T-Mobile says it will offer the Sony Xperia Z in the ‘coming weeks’

Chance Miller

SonyXperiaZ

After a few months of speculation and rumors, T-Mobile has finally announced that it will carry Sony’s Xperia Z flagship. While no specific pricing or availability was announced, the carrier said it will launch in the “coming weeks.” It will be available in black, as well as purple for a limited time.

Specs are the same as the international version, which include a 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon processor, a 5-inch 1080p display with Sony’s Mobile Bravia engine, a 13MP rear-facing camera, and a water and dust resistant design. It will also carry support for T-Mobile up and coming LTE network.  Read more

Dragon Mobile Assistant 4 detects when you’re driving, and keeps things hands-free

Ben Lovejoy

dragon-mobile-assistant-4

Engadget notes that the latest version of Dragon Mobile Assistant now detects when you’re in a moving car and automatically switches to hands-free mode, where all interaction is by voice alone.

Driver Mode relies solely on voice recognition and feedback, keeping your focus on the road. Accordingly, the upgrade builds in spoken notifications for inbound calls, messages, upcoming meetings and Facebook updates. There’s also voice-aware email and customizable wake up commands …  Read more

Technology will enable us to be immortal within 20 years, says Google’s head engineer

Ben Lovejoy

Ray_Kurzweil_GF_2045

Google engineering director Ray Kurzweil, never a man to shy away from bold predictions about the future, says he believes that advances in medical technology will enable human beings to be immortal within 20 years.

Speaking at the Global Future 2045 World Congress, CNBC reports (via BGR) Kurzweil’s prediction that the pace of medical developments will be such that life expectancy will be continually extended such that we will never die.

The life expectancy was 20 years 1,000 years ago. … We doubled it in 200 years. This will go into high gear within 10 and 20 years from now, probably less than 15 we will be reaching that tipping point where we add more time than has gone by because of scientific progress …  Read more

Google partners with Starbucks to offer free unlimited music through Google Play All Access

Jordan Kahn

StarbucksWifi (1)

Google announced today on Google+ that a new partnership with Starbucks will provide free WiFi and the ability for customers at Starbucks locations to stream unlimited songs, radio and more from Google’s recently launched AllAccess music service. Apple has of course offered similar promotions and continues to offer free iTunes content and more through Starbucks locations. Back in 2007 it announced a partnership with Starbucks in the US to offer a free iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store, and it continues to offer its free app and song of the week picks through physical cards in store and through mobile apps.

Google’s new streaming music service is still limited to the US, so we’re assuming the new promotion is also limited to Starbucks locations within the country. Last we heard an iOS app for the service would be arriving sometime this month.   Read more

Samsung set to launch anti-theft features for smartphones in July

Chance Miller

SAMSUNG CSC

Earlier this month, we told you about government officials calling on major tech companies to improve anti-theft features of their devices. At WWDC this year, Apple did just that and announced its new Activation Lock feature. Now, all eyes have shifted to the other large smartphone manufacturer, Samsung. According to a report out of Korean site MK, Samsung is set to launch its anti-theft features for smartphones as early as July.

The feature will essentially be a kill switch that will allow carriers, manufacturers, and even the government to remotely wipe, lock, and disable any smartphone that has been stolen. Once this is done, the device would be rendered useless, even when a new SIM card is installed.

A kill switch is exactly what government officials called for earlier this month, and what it and manufacturers likely discussed when they met last week at a “smartphone summit” to talk about mobile security.  Read more

Google bringing Chromebooks to more retails stores including Walmart & Staples

Jordan Kahn

Chromebook-Samsung-11.6

Google announced today on its blog that it will begin selling Chromebooks through a number of new retail outlets that will bring the total up to around 6,600 stores worldwide. That’s around “3 times more stores than before” with the most notable additions including Walmart and Staples:

In addition to Best Buy and Amazon.com, we’re excited to welcome several new retailers to the family. Starting today, Walmart will be making the newest Acer Chromebook, which has a 16GB Solid State Drive (SSD), available in approximately 2,800 stores across the U.S., for just $199

Staples will begin selling Chromebooks from Acer, HP and Samsung in its more than 1,500 stores in the US and also through its online stores. Google also announced it will be adding a few other retail locations in the months to come, including: Office Depot, Office Max, and regional chains Fry’s and TigerDirect.

As for plans to expand international availability: Read more