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- ChevronWP7 Labs will jailbreak your Windows Phone with Microsoft's approval
- Insert Coin: Air Guitar Move for iPhone (video)
- NYU medical center goes sci-fi, scans patients' palms
- Sun's coronal ejections caused by magnetic ropes, galactic weathermen to predict solar storms?
- Kobo eReader Touch Edition goes on sale in the US and Canada
- Jelly Belly cases make your iPhone smell edible, come in BlackBerry flavor
- Razer ships $80 Orochi Black Chrome Edition mobile gaming mouse
- Dutch coins feature QR codes, promise 'surprises'
- Microsoft gets antitrust okay for Skype purchase, readies shockingly large wire transfer
- Netflix's day: Sony movies pulled, new bandwidth options, no more DVD API access and a lawsuit
- RIM shares hit a five-year low: oh, how the mighty have fallen
- Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 experiencing shipping delays, unavailable at some outlets
- Motorola says Droid 2 Global Gingerbread update isn't ready after all
- LightSquared and Sprint reportedly sign 15-year LTE agreement
- Time Warner Cable internal docs reveal TWCable TV iPad app, DVR upgrades on the way
- LG Revolution review
- Alleged shot of Sony Ericsson Xperia Duo surfaces
- Apple expands patent complaint against Samsung to include more devices
| ChevronWP7 Labs will jailbreak your Windows Phone with Microsoft's approval Posted: 18 Jun 2011 10:14 AM PDT  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Insert Coin: Air Guitar Move for iPhone (video) Posted: 18 Jun 2011 09:00 AM PDT In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line.  We're not sure proper air guitarists would ever consider adding a bonafide pick to their cherished imaginary pastime, but what if a petite plastic plectrum could turn those strokes into stringed acoustics that more than just you can hear? That's the idea behind Air Guitar Move, a $50 motion-sensing guitar pick that pairs with a dedicated iPhone app using a single dock-connected string. The minds behind Move aren't new to product design -- Colin Karpfinger created Thumbies, a suction cup-based gaming control accessory for iPhone, and Ronald Mannak has launched other freestyle electronic toys, including the V-Beat AirDrums and AirGuitar -- so if they meet their $25,000 funding goal, we imagine that we'll have a very solid iPhone accessory on our hands. A $39 pledge gets you a single Move with a 20 percent discount, and a pledge of $49 will net you a pick from the first shipment, so you'll be strumming away a month before folks in the first group. The creators have yet to commit to a ship date, but head over to Kickstarter if you'd like to make a pledge, or jump past the break for the intro video and an update on our last featured product, ZionEyez. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NYU medical center goes sci-fi, scans patients' palms Posted: 18 Jun 2011 08:06 AM PDT  NYU's Langone Medical Center is getting a jump on that whole 21st-century medical care thing by ditching the clipboards and paperwork for palm scans and digital databases. On June 5th the hospital threw the switch on an electronic patient-tracking program from Epic Systems and paired it with biometric identification technology from PatientSecure, which scans the veins in persons hands using near-infrared light. Instead of being forced to fill out forms with your insurance info and social security number every time you visit, you simply place your hand on a scanner and -- ta-da! -- your records come right up. By combining the vasculature scans (which are even more unique than fingerprints) with patient photos, NYU should be able to minimize misidentification and cut down on duplicate records. Rather than go out on some cheesy pun about palm reading, we'll leave the predictable word play to the folks at ABC news -- check out their coverage after the break alongside PR from the Langone Medical Center. Patient Identification "In The Palm of Your Hand" NYU Langone First Hospital in Northeast to Use Near Infrared Palm Scanning Technology to Identify Patients June 14, 2011 - 10:00am Helps Ensure the Right Care for the Right Patient, Prevent Medical Identity Theft and Reduce Administrative Hassles NYU Langone Medical Center announced today that it is the first medical center in the Northeast to use PatientSecure™ – a cutting-edge biometric technology – to identify patients. Utilizing near infrared light to map an image of the blood-flow pattern through the veins in a person's palm, the digital palm image is converted into a unique patient identifier that interfaces with the medical center's electronic health record system. "Vein patterns are 100 times more unique than fingerprints," said Bernard A. Birnbaum, MD, senior vice president and vice dean, chief of hospital operations at NYU Langone. "As a result, PatientSecure provides a safe, secure, easy and fast way for our patients to register for care at the medical center. It not only protects privacy and enhances quality, but will transform the patient experience." The advanced technology of PatientSecure helps to ensure each patient is correctly "linked" to the right medical record, a task which is not always as straightforward as it sounds. For example, at the medical center alone, two or more patients share the same first and last names more than 125,000 times. As a result, with PatientSecure a patient simply places his or her hand on a small black box and their unique identifying palm portrait automatically registers them and accesses his or her electronic health record, reducing the chances of misidentification and minimizing the need to present other identifying information after initial enrollment, such as a driver's license or Social Security number. Streamlining the traditionally cumbersome registration process also helps enhance the overall patient experience from the moment the patient walks in the door and provides added protection from medical identity theft because patients no longer need to share personal identifying information. NYU Langone piloted the palm scanning technology last month at their Internal Medicine Associates faculty group practice. Following the recent hospital implementation More than 5,000 patients embraced PatientSecure last week alone, and the numbers continue to rise. "This technology makes you feel like a VIP. You just put your palm on the scanner and you're done registering at your doctor's office, no clipboard, no hassle of paperwork to check in, plus, it's absolutely secure," said Michael Baldwin, 55, a patient at NYU Langone. "It's immediate and instantaneous. Never in my life have I experienced health care like this before. NYU Langone's100 percent integrated healthcare system is like a small city that's all connected." In addition, if a patient without identification arrives at the medical center unconscious or unable to communicate, PatientSecure can be a lifesaving tool that quickly identifies the individual, opens his or her electronic health record and alerts medical professionals to crucial information, including medical history, allergies and current medications. Registration using PatientSecure is now available for inpatient registration at the medical centers three hospitals – Tisch Hospital, the Hospital for Joint Diseases and the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine. It is also available for outpatient services at the medical center, including radiology and lab tests, as well as at a growing number of physician offices affiliated with NYU Langone. There is no cost to patients to participate in PatientSecure. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sun's coronal ejections caused by magnetic ropes, galactic weathermen to predict solar storms? Posted: 18 Jun 2011 06:46 AM PDT   | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kobo eReader Touch Edition goes on sale in the US and Canada Posted: 18 Jun 2011 04:58 AM PDT  At the moment, there are two very similar-looking e-readers with black-and-white Pearl E Ink touchscreens on the market, and now, the smaller and less expensive of the pair is up for grabs. The Kobo eReader Touch Edition went on sale today in the US and Canada for $129.99 (or $139.99 Canadian Dollars) at Best Buy, Borders, Walmart, and the Canadian bookseller Indigo. If you'll recall, the 6-inch Kobo is thinner, lighter, and more compact than the Nook Touch, even though its screen is the same size. It also undercuts it by $10 but, there's only 1GB of internal memory reserved for book storage. Could these trade-offs be worth the trimmer design? We'll leave that to you and your wallet (and the guy who may or may not receive this as a last-minute Father's Day gift). Stylish, New Kobo eReader Touch Edition is Available in Canada and U.S. for Father's Day and Graduation
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| Jelly Belly cases make your iPhone smell edible, come in BlackBerry flavor Posted: 18 Jun 2011 03:19 AM PDT 
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| Razer ships $80 Orochi Black Chrome Edition mobile gaming mouse Posted: 18 Jun 2011 01:47 AM PDT  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dutch coins feature QR codes, promise 'surprises' Posted: 17 Jun 2011 10:29 PM PDT  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Microsoft gets antitrust okay for Skype purchase, readies shockingly large wire transfer Posted: 17 Jun 2011 08:53 PM PDT  Look out, world -- Microsoft just crossed another hurdle in its bid to swallow Skype whole. Earlier today, US antitrust approval was given on Microsoft's largest (proposed) acquisition, clearing the path for all sorts of Windows / Xbox / WP7-related VoIP shenanigans. While many are still questioning the logic here, Skype continually brought around 145 million users to the table per month even while it constantly bled money. Whatever the case, it looks as if the accountants in Redmond just got FTC permission to move $8.5b from one column to the next, and with an initial investment like that, we're hoping for a number of updated features as the attack plan unfolds. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Netflix's day: Sony movies pulled, new bandwidth options, no more DVD API access and a lawsuit Posted: 17 Jun 2011 08:29 PM PDT  Netflix also quietly gave US subscribers access to the same bandwidth management options provided to Canadians a few months ago. The new Manage Video Quality settings (shown above) can be found in the Your Account section, and if you're trying to stay under bandwidth caps or just keep seeing buffering, they should help you out at the cost of a few pixels. As if that wasn't enough, the Netflix Tech Blog squeezed in news that it was ending access to "DVD-related features" for apps using its Open API later this year. The move is apparently preparation for expanded international streaming, so if you're trying to manage discs through a third party things may change soon. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| RIM shares hit a five-year low: oh, how the mighty have fallen Posted: 17 Jun 2011 06:21 PM PDT  There was a time when RIM owned the smartphone space with its revolutionary push email-equipped BlackBerrys. And there are still plenty of folks who can't live without a good physical keyboard and BBM. But, despite the company's $4.9 billion in revenue and $695 million in profits from Q1 2011, RIM's stock has tumbled to its lowest price in five years. What's changed since those heady days when it seemed like there was a Pearl in every pocket? As many of you know, Androids and iPhones have carved out a big chunk of the smartphone market, largely at RIM's expense. Sure, Blackberry 7 OS is coming and the PlayBook is rolling out to help the company gain ground on Android and iOS, but only time will tell if these latest efforts from Waterloo can stem the rising tide of iPhones and little green bots. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 experiencing shipping delays, unavailable at some outlets Posted: 17 Jun 2011 05:41 PM PDT  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Motorola says Droid 2 Global Gingerbread update isn't ready after all Posted: 17 Jun 2011 05:26 PM PDT  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LightSquared and Sprint reportedly sign 15-year LTE agreement Posted: 17 Jun 2011 04:17 PM PDT  Apparently Sprint's none too concerned about recent complaints from the likes of John Deere and the federal government about LightSquared's potential interference with GPS signals. A letter obtained by Bloomberg reveals that Sprint has signed a 15-year deal with Falcone and co., agreeing to share network expansion costs in return for a slice of the sweet LTE service. According to the document, "LightSquared and Sprint will jointly develop, deploy and operate LightSquared's 4G LTE network." The report comes on the heels of rumors of a $20 billion agreement between the two companies. Unfortunately for both parties, no amount of billion dollar bills will shake impending scrutiny from the FCC. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Time Warner Cable internal docs reveal TWCable TV iPad app, DVR upgrades on the way Posted: 17 Jun 2011 03:19 PM PDT  Features:
ADSG Capable Set-top Box Support
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| Posted: 17 Jun 2011 01:54 PM PDT  |
| Benchmark | LG Revolution | HTC Thunderbolt | Samsung Droid Charge |
| Quadrant | 1913 | 1886 | 943 |
| Linpack | 39.6 | 40.1 | 13.6 |
| Nenamark | 39.2 | 32.7 | 42.2 |
| Nenamark2 | 13.3 | 12.7 | 21.4 |
| Neocore | 65.1 | 59.5 | 56.9 |
| Sunspider | 4591 | 6213 | 7905 |
And now it's time for the budding question everyone's begging to know about: as an LTE device, how does the battery hold up? When the Droid Charge came out, it looked like Samsung had figured out the magic solution to take care of all those crazy power drain issues associated with the new 4G technology. We figured the Revolution's 1500mAh battery would provide talk times somewhere in between its two siblings -- the Thunderbolt uses a 1400mAh battery, while the Charge carries a 1600mAh -- and it's true. Unfortunately, though, it's much closer to the former.
We managed just five and a half hours on one charge which included about 100 minutes of voice calls and then kept the phone idle (albeit with 4G connection instead of WiFi) until the battery died. To offer perspective, that's the amount of time we should be able to chat on the phone straight through, full to empty. In another instance, we left the phone on to receive only emails and texts, and the charge almost lasted the entire day. Don't leave your house without a car charger or external battery pack if you want the phone to last the entire day under moderate or heavy use.
Our LTE speedtests are still almost as blazing fast as they were when the Thunderbolt first came out, though we're not seeing as many of the occasional spikes of 20Mbps or more, possibly due to an increase in 4G subscribers. We were able to reach consistent speeds of 13Mbps down and 8Mbps up. There's a certain joy in taking advantage of a mobile hotspot, seeing our computers hit higher speeds via a phone than our own ISP. Some of our test results can be found below.
We did notice something curious with the Revolution when doing side-by-side tests with the other LTE phones. After conducting a couple dozen speed tests on all three LTE devices simultaneously, it was clear that the Revolution lagged behind the others on a consistent basis. In some cases, the Droid Charge and Thunderbolt would exceed it by as much as 3-4Mbps. It's difficult to draw definite conclusions based on just one series of tests, but it did throw up a red flag.
Finally, our calls came through loud and clear on the Revolution, with no difficulty hearing the other line and vice versa. We never experienced any dropped calls, even when chatting it up with friends in a basement and driving through a part of town that's infamous for losing reception. Zero complaints came from the other end of the call, and nobody had to ask us to repeat ourselves, though we usually do that without any prompting, anyway.
Wrap-up
With a name like Revolution, we immediately start visualizing a massive upheaval or shake up of the system, or perhaps a monumental transformation. It's hard to pick out exactly where LG's first brush with LTE does either of those things. While it's a good smartphone overall, it doesn't offer anything new to Verizon's 4G lineup that we haven't already seen, and certainly didn't revolutionize the reputation the network has with battery life. Aside from an optimistic product name, the Revolution has midrange specs that perform decently and offers great call quality. If the LTE logo wasn't on the handset, however, it would be just another Android phone, getting lost in the ether amongst other top-choice smartphones like the Droid X2 and Droid Incredible 2. Perhaps it wasn't the most successful "revolution" in the strictest sense of the term, but the 4G uprising is just getting started.
Additional reporting by Myriam Joire
Alleged shot of Sony Ericsson Xperia Duo surfaces
Posted: 17 Jun 2011 12:47 PM PDT
[Thanks, Daniel N]
Apple expands patent complaint against Samsung to include more devices
Posted: 17 Jun 2011 12:02 PM PDT
[Thanks, Fayez]
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