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Engadget News |
- Sonos finally adds retina support to iOS app, tablet UI on Android
- Re-Reading Rainbow: an interview with LeVar Burton
- Leap Motion taps former Apple iAd VP Andy Miller to be President and COO
- Firefox 14 rolls out: Google searches default to HTTPS, OS X Lion users get fullscreen support
- Street View heads back to the Antarctic, visits historic landmarks (video)
- Google searches for criminals in bid to reduce global crime
- OnLive says support for Universal Controller on Nexus 7 is coming 'shortly'
- Smule launches AutoRap for iOS and Android, Engadget's editors drop some mad beats (video)
- Microsoft intros new cloud app model for Office 365
- German court rules Motorola Xoom doesn't violate Apple's iPad design patent
- The Engadget Interview: OUYA CEO Julie Uhrman on taking console concept to reality
- Kyocera Hydro hitting Boost on August 3rd for $130, lets you get your Ice Cream Sandwich soggy
- Nexus 7 pre-orders start shipping in UK and Canada
- Google patents Project Glass motion-based theft detection, locks up if it feels 'unnatural' movement
- Infortrend NAS server family ties up your network and storage needs, brings the cloud to suburbs
- Mobile app store WAC gets whacked: sells assets, is absorbed into GSMA
- Skype confirms fix rolling out for instant messaging bug
- Ford wants you to meet its touchy, feely interior quality robot, RUTH 2.0
- Barnes & Noble brings out Nook for Web, comes full circle with e-reading (update: not on iOS)
- T-Mobile US offers new Europe-wide 500MB roaming plan for $50
- StyleTap brings its Palm OS emulator to Android, only asks for $50
- NXP's new audio chip pumps up the volume for mobile device speakers (update: video)
- Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5 and other models arriving soon? (Updated)
- Microsoft under investigation for not fulfilling browser choice pledge (update: MS says it's fixing 'glitch')
- Controller board for 3D printers emphasizes expandability, gives nod to Sun God
- OnStar seals partnership with RelayRides, makes renting out your car even easier (hands-on video)
- Samsung swallows up CSR mobile and location patents for $310 million
- WSJ: Next iPhone to have even thinner screen
- Audi dealership lets you gesticulate your way to a new car using Kinect and multitouch
- Comcast, Scripps deal brings more internet streaming video on Xfinity TV
- Ca-Fi 621000 brings infotainment to cars with double DIN / without Connect or Sync
- Mars Rover game hits Xbox Live, tasks you with safely landing the Curiosity with Kinect
- Canon announces printing and scanning app for BlackBerry and iOS, makes Android devices lonely
- Intel pumps SSD 330 capacity up to 240GB, trims other drives' prices to match
- Samsung reduces EX2F point-and-shoot price to $499 before August arrival
- Maker Camp brings DIY fun to teens via Google+ Hangouts
- NC State's new efficient pico projector raises hopes for smartphone cinema
- My Xbox LIVE app adds iPad support in 1.6 update
- HTC HD2 gets unofficial Android 4.1 Jelly Bean port, becomes the Phone That Would Not Die
- Explosion-proof flashlight could be the first to outlive its owner
| Sonos finally adds retina support to iOS app, tablet UI on Android Posted: 17 Jul 2012 11:49 AM PDT It's taken over two years, but Sonos has finally added high-res graphics to its iOS apps to support the Retina Display. The music streaming remote has been saddled with an interface designed for much lower resolutions until today's update which finally ushered it into the modern age. Thankfully, the company brought Retina support to both the iPhone and iPad app in one fell swoop, avoiding letting one version lag behind the other. The Android remote also got a nice update today, finally delivering a tablet UI. The app has technically supported Google-powered slates for sometime, but it lacked a truly optimized interface with multiple columns like the iPad version. Hit up the source links to download them now. |
| Re-Reading Rainbow: an interview with LeVar Burton Posted: 17 Jul 2012 11:00 AM PDT LeVar Burton has to take a moment. He pauses, dabs his eyes with a tissue, taking it all in: the washed-out white room, over-exposed by the sun, filled with journalists, industry reps and friends in rows of folding chairs, red, orange, yellow, green and blue. Large balloons hang from the corners of the room, dressed up like hot air balloons, carrying small, empty baskets. A guitar sits next to an amp off the corner of the stage while the Reading Rainbow logo beams on a flatscreen monitor, largely unchanged since its heyday a quarter-century ago. Burton, too, appears mostly unchanged since those days, aside from closer-cropped hair, more neatly manicured facial hair and a smart, mustard suit jacket.  There's plenty to be emotional about, of course, hitting the stage on the tail of an introduction by producer Mark Wolfe, who calls Burton, "my best friend." The return of Reading Rainbow - now in the form of an iPad app - has been a long time coming, the beloved children's series having been largely MIA since being pulled from the airwaves in 2009, after a 26-year run. "This is two years in the making," Burton begins in his familiarly gentle cadence as we sit down for an interview roughly an hour later, "and I'm really just overwhelmed with the response. It's like making a movie. You're just so close to it and you sometimes lose perspective, you can't see the forest for the trees, that sort of thing. There's so much that's gone into it, so much work, so much sweat, so much blood." A lot, certainly, has gone into the launch, Burton singling out theme song composer Steve Horelick and singer Tina Fabrique in the audience. "It's my first time meeting her in-person," he explains, extending a hand to bring her up on stage. "Butterfly in the sky," she begins, as though not a single day had passed in the last two and a half decades that she didn't wake up singing that line. "I can go twice as high," Burton joins in. By "take a look, it's in a book," nearly everyone in attendance adds to the chorus. It's a surreal sight placed up against the standard fare of tech press conferences, where bloggers elbow one another to shoot tablets on stands behind bulletproof plexiglass, and before the crowd finishes singing "a Reading Rainbow," Burton's eyes aren't the only misty ones in the house.
After the song, Burton offers up a "one more thing" to the crowd, staff members opening up the back wall to reveal the second half of the room, as a man picks up the guitar at the side of the stage, for an instrumental jam. Several iPads sit atop kiosks, spread out across the sun-drenched white room. In one corner is a giant sheet cake, designed by Cake Boss Buddy Valastro, a rainbow leaping from an open book into an edible iPad. At the center the room, a culturally diverse group of children sit around a table on rainbow-colored beanbag chairs, flitting through the new app. There's not a sour note during the whole event, even as the iPad conks out a moment in the middle of the demo, Burton (né La Forge) playing it off with a "I'm not the chief engineer, I just play one on TV."
Burton's longstanding commitment to literacy, naturally, goes a fair bit deeper. "My mother was an English teacher," Burton tells me. "I feel it's pretty much the family business." The job of hosting began in 1983, with Burton, then best-known for the role of Kunta Kinte in the Emmy-winning ABC miniseries adaptation of Alex Haley's Roots, at the helm of a new sort of PBS kids show. The show's segments, narrated readings, with slow pans across the page, book reviews from kid readers and "field trips" to exciting locales, would all become Reading Rainbow signatures. It would go on to help teach a generation to read, those who were weaned on the early days of the program are now well into their adult years. Writers and teachers often take the opportunity to thank Burton for his role in their early education - something I take a moment to do, toward the end of our interview. It's the most someone in such a position could ever possibly hope for: a show with a real and lasting impact on its viewers. It's also equally nerve-wracking. After two and a half decades, how do you adapt one of the most beloved properties in children's television? "The idea of translating that into a new experience for kids was a little daunting," admits Burton. "Because it would have been so easy to fail to meet the expectations because people are so familiar with the brand and the brand is a hallmark in the childhood of a whole generation of folks." And if Burton needed a reminder during the presentation just how elemental the program was to those covering the event, he got it in the form of a reporter who asked if the "book reports" from the show were coming to the app (they are). Rather than closing the proverbial book on the property when PBS pulled the plug, Burton and team got to work, briefly considering the possibility of simply moving the show to a different station - a plan they quickly decided would be out-of-step with its demographic in the early 21st century. "They say that when a door closes, another one opens," says Burton, "and what really got our attention was that there was a real reaction from people when Reading Rainbow went off the air. I was kind of surprised, but I thought immediately, there's something here. It's not over for the brand." The answer to striking that balance between the beloved property and the changing tastes of youth culture arrived in a soon-to-be-released technology. "What would a new version of Reading Rainbow look like? Television was the medium that we used in the '80s and '90s, because that's where our nation's kids were hanging out, and this generation of digital natives, they get only a portion of their entertainment from television now. And then the iPad came out." It was a technology that, for Burton, was a long time coming. "I've been a science fiction fan all my life," he says with a smile "and it's amazing to recognize that there are so many devices that were imagined for Star Trek that are actually a part of our lives today, and the iPad is one of them. The chief engineer Geordi carried around a pad, not unlike an iPad."
And so, Steve Jobs' Star Trek-esque pad was chosen as the future home for the series. Once that decision was made, it was a journey that would take two years to realize. "Translating a television show into a multi-dimensional experience in and out is no small task," explains Burton, "and then with the added pressure of being able to figure out how to include elements that would make it really familiar to someone who had seen the show before, there were just a lot of problems that we had to solve for and that's before you get to the technology of actually making books and building a back end and a structure for all of this, the ones and zeroes." -158604% Chief amongst the user interaction concerns was how exactly to drive the discovery of books, the concept behind Reading Rainbow in its original from. "There are a lot of people who are getting into the space of educational tech and books for kids, and for the most part, they're bookshelves," says Burton. "We wanted to do an experience. We wanted to take the discovery of books and make it an adventure for kids, like Reading Rainbow was. So we hit upon the island theme - there will be islands with different themes and a kid could go to an island based on how they felt about what was there." The initial group of islands - "My Friends and Family," "Animal Kingdom," "Genius Academy" (science and math) and "Action Adventures & Magic Tales" - are coupled with videos, old and new, maintaining the field trips of the original series in the form of shorts. The books themselves, meanwhile, have optional narration and short, unobtrusive animations to help engage young readers, a way of harnessing the technology without overwhelming the reading experience. "We know that these are incredibly engaging devices and we know that kids want to be on them and we know that there's an expectation that they have when they get on them, that they'll be able to interact with them in very specific ways and that's great," Burton tells me. "And books do give us the opportunity to enhance the narrative with animations and the like. We give them those in a way that we feel is appropriate, so as not to interrupt the narrative, to actually support the narrative - we're Reading Rainbow, after all."
Two years into the process, the big day arrives with singing, laughter and a few tears. And as much as Burton would like to view the event as the finish line, he admits that he's only getting started. "We're here at launch which is just another starting line because now it's up to us to iterate and to listen to our customers. So, as exhausted as we are to get to this point, you know, we're really just beginning." There's also the matter of getting the word out there - but with a generation of nostalgia-filled fans raising kids of their own, Burton and company no doubt have word-of-mouth on their side. "It's exciting to know that it is that first generation of Reading Rainbow watchers and lovers that's really going to help us spread the word and preach the gospel," says Burton, because, as ever, you don't have to take his word for it. Zach Honig contributed to this report. |
| Leap Motion taps former Apple iAd VP Andy Miller to be President and COO Posted: 17 Jul 2012 10:58 AM PDT Update: Leap Motion has reached out and informed us that Miller will be President and COO, reporting to current CEO and co-founder Michael Buckwald. The official press release can be found after the break. Leap Motion Appoints Andy Miller President and COO Former General Partner at Highland Capital Partners and Apple VP Joins Company Behind World's Most Accurate 3-D Motion Control Technology SAN FRANCISCO – July 17, 2012 – Leap Motion, the motion-control software and hardware company changing the future of human/computer interaction, today announced the appointment of Andy Miller as President and Chief Operating Officer. Miller will join the makers of the world's most accurate 3-D motion control technology in August, reporting directly to CEO and co-founder Michael Buckwald. He will be responsible for guiding all aspects of the company's growth, including business development, growing the executive team and leading the development of the Leap application discovery store. "Andy is a Silicon Valley visionary, and his breadth and depth of experience working in the mobile and digital media space will be invaluable as we continue to grow and bring the Leap to market," said Buckwald. "We have generated a tremendous amount of momentum since launching, and can't think of a better-equipped person to join us at this time and help continue to drive Leap Motion's growth and development." Officially unveiled on May 21, the Leap immediately caught the attention and imagination of consumers, developers and media around the globe, spawning nearly overwhelming numbers of pre-orders and developer kit requests from over 150 countries. The "Introducing the Leap" video and other Leap demo videos have collectively been viewed more than 6 million times, and the official demo video has been featured by more than 350 news outlets around the world. Accurate to 1/100th of a millimeter, the Leap costs just $70 and can be pre-ordered at www.leapmotion.com for shipment in early 2013. "I've been fortunate to work with some of the most influential figures and companies in the technology industry, and I'm as excited about the Leap as I've ever been about a technology," said Miller. "The potential for the Leap is limitless, as it is going to fundamentally change the way we interact with so many devices in our lives. I'm thrilled to come on board and looking forward to growing Leap Motion into the technology powerhouse it's on the road to becoming." Miller recently served as General Partner at Highland Capital Partners, and previously reported directly to Steve Jobs as Vice President of Mobile Advertising at Apple Inc., where he led the iAd division, the mobile advertising network for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Miller was co-founder and CEO of Quattro Wireless, a mobile advertising company acquired by Apple in 2009. Prior to that, he oversaw business development, sales and strategy for what became North America's dominant mobile aggregator, m-Qube, which VeriSign acquired for $250 million in 2006. Miller serves as an independent member on the board of directors of The Weather Channel Companies TWCC, and co-owns the Modesto Nuts, a Colorado Rockies Advanced Single A Franchise in the California League. About Leap Motion |
| Firefox 14 rolls out: Google searches default to HTTPS, OS X Lion users get fullscreen support Posted: 17 Jul 2012 10:31 AM PDT The changes in Firefox 14 may not be quite as immediately noticeable as those in the recently released Firefox 13, but they're still fairly notable nonetheless. One of the biggest is Mozilla delivering on its promise to move to HTTPS for all Google search results and search suggestions, giving users a bit of added security. Mac OS X Lion users will also be glad to know that the full screen mode is now fully supported, and all users can also now expect better mouse performance in web-based games and other applications thanks to Mozilla's implementation of the Pointer Lock API. As is the norm now, though, you'll just have to wait another six weeks for the next release if a feature you've been waiting for didn't make it into this one. |
| Street View heads back to the Antarctic, visits historic landmarks (video) Posted: 17 Jul 2012 10:00 AM PDT Google has already taken us on a trip to the frigid shores of Antarctica before. Now the search giant is back with even more panoramic images, this time from deeper inside the frozen continent. With help from the Polar Geospatial Center at the University of Minnesota and the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust (not to mention a light-weight tripod and a fisheye lens), Street View can now bring to you the wonders of our most southern land mass. This isn't a short stroll in the footsteps of penguins either -- the ceremonial South Pole and Shackleton's Hut are among the numerous landmarks that get exposed to Google's image sensors. Enjoy the quick tour above and the video after the break. |
| Google searches for criminals in bid to reduce global crime Posted: 17 Jul 2012 09:48 AM PDT Google's pretty much aced searching for your latest whim, so now it's turning its efforts to criminals. Working with the Council on Foreign Relations, the internet giant has been exploring ways of using its technology for the greater good. Yahoo reports that Google Ideas will meet with the CFR (and other groups) this week to develop global crime fighting strategies. Other attendees include Juan Pablo Escobar (son of Pablo,) assistant US defense secretary Andrew Weber and the DEA director of counter-terrorism Brian Dodd. Look out for the Google+ most wanted hangouts coming soon. |
| OnLive says support for Universal Controller on Nexus 7 is coming 'shortly' Posted: 17 Jul 2012 09:27 AM PDT Those of you who are proud owners of one of Big G's Nexus 7 -- and are frequent users of OnLive's Android offering -- may have noticed the lack of support for the gaming outfit's Universal Controller on the Jelly Bean slate at launch. Fret not, though, as that might be changing soon. Speaking to GottaBeMobile, the cloud company said that while there's no Nexus 7 compatibility at the moment, it does "hope to have it shortly." OnLive wasn't quite clear about what "shortly" really means, but according to the aforementioned site, the Universal Controller's had a tendency to work with some titles before "the official support was announced" -- so a few of you could get lucky ahead of time. Either way, we'll let you know as soon as OnLive intros a more formal solution. |
| Smule launches AutoRap for iOS and Android, Engadget's editors drop some mad beats (video) Posted: 17 Jul 2012 09:00 AM PDT Sure, we're often mistaken for some of hip-hop's illest emcees in our day-to-day lives, but the sad truth is that Engadget's editorial team could use a little help with our flow. Thankfully, technology has come to the rescue, yet again -- this time in the form of AutoRap, the latest app from the people who brought you such mobile blockbusters as I am T-Pain and Songify. Those who've spent time with either of the aforementioned apps know what to expect from this latest addition to the Smule family: talk or rap into your iPhone or Android device, tap the button, and then wait for the magic. AutoRap will go to town, or as Smule puts it: "turn[ing] speech into rap and correct[ing] bad rapping." Talking and rapping are the two primary modes here. With the former, you simply speak into your phone, and the app chops your voice and buries it in a whole mess of autotuney goodness. There's a pretty broad handful of songs at present, including 30 premium tracks from the likes of Snoop Dog, the Beastie Boys, Outkast and Kid Cudi -- naturally, if you want access to those, you're gonna have to pony up some cash, or earn some credits doing things like watching instructional videos or filling out auto insurance quote forms. The free tracks mostly get the job done, however.
The app does a pretty good job turning your words into something salvageable (in the case of the above demos, the geekiest words we could conjure), thanks, no doubt, to the "sophisticated artificial intelligence developed by Smule's chief scientist" the company says is at play here. Pick Rap, and the app will offer up lyrics and a beat, correcting your rapping within a predetermined framework. Naturally, Smule gives you the ability to share the fruits of your labor (your, ahem, "Rappertoire") all of the requisite ways -- e-mail, Twitter and Facebook. After all, the dopest beats ought not be kept to yourself. In the end, AutoRap doesn't amount to too much more than a fun distraction -- apologies in advance to all of those hoping to jumpstart their burgeoning rap careers. Sucker MCs can download it today from Google Play and the Apple App Store. |
| Microsoft intros new cloud app model for Office 365 Posted: 17 Jul 2012 08:43 AM PDT Following all the Office news from Redmond in the last 24 hours, Microsoft's managed to take a quick breath before revealing some new dev tools and a cloud-based app model for its online iteration, Office 365. Apps made inside the model can be inserted directly into spreadsheets, as task panes, and even automatically activated when needed. Devs can also choose to wheel out their software to both the new Office Store or the existing extension system. So if you're looking to upgrade that PC work suite, it might be worth taking a closer look at what's going down at the source links below. |
| German court rules Motorola Xoom doesn't violate Apple's iPad design patent Posted: 17 Jul 2012 08:10 AM PDT Apple filed a stealth lawsuit last summer alleging that the Motorola Xoom violated the design patent that underpins the iPad. While Apple has had some success leveling its big patent gun against Samsung, the same can't be said for Motorola: a German court just declared that the reference Android tablet doesn't infringe on Apple's design claim. The ruling isn't a complete win for Motorola, however, as the court wouldn't invalidate the patent -- it could theoretically be leveled against other tablets in the future. The loss will still sting for Apple, which now has to resort to a multi-touch patent claim (among others) if it wants to make Motorola feel the heat in Mannheim. |
| The Engadget Interview: OUYA CEO Julie Uhrman on taking console concept to reality Posted: 17 Jul 2012 08:00 AM PDT Oh, the fickle fate of a Kickstarter darling. Initial hopes and dreams culminate into a single video and a few pages of text on a website that can send your brilliant little idea careening down one of two paths. Path one is the lonely one, falling short of your goal and retreating back to the very literal drawing board to find out just why your idea didn't match everyone's ideals. But the other path has its challenges too. Look at the OUYA Android-powered videogame console. The console was announced on a Tuesday, one week ago today, went on to meet its $950,000 funding goal in roughly eight hours and went on to raise millions. While thousands of gamers pledged their funds, the pundits got to pondering the unlikely (early) success, many predicting doom for this little gaming box that still has a long way to go before its promised release next March. With the pressure building, OUYA founder and CEO Julie Uhrman is feeling no doubts. She took some time out of her incredibly busy schedule on the one week anniversary of the Kickstarter launch to refute some of the hate that's been brewing and reassure those who have pledged their $99 that it will ultimately prove to be money well spent. You've obviously succeeded in capturing the hopes of thousands of gamers. What is it about the OUYA that is so compelling? I think it's the surprise factor. For many folks, we came out of nowhere. And we took on some big companies-nobody really does that. But when you think about it the idea isn't so far fetched. In fact, in this Joystiq article, Notch himself was quoted saying, "I am quite frankly surprised this hasn't happened earlier. Me and plenty of other people have tried connecting small PCs to their TVs and plugging in controllers in an attempt to get an open TV gaming experience that they can control, but there's been constant interface and infrastructure problems with that. And frankly, the only really good use of it was to run emulators. Something like OUYA could solve a lot of these issues, making it easier to find and navigate between content, and putting a good community in place around it." Are you a gamer yourself? What is your favorite console of all time? I am a gamer. I love playing games on a TV, but I used to love it more, back before so many games moved to mobile and other platforms. I was barely a teenager when I was downloading games from BBS's at 9800 baud. Spent hours playing Super Mario Brothers with my family and a fortune on Galaga. Today, I have every system and play when I can -- mostly family games now with my kids. Did that provide any inspiration to the design of the OUYA?
Ultimately, Yves Behar and the team at fuseproject will manage the design process. I might have some great ideas, but really, how could I compete with the guy that designed the Jambox? We're also taking in feedback from our Kickstarter backers and the developers who are excited to build for OUYA. In fact, when we first brought the concept to Adam Saltsman, he made us promise to let him weigh in on the controller. And he's not the only developer excited. We've heard from Brian Fargo and others that the innovative controller design is likely to inspire new types of gameplay. We can't wait. It's an amazing opportunity we have: to create something beautiful and functional put it in the hands of the most creative game designers in the world and let them run with it. It's going to be awesome. You're about to cross the $5 million mark after having set an original goal of only $950,000. Has this level of early success caused you any concerns? Not at all. We have been, of course, totally blown away by the level of support OUYA has received. A week after unveiling on Kickstarter, OUYA is almost 40,000 backers strong and more than 500 of our developer reward packages are spoken for. Not to mention, the amazing support we had going into Kickstarter, both from well-known developers and great investors like Digg founder Jay Adelson, Flixster founder Joe Greenstein, and Jawbone founder Hosain Rahman who backed us out of the gate and helped us get to Kickstarter. Will you be able to deliver product to all of those who have pre-ordered? We know that we can deliver the goods. The hardware is doable. We've shared our tech specs and everyone knows by now that we aren't reinventing the wheel here. It's standard stuff that we'll be maximizing to bring great games to life. (And that's why the cost works-putting this stuff under the lid is totally doable for $99.) We've already got a functional prototype-in our Kickstarter video you see me playing Shadowgun on it. It's really the developer proposition, the business model, and the design that are innovative. As for the developer proposition and business model they are new to the console space, but some of our best ideas we grabbed from the mobile market. Beyond that, the concept of Openness-that was important to us. But that isn't something we invented. If anything we felt that was the way tech was headed. And we wanted to bring it to a new place: console gaming.
Given that Yves Behar is tackling design, I don't think that we'll worry about that either. He's the man [behind] the Jawbone headset, Herman Miller's groundbreaking Leaf LED lamp, a line of lifestyle goods for Mini, the reinvention of Birkenstocks, a chandelier for Swarovski, and the news-making $100 laptop with MIT's Nicholas Negroponte. I think he can handle our little project. And, then, I guess, if the question comes down to our ability to handle the production process we've got that covered too. NVIDIA is collaborating with us, to help us both get production going and to get the most out of our Tegra 3 chips. We've been talking to some of the leading ODMs. They have vetted our plans and are bidding on our business. We are close to picking a partner to manufacture our console and controllers. We crunched a lot of numbers before we got on Kickstarter. We vetted the bill of materials with experts. We vetted our plans with our advisors, including Amol Sarva who developed the Peek email device at a similarly low cost. If all we'd done was hit our goal, we could have delivered – but now we can promise developers so many more gamers to develop for. We have also limited the number of consoles we can make available for March. We could have launched with an unlimited number – but we have only listed what we are confident we can deliver. (80,000 consoles at the $99 reward level on Kickstarter.) What's available is already almost half sold out.
Listen, we know that there are going to be people who try to kick the tires. And, until we have a product on the market that people can put their hands on, we'll have to get comfortable with skepticism. There are so many folks out there who want to review us now-like we are a final product on the market-and it's just not realistic. We have made it very clear that we are an early stage project and that we turned to Kickstarter to take us from functional prototype to OUYAs in the living room. This has been public for just one week. We'd love to fast forward too, but we can't. For now, we are just going to stay the course: We are laser focused on delivering the best possible game experience on OUYA. We aren't going to let a handful of naysayers distract us from the army of nearly 40,000 backers cheering us on. We want to make them proud. Despite all this, we've heard reports that you're looking for even more funding. Is that correct? What will this additional funding enable? Totally untrue. We've been approached many times in the last week, of course, and told everyone we are totally focused on getting our support from Kickstarter. We've issued a statement correcting that and think that we've tracked down the article that misquoted me. We are dealing with a time difference though, so it may take some time to get it updated. How much money do you expect it will cost to bring the final product to market?
We crunched the numbers before we went to Kickstarter and felt like the $950K would get us from functional prototype to finished product. More backing enables us to make more consoles, and to provide better support to game developers. More support for game developers, means more games. Where will these consoles be produced? Have specific production facilities been located? We can't answer this yet. [Julie directed us to the following statement.]
Of course all the pre-sales thus far have been online, but is there a plan for some presence at retail as well?
First I want to make sure that folks understand that our Kickstarter campaign was not a pre-sell effort. This wasn't a marketing type move. We absolutely needed Kickstarter to raise the money to finish the product. We also knew that Kickstarter would allow us to engage in a direct conversations with developers and future customers. We've only been on Kickstarter for a week but we are already using that feedback to inform and improve our efforts. We've already started conversations with both on and offline retailers and are happy to report that they are excited about what we are doing. You posted on Kickstarter that you're working with NVIDIA to "maximize" the performance of the Tegra 3. Can you give us some idea of what we might expect? We've had a lot of questions about this, people asking whether or not Tegra 3 could handle the types of games that they want to play and we've been directing them to the Tegra 3 demo from NVIDIA.
People familiar with the Tegra 3 in today's mobile devices need to remember that we won't have to balance (and trade) power to increase battery life. So we can crank up the performance of these chips. We've had several meetings with Nvidia in the last couple of weeks in which we've discussed how we maximize the Tegra 3. They are helping us with circuitboard design, balancing power and other considerations, and squeezing the most out of these chips. Can common smartphone hardware really deliver graphics on a 1080p HDTV comparable to an Xbox 360 or PS3? Or, is it that the new gameplay experiences delivered by smaller developers will make up for that? This hardware absolutely can deliver great graphics, solid enough for an emotionally immersive, AAA experience. We've seen core game developers express great interest in developing for OUYA. Many are watching the consumer demand, and know that we can support their games in a high-quality way. See the Tegra 3 demo. Meanwhile, we do think that a single developer or small team can do extraordinary things – we can't wait to see the creative surprises these independent developers have in store for the gamers who get an OUYA. A big question on the minds of many is "what will the games be like?" What are some of the most recognizable developers that you have lined up? We won't be on the market until 2013, and we've only been in the public consciousness for a week but if there is one thing we know it's that gamers want our roster! But that's not something we're prepared to share at this point. The interest in OUYA has inspired a lot of devs to reach out to us with existing content and new ideas and we are trying to get back to each and every one of them. We owe a lot of responses right now, so we hope that they will be patient.
We specifically didn't announce a launch slate of games. We want our launch slate to feel fresh, and we feel it's a bit early to go out with everything now. That said, in our most recent Kickstarter update, Meteor, the maker of Hawken (a great-looking upcoming free-to-play mech game), pledged that they're also coming to OUYA. Pretty cool stuff. The potential is limitless: We know that game makers will make exciting new AAA content for OUYA, including great games for core gamers. And don't forget, we've got a lot of support from the development community already voiced their support of OUYA. Brian Fargo, who is at work on Wasteland 2. Notch Persson, maker of Minecraft, was very generous with his Kickstarter backing on day one. And, of course, Adam Saltsman, said himself how great Canabalt would be on OUYA in our video. Rest assured, we will continue to reach out to the best developers in the world and work diligently to bring the best game content available to our platform. What sort of changes are you expecting to be made to make a game suitable for the Ouya? The free-to-play model doesn't seem like a perfect fit for every genre. When we say free-to-play, we'd also include free demos or early levels of a game, so we are confident that while not every game will use in-game items, every game can offer some aspect of its gameplay for free. Will there be any app curation or approval process? Can anyone push any game or app to the console? Yes, there will be approval and curation – as is standard on other Android platforms today. Last question: why should gamers trust you with their $99? Because, while we did catch people off guard when we unveiled our concept last Tuesday on Kickstarter, we do know that this is completely doable. We have a great team, who are putting their lives into making this happen. The cost, the tech, the approach -- we've done our homework and talked to some of the best minds in tech and games (folks we are lucky to count as developers and investors) and we know this can be done. |
| Kyocera Hydro hitting Boost on August 3rd for $130, lets you get your Ice Cream Sandwich soggy Posted: 17 Jul 2012 07:46 AM PDT It's summertime, time for absent-minded running through the sprinkers with your smartphone in your back pocket. Thankfully, if you can hold out for a few more weeks without having some prankster toss you in a pool at a party, you can pick up the new Kyocera Hydro on Boost Mobile on August 3rd for $130 -- just think of all of the money you'll save on dry rice after your handset takes an accidental dip. The 3.5-inch Ice Cream Sandwich phone sports a 1GHZ processor and can stand being under three feet of water for up to 30 minutes. Jump into the the press release after the break.
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| Nexus 7 pre-orders start shipping in UK and Canada Posted: 17 Jul 2012 07:31 AM PDT The Nexus 7 machine is in full swing. According to Google, all pre-orders placed by Friday the 13th in the US and Australia have been filled as of today (though some may still be en route), and our friends in the UK and Canada should be receiving theirs soon enough. Deliveries are currently heading out in waves, putting 7-inches of Jelly Bean in the hands of eager "footie" fans and beneficiaries of socialized medicine. Have you gotten your shipment notification yet? Let us know in the comments. |
| Google patents Project Glass motion-based theft detection, locks up if it feels 'unnatural' movement Posted: 17 Jul 2012 07:15 AM PDT We know that you're never gonna take your Google glasses off, but if some nefarious lout feels differently, the boys and girls in Mountain View's X lab have got you covered. The company has patented a system whereby the device can identify "unnatural" movements and lock the headset if it feels the violent motion of them being wrenched from your face. Even better, while your would-be assailant is making off with the $1,500 gear, it'll be contacting the authorities to ensure that they can't get far with their ill-gotten HMD. If nothing else, we'll won't worry as much when pre-order customers 782 and 788 go out of an evening. |
| Infortrend NAS server family ties up your network and storage needs, brings the cloud to suburbs Posted: 17 Jul 2012 07:00 AM PDT Infortrend is the latest to step up with a collection of new NAS servers pitched at both households and business and it's now announced. The EonNAS Pro Series offers from two to eight-bay tower systems, while the 1000 series gives you four bays to for cross-platform file-sharing for your litany of Windows, Linux and Mac machines, plus some data-savvy features. These include pool mirroring and de-duplication, which should avoid several iterations of the same file in the same place. can efficiently deal with demanding applications. For each network protocol, both the 1000 and Pro series give speeds of around 100MB/s, while on FTP both can top out at around 180MB/s. Infortrend isn't giving up dates or prices just yet, but server shoppers can hit up the full press release below for a few more details. New NAS Server Family from Infortrend Delivers Enterprise Class Storage Protection to SMB and SOHO Markets Expandable and Simple to Deploy, EonNAS Pro and 1000 Series Feature Deduplication, ZFS Checksum, Snapshot and Pool Mirror for Optimized Storage, End-to-End Data Integrity SAN JOSE, Calif., July 17, 2011 – HYPERLINK "http://www.infortrend.com/us/Home"Infortrend® (Public TPE: 2495) today announced the North American availability of two new product lines in its EonNAS family of unified storage solutions, the HYPERLINK "http://www.eonnas.com" EonNAS Pro and HYPERLINK "http://www.infortrend.com/us/products/families/EonNAS/1000"EonNAS 1000 Series. Although NAS is fast becoming the storage solution of choice for the SOHO and SMB markets, when it comes to data protection, current offerings come up short. Infortrend's new EonNAS Pro and EonNAS 1000 Series fill this void by offering an unprecedented collection of advanced data protection features – including deduplication, ZFS checksum, snapshot and pool mirror – bringing enterprise-level features to the SOHO and SMB markets. Simple to deploy and use, Infortrend's new solutions feature comprehensive protocol support to enable users to serve file-based and block-based applications with a single device and achieve easy file sharing among Windows, Mac and Linux/Unix workstations in the office. Data deduplication can benefit a great number of applications, in particular backup and virtualization applications. With storage space savings of up to 90 percent, the technology enables users to achieve significant cost reductions. Resource utilization on EonNAS Pro and EonNAS 1000 systems is further enhanced by thin provisioning technology and data compression. The ZFS file system achieves end-to-end data integrity through a hierarchical checksum mechanism, which weeds out silent data corruption phenomena that go undetected in other file systems. In addition to ZFS, data is protected by many other features. Snapshots offer space-efficient differential data copies to quickly rollback data or restore files in the event of data errors. With remote replication, users can replicate data in asynchronous mode to another EonNAS Pro or EonNAS 1000 system or third-party device, while the pool mirror function allows users to keep data in two different EonNAS Pro or EonNAS 1000 systems fully synced at all times. Various data backup options are also available. PC data can be backed up to the EonNAS Pro and EonNAS 1000 systems through third-party backup software support, while EonNAS data can be backed up to external disk drives via USB or eSATA connections. The superior performance levels offered by the EonNAS Pro and EonNAS 1000 systems ensure that users can efficiently deal with demanding applications. For each network protocol, the EonNAS solutions deliver performance of more than 100MB/s, and in FTP environments, users can achieve up to 180MB/s. The EonNAS Pro Series offers 2-, 4-, 5-, and 8-bay tower systems that can be set up in minutes and are extremely easy to manage. The EonNAS 1000 Series features 4-bay systems with an industry-standard 1U rackmount form factor. The new models round out Infortrend's comprehensive family of NAS offerings, which also includes the HYPERLINK "http://www.infortrend.com/us/products/families/EonNAS/3000" EonNAS 3000 Series – designed for SMBs, remote/branch offices and enterprise departments – and the HYPERLINK "http://www.infortrend.com/us/products/families/EonNAS/5000"EonNAS 5000 Series, which enables enterprises to efficiently deal with file- and block-based applications. |
| Mobile app store WAC gets whacked: sells assets, is absorbed into GSMA Posted: 17 Jul 2012 06:41 AM PDT After struggling for over two years to get its mobile app store off the ground, the Wholesale Applications Community has decided to give up on its efforts, selling its assets and calling it a day. Established by the likes of Verizon, AT&T and Vodafone, the GSMA has agreed to continue offering the service to its membership, although its relatively recent payments system API (an asset that's now being sold off) might prove to be one of the last additions. GSMA and WAC join forces to accelerate mobile applications market Apigee Purchases WAC Technology Assets and Signs Managed Service Partnership Agreement with the GSMA LONDON, July 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The GSMA today announced that it has reached an agreement to integrate the major programmes and initiatives driven by the Wholesale Applications Community (WAC) into the GSMA. Further to this agreement, Apigee, a leading provider of API products and services, has acquired the technology assets of WAC. Apigee will continue to develop and evolve the WAC Web Run Time and network application programming interfaces (APIs) and will provide these assets as a managed service to the GSMA and its mobile operator members. "Since its inception, WAC has been committed to simplifying the developer experience and fostering innovation through an open web run time and cross-operator API platform," said Franco Bernabe, Chairman, GSMA and Chairman and CEO, Telecom Italia Group. "They have made strong progress, with operators deploying WAC apps and utilising the WAC Payment API. By integrating WAC into the GSMA, we will be able to scale this across our full membership, assisting operators around the world to better serve their customers." In February, WAC launched its Payment API, an operator billing service that enables customers to pay for digital goods via their operator bill. WAC's Payment API offers developers an easy way to monetise their applications across a range of platforms and technologies, using a reliable, cross-operator billing service. The WAC Payment API has launched or is in trial with leading operators including AT&T, Deutsche Telekom, KT, LGU+, SK Telecom, Smart Communications, Telefonica and Telenor, and is in development with a further 12 operators. The WAC Web Run Time has been enabled on approximately 12 million devices to date with a successful deployment by operators including KT, LGU+, SK Telecom and Smart Communications. "We are very proud of the work that the team has done in developing and incubating an open, web-based platform that can run applications and utilise network APIs across multiple devices and operating systems," said Michel Combes, Chairman, WAC. "Now we are excited to move on to the next stage of our development with the GSMA and their ability to make this technology available to their 800 operator members worldwide." "AT&T is pleased to be supporting the network API project as it transitions into the GSMA," said John Donovan, Senior Executive Vice President - AT&T Technology and Network Operations. "Our industry needs a cross-operator solution for network and operator-based APIs such as messaging, billing and authentication. This will enable consumers to experience more compelling applications and reap the benefits of the mobile Internet." "The WAC Web Run Time, based on HTML5 technology, has demonstrated the possibilities for delivering cross-operating system applications," said Dr. Terry Ahn, Executive Vice President of Mobile Business Group of KT. "With HTML5, we believe our developers can easily adapt from one platform to another and provide our customers with the greater usage of applications across multiple devices and multiple screens."
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| Skype confirms fix rolling out for instant messaging bug Posted: 17 Jul 2012 06:28 AM PDT |
| Ford wants you to meet its touchy, feely interior quality robot, RUTH 2.0 Posted: 17 Jul 2012 06:22 AM PDT That's RUTH. In the end, she really amounts to a big robot arm with six joints, but Ford clearly has a soft spot for the faceless employee. First utilized in Europe, the Robotized Unit for Tactility and Haptics is currently at work helping to tweak the interiors of the company's 2013 Fusions, turning data collected from customers across the world into the hard to define concept of "quality," touching the trim, pushing buttons and turning knobs in the interior of the vehicle, in order to help provide what Ford says is, "the same type of quality they might feel if they were to buy a high-end luxury car." The version of the arm dubbed Ruth 2.0 is currently being used by Ford alone in North America, and the company has extended her quality checking to include seat comfort in the vehicles. Check out a video of the long arm of the car company after the break.
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| Barnes & Noble brings out Nook for Web, comes full circle with e-reading (update: not on iOS) Posted: 17 Jul 2012 06:11 AM PDT We'd say it's about time. Although it's almost two years late to the party, Barnes & Noble is responding to Amazon's Kindle for the Web with Nook for Web. Much like its counterpart across the virtual aisle, the Nook web edition lets readers browse free samples and whole books entirely from a web browser while preserving the bookmarking and layout options we've come to know and love. Social mavens will like the options to share over Facebook and Twitter without having to leave the page, and recommendations will pop up as you shop. There's no highlights, however, so it won't quite replace the Nook app on your iPad just yet. Nook for Web is already ready and waiting as part of Barnes & Noble's online store, so those who can't be bothered with native apps can get their fix immediately. Update: It most definitely won't replace that Nook app for the iPad. As TechCrunch found out, the web version won't load on iOS devices. Barnes & Noble Introduces NOOK® for Web, Giving Readers Instant Access to NOOK Books™ from any Web Browser – No Sign-In, Download or NOOK Required Get Started Today with Six FREE Bestsellers Available through July 26 New York, New York – July 17, 2012 – Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products, today introduced NOOK for Web, an innovative and free new browser experience that offers readers the ability to explore the hottest digital titles and bestselling books right from their computer – no sign-in, software download or NOOK account required to begin reading. With fast and easy access from any PC or Mac® browser, NOOK for Web seamlessly combines NOOK's award-winning digital reading experience with access to Barnes & Noble's expansive NOOK Store™. Now, anyone who loves to read can browse, sample and become instantly immersed in a NOOK-like reading environment from any browser, with support coming this fall for Internet-enabled tablets, smartphones and other mobile devices. * Enjoy free samples of the majority of NOOK Books and begin reading with just a click on the "Read Instantly" icon. There's no need to sign in, create an account or download additional software in order to sample content. NOOK for Web supports all PC and Mac-supported Web browsers including Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox and Safari. Through Barnes & Noble's free, stable and secure NOOK Cloud™ service, NOOK for Web now gives existing NOOK customers even more flexibility to Read What You Love, Anywhere You Like™ with seamless account integration and synchronization. Customers can read any book from their personal NOOK Library by signing in using a valid NOOK account. Sync the last page read from a NOOK tablet or Reader, multitude of computing and mobile devices with free NOOK Reading Apps and NOOK for Web, and keep reading virtually anytime, anywhere – all without losing the page. And customers can send free NOOK Book samples directly to an existing NOOK Library to automatically access new content on the go from any NOOK device or one with free NOOK Reading Apps. |
| T-Mobile US offers new Europe-wide 500MB roaming plan for $50 Posted: 17 Jul 2012 05:53 AM PDT In a bid to avoid making suit-wearing execs continually eye their data use when traveling to Europe with your smartphone, T-Mobile has announced a $50 per month plan for business customers, which offers half a gig of data on both 3G and 4G (where available). Once you hit beyond that threshold, you won't be charged for overuse, but your speeds will be throttled. The plan will connect to 28 countries, including likes of the UK, Germany, France, Italy, and will launch for that sweaty business meeting in Paris next month. Bellevue, Wash. - Jul. 16, 2012 T-Mobile USA, Inc. today introduced its new
According to the Global Business Travel Association, American business travelers are expected to take 437.9 million trips costing approximately $265.5 billion by the end of this year. International outbound travel will continue to drastically outpace domestic travel. GBTA expects U.S.-initiated international business trips is expected to hit 6.8 million trips in 20122. With this kind of expected business travel and with data usage on the rise, CIOs and decision makers are looking to address the challenges of international mobility. At the top of this list is reducing or controlling the high costs associated with international data roaming.
"Of the millions of international trips U.S. business travelers make each year, a significant portion are made to European countries," said Frank Sickinger, vice president, business sales at T-Mobile USA. "For these customers, our new T-Mobile Open Europe data feature dramatically reduces costly international data roaming tolls, controls the risk of data roaming 'bill shock', and provides data connectivity required to conduct business from London to Moscow – all for a predictable $50 monthly fee."
The new T-Mobile Open Europe plan, available next month, advances T-Mobile's effort to support CIOs and IT decision makers as they navigate the challenges of international mobility by offering a range of solutions. With T-Mobile's Wi-Fi Calling solutions, for example, business customers can avoid international roaming fees when accessing global hotspots and enhance coverage and data access in areas where a cellular network signal is limited or unavailable. |
| StyleTap brings its Palm OS emulator to Android, only asks for $50 Posted: 17 Jul 2012 05:31 AM PDT Chrome? Who cares, give us Blazer! For those of you who just can't let go of your legacy Palm OS apps, StyleTap has been delivering emulation software to salve your woes since about 2005. But, if you've been riding the Android train, you've been left out in the cold by the Canadian company. That all changes today with the release of StyleTap for Google's mobile OS. The emulator supports any apps written for Palm OS 5.2 and earlier, as well as programs that use native ARM code. Of course, none of this comes for free. StyleTap wants 50 of your American dollars for the privalege of firing up Giraffe on your Galaxy Nexus. Check out the PR after the break for a few more details and hit up the source link if you just can't wait to get your Grafiti on. StyleTap Announces Immediate Availability of StyleTap® Platform for Android™ StyleTap Announces Immediate Availability of StyleTap® Platform for Android™ "We have found that many users and businesses have made very large investments in acquiring and developing mobile applications, and these applications have been enhanced and refined to fit their needs like a glove," said Gregory Sokoloff, CEO of StyleTap. "With all the new smartphone platforms, users are reluctant to lock themselves into one platform or to make the same investment over and over for each new platform. StyleTap's cross-platform family of products can help make these problems go away. "Although there are many useful and entertaining applications available through the various app stores, we receive a constant stream of emails from users telling us that they need StyleTap in order to keep running the applications, not available on any app store, that are critical to their lives and businesses. "We are particularly delighted to support Android because the open nature of the Android ecosystem allows customers to take full advantage of the benefits of StyleTap without being limited by arbitrary restrictions such as those imposed by Apple." StyleTap Platform for Android supports standard features that include TCP/IP networking, audio recording and playback, the ability to use the multi-gigabyte storage as a virtual memory card, and cut/copy/paste of text between native and Palm OS applications. It also provides innovative capabilities such as giving Palm OS applications access to the Android GPS by providing location information in standard GPS NMEA format. StyleTap Platform for Android is the newest member of the StyleTap Platform family, which includes StyleTap Platform for Windows Mobile™, StyleTap Platform for Symbian OS™, and StyleTap Platform for iPhone®. With StyleTap Platform, the same binary executable application can run on more smartphones and PDAs than for any other software runtime, while at the same time native code execution is supported on each device. For developers, this is "write once, profit everywhere." Interested users and developers can visit www.styletap.com/iphone for instructions on obtaining a free 14-day trial of the Android version. StyleTap Platform for Android can be purchased for US$49.95. For more information about StyleTap Platform for Android, please visit www.styletap.com and subscribe to the StyleTap news blog.
About StyleTap Inc. StyleTap Inc. is a privately-held Canadian software company founded in 2000 whose mission is to provide the essential software ingredient that enables mobile applications to run on any smartphone. StyleTap Inc. is the developer of StyleTap Platform for Android, StyleTap Platform for iPhone, StyleTap Platform for Symbian OS and StyleTap Platform for Windows Mobile which are robust, high performance software platforms that enable Android, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Symbian OS and Windows Mobile devices to run thousands of software applications that are also compatible with Palm OS devices. StyleTap continues to expand the capabilities of its existing products and extend its unique technology to run on additional devices and operating systems. |
| NXP's new audio chip pumps up the volume for mobile device speakers (update: video) Posted: 17 Jul 2012 05:00 AM PDT Dutch company NXP -- best known for it's NFC solutions -- introduced a new audio chip today that's set to significantly improve the sound quality of the micro-speakers commonly built into mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. The TFA9887 integrated circuit combines NXP's CoolFlux audio DSP, a class-D amplifier with current sensing and a DC-to-DC converter to boost the output level of micro-speakers up to five times (up to 2.6W RMS) without damaging the driver. Class-D amplifiers are highly efficient and, when combined with a DC-to-DC converter, provide a strong and clear signal regardless of battery level. With current sensing, the chip uses feedback from the driver to optimize power delivery, allowing micro speakers to provide louder, richer sound with deeper, tighter bass over the entire lifetime of a mobile device. Are you ready to turn it up to 11? Check out the full PR after the break. Update: Hit the break for NXP's PR video.
Revolutionary Mobile Audio Solution Delivers Over 5 Times the Power to Micro Speakers Eindhoven, Netherlands, July 17, 2012 – A revolutionary embedded algorithm in a new audio system from NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI) boosts the output power of micro speakers by over 5 times, vastly improving the sound quality of mobile devices. By driving over 2.6 watts RMS into micro speakers that have previously been limited to 0.5 W, NXP's TFA9887 IC will give mobile phones, portable music players and tablets much louder sound, deeper bass, and higher sound quality – without risking speaker damage. With a unique combination of safety features including adaptive excursion control and real-time temperature protection, the TFA9887 monitors speakers through a current-sensing amplifier and enables safe operation while working at near peak output at all times. "Digital natives have come of age taking poor mobile sound quality for granted. As speakers have become smaller, the quiet, tinny sound we've come to associate with mobile devices has got even worse," said Shawn Scarlett, director of marketing, mobile audio product line, NXP Semiconductors. "Our new audio system transforms the listening experience, enabling louder, richer sound quality from virtually any mobile device. The improvement is so striking that consumers, handset makers and operators will immediately hear the difference." No need to cut bass frequencies Speaker makers have to balance competing demands for good sound, small size and reliability. As micro speakers have shrunk, phone, media player and tablet designers have been forced to limit output power and sound quality. Amplifiers could easily deliver enough power to destroy the speaker at one frequency, while under-powering it at others. Until now, it has been impossible for system designers to know for sure when it was safe to apply extra power. The rule has therefore been to cut out bass frequencies and limit output power to avoid blowing the speaker – a common cause of failures in mobiles. By incorporating circuits that monitor speaker performance and prevent damage, NXP's TFA9887 allows designers to break this rule. Adaptive excursion control measures the actual excursion of the speaker membrane to ensure that it never exceeds its rated limit. Real-time temperature protection measures the voice-coil temperature directly to prevent thermal damage. Boosting audio performance Because the speaker is fully protected, the system can deliver significant levels of extra power to make the sound louder and better than before. The TFA9887 optimizes the audio signal based on the movement of the speaker, something no other system is capable of, using the full capabilities of the speaker without pushing beyond the limits. An advanced clip avoidance algorithm monitors audio performance and prevents clipping, even when the power supply begins to sag. Bandwidth extension increases the low frequency response well below speaker resonance. And an intelligent DC-to-DC boost converter maximizes audio headroom from any supply level despite battery undervoltage. The TFA9887 automatically adapts to any changes in the speaker – including ageing, damage to the enclosure, and blocked speaker ports – helping to optimize performance and maintain the desired sound quality. The entire system is integrated into a single chip with digital interfaces for portable devices. The IC incorporates NXP's CoolFlux audio DSP, a high-efficiency class-D amplifier with current sensing, and a DC-to-DC boost converter. The advanced, embedded algorithms require no separate licensing. Additional tools allow designers to customize audio sound quality and choose how to optimize mobile device performance. Availability Product samples and demo boards of the TFA9887 are available immediately. |
| Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5 and other models arriving soon? (Updated) Posted: 17 Jul 2012 04:47 AM PDT A story published and then pulled by The Telegraph has revealed a range of new Panasonic cameras, including the new Lumix DMC-G5. The snapper will reportedly roll up with a 3-inch screen, a 16-megapixel Venus Engine VII sensor and a smoother, more rounded body. It should shoot Full HD video, crank up to ISO of 12,800 and find its way to the market as an entry-level kit costing £599 ($937), topping out at £879 ($1,375). If a flagship ILC isn't your thing, then you may be tempted by a bridge shooter, the DMC-FZ200, which comes with a rather powerful 25-600mm lens capable of maintaining a f/2.8 aperture at any focal length. The company will also be outing the DMC-LX7 compact camera that'll offer full manual control as well as "decent" low-light photography. Details are thin on the ground, but since the company's expected to make an official announcement tomorrow, we shouldn't have too long to wait. Update: We've had an email in from a tipster who has found a picture of the FZ-200 and a snap of an otherwise unmentioned FZ-60, which we've included after the jump if you'd like to take a peek. [Thanks, Alex] |
| Posted: 17 Jul 2012 04:37 AM PDT You'd be forgiven for thinking this whole browser choice issue was resolved back in 2009, but no. European regulators are back on Redmond's back, following suspicions that the megacorp may not be complying with the deal it struck all that time ago. Specifically, the allegations focus on versions of Windows 7 sold since February 2011 that came preloaded with patches, and which may not have displayed the all-important browser selection screen that offered up IE alternatives like Firefox and Chrome. The EU's concerns have already been bluntly expressed by Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia, who said that Microsoft "should expect sanctions" if the "infringement is confirmed" by the investigation. Almunia added that this is the first time his commission has been faced with a previous offender potentially failing to meet its antitrust commitments. Update: Reuters reports that Microsoft has acknowledged a "technical error" that meant it "missed delivering the BCS (browser choice screen) software to PCs that came with the service pack 1 update to Windows 7." The company apologized for the problem and said it has taken "immediate steps" to fix it. |
| Controller board for 3D printers emphasizes expandability, gives nod to Sun God Posted: 17 Jul 2012 04:31 AM PDT Is your 3D printer's standard feature set lacking? Maybe Elefu's Kickstarter-funded custom controller board can help. Dubbed Ra (think ancient Egyptian god), the project places a focus on expandability and carries a roster of I/O options including camera triggers and fans. The ATMega2560-based system allows for computer-free printing by leveraging an LCD screen, SD card reader and a knob. For inattentive designers, a standalone and programmable MP3 player and a light controller can be used to create alerts when printing completes, and adds extra flair as well. The unit also supports up to three extruders and plug-and-play support for ATX power supplies. Having doubled its $4,000 funding goal nearly three weeks ahead of the campaign's end, boards are expected to show up on doorsteps this November and can be snagged for as little as $149. Head to the source for the full feature list and reward tiers. |
| OnStar seals partnership with RelayRides, makes renting out your car even easier (hands-on video) Posted: 17 Jul 2012 04:00 AM PDT Remember that partnership between OnStar and RelayRides we wrote about last March? Well it's finally coming to fruition today, with the peer-to-peer car sharing service launching support for remote door unlocking via OnStar's proprietary API. As a result, RelayRides members with OnStar-enabled vehicles no longer have to exchange keys in person if they so choose. Another benefit is that participants can list their automobile on RelayRides directly from their OnStar account -- renters then benefit from the added safety and security that comes with OnStar. We had the chance to test an early version of the functionality on a Chevy Volt at SXSW a few months ago and it worked pretty much as advertised. There was a bit of a delay between the time we sent the unlock command from RelayRides' website on the demo iPad and the moment the doors actually unlocked on the car, but we're told this has been significantly improved since our hands-on. Of course, RelayRides also supports remote unlocking via text message. Take a look at the galleries below then hit the break for our hands-on video, RelayRides' video and OnStar's PR.
RelayRides and OnStar: Baby, You Can Rent My Car DETROIT – General Motors' OnStar subscribers can now rent out their idle vehicles through the RelayRides marketplace, leveraging OnStar connectivity already active in their vehicles to potentially earn hundreds of dollars a month to offset the cost of owning a vehicle. OnStar's connectivity solution provides RelayRides' members with increased security, reliability and accessibility. Individuals who forgo car ownership can conveniently access affordable and reliable transportation in a Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, or Cadillac. Owners of these OnStar-enabled GM vehicles rent out their cars and turn their idle vehicles into an income source without the hassle of installing expensive aftermarket hardware or having to meet a renter to handoff keys. "General Motors, through OnStar, and RelayRides have joined forces to create an entirely new mobility solution for U.S. drivers interested in more affordable, sustainable and collaborative automobile options," said Nick Pudar, Vice President Strategy and New Business Development, OnStar. "Our exclusive relationship with RelayRides provides an exciting new choice: the first automobiles to run on collaborative consumption." Through OnStar's proprietary API, RelayRides developers were given access to key vehicle-centric features such as location and remote door lock and unlock. This means renters can unlock the doors with their smart phone or by replying to a text message. Depending on location and availability of the car, RelayRides marketplace participants can earn hundreds of dollars per month from their idle vehicles. Owners whose cars are not OnStar-enabled can still rent out their vehicles through the RelayRides' marketplace by exchanging keys with the renter, or reactivating their OnStar subscriptions. OnStar services are enabled by its Advanced Telematics Operating Management System (ATOMS), which is the most powerful automotive cloud platform in the market today and connects close to 6 million OnStar customers globally. As of late summer 2012, OnStar will make its proprietary API available to third-party developers. Studies show that each shared car results in up to 13 fewer cars on the road, leading to less congested roads and less pollution. RelayRides pioneered peer-to-peer car sharing when it launched in Boston in June 2010 and expanded into San Francisco later that year. In March 2012, RelayRides became the first service to launch nationwide, introducing a key-exchange program to enable renters and owners to enjoy the benefits of car sharing. RelayRides covers all rentals with a $1 million insurance policy for owners and a $300,000 policy for renters. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Samsung swallows up CSR mobile and location patents for $310 million Posted: 17 Jul 2012 03:23 AM PDT |
| WSJ: Next iPhone to have even thinner screen Posted: 17 Jul 2012 03:12 AM PDT Apple's next smartphone iteration will reportedly pack new screen technology that shaves a small amount from the screen thickness. According to the Wall Street Journal's sources, the new in-cell technology integrates the touch sensor into the screen, shedding around half a millimeter and due to the reduced space between screen and user, could well improve image quality. Although a mere 0.5 mm reduction may not mean much for the phone's frame, it could help offset any weight added by a larger screen. The Wall Street Journal also reports that the still-LCD screens will be made by joint venture Japan Display, LG Display and Sharp. Manufacturers are apparently battling to maintain high-yield rates on the new screen technology, which until now has been limited to bigger displays. Hit up the source for the full report. |
| Audi dealership lets you gesticulate your way to a new car using Kinect and multitouch Posted: 17 Jul 2012 02:43 AM PDT If you're shopping for your dream wheels, but hate poring over brochures, Audi's got good news: you can now wave and touch to customize your prize ride. The experience starts at the Audi City showroom in London, where you kick off the process by choosing one of the German automaker's 36 models. Then, you can browse the vehicle on a 210-inch HD display with a Kinect to read your gestures as you swipe around to take the tour. From there, a 32-inch 3M multitouch display helps you customize your machine, even letting you use physical RFID-equipped cloth and paint samples to dial in the specs. Once your Teutonic buggy is just so, you can save everything on a USB key, print out a custom brochure and even share the enthralling details on Facebook or Twitter. The company hopes to add 20 similar stores around the world, and if you're near Picadilly Square you can try it out yourself -- just keep one hand on that non-virtual wallet. [Image credit: Wallpaper] |
| Comcast, Scripps deal brings more internet streaming video on Xfinity TV Posted: 17 Jul 2012 01:38 AM PDT While some pay-TV providers are tied up in nasty battles with the studios that provide them content, Comcast and Scripps have just inked an agreement to bring the company's lifestyle programming to cable subscribers over the internet. As noted in the press release (embedded after the break) the multi-year deal brings HGTV, DIY Network, Food Network, Cooking Channel, Travel Channel and Great American Country to Comcast's TV Everywhere portal, via mobile (and "other" devices) and on Scripps websites. Probably not a minor element in the deal is the inclusion of support for Comcast's on the fly ad-insertion for VOD, which should push the efforts of both partners along, although potentially unskippable ads could be less viewer friendly. COMCAST AND SCRIPPS NETWORKS INTERACTIVE REACH LONG-TERM, SNI's lifestyle networks include HGTV, DIY Network, Food Network, Cooking Channel, Travel Channel and Great American Country, with highly rated shows such as "House Hunters," "Chopped," and "Hotel Impossible." "This agreement with Scripps Networks underscores our commitment to TV Everywhere and our desire to use the latest technologies and rapid pace of innovation to deliver the best content to Xfinity TV customers wherever and whenever they want to watch it," said Gregory Rigdon, executive vice president of content acquisition at Comcast. With the growing consumer use of time-shifted and on-demand viewing, the agreement provides for increased distribution of Scripps' content through Comcast's video-on-demand services. Additionally, the new contract includes the use of Comcast's advanced advertising platforms, such as dynamic ad insertion, to support programmers' efforts to monetize their content both during the Nielsen measurement window and thereafter. "This agreement benefits our viewers and Comcast customers, making available on multiple platforms – both in home and out of home – our lifestyle programming that viewers are so passionate about," said Henry Ahn, executive vice president of distribution strategy at SNI. About Comcast |
| Ca-Fi 621000 brings infotainment to cars with double DIN / without Connect or Sync Posted: 17 Jul 2012 01:17 AM PDT Shenzhen-based Innotrends has been pushing infotainment systems for a while now, and though standalone solutions like the Ca-Fi seem rather clunky when you can buy a Focus with Sync baked in, not everyone can count a flashy new "connected" model as their set of wheels. Today the company announced the latest version of its Android-powered infotainment system. The new Ca-Fi 621000 Universal runs Android Gingerbread and packs a 1GHz CPU with 512MB of RAM. It also sports a capacitive touchscreen rather than the resistive display of versions past, and there's an OBD2-USB cable, plus the pre-loaded Torque app for keeping tabs on your vehicle's health. If sprucing up your sedan is more in line with your budget than the 2013 BMW 7 Series with iDrive Touch and 3D maps, you can nab the Ca-Fi 621000 for $999 starting at the end of August -- just make sure your car has the requisite double-DIN slot first. July 16, 2012, Shenzhen, China In autumn 2011, Innotrends announced it was launching the world's The new Ca-Fi 621000 Universal will be a significant upgrade over That said, the main improvement to the current Ca-Fi and other products Other improvements of note are an improved graphical user interface In this sense, the Ca-Fi unit running on Android 2.3 is unique amongst Along with all these new goodies, the new Ca-Fi 621000 2Din will support Pre-order will be announced prior to the end of the July with some For more information on Ca-Fi and Torque OBD2 software, please see the |
| Mars Rover game hits Xbox Live, tasks you with safely landing the Curiosity with Kinect Posted: 17 Jul 2012 12:54 AM PDT NASA has already made it clear that the Curiosity's touchdown on Mars is a nerve-wracking experience, what with the seven minutes of radio silence, zero margin of error and all. To drive that point home, the organization partnered with Microsoft to offer Xbox Live players the experience of controlling the nerve-wracking descent. Starting Monday, you'll be able to download the free Mars Rover Landing, NASA's first Xbox Live game. The title uses the Kinect motion controller to simulate the many phases of landing, including dropping the heat shield and deploying the supersonic parachute, with players' movements controlling the speed and direction of the craft as it approaches the Red Planet. You'll get three scores -- one for each of the landing process -- not to mention some newfound appreciation for what employees at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory will be going through on August 5th. |
| Canon announces printing and scanning app for BlackBerry and iOS, makes Android devices lonely Posted: 17 Jul 2012 12:23 AM PDT |
| Intel pumps SSD 330 capacity up to 240GB, trims other drives' prices to match Posted: 16 Jul 2012 11:47 PM PDT If you haven't already dropped a solid-state drive into your computer, Intel just gave you a not-so-subtle nudge in that direction. Its entry-level SSD 320 has jumped in capacity from 180GB to 240GB, saving a few diñeiros for anyone who would rather not leap to the SSD 520 just to land a primary system drive. Either end of the price spectrum is also becoming a little more reasonable: the official reseller pricing has been slashed on the 320, 330 and 520 lines, even if Intel hasn't said by how much just yet. Intel's changes should be in immediate effect for those among us who just can't endure spinning storage one moment longer. |
| Samsung reduces EX2F point-and-shoot price to $499 before August arrival Posted: 16 Jul 2012 11:19 PM PDT Samsung's EX2F camera isn't even on the market yet, but it has a brand new feature that you're bound to appreciate: a lower price. If you'll recall, we recently went hands-on with Sammy's kit, which features an f/1.4-2.7, 24-79mm lens, a 12.4-megapixel 1/1.7-inch CMOS sensor and a 3-inch AMOLED display. Most recently, Samsung confirmed that consumers can snag this point-and-shoot camera at just $499, which is a full $50 less than we'd previously known. The EX2F is still on track for an August debut, and with the new, lower price, you'll now have a nice excuse to replace your memory card at the same time. |
| Maker Camp brings DIY fun to teens via Google+ Hangouts Posted: 16 Jul 2012 10:50 PM PDT Summer camp doesn't have to mean poorly ventilated cabins, boring activities and terrible food. In fact, put the concept in the hands of Google and Make, and there's not even a need to leave the comfort of your own home. The two have teamed up to deliver Maker Camp on Google+, a six week summer program designed to encourage kids to embrace their inner maker. The sessions will run every weekday starting July 16th. On Mondays through Thursdays a new set of instructions for the teen participants to tackle will be posted on Google+, then, in the afternoon, a counselor (often one of Make's own editors) will hold a Hangout to discuss the project and let the campers share their photos, videos and thoughts. Every Friday Make will host "field trips" via Hangouts. There's no need to register and no fee, the only requirements are that you be between the ages of 13 and 18, and have a Google+ account. Check out the videos after the break and the source links for more info. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| NC State's new efficient pico projector raises hopes for smartphone cinema Posted: 16 Jul 2012 10:08 PM PDT A team at North Carolina State University has developed a new liquid crystal projector that could spell the end of bulky and noisy cinema gear. Conventional tech passes unpolarized light through a filter, but the process is so inefficient that nearly 50 percent of the energy is wasted just keeping things cool. Fortunately, the Wolfpack and ImagineOptix filter claims to be 90 percent efficient -- meaning that future projectors could be far sleeker. It's also a good sign for future smartphone pico projectors, although we're not sure how the owners of our local theater will feel when we start undercutting them with just a phone and a white wall. |
| My Xbox LIVE app adds iPad support in 1.6 update Posted: 16 Jul 2012 09:21 PM PDT One mobile pillar at a time, or so seems Microsoft's approach to support for My Xbox LIVE. The app, previously available as a remote control perk for Windows Phone, Android and iPhone users, has just seen a 1.6 update that brings with it bug fixes for iOS, but more importantly, finally welcomes iPad owners into the fold. Owners of that Apple-made slate will now be able to navigate through their console's stash of media, monitor recent activity and search for new content just like their smartphone-wielding counterparts. It's live on the App Store right now, so hit up the source and get to downloading if you care. |
| HTC HD2 gets unofficial Android 4.1 Jelly Bean port, becomes the Phone That Would Not Die Posted: 16 Jul 2012 08:38 PM PDT There's a golden rule for the HTC HD2: if there's a new mobile OS, the HD2 must get a port. It's practically a law of nature, then, that Evervolv at the XDA-Developers forums has produced a pre-alpha port of Android 4.1 for the originally Windows Mobile-based legend. More components are working than not despite the extremely early state, with the camera, Google Now and web browser being the remaining bugaboos. We're still warned that the experimental firmware isn't meant for day-to-day use, but there's every intention of making the release stable -- good news for anyone who's eager to avoid a flash-in-the-pan ROM. If that happens, the HD2 will have had nearly as many lives as a cat. |
| Explosion-proof flashlight could be the first to outlive its owner Posted: 16 Jul 2012 08:10 PM PDT You know the drill, walking through that mine field, only to lose another good flashlight when you drop it on one of those puppies. Well if this is a concern of yours, the EXP-LED-51 from Larson Electronics should see you right. The latest in its like of hazardous location devices, the rugged LED torch is rechargeable, has 180 lumens of output and rated for 50,000 hours of service in the (dark) field (480 hours on one charge in the lowest power mode). For the man (or woman) on the move, the EXP-LED-51 also comes with a 12V car charger, as well as the standard VAC outlets. How much for this level of resilience? That'd be 320 bulletproof dollars. Explosion Proof LED Flashlight - Rechargeable LED Flashlight - 3 Modes - Class 1 Division 1. KEMP, Texas, July 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Larson Electronics' LXFlashlight.com announced today that it has added an explosion proof rechargeable LED flashlight to its line of hazardous location flashlights. This rechargeable explosion proof LED flashlight offers multiple operating modes and the reliability and high output of LED lighting technology. Rated Class 1 Division 1 and Class 2 Division 1 this light is fitted with a high performance C4 LED rated at 50,000 hours of operational life and 180 lumens of output. Able to operate in high and low modes and extremely efficient, the EXP-LED-51 from LXFlashlight.com provides excellent value with one of the lowest operating costs in the explosion proof flashlight industry. The EXP-LED-51 explosion proof rechargeable LED flashlight offers versatility and power with three settings that allow operators to toggle between output levels using a sealed multi-function on/off control switch. By pressing the switch once, the light operates in high mode to produce a full power 130 lumen light beam with a long 4 hour runtime. Operators can also hold the switch down to run the flashlight in low mode, producing a 50 lumen light beam and a longer 12 hour runtime. For maximum runtime the switch is held down for ten seconds, activating the light in dim mode and producing a mild 1.3 lumens of light with an extreme runtime of 480 hours. The explosion proof EXP-LED-51 LED flashlight comes with an included charging base that can be mounted to walls or flat surfaces for added convenience. Users can simply mount the entire flashlight and charger as a unit by doorways and entryways to hazardous locations, thus providing a highly convenient and fully charged portable light source whenever it is needed. Added value is provided with the inclusion of a second charging stand and a pair of power cords so operators can provide multiple charging stations if needed. These units can be recharged from 120 VAC wall outlets using the standard charging bases, as well as from vehicles and equipment using an included 12V cigarette plug and cord. The C4 high output LED in this flashlight provides up to 180 lumens of light output and a runtime of 50,000 hours for reliable and long lived operation. The durable body is resistant to impacts and dropping, and a Class 1, Division 1, Groups C,D, F UL approval assures safe and compliant operation. These explosion proof LED flashlights are ideal for operators in hazardous and non hazardous locations who need a highly reliable yet powerful and long lived source of portable illumination for activities such as utilities repairs and plant inspections. "The EXP-LED-51 rechargeable, LED flashlight is an effective solution for anyone looking for a dependable and durable light for use in hazardous locations." said Rob Bresnahan with Larson Electronics' LXFlashlight.com. "This versatile LED flashlights' dual switch design provides users with a variety of light modes so they can choose the proper light output for the environment."
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Apple's former iAd VP (and Quattro co-founder) Andy Miller only just took a job as a general partner at Highland Capital last year after leaving the gang in Cupertino, but he's now already moving on to another fairly high profile gig. 
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