone simply due to friction. Additionally, the motor controller is integrated right onto the unit itself, with a direct bus connection that cuts down on electrical losses.
And what about that controversial interior? The one with the 17-inch, Tegra-powered touchscreen stuffed in the center stack? Peter calls this a "signature feature" of the car, and of course you can't argue with that, but we do have our concerns about usability. "Seeing is believing," according to the man and, given as we still haven't seen it, we'll go ahead and continue to have our doubts.
We're told the Model S is still rolling toward a release next year and still targeting that $57,000 price tag that Elon Musk assures us will be profitable for the company. What's it like to drive, and just how well can that touchscreen cope to the various greases and industrial components used in American fast food? For those answers we're just going to have to wait a bit longer.
Tried booting your corporate PC lately? Dollars to donuts it takes longer than three minutes to complete. The point? You need Sandy Bridge, and you need it now. Dell's hoping your IT department will agree, with the introduction of the Vostro 460 mini tower bringing along Intel's second generation Core processors (Core i5 and Core i7 options are available), Turbo Boost 2.0 and an understated design. Customers can also load it up with as much as 3TB of storage, a Blu-ray drive, 1GB NVIDIA or AMD discrete graphics card and a USB 3.0 expansion card. You'll also get a tool-less chassis, eight USB 2.0 ports, inbuilt security services from Trend Micro and a starting price of $599. Surely that fits into the Q1 budget somewhere, right?
Smartphone integration in your car's head unit isn't of all that much use if it's only going to play nice with one brand or another (we're looking at you, Mini Connected). Johnson Controls is being rather more open with what it's calling the Connected Center Stack, basically a framework that OEMs and aftermarket radio makers can build upon to create their ultimate infotainment system. It quite naturally connected and played audio over USB or Bluetooth, augmenting that with support for Pandora and even Terminal Mode, as implemented on a Nokia N97, replicating the phone's UI exactly. There are both touchscreen and jog dial controls, and the unit can get data either directly from a smartphone or through a USB connected 3G modem. Or that's the theory, at least. The unit on display was a little buggy and not reliable enough for us to get a video of it in action, but with any luck it'll be cleaned up and hitting production center stacks... eventually.
It's been nearly a week and we're still trying to figure out exactly what was going on during Samsung's wild CES 2011 keynote - even though we liveblogged it, talked about it on the showcast, and named it best presser of CES, we're not sure you can fully understand the insanity of the dancers, the random moments, and a futureboy named Zoll unless you've seen it yourself. Samsung's put the whole thing up on YouTube in six segments (you can find the first below) but we cut together a little highlight reel you can watch above. Trust us -- it's worth it.
Yes, in addition to being one of the coolest and largest nations in the world, China now has the distinction, at least for the time being, of having the longest bridge in the world. The Qingdao Haiwan Bridge -- at 26.4 miles long -- in Shandong Province is almost three miles longer than the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in Louisiana, which was the previous record holder for the longest bridge over water in the world (the longest bridge in the world period is also in China). The bridge took four years to build -- lightning fast by American construction standards -- and cost around $8.5 billion dollars. It was designed by Shandong Gausu Group and built by about 10,000 workers.
Disguised as a mere toy, the original Mindflex is actually a kind of limited telekinesis simulator in that it allows you to control the up and down movements of a ball suspended in air by, well, flexing your brain. With the release of the Mindflex Duel, you can now test your telekinetic prowess against that of your closest friends. That's right, Mattel's latest offering allows you to play what amounts to tug-of-war (with a tiny foam ball) using only the power of your mind. The Duel also lets people play cooperatively, but that doesn't sound like nearly as much fun as hooking this to a stim unit for a little friendly competition and some elevated stakes for the loser. We're not sure why, but the mind games won't start until August, though the device is currently available for pre-order on Amazon for $99.99.
A few months ago, three teams split $10 million in prizes, finally claiming the Progressive Insurance Automotive X prize. They're all at CES, and we got a chance to speak in detail with one of the men behind one of them, Edison2's Oliver Kutter, about the design of the car and, ultimately, what's going to come next thanks to that $5 million in cash the company walked away with. Read on for the details from that conversation, including why this tiny thing could actually be safer than a traditional car, as well as a video walkthrough, and pictures of the winner of the two-wheeled X-Tracer too.
The Very Light Car appropriately weighs a few ticks over 800lbs and is powered by a 250cc motorcycle engine (the same one used in the funky little Yamaha WR250X). That may not sound like a lot of power, and indeed it isn't, but the idea here is of course efficiency. The team managed 102mpg during the competition, but have elsewhere scored 109, and that's just the beginning.
This is the third iteration of the car, and the company is already hard at work on the fourth, with electric power coming. That won't be the end, though, with more revisions to be made and, hopefully, a production version that could, believe it or not, seat seven. Part of the reason why it has so much room is because the suspension is entirely built into the wheels, a layout we unfortunately weren't allowed to see (it's hidden under the white bits of paper) but enables the axle to be completely rigid and the interior to stretch right to the corners of the body.
If your first thought is that this layout plus its tiny, low-rolling-resistance tires give it crummy handling, prepare to be humbled: the VLC pulled 1.18g on a skidpad, matching a $300,000+ Pagani Zonda C12 S. If your second thought is that it's a deathtrap, we'll be happy to dissuade that too. It's made of carbon fiber, for one thing, which is incredibly hard to damage. For another, its diamond shape gives it incredible rigidity from either frontal or side impacts. Finally, the placement of the wheels and tires outside of the body means they can be shed in a crash -- throwing off kinetic energy and reducing the overall force of the crash.
Ultimately the Virginia-based company is still a ways away from a version that you or I can try to go break our own records in, but with a fleet of experienced racing engineers fiddling with CAD files and laying up the carbon we'd like to think good things are coming. But, then, we are optimists.
In what can only be called an amazing example of extremely coincidental timing, Verizon has announced that it's throwing the switch on 16 new 3G Cells in the greater New York Metro area. Alas, they won't be spreading the LTE love across the Empire State, but with such an added signal boost in the Boroughs we'd say the company is in reasonably good shape to handle a massive influx of customers. You know, just in case. There's a full list of all the new towers in the PR below.
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Verizon Wireless Strengthens Industry-Leading 3G Network in the New York Metro Area With Sixteen New Cell Sites
Enhanced cell sites keep residents connected to email, music & mobile Web
Verizon Wireless continues to set the pace for 3G network while simultaneously rolling out and maintaining robust 4G network
Company strives to offer customers best network options to suit their needs WARREN, N.J., Jan. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Wireless, provider of the nation's largest and most reliable 3G network, today announced the activation of sixteen new cell sites in the New York Metro Region. The company turned on five new cell sites in both Rockland and Suffolk Counties, three in Westchester County, and additional cell sites in Nassau, New York and Putnam Counties. Wireless calling, text messaging and mobile Web surfing on the company's award-winning 3G network are now easier and faster for residents and visitors in these communities. "While establishing our recently-launched 4G LTE network is something we take very seriously, it is important for our customers to know that we are also committed to holding our position as the most reliable 3G network in the nation," said Pat Devlin, New York Metro region president for Verizon Wireless. "As it stands now, the 3G network is what most of our customers are using now. While many will eventually cross over to 4G for business applications and heavier data usage, a good percentage will find that our 3G network will continue to suit their needs very well for the foreseeable future." The expanded coverage and increased data capacity enables customers in these areas to enjoy better reception, fewer dropped calls and faster download speeds when using their wireless devices to talk, text, email, view high-quality videos and access VZ Navigator's turn-by-turn directions. Additionally, these network enhancements further boost Verizon Wireless' network reliability, particularly during emergencies such as power outages and extreme weather conditions when wireless communications are needed the most. These new cell sites are part of Verizon Wireless' aggressive multi-billion dollar network investment each year to stay ahead of the growing demand for the company's voice and data services. Nationally, one hundred real-life Verizon Wireless test men and women drive more than 90 specially-equipped vehicles nearly one million miles each year on the country's most frequently traveled roadways to confirm that voice calls and data connections are successful on the first attempt and stay connected. Vehicles are equipped with computers that automatically make more than three million voice call attempts and more than 16 million data tests annually on Verizon Wireless' network and the networks of other carriers. The new cell sites and their coverage areas include: Monsey, NY (Rockland County) Spring Valley, NY (Rockland County) Suffern, NY (Rockland County) Suffern Park, NY (Rockland County) Palisades, NY (Rockland County) East Islip, NY (Suffolk County) Blue Point, NY (Suffolk County) Medford, NY (Suffolk County) Wading River, NY (Suffolk County) Village of The Branch, NY (Suffolk County) Bronxville, NY (Westchester County) Yonkers, NY (Westchester County) Croton on Hudson, NY (Westchester County) Merrick, NY (Nassau County) New York City (New York County) and West Paterson, NY (Putnam County)
For more information on Verizon Wireless, please visit www.verizonwireless.com or call 1-800-2-JOIN IN . Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/VzW_NYMetro About Verizon Wireless Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable and largest wireless voice and 3G data network, serving more than 92 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 79,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD). For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.
Germany started with electric cars and bikes, and now they are taking things to the air with the PC-Aero Elektra One. This single-seat ultralight plane has a composite airframe and a 16-kilowatt motor with a range of 400 kilometers and a max flight time of three hours. At a cruising speed of 160 km/h (about 99 mph for us anglophiles), the aircraft won't be setting any speed records, but given that it's being designed as an eco-friendly way to enjoy "leisure aviation," you should've expected to travel at a leisurely pace, indeed. The Elektra One hasn't taken to the air just yet, but PC-Aero plans to perform the first flight test later this month, so we can look forward to seeing another electric plane flying overhead in the near future. Check the video after the break to see and hear the future of aviation for yourself.
So, by now you've had a chance to digest the fact that Verizon's getting the iPhone, right? A standout from yesterday's news is of course the iPhone Personal Hotspot feature that those lucky red devils are being treated to. Hopefully the rest of us won't have to remain envious for to long, though -- BGR says its sources have confirmed that that feature is headed to all iPhones once iOS 4.3 lands. The word is the OS version with this shiny treat will be 8F5148B with a baseband version of 04.08.00. Of course, your carrier is likely going to have to be on board, a-la tethering support, but once that dust settles not only will you be able to tether your device, but your friends will be able to join in -- and rack up your data usage, too. So sit back, relax, and all will be revealed if and when this bridges the gap between rumor and reality.
When offered a chance to take a Ford Focus Electric for a spin we jumped at it, though were admittedly a bit perplexed when told it would be on the show floor. As it turns out the company set up a loop upon which a Transit Van and Focus Electric were driving, one after the next, up a steep incline and over the heads of fellow journalists, stopping at a little dyno to see just what this thing was putting down, and then back around to where it all started. No shocking information was gleaned, and we still can't get anyone to confirm or deny the ability for a 480v quick-charge, but it sure beat walking.
What must surely be the industry's worst-kept secret just got even further out of the closet with a new suite of pictures showing not the outside but the inside. After all, we've already seen the outside at every possible angle, even in motion playing games. TGBus is the source here again, its disembodied hands apparently completely bored with actually playing games, so they broke out the Torx and spread it asunder. See for yourself on the other end of the source link, and feel free to contact your local Sony representative and tell them what a great job they're doing on keeping this thing quiet.
Sorry, we can't help ourselves. You see, we like the Prius. A lot. But it's just so... well... boring. Not the Prius C. It's just a Concept, but it's a Curvy one, a Cute one, and a downright Catch. Call us anytime. Toyota. You have our number.
Were you excited about yesterday's iPhone announcement? Not so much as The Daily Show, which spent a whole seven minutes and 18 seconds out of its 30 minutes of programming to celebrate the announcement -- and certainly not sparing the whip when it comes to AT&T. Jon Stewart appeared to be somewhat excited, screaming in excitement at being able to use "the world's most popular almost phone" as, well, an actual phone. See it for yourself below.
If your doctor's ever uttered the words, "I'd like to run more tests," you know the wait for results can be torturous. Engineers and students at the University of Rhode Island (URI) are hoping to stop the torture with a new lab-on-a-chip technology that cuts way back on the wait for important lab results. The system provides results in 30 minutes, using a portable device and just a drop of blood. The blood is placed on a small plastic polymer cartridge, smaller than a credit card, and inserted into a shoebox-sized biosensor. It then travels across the cartridge to a detection site where reagents enable the sensor to detect biomarkers of disease. Basically, your doctor pops a bloody piece of plastic into a box, and out come your results. The first cartridges were developed to assess the risk of heart disease, but researches suggest they could be designed to detect everything from HIV to Alzheimer's. The URI team estimates costs at $3200 for the sensor and $1.50 for the test. No official word on a release date, but we hope they won't make us wait too long -- we can't stand the suspense.
This reverse geocache box reminds us of something out of Mission: Impossible -- the second-run of the TV series, not that dreadful Tom Cruise franchise -- only it won't self-destruct in five minutes. It will, however, unlock when it reaches a pre-programmed location. Like the Deluxe Reverse Geocache, this box gives its holder a mission should they choose to accept: use the display to find the box's final resting spot. Unlike its predecessor, this one uses three nixie tubes, not an LCD screen, to track the box's distance from its destination. A built-in Arduino GPS sensor does all the tracking, and a servo motor pops the top when triggered. The refashioned French army medical box operates off of three D-cells, and can do about 600 GPS fixes before powering down. We're definitely fond of this throw-back treasure chest, we just wish it had a built-in audio player for bumping the MI theme. Yeah, we said it.
Blue Microphones' Yeti Pro a 'lil rich for your blood? Have a gander at Samson Technologies, who is also introducing a new USB microphone to usher in the year 2011. The company's foldable USB mic -- better known as the Meteor Mic -- looks a lot like any number of retro mics you might find in an older recording studio, or any number of brand new ones designed to look just like the old ones we just mentioned. There's also a stereo 1/8-inch headphone output for no-latency monitoring, not to mention a headphone volume control and a trio of legs to tinker with. There's even a microphone mute switch for those who prefer to grumble while the boss blabbers on, and it'll be out and about in Best Buy this April for $99. Demonstrative video is just past the break, if you really need to enlighten yourself further.
Make an Impact with Meteor Mic: In Stores April 15, 2011
Foldable USB Mic is perfect for Home Studio, Skype and More
See Meteor Mic at CES – Las Vegas Convention Center South Hall #SL20356
Las Vegas, NV – January 06, 2011 – Today at CES, Samson introduced Meteor Mic, the universal solution for recording music on your computer. Perfect for your home studio, Meteor Mic is also ideal for Skype, iChat or voice recognition software.
Featuring a large condenser and all chrome-plated body, Meteor Mic's fold-back leg design allows for the optimal positioning for any recording application from acoustic guitars and vocals to speech. Meteor Mic also has a stereo 1/8-inch headphone output for no latency monitoring and a headphone volume control. In addition, a microphone mute switch gives you audio privacy while video conferencing.
"Meteor Mic's compact design is unique, but don't let its size fool you. With our largest condenser, everyone will be blown away by the audio quality of their recordings," says Scott Goodman, President of Samson.
Since there are no drivers required, you can start recording with your Meteor Mic right out of the box, as the mic can be directly connected to any computer and is compatible with most computer-based digital audio software. A USB cable and protective carry pouch are included.
Meteor Mic will retail for $99 and will be available in stores April 15, 2011, including all Best Buy locations nationwide.
Perhaps just to show that it is not hip to be a Square, Intuit has rolled out a serious incentive for businesses to jump on the GoPayment bandwagon. Since we last saw the mobile payment service, the company has decided to offer customers a free card reader (while supplies last) and no monthly service fees in an effort to expand its user base. Primarily aimed at those processing low sales volume, the deal includes $0.15 per-transaction fee. That's half the $0.30 fee for high-volume users, who still get the complimentary reader for signing up, but have to pay $12.95 monthly for the privilege. The offer is exclusively available to new customers, and the gratis reader only works with some phones (far fewer than the number of phones that work with the app itself), but hey, free is free. Let's just hope Intuit's system doesn't suffer from the security problems of its rival.
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GoPayment Gives Small Businesses Free Credit Card Reader and No Monthly Service Fees
Provides More Ways to Get Paid via Mobile Devices: Supports More than 40 Mobile Phones and Range of Credit Card Readers
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Processing credit card payments on mobile phones just got easier – and cheaper – for small businesses in the new year.
"We don't have any arbitrary transaction caps that delay users from getting their money. Plus, we're always there if you need us and have people available 24/7 to answer your questions so you don't lose a sale." Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq: INTU) will offer its GoPayment mobile payment service with a free credit card reader and no monthly service fees to business owners who sign up by mid-February.
"By offering a free card reader and no monthly service fees, we want to give more small businesses a head start in the New Year by enabling them to take mobile payments without any upfront investment," said Chris Hylen, general manager of Intuit's Payment Solutions division. "And this is just the beginning. We'll introduce new ways all year long to help more small businesses get paid quickly and inexpensively using their favorite mobile devices."
GoPayment is compatible with more than 40 popular mobile handsets and a range of credit card readers. This includes a free credit card reader from ROAM Data, which works on a variety of iPhone, Blackberry and Android devices, to make it easier for the cost-conscious new business owner to start taking mobile payments. There are also other robust, professional readers, including the new, sleek, form-fitting mophie credit card reader for the iPhone 4, for established businesses with higher processing volume. A list of supported devices is available at: www.gopayment.com.
Since GoPayment launched nearly two years ago, small businesses have processed nearly $80 million in mobile payments using the solution. And the mobile payments market is expected to grow significantly in the coming years.
"We expect the point-of-sale mobile payments market in the U.S. to grow to $55 billion by 2015, up from an estimated $1 billion in 2010," said Gwenn Bézard of Aite Group. "Intuit is among the best-positioned providers to lead that market, because of its existing presence in acquiring, its accounting and personal finance solutions, and its trusted brand."
Gets Small Businesses Paid Fast
Using GoPayment and a supported credit card reader, users can swipe and process credit cards within seconds instead of entering card data manually. Funds are then deposited into their bank account typically within two to three business days.
"GoPayment gets small business owners paid fast," added Hylen. "We don't have any arbitrary transaction caps that delay users from getting their money. Plus, we're always there if you need us and have people available 24/7 to answer your questions so you don't lose a sale."
To save more time when processing payments, GoPayment includes customer-requested features such as the ability to create and sell from a list of frequently sold items, apply sales tax and send customized receipts via text and e-mail with a map of where the transaction took place.
For the more than 4 million small businesses that use QuickBooks®, GoPayment can also sync transactions with recent versions of QuickBooks – both PC and Mac – to save time by reducing manual data entry.
The solution protects customer data throughout the payment process. Sensitive credit card data is never stored on the phone. In addition, card data is double encrypted – once via card reader and a second time via the GoPayment app.
Pricing and Availability
GoPayment offers different discount rates and pricing plans depending on a business's processing needs. Businesses that sign up for GoPayment before mid-February can get a free credit card reader while supplies last and choose one of the following pricing plans:
For lower or intermittent credit card processing volume:
No monthly service fee for businesses that sign up before mid-February; Discount rates: 2.7 percent for card swiped; 3.7 percent for both key entered and non-qualified transactions; $0.15 per transaction. For higher credit card processing volume:
$12.95 monthly service fee; Discount rates: 1.7 percent for card swiped; 2.7 percent for key entered; and 3.7 percent for non-qualified transactions, such as corporate cards; $0.30 per transaction. GoPayment has no long-term contracts, cancellation, gateway or set-up fees, and one account can enable up to 50 users. To receive the free offer, businesses must be a new Intuit Merchant Service customer and approved for an Intuit merchant account. Terms, conditions, pricing, features, service and support are also subject to change without notice. More information on the details of this free offer is available at www.GoPayment.com.
About Intuit Payment Solutions
Intuit is one of the largest small business payments processors in the U.S. It processes annually more than $17 billion in transactions for approximately 300,000 small businesses. Over the last 10 years, Intuit has helped small businesses get paid and improve cash flow with a complete family of end-to-end electronic payment solutions. This includes services to process credit cards, e-checks and online payments via a variety of channels including mobile devices, web and retail stores and integrated solutions such as QuickBooks.
Iogear has just revealed one wireless keyboard to rule them all, and it's aptly (albeit not creatively) named the Multi-Link Bluetooth Keyboard with Touchpad, or GKM611B for short. While the device's name is unwieldy, it does have quite a few slick features, particularly the ability to mate with six separate Bluetooth devices up to 30 feet away, customizable hotkeys, and a relatively svelte curb weight of 1.9 pounds. In the redheaded-stepchild department (though nothing against stepchildren, or redheads for that matter), the company also debuted the new 2.4GHz Wireless Compact Keyboard (aka GKM681R), which we feel safe to say got its moniker courtesy of a diminutive 10.25 x 4.4 x 1-inch profile. In spite of the bantam size, the 'board packs an optical trackball and 16 dedicated hotkeys. For those in the market for such things, the Bluetooth model goes on sale in late Q1 for $79.95, and the 2.4GHz offering will cost just $59.99, which is quite a bit cheaper than the ouftit's other compact keyboards.
Manage Input for Six Devices with IOGEAR Multi-Link Bluetooth Keyboard with Touchpad
IOGEAR's Multi-link Bluetooth Keyboard with Touchpad (GKM611B) can wirelessly switch between six Bluetooth enabled devices, providing convenient management of HTPCs, gaming consoles, smart phones and more.
Las Vegas, NV – International CES 2011 – January 6-9 – Central Hall #13427 – Continuing their pursuit of connectivity through convergence, IOGEAR today introduced the Multi-Link Bluetooth Keyboard with Touchpad (GKM611B) for wireless management of up to six Bluetooth enabled devices. Data input for social media, gaming or even board rooms has reached a new level.
Entertainment, productivity and communication blend more seamlessly with a single data input device. Bluetooth 2.0 technology in the GKM611B provides a 30-foot radius of operability allowing the IOGEAR™ Multi-Link Keyboard to go from couch to kitchen table or conference room to office, switching between different devices with ease.
Once a user switches to the desired Bluetooth-enabled device, custom hotkeys provide even greater convenience with push-button access and management of: My TV, videos, pictures, music, Internet browser, volume control and more. An Integrated touch pad with left and right mouse buttons adds additional flexibility since users are not required to keep a separate mouse in tow when switching between devices.
Complementing the functionality is an ultra-slim and low profile design that allows users to type with style and comfort from any angle in the room. Ergonomically designed for many different laps and surfaces, the GKM611B also features a slip resistant base, two AA batteries and weighs only 1.90 lbs for painless toting.
"Wireless keyboards are appealing because users aren't tethered to a machine while operating," states Bill Nguyen, senior marketing manager for IOGEAR. "Our new multi-link Bluetooth keyboard offers this same comfort for six separate devices, providing freedom to move around or stay seated while staying connected."
IOGEAR's Multi-Link Bluetooth Keyboard with Touchpad will be shipping late in Q1, 2011.
IOGEAR's 2.4GHZ Wireless Compact Keyboards is the Ideal Solution for the Digital Living Room
From the comfort of the couch, HTPC fans can navigate PC-to-TV content, interact with game consoles and access online content with the touch of a button.
Las Vegas, NV – International CES 2011 – January 6-9 – Central Hall #13427 – As any Home Theater PC fan knows, inputting commands via a wireless remote on your TV is a hassle, yet giving up space in your living room to a wired keyboard is not a welcome option either. The new IOGEAR™ 2.4GHz Wireless Compact Keyboard (GKM681R) now gives you the power of wireless connectivity that can also be stashed away in a side table drawer when not is use.
The 10-inch keyboard with built-in optical trackball, left/right buttons and scroll wheel allows you to work and play up to 33 feet away from your Home Theater PC, Media Server, computer or laptop, even the latest game consoles. The GKM681R keyboard is a convenient way to drive the PC to TV content you want, when and how you want it. Access and manage videos, photos, movies and online content on a TV screen from the comfort of your favorite seat in the house.
With 16 multimedia hotkeys (shortcuts) at the top of each keyboard for a quick transition between Internet Browsers, email, Media Player, volume control and more, the conveniently placed buttons and optical trackball provide simple and precise singlehanded navigation. Set-up is as simple as plugging the included USB RF receiver into your computer's USB port. With an ergonomic design and just 10.25 inches long, 4.4 inches wide and 1 inch high; the ultra thin, lightweight, and stylish black keyboard offers comfort wherever you type.
The GKM681R keyboard will ship in Q1 2011 with a MSRP of $59.99
Samsung did say it's ready to supply all US carriers with 4G phones, not just Verizon, and we may already be looking at one of those devices before us. Billed as a T-Mobile exclusive, the Vibrant 4G looks to be a gentle refresh of the current Vibrant handset, with the notable upgrades being the inclusion of 21Mbps-capable HSPA+ connectivity -- to speed your mobile broadband up into T-Mobile's definition of 4G speeds -- and a front-facing camera paired to Qik video chat software. The onboard version of Android is 2.2 and internal specs seem to generally match the earlier-released namesake. Speaking of the original Vibrant, these leaked docs also show it's sold over one million units in its time in the US and is the nation's best-selling Galaxy S variant. Great, now can someone please leak it to Samsung that Android 2.3 is already out?
Hot on the heels of Sony's CES announcement that the VAIO S is getting some new silicon, it turns out that more changes in its ultraportable PC are on the way. Per the company blog, you will now be able to customize your system instead of buying off the rack. Not all options are as plentiful as we'd like (color is limited to black or silver), but you can choose to add a Blu-ray writable drive, a 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 310 graphics card (though choosing this option means you don't get WiDi), up to a 256GB solid state drive, and up to 8GB of RAM. For going the tailored route, you can also get a free upgrade to a Core i5-480M processor if you opt for Windows 7 Professional. Prices for a made-to-order VAIO S start at $874.99 and escalate quickly once you start adding all the fixins.
That Apple had the original App Store isn't under dispute, but should the company have the right to exclude others from using the same term to describe their program repositories? Microsoft says no, and has this week filed a motion with the US Patent and Trademark Office asking for it to dismiss Apple's trademark claim for "App Store." The application seeks to secure for Apple the exclusive use of the term in the context of computer software broadly, not just on the mobile front, but Microsoft is arguing that its constituent words are generic (or simply descriptive) both individually and as a pair. In making its case, the Redmond company cites Steve Jobs himself, whose exposition on the topic of Android fragmentation included specific mention of multiple "app stores" for the Google OS. It would seem this has been brewing for a while, too, as the last update -- dated 7th of July, 2010 -- on Apple's trademark application notes there's a pending opposition to its claim. Now that Microsoft's escalated its complaint to asking for a summary dismissal, it'll be interesting to see on which side of the great divide the decision falls.
Spotify still won't say when its streaming music service will come to the US, but its 10 million songs will play on two more devices from here on out: starting today, the Logitech Squeezebox Touch and Squeezebox Radio can get their 320kbps groove on. (Sonos, eat your heart out.) A free beta version of the music app should appear on the MySqueezebox website at any moment -- though it doesn't seem to be there right now -- followed by "a full rollout expected in the very near future," a promise which we can't quite translate, but might mean support for even more devices down the road. Of course, Spotify's something of a given for Logitech's next Squeezebox, if it happens to run Android. PR after the break.
Show full PR text
Spotify arrives on Logitech Squeezebox
London, England - Jan. 10, 2011 - Logitech today announced that it has joined forces with Spotify® to support the popular music service on the Logitech® Squeezebox™ network music players.
Using your existing wireless home network and your Squeezebox Touch or Squeezebox Radio player, you can now access Spotify's comprehensive catalogue of more than ten million songs, including your Spotify playlists, anywhere in the home.
"Spotify represents a new breed of music service, offering high-quality, instant access to the world's music," said Romain Du Gardier, senior product manager for Logitech EMEA.
"Whatever music you like from wherever in the world, Spotify and Squeezebox make it even easier for you to sit back, listen and relax in any room in your home," added Du Gardier.
"Logitech is delighted to add Spotify to its family of online music services for the Squeezebox product line."
Spotify provides instant access to whatever music you want, whenever and wherever you want it, through both free-to-the-user and paid subscription offers.
To enjoy Spotify on your Squeezebox Touch or Squeezebox Radio, all you'll need is a Spotify Premium subscription, which in addition will give you CD-quality 320 kbps sound, offline and mobile access, as well as exclusive music content.
"Today people want to be in total charge of what music they listen to and where they listen to it," said Pascal De Mul, Global Head of Hardware Partnerships. "They demand total access to everything the music world has to offer, instantly, simply and in great quality. Our collaboration with Logitech gives people that ability, allowing everyone to listen to the world's music in every corner of the house."
A fully featured test version of the Spotify app for Squeezebox Touch and Squeezebox Radio owners is available today in Beta form from MySqueezebox.com, prior to a full rollout expected in the very near future. Spotify is currently available in Finland, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the U.K.
For more details about the Beta version and how to install it please visit www.mysqueezebox.com/spotify
Even though games like Infinity Blade can be great fun on the iPhone, there's no getting around the fact that touchscreen-centric, buttonless devices don't offer the best gaming ergonomics. A modding project gone horribly right, however, might just fix that right up for all of us. Shane Wighton set out to build a robot to try and beat his favorite iPhone game, replete with a webcam and an Arduino setup, but in the process of doing so he "just realized that [he'd] made a mechanism to play tilt based phone games with a joystick." Yes indeedy, one of the most awesome DIY gaming accessories was built by fluke as much as design. See it revolutionizing mobile gaming just after the break.
You had to expect that as the 3DS got closer to its global release, stray units would manage to break out of Nintendo's manufacturing fortress and dash out into the wild. We already saw one such escapee earlier this month and, if we're not terribly mistaken, that very same unit has now gone through the ritual of having its body disassembled for the sake of curious 3D gamers everywhere. There's little to thrill the superficial viewer -- we already knew about the 1300mAh battery, for example -- but maybe you'll care to scrutinize the silicon more closely. If so, the source link is your nearest and dearest friend.
It would make sense that people listen to music for the sheer pleasure of it, right? That's what we thought, but apparently there's a scientific reason for this. Scientists have discovered that when Earthlings listen to pleasurable music, one particular chemical is loosed in the gord. The study, conducted by Robert Zatorre and Valorie Salimpoor of McGill University in Montreal, concluded that when the participants tuned into instrumental pieces they were familiar with, their brains released dopamine into the striatum -- an area of the noggin linked with anticipation and predictions. According to PET scans, the members of the study unleashed the chemical 15 seconds before a climaxical moment in a song, signaling the possibility that humans may actually release it in anticipation and not as a reaction to a wailing solo. Bonus point? Chopped and screwed tracks unleashed forty times more dopamine. Just kidding, but it's probably true.
It's been less than a week since Intel announced their 2nd Generation Core processors, and the little guys are already hard at work. Deep in the heart of another convention -- the National Retail Federation Convention, to be exact -- Intel unveiled the Connected Store concept: a futuristic storefront for retailers looking to up their digital game. The store, powered in part by the "visibly smart" processors, is packed with interactive demos and proof-of-concepts that look like something out of the Jetsons. Among the systems sporting the new processor's 3D graphics capabilities are a virtual search engine-equipped wall of Adidas sneakers -- the thing packs up to 8,000 different styles -- and the Intel Digital Signage Endcap, which does some creepy big brother stuff, using gestural sensors to target you specifically. Also on display are a number of beefed-up and interactive self check-out kiosks and point-of-sale systems. Intel's already got the big guns interested, including Proctor and Gamble and Kraft Foods, but we just want to know who's going to make this wall of shoes a reality. Video of the Connected Store after the jump.
Looking a bit like a universal Sony Party-shot, the Satarii Star is up on fundraising site IndieGoGo right now with a simple goal: finding enough people who are willing to pay for an action-tracking base for their camera to get the thing produced. The concept is simple enough -- use the included iPhone and standard tripod mounts to insert the camera of your choice, grab the remote sensor and attach it to the object, animal, or human you want to track, and let 'er rip -- as long as you stay within 8 meters (roughly 26 feet), the base station with camera attached will rotate up to 180 degrees to keep the action in the frame. As of this writing they're about halfway to their goal to $20 grand -- and they've already slapped together a functional prototype, so you know you're not funding pure vaporware. Follow the break for a demo, and while you're at it, go ahead and tell off all your friends -- you won't need 'em to hold your camera while you film magic tricks for YouTube anymore. Score!
LTE's great... but only if it's got phones and modems that can take advantage of it. Though MetroPCS beat Verizon to become the first American carrier to launch the technology, it's been scraping by so far with nothing other than the Samsung Craft, a middling dumbphone without the chops to attract the powerusers that would normally want to be involved with a 4G network anyway. Looks like that's finally about to change, though, because BGR's scored a shot of a so-called SCH-R910 -- also from Samsung -- that's running Android 2.2. It'll allegedly have backward compatibility with MetroPCS' CDMA network (naturally) along with a 1GHz Hummingbird core and 5 megapixel camera -- not a blockbuster by any stretch, but still on a whole new plane than the Craft. Rumor has it we'll see this before the end of March for somewhere between $330 and $400 contract-free; question is, will it beat Big Red's first LTE phones to market?
We thought the story behind former AMD CEO Dirk Meyer's resignation wouldn't be as juicy as that of HP CEO Mark Hurd, but they've actually got something in common -- neither had a visionary strategy for entering the smartphone and tablet markets. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Meyer'shesitation, particularly towards tablets, may have cost him the job, and that the company pressured him into resignation after he showed disinterest in mobile devices at this year's CES. Sounds familiar to us, but we still don't expect any sex scandals or fraudulent reports out of this one.
We came. We saw. We conquered (in our own, gadget-obsessed way). Yes, CES 2011 happened, and we were there for every heart stopping minute of it. This was definitely one for the record books; not only did we bring the biggest team we've ever had to the show, but the gear we saw this year was some of the most interesting and career-affirming stuff we've looked at in a long time. From Motorola's awesome Android offerings (the crazy, modular Atrix and Honeycomb-sporting Xoom), loads of terrific new smartphones, to really innovative auto tech, and connected TVs and set top boxes that actually make sense -- this feels like the right place to be at the right time.
But really, what makes CES 2011 so amazing for the Engadget team are two things: the fact that all of our editors get to be in the same room, living and breathing our shared obsession (and trust us, we have an absolute blast), and that we can bring all of the craziness of this show to you guys. We're psyched to have come together and just gone nuts this year, but between the lack of sleep and ridiculous amount of posts we've done, we're also really happy to see our homes again.
Of course, there's always the next event (hello, Verizon iPhone) and even the next CES (hello, 2012), but until then, enjoy the pics below and feast your eyes on some of these staggering stats from Engadget's CES 2011 coverage!
Number of posts: approx. 720 (January 3rd to 9th; up 14 percent over 2010) Number of photo galleries: 336 Number of videos: approx. 173 Number of podcasts: 11 (5 Classic, 3 HD, 3 Mobile)
Time spent sleeping, per editor per 24-hour cycle: 3 hours (down 14 percent over 2010) 3G cards: 32 WiMAX cards: 28 LTE cards: 1 Hypermacs: 2 DSLRs: 28 This year's song: Rihanna ft Drake - What's My Name (Chopped... and screwed) Most orders of In-N-Out fries at once: 32 (16 regular, 13 Animal Style, 3 well done)
Team Engadget
Ground crew: Joshua Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Thomas Ricker, Paul Miller, Ross Miller, Darren Murph, Vladislav Savov, Sean Hollister, Chris Ziegler, Richard Lawler, Joanna Stern, Ben Drawbaugh, Sean Cooper, Don Melanson, Tim Stevens, Richard Lai, Myriam Joire, Ben Bowers
Home team: Joe Flatley, Laura June (poet laureate)
Special teams: Dan Chilton, Justin Glow, Trent Wolbe, Chad Mumm, Jason Miller, Nina Sokoler, Jacob Schulman, Kevin Wong, Sam Sheffer, Joshua Fruhlinger, Christopher Grant
International: José Andrade, Carlos Martinez, Alberto Ballestin, Alexandra Guerrero (Drita), Ittousai, Andy Yang
We knew Sony would be non-plussed about the PlayStation 3 jailbreak, and now we have a better idea as to the full extent of its anger. The company has filed suit (not yet, see below) asked for a restraining order against George "Geohot" Hotz, the "hacking group" fail0verflow (Hector Cantero, Sven Peter, "Bushing," and "Segher"), and numerous John / Jane Does over the exploit and its release. To be more specific, the company cites violations of Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, various copyright infringements, and other acts of binary malfeasance. A temporary restraining order has also been sought, asking that all "circumvention tools" be taken offline and his computers and related media (i.e. anything storing said tools) be impounded. It looks like Geohot's servers are being slammed at the moment, so we've gone ahead and hosted the relevant PDFs ourselves below. We're still sifting through ourselves and will let you know what we unearth. Update: Nilay here -- let's take a look at what's going on. This isn't a "lawsuit" in the traditional sense, since Sony hasn't filed a complaint for copyright infringement or whatever against Geohot and friends. Instead, the company appears to be trying to shove the genie back in the bottle and have the jailbreak and any information about the jailbreak removed from the web by filing a temporary restraining order. That might work in the short term -- Geohot's already pulled his pages down -- but history suggests that the forces of paperwork rarely triumph over the righteous anger of nerds, and that this code is out there for good. That said, we'll see what the court says tomorrow; although we very much doubt Sony's melodramatic proposed motion and order will be granted as written, we wouldn't be surprised if some sort of order is eventually granted -- and then from there a formal lawsuit is likely just a few days away.
If your doctor's ever uttered the words, "I'd like to run more tests," you know the wait for results can be torturous. Engineers and students at the University of Rhode Island (URI) are hoping to stop the torture with a new lab-on-a-chip technology that cuts way back on the wait for important lab results. The system provides results in 30 minutes, using a portable device and just a drop of blood. The blood is placed on a small plastic polymer cartridge, smaller than a credit card, and inserted into a shoebox-sized biosensor. It then travels across the cartridge to a detection site where reagents enable the sensor to detect biomarkers of disease. Basically, your doctor pops a bloody piece of plastic into a box, and out come your results. The first cartridges were developed to assess the risk of heart disease, but researches suggest they could be designed to detect everything from HIV to Alzheimer's. The URI team estimates costs at $3200 for the sensor and $1.50 for the test. No official word on a release date, but we hope they won't make us wait too long -- we can't stand the suspense.
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