Rumors that Samsung plans to launch a Google Glass competitor have been lent further credence by a design patent uncovered by the WSJ.
While it’s not the first glasses patent Samsung has filed – this one was granted back in March – the latest one does look much closer to something that might actually be launched than the previous design …
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Samsung could see itself getting priority access to new glass technologies after taking a 7.4 percent stake in Gorilla Glass maker Corning and simultaneously signing a 10-year supply agreement.
The net effect of a complex series of share swaps and cash investments, allied to a long-term procurement commitment from Samsung, is a $2B deal that will enable Corning to boost its R&D investment, accelerating the pace of development of new types of display.
With closer cooperation between the two companies, Samsung may prove well positioned to gain access to those new technologies ahead of the rest of the market …
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Google announced today on its Google Fiber blog that Fiber customers will now be able to access content through the WatchESPN and Watch Disney apps at no additional cost. For ESPN, that means users can now login into the apps on Android, iOS, Apple TV, and Xbox 360 using their Google Fiber account:
WatchESPN provides live access to eight networks, including live events and all of ESPN’s sports and studio shows (including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3, ESPN Deportes, ESPNEWS, ESPN Goal Line and ESPN Buzzer Beater). You can watch at no additional cost by logging in with your Google Fiber account — visit WatchESPN.com or download the WatchESPN app from Google Play or the App Store on your Xbox 360, or on Apple TV.
The Disney content, including live and on-demand content from Disney Channel, Disney Junior, and Disney XD, is available by logging into WatchDisneyChannels.com online:
You can watch at no additional cost by logging in with your Google Fiber account — visit WatchESPN.com or download the WatchESPN app from Google Play or the App Store on your Xbox 360, or on Apple TV… WATCH Disney gives you live access to Disney Channel, Disney Junior and Disney XD networks. Just go to WatchDisneyChannels.com and log in using your Google Fiber username and password.
Google’s Gigabit internet and TV service has only rolled out in Kansas City, Provo, UT, and surrounding areas since launching last year, but Google earlier this year announced it will be rolling out the service in Austin, Texas by mid-2014.
Despite being bought out by Google, the replacement mail app Sparrow has now been updated for iOS 7. Whilst the developers behind Sparrow never said that work on the app had ceased, this was the implied meaning of Sparrow’s thank you letter still visible on the Sparrow website. Until today, the app had not been updated since December 2012, nearly a year ago.
This update brings compatibility bug fixes for iOS 7 as well as a new flatter icon, shown above. Even so, work on Sparrow is obviously not a priority for the team. Apart from a new icon, the point-fix update brings no new visual appearance to the app’s interface or any new features for users.
Photo: thedroidguy.com
Rumors that the HTC One Max would have a fingerprint sensor (that we first reported back in August) are now all but confirmed by a launch invitation from HTC containing the phrase “One finger opens up a big view.” The two lines of text seemingly promote three aspects of the device:
One finger opens up a big view
You are invited to immerse in the sound with us
A fingerprint scanner, large display (of course) and BoomSound front speakers.
The WSJ also reports two different sources as confirming the fingerprint sensor.
HTC hasn’t been enjoying the best of luck recently. Senior departures, including its COO; a halving of market share since 2011; former UK execs setting up a rival company; alleged theft of trade secrets by several lead designers; and the first ever loss in the company’s history. Its luck doesn’t seem to be improving. The 15th October date the company has chosen for the launch just may find it struggling to see much media coverage: it’s the rumored date of Apple’s launch of new iPads, Macs and more … Update: The Apple rumor was wrong, the iPad launch is on 22nd October.
Reuters reports that Google is one of several companies currently considering a bid on part or all of Blackberry. The handset manufacturer has had a rough six years as they fell behind in the smartphone market to competitors like Apple and devices running Google’s Android operating system.
We got a tip (Thanks Guy!) that Amazon had trademarked the name ‘Firetube’ in Canada and the US. With all of the news surrounding the Amazon Phone lately – I immediately thought that is a dumb name for a phone.
[tweet https://twitter.com/llsethj/status/385746818480742400]
Seconds later it hit me. Tube=TV. Amazon needs a TV product to counter Apple and Google.
[tweet https://twitter.com/llsethj/status/385748077677936640]
It makes a lot of sense. Amazon has all of this content on the Fire and no way to put it on a TV yet. They have to release some type of Chromecast competitor and quick. There are, of course, rumors of an Amazon TV. Lots of rumors. Bloomberg thinks Fall 2013 is the planned launch window. That’s right now.
Quick thoughts: Will it play from the iOS app? Will it be cheap and cost ~$35 like the ChromeCast? Bundled with Kindle? Will it work with older devices? I’ve reached out to Amazon for a comment.
With the name now public and the holidays approaching, it would be surprising not to see an announcement soon.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baTh1jeObRw]
Not a fan. Either show how this will make my life better or bash Apple. I don’t know what this is.
The Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch reviews are out, and that red glow you see on the horizon is from the blushing faces at Samsung, visible all the way from Korea. The reviews are not, to put it kindly, overwhelming in their enthusiasm for the device.
A smartwatch the Galaxy Gear is not. Frankly, I’m not sure exactly what it’s supposed to be. Samsung describes it as a companion device, and the Gear is indeed chronically dependent on an umbilical link to another Samsung device, but it never left me feeling like it was a helpful companion. The notifications are Orwellian, the media controls are exiguous, and the app selection has no substance to underpin the hype. Samsung’s attempt to turn the Gear into a style icon is also unlikely to succeed, owing to the company’s indecision about its target demographic. Trying to please all tastes has resulted in a predictably charmless and soulless product.
The Gear’s camera and phone calls are both surprising and delightful, but they’re unfortunately isolated highlights. When all is said and done, I expect the Galaxy Gear will be looked back upon as a rough first draft that helped the Korean chaebol steer a better course en route to the goal of producing a real smartwatch. As it stands today, though — unintuitive, oversized, overpriced, and in constant need of a Galaxy guardian — the Galaxy Gear might have been better off staying on the drawing board …
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With Apple’s new gold iPhone 5s getting the most attention of any of the new colorful iPhones it released earlier this month, Samsung wants you to know that it isn’t copying Apple with its new gold Galaxy S4.
In a blog post on its official Samsung Tomorrow blog titled, “Golden History of Samsung Phones,” the company makes a point of noting that it announced the Gold Galaxy S4 on August 27th and launched it in stores on September 8– over a week before Apple’s gold iPhone 5s launch. It also showed off some gold phones it’s made dating back to 2004.
Some were unreleased like special edition phones for the Olympics and one for Ocean’s 13, and Samsung notes that “this is definitely not a complete list of gold-colored products made by Samsung.”
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The Nexus 5 appears set to match or beat the iPhone 5s in graphics performance, according to benchmark data posted on the the GFXBench website, achieving 23.1 frames per second in a key test.
The GFXBench T-Rex tests are one of the most demanding tests of the graphics performance of a phone, and provide a particularly good guide to how well a handset is likely to fare when paying graphics-intensive games. The just-released iPhone currently tops the T-Rex scores, but one of the four tests appears to show that the Adreno 330 expected to be used in the Nexus 5 will at least equal that performance …
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Earlier this week Valve made the first of three big announcements being teased on its website with the introduction of SteamOS: a Linux-based, open and freely licensable operating system that will run any number of devices and deliver the Steam experience in the living room. Today the company announced the second part of the puzzle with the launch of a hardware beta program for “Steam Machines” that will run the operating system:
Entertainment is not a one-size-fits-all world. We want you to be able to choose the hardware that makes sense for you, so we are working with multiple partners to bring a variety of Steam gaming machines to market during 2014, all of them running SteamOS.
Valve has designed a “high-performance prototype” and it will ship 300 of the boxes to Steam users for free in order to test the platform:
While these products are still in development, we need your help. As always, we believe the best way to ensure that the right products are getting made is to let people try them out and then make changes as we go. We have designed a high-performance prototype that’s optimized for gaming, for the living room, and for Steam. Of course, it’s also completely upgradable and open.
The company is accepting sign-ups for the beta program until October 25. Here’s how to apply:
THE HARDWARE BETA ELIGIBILITY QUEST:
Before October 25, log in to Steam and then visit your quest page to track your current status towards beta test eligibility
1. Join the Steam Universe community group
2. Agree to the Steam Hardware Beta Terms and Conditions
3. Make 10 Steam friends (if you haven’t already)
4. Create a public Steam Community profile (if you haven’t already)
5. Play a game using a gamepad in Big Picture mode
With SteamOS, it’s not just games. Valve could quickly be on its way to making a full fledged Google TV competitor with the Steam Machines it will begin testing for an expected 2014 launch. The company noted that its SteamOS operating system will also include features for other content such as music, TV shows, and movies, and Valve is already in discussions with various media companies to make that happen.
Just as Apple launched a plastic iPhone, Samsung is reputedly planning a switch to a metal case for the Samsung S5 due to replace the S4 next year.
Taiwan’s Taipei Times cites supply-chain sources as saying that Samsung has been making enquiries about an order for up to 30 million metal cases for the 2014 version of its flagship handset. To add to the irony, Barclays analysts suggested that one of the manufacturers which may be in line for the contract is the same one that makes metal cases for both iPad and MacBook Pro.
Our checks suggest Catcher has been qualified as one of the major sources on the total metal casing smartphone volumes at 10 [million to] 30 million next year from Samsung. The final order allocation is to be confirmed in early first quarter 2014, subject to price bids by approved vendors.
Interestingly, a metal case would seem to rule out any plans by Samsung to take full advantage of its flexible display.
Via Gizmodo
Samsung is promising to be the first company to bring a flexible OLED screen to market in a special edition of the Galaxy Note 3 – yep, a device with a rigid case.
It’s not quite as silly as it seems: though the display won’t flex, it should be a little bit lighter and a whole lot tougher.
LG demonstrated a 5-inch flexible display back in May, but has not yet brought a flexible product to market. Apple has also patented a flexible screen, and it has often been suggested that the company plans to use one in the long-awaited iWatch.
With the gold iPhone 5s a very poorly-kept secret, it’s no surprise to see other brands getting in on the action. Engadget has received photos from a previously-reliable source (Sina Weibo, who leaked the blue model) of a gold-colored HTC One.
HTC could use a bit of a boost after a series of unhappy experiences.
It’s always next to impossible to judge the shade of a color from a photo, as angle and lighting can dramatically change the appearance, so we’ll have to wait to see whether this is something close to Apple’s champagne color or something more gaudy.
While many supposed parts leaks are fake, this one looks credible, and we suspect it won’t be the last gold smartphone we’ll see by the end of the year.
Hugo Barra, Google’s former VP of Android product development, says his move to Xiaomi was planned long before it emerged that Sergey Brin was romantically involved with his former girlfriend.
In an interview with AllThingsD, Barra said that the opportunity to play a key role in the global expansion of the company dubbed ‘the Apple of China’ was one he could not resist.
“To me, right away, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, truly a dream job, this idea of building a global company which could be as significant as Google from the ground up,” said Barra. “It was just something that I will never come across, with a team whom I know, with a company that has DNA similar to my own and, on top of that, to live in Asia for at least some period of time” …
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In an interview with the Korea Times, Samsung executives respond to Apple’s recent announcements in typical Samsung fashion. In order to better compete with Apple in China, Samsung confirmed that it would focus more on the huge Mainland market.
For example, the company says it has received clearance from Chinese authorities to sell TDD-LTE devices, to enable Samsung to offer phones that work on the world’s largest carrier, China Mobile. As a result of “changing market situations” (i.e. Apple), Samsung is accelerating its schedule for releasing these Chinese-friendly devices. Apple is expected to announce a partnership with China Mobile to sell the iPhone before the end of the year.
In addition, Shin, Samsung’s co-CEO announced that Samsung’s next Galaxy phones will feature 64-bit architectures, to rival the A7 in the iPhone 5s.
“Not in the shortest time. But yes, our next smartphones will have 64-bit processing functionality,” Shin said, adding he followed the media coverage of Apple’s new iPhone.
Shin’s noncommittal reply indicates that although 64-bit chips are on the roadmap, they will not arrive this year. Meanwhile, the iPhone 5s ships on September 20th.
While it is easy to make fun of Samsung for stereotypically copying everything Apple, it is important to remember that they are also likely making Apple’s 64-bit A7 processors.
Reuters reports that Motorola is currently shipping 100,000 Moto X handsets a week – though not necessarily selling this number.
Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside said “When you set up to ramp a factory you need a plan, and we have shipment targets we need to make with our carrier partners, and where we need to be right now is 100,000 units and that’s where we are.”
Woodside would say only that direct sales to customers were “substantial”. Either way, we suspect the company must be secretly disappointed in the numbers …
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Tony Fadell, the Nest CEO who was Senior VP of Apple’s division from 2006 to 2008, says that Apple built prototypes of a similar device to Google Glass but “didn’t have time” to turn them into actual products.
Interviewed as part of Fast Company‘s Oral History of Apple Design series, Fadell said:
At Apple, we were always asking, What else can we revolutionize? We looked at video cameras and remote controls. The craziest thing we talked about was something like Google Glass. We said, “What if we make visors, so it’s like you’re sitting in a theater?” I built a bunch of those prototypes. But we had such success with the things we were already doing that we didn’t have time.
From the description, the prototypes sound rather more like virtual reality headsets than Google Glass, so there may be some exaggeration going on here. But it wouldn’t be a tremendous surprise to find that Apple has toyed with almost every tech idea under the sun: it has the resources needed to experiment at will.
The notion that Apple didn’t pursue the concept for lack of time seems rather more fanciful: it’s not like the company couldn’t have run out and hired a complete team for the project had it wished to do so.
Apple has always had a philosophy of focusing all its efforts on a very small number of products. Back in 2011, iPod, iPhone and iOS product marketing head Greg Joswiak described “saying no” as one of Apple’s four keys to success.
It means saying no, not saying yes. We do very few things at Apple. We are $100bn in revenue with very few products. There are only so many grade A players. If you spread yourself out over too many things, none of them will be great.
A new report from Millenial Media, one of the world’s largest online ad networks, shows that Android boosted its share of mobile web usage to 51 percent this year, but that iOS usage is growing at a faster rate.
Android’s usage grew five points since Q2 last year, while iOS usage grew eight points to reach 42 percent. In tablets, the iPad held its lead, while the Android share was convincingly led by Samsung’s Galaxy Tab.
In the manufacturer league tables across all devices, Apple lead the way with 39 percent share, with Samsung taking second place at 26 percent.
Via Fortune
Google has reportedly acquired WIMM Labs, the company that first introduced us to its 1-inch, Android-powered wearable platform back in 2011.WIMM stopped offering its open Developer Kit for its “WIMM One” platform back in the summer of 2012, noting on its website that it had “entered into an exclusive, confidential relationship” for the technology. According to a report from GigaOm, that’s because Google quietly picked up the company last year to help work on its own wearable products:
At the time, some publications speculated that Apple may have snatched up WIMM Labs to bolster its iWatch efforts, but GigaOM has now learned that the buyer actually was Google. The acquisition was facilitated by Woodside Capital Partners, and it looks like a significant part of WIMM’s staff stayed on to join Google. Most of WIMM’s senior staff still list their original company on their Linkedin profile, but a few have updated it with a mention of their new employer.
The news comes just as Samsung is about to introduce its new Galaxy Gear smartwatch product and as rumors of Apple releasing a smartwatch or similar wearable product continue to heat up. According to the report, which Google is yet to confirm, the talent picked up from WIMM is currently working with Google’s Android team. There is no mention of Google working on a smart watch product specifically, and, while the 1-inch WIMM One platform might be best suited to the wrist watch form factor, there is a possibility Google could put the tech towards other wearable products.
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Photo: foreignaffairs.com
The WSJ reports that HTC is now working on a custom smartphone operating system designed specifically for the Chinese market.
HTC Corp is developing a mobile software system specifically for Chinese consumers, people familiar with the project say, as part of a big China bet that the Taiwanese smartphone maker hopes will help revive sliding sales.
While the reality is likely to be some kind of Android variant, rather than a completely new OS like Samsung’s Tizen, it does have all the hallmarks of a somewhat desperate move by a company which somehow manages to combine a superb flagship handset with less than stellar financial performance. With morale faring no better, it had even been briefly suggested that HTC might have been planning to exit the smartphone market.
China is a juicy target for all smartphone manufacturers, as China’s emerging middle-class create a market beyond the largely budget handsets that currently make up the bulk of sales in what is now the world’s largest smartphone market. Even Apple, which has so far been content to operate exclusively at the top end of the market, appears to be eyeing China in particular with the iPhone 5C it is expected to announce on 10th September.
But it would be a gamble for HTC, ploughing resources into a country in which it is currently nowhere. A recent Canalys report into smartphone market shares in China showed that HTC was buried somewhere in ‘Other’.
The WSJ suggests thatHTC may be playing the long game, viewing the move as a diplomatic one rather than hoping for short-term financial benefit.
The project is seen by HTC insiders partly as an effort to forge political and business ties in China, since third-party operating systems have little chance of actually competing against the dominance of Android and Apple’s iOS. In the second quarter, Android held 79% of the global smartphone market, while iOS snagged 14.2%, according to market research firm Gartner. No other operating system captured more than 4%.
If so, the question remains what HTC’s strategy is to ensure that it has a long-term.
A novel new use for Google Glass: In the operating room, a surgeon does an operation wearing Google Glass and shares the procedure real time with his colleagues and students in a far off classroom via Google Hangouts.
“It’s a privilege to be a part of this project as we explore how this exciting new technology might be incorporated into the everyday care of our patients,” said Dr. Christopher Kaeding. “To be honest, once we got into the surgery, I often forgot the device was there.”
Google Glass has a frame similar to traditional glasses, but instead of lenses, there is a small glass block that sits above the right eye. On that glass is a computer screen that, with a simple voice command, allows users to pull up information as they would on any other computer. Attached to the front of the device is a camera that offers a point-of-view image and the ability to take both photos and videos while the device is worn.
It seems like only last week Doctors were using iPads for surgeries.
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Google has released a new application for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch to make it easier for users to setup and manage the Chromecast TV device.
• Set up your Chromecast to work with your Wi-Fi network
• Manage your Chromecast settings (such as changing your device name, Wi-Fi password, etc.)
The application is free on the App Store. The Google Chromecast is a device that plugs into a TV set via an HDMI port. The Chromecast allows users to stream content, such as YouTube and Netflix, from devices like computers, tablets, and smartphones.
