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- Sony's new wireless speakers let you enjoy music 'SA-NS' cables
- Windows Phone Kodak Pic Flick app pushes photos to printers -- as long as you have version 7.5
- iHome's iP76 3-foot tall LED Color Changing Speaker Tower dock now available
- Smartphone overtakes PC as primary internet device in China
- Engadget Primed: digital audio basics
- Microsoft completes Yammer buy-out, social network joins the Office
- Canonical integrating Ubuntu WebApps in Quantal Quetzal (video)
- CloudOn's productivity app heads to 60 additional countries, new features announced
- iSpeech intros voice recognition platform for connected homes, enables vocal control of TVs and appliances
- RIM applies for patent on detecting emotion in messaging, wants you chilled while you BBM
- French Supreme Court orders Google to censor piracy related terms in Instant search and Autocomplete
- Buffalo outs HDW-P550U3 external drive with USB 3.0 and WiFi in Japan
- Nokia wants to become the 'where?' company, Lumias to become sensor masters
- Insert Coin: POP portable battery comes with 25,000 mAh of power, charges multiple devices (video)
- Virgin Mobile USA opening flagship Chicago store, selling 'culture' on top of phones
- Developer won't patch XBLA game because Microsoft would charge 'tens of thousands' of dollars
- Verizon: smartphones constitute 50 percent of our postpaid customer phone base
- Verizon issues Q2 earnings, touts $15.8 billion service revenues in Wireless
- Microsoft fights back against Xbox Live account threats, begs you to update your security settings
- Google improves maps for several countries, helps you follow the path well trodden
- Zoho's Office suite gets Google Drive integration, keeps its freemium status
- Nokia's Q2 2012 financials: 4 million Lumias sold, $1.01 billion dollar loss
- ViewSonic ViewPad E72 hits FCC: ICS in a 7-inch package
- Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 app lands on Nook Tablet, turns eBook fans' gazes skyward
- Space Shuttle Enterprise ready to go on display, space travel gets its fitting tribute
- Nexus S on Vodafone Australia won't get Jelly Bean today after all
- HTC 'preparing' Jelly Bean update for One XL and One S, no date yet
- Google Play Books starts a new chapter in France
- N-Trig pen tech whittled down to single DuoSense chips and sensors, shrinks scribblings to travel size
- Intel slips details of Poulson-based Itanium 9500 in advance, teases a big boost to 64-bit servers
- Internet Defense League forms with support of EFF and Mozilla, bills self as 'bat signal' of the web
- Google launches Gmail SMS for text-based email in Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya
- Sony's Walkman F PMP hits the FCC mere seconds after being announced
- Ferrari, Logic3 team on headphones, may be closest we get to an Enzo's engine note
- Samsung Galaxy S III 64GB not discontinued, coming in the 'second half of this year'
- Breakfast's super-speed reactive electromagnetic display is 44,000 dots of promotional awesome (video)
- Bing Maps piles on 215TB of new Bird's Eye imagery, proves it's a small world after all
- Google Play Music app update brings tweaks to Now Playing, Recent, playlists and widget
- Archos 97 Carbon breaks cover at the FCC
- DirecTV and Viacom disagree on their disagreements, standoff continues
| Sony's new wireless speakers let you enjoy music 'SA-NS' cables Posted: 19 Jul 2012 11:21 AM PDT What's round and sits in the corner of your room spoon-feeding you Kanye West? If Sony has any say in the matter, it'll be the latest members of the SA-NSx family of wireless speakers. The three new models -- the 310, 410 and 510 -- come on the coattails of the firm's latest media players, and all come with built-in WiFi, AirPlay and that 360 degree design. As well as the wireless options above, there are apps for Android and PC, so non iOS users can keep the jams coming too. If you really want your music on the go, the 510 model also has a built-in battery for the extra portability. How much does all this fun and style cost? That'd be £150 (about $230) for the 310, £200 ($310) for the 410, rising to £300 ($470) for the 510. All of them available now. | ||||||||||||||||
| Windows Phone Kodak Pic Flick app pushes photos to printers -- as long as you have version 7.5 Posted: 19 Jul 2012 10:59 AM PDT Kodak's recent announcements may have circled around patent brawls (and victories), but if you've indentured yourself to the company's range of all-in-one printers and digital photo frames, you might want to pick up its new Windows Phone app. Pic Flick will share your images with compatible hardware through WiFi -- provided you're connected to the same network on your phone. It's largely identical to the existing iOS version, albeit cocooned in Microsoft's metro style, and includes a handful of simple editing tools and filters. However, you will need to check that your Windows Phone is running version 7.5 or later. If you pass that requirement, hit up the source for the download. | ||||||||||||||||
| iHome's iP76 3-foot tall LED Color Changing Speaker Tower dock now available Posted: 19 Jul 2012 10:41 AM PDT All music should be accompanied by a light show. And, if said light show comes in the form of a three-foot tall self-contained iPod dock, all the better. iHome's iP76 LED Color Changing Speaker Tower is not just a catchy name any more, it's now a product you can actually purchase for $199. The unnecessarily tall iDevice dock is loaded with color changing LEDs that pulse, fade and blink in coordination with your tunes and you can even connect other media sources via Bluetooth. You can pick up the GlowTunes dock now direct from iHome or at unnamed "retailers nationwide." Check out the PR and video after the break. iHOME GETS THE PARTY STARTED WITH RELEASE OF NEW iP76 COLOR-CHANGING SPEAKER TOWER This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now | ||||||||||||||||
| Smartphone overtakes PC as primary internet device in China Posted: 19 Jul 2012 10:18 AM PDT The Chinese government has issued a study revealing that the smartphone has overtaken the PC as the most popular device to surf the internet with. China's Internet Network Information Center revealed that 538 million people -- around 40 percent of the country have internet access. It recorded 388 million instances of surfing from a mobile handset, compared to the 380 recorded from PCs. Microblogs are also popular, with around 43.8 percent of phone users documenting the minutiae of their lives on Weibos like Sina and Tencent -- which reminds us, we need to tweet about what we're having for dinner. | ||||||||||||||||
| Engadget Primed: digital audio basics Posted: 19 Jul 2012 10:00 AM PDT Primed goes in-depth on the technobabble you hear on Engadget every day -- we dig deep into each topic's history and how it benefits our lives. You can follow the series here. Looking to suggest a piece of technology for us to break down? Drop us a line at primed *at* engadget *dawt* com. Digital audio. There's a very good chance that you've enjoyed some today. It's one of the more universal aspects of technology. In fact, perhaps the more relevant question would be, when was the last time you listened to an analog format? The truth, for many, will be quite some time ago -- vinyl purists and the odd cassette fanatic aside. Yet, despite its ubiquity, there's a lot of misunderstanding and confusion about digital audio. Some believe it'll never match analog for true fidelity, some assert quite the opposite. Many lament the lack of a tactile format, while others love the portability that comes with zeros and ones. In this installment of Primed, we take a look at the history of digital sound, as well as provide an introduction to some of its key components, with the view to helping us understand it better. Wondering what bitrate to encode your MP3s at? Or whether you should choose a 96 or 44.1KHz sample rate? We thought as much. By the time we're through, these questions should no longer lay heavy on your mind, and you can enjoy that latest Knife Party, or Britney track as much as its bit depth allows. What's bit depth you say? Well, read on to find out... |
A brief history | Return to top |
Before we unravel the digital audio story, it helps to define exactly what digital audio is. In this edition of Primed we're looking at the most common method for digitizing audio – Pulse-code modulation (PCM). While this isn't the only way (Sony, for example, developed "Direct Stream Digital" / DSD for the Super Audio CD format), it's by far the most prevalent. Likewise, it seems logical to also define what digital audio isn't -- and that would be sound converted into, and remaining, electrical signals that vary over time, also known as garden variety "analog audio."
Pulse-code modulation is simply a way of representing the analog electrical signal, in digital form. The signal is "sampled" at regular intervals, and in turn converted to a digital value. This is not to be confused with musical sampling, where snippets are recorded for composition and manipulation. In this case, it refers to taking a series of tiny snapshots of the analog audio to be converted into a digital number. If the signal falls somewhere between integers, it's rounded up or down to the nearest one (known as quantization). The result is that the erratic, undulating form of the analog audio is broken down into a series of unique samples, one after the other. In many ways this is analogous to a flip-book, where a collection of stills, when played (or "flipped") in quick succession, created a fluid moving image. We'll go into these component parts, and beyond, over the course of the article, but for now, this simple description will help us understand the basic concept.
While it's always hard to pin down the exact origins of an idea -- especially one like pulse-code modulation, where a number of parties were involved -- sifting out the large and significant contributions from the gold pan of history tends to bring up the same names time and again. When it comes to digital audio, one such large-nugget name is Harry Nyquist. Working for Bell Laboratories, Nyquist (among other things) set out theories regarding telegraph speed and transmission that would pave the way for future digital audio developments. His work in this area would outline many of the fundamental principles required for digital communications, especially in regard to required sample rates and bandwidth limitations, and build upon previous ideas, like Time Division Multiplexing and early facsimile machines.
Some years later, Claude Shannon (also of Bell Labs) would consolidate many of the prevailing ideas on the subject in his 1948 paper "A Mathematical Theory of Communication" which would reference the work of Nyquist significantly. Shannon would also contribute to the further development of pulse-code modulation (along with Bell alumni Bernard M Oliver and John R Pierce) at around the same time, using technology that eliminated some of the issues (such as complex circuitry) from the earlier, but conceptually similar, implementation from Briton Alec Reeves in 1938.
With the cornerstone ideas in place, digital audio would start to slowly move from the realms of telecoms out into the broader academic and commercial fields. In terms of digital recording, according to the Association for Recorded Sound Collections, Nippon Columbia from Japan (also known as Denon) would pioneer its use in the late '60s and early '70s, releasing the first commercial digital recording: the LP "Something" by Steve Marcus. Other pushes in the right direction would come from American Thomas Stockham, who would push forward 16-bit recording in the US. It's not until the start of the '80s, when Philips (after working with Sony) demonstrated what would be the standard Compact Disc -- finally going into production in 1982 -- that digital would really turn a corner and gain traction. More formats would follow, including DAT, MINI-disc and DCC, but no physical medium would ever truly topple the ubiquitous CD. Of course, we all know the next chapter. MP3 (and other) file formats would combine with increasingly affordable home computers to gently, but definitively, chip away at the CD's monopoly, bringing us to the present day. CDs are still around of course, but as a diminishing stock of record shops around the globe will attest, the MP3 is the new king.
Digital audio bit by byte | Return to top |
Now that we know more about the background, it's time to get out the scalpel, and start dissecting. What makes it tick? What are the key factors in terms of quality? What do all the different numbers mean? We'll let's jump right in and find out.
Sample Rate | Return to top |
If you remember, earlier on we compared PCM to a flip-book. Well, in this analogy, sample rate would be the number of pages per second. A one-page-per-second flip-book won't show you much detail, whereas one with a 1,000 pages per second will bring it to you with much more fluid fidelity. This, however, is a somewhat simplistic metaphor. The sample rate also has a bearing on the top audio frequency that can be reproduced. That's to say, the higher the sample rate, the higher the frequency range that can be recorded. The standard sample rate for commercial CDs is 44,100 times per second, or 44.1KHz, thanks in no small part to the bandwidth limitations of NTSC VCRs, which were used as early digital tape recorders. The theoretical highest frequency that can be recorded is actually half of the sample rate, so in the case of the CD, that's 22,050 Hz (or 22KHz). As most human hearing can typically -- at best -- hear between 12Hz – 20KHz (give or take) this arguably makes 44.1KHz ample for our general consumption (though some like to debate the merits of higher sample rates). By contrast, if you were to lower the sample rate to, for example, 10KHz, the maximum frequency you could grab would be 5KHz, which would be notably "duller" with a lot of the top-end / higher-pitched sounds removed.
Bit Depth | Return to top |
Bits, digital data has them, and their application in relation to audio is similar to that of imaging. Remember those crunchy-looking images from the early internet? That's a direct result of low bit depth. If sample rate is the number of "slices" over time, bit depth could be considered the number of levels, or vertical increments, available to each sample. A higher bit depth means more distinct numerical values to represent the signal / voltage. With more values, the level of quantization, or rounding up and down, is decreased. This means the level of noise introduced is lower. The CD standard has a bit depth of 16 bits, which offers 65,536 discrete values, while 24 bits will bring this number up to well over 16 million.
A lower bit depth image
Bit rate | Return to top |
Not to be confused with bit depth, bit rate simply outlines the total amount of data used every second. Again, using the CD standard, which has a bit depth of 16 and a sample rate of 44.1KHz, the bit rate is the result of multiplying these two numbers. So, 16 x 44,100 = 705,600 bits per second for a mono recording, or 1,411.2Kbps for stereo. Our friend, the MP3, can be encoded with a maximum bit rate of 320kbps (more on this later) and in this case the rate refers to compressed bits, and subsequently the compression ratio. Bit rate can also be used to work out the size of an audio file if you know how long it is. For example, a 320kbps MP3 has 320,000 bits of data a second, which is 40KBps (note the capital B for Bytes). A five-minute MP3 has 300 seconds, which would mean 300 x 40KB, to give us a 12,000KB (aka 12MB) file. This is applicable when the bit rate is fixed, but you may also have heard of variable bit rate, or VBR, which -- as the name suggests -- varies the bit rate used with the aim of having smaller files, with minimal impact on overall quality (by lowering the bit rate when there are low frequency sounds, or silence etc.).
Digital to analog (and vice versa) | Return to top |
Okay, so this Primed is about digital audio, why then are we looking at converting it back to analog again? Well, simply put, you might score a song entirely with software, and export it in a digital format, but we're guessing you'll eventually want to listen to it? While technology is advancing, we humans are largely analog devices, and so to hear the actual sound, it needs to be converted back at some point, to make those speakers or headphones vibrate sweet, sweet musical air on to our ear drums – and this is where the digital-to-analog converter (DAC) comes in. We've already covered what these actually do on a technical level above, but it's important to remember their existence. By converting those 16- or 24-bit samples back into voltage, we get sound, and the process goes both ways (i.e. when recording from a microphone). Most computer sound cards will do both (A to D and D to A,) and in the majority of cases you won't need to worry too much about it. At least now, when you're reading the back of the box for a swanky new audio interface, and it says A/D and D/A conversion at 24-bit / 192KHz, you should know what that means.
File Formats | Return to top |
So you have your newfound understanding for how audio goes digital, but what about all those file formats? WAV, MP3, AAC, FLAC? Why so many? Good question, and one that's not easy to answer. What we can do, however, is look at some of the more popular ones and understand their individual advantages (and drawbacks).
WAV / Wave
The WAV or Wave file is one of the most common uncompressed formats. Originally a Windows format, it's since become extremely widely supported be it Linux, OS X, or any mobile platform and beyond. The main advantage beyond versatility is that it's a "lossless" format, meaning audio is typically uncompressed, and is very similar, though not identical to, CD audio. The downside to this, of course, is that file sizes tend to be large. Using the calculations mentioned above, a five-minute audio file recorded at 16-bit, 44.1KHz would create a 53MB file.
AIFF
Short for Audio Interchange File Format, AIFF is similar to WAV in that it is uncompressed and lossless. Whereas WAV started on Windows, AIFF found favor with the Macintosh platform, with its origins in the Interchange File Format from Electronic Arts. AIFF also stored integers in the arguably more efficient big-endian format which was also the default on Macs and Linux, but ultimately lost out to WAV, thanks to the popularity of Windows. Again, like WAV, support is wide, and file sizes are large. There is also an AIFF-C / AIFC variant which is "lossy" / compressed.
MP3
MP3s, you have them. We're pretty sure you're aware of what these are. A compressed, or "lossy" format developed by the Moving Picture Experts Group. Clever algorithms maintain fidelity, while reducing file sizes, by compressing the data which is believed to be hard to hear in its original form. When encoded at a bit rate of 128Kbps, the resulting file will be approximately 1/11th the size of the uncompressed original. This ratio obviously changes when a different rate is employed. For example the maximum bit rate of an MP3 is 320Kbps which is a much more favorable compression ratio nearer to 4:1. Should you wish to know more about the origins of the ubiquitous specification, there are lots more details about the MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 layer III standards online, which make excellent restroom reading, but are beyond the scope of this article. The positives of the MP3 format are well-known -- small file sizes with minimal impact to audible quality. As such, it has been adopted as the standard format for many media players and devices. The downsides are that, no matter how good the final result is, you are losing some data on the way, which for purists and audiophiles isn't ideal. Many arguments have been had about the noticeable differences between a high-bit-rate MP3 and a WAV file which, to date, have never been truly settled, and likely never will.
AAC
If you've ever used iTunes, then there's a good chance you've met the AAC. Apple's preferred compressed format is still default encoding / compression choice in its ubiquitous software. The AAC format was hoped to be the successor to MP3, as it offers equivalent quality with a lower bit rate (this can depend on the encoder, of course) but as is often the case, the general public can have other ideas. While the format is widely supported across a variety of platforms, it never quite received the hardware, and user, adoption of the MP3, despite some clear technical improvements, such as support for high sample rates (96KHz compared to MP3's 48KHz max).
FLAC and beyond
So far the benefits of one format have been almost directly proportional to their drawbacks, i.e. a see-saw with audio quality on one end, and file size on the other. The Free Lossless Audio Codec tries to take on both of these qualities (high fidelity and smaller file sizes) and squeeze them into the same pot. It does so with some success, with the official site for the standard claiming an average compression of 53 percent in tests. As FLAC is open source, and therefore non-proprietary, it has gained wider support than some of the competing lossless formats such as Apple Lossless and WavPack. This balance of abilities has also earned FLAC a dedicated following, but file sizes are still larger than those offered by MP3 and AAC, which can still make these skinnier formats appealing to less demanding consumers.
There are, of course, many more digital formats, such as WMA, OGG (Vorbis), MP2 and so on. To exhaustively list them here would require a few more pages, or perhaps a Primed of its own. The main distinction, however, is whether they are lossless or not, and then whether compression is involved. While support for some is greater than others, widely available and popular software media players can usually support all of them natively, or if not, then at least by expansion with downloadable codec packs.
Myths, lies and damn acoustics | Return to top |
Knowing what makes up an audio file is only part of the story, there are actually a swathe of other contributing factors that can have a bearing on the sound. First of all, your ears. Sadly these aren't digital, and can decrease in reliability over time. Secondly, there's the audio itself. Digital will only reproduce what you feed into it in the first place. If the recording is bad, poorly mixed, or taken from an inferior source, it will only be as good as the weakest link in the chain. So, theoretically, a 128Kbps MP3 file could be better quality than a WAV file, if some of the above factors affect one, and not the other. Another way of thinking of it is that you might convert an MP3 to a WAV, but it won't gain anything in the process (other than extra file size). That said, it's an interesting test to use on that friend who swears they can tell the difference. Only when two files are from the same source are these issues relevant. It may seem obvious, but the temptation can be to fixate on the pure numbers and not some of the equally vital external factors.
Go on to any audio forum, and it won't take long before you find a thread about which format is the best, or whether you can hear the compression in MP3s and so on. In fact, don't ever do that, unless you want to read pages and pages of heated debate between parties solidly determined of the others' incorrectness. Each format has its merits, and the most important factor (particularly where music is concerned) is that it sounds good to you, and that you enjoy it. However, knowing that low bit depth or sample rates can affect your end result, will arm you with the tools to get the most out of your audio next time you're encoding it.
[Image credit: IEEE History Center]
Microsoft completes Yammer buy-out, social network joins the Office
Posted: 19 Jul 2012 09:36 AM PDT
Social network Yammer is now a fully-fledged part of the Redmond family. It'll sidle up along the company's Office division, with the team already working on the adoption of Yammer's standalone service within Microsoft. Check the full (but short) announcement on the company's official blog -- the link's below.
Canonical integrating Ubuntu WebApps in Quantal Quetzal (video)
Posted: 19 Jul 2012 09:30 AM PDT
Soon enough, Chrome OS won't be the only game in town when it comes to tightly integrated web apps running on a Linux core. Today Canonical announced Ubuntu WebApps, a new feature that will be integrated into version 12.10 of the open-source OS, Quantal Queztal. In its simplest form this means being able to place an icon in the launcher and open your favorite sites and services as standalone windows. When you visit a compatible page in the browser an alert pops up asking if you want to "install" it as a WebApp. So far, most of the engineers' efforts have focused on Firefox, but Pete Goodall (a product manager at Canonical) said Chrome and Chromium support is also in the works. The really fun starts, though, when devs start playing with the new APIs and Greasemonkey-like extensibility offered. WebApps will be able to access many of Unity's finer features like progress bars in the launcher, the sound menu and messaging menu as well. So now you can get desktop alerts from Gmail without installing some wonky app or setting up Thunderbird. WebApps can even tap into the HUD, though, it'll be up to the devs to expose the appropriate actions to the search-as-you-type menu system.
Of course, this is all just the first step. More APIs will eventually expose additional features, and high on that list is hardware access -- an essential feature for video and voice chat. Another key plan is integrating web credentials with desktop apps. So, if you log into Facebook in the browser, Shotwell will recognize that and upload imported photos to your profile. The initial list of recognized apps is small, but impressive, including Twitter, Last.FM, GMail, Google+, Facebook and YouTube. And, while the feature is set to debut in October with Quantal, Pangolin devotees will also be able to take advantage simply by adding a repository to their software sources.
Update: You'll now find the PR and a nice demo video after the break.
Introducing Ubuntu Web Apps: setting the web free of the browser
These days, we spend more time online - working with docs, email, music and occasionally even accessing social media. But our online and desktop experiences have been disjointed. We give applications the full run of our desktops, where they have their own icons and windows, but we trap the whole internet inside one overworked application, the browser.
That's why we've been working on a way to integrate the two worlds - something to make it just as easy to run a web application as a traditional app. And we've been working to give web applications access to the full range of desktop capabilities.
At OSCON today, Mark Shuttleworth just revealed Ubuntu Web Apps, a new feature due to land in October's Ubuntu 12.10 release. It will enable Ubuntu users to run online applications like Facebook, Twitter, Last.FM, Ebay and GMail direct from the desktop. Making web applications behave like their desktop counterparts improves the user experience dramatically; it's faster and it reduces the proliferation of browser tabs and windows that can quickly make a desktop unmanageable.
The apps can even take advantage of Ubuntu's new HUD system, making it even easier to navigate. So web properties leap to the forefront of modern UI design, making for amazingly productive, fast and fluid applications on the desktop.
That makes Ubuntu the best platform for the web - secure, fast and lightweight. This new feature is part of our drive to make the web a first class part of Ubuntu. We've already turned 40 popular web sites into Ubuntu Web Apps and there are plenty more on the way. It's easy to integrate your favourite website or interface natively into the desktop, and share the result with all Ubuntu users. No other OS has come close to this level of integration between web and desktop.
Ubuntu Web Apps will be available as a preview for Ubuntu 12.04 LTS soon and will be available by default in Ubuntu 12.10. I think we've made something that's about to radically change users' expectations of the web.
Some examples of what users can do with Ubuntu WebApps:
Launch online music site Last.FM directly from the Dash and control the music from Ubuntu's sound menu
Access and launch your social media accounts (Google+, Twitter, Facebook) from the Launcher, and get native desktop notifications
Quickly and seamlessly upload photos to Facebook from Shotwell
Pause and play the video you are watching on Youtube
See how many unread messages you have in your GMail account, in Ubuntu's messaging indicator
CloudOn's productivity app heads to 60 additional countries, new features announced
Posted: 19 Jul 2012 09:00 AM PDT
You know how they say that when it rains, it pours? Well, right now it's really, really pouring at CloudOn's HQ. Keeping up with last month's global expansion, the outfit has announced it's launching its bestseller Android and iPad application in 60 more countries, including big-name markets like Mexico, Costa Rica and Honduras in Latin America, as well as Australia, Croatia, Greece, Poland, Qatar, Russia, Ukraine and Turkey across the various ponds. What's more, the editing (and creating) cloud-based app is adding a fresh voice dictation feature, along with new drag-and-drop tidbits for moving files around with more ease -- in addition to these, though, CloudOn told us exclusively you'll soon be able to add annotations / comments to all your docs, and that notes will soon be custom tailored for mobile devices. Feel free to dig into the PR down below, where you'll find the full list of over 70 nations in which the application's now live.
CloudOn Brings Mobile Productivity to the World Stage, Launching in 60 Additional Countries Across the Globe
CloudOn, the mobile solution for creating, editing, saving and sharing Microsoft Office and Adobe documents, launches worldwide
PALO ALTO, Calif. – July 19, 2012 – In response to enormous demand, CloudOn is releasing its free productivity app today in 60 countries across the globe, including: Albania, Algeria, Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bermuda, Bulgaria, Cayman Islands. Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus/Malta, Czech Republic, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Jamaica, Jordan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mexico, Moldova, Montserrat, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turks & Caicos, UAE, Ukraine and the Virgin Islands. The cloud-based app, which delivers full Microsoft Office capabilities and Adobe Reader, along with Dropbox, Box and Google Drive integration, transforms the iPad and Android tablets into a one-stop-shop for mobile productivity, capable of creating, editing, saving and sharing Office and Adobe documents while on the go.
In early January, CloudOn launched on iOS and quickly became the no. 1 Free App and the no. 1 Productivity App for iPad in the U.S. Apple App Store. The app has since launched for both iOS and Android in the U.S., UK, Canada, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxemburg, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Israel and Iceland, receiving high critical acclaim, outstanding user reviews, and generating huge demand for the productivity app across the globe.
How it works:
The service operates by using the power of the cloud to connect to Microsoft Office software on CloudOn's servers; this allows users to create and access Microsoft Office documents the way they are used to, using the exact same look and functionality. Users can track changes in Word, manipulate pivot tables in Excel and view PowerPoint slideshows in full presentation mode right from an iPad, and access them at anytime in their Dropbox or Google Drive account. iPad users can also sync to Box.net to access and save files.
CloudOn also provides Adobe Reader to view PDFs - everything from simple forms to complex 3-D documents - and a universal viewer for any file, ranging from raw Photoshop images to everyday image files, including: PNG, JPEG and GIF.
The app has a native, user-friendly interface fully optimized for the iPad and Android Ice Cream Sandwich and Honeycomb tablets, 3.1 or higher. CloudOn also comes with a host of other features designed to enhance mobile productivity, including:
In-app email integration to send emails along with attachments with a single tap
Automatic document saving and storage in Dropbox, Google Drive or Box for iOS; automatic document saving and storage in Dropbox or Google Drive for Android
Quick and easy 2-step in-app registration process
Anytime mobile access even in low-bandwidth conditions
To download CloudOn for your iPad, visit: http://itunes.apple.com/app/cloudon/id474025452
To download CloudOn for your Android tablet, visit: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cloudon.client
To learn more about CloudOn, visit: www.cloudon.com
About CloudOn:
CloudOn is Silicon Valley based startup focused on mobile productivity. Its flagship product delivers full Microsoft Office capabilities with secure third party storage integration to the iPad making it easier than ever to create, edit, share and save the documents you need most while on the go. For more information visit: www.CloudOn.com, or follow us on Twitter @cloudoninc
CloudOn is a partner of Microsoft and Adobe, and has legitimately licensed the technology used to deliver the Microsoft Office and Adobe components of its service. For more information, visit http://help.cloudon.com/knowledgebase/articles/57737-is-cloudon-legal-
Posted: 19 Jul 2012 09:00 AM PDT
We've been seeing the growing trend of peculiar services like Cupertino's Siri, Samsung's S Voice and Google Now on mobile devices, but up until now, we have yet to spot something similar in the world of connected homes. Having previous experience in the text-to-speech department, iSpeech is hoping to be able to do just that with the world debut of its voice recognition platform for smart households. With iSpeech Home, the company's aiming to give OEMs and manufacturers a canvas where they can implement voice recognition software into TVs, home entertainment systems, lighting, refrigerators and even washers and dryers -- which would, according to iSpeech, open the doors to natural language commands such as "Watch ESPN" or "Turn off the lights in the living room." As exciting as it all sounds, the company's COO Yaron Oren did tell us there aren't any official partners on board at the moment, but that he does expect to have iSpeech Home-powered products within the next 6-12 months.
iSpeech® Launches Siri-Like Voice Recognition Platform for the Connected Home
iSpeech to transform the connected home by controlling Smart TVs, household electronics and appliances by voice.
Newark, NJ – July 19, 2012 – iSpeech Inc. today unveiled iSpeech Home, a voice solution for connected home device manufacturers, OEMs, and service operators. iSpeech Home will allow consumers to easily control their televisions, home entertainment systems, lighting, heating, ventilation, irrigation, security systems, refrigerators, washers and dryers and other household appliances by voice, through natural language commands. Leveraging iSpeech's cloud, embedded and hybrid, human quality text to speech and speech recognition technology, iSpeech Home eliminates the challenge of a complicated user interface typically associated with home automation.
"We believe speech is the user interface of the future," said Yaron Oren, Chief Operating Officer at iSpeech. "Siri has done an amazing job of bringing this vision to life on the iPhone, and we are helping bring it to more applications, more platforms and new markets such as the connected home."
The iSpeech Home platform has been built on top of a hybrid-embedded and server speech recognition architecture that allows for improved response times and availability of service when compared to a network-only solution. When combined with iSpeech's human quality text to speech, the platform transforms natural voice commands into a conversational experience with artificial intelligence. iSpeech currently supports 26 languages and can support voices commands such as the following:
"Watch ESPN" or "Find movies starring Tom Hanks"
"Record American Idol"
"Turn on stereo and play Lady Gaga"
"Set temperature in house to 70 degrees" or "What's the temperature in the house now?"
"Turn off the lights in the living room"
"Turn on the alarm"
The release of iSpeech Home follows the company's success in the mobile market and serves as a springboard for its speech technology. Launched in August of 2011, iSpeech's mobile development platform is now widely used by Fortune 500 companies and over 13,000 developers and includes popular mobile apps from Hearst, Telenav, SpeaktoIt, iTranslate, Vocre and many more. iSpeech-owned apps, including DriveSafe.ly®, iSpeech Translator, Caller ID Reader® and iSpeech Obama have been downloaded over 30 million times.
RIM applies for patent on detecting emotion in messaging, wants you chilled while you BBM
Posted: 19 Jul 2012 08:33 AM PDT
Ever get the shakes sending out an angry text message? You'd better be careful if you buy a BlackBerry in the future, as RIM is trying for a patent that would telegraph all that wrath to the recipient on the other end. The technique uses a myriad of sensors, like an accelerometer, front camera or pressure sensor, to gauge just how emotional a smartphone owner might be and convey that through livelier messaging styles. Get flustered and that BlackBerry Messenger font gets big, bold and red; mellow out with a smile, and the conversation text becomes almost cuddly. Whether or not the patent is granted, let alone used, is very much an unknown. We have a hunch that RIM would rather not make BlackBerry users keep a poker face.
French Supreme Court orders Google to censor piracy related terms in Instant search and Autocomplete
Posted: 19 Jul 2012 08:03 AM PDT
The French Supreme Court has handed down a ruling that Google must censor terms such as "torrent," "RapidShare," and other phrases that could be related to illegal file sharing. The decision was in response to a case brought by SNEP, a French music industry group, requesting that Google be forced to censor its results and be held accountable for facilitating piracy. The court ruled that the Mountain View company couldn't be held responsible for people's decision to click through to sites containing illegal material. But it reversed a lower court decision, demanding that related terms be removed from its autocomplete database to making finding such content more difficult. Google was understandably disappointed by the ruling, especially since the company already actively blocks some piracy related search terms. But, that apparently wasn't enough for the SNEP. Check out the ruling itself at the more coverage link.
Buffalo outs HDW-P550U3 external drive with USB 3.0 and WiFi in Japan
Posted: 19 Jul 2012 07:43 AM PDT
Buffalo's HDD repertoire is already pretty well stacked, but there's nothing wrong with the company giving you extensive storage options. The newest one to join the external drive pile is the HDW-P550U3, boasting a decent 500GB capacity, the latest-gen of USB tech (or 3.0, if you prefer), WiFi (B,G,N) for some cordless doc-transferring action and a hefty 2,860mAh battery that promises to give you around five hours of usage. Sadly, unlike its HD-PATU3 cousin, there's no Thunderbolt incision in this guy, but this is likely to still keep folks interested in the former. That's not to take anything away from the HDW-P550U3, though, which is expected to be available in Japan next month with a 23,205 yen price tag, or about $295 in US cash.
Nokia wants to become the 'where?' company, Lumias to become sensor masters
Posted: 19 Jul 2012 07:23 AM PDT
Nokia is still taking its lumps in earnings, but CEO Stephen Elop has an idea as to how the troubled phone giant can carve out its slice of the smartphone market: like a real estate agent, it's all about location, location, location. As he outlined in the company's fiscal results call, the aim is to make Nokia the "where?" company -- the go-to for location-based services, whether it's Drive, Transport or anything else that locks in on our whereabouts. Facebook and Google are the "who?" and "what?" companies, Elop says. He also imagines that his own firm "could be a leader" in sensors as a whole, tracking subtler cues like the owner's pulse rate. Whether or not Nokia puts itself in front through positioning, the executive gave a small tease of the future during the call -- the next wave of Lumia phones will have "more differentiation," and both Windows Phone 7.8 as well as Windows Phone 8 will make their way to budget Nokia hardware.
Insert Coin: POP portable battery comes with 25,000 mAh of power, charges multiple devices (video)
Posted: 19 Jul 2012 06:50 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.
If you're a geeky pack rat who likes to travel with a mini Radio Shack store in your bag a la Steve Wozniak, then you're likely always looking for ways to keep your precious devices powered up. One option that may be worth a peek is the POP rechargeable battery -- a portable power pack that eschews the brick-like design of many of its brethren and comes with 25,000 mAh worth of juice to help bring your gadgets back to life. According to POP creator and Edison Jr. co-founder James Siminoff, the portable battery has enough capacity to charge either 10 standard smartphones or 1 1/2 third-generation iPad tablets.
To help prevent users from re-creating their own personal Gordian Knot, the POP also includes four retractable cords that each feature a micro-USB and 30-pin Apple connector. Flipping over its undercarriage reveals two standard USB ports as well. Eventually, Siminoff hopes to add various accessories to the charger, including speakerphone tops and perhaps even a solar cover. Before that can happen, though, there's still the matter of making his $50,000 Kickstarter goal. A pledge of $149 gets you one POP portable battery. Raise it to $169 and you can get custom artwork on the device as well. If successful, the expected retail price for the POP is $199. For more of the juicy, power-packed details, check out the source link and video below.
Previous project update: With 53 days to go, our previous Insert Coin project -- the Pear Bluetooth device -- has more than doubled its $40,000 goal with over $92,000 in pledges from 1,685 backers.
Virgin Mobile USA opening flagship Chicago store, selling 'culture' on top of phones
Posted: 19 Jul 2012 06:19 AM PDT
Virgin Mobile USA is adding actual bricks and mortar to its primary selling channels -- the internet and box stores -- but said that a new flagship Chicago store will not just be about the phones. The location has been set up like a casual, music-themed lounge, where customers can recline while testing devices and salespeople will run workshops on subjects like apps and how to install them. The Sprint-owned company will add 14 more locations in the city by summer's end and hopes to use the launch as an archetype for key stores in its other major market cities. The concept sounds a bit like a certain other starkly designed iChain -- but the rock 'n' roll decor is pure Branson.
Developer won't patch XBLA game because Microsoft would charge 'tens of thousands' of dollars
Posted: 19 Jul 2012 05:41 AM PDT
Seeing as how so much software is moving to online distribution, the significance of this controversy might extend far beyond gaming and XBLA. For now, however, the spotlight is firmly on Microsoft and the way it charges developers for testing their games and patches, after a well-known developer made an unusually public complaint. In a post on its official blog, Polytron said it would not patch a rare game-saving bug in its popular title Fez, because Microsoft would charge it "tens of thousands of dollars to re-certify the game." It added that "had Fez been released on Steam instead of XBLA," the problem would have been fixed "right away" and at no cost to the developer, which strongly hints that it'll jump to another platform as soon as its XBLA exclusivity expires. Responses to the story over at our sister site Joystiq are decidedly mixed, with some folks outraged that Microsoft's high maintenance attitude could hold back improvements in this way while others suspect Polytron of blame-shifting.
Verizon: smartphones constitute 50 percent of our postpaid customer phone base
Posted: 19 Jul 2012 05:27 AM PDT
This morning Verizon trotted out its latest financials, and amongst the numbers was a noteworthy stat. According to the big red, for the first time ever, 50 percent of its postpaid customer phone base is of the smart variety. This figure is up three percent from the last quarter, and won't factor in certain recent arrivals. Verizon's recent plan revamp is likely an attempt to cater for this trend, and ties in generally with the recent market share analysis reports. Now if a few other things come to pass, then this number is surely set to keep heading north.
Update: Appleinsider reports that to date, Verizon has sold 2.7 million iPhones, and 2.9 million Androids (some 2.5 million of which, are LTE), giving some insight into what makes up that 50 percent total.
Verizon issues Q2 earnings, touts $15.8 billion service revenues in Wireless
Posted: 19 Jul 2012 05:13 AM PDT
Big red is reporting some green, green earnings. Verizon today posted its second quarter financials, and it seems pretty happy about the whole thing, thanks to $28.6 billion in total operating revenues -- a 3.7 percent increase over this time last year. The carrier's consolidated operating income, meanwhile, hit $5.7 billion for the quarter, up from $4.9 billion in Q2 2011. In Wireless, the company racked up $15.8 billion in service revenues (up 7.3 percent from last year) and $6.9 billion in data revenues (up 18.5 percent). The second quarter saw the addition of 1.2 million retail net customers, for a total of 94.2 million by the end of the financial period. Also, according to the numbers, smartphones now make up half of the carrier's postpaid customer phone base -- that's up three percent from last quarter.
Verizon Reports Continued Double-Digit Earnings Growth and Strong Operating Cash Flow in Second-Quarter 2012
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) today reported a second consecutive quarter of double-digit percentage growth in year-over-year earnings results and significant increases in operating cash flow. Verizon Wireless generated record-high margins and strong operational results, and Verizon's Wireline segment generated continued increases in revenues from FiOS fiber-optic services and strategic business services.
Verizon reported 64 cents in EPS in second-quarter 2012, an increase of 12.3 percent compared with second-quarter 2011 earnings of 57 cents per share. There were no adjustments in either period.
On Track for 'Solid Double-Digit Earnings Growth' in 2012
"Verizon delivered another strong quarter of earnings growth and cash generation, and we remain on track to meet our financial objectives and produce solid double-digit earnings growth for the year," said Lowell McAdam, Verizon chairman and CEO. "Verizon Wireless has once again demonstrated its industry leadership, combining strong revenue growth with record margins and high customer loyalty. We reported sequential improvement in second-quarter Wireline margins, and we expect to see that improving trend carry through the second half of the year. We also look forward to the closing of strategic transactions and to the integration of process improvements that will set the stage for continued long-term profitable growth across all our business units."
Consolidated Results: Strong Gains in Cash Flow
In second-quarter 2012, Verizon's total operating revenues were $28.6 billion on a consolidated basis, an increase of 3.7 percent compared with second-quarter 2011.
Consolidated operating income was $5.7 billion in second-quarter 2012, compared with $4.9 billion in second-quarter 2011. Consolidated EBITDA (non-GAAP, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) totaled $9.8 billion in second-quarter 2012, compared with $9.0 billion in second-quarter 2011.
Cash flow from operating activities totaled $15.3 billion in first-half 2012, compared with $12.8 billion in first-half 2011. In second-quarter 2012 alone, cash flow from operating activities totaled $9.3 billion, a 20.1 percent increase compared with second-quarter 2011.
With capital expenditures of $7.4 billion in first-half 2012, free cash flow (non-GAAP, cash flow from operations less capex) was $7.8 billion in first-half 2012, compared with $3.9 billion in first-half 2011.
For full-year 2012, capital expenditures are expected to be flat to down compared with 2011 capital expenditures of $16.2 billion.
Verizon Wireless Results: Record Profitability, Strong Operational Metrics
In second-quarter 2012, Verizon Wireless delivered strong growth in revenues and retail customers; an increase in smartphone penetration; record-high retail postpaid ARPU; and the highest segment EBITDA margin on service revenues (non-GAAP) in the company's history.
Wireless Financial Highlights
Service revenues in the quarter totaled $15.8 billion, up 7.3 percent year over year. Retail service revenues grew 8.6 percent year over year, to $15.2 billion.
Data revenues were $6.9 billion, up $1.1 billion - or 18.5 percent - year over year, and represent 43.6 percent of all service revenues. Total revenues were $18.6 billion, up 7.4 percent year over year.
Retail postpaid ARPU grew 3.7 percent over second-quarter 2011, to a record $56.13, the highest growth in three years. Retail postpaid data ARPU increased to $24.53, up 15.4 percent year over year. Retail service ARPU grew 3.4 percent year over year, to a record $54.29.
Wireless operating income margin was 30.8 percent and segment EBITDA margin on service revenues (non-GAAP) was 49.0 percent, both record highs.
Wireless Operational Highlights
Verizon Wireless added 1.2 million retail net customers in the second quarter, including 888,000 retail postpaid net customers. These additions exclude acquisitions and adjustments.
At the end of the second quarter, the company had 94.2 million retail customers, a 4.9 percent increase year over year, including 88.8 million retail postpaid customers.
At the end of the second quarter, smartphones constituted 50 percent of Verizon Wireless' retail postpaid customer phone base, up from 47 percent at the end of first-quarter 2012.
Retail postpaid churn was 0.84 percent, the lowest in four years, and an improvement of 5 basis points year over year. Total retail churn was 1.11 percent, an improvement of 11 basis points year over year.
Verizon Wireless continued to roll out its 4G LTE mobile broadband network, the largest such network in the U.S. As of today, Verizon Wireless 4G LTE service is available to more than 230 million people in 337 markets across the U.S. - nearly 75 percent of the population.
The company introduced two new 4G LTE Internet devices in second-quarter 2012: the Verizon Jetpack 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot 890L and the Verizon Jetpack 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot MiFi 4620L. Earlier this month, Verizon Wireless launched the Droid Incredible 4G LTE by HTC and the Samsung Galaxy S III.
Verizon Wireless launched its ShareEverything Plan on June 28, offering customers unlimited voice minutes, unlimited text, video and picture messaging, and a shareable data allowance for up to 10 Verizon Wireless devices. In the second quarter, HomeFusion Broadband, a service that provides high-speed in-home Internet access, became available nationwide.
In late June, Verizon Wireless announced an agreement with a subsidiary of T-Mobile USA Inc. to exchange spectrum in the AWS band in specific markets to meet LTE capacity needs and enable LTE expansion. This agreement is contingent on the expected summer closing of Verizon's proposed spectrum transactions with SpectrumCo, Cox and Leap.
Wireline Results: FiOS Sales Help Grow Consumer Revenue
In second-quarter 2012 in the Wireline segment, revenue growth for FiOS led to overall revenue growth among U.S. consumer customers. Increased sales of strategic services helped mitigate lower revenues resulting from global economic impacts, including the adverse effects of foreign exchange rates compared with last year.
Wireline Financial Highlights
Second-quarter 2012 operating revenues were $9.9 billion, a decline of 3.1 percent compared with second-quarter 2011. Wireline operating income margin was 1.9 percent, compared with 1.6 percent in first-quarter 2012 and 3.1 percent in second-quarter 2011. Segment EBITDA margin (non-GAAP) was 23.1 percent in second-quarter 2012, compared with 22.6 percent in first-quarter 2012 and 23.8 percent in second-quarter 2011.
Consumer revenues grew 2.5 percent compared with second-quarter 2011, the highest increase in several years. Consumer ARPU for wireline services reached more than $100 for the first time, increasing to $100.26 in second-quarter 2012, up 8.5 percent compared with second-quarter 2011.
ARPU for FiOS customers increased to more than $149 in second-quarter 2012. FiOS services produced 65 percent of consumer wireline revenues in second-quarter 2012. Approximately 70 percent of FiOS consumer customers have purchased a "triple play" of phone, Internet and TV services.
Global enterprise revenues totaled $3.8 billion in the quarter, down 3.4 percent compared with second-quarter 2011. Sales of strategic services increased 4.4 percent compared with second-quarter 2011 and represented 52 percent of global enterprise revenues in second-quarter 2012. Strategic services include Terremark cloud services, security and IT solutions, and strategic networking.
Wireline Operational Highlights
Verizon added 134,000 net new FiOS Internet connections and 120,000 net new FiOS Video connections in second-quarter 2012. Verizon had a total of 5.1 million FiOS Internet and 4.5 million FiOS Video connections at the end of the quarter.
FiOS penetration (subscribers as a percentage of potential subscribers) continued to increase. FiOS Internet penetration was 36.6 percent at the end of second-quarter 2012, compared with 33.9 percent at the end of second-quarter 2011. In the same periods, FiOS Video penetration was 32.6 percent, compared with 29.9 percent. The FiOS network now passes more than 17 million premises.
Broadband connections totaled 8.8 million at the end of second-quarter 2012, a 2.6 percent year-over-year increase.
Verizon launched several network projects during the second quarter, including deployment of next-generation routing equipment on the global Private IP network to meet growth demands, improve scalability and support 10 gigabit customer access ports and 40G and 100G backbone trunk ports; and a long-term core network architecture project for a common multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) backbone platform that will support current and future service demands.
The company also launched its first major initiative to build additional control plane technology into its network infrastructure. This will allow Verizon to deliver on the promise of cloud-based and mobility-enabled industry solutions, as well as enable rapid and automated recovery of complex optical mesh networks.
Verizon Enterprise Solutions Highlights
Verizon Enterprise Solutions continued to expand and enhance its capabilities in the U.S. and abroad. In second-quarter 2012, Verizon announced an agreement to acquire Hughes Telematics Inc. This will expand Verizon's machine-to-machine and telematics capabilities and accelerate revenue growth across key vertical segments of Verizon Enterprise Solutions, including automotive and transportation, energy, health care and manufacturing. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter.
Verizon Enterprise Solutions is a global sales and marketing organization that harnesses all of Verizon's cloud, mobility and other platforms to serve the rapidly transforming enterprise market with integrated solutions. Among other second-quarter highlights:
Affirmative Insurance; Lane Bryant and Catherine Shops; Lifetouch; NetApp; Shaw Industries Group Inc., a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.; Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.; the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; and Arlington County, Va., were among the companies and government agencies completing agreements with Verizon for a wide range of strategic services to advance their operations.
Verizon extended the reach of the Terremark global cloud platform by deploying additional nodes in its London and Denver data centers; expanding its Sao Paulo, Brazil, data center; and launching a new Private Edition of its flagship Enterprise Cloud service.
Verizon strengthened its platform capabilities with a new solution that provides access to its global Private IP network service through Verizon's 4G LTE wireless network.
Microsoft fights back against Xbox Live account threats, begs you to update your security settings
Posted: 19 Jul 2012 05:01 AM PDT
Redmond's console gaming network may not have suffered a breach of security comparable to last year's PSN fumble, but that doesn't mean it hasn't braced for impact. According to Xbox Live General Manager Alex Garden, Microsoft has made great strides in account security by taking legal action against sites who share phished usernames and passwords, enacting two-step login verification for untrusted devices and pushing fresh security updates to devices. Even so, Garden says that many of Xbox Live's account protection measures rely on member profiles being up to date, and heartily encourages users to make sure their security information is accurate. Get the word directly from the horses mouth at the source link below.
Google improves maps for several countries, helps you follow the path well trodden
Posted: 19 Jul 2012 04:27 AM PDT
So it seems the team at Mountain View won't rest until the whole world is mapped to within an inch of its cartographic life. Good for us though, and especially folk in Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lesotho, Macau, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore and Vatican City. Those nations have had their maps improved to be more detailed and precise. For example, when planning your saunter around Venice's St. Mark's Square, you'll now see the canals better aligned, along with 3D buildings and more detailed labels for places of interest. There's some more general housekeeping too, with multilingual names available, and clearer distinction between local and major roads. Planning a trip? Just curious? Drop a pin in the source link to discover more.
Zoho's Office suite gets Google Drive integration, keeps its freemium status
Posted: 19 Jul 2012 03:57 AM PDT
Zoho's been offering its handy Office suite for quite some time on the web, but now the company's making it even better by integrating its productivity applications with Google's cloudy Drive. Naturally, this includes the full set of internet-based apps, such as Zoho Writer for word processing, Zoho Sheet to take care of spreads and Zoho Show for when you need to knock out some presentations. Best of all, you won't have to shell out any cash on the app trio, and you can grab 'em all from the Chrome Web Store link below.
Zoho Brings Office Suite to Google Drive
Zoho Writer, Zoho Sheet, Zoho Show Integrated into Google Drive
Integration lets Google Drive users create, open and edit files with Zoho Office apps
Integration also supports collaboration with other Google users, all without Zoho account creation
PLEASANTON, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Zoho today announced it has integrated its core Zoho productivity applications with Google Drive. Specifically, Google Drive users can create, open and edit files with Zoho Writer word processor, Zoho Sheet spreadsheet and Zoho Show presentation applications - all while working in Google Drive's web interface. To set up the Zoho applications for use with Google Drive, users can add them to Google Chrome by visiting the Chrome Web Store at http://ow.ly/ch2TX (Zoho Writer), http://ow.ly/ch2Xp (Zoho Sheet) and http://ow.ly/ch347 (Zoho Show).
"Google has been excellent in creating a platform for web applications, and we have been the leading vendor in Google's web application ecosystem, both in the Google Apps Marketplace and Google's Web Store"
"Google has been excellent in creating a platform for web applications, and we have been the leading vendor in Google's web application ecosystem, both in the Google Apps Marketplace and Google's Web Store," said Raju Vegesna, Zoho evangelist. "We are excited to take our integration one step forward by offering our Office suite to Google's users."
Zoho Office Apps in Google Drive
Users can add Zoho applications to Google Drive using the "Manage apps" option in the Settings menu in Google Drive. Once added, Zoho Writer, Zoho Sheet and Zoho Show will appear as options under the "Create" option, to create new documents, spreadsheets and presentations. When users right-click on individual files to open them within Google Drive, the Zoho applications will appear under the "Open with" option.
When a user saves Zoho documents, spreadsheets or presentations in Google Drive, the files are stored in Google Drive and automatically synchronized with that user's other desktop, laptop, smartphone or tablet devices - assuming those devices are also connected to Google Drive.
Files uploaded from a desktop, as well as native Google files, can be opened using the Zoho Office applications. While editing existing documents, a copy of a document is created and saved in Zoho Office formats - .zdoc for documents, .zsheet for spreadsheets and .zslides for presentations - leaving the original document untouched.
Users can also invite their Google contacts to collaborate on their Google Drive documents and edit them using Zoho editors in real time. Based on the permissions, users will be allowed to access the document for collaboration.
Pricing and availability
Zoho Writer, Zoho Sheet and Zoho Show for Google Drive are available today, at no charge. Users can add the Zoho applications to Google Chrome by visiting the Chrome Web Store at the following links and clicking the "Add to Chrome" button:
Zoho Writer: http://ow.ly/ch2TX
Zoho Sheet: http://ow.ly/ch2Xp
Zoho Show: http://ow.ly/ch347
For more information on Zoho, please visit www.zoho.com and watch "What is Zoho?" To get breaking Zoho news, visit and subscribe to the RSS feed at http://blogs.zoho.com, and follow the company on Twitter at @zoho and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/zoho.
Zoho Resources
Zoho news releases: http://www.zoho.com/in-the-news.html
Zoho product videos: http://www.zoho.com/product_videos.html
Zoho general videos: http://www.zoho.com/videos.html
Zoho blogs: http://blogs.zoho.com
Zoho on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/zoho
Zoho Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/zoho
About Zoho
Zoho is a comprehensive suite of award-winning online productivity, collaboration and business applications for businesses of all sizes. Over five million users rely on Zoho for their Business, Productivity & Collaboration needs and actively connect via Forums, Blogs, Facebook and Twitter. To date, Zoho has launched 28 different applications which include several online office applications such as Writer, Sheet, Show and Mail along with a host of business applications ranging from CRM to Projects, Invoice and Meeting. These applications are offered directly via Zoho.com or through hundreds of partners in the Zoho Alliance Partner Program. For more information about Zoho, please visit www.zoho.com.
Zoho is a division of Zoho Corp., a privately-held and profitable company, which also provides IT Management Software (ManageEngine with more than 60,000 customers) and a Network Management Suite (WebNMS with 25,000 Tier 1 carrier deployments). With headquarters in Pleasanton, CA and offices in Austin, New Jersey, Chennai, London, Tokyo and Beijing, Zoho Corp. serves the technology needs of millions of customers worldwide. For more information about Zoho Corp., please visit www.zohocorp.com.
Nokia's Q2 2012 financials: 4 million Lumias sold, $1.01 billion dollar loss
Posted: 19 Jul 2012 03:01 AM PDT
The past three months haven't been the best for Finland's former world number one. It hasn't been helped by the three biggest credit agencies lowering the company's bond rating to "junk," and the Lumia 900's violently slashed price. Unfortunately the latest results reveal continuing gloom: the manufacturer made an operating loss of $1.01 billion dollars for the quarter. The company managed to make €7.5 billion in sales ($9.2 billion, down .5 billion since the last quarter), shifting four million Lumia handsets in the process. In fact, the only cause for optimism is that sales of the Lumia range have roughly doubled each quarter.
The number of handsets pushed out the door increased (thanks to the Asha range of budget phones) with the company selling 73 million phones. That said, the company has clearly failed to crack America, selling a paltry 600,000 handsets in the States. The cash pile has also continued to dwindle, with the piggybank currently standing at €4.1 billion ($5.1 billion), down from $6.3 billion in Q1, despite getting a further $250 million in kickbacks from Microsoft. Unsurprisingly, the prediction for the third quarter of the year was similarly dour, summed up rather euphemistically as "difficult."
ViewSonic ViewPad E72 hits FCC: ICS in a 7-inch package
Posted: 19 Jul 2012 02:56 AM PDT
This year has already seen a fair share of ViewPads -- with ViewSonic outing the E70 and 10e tablets at CES and introducing three more slates ahead of MWC -- but the more the merrier, right? According to the company's latest FCC filing, the ViewPad E72 will be fleshing out the already well-padded lineup. The E72 runs Android 4.0 on a 7-inch, 1,024 x 600 display, and packs a 1GHz Cortex A9 CPU under the hood. Storage is limited to 8GB, but that's expandable up to 32GB via a microSD card. The 0.86-pound slate has a 0.3-megapixel camera (no rear-facing shooter here) and is rated for up to four hours of battery life. Think this might be the budget-priced serving of ICS you've been waiting for? Click through to the user manual, or hit up the source link for a rundown of the E72's specs.
Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 app lands on Nook Tablet, turns eBook fans' gazes skyward
Posted: 19 Jul 2012 02:05 AM PDT
eBook enthusiasts love some good quadricopter action as much as anyone, and now those with a Nook Tablet can get in on flying the Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 that launched this May. Today Barnes & Noble announced that the AR.FreeFlight 2.0 app is available for a free download in its Nook Store. The program lets owners of the RC copter control the device over WiFi. Users can capture photos and videos with the Drone 2.0's embedded cameras and share them via the app or YouTube and Picassa, and double-tapping the button of the right side of the Nook makes the Drone 2.0 perform flips. The $299 AR.Drone 2.0 is available through B&N's site -- get more info in the PR below.
Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 Lands on Barnes & Noble's Award-Winning NOOK Tablet™
New AR.FreeFlight 2.0 App Enables NOOK Tablet Owners to Control Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 Flying Quadricopter with Their NOOK®
Top features on the app include video and photo recording and sharing in HD, incredible flip capabilities and much more...
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products, today announced the addition of the Parrot AR.FreeFlight 2.0 app to the NOOK Store™ (www.nook.com/arfreeflight), allowing NOOK Tablet customers to fly the Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 quadricopter with their NOOK over Wi-Fi. AR.Drone 2.0 is the new generation of Parrot's renowned high-tech flying quadricopter, and the newly-launched AR.FreeFlight 2.0 app gives NOOK Tablet users the ability to launch, fly and land the Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 while watching or recording high-definition video. The app is available for free at NOOK.com or directly on NOOK Tablet.
Through the AR.FreeFlight 2.0 app on NOOK Tablet, pilots can watch live on the NOOK Tablet's advanced VividView™ touchscreen what the Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 is seeing and also record high-definition video and pictures from embedded cameras on the quadricopter, offering high-definition views from the sky. Pictures and videos can be easily shared with friends and the Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 community by uploading them straight from the app to YouTube or Picassa.
The AR.FreeFlight 2.0 app controls the Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 over Wi-Fi, and offers users several advanced tools to fly the quadricopter using a NOOK Tablet. Thanks to all MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) embedded in the Parrot AR.Drone 2.0, pilots will enjoy flights with amazing stability, making take-off and landing a breeze.
The Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 piloting app is specially designed to make even the most inexperienced quadricopter pilot look like a pro, with the ability to flip the AR.Drone 2.0 in mid-flight using a simple control. Users just double tap on a button placed on the right side of the NOOK Tablet screen and the Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 will perform flips – turning new flyers into stunt pilots.
Parrot AR.Drone 2.0, which runs on a rechargeable lithium-polymer battery (included), is available for purchase at select Barnes & Noble stores, and online at BN.com, for just $299.
NOOK Tablet offers access to the world's largest digital library, popular movies, TV shows, music and more, plus a collection of high-quality apps, fast Web browsing, e-mail and smooth streaming video, and is available in Barnes & Noble stores and online at NOOK.com, starting at $199.
With all NOOK products, Barnes & Noble offers always free in-store NOOK support for customers to set up and learn how to use their new device face-to-face with friendly neighborhood NOOKsellers™.
Space Shuttle Enterprise ready to go on display, space travel gets its fitting tribute
Posted: 19 Jul 2012 01:08 AM PDT
The Enterprise has been on what we'd call a very leisurely trip around the East coast, but it's finally time for the original Space Shuttle to settle down. As of Thursday, the only way to glimpse the prototype spacecraft will be under an inflatable roof at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City. It's a quiet yet noble end for the vehicle, which didn't go on formal missions but set the ground-- sorry, spacework for the Shuttles that came later. If you're interested in seeing more animated forms of the Enterprise's legacy, you can either sit down to watch its namesake TV franchise or follow the private expeditions that owe it a debt of gratitude.
Nexus S on Vodafone Australia won't get Jelly Bean today after all
Posted: 19 Jul 2012 12:38 AM PDT
Continuing this morning's Jelly Bean soap opera, we've just heard that Nexus S owners on Vodafone Australia won't be getting their pioneering update today -- despite the fact that only 24 hours have elapsed since the carrier said the roll-out was on its way. According to the carrier's official blog, the update has been delayed because Android 4.1 "does not meet all Australian regulatory requirements related to emergency calls." Ouch. On the other hand, that sounds eminently fixable.
[Thanks, Daniel]
HTC 'preparing' Jelly Bean update for One XL and One S, no date yet
Posted: 19 Jul 2012 12:06 AM PDT
HTC has a long history of both raising and dashing hopes of Android upgrades on its devices. Moreover, the Australian network Telstra has often led that emotional rollercoaster, which means the detail on its software update page above is probably best approached with an air of detached calm. It tells us that both the HTC One XL (the global version of the American One X) and the One S have official Jelly Bean updates being "prepared" by HTC -- which is slightly more specific than what we last heard on this subject, when the manufacturer said it was "excited" about Google's latest OS version and planned to support it "across a variety" of handsets. If you happen to own a non-LTE, Tegra 3-based One X, then the absence of that handset on the list doesn't mean much -- that model simply isn't part of the carrier's line-up.
[Thanks, Will]
Google Play Books starts a new chapter in France
Posted: 18 Jul 2012 11:37 PM PDT
Now that the legal dust has settled and Google's publishing woes in 'ol Gaul have been swept under the rug, it's back to business as usual. Starting today, the land of Jerry Lewis lovers will have access to books on Google Play, making it the fifth European country to participate in Mountain View's online ebook store. Initially, the available catalog of domestic titles will count in the "hundreds" -- a sizable library that will surely grow as publishers grow comfortable with the Play ecosystem and more deals are struck -- and is supplemented by existing arrangements with international publishers. So, if you always meant to brush up on your Flaubert or Fifty Shades of Grey, well, now's your chance La France. Official PR after the break.
Books on Google Play arrives in France
Wednesday, July 18, 2012 | 11:40 AM
Earlier this year, we introduced Google Play, a digital entertainment hub where you can find, enjoy and share your favorite apps and movies on your Android phone or tablet. Today we're adding books to Google Play for people in France.
Books on Google Play offers millions of books, including hundreds of thousands of French titles, from new releases to bestsellers and classics. It's easy to find great French authors such as Antonin Varenne, Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt, Fred Vargas and Dominique Sylvain, plus international bestsellers, in the country's largest ebookstore. With the launch of ebooks, Google Play becomes a one-stop-shop for the very best digital content available on the web.
France is the fifth European country to launch books on Play, following in the footsteps of Germany, Spain, Italy and the UK. This follows on our recent announcement of a settlement of all outstanding litigation between us and French publishers.
Books on Google Play is all about choice: we're offering many titles and many ways to access and read them, so that your library is literally at your fingertips no matter where you are. You can choose from great titles from hundreds of award-winning and diverse publishing houses at launch, not to mention the telethousands of international publishers Google works with around the world.
With Google Play you can read on the device of your choice. And with your books in the cloud you can read on the web, a phone, or a tablet and pick up right where you left off. You can discover, purchase and read books on:
Android phones and tablets - you can purchase books in the Google Play Store and begin reading them instantly in the Google Play Books app;
your computer - you can purchase and read books on the Google Play store and read in your web browser; and
iPhones and iPads -- you can read books in the Google Play Books app
We're happy to make it even easier for all French book lovers to discover and buy whatever they want to read, whether that's the next bestseller, a new release from their favourite author or a well-loved classic. Whether you're a bookworm or casual reader, we hope you find something great to read on Google Play.
Posted: 18 Jul 2012 11:04 PM PDT
As much as N-Trig is an old hand at supporting styluses, it's had to focus on tablets and other larger devices due to technology limits: the HTC Flyer is about as small as the company has gone to date. A new version of N-Trig's DuoSense chipset family could be the ticket to going to much smaller sizes. The new 4000 series condenses both pen input and multi-touch finger gestures into a combination of one chip and one sensor, letting any entrepreneurial device maker stuff the two control methods into a handheld device with as little as a 5-inch display. Naturally, the chip line scales all the way to 15.6-inch panels for creatives poking at the screens of laptops and larger Ultrabooks. We're told that both Android and Windows slates will get N-Trig's tinier touch tricks before the end of the year -- whether or not that includes phablets with the same girth as the Galaxy Note or Optimus Vu, however, is left to our wild imaginings.
N-trig Single-Chip Solution Brings Pen and Multi-Touch Computing to the Small Screen
July 18, 2012
A first in the industry, DuoSense supports devices with screen sizes from 5-15.6", lowering power and size requirements and opening the door to the handheld market
KFAR SABA, Israel -July 18th , 2012- N-trig, providers of the DuoSense pen and multi-touch user interface, today announced that the fourth generation DuoSense chipset family has been extended to include single-chip solutions. While competing solutions require either two sensors or multiple chips to support pen and multi-touch, N-trig is the first company to offer both on a single chip and a single sensor, providing device manufacturers with a compact, low-power solution and paving the way for N-trig to enter the handheld market. The newest DuoSense chipset is optimized for a variety of screen sizes, ranging from 5" handhelds to 11" tablets, and offers an Analog-IC that allows for support of up to 15.6" portable PCs.
The DuoSense single-chip solution is the first single-chip on the market to support both pen and multi-touch input for mobile computing, allowing for easier integration and flexibility in thinner and slimmer computing designs. It also offers the ability to support a chip-on-flex configuration, in which the chip is directly mounted and electronically connected to a flexible circuit, eliminating the need for a controller.
"Our innovative single-chip solution allows OEMs to offer industry-leading pen and multi-touch input while meeting market demand for lighter, thinner and smaller devices," said Ronen Heldman, VP Marketing, N-trig. "We especially look forward to introducing our unmatched pen and multi-touch capabilities to the handheld market."
The chipset family includes:
* DS-P4048 - Optimized for handheld solutions with screen sizes of 5"-6"
* DS-P4080 - Optimized for mini-tablets with screen sizes of 6"-8"
* DS-P4096 - Optimized for tablets with screen sizes of 9"-11"
* DS-A4016 - An analog-IC that can be used in conjunction with the DS-P4096 to support Ultrabooks and mobile computing devices with screen sizes of up to 15.6"
* DS-D4000 - A Digital-IC together with multiple DS-A4016, is optimized for meeting the increasing demand for narrow designs in the Ultrabook and mobile computing device markets
Chipset engineering samples are already available for customers, and the DuoSense solution will be integrated in a number of Android and Windows/Windows 8-based tablets scheduled for release later this year.
Intel slips details of Poulson-based Itanium 9500 in advance, teases a big boost to 64-bit servers
Posted: 18 Jul 2012 10:33 PM PDT
If you think Intel took awhile to roll out the Xeon E5, imagine the mindset of Itanium server operators -- they haven't had any kind of update to the IA-64 chip design since February 2010, and they're still waiting. Much to their relief, Intel just dropped a big hint that the next-generation, Poulson-based Itanium is getting close. Both a reference manual and a Product Change Notification have signaled that the new, 32-nanometer part will get the Itanium 9500 name as well as a heap of extra improvements that haven't been detailed until now. We knew of the eight processing cores, but the inadvertent revelation also confirms about a 50 percent hike in the interconnect speed and a matching increase in the cache size to 32MB. Clock speeds also start where current Tukwila-running Itaniums stop, with four processors between 1.73GHz and 2.53GHz giving the line a much-needed shot of adrenaline. Few of us end users will ever directly benefit when Poulson ships to company server farms later this year; after these increases, though, don't be shocked when the database at work is suddenly much quicker on its toes.
Internet Defense League forms with support of EFF and Mozilla, bills self as 'bat signal' of the web
Posted: 18 Jul 2012 09:58 PM PDT
It looks like the Dark Knight Rises hysteria is affecting more than just spoiler-averse fans. Billing itself as the "internet's bat signal," the newly formed Internet Defense League is a collective of companies, websites and non-profit groups-- including the EFF, Mozilla, Reddit and WordPress -- banding together to nip future SOPAs and PIPAs in the bud. The IDL will officially launch today, and according to its website it's enlisting web denizens to sign up and "broadcast an action" when net freedoms appear to be under threat. The League is really milking that Batman metaphor to full effect; it will broadcast its logo, a cat that looks plenty eager to tackle all foes of speech, into the sky in five cities around the world, including, interestingly, Ulan Bator, Mongolia.
Google launches Gmail SMS for text-based email in Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya
Posted: 18 Jul 2012 09:33 PM PDT
Smartphones and email-equipped feature phones have proliferated in even the most resource-dry areas of Asia, Europe and North America, but for many subscribers in Africa, SMS is the only option for text-based communication on the go. And, to give residents a more consistent method for reading and responding to email from their mobiles, Google just launched Gmail SMS in Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya. To sign up, simply head over to the "Phone and SMS" settings page in Gmail, add your mobile number and complete a verification process. Once enrolled, the service will automatically forward all email to devices as text messages. The service could even be useful for those that do have access to Android, iOS or Windows Phone devices -- data outages can cripple smartphones, forcing users to turn to phone calls and SMS to connect with family, friends and colleagues. Geva Rechav, a Google product manager for emerging markets, confirmed in a blog post that Gmail SMS messages will be free to receive, but standard fees will apply for outgoing emails. You'll find full signup details at the source link below.
Sony's Walkman F PMP hits the FCC mere seconds after being announced
Posted: 18 Jul 2012 09:11 PM PDT
It was mere seconds after Sony's Walkman F was publicly announced to the baying hordes of PMP fans that the dismantled remains of one was found outside the FCC's headquarters. The autopsy report unsurprisingly passed the Android-powered media player safe for human consumption, only clarifying that the unit's WiFi radio is of the 802.11 b/g/n variety. Sony's flagship media player will hopefully arrive on American soil soon, we've got a whole season of Breaking Bad to catch up on.
Ferrari, Logic3 team on headphones, may be closest we get to an Enzo's engine note
Posted: 18 Jul 2012 08:46 PM PDT
Ferrari likes to brand just about everything. That said, the two new lines of in-ear and over-ear headphones it's introducing with Logic3's help seem like more natural fits for the supercar brand than for other gadgets. The speed-loving elite will inevitably swing towards the Cavallino series' premium materials and universal microphone remote. Us plebeians have to consider the more plastic-laden Scuderia range, which still manages to pack in some Formula 1 styling along with the remote control. Prices are high at $150 to $315 for the Scuderias, or $201 to $352 for high rollers eying the Cavallinos -- but it's hard to dispute that either series is much more likely to turn up at our houses than a hybrid Enzo.
Logic3 announces availability of iconic audio collection
Collections crafted to bring Ferrari's performance, excellence and passion to life in the audio world
18th July 2012, London: Logic3 today announces the availability of its headphones and earphones within the iconic Ferrari by Logic3 collection of world-leading audio products.
The extensive range of seven styles of earphones and headphones celebrate Ferrari's excellence and flair, both on the road and in motorsport, by delivering superior audio performance and beautiful design.
Unveiled to great acclaim at CES 2012, and winner of the iLounge Best of Show award for product design, Logic3's exclusive audio collaboration with Ferrari demonstrates the company's long-held passion and desire to produce the very best audio products on the market.
Ashvin Patel, Logic3 CEO, says: "We're delighted to launch the first earphones and headphones within the iconic Ferrari by Logic3 collection, which celebrate the style and technical excellence of Ferrari. Throughout the design and engineering process, we have worked meticulously with the Italian brand to ensure the Ferrari by Logic3 collection delivers the excellence that the legendary marque demands. We also look forward to announcing pricing and availability of our additional products in the coming weeks."
Andrea Perrone, Senior Vice President Brand at Ferrari, says "Performance and quality underpins everything Ferrari does. We design and create cars which reflect our customers' aspirations, those who strive for, and achieve, the best in life. We have long held a strong desire to move into the audio market and selected Logic3 as our partner based on the company's passion and enthusiasm for audio excellence. The Ferrari by Logic3 collection encapsulates the passion, flair and technical excellence that we pride ourselves on at Ferrari and we cannot wait to share this innovative collection with Ferrari owners, fans and audio fans alike."
The Ferrari by Logic3 range is comprised of two distinguished collections:
The Scuderia Ferrari Collection is inspired by the competition, speed, and technological innovation of the F1 team. Each product takes its design cues from the sleek racing Ferrari cars, so recognisable and globally adored. This collection carries the exclusive Scuderia Ferrari badge, demonstrating a shared vision of performance, technology, and power.
The Ferrari Cavallino Collection is influenced by the emotive driving experience of Ferrari's timeless GT road cars. Premium textures and materials combined with superior finishes create unparalleled luxury and beautiful aesthetics. A range that deservedly features the illustrious 'Cavallino Rampante' (Prancing Horse) marque, defines excellence, finesse, and is truly iconic.
The following headphones and earphones are available from today at www.Ferrari.com and Harrods Department Store, London. The collection will also be available through other leading premium retailers shortly.
Headphones and Earphones:
The Scuderia Ferrari Headphones and Earphones offer sleek design and high-quality audio, accompanied by superior comfort level in and on the ears. Mirroring Ferrari's F1 styling, the whole collection is available in the following formats:
* The R200 Over-Ear Headphones are available in silver or white (£199)
* The P200 On-Ear Headphones pay tribute to those worn in the F1 pits, are available in red or black (£199)
* The R100 and R100i Earphones, which feature TFAT and noise isolating technology, are available in black or white (£119)
* The S100 and S100i Earphones, which feature TFAT and noise isolating technology, are available in red or white (£99)
The Ferrari Cavallino Headphones and Earphones deliver a premium audio experience coupled with sumptuous comfort. With a focus on fine materials and detail, the collection is available in the following formats:
* The T250 On-Ear Headphones are available in black or tan (£229)
* The T150 and T150i Earphones, which feature TFAT and noise isolating technology are available in black or tan (£149)
* The G150 and G150i Earphones, which feature TFAT and noise isolating technology are available in black or white (£129)
In the coming weeks Logic3 will also announce the availability and pricing of its Ferrari by Logic3 active-noise cancelling (ANC) headphones and speaker docks.
Recognising the need to build this new range of audio equipment from the ground up, Logic3 has worked with highly respected audio designers in this specialised field to create a range of unique audio products that bring Ferrari's iconic Italian heritage to life.
The Ferrari team has been closely involved with Logic3 throughout the entire process, ensuring the marque's characteristic style, design and personality are captured within every product.
Customers wishing to order any of the products from the collections can do so by visiting www.ferrari-by-logic3.com for further information and for details of retailers stocking the Ferrari by Logic3 collection.
For more information, please visit www.ferrari-by-logic3.com.
Samsung Galaxy S III 64GB not discontinued, coming in the 'second half of this year'
Posted: 18 Jul 2012 08:22 PM PDT
Yesterday, rumors about the meaty 64GB GS3 model having reached a discontinued status started circulating around the interwebs -- much to the disappointment of power users looking to snag the roomy handset. As it turns out, however, Samsung's told The Verge that this is far from the truth, saying the proportionally spacious Galaxy S III is coming "during the second half of this year," but also noting this "may vary and will be determined at the time of release." In other words, not all is lost, though it looks like anyone wanting to grab one of these is going to have to wait it out on the sidelines for just a little longer.
Posted: 18 Jul 2012 08:15 PM PDT
TNT wanted to launch its new crime show Perception, in style, and we have to give it to 'em, this is pretty cool. Working with professional technological tinkerers, Breakfast, they created a 23 x 12 foot display made up of 44,000 electromagnetic dots. Imagine those ticker boards you see at train stations, jazzed up with a little modern flavor. The dots are white on one side, black on the other, and move at 15 times the speed of their typical rail-station counterparts -- giving a real-time effect. The installation is set up in Manhattan's Herald Square until July 29th, and is fully interactive. When pedestrians walk past, the board updates to reflect their movement, and this "silhouette" interacts with words and images on the screen. Extra sensory stimulation also comes from the noise the board makes, literally letting you hear your movements. If a picture paints a thousand words, then 44,000 dots in a video paints even more. Head past the break to see the beast in action, plus more details on how it was done.
FIRST-EVER REAL-TIME ELECTROMAGNET DOT DISPLAY BUILT TO LAUNCH TNT'S NEW CRIME SHOW "PERCEPTION"
NEW YORK - JULY 18, 2012 -
For the month of July, TNT with the help of BREAKFAST is presenting a first-of-a-kind experience on the streets of New York.
Located in Manhattan's Herald Square at 885 6th Ave and 32nd Street, the 23x12 foot display is made up of 44,000 electromagnetic spinning dots which each flip from black to white creating an incredibly unique moving image that you can actually hear. Through their body movement, pedestrians can literally erase words from the screen – leaving specific clues. These clues then animate to diagnose the human condition at the root of a crime taken directly from TNT's "Perception". This animation recreates the unique ability of Perception's lead character, Dr. Daniel Pierce, who is able to see hidden messages to help him solve crimes.
Building off of a technology from the past, similar to the audible flip-boards that once graced the walls of train-stations, the team at BREAKFAST re-engineered these components from the ground up, enabling them to operate in real-time and 15 times faster than originally designed. Users are not only able to see a unique black-and-white reflection of their movements, but hear what that sounds like as the thousands of analog dots spin rapidly back and forth.
The experience will run 24 hours a day until July 29th.
Bing Maps piles on 215TB of new Bird's Eye imagery, proves it's a small world after all
Posted: 18 Jul 2012 07:49 PM PDT
Did you think Microsoft was done with Bing Maps updates after it threw a whopping 165TB of satellite imagery at virtual explorers? You've got another thing coming. The mapping crew in Redmond has thrown another 215TB of data over the fence, this time targeting its Bird's Eye views. Most of the attention is on Australia, Europe, New Zealand and Tokyo, although Microsoft has seen fit to sharpen up some of its US visuals in the process. All told, there's over 88,800 square miles covered by the new and updated aerial shots -- enough to make sure that we'll never have trouble finding Cinderella Castle at Tokyo Disneyland.
Google Play Music app update brings tweaks to Now Playing, Recent, playlists and widget
Posted: 18 Jul 2012 07:22 PM PDT
Ever since introducing the Google Music app in beta last year its developers have been hard at work trimming away the rougher edges and that's never been more evident than in the new 4.3.606 version now available for download. While Google Play Music's overall look hasn't shifted significantly, the changelog and a quick spin using it reveal nearly every screen has had some slight change. As seen above, the recently played screen now features larger album art, while the action bar has been adjusted with different transport controls. In this version, users have the ability to adjust and reorder music in the Now Playing queue, while a refreshed widget shows off album art and allows for thumbs up without opening the app. The settings menu has a direct link to the Nexus Q control app (assuming you can run it, and have one), hit the Play store for the updated version to try it out yourself.
Archos 97 Carbon breaks cover at the FCC
Posted: 18 Jul 2012 06:57 PM PDT
Archos' recently outed 97 Carbon is the poor man's Android slate... intentionally. Part of the French outfit's low-cost Elements line, the 9.7-inch ICS tablet saw an official unveiling earlier this month and is now making an obligatory step-and-repeat at the FCC. We've already been given the full rundown on the tab's innards -- single-core 1GHz CPU, ports for HDMI-out, micro-USB, USB, dual camera setup and vacant microSD slot to complement the 16GB of storage onboard -- so there's not much new info to glean from the filings, aside from some candid lab shots. Regardless, feel free to hit up the source below to tour it all, or just navigate your way to an online retailer if you'd rather own this one IRL.
DirecTV and Viacom disagree on their disagreements, standoff continues
Posted: 18 Jul 2012 06:29 PM PDT
Seeing that DirecTV and Viacom can't even agree on the number of channels that have gone off the air (one says 17, the other 26) as a result of their deal expiring last week, it's no surprise that the two are continuing to challenge each other's statements on every element of the negotiations. The latest tiff? DirecTV claims it has "accepted all material terms...including an increase that was more than fair" for the channels that were pulled, but accuses Viacom of trying to force an addition of the Epix channel package at a cost of around half a billion dollars. Viacom, for its part, calls the statement a "complete work of fiction" and accuses DirecTV of creating more obstacles in the way of a compromise. Both point of views are linked below, we figure DirecTV customers will have plenty of time to read them while they're busy not watching the new episodes of Workaholics and Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta until this is resolved.
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