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Wednesday, February 2, 2011

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TouchType debuts Swiftkey Tablet app for Android tablets

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 10:17 AM PST

We got a taste of what TouchType was doing to tweak its SwiftKey keyboard app for tablets back at CES, and the company has just now gotten official with the final result: its SwiftKey Tablet app. It's apparently been designed "in partnership" with Google and Motorola to coincide with the launch of the Xoom and, as you can see above, it's clearly been tailored specifically for Honeycomb -- the company describes the skin as "holographic" and thumb-optimized." As with previous SwiftKey keyboard apps, it makes use of the company's so-called Fluency Prediction Engine, which promises to predict "around a third of words" before you enter a single character, and can even analyze your Gmail, Facebook and Twitter accounts to learn how you write (though that can apparently be turned off if you prefer). Head on past the break for a quick video, and stay tuned for some hands-on impressions.


Microsoft releases H.264 plug-in for Google Chrome, vows to support WebM video in IE9

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 10:12 AM PST

Hard to believe that the infamous "fragmentation" term is now being bandied about in the web browser world, but sure enough, it's Microsoft using the term today to describe the brave new realm we're living in. If you'll recall, Google defended its decision to not include H.264 support natively in Chrome, but maintained that WebM plug-ins were coming to Safari and Internet Explorer 9. Today, Microsoft's kinda-sorta returning the favor. Following the outfit's release of a Firefox add-on to bring full H.264 support to Windows machines, the outfit is releasing a plug-in for Chrome (only the Windows version for now) that provides support for H.264. Furthermore, it's committed to supporting third-party WebM video plug-ins; to quote, users "will be able to play WebM video in IE9." It's fairly obvious that Microsoft's taking this golden opportunity to push its browser as one that supports everything (rather than just its own preferred format), but regardless of the motives, we're just happy to see differences put aside and compatibility finding priority.

Android Market gets a web store with OTA installations, in-app purchases coming soon

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 09:33 AM PST

Google's Android Market now has a web client. Finally! And guess what else, it's already live. Hit the source link below to get exploring. It's very simple, really, you can browse the entire Market catalog on your desktop or however else you're accessing the web, you can purchase anything that takes your fancy, and then -- via the magic of over-the-air transfers -- it downloads and installs onto your Android handset. A neat phone management section will let you nickname your registered devices to make them more recognizable as well.

Google has also just announced that Android will soon support in-app purchases. Widespread developer interest has been cited as the major reason for doing it, so you've got those lovable coders to thank for the oncoming wave of micropayments you'll have to deal with in your Android apps. The in-app purchasing SDK is releasing to devs today and will be "live to users prior to the end of this quarter."

Live from Google's Android event!

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 08:52 AM PST


10:54AM And that's it. Hands-on time!

10:54AM Considering that this is over WiFi, we're concerned about 3G / 4G use.

10:54AM A little bit of a delay in the video chat, but not bad. Sound quality is somewhere between AM and FM radio, we'd say.


10:53AM It's Cee-Lo!

10:53AM "Uh, Hugo? There's some guy looking at you from your tablet."

10:53AM SDK is being released today, and will go live for consumers by the end of the quarter.

10:53AM Turns out Disney just got access to the purchasing SDK five days ago. Of course, they've been working on Tap Tap Revenge 4 for Android for some time, but the purchase integration just took a few days.




10:52AM And that's it for Tap Tap Revenge 4; "coming this spring with the launch of in-app billing."

10:52AM Rocking out to Bruno Mars' Somewhere In Brooklyn. Woooo!




10:51AM The UI basically looks the same as when you're buying an app; naturally, you can change your payment method, and carrier billing is supported just as it is in the Market itself.

10:50AM Here we go: song purchases in the app are using Google's in-app purchasing SDK.

10:49AM Tap Tap Revenge 4 now. Still haven't seen in-app purchasing demoed though.


10:48AM Radio Disney launching within a couple weeks. Next, JellyCar.



10:47AM Looking at Radio Disney app now.

10:47AM 60M downloads for these guys. "Now that we're coming to Android, I think that number's about to get a lot bigger."



10:46AM Google's been working on the feature with a couple partners -- here comes a Disney Mobile rep to talk about their work.

10:46AM Apparently, this one was added in response to widespread developer interest.

10:46AM If you integrate with Google's in-app purchasing SDK, you'll be able to charge stuff from within apps.


10:45AM In-app purchases are coming!

10:45AM Currency conversion -- "buyer currency support." The Market will now allow developers to enter explicit prices for support currencies so that users don't see crazy automatic conversions. Phased rollout on this one, and it's developer opt-in -- they can continue to allow automatic conversion if they like.

10:44AM Now we're talking about the purchasing process.

10:43AM You can give nicknames to your registered devices so you've got an easier way to remember them... should you have a bunch in your possession.



10:42AM In the case of free apps, there is no second screen when you decide to download -- one click and you're done.


10:42AM In search results, the webs store lets you filter by device compatibility (nice) and price.

10:41AM The deep links work regardless of whether you're on your PC or on your phone. On the PC, they go to the web store; on the phone, they go straight to the Market.




10:40AM You've got a Tweet button on the app pages so you can automatically tweet about them. Huh... no Buzz button? What's that all about?

10:39AM You've also got deep links straight to apps in the web store, which Google is positioning as a good way to share recommendations with friends over email. True... if not a little obvious.




10:38AM Now we're looking at his Nexus S -- it already has a notification that the app is downloading. Wow, seamless to the max.

10:37AM On the next screen, you can choose your payment method. "I'm going to put this on the Google corporate card. Is that OK, Andy?"

10:37AM When you pick an app to buy, it asks you which of your registered devices to install to; it also pops up the standard list of requested permissions (Android owners are already well familiar with this).


10:36AM Purchase and install time!


10:36AM Talking about the app description page: "The first thing that you'll notice is that the page is graphically rich, and it's rich in a way that developers can control."

10:35AM Featured, top paid, and top free apps on the top page, categories on the left.


10:35AM URL is market.android.com.

10:34AM You can browse through the entire catalog of apps, plus purchase and install directly from the web.

10:34AM Android Market Web Store!

10:33AM "I've never met a team that's as dedicated and hard-working as the Market team, and they've worked tirelessly to get these features ready for this today."


10:32AM "We're making changes to meet the needs of both developers and users."

10:32AM Android's engineering director for cloud services is taking the stage to talk about getting apps to users -- presumably a Market discussion.

10:32AM Barra is back on stage.

10:31AM "As tablets grow around the world, we want to be there." Tablets + CNN = profit, it seems.

10:30AM "What a powerful way to connect the news to individuals."



10:29AM In addition to browsing existing iReports, you can capture photos and video right from the app, add a description, and upload. Boom, you're famous.




10:28AM Now we're going to take a look at the second half of this app's equation -- CNN iReport. First time iReport has been on a tablet.

10:27AM Looking at some live video in the app right now; quality isn't bad. This is all over WiFi, by the way.



10:26AM "Based on our testing, this is an incredibly immersive experience. Consumers love it."

10:26AM Looking at the "broadsheet" view. Looks pretty solid -- LOTS of content on one screen. Could be a little overwhelming, but we'll have to use it.


10:25AM Demoing CNN's Android tablet experience, launching soon for free.


10:25AM Now we've got the VP of mobile for CNN on the stage.

10:24AM Not a very long demo, but we got a sense of how it connects and looks... and it's exactly what you'd expect. Once you're connected, your front camera view goes to the bottom right and your contact takes the whole screen.



10:23AM Here we go -- he's connected.

10:23AM We're looking through Barra's contact screen right now -- he's trying to find someone to video chat with. Give us a Xoom, man, and we'll be happy to do it.


10:22AM "We've spent a lot of time building image stabilization technology into Honeycomb for video chat." Interestingly, it saves bandwidth, because the image stays more similar for a longer period of time. Huh!


10:21AM Time for Google Talk video chat!

10:21AM "We think this is a really cool new UI." We tentatively agree -- looks solid.



10:21AM New camera UI in Honeycomb is being demoed now. Thank goodness -- the existing camera UI was definitely one of Android's weakest pain points.

10:20AM Barra describes the games as "absolutely stunning." That might be going a bit far, but they certainly weren't bad -- and we're sure it'll get better.






10:20AM Both titles launching within the next month!

10:20AM Now, Great Battles, described as an "educational" game. First title the studio has developed to take full advantage of two mobile cores. Seriously, the frame rate is NOT awesome... but the graphics are pretty hot.


10:19AM Third-party app demo time... Monster Madness, ported from PS3 to Honeycomb. Looks good, but a little jerky in places -- we'd put it on roughly the same plane as the best iPad games.




10:17AM Now, Google Body -- "the Google Maps of the human body." The rendering is super-smooth and very impressive. Looks like it might not have quite as much antialiasing as a desktop... but this is a tablet, after all.




10:17AM New Music app with 3D album browsing mode.

10:16AM Now we're looking at Google Maps. Nothing new here, though -- the same 3D tilt capability that's already rolled out.

10:16AM Google Books has Renderscript action going on, too.




10:15AM Honeycomb also includes a new graphics library known as Renderscript; he's demoing a 3D wall of videos in the platform's YouTube app as an example of a Renderscript screen.

10:15AM He's going between the home screen and the widget selection view to demonstrate how fluid the graphics are as he transitions between the two.


10:14AM Now the discussion is turning to performance. "We've spent a lot of time optimizing performance in Honeycomb, particularly with 2D and 3D graphics."

10:13AM Talking about the Application Bar at the top of the screen now; Barra also describes this as a type of fragment that can be reused. It contains "global actions" for use within the app.



10:12AM The panes are described by Google as "application fragments." They can be laid out independently of one another (for different UIs in landscape and portrait, for example) and the idea is to be able to reuse fragments between phone and tablet UIs.



10:12AM Now we're seeing two-pane Gmail.

10:11AM Fruit Ninja looked pretty much as you expect -- the existing app, just bigger. Multitouch (as Barra says, "multi-handed") gestures fully supported.




10:11AM "You can probably tell that I'm getting really good at this."

10:10AM "An app that has been designed with our recommended guidelines is going to run really well on tablets." Demo time -- an existing version of Fruit Ninja running unmodified on a Xoom.



10:09AM Wow -- some of these notifications are basically pop-up widgets. Barra is demoing the music notification, which lets him pause and change tracks by tapping on the music icon in the notification bar. OutKast in the mix, by the way.

10:09AM Since you've got more screen real estate, these are "richer" notifications than you get on an Android phone. Pictures, notably.


10:08AM "Another thing we've redesigned in Honeycomb is the notification system."


10:07AM We'll admit, these are some of the best-looking, smoothest-operating widgets we think we've ever seen on any platform. It's obvious that these are going to be a key focus of Android's tablet push.

10:07AM Referring to widgets: "The home screen is a really important part of our developer story. It's an application development platform in itself."


10:06AM Looks like we're going to be concentrating on tablet-optimized Android apps here to start.

10:05AM "Our approach has been to equip developers with the best possible toolkit, and then get out of their way."


10:05AM Here comes Hugo Barra!


10:04AM Rubin's got a Xoom in his hand, by the way. Foreshadowing!

10:04AM "There's lots of future opportunity for seeing Android in new places. One thing you're going to see is how Google's cloud services tie everything together. You could literally lose your laptop, your phone, or your tablet, and all your data is safe and secure."

10:03AM "We consider ourselves the shepherd" of Android.



10:03AM After Honeycomb, we're going to hear about "new, interesting features" coming in the Android Market.

10:02AM "We have a pretty good demo of the Motorola Xoom running Honeycomb."


10:02AM Andy Rubin's on stage!

10:01AM The event hasn't started yet, but we see what appear to be two Xooms connected to HDMI on the podium.


9:58AM We were just asked not to use MiFis, which seems to be a new up-and-coming trend with major press events. Just not enough WiFi spectrum to go around.

9:55AM We're in and seated. Lots of the usual suspects from the press are here, of course. Google's new Evil Bee (our term, not theirs) with black and blue coloring is prominently featured on the projection screen.
We're holed up in Building 43 of the Googleplex here in lovely Mountain View, California for today's event promising an "in-depth look at Honeycomb, Android ecosystem news, and hands-on demos" -- and if you ask us, that sounds like a trifecta of potential awesome. We'll be liveblogging all of the action and hopefully following up with some hands-ons, so keep it locked right here for all the little green robots (and -- just maybe -- large black tablets) that you can handle.

Onkyo tablet roadmap shows a selection of Android and Windows devices in a variety of sizes

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 08:39 AM PST

Onkyo tablet roadmap shows a selection of Android and Windows devices in a variety of sizes
Onkyo is giving us a taste of what next, revealing its plans for future tablet onslaught that will leave no operating system untouched -- well, Android and Windows anyway. For Windows 7 lovers, the company's three SlatePC tablets, the TW317A5, TW217A5, and TW117A4 are all going to see updates through the year, including Oak Trail power from Intel sometime before June. Meanwhile, the 10-inch Android SlatePad TA117C1 and TA117C3 will receive built-in 3G and will be joined with a 7-inch, ARM-powered model later this year. Ruggedized tablets are mentioned too, but no plans for a US release for any of them. No surprise there.

Sifteo Cubes get FCC teardown, not so cute anymore

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 08:15 AM PST

Sifteo's cute little gaming Cubes have grown up a lot over the past couple of months: they've undergone two name changes (from Siftables to Cubits to Cubes), experienced the gaming rites of passage at CES, and now these 1.5-inch full-color computers are making their FCC debut, including the ritual teardown. The not-so-cute internal photos show one of the Cubes, guts exposed, revealing a 32-bit ARM processor. Also buried in the FCC documents is evidence that the darling devices communicate with computers via a 2.4GHz USB dongle and sport a three-axis motion sensor. Sifteo's already sold out of its first round of pre-orders, but we're guessing we'll be seeing more of the adorable little guys sometime real soon.

Yahoo: nonstandard IMAP implementation to blame for Windows Phone 7 data leak

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 07:37 AM PST

Finally, what the world's been waiting for: an explanation from Yahoo regarding its role in Windows Phone 7 Data Leakage-gate. (And we suppose that you have a better suggestion?) Here it is, in full:
Yahoo! Mail is widely available on tens of millions of mobile phones, including those running on Apple iOS, Android, Nokia Symbian, and RIM. The issue on the Windows Phones is specific to how Microsoft chose to implement IMAP for Yahoo! Mail and does not impact Yahoo! Mail on these other mobile devices. Yahoo! has offered to provide Microsoft a near-term solution for the implementation they chose, and is encouraging Microsoft to change to a standard way of integrating with Yahoo! Mail, which would result in a permanent fix.
Now, we know what you're thinking: why is everyone always picking on IMAP? But at least they're working hard on a fix, and in the end that's what really matters.

The Daily iPad 'newspaper' launches, $.99 weekly or $39.99 per year

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 07:14 AM PST

The Daily
Rupert Murdoch's iPad-only magazine The Daily, once described as "The New York Post Goes to College," is now a go. Launched at a New York event this morning, it pledges to offer "the best of traditional journalism" with "the best of contemporary technology" like 360 degree photos and, naturally, lots of fancy multimedia content that is all pushed directly to the iPad every day. It's priced at $.99 per week or $39.99 annually and launches today, unsurprisingly with Egypt taking the "cover" image. The team behind the new-age zine showed off plenty of that technology, including a magazine-like reading interface, letting you flip through pages, and a "carousel," that gives you a higher-level view of the pages for easier browsing.

The Daily also includes audio versions, with professional voiceover so you won't have to worry about GPS voice, plus video overviews of all the content if you just don't have time for reading or listening. You can share stuff you like on Twitter or Facebook and others will be able to read those stories for free via the web -- but not all the content, naturally. The site will offer app reviews and features with links right to the App Store. Sports fans get full schedules and news updates for the teams they like. Again, The Daily launches today, and we're told that the first two weeks will be courtesy of Verizon. Good on ya, VZW!

Update: It's now available in the App Store.
Show full PR text

Introducing The Daily

First National Daily News Publication Created for iPad

Launches today in the AppleApp Store

New York, NY, February 2, 2011 – Today Rupert Murdoch, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of News Corporation, unveiled The Daily -- the industry's first national daily news publication created from the ground up for iPad.

"New times demand new journalism," said Mr. Murdoch. "So we built The Daily completely from scratch -- on the most innovative device to come about in my time -- the iPad."

"The magic of great newspapers -- and great blogs -- lies in their serendipity and surprise, and the touch of a good editor," continued Mr. Murdoch. "We're going to bring that magic to The Daily -- to inform people, to make them think, to help themengage in the great issues of the day. And as we continue to improve and evolve, we are going to use the best in new technology to push the boundaries of reporting."

The Daily's unique mix of text, photography, audio, video, information graphics, touch interactivity and real-time data and social feeds provides its editors with the ability to decide not only which stories are most important -- but also the best format to deliver these stories to their readers.

"News Corp. is redefining the news experience with The Daily," says Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "We think it is terrific and iPad users are really going to embrace it."

Led by Editor-in-Chief Jesse Angelo and Publisher Greg Clayman, The Daily is the first application made available on the App Store as a subscription -- which will be billed directly to an iTunes account. And because this paperless paper requires no multi-million dollar presses or delivery trucks, it will be priced at just 99 cents a week (or $39.99 for an annual subscription).

"The Daily launches at a moment when advances in technology are changing the job of the modern editor," says Mr. Angelo. "These advances are giving us new ways to tell stories. We intend to take advantage of all of them, and make The Daily the new voice for a new era."

Each day The Daily will publish up to 100 pages focused on six key areas: news, sports, gossip and celebrity, opinion, arts and life, and apps and games. It will offer views from across the political spectrum. They will come from across cultures and generations, across America and the world.

The Daily will feature Sudoku and crossword puzzles, localized weather reports, and a customizablesports package that captures news on the user's favorite teams. Subscribers will also be able to leave comments on Daily stories in either written or audio form -- as well as bookmark them in-app to read later.

As readers move through The Daily's content, they will be helped by several highly intuitive navigation tools. And while The Daily lives on the iPad, most of its articles can be easily shared via Facebook, Twitter and email. The Daily will link out to the web, as well as bring the web into the app.

"In short, says Mr. Murdoch, "we believe The Daily will be the model for how stories are told and consumed in this digital age."

The Daily has bureaus in New York and Los Angeles, as well as stringers across the country. Full company bios are available at TheDaily.com/about. Executive staff includes:

* John Kilpatrick - Executive Creative Director
* Steve Alperin - Managing Editor
* Mike Nizza - Managing Editor, News
* Richard Johnson - LA Bureau Chief
* Sasha Frere-Jones - Editor, Arts & Life
* Chris D'Amico - Editor, Sports
* Elisabeth Eaves - Editor, Opinion
* Peter Ha - Editor, Apps, Games and Technology

The Daily is also changing the way advertising is offered and consumed within a news publication. Full-page ad units are completely interactive, customizable, and offer a rich mix of branding and direct response opportunities. Launch advertisers include HBO,Macy's, Paramount, Pepsi Max, Range Rover, Verizon, and Virgin Atlantic Airways.

"With The Daily, Rupert Murdoch has given us the chance to rethink the entire experience of news delivery and consumption," said Mr. Clayman. "The ability to actively listen to and engage with our audience means we can continually provide an experiencethat consumers value in this fast-evolving tablet space. Together with our customers, our advertising partners, and the team at The Daily, we are excited to create a new form of media."

About The Daily

The Daily is a first-of-its-kind daily national news publication built exclusively as an application for tablet computing. It provides readers the engaging experience of a magazine combined with the immediacy of the web and the need-to-know content of a newspaper, all while elevating user experience beyond the printed word. The Daily is a subscription-based news product, published 365 days a year, at the cost of $0.99 cents a week or $39.99 a year. For more information on The Daily go to: www.thedaily.com.



News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV) had total assets as of September 30, 2010 of approximately US$56 billion and total annual revenues of approximately US$33 billion. News Corporation is a diversified global media company with operations in six industry segments: cable network programming; filmed entertainment; television; direct broadcast satellite television; publishing; and other. The activities of News Corporation are conducted principally in the United States, Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, Asia and Latin America.

Hyundai brings hydrogen vehicles to Europe, one free fleet at a time

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 07:04 AM PST

Excited for the rise of hydrogen economies, but can't wait till 2015? If you work for the Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or Icelandic governments, you might get to see the future personally. Hyundai's signed a memorandum of understanding with the aforementioned four countries to deliver a test fleet of fuel cell electric vehicles, and the Nikkei Shimbun is reporting that the company will personally foot the (possibly quite reasonable) bill. Free hydrogen-powered SUV? Don't mind if we do!
Show full PR text
Hyundai Signs MOU to Supply FCEVs to Europe

- Hyundai joins FCEV test project with Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland
- Hyundai to supply independently-developed FCEV

The Hyundai Motor Group signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with four Northern European countries to operate a test fleet of Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEV) in the European market, paving the way to showcase the company's competitiveness in eco-friendly vehicles.

The initial agreement was signed yesterday in Seoul, attended by Mr. Woong-Chul Yang, President of the Hyundai Motor Group's R&D Center, Mr. Lars Vargö, the Swedish Ambassador to South Korea, and other government and company officials.

"We look forward to demonstrating our advanced eco-friendly technology in Northern Europe, which has great hydrogen infrastructure," said President Yang. "This agreement will be a stepping stone for the Hyundai Motor Group to lead the FCEV market in Europe."

In Northern Europe, the supply of FCEVs and construction of refueling stations are carried out by an agency called `The Scandinavian Hydrogen Highway Partnership (SHHP),' which works closely with related agencies in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland.

FCEV is part of the Hyundai Motor Group's multi-faceted approach to become most fuel-efficient and eco-friendly automaker in the world. Under Hyundai's Blue Drive initiative, Hyundai has introduced a wide range of eco-friendly products and technologies, including hybrid vehicles and the BlueOn electric car.

Live from The Daily launch event, with Apple's Eddy Cue

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 06:38 AM PST



11:49AM And we're done! The Daily will be live in about 10 minutes, we're told.

11:48AM What's the split between ads and subscription revenue? It'll be more subscription at first, and then it'll go towards that magic 50/50.

11:48AM Can you talk about having consumers paying for subscriptions when there's a lot of demand from advertisers -- how big could the audience have been if you made it free? Rupert: I think advertisers would pay a much lower rate if it were free. It's better for advertisers -- we'll draw a better class of advertisers at a better rate.

11:47AM Newspapers tend to be targets up-and-down market, tabloids and broadsheets -- where are you targeting this? Jesse: That was the first question our publisher asked Rupert, and Rupert said, well, everybody.

11:44AM What's the editorial mix between news and features? Jesse: read it and find out. I haven't said it's fixed.

11:44AM Will The Daily be free on the web? You can see a page for free if you have a link, but you can't go to thedaily.com and see all the pages for free.

11:43AM Will any of this stuff be on the web? Jesse: Not everything you can do on the iPad can be replicated on the web. A feature that's built on touch UI doesn't make sense on the web. Text, headlines, pictures, that shareable on the web. So where we can do it, we make HTML pages that are on the web -- they're out there. We can use them to share and promote our content.

11:42AM How is this content discoverable on the web? How will search engines get it? Eddy Cue: We've had 10 billion apps downloaded, I think people are finding them. John: We feel good about it. We've focused on this medium and this device. We didn't want to make compromises, and the web demands that you make sacrifices.

11:41AM Has Steve Jobs said anything about the product? Murdoch: Steve called me last week and said that the app was really terrific, he was extremely flattering.

11:40AM What's the voice? Jesse: If you want people to come back, you have to make them think and make them smile. Need a little bit of wit, a little bit of attitude. How do you create content for people using this device? People spend 30, 35, 45 minutes with their iPad -- do we create content that's compelling enough to hold that attention?


11:39AM What are your favorite apps besides New Corp apps? Murdoch: I try playing some of the games, but my 7 year old beat me every time.

11:38AM How long do you anticipate exclusively being on the iPad given other tablets, and are you married to Apple? Murdoch: We've been quite honest with Apple, and we'll be on all major tablets. But we think last year, this year, and next year will belong to the iPad.

11:37AM Why choose to focus on the Daily and not an existing brand like WSJ? Murdoch: The WSJ was the first paper to be a paid app, and it was my excitement about that and how good it looked that made me consider what could be done on a tablet.

11:36AM What about an Australian version of the Daily? Murdoch: Mumble mumble.


11:36AM What is the political tone of the Daily, will it be more centrist? Murdoch: the editorial position will be in the hands of the editor. Jesse: We wanted a new brand. We're patriotic, we love America. We believe in free speech. As for specific editorials, well read it. You'll be surprised.

11:34AM How do you break in for breaking news, and how do you avoid overwhelming people? Lots of different ways to do breaking news -- tickers, twitter feeds, drop in new pages. We can change the front page whenever we want. This isn't a static product. But at the same time, as a consumer I don't like everything changing all the time.


11:33AM Rupert: Just take NY alone. We have two morning shows competing with each other, we have the WSJ, the New York Post, they're all competitive.

11:32AM What are your main competitors? You have to compete with everything now -- that's especially true on the iPad. You have to compete with Angry Birds on some level. That's part of the reason that we've focused on the voice, the style, the use of media.

11:32AM Asking about the Sony Reader snafu yesterday. Eddy Cue: Don't want to talk about the announcement yet, but we'll talk about that soon. We want customers to be happy.


11:31AM How will you determine is this is successful? Murdoch: Yes, when we sell millions. Our ambitions are very big but our costs are very low. We've spent $30 million so far, but it will be running at a cost of half a million a week. We're very confident.

11:29AM How will you measure readership for advertisers? We love advertisers, and we have tech to measure all the metrics they require.

11:29AM When will the subscription model be available to other publishers? Eddy Cue: Available on the Daily today, and there'll be an announcement for other publishers soon.


11:28AM How is back issue content handled -- how much memory is taken up, is there cloud storage? For launch, saved articles are the best way. For now it's on the web. We're working for more internal storage, but it's not there in 1.0


11:27AM They're struggling some chairs onto the stage for the Q&A, and the lights have gone deep, deep blue. We're about to get groovy in Murdoch town.

11:26AM And that's that! They're doing a group photo and then it's Q&A time.


11:25AM "We've built a whole new subscription billing that's as easy as one click. You'll be billed weekly at 99 cents or yearly at $39.99."

11:25AM "You don't have to live in Wisconsin to get the Green Bay Packers as the home team in your paper." Okay, now he's speaking our language.

11:24AM "I've been lucky enough to be using it for the last two weeks and it's amazing. Something of this production value done every day."



11:24AM "From the first day we met with Rupert and his team, we knew they were going to redefine the news."

11:23AM "In the past year, the iPad has launched a whole new category of mobile device... there are over 5000 new apps for iOS. iPad customers are huge consumers of news."



11:23AM "We are thrilled to be here today to help News Corp launch the first national news publication built from the ground up for the iPad."

11:22AM Eddy Cue from Apple now on stage.

11:22AM The Daily publishes every morning, with breaking news at every time. 99 cents a week with deals on the way. First two weeks are free courtesy of Verizon.

11:21AM Talking about touch UI -- they say it's great for adding interactivity to things like sports coverage. Sports pages are customizable for teams and players.



11:20AM There's an apps and games section with reviews and ratings -- it's linked right into the App Store.

11:19AM Showing off web integration -- in addition to links and the built-in browser, there are built-in Twitter feeds on certain pages.

11:19AM You can share articles on Facebook, Twitter, and email. "The Daily is not an island." Showing off the share screen now -- you can record audio comments as well as the usual stuff.





11:18AM Showing off the carousel, a CoverFlow-like view of the pages. There's a shuffle button to bring up new stories you haven't read, an audio button that reads to you like the radio, and a TV-style news anchor.

11:17AM "I think what you're seeing is the first all-media product... we're going to produce up to 100 pages everyday. How do you get through all that? We've come up with some innovative ways to find content in the Daily."





11:16AM Showing off 360-degree photographs and HD videos -- they'll have new content every day.

11:15AM "We have people from television, from newspapers and magazines, working hand in hand with designers and developers. The iPad allows us to tell stories in different ways than we did before."

11:15AM "We've been doing live production for about six weeks now... the staff of the Daily is fantastic, and they've been working around the clock." Showing off the Egypt package. "It's the kind of story that's made for the Daily -- the pictures and video are amazing."




11:13AM "We've taken a fresh look at what it means to tell a story." These are going to be live demos of real content.


11:13AM "Now it's my pleasure to introduce John, Jesse, and Greg to unveil the first edition of The Daily."

11:12AM "The Daily's success will be determined by its utility and its originality... The Daily is not a legacy brand. We have a license to experiment, and a duty to innovate. We believe the Daily will be the model for how stories are told and distributed."

11:11AM "Our target audience is the more than 15 million Americans who are expected to own tablets in the next year."


11:11AM The Daily will be just 14 cents a day -- there are no costs for paper, presses, trucks.

11:10AM "Our aim is for The Daily to be the indispensable source for news, information, and entertainment."

11:09AM "The magic of good newspapers -- and good blogs -- is a deft editor's touch."

11:09AM "There is a growing segment of educated and sophisticated consumers who do not read daily newspapers, but still consume media. This restricts their interests to what has been predefined."

11:08AM "Simply put, the iPad demands that we completely reimagine our craft."

11:08AM "New times require new journalism. Our challenge was to take the best of conventional journalism... and combine it with the best of new technology."


11:07AM "Good morning, I'm Rupert Murdoch and I'm here to welcome you to the launch of The Daily... first I would like to thank Steve Jobs. He's given us this incredible new tablet and given us a new platform. Steve has been a champion of The Daily since day one, along with the brilliant Eddy Cue."


11:06AM And Rupert Murdoch is on stage! A PR person is yelling "Rupert Murdoch!"

11:06AM Okay, the lights are going down -- here we go.

10:57AM The music has perked up with some Caribbean syncopation. If there were any people in this room it would be a real party.

10:49AM We're hearing the actual The Daily app is scheduled to go live at noon, but history suggests it'll go a bit earlier than that. We'll keep an eye on things.



10:44AM It's a pretty nasty day of sleet and snow here in New York and this room is surprisingly empty -- we'd say almost half the seats are empty with 15 minutes to go, and we've heard Rupert Murdoch has canceled a bunch of post-event interviews due to the weather. But we're here. Because we love you. And there were snacks.


10:42AM We're here and sitting down in very comfortable chairs. They are playing extremely chill jams, and the room is lit an a deep purplish-blue. It's kind of like the ultimate 1970s airport lounge experience. Missing: live percussion.
Is the future of media an iPad-exclusive daily newspaper that's delivered automatically overnight using a new subscription service? We're here at the Guggenheim Museum in New York for the launch of News Corp's The Daily to find out -- and Apple's VP of internet services Eddy Cue is scheduled to join Rupert Murdoch on stage, so things could get interesting. Join us, won't you?

Notion Ink apps ported over to Viewsonic G-Tablet, promise not to brick it too

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 06:33 AM PST

Norton Ink apps ported over to Viewsonic G-Tablet, promise not to brick it too
A few lucky souls managed to get their Notion Ink Adams early -- only to have them brick themselves. The rest were delayed and, well, it's all a bit of a mess. Now there's another way to get a taste of Ink but on some currently available hardware. User gojimi over at the inimitable xda-developers forums has ported seven applications from the Notion Ink suite to Viewsonic's G-Tablet, including the Calendar, Keyboard, QuickOffice, and the Browser. Some don't run perfectly and we have to say that's something of an unfortunate target, but gojimi does indicate it should be easy to move them to any other ROM. So, you know, make it happen!

NJ EV owner with 50,000 miles logged dispels myth of cold weather battery woes

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 05:58 AM PST

NJ Mini E owner with 50,000 miles logged dispels myth of cold weather battery woes
We see you in comments, chiming in on every EV post about how worthless they are in the cold. Charles Lane from The Washington Post recently did the same, saying things like "A change of ten degrees can sap 50% of a battery's output" and speculating that the EV industry is "just one well-publicized malfunction away from disaster." Not so, says Tom Moloughney, and he should know. He's spent the last 49,500 miles of his commuting life in an all-electric Mini E, an average of 2,500 miles per month. Now, this car is a prototype and a fairly early example of the modern electric vehicle, meaning it has no preconditioning tech to let you warm up the battery packs before you go. Despite that, Tom has logged every trip he's made in the car and indicates he rarely sees more than a loss of about five percent from the vehicle's usual range. More importantly, he's made his way through many a cold commute without getting stranded -- or freezing to death.

Keepon robot soon available to the masses in toy form as the $40 My Keepon

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 05:29 AM PST

Keepon robot now available to the masses in toy form as the $40 My Keepon
We've been having a torrid affair with the Keepon robot since 2007, his simple yellow shape and unflappable adherence to the beat capturing our hearts. But, sadly, this has been an unrequited love, as the little guy has only been available to research institutions (and, apparently, rock bands) at the tear-inducing price of $30,000. Now there's a version we can finally bring home to mother, the $40 My Keepon. It's being dubbed a "toy," so we have our doubts that it can bust the same sort of moves its Pro predecessor puts down (embedded after the break), but we're certainly going to be first in line to find out when they hit stores. No, we don't know when that is just yet, but we're told all will be revealed on February 14th. Yes, Valentine's Day.


Show full PR text
"My Keepon"

Guide SRP £29.99 or USD$40.00

Wow! Stuff, hot on the heels of an award-winning 2010 and the wildly successful "Dave the

Funky Shoulder Monkey," prepares to do it again in 2011 with their new blockbuster toy, "My

Keepon"!

With over 4 million views on YouTube, music videos featuring a robot named Keepon have

stoked the public's desire for this cute and lovable yellow character. In addition to Keepon's

wild internet popularity, it has been named one of the "Top 10 robots of all time." Until

recently, Keepon has been limited to labs and institutions, where it is breaking new ground in

the fields of social robot design and autism research.

But now, a toy version of the character is on show for the first time at the European Toy Fair in

Nuremberg, Germany. Toy manufacturer Wow! Stuff is expecting My Keepon to be the year's

hottest toy - not just in the UK, where Wow! Stuff is based, but throughout the world, having

agreed to a USA launch with a major retailer (due to be announced on February 14th). Richard

North, Wow! Stuff's Managing Director, announced, "We are launching a blockbuster toy that

will sell in similar quantities to last year's mega-hit Dave, but this time we're going global."

North added that, during London Toy Fair previews, "My Keepon had all of the retailers in

absolute disbelief. You could count the number of wows exclaimed in each meeting as we

presented this exceptional toy." Wow! Stuff's claims for blockbuster sellers have proven spot-

on to date, with runaway success Dave the Funky Shoulder Monkey selling more than 270,000

units in the 3 months before Christmas 2010 in the UK alone.

For My Keepon, Wow! Stuff has collaborated with Keepon's designers at BeatBots LLC. BeatBots

co-founders Dr. Hideki Kozima and Dr. Marek Michalowski have been developing and using

Page 1 of 3

Keepon in Japan and in the USA as a robotic research platform for studying social development

and as a telepresence tool in autism therapy. A meeting of minds occurred when Dr. Graeme

Taylor, Director at Wow! Stuff and Head of Inventor Relations, wanted to help make a version of

Keepon available to the robot's massive and growing fan base, as evident on YouTube,

Facebook, and countless blogs. For their part, Kozima and Michalowski also wanted to meet

this public demand for the character of Keepon while making the high-end Keepon Pro robot

more widely available to researchers and institutional users.

Wow!'s design experts and robotics engineers, based in their recently-opened Los Angeles

office, worked closely with BeatBots to design a toy that captured the essence of the Keepon

character while replicating the robot's most engaging interactive traits. These features include

reactivity to touch and an amazing ability to listen to music, detect the beat, and dance in

perfect rhythm!

But most importantly, Wow! Stuff and BeatBots are working to ensure that the success of My

Keepon will directly support the social welfare goals at the heart of the Keepon story. "A

percentage of the profit from each My Keepon will go towards subsidizing and donating

BeatBots' research-grade robots to therapists and researchers," said Taylor. "We are so proud

to make Keepon available to a broader audience, and we will choose retail partners who also

feel proud to sell him."

Michalowski commented, "Our dream is to make Keepon Pro units widely available to

researchers and practitioners. Our work with Keepon suggests that the character's simplicity,

combined with a caregiver's ability to conduct mediated interactions through the robot, can

facilitate social engagement in a novel and exciting way. We hope that the toy version of our

robot can channel public excitement towards general autism awareness while supporting our

distribution of tools and resources to people and organizations around the world working to

understand and treat it."

Page 2 of 3

VAT Registration Number: 883 7345 84 | Company Registration Number: 04989385 - Registered in England
Registered Office: China Industries Limited, The Creative Industries Centre, Wolverhampton Science Park, Wolverhampton, WV10 9TG

About BeatBots:

BeatBots LLC designs socially interactive robotic characters for entertainment, research, and art.

For more details about Keepon, visit http://beatbots.net or contact Dr. Marek Michalowski at

info@beatbots.net or +1.415.894.0065.

About Wow! Stuff:

For 5 years, Wow! Stuff has been inventing and manufacturing toys across three continents,

with design offices in Hong Kong, Los Angeles, and Wolverhampton, England. As the fastest-

growing toy company the UK*, Wow! Stuff has been recognized for creating 'Wow factor' toys

and amazing 'Wow factor' videos for in-store use. Along with the Demonstration Academy

owned and run by Wow! Stuff, sales growth rate has been 112% year-on-year for all 5 years.

Wow! Stuff is the HSBC Business Thinker winner for 2010 and received an Orange Award for

Innovation from the UK's National Business Awards 2010.

*Fastest growing 100 companies as awarded by the Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 (2010).

For more details, visit http://www.wowstuff.co.uk.

Verizon iPhone will go on general sale at 7AM on February 10th, you can reserve one on February 9th

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 05:01 AM PST

Apple has just announced that tomorrow morning's early Verizon iPhone pre-orders will be available through its online Store as well -- starting at 3AM, available to current VZW subscribers only, and sold on a first-come, first-served basis. More pertinent news, however, can be found deeper in the company's press release, which states that pre-orders will be opened up to the general public on February 9th, when you'll be able to reserve or have one delivered on launch day, February 10th. Shops will open their doors early, 7AM -- matching AT&T's early opening for the iPhone 4's original launch way back in June -- and availability will be broad, encompassing Apple's brick and mortar Stores, Verizon's 2,000+ retail locations, select partners, and even a zany 1-800-2 JOIN IN phone number you can call. So, really, the only people left without a Verizon iPhone on February 11th should be those that don't actually want one.
Show full PR text
iPhone 4 on Verizon Wireless Available for Pre-Order Tomorrow

CUPERTINO, California-February 2, 2011-Apple® today announced an exclusive opportunity for Verizon Wireless' 94 million customers to pre-order iPhone® 4 online beginning on Thursday, February 3 through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com) and at www.verizonwireless.com/iphone. Due to high demand, customer orders will be fulfilled on a first come, first served basis.

Beginning on Wednesday, February 9, all qualified customers will be able to order an iPhone 4 on Verizon through the Apple Store (www.apple.com) for delivery or reserve for in-store pick up beginning February 10.

Beginning at 7 a.m. local time on Thursday, February 10, iPhone 4 on Verizon will be available to all qualified customers at Apple's retail stores. iPhone 4 will also be available at more than 2,000 Verizon Wireless Communication Stores nationwide.

iPhone 4 is the most innovative phone in the world, featuring Apple's stunning Retina™ display, the highest resolution display ever built into a phone resulting in super crisp text, images and video, and FaceTime®, which makes video calling a reality. iPhone 4 also features a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, HD video recording, Apple's A4 chip and a beautiful glass and stainless steel design like no other mobile phone. Verizon Wireless customers will also enjoy new Personal Hotspot capabilities allowing them to use iPhone 4 to connect up to five Wi-Fi enabled devices.

Pricing & Availability
iPhone 4 on the Verizon Wireless network will be available for a suggested retail price of $199 for the 16GB model and $299 for the 32GB model with a new two year agreement. iPhone 4 will be available through the Apple Store (www.apple.com), at Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. iPhone 4 will also be available at more than 2,000 Verizon Wireless Communication Stores nationwide, online at www.verizonwireless.com/iphone, select retail partners, and by calling 1-800-2 JOIN IN.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork, and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple is reinventing the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

LG teases Optimus 3D, only without the 3D (video)

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 04:35 AM PST

We're not sure what's going on with the new teaser video released by LG. It looks like the handset that Phandroid pegged as the Optimus 3D a few days ago and has since become the poster-boy for the device that will officially include a glasses-free 3D LCD and "dual-lens camera for 3D recording." While we can see the front-facing cam, try as we might we just can't see that pair of lenses on the back of the handset teased in the video. In fact, we don't see any camera at all leading us to believe that LG might be manipulating the image for a big reveal in a few weeks. The video does drop some spec hints with phrases like "something bigger" and "dual core -- multi channel" which would seem to indicate a 4.x-inch display (presumably the 4.3-inch 3D display we spotted at CES), dual-core SoC (like LG's Optimus 2x), and multi-channel RAM as originally rumored by Phandroid. Guess we'll have to wait for Mobile World Congress to know for sure. Get your monster truck on with the teaser video embedded after the break.

Update: We've been told that the phone is definitely a manipulated Optimus 3D.

Egypt comes back online, has a ton of unread feeds to catch up on

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 04:24 AM PST

Good news for the people of Egypt: internet connectivity has been almost universally restored. Bad news for the people of Egypt: they'll need at least a few weeks to catch up on all the Twitter mentions they've accumulated while being away.

408 Chevrolet Volts and Nissan Leafs sold in US during January, limited supply probably to blame

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 04:10 AM PST

The Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf are alike in a lot of ways: both rely on electric motors for their locomotion, both have earned Car of the Year awards (Volt in North America, Leaf in Europe), and both have had stunningly low sales in their first couple of months on sale. January's numbers have just come out and the Volt leads the way with 321 vehicles sold or leased, while Nissan scores an even weaker 87 purchases. That compares to figures of 326 and 19, respectively, for the month of December. Before we all start writing off the EV as DOA (again), let's remember that both companies have massive back-orders for their electrified people carriers, leading us to believe that the most likely cause for this slow trickle of deliveries is a limited supply rather than dwindling demand. Production volumes of the Volt and Leaf are expected to ramp up as we go forward, so panic's inadvisable -- unless we come around to January 2012 and are still looking at fewer sales than the Joojoo managed.

HP unleashes Digital Sketch and Pocket Whiteboard, becomes the new teacher's pet

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 03:45 AM PST

Nope, that's not the rumored HP / Palm WebOS educational tablet we've heard about, but it's a wireless tablet alright. That up there is HP's new Digital Sketch, and it's actually meant solely for the classroom -- it wirelessly connects to a laptop or desktop allowing teachers to control lesson plans or draw diagrams while they're walking around the room making sure no one's passing notes. The pad itself, which will be available in March, works with HP's Sketchbook Windows software and is said to last for over 25 hours on a charge. But that's not all HP wants to put in schools. It's also got a new Pocket Whiteboard up its educational sleeve. It's a lot like other digital whiteboards in that it can turn almost any surface into a canvas, but it's apparently much more portable than the others out there, so teachers can easily move it from class to class. It will come with a three-button stylus and connect to any laptop or desktop via USB.

So, what's the deal with all the education-friendly tools? They're all part of HP's new Digital Learning Suite and push to start providing really comprehensive tech tools for K through 12 classrooms. The company's nothing but serious about providing an array of products, and beyond the two previously mentioned, HP's also releasing new laptop carts, a Thin Client, and presentation stand for laptops. Hey, we get it, the children are our future, and we've got to teach them well -- but don't blame us HP, for just wanting to see the tablets of our future next week. Full press release and a low-resolution picture of the whiteboard after the break.

Show full PR text
HP Announces Interactive Tools for Teachers and Students
HP Digital Learning Suite helps schools prepare students for success in education

PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 2, 2011 – HP today announced the HP Digital Learning Suite along with new education solutions to help schools prepare students for greater achievement and success in education, internships and the global workforce.

The HP Digital Learning Suite brings together technology solutions to fit a variety of diverse learning environments and encourage student collaboration, interactive learning and enhanced management capabilities in the classroom.
The suite helps school districts improve student achievement with tailored solutions focused on three areas: early childhood and elementary education (pre-K-4), secondary education (grades 5-12) and blended learning environments and the cloud (pre-K-12).

"HP and our partners have a long history of transforming how we educate our youth, from K-12 all the way through higher education," said Stephen DeWitt, senior vice president and general manager, Personal Systems Group – Americas, HP. "We are bringing to life a compelling suite of education solutions and connected devices that will better prepare students for whatever environment they'll face – in school and out."

Among the new components of the HP Digital Learning Suite:
HP Digital Sketch wirelessly connects to a teacher's notebook or desktop to allow control of the lesson plan while walking around the classroom.
HP Pocket Whiteboard turns almost any classroom surface into an interactive learning space.

HP Classroom Manager software empowers teachers and administrators to keep students on task while improving collaboration, pushing content and gaining formative assessment data to improve and differentiate instruction.

HP MultiSeat t150 Thin Client allows up to 10 students to simultaneously share a single host computer using a simple USB connection, so schools can maximize the number of computer seats without increasing their technology budgets.

HP Presentation Station 1000 unchains educators from a fixed teaching location by putting all of their technology tools within easy reach; teachers can move anywhere in the classroom to deliver a collaborative curriculum.

HP 20-Notebook Charging Cart and 20- and 30-Notebook Managed Charging Carts provide easy charging and management of notebooks in the cart regardless of brand, from Mini PCs up to 15.6-inch screen-size notebooks.

HP will be showcasing these products and more at the Texas Computer Education Association in Austin, Texas, Feb. 7-11.

Increasing classroom collaboration
The HP Digital Sketch wireless tablet is lightweight and compact, yet provides ample workspace for teachers to navigate the host computer. Through seamless integration with HP Scrapbook software, the HP Digital Sketch offers a dual-input feature with the tablet and the interactive stylus when connected to the HP Pocket Whiteboard. For instance, while one student is drawing in Scrapbook with the tablet, another student can simultaneously use full mouse functionality to drag in images, edit strokes or set up a shared meeting at the board.

The low-cost HP Pocket Whiteboard takes the functionality of a standard digital whiteboard and projects it onto almost any flat surface to create up to 10 feet of diagonal workspace. It features a USB-based plug-and-play installation for fast setup. Lightweight and compact, it can easily be moved around a classroom or a school and locked for security.

A range of education software and online applications available with the HP Pocket Whiteboard makes it simple for teachers to build lesson plans, add multimedia and pull content from the internet to enhance interactivity in the classroom. For example, HP Pocket Whiteboard provides tools to project and annotate Microsoft®
PowerPoint presentations.

Making teaching with technology easier and cost-efficient
HP Classroom Manager software enables interactive and collaborative learning while offering teachers the capability to monitor and manage student PCs. The versatile, easy-to-use software is cost-effective and provides teachers with the following capabilities:
Create interactive lesson plans with shared content.
Administer real-time quizzes, formative assessment, tests and surveys with instant reports and score tracking.
Control and share desktop and content individually, as a group or with the entire class.
Enhance class participation through instant alerts.

Define and customize website and application access appropriate for the class.
The HP MultiSeat t150 thin client comes bundled with HP Classroom Manager software and includes USB ports so students can easily save their work and access files on a memory stick. When paired with the HP LE1851wt monitor, it provides an integrated "all in two" solution with a single power plug.

Creating a mobile classroom
The mobile, self-contained HP Presentation Station 1000 includes a cart, notebook arm and tray with HP dock integration hooks, document camera tray and bracket, integrated work surface, open front compartment for document storage, keyboard tray and mouse holder. Its customizable user comfort features include height adjustment for sitting or standing.

HP 20-Notebook and 30-Notebook Managed Charging Carts charge up to 30 notebooks at the same time. They feature HP's exclusive smart charging, load-sensing technology that automatically senses and concentrates on the least-charged notebooks first, ultimately reducing the total charge time. The carts also update the notebooks through a networked connection while they're charging. An open architecture allows for a variety of notebook brands as well as screen sizes up to 15.6 inches diagonal.

With a lightweight construction, four casters for easy rolling and comfortable handles, the carts are designed to be easily moved around a classroom or school. Customizable shelves allow users to maximize space for individual needs. For example, notebooks can be charged on one side of the cart, while shelving can be removed on the other to securely store a printer or lab equipment.
Pricing and availability

Pricing options vary; education volume pricing is available.

HP Digital Sketch is expected to be available in March.
HP Pocket Whiteboard and HP Classroom Manager software are expected to be available this month.
HP MultiSeat t150 is available now.
HP Presentation Station 1000, HP 20-Notebook Charging Cart and HP 20- and 30-Notebook Managed Charging Carts are expected to be available in April.

An HP Digital Learning Virtual Tour is available at www.hp.com/go/DigitalSchool.

More information about HP in education is available at www.hp.com/go/K12.

About HP
HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society. The world's largest technology company, HP brings together a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure to solve customer problems. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com.

Microsoft is a U.S. registered trademark of Microsoft Corp.

Nokia's €15 bicycle cellphone charger, now €30 in Europe

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 03:16 AM PST

Last we heard, Nokia's bike-powered cellphone charger was set to roll out worldwide by the end of 2010 for about €15 -- now the company's peddling it for €30 to European velocipede enthusiasts. (Sure, it's twice as expensive as we anticipated, but it's a huge step up from this thing.) The kit, intended primarily for developing markets, comes with a Nokia charger, phone holder, and bottle dynamo: the thing that spins your pedal pushing into cellphone juice. Aside from price and availability, Nokia seems to have followed through on the rest of its promises -- it sports a 2-mm charger interface and provides 28 minutes of talk time for every 10 minutes spent riding between 6kph (4mph) and 50kph (31mph). European riders can pick up the charger kit from Nokia's online store, while the rest of us just keep spinning our wheels.

Ricoh GXR will swap out lenses with Leica M mount, make Micro Four Thirds mildly jealous

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 02:48 AM PST

Ricoh's sensor-swapping GXR camera is getting more interchangeable than ever before -- this fall, the company plans to introduce a APS-C sized 12.3 megapixel CMOS module that lets you pop out lenses too. Rather than building a new set of macros and zooms, though, the new unit will serve as an adapter for the vast hoard of Leica M glass you've been stockpiling for a rainy day, and sport a new focal plane shutter too. No word on price, but considering Leica M adapters for Micro Four Thirds can be had for a reasonable $200 and an APS-C GXR package runs about $700 on the street, you can probably do the math.
Show full PR text
Ricoh announces development of expansion unit for the GXR interchangeable unit camera system

Tokyo, Japan, February 1, 2011-Ricoh Co., Ltd. (president and CEO: Shiro Kondo) today announced the development of expansion unit for the GXR interchangeable unit camera system, which went on sale on December 18, 2009.

The GXR is a revolutionary new interchangeable unit camera system in which lenses can be changed by mounting camera units that integrate lens, image sensor, and image processing engine into a single unit. In addition, fully utilizing its unique capabilities, the GXR line will expand to include a variety of devices through the addition of interchangeable units other than camera units.

The GXR line now includes four camera units, but the newly developed unit being announced here is an expansion unit.

Development model name: GXR Lens Mount Unit

With this lens mount unit, photographers can mount lenses such as Leica M lenses and use them for shooting with the GXR.

The lens mount unit is being designed to make the best use of the optical characteristics of the lenses mounted. It will have as its image sensor a 23.6 mm × 15.7 mm (APS-C size; total pixels: approx. 12.90 million) CMOS sensor, and it will also feature a newly developed focal plane shutter.

Release is planned for the autumn of 2011.

There are plans to display a design mock-up of the GXR lens mount unit at the CP+ CAMERA & PHOTO IMAGING SHOW to be held from February 9 (Wed.) to 12 (Sat.) at Pacifico Yokohama.

*The development model name, specs, and introduction timing indicated above are subject to change.

BMW's NFC Key is your ticket to ride, and you should care (video)

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 02:14 AM PST

Near Field Communication (NFC) is shaping up to be one of the hottest tech trends for 2011 now that payment systems and new handsets (driven by the Gingerbread build of Android and presumably, a near-term iOS release) are making their way into the US and Europe. Add BMW to the growing list of supporters with its NFC key of the future. Bimmer researchers envision linking the key to the car's navigation and entertainment system allowing you to make hotel reservations or purchase train tickets, for example. You could then download the ticket directly from your car to the key which could then be used to board the train. Later, a key linked to your banking information could even be used to settle the hotel bill. BMW believes its approach is more secure than that of an NFC-enabled cellphone because its system is both closed and encrypted. Possibly. But we're still more likely to have our cellphone in a pocket while traveling than the key to a car parked a few hundred miles away. Of course, there's nothing preventing us from tapping the key to our cellphone and transferring the data -- it is still in the R&D phase for the next generation of ConnectedDrive after all. Click through for the video.

Kinect used to shoot a gorgeous, ghostly music video

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 01:38 AM PST


You might think you've seen all that can be done with Kinect, but you would of course be wrong. Here's another example of how Microsoft's bundle of sensors and cameras can be utilized to freshen up an old concept -- in this case a music video -- with some arresting new visuals. Just sit back, relax, and hit play.

[Thanks, Joe]

iOS now accounts for 2% of global web browsing traffic, Chrome rounds the 10% mark

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 01:12 AM PST

After the desktop stalwarts of Windows 7 and Mac OS, the world's third most popular platform for web browsing turns out to be Apple's iOS. The software that makes iPhones, iPod touches and iPads tick has been identified by Net Applications as responsible for over two percent of the global traffic data analyzed in the web statistician's latest report -- the first time iOS has crossed that threshold. The UK and Australia had more than five percent each, while the USA clocked in at 3.4 percent. Leaving operating systems aside, Chrome has continued its steady growth on the browser front and now stands at a 10.7 percent share, more than doubling its slice from this time last year. Internet Explorer overall has dipped to its lowest level yet, at 56 percent, however Net Applications indicates IE8 is showing nice growth. So at least it's looking like we're finally ready to bury the zombies known as IE6 and IE7, whatever other browser we choose to migrate to.

Dell, Gigabyte and MSI pull products in wake of Sandy Bridge chipset flaw, HP faces delays (update)

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 12:31 AM PST

Every time we write about Intel's flawed Sandy Bridge chipset and the need for it to be physically replaced, the financial costs go up. First Intel projected a $300 million hit to its bottom line, then it set aside $700 million to cover repairs and replacements, and now it's estimating a round $1 billion loss in "missed sales and higher costs." Those missed sales will be coming directly from guys like MSI and Gigabyte, two of the major motherboard makers, who have stopped selling their Sandy Bridge-compatible models until Intel delivers untainted stock, and also Dell, who has nixed availability of its Alienware M17x R3 gaming laptop. CNET did spot that HP and Dell were still selling laptops with the offending chipset in them yesterday, but we imagine both will get their online stores straightened out in due course. For its part, HP says it's pushing back a business notebook announcement due to this news, much like NEC has had to do. Moral of the story? Don't let faulty chips out of the oven.

Update: Dell says the M17x R3 is just the tip of the iceberg here: "This affects four currently-available Dell products, the XPS 8300, the Vostro 460, the Alienware M17x R.3 and the Alienware Aurora R.3, as well as several other planned products including XPS 17 with 3D. We're committed to addressing this with customers who have already purchased one of the four products and will provide further details on this as it becomes available."

[Thanks, geller]

LG working on an NFC payment system for Europe, planning launch in 2012

Posted: 01 Feb 2011 11:54 PM PST

All these upcoming NFC-equipped smartphones wouldn't be worth much without places to use them, so it's good to hear LG's announcement this week that it's working on providing the infrastructure for contactless payments. The Korean company has set its sights on Europe, where it's conducting beta testing of point-of-sale technology that will facilitate paying for goods and services by swiping your phone near an NFC sensor. We're not told whether that phone would necessarily have to be built by LG, though we imagine the company would be well served by including as many devices as possible and just taking its slice of the profits. Whatever LG does, it's looking increasingly safe to assume that having NFC on your phone will be a legitimate asset in the coming months (and not just if you live in Japan).

Daimler says fuel cell vehicles will cost the same as diesel hybrids by 2015

Posted: 01 Feb 2011 11:17 PM PST

It may currently you cost you $849 a month to lease a Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-Cell (one of the few hyrodgen-fueled vehicles currently available to consumers), but Daimler says that cost will come down considerably in the next few years. Speaking with Automotive News, Daimler's Herbert Kohler said that by 2015 he expects a "fuel cell car will not cost more than a four-cylinder diesel hybrid that meets the Euro 6 emissions standard," which would seemingly place it in a race with Toyota and its promise of a $50,000 hydrogen-powered sedan. What's more, Kohler also said that he expects fuel cell vehicles to actually be cheaper than comparable electric vehicles within the next few years, and he said that Daimler is hoping to bring a "four-digit-number" of fuel cell vehicles to market by 2013 or 2014.

Lego bot built to test Kno's tablet textbook, human overlords watch gleefully (video)

Posted: 01 Feb 2011 10:24 PM PST

Just because the first few tablet textbooks have shipped doesn't mean that members of Kno's development team are resting on their laurels. Product testing on the Kno tablet continues -- and it looks like Lego is doing the heavy lifting. They've put our favorite plastic building blocks to work by constructing a Kno stress tester out of Lego Technic parts. The robot checks both the Kno's ambient light sensor and the ability of its touchscreen to accurately track the system's pen swipes and flicks. Though not as intricate as a Lego replica of a 2000+ year old mechanical computer, the robot -- with its hypnotic pendulum-like motion -- is still a sight to behold. Check the video after the break.

iPad 2 display leaked?

Posted: 01 Feb 2011 09:12 PM PST

Do you believe what you're seeing? 9to5Mac along with iFixYouri repair say they've got the new iPad 2 display. Better yet, they've got the purported part number: LP097X02-SLN1, compared to the original iPad's LP097X02-SLA3 display. It's said to be lighter and more than 1-mm thinner than the original while featuring a thinner bezel as well -- right, just as the rumors and our own sources have said. Such a display would also enable some tapering of the edges in line with those milled aluminum dummies we've seen. The big mystery is still the resolution. A 9to5Mac commenter claims to have deciphered the part number to reveal its LG Phillips 9.7-inch XGA 1024 x 768 H-IPS display origins (same resolution as the current iPad, if true). Unfortunately, we have no way to confirm this. One more pic of the part number details after the break.


Sony, Fujifilm patents are half-camera, half-origami

Posted: 01 Feb 2011 08:41 PM PST

Point and shoot cameras are tricky to hold still, but the powers that be thought up a crazy fix -- build bending, sliding, transforming grips right into the body of the camera. Sony's patented the idea you see immediately above, which turns the sliding lens cover into a handle using tiny hinges (or perhaps electrorheological fluid, we're not sure). Amazingly enough, the basic concept actually isn't new: Sony itself references a Fujifilm patent whose cover-turned-grip protects the rear LCD instead. Neither look terribly comfortable, but which would you rather choose: a pocketable camera that snaps stable single-handed shots, or one that monopolizes your fingertips? Take a gander at one of Fujifilm's proposed designs after the break.


T-Mobile promises Samsung Galaxy S 4G for launch this month

Posted: 01 Feb 2011 08:01 PM PST

Look, let us just sum up the Galaxy S 4G for you: it's a Vibrant with Froyo, a front-facing camera, and Inception. After reading through the new details T-Mobile's outed on its latest HSPA+-equipped Android smartphone today, that's really the best way to describe it... and let's face it, Avatar (which, you might recall, came bundled with the Vibrant) was getting kind of old and played out anyway. Naturally, like T-Mobile's other video call-capable devices, the front-facing camera will make use of Qik; other preinstalled third-party apps will include Kindle, doubleTwist with AirSync, and T-Mobile TV for streaming content from ABC, Fox, PBS, and others. You'll also get a slight battery capacity bump from the Vibrant to 1650mAh, undoubtedly to counteract the effects of the beefier radio. Revolutionary, no; evolutionary, quite! We don't have a date or a price yet, but the carrier says we can expect it this month. Follow the break for the full press release.

Show full PR text
Galaxy S 4G From T-Mobile to Offer Blazing-Fast Speeds and Unparalleled Entertainment Experience Featuring Movies, TV and Video Chat

· T-Mobile USA, Inc. and Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile), the No. 1 mobile phone provider in the U.S. , today announced the anticipated February availability of the Galaxy S™ 4G, which will be the fastest smartphone running on America's Largest 4G Network™, and will be available exclusively from T-Mobile.

· The Galaxy S 4G, T-Mobile's first smartphone capable of delivering theoretical peak download speeds of up to 21 Mbps, offers enhanced mobile experiences and unparalleled entertainment including mobile HD TV through T-Mobile TV, the Academy Award™ nominated film "INCEPTION," and T-Mobile Video Chat powered by Qik™ - delivered at 4G speeds on its 4-inch Super AMOLED touch screen display.

· Through the delivery of faster speeds comes an enhanced experience when viewing video entertainment over the Web using services such as YouTube. In addition T-Mobile TV, a pre-loaded application, offers consumers access to live and on-demand mobile HD TV on T-Mobile's 4G network, including free programming from select stations like ABC News NOW, FOX Sports, PBS Kids and Azteca America.

· To further enhance the entertainment package on the Galaxy S 4G, T-Mobile has preloaded, at no additional cost to consumers, Warner Bros. Pictures' Academy Award® Nominated film INCEPTION which is nominated for Best Picture, Best Writing (Original Screenplay), Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Music (Original Score), Best Sound Editing and Best Visual Effects. Customers also have the option to rent or purchase their favorite movies and TV programs directly from the Samsung Media Hub, which features thousands of new releases and TV shows.

· The Galaxy S 4G's blazing-fast speeds will make sharing memories via e-mail, social networks or video quick and easy. For example, the pre-loaded T-Mobile Video Chat application powered by Qik enables customers to share any moment with loved ones virtually whenever and wherever they want through T-Mobile's network or Wi-Fi. Using either the front-facing or the rear camera, which features a 720p HD camcorder, paired with Video Chat allows customers to hold video conversations with friends and family who have a compatible mobile device.

· Featured as a pre-installed application, doubleTwist® with AirSync™ provides customers with a useful and easy way to auto-sync and back up photos, HD videos and music to and from their home computer. With a Wi-Fi connection, customers can easily sync their media wirelessly and at no additional cost. The doubleTwist Player lets customers enjoy their favorite tunes and videos directly from their phone while on the go. The Galaxy S 4G also comes preloaded with Slacker Radio, offering music fans more than 130 genre stations and ability to create their own custom stations for free.

· With a slim and sleek design, the Galaxy S 4G's 4-inch Super AMOLED touch screen display gives customers a vivid, sharp viewing experience, whether consumers choose to watch a movie or a book or newspaper with the preloaded Kindle for Android application while on the go. Powered by Android™ 2.2, the Galaxy S 4G is equipped with a speedy Samsung 1GHz Cortex A8 Hummingbird Application Processor, an ST-Ericsson M5720 HSPA+ 4G modem to enable theoretical peak downloads of up to 21 Mbps, a 5 megapixel camera, a preinstalled 16GB microSD memory card, and a 1650mAh lithium ion battery.

· The Galaxy S 4G is expected to be available to T-Mobile customers in February. Customers can visit http://galaxy-s.t-mobile.com/4G for more information.

LG G-Slate fully detailed by T-Mobile: 3D viewing and recording, available March (updated)

Posted: 01 Feb 2011 08:01 PM PST

Though it was technically announced back at CES, T-Mobile just barely talked about the LG G-Slate there, spending more time chatting up Dell's Streak 7 and letting Motorola's Xoom get virtually all of the Honeycomb attention. Well, that's changed today with a handful of official new details: turns out the G-Slate features a 1GHz dual-core Tegra 2 processor, 32GB of internal storage, both a gyroscope and accelerometer, and -- this is key -- stereoscopic rear-facing video cameras capable of 1080p 3D capture, one of which doubles as a 5 megapixel still camera with LED flash. There's also a third 2 megapixel camera up front for video chat over T-Mobile's HSPA+ network or WiFi. Going back to that 3D business for a moment, you'll need glasses (it's unclear if they're active or passive) to enjoy recorded or downloaded 3D content on the G-Slate's 8.9-inch display -- but you'll also be able to output 1080p video over HDMI to the external display of your choice. Pricing is still an open question, but the companies are now comfortable enough to say that we can expect it "this spring," so go ahead and start thinking about all the blooming springtime plant life you'll be filming in three glorious dimensions. Follow the break for the full press release.

Update: While T-Mobile hedges its bets with a "spring" launch, LG says that it'll be hitting US soil in March as one of the first Honeycomb tablets. The honor of being first will almost certainly go to the Motorola Xoom -- Google's in-house "dogfooding" tablet.
LG G-Slate fully detailed by T-Mobile: 3D viewing and recording, available this spring


Show full PR text
T-Mobile and LG Unveil the T-Mobile G-Slate with Google, Delivering a Premium Mobile HD Entertainment Experience on a Tablet

· T-Mobile USA, Inc. and LG Mobile Phones today unveiled their Android™ 3.0 (Honeycomb)-powered tablet, the T-Mobile® G-Slate™ with Google™ by LG. With a brilliant, HD 8.9-inch 3D-capable multi-touch display, the T-Mobile G-Slate delivers a groundbreaking mobile entertainment experience, including the ability to record 3D and full HD video.

· Expected to be available this spring, the G-Slate is built for speed on America's Largest 4G Network™ and is the first tablet in T-Mobile's pioneering G-series of devices, which began with the world's first Android-powered smartphone just over two years ago. The first 4G tablet from T-Mobile and LG, the G-Slate is powered by Android 3.0 (Honeycomb), the latest version of Google's Android platform, which is optimized for tablets.

· In addition, the G-Slate will be among the first tablets to feature 3D capabilities including built-in support for 3D graphics, enabling consumers to capture and share their own 3D videos and experience 3D HD content right on the device with the aid of 3D glasses.

· The sleek, lightweight G-Slate can easily be held upright in one hand for reading an ebook or magazine, watching streaming TV or browsing the web while on the go. Featuring a rear-facing stereoscopic video recorder with 1080p for HD video capture and a five megapixel camera with LED flash, plus a front-facing two megapixel camera. Customers can video chat with friends and family over T-Mobile's network or Wi-Fi.

· The G-Slate asupports 720p HD on-device video playback and HDMI output to show 1080p content on 3D and HD displays. With a dual core 1 GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor and Adobe® Flash® support, the G-Slate enables quick and seamless browsing of rich web content, multitasking and gaming. The G-Slate will also provide a superior entertainment experience when streaming live TV or downloading music and videos with lightning-fast speed over T-Mobile's 4G network.

· Additionally, the G-Slate includes 32GB of internal memory and features a built-in gyroscope, accelerometer and adaptive lighting for the latest applications and the ultimate gaming experience.

Android Market acting weird -- is it a precursor to tomorrow's event?

Posted: 01 Feb 2011 07:20 PM PST

We've gotten a bunch of tips in the past hour or so that the Android Market is doing weird things, and we can corroborate this on our Nexus S here -- we're just not able to download stuff. Apps look like they're starting to download, then they suddenly vanish into thin air without a trace and without an error message. Our Droid 2 is still fully functional, though, so this definitely isn't consistent; really, we're just wondering if this outage might have something to do with tomorrow's Android-themed festivities at the Google campus, which -- naturally -- we'll be attending. So how is everyone faring out there tonight?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Samsung prepping portrait QWERTY Android phone for Sprint?

Posted: 01 Feb 2011 07:05 PM PST

If you were to prepare a list of most under-served smartphone form factors, portrait QWERTY ranks high on the list; few manufacturers have dared to dabble in it so far, despite the fact that there would seem to be a treasure trove of potential users in the BlackBerry realm who live and die by the Bold / Curve layout. Motorola has given it the most high-publicity shot so far with entries like the Droid Pro, Charm, and Flipout, and it looks like Samsung might be prepping a head-on Droid Pro competitor for Sprint thanks to some shots that have emerged on PocketNow today. We have precisely zero details on the hardware specs, the possible launch time frame, or really anything else at this point, but we'll keep an eye out.

[Thanks, Theodore L.]

Google responds: Bing recycles search results, and we'd like it to stop

Posted: 01 Feb 2011 06:29 PM PST

Google accused Microsoft of copying search results this morning, and the company's sticking to its guns: in response to Microsoft's firm denial -- "We do not copy Google's results" -- it's released another tiny batch of evidence to the contrary and a call for Microsoft to discontinue the practice for good. Mind you, Google search engineer Amit Singhal doesn't explicitly call out its competitor for "copying" results -- rather, "recycling" them through a clever combination of Microsoft Internet Explorer and the Bing Toolbar -- but the message is clear. Google wants you to view its search results as the originals, and doesn't really care how sincere Microsoft's flattery might be.

Xfinity TV for iPad now streaming VOD for 'select networks' including HBO and Showtime (update: hands-on)

Posted: 01 Feb 2011 06:00 PM PST

"A few weeks"? "Later this year"? Don't worry about Comcast's recent meddling with the fine print, Xfinity TV's latest update for the iPad allows you to "play movies and TV shows anywhere and anytime on your iPad using a Wi-Fi Internet connection." The deal is for select networks (aka not everyone's on board to start) including HBO, Starz, Showtime, and Cinemax. Version 1.1.1 is now available; we're downloading now and will let ya know exactly what we find.

Update: We've taken it for a brief spin, and it looks like only ten networks are currently available, but there's still a hefty selection of content to choose from: BBC America, Cartoon Network, Cinemax, Starz Encore, HBO, MoviePlex, Showtime, Starz, TBS, and TNT. All are VOD only at the moment, but we hope that live streaming could theoretically be around the corner. Video starts streaming pretty quickly, and while quality probably won't be as good as your 1080p TV, it more than suffices for the iPad's 10-inch screen -- especially the HD stuff. Check it out in the gallery below!
Xfinity TV for iPad VOD hands-on

Cree shows off 'no-compromise' LED replacement for 60-watt incandescent bulbs

Posted: 01 Feb 2011 05:46 PM PST

Compact fluorescent (or CFL) bulbs may currently be the dominant alternative to traditional incandescent light bulbs, but there's still a strong contingent betting on LEDs as the true long term replacement. One of the major players in that camp is Cree, which recently teamed up with TESS and Dean Kamen's FIRST organization to have kids distribute LED light bulbs like Girl Scout cookies (seriously), and is now showing off what is says is the "first no-compromise replacement for a 60-watt incandescent bulb." That bulb is dimmable, and emits a "beautiful, warm, incandescent-like color of 2700 K," while delivering more than 800 lumens and consuming less than 10 watts (meeting the Energy Star requirements for a 60-watt standard LED replacement bulb). Unfortunately, there's one big catch -- the bulb is still just a prototype, and Cree says it hasn't yet decided how it will bring it to market, or how much it might cost. Head on past the break for a quick video demonstration.


Show full PR text
Cree Banishes Last Century's Lighting with Revolutionary LED Light Bulb

Thank You Mr. Edison, We'll Take it From Here

DURHAM, N.C., January 27, 2011 - Today, 131 years ago, Thomas Alva Edison was granted U.S. patent 223,898 for "Improvement in Electric Lamps and in the method of manufacturing." Today's LED lighting revolution heralds the demise of Edison's 1880, horse-and-buggy-era invention.

In an industry first, Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE) has demonstrated the brightest, most-efficient, LED-based A-lamp that can meet ENERGY STAR® performance requirements for a 60-watt standard LED replacement bulb. This unprecedented level of performance is the result of Cree innovation, Cree barrier-breaking LED performance, Cree TrueWhite® Technology and patented Cree remote-phosphor technology.

"This is a significant milestone for the industry," said Chuck Swoboda, Cree chairman and chief executive officer. "In the race to commercialize low-cost, energy-efficient LED bulbs, the industry has forgotten that LED lighting is supposed to look as good as the technology it is replacing. This is the first no-compromise replacement for a 60-watt incandescent bulb."

The prototype bulb is dimmable and emits a beautiful, warm, incandescent-like color of 2700 K, with a CRI of at least 90. It delivers more than 800 lumens and consumes fewer than 10 watts and has been submitted for third-party testing to validate the light distribution, lumen maintenance and performance.

"We are committed to leading the market and showing the industry what's possible with recent innovations in our LED products and technology," said Swoboda. "We are excited to show the world what it should expect in an LED light bulb and enable our customers' products with these innovations."

No commercially available LED A-lamps meet the ENERGY STAR® performance requirements for 60-watt standard replacement bulbs at this level of efficiency and light quality.

"This is the first standard LED A-lamp that combines high output with very high efficiency, in a small form factor, without the additional cost and complexity of active cooling or other design compromises," said Rob Glass, Cree, vice president of technology. "We continue to advance our LED technologies to enable our customers' success and to help accelerate the LED revolution."

To learn more about this innovation, please visit www.truewhitelight.com.



About Cree
Cree is leading the LED lighting revolution and making energy-wasting traditional lighting technologies obsolete through the use of energy-efficient, environmentally friendly LED lighting. Cree is a market-leading innovator of lighting-class LEDs, LED lighting, and semiconductor solutions for wireless and power applications.

Cree's product families include LED fixtures and bulbs, blue and green LED chips, high-brightness LEDs, lighting-class power LEDs, power-switching devices and radio-frequency/wireless devices. Cree solutions are driving improvements in applications such as general illumination, backlighting, electronic signs and signals, variable-speed motors, and wireless communications.

For additional product and company information, please refer to www.cree.com. To learn more about the LED Lighting Revolution, please visit www.creeledrevolution.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown, that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated. Actual results may differ materially due to a number of factors, including customer acceptance of LED products; the rapid development of new technology and competing products that may impair demand or render Cree's products obsolete; and other factors discussed in Cree's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 27, 2010, and subsequent filings.

T-Mobile teases 3D capability (on LG G-Slate, probably) in the vaguest possible way

Posted: 01 Feb 2011 05:18 PM PST

The rumors about 3D support on LG's G-Slate tablet (both recording and viewing) have reached a dull roar in recent days, and a little teaser just posted on T-Mobile's official Facebook account certainly isn't going to do anything to quell the trend. The simple clipart image of some old-school red / blue anaglyphic glasses pretty much says everything you need to know -- that there's something 3D in store from these guys -- and the Honeycomb-powered G-Slate is the only thing in T-Mobile's immediate future that we know has had 3D rumors attached to it. Any other solid theories out there?

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10's multitouch update rolling out now; X8, X10 Mini, and X10 Mini Pro getting ANT+ support soon

Posted: 01 Feb 2011 04:58 PM PST

That pinch-to-zoom update for the Xperia X10 that Japanese customers got an early lead on is now rolling out around the globe according to a new blog post from the boys and girls at Sony Ericsson. That may not be the most interesting part, though: they're also chatting up a future firmware update that'll enable ANT+ support on the Xperia X8, X10 Mini, and X10 Mini Pro, a capability baked into the chipsets on those devices that Sony Ericsson hadn't previously exploited. Theoretically, that means that heart rate monitors and other wearable fitness gear -- a market where ANT+ has really blossomed -- could connect directly to your phone rather than passing through a computer with an ANT+ dongle first, perfect for analyzing jogs on the go. Of course, workout technology is always more appealing than the workout itself... but if you can solve that problem, Sony Ericsson, let us know. You can find us on the couch over there.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Super Bowl XLV Media Day: Packers split on iOS / Android, Cowboys CIO talks mobility

Posted: 01 Feb 2011 03:55 PM PST

We woke up this morning in Dallas to 20 degree temperatures and a parking lot covered in ice. Not exactly the kind of weather the NFL was hoping for when it selected the new Cowboys Stadium to host Super Bowl XLV, but it didn't stop both teams and media from making their way -- however slowly -- to Arlington for Super Bowl Media Day. Naturally, the likes of ESPN were there in full force, but rather than picking apart defensive schemes and seeing who could outgun Troy Polamalu for the longest mane in North Texas, we spent our time asking about mobile OS preferences and soaking up knowledge from Cowboys CIO Pete Walsh. With a price tag well north of $1 billion on the new Cowboys Stadium, the home to the world's largest HD display is certainly one of the most technologically advanced in the world. It's packing 884 wireless access points throughout (not to mention an internal network operations center that constantly monitors activity on each one), 260 miles of fiber optic cabling, capacity to handle over 100,000 simultaneous wireless connections, over 3,100 IPTVs and micro cell towers for each major carrier within -- you know, so that kickoff video that just can't wait actually sees its way onto YouTube prior to the start of the second half.

Head on past the break to catch of a video of us talking smartphone platforms with Green Bay Packers center Scott Wells, as well as a lengthy (and insightful) interview with the Chief Information Officer of the Dallas Cowboys. Everything from the Cowboys' rejection of FanVision to their hopes to blanket the stadium with gratis WiFi is covered, and we're even given a hint that contactless payments and mobile food ordering systems could be just a season or so away.
Super Bowl XLV Media Day 2011: on the field with the Packers and Steelers

On the field and in the sky
As a newcomer to Super Bowl Media Day, we weren't quite sure what to expect when arriving at the frigid Cowboys Stadium. It's as if both teams collectively brought their hometown weather with 'em to Big D, though there was plenty of warmth to be found within. We were able to mingle with the players from both teams for an hour apiece, soaking it all in and admiring the gigantic 72- x 160-foot Mitsubishi Electric high-def display (two of 'em, in fact) hanging from the ceiling above. Being that this marks the first time that we've seen said screen in person, we can't help but remark at just how jaw-dropping it is. We were told that dozens of construction crews dropped everything and sat in stunned silence the first time these panels were flipped on, and we totally buy it -- there's simply nothing quite like looking at these things, and the pixel density Mitsu was able to achieve is nothing short of mind-blowing. Frankly, it'll be hard to take in a live event from the nosebleeds after seeing just how nice these top-row huggers have it here.


And then there's the unending waves of radiation that were coursing through our veins and penetrating our skulls. Based on a design from the systems architects at CDW, the stadium has right around 884 wireless access points installed, with each one tuned to provide coverage to roughly 250 seats. That's a whole lot of WiFi, and you can thank AT&T for keeping it running. We had no issues whatsoever finding a strong signal from everywhere inside the building, from the field itself to the depths of the data centers. We also tested the upload strength from within, and saw a consistent 1,500kbps uplink speed from our laptop while uploading a sizable video. Obviously, we wouldn't expect those speeds to hold once 100,000 or so pack the stands, but Pete Walsh affirmed that the stadium is equipped with at least a couple of OC-3 connections, and he had no qualms saying that this wireless network could support over 100,000 simultaneous connections.
Super Bowl XLV Media Day 2011: Cowboys CIO Pete Walsh talks technology


Somewhat surprisingly, we learned that the massive WiFi initiative has only been live since Thanksgiving Day of last year. During the AT&T Cotton Bowl, on-site engineers noticed that things were crawling during the first half, but thanks to a patch that was pushed live at halftime, uploads during the second half were noticeably quicker. The only downfall right now is that the WiFi is only free to those with AT&T accounts (smartphones,tablets, LaptopConnect users and residental home internet users), ; if you bring in a WiFi-only iPad or a phone from any other carrier, you're asked to pony up a few bucks to connect for the event. Pete confirmed that his organization is currently in talks with the NFL (and presumably carriers) to open it up for free to everyone, regardless of carrier, and we're hoping that deal gets done sooner rather than later.

We also had a brief moment to ask Packers center Scott Wells whether his team was pro-iOS or pro-Android. His answer? "It's probably split." When I asked him what he uses? This gem came out: "I have an iPhone. But I had an Android [phone] at one time. I switched because... I didn't know how to use it. The iPhone was easier to use." See it for yourself below.


Behind the scenes technology at Cowboys Stadium
Both solutions architects from CDW and Walsh himself maintained that the goal for Cowboys Stadium was "the ultimate fan experience." That experience is getting a boost this coming weekend with the NFL Super Bowl app. Walsh hinted that it may be updated prior to game day, but even if not, it should add a whole new level of interaction to those who bring Android and iOS-based phones to the Super Bowl. We're talking real-time statistics and mobile voting on the MVP at the game's conclusion, and we're hoping that they'll out the stops eventually and toss in instant replay. The video below takes a deeper look at what it took to actually achieve the goal we referred to above.


Speaking of which, we specifically asked Pete if the Cowboys had (or would) consider FanVision. You may recall our (mostly positive) review of the device / system from late last year, but it's pretty clear that the boys in Dallas have no intentions of using it. Instead, Walsh's team is quietly developing a solution of their own -- one that they are hoping to nab three patents for. Walsh feels that FanVision is too bandwidth-intensive, and he also balked at the idea of handing out proprietary handhelds to consumers who were already walking in with powerful smartphones and slates. When we pressed on what platforms would be supported (iOS, Android, webOS, BlackBerry OS, etc.), he strongly hinted that "everyone" would be taken care of -- likely referring to a web-based app that could be accessed regardless of operating system.


It's possible that this solution could be live for the Cowboys' next season, but we'd probably place the chances at 50/50. The organization is hoping to make various camera angles and replays available to fans via the app (or web app) instantaneously. Walsh has no intentions of pushing live an application that isn't bulletproof in practice, and until the lag times have been squashed, it'll remain in the labs. We also inquired as to whether the Cowboys would entertain the idea of licensing this technology out to other franchises that would prefer to more tightly integrate mobiles into the fan experience, and Walsh didn't hesitate to admit his plans to take this to the NFL once it was fully baked.

"The smartphone is your key to everything"
That's a quote straight from Pete Walsh, who is clearly sold on the idea of pushing mobility as a part of the overall experience. We asked what was lacking in his already-cutting edge facility, and he quickly spouted off dreams involving mobile concession ordering, contactless payment options and possibly even delivery of said food orders based on location information from the customer. There's no question that the Cowboys are actively looking to exploit their wireless system -- you should probably prepare yourself for Pepsi coupons if you opt-in to ads at the stadium, for example.

Mobile facts and figures
Ready for an inside scoop from the man who sees all when his stadium fills up? On average, 64 percent of fans at Cowboys games arrive with an AT&T phone. Around 22 percent are rocking a handset from Verizon, and the leftovers are split amongst Sprint, T-Mobile and the prepaid guys. That's a pretty insane number in our estimation, and we're guessing that the overwhelming majority of that has to do with iPhone users showing up for Cowboys games.


Interestingly enough, Walsh expects those numbers to change somewhat dramatically for this Sunday's event. Being that both Green Bay and Pittsburgh aren't exactly AT&T strongholds (at least in comparison to DFW), he's expecting "the majority" of those in attendance to be on Verizon, with AT&T close behind thanks to corporate seats. Still, every major carrier has bolstered network capacity in and around Dallas specifically for those event, but Walsh was quite proud of the fact that the Cowboys already have a "multi-carrier antenna" system that greatly enhances coverage for the Big 4 on a day-to-day basis. Sure enough, our AT&T test calls went through beautifully while deep within the stadium's lairs -- we've tried similar at old fashioned venues, and we've experience far, far worse results. The full interview with Pete Walsh, as well as a look around the stadium today at Super Bowl XLV Media Day, is below.



Wrap-up
No question about it, the new Cowboys Stadium is a mecca for technology. The lengths that the organization has gone through to ensure flawless wireless connectivity and enhanced cellular coverage is commendable, and we can only hope that other venues take note. Walsh's ideas on the future of fan enjoyment also gave us hope that they'll be implemented in far more regions than just North Texas. A decade ago, the mere thought of using a smartphone to watch various camera angles while within a stadium was as far-fetched as it gets; today, it's bordering on expected. With HDTVs (not to mention 3D variants) so common in US households, clubs are having to up the ante in order to pull folks back to the live experience. And if everyone can pull off something similar to what the Cowboys have here, we might just say the traffic, grossly inflated parking fees, tragically expensive grub and unpredictable coaching moves may be once again worth enduring in person.

Rumors of Kin Studio's continued existence confirmed by death of Kin Studio

Posted: 01 Feb 2011 03:39 PM PST

What can we say, Kin Studio? Of all the ideas introduced by Microsoft's ill-fated Kin, you certainly weren't the worst. In fact, we kind of hope to see you again some day.
at 11:43 AM

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