Tue, 21 May 2013 11:20:20 -0400
A teenager from Saratoga, California took home one of the top prizes at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair late last week after showing off her invention, which can fully charge a cell phone in 30 seconds or less. Eesha Khare was given the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award and a $50,000 prize for being runner-up in the competition, which was won by a 19-year-old who unveiled a new spin on self-driving car technology. Khare’s battery technology requires a new component to be installed inside the phone battery itself, and Intel notes that it also has potential applications for car batteries.
Tue, 21 May 2013 10:30:44 -0400
Google took the wraps off of its subscription music streaming service last week at its I/O Developers Conference. To the dismay of many, Google Play Music All Access was only available for Android smartphones and tablets. This isn’t the first time Google has initially ignored iPhone and iPad users — the company’s music upload service, known as Google Listen Now, was also never officially made available on iOS. Luckily enough, third-party developers are creating applications to access the services on Apple devices. James Clancey is the man behind gMusic, the most popular Google Music app on iOS. Clancy sprung into action after hearing Google’s announcement, determined to bring the subscription music streaming service to iPhone and iPad users. He submitted
Mon, 20 May 2013 20:00:11 -0400
Samsung is rumored to be preparing a new Galaxy Tab tablet to debut in the coming months. Earlier reports claimed the device would be equipped with a 10.1-inch 1280 x 800 pixel resolution display, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, a 3-megapixel camera, a 7,000 mAh battery and Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. Recently discovered benchmark results, however, suggest Samsung may turn to Intel to power the Galaxy Tab 3 10.1. Results from the GLBenchmark database reveal that the upcoming tablet is equipped with a 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Atom Z2560 processor with a PowerVR SGX 544 MP2 GPU. Samsung has traditionally relied on ARM-based processors such as its in-house Exynos line or Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips to power its devices. A
Mon, 20 May 2013 18:35:40 -0400
Flexible displays are set to become the next big thing in mobile technology. LG previously confirmed that it will release a smartphone with a flexible display later this year, while unbreakable handsets from Samsung and Motorola are also said to be in the pipeline. LG on Monday announced that it plans to demo a 5-inch flexible and unbreakable OLED display for the first time this week at the Society for Information Display’s (SID) annual trade show. The company will also showcase a new 5-inch HD display with a 1mm wide bezel, which will allow for the “production of borderless smartphones that are lightweight and emit significantly less heat.” LG plans to release a smartphone with a flexible OLED display in
Mon, 20 May 2013 18:00:37 -0400
Google announced a special edition Galaxy S4 smartphone running stock Android at its I/O Developers Conference last week. The device will be sold directly through Google Play for $649 in June and won’t run Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface. There was some speculation that other manufacturers may also release a “Google Edition” variant of their flagship devices. Although HTC confirmed that it has no plans for a stock HTC One, a well-connected developer and HTC insider reports otherwise. Twitter user “LlabTooFeR,” who has gotten accurate scoops on HTC in the past, said this week that he knows “for a fact” that a “Senseless” HTC One will be released at the end of the summer. HTC’s flagship smartphone has been praised for its
Mon, 20 May 2013 17:25:14 -0400
AT&T has always been hesitant to allow customers to use video chat applications on its cellular network. The company previously blocked Apple’s FaceTime service from iPhone devices, only recently allowing customers on a tiered data plan to use the feature. AT&T further angered customers when it blocked Android users from using the video chatting feature in Google’s new Hangouts application unless connected to a Wi-Fi network. In a statement given to The Verge, the carrier confirmed that it will update its controversial policy later this year and will enable preloaded video chat applications over its cellular networks for all customers, regardless of their data plan or device. AT&T’s statement follows below. For video chat apps that come pre-loaded on devices, we
Mon, 20 May 2013 16:15:38 -0400
We’ve known for a while that Samsung wants to significantly decrease its dependence on Google and its Android platform, and now The Wall Street Journal reports that the company “will be hosting a global competition to lure developers to create apps for its Galaxy smartphones” that will pay 10 winners a combined $800,000 in prize money. The Journal says that Samsung is “particularly looking for apps that can be coordinated with” its new Group Play feature that debuted on the Galaxy S4 and that lets users quickly zap music, photos and other content via NFC from one phone to another. Samsung’s strategy with the Galaxy S4 hasn’t just been to deliver improved specifications from earlier models but to add several new
Mon, 20 May 2013 15:05:29 -0400
Samsung is staying true to its word and will soon bring new features from its Galaxy S4 smartphone to its older Galaxy S III. SamMobile has got hold of a leaked version of the Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean update for the Galaxy S III and has found that it will bring several Galaxy S4 features to the Galaxy S III, including the new version of S-Voice, a revamped settings UI that will feature a tabbed interface and the Galaxy S4′s new lock screen system. SamMobile says that Samsung will push out the Android 4.2.2 update to Galaxy S III owners starting in June. Samsung said earlier this year that any new features for the Galaxy S4 that aren’t reliant on hardware
Mon, 20 May 2013 12:30:28 -0400
One of the most intriguing concepts for the future of the PC industry we’ve heard lately has been Dell’s Project Ophelia, a USB thumb drive-sized “computer-on-a-stick” that can plug into any monitor’s USB port to transform it into a makeshift computer capable of running multiple operating systems. PCWorld reports that an early version of Ophelia that will only run Android will ship out to developers starting in July and could ship out to consumers as soon as August. The first version of Ophelia “will have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities and is aimed at users who do most of their computing on the Web,” says PCWorld, which means that monitors using Ophelia will be more like Chromebooks than traditional PCs. Dell’s
Mon, 20 May 2013 12:05:37 -0400
Because Samsung isn’t already prepping enough new variants of the wildly popular Galaxy S4, a new “Galaxy S4 Mega” is reportedly under development as well and has been confirmed by Samsung. The Galaxy S4 mini, Galaxy S4 Active, Galaxy S4 Zoom and Galaxy S4 Google Edition with stock Android Jelly Bean are all expected to debut in the coming weeks and months, and now a phablet version of the S4 looks like it has been confirmed in a recent update to Samsung’s WatchOn TV app discovered by SamMobile. No other details have been provided, but unless this was a typo — and it doesn’t appear to be, since the update also references two other unannounced Galaxy S4 variants — we should see
Mon, 20 May 2013 10:40:27 -0400
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has affirmed the authority of federal regulators to try to speed local government decisions on proposals to build or expand cell phone towers.
Mon, 20 May 2013 09:30:42 -0400
The battle between BlackBerry and Microsoft for the No.3 spot in the smartphone platform war is showing no signs of slowing, but a new contender will soon come to market to challenge these struggling giants. Jolla, whose CEO spoke with us nearly a year ago about the company’s efforts, has unveiled its first smartphone. Named simply “Jolla,” the handset will feature a 4.5-inch HD display, a dual-core processor, 4G LTE, 16GB of internal storage, microSD support, an 8-megapixel camera, Android app support and the Sailfish mobile operating system. Most impressively of all, perhaps, is the price tag: just €399 before taxes and subsidies. Jolla says it hopes to begin shipping the phone by the end of 2013, and a video of
Fri, 17 May 2013 19:00:24 -0400
Of all the problems to have when launching a new flagship smartphone, trouble keeping up with demand is hardly the worst. Of course, things change a bit when a company has to pump units into channels as quickly as possible before the top-selling smartphone vendor in the world launches the Galaxy S4. HTC undoubtedly lost some sales thanks to its production woes with the One, but a new report suggests its manufacturing issues are behind it. According to Focus Taiwan, HTC North Asia president Jack Tong said that production capacity for the HTC One will double in May and increase further in June. ”Our capacity is expected to rise significantly starting from mid-May,” Tong reportedly said Friday at a press conference. “We
Fri, 17 May 2013 16:50:50 -0400
A purported image of Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 tablet was published on Friday along with supposed specs. SamMobile obtained the image of the unannounced tablet from an unnamed source, and the device shown in the image looks very similar to Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8.0 tablet, pictured above, with slight variations such as the sensor layout above the display. Not much can be gleaned from the render, though the blog also claims to have knowledge of the tablet’s specs, which include an 8-inch TFT display with 1,280 x 800-pixel resolution, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1.5GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, a 5-megapixel rear camera, a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, a 4,450 mAh battery and Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. The leaked image
Fri, 17 May 2013 15:31:55 -0400
Don’t bother trying to download the Android version of the new Buycott smartphone application today. It’s not there. The company’s website even went down earlier this week.
Fri, 17 May 2013 14:35:03 -0400
Google CEO Larry Page spoke about peace in the industry during the Google I/O 2013 keynote, but that doesn’t mean Google has plans to slow its various attacks on rivals’ turf. Forbes contributor Peter Cohan laid out the five areas where Google is launching its “assault” on chief competitor Apple, and he discussed exactly how Google is hurting the world’s most valuable company in each area. Among Cohan’s five fronts are smartphones, where Google’s Android platform has overtaken the iPhone as the most popular handset operating system in the world; tablets, where strength in numbers will soon help Google top Apple’s market share once again; and innovation, the “most important front where Google is trouncing Apple.” Because the company is assaulting Apple
Fri, 17 May 2013 13:50:40 -0400
Earlier this week, BlackBerry announced the arrival of BlackBerry Messenger for Android and iOS. A new report suggests that the messaging service will have some limitations, however. According to TrustedReviews, BBM will not be available for the iPad or for Android tablets at launch. Vivek Bhardwaj, head of the BlackBerry software portfolio, reportedly told the website that BBM will be limited to iPhones running iOS 6 or higher and Android smartphones. “Smartphone is our real focus and again it comes back to what BBM is,” he explained. “If you look BBM and the engagement and the activity, it’s because it is mobile, because people are on the go.” While the executive didn’t rule out tablet support in the future, he
Fri, 17 May 2013 13:05:12 -0400
After a handful of dismal quarters during which Nokia lost billions, the vendor has recently shown signs of life. But not in the United States. Nokia’s first big attempt at a comeback in the U.S. was the Lumia 900, and the company returned later in 2012 with the Lumia 920. Neither phone was received with much enthusiasm from consumers. In the Lumia 900′s debut quarter, Nokia shipped 600,000 total Lumia phones in the U.S. When the Lumia 920 launched in the holiday quarter last year, Nokia’s U.S. Lumia phone shipments totaled 700,000 units and then slid to just 400,000 units in the following quarter. Nokia now returns with its third flagship phone for the U.S. market — the Lumia 928 — and it’s changing
Fri, 17 May 2013 11:05:19 -0400
The United States Department of Defense on Friday approved the use of Apple devices running iOS 6 on its networks, Bloomberg reported. The iPhone will compete with BlackBerry 10 and Samsung KNOX devices, which received approval earlier this month. The Pentagon has continued to test alternative platforms to give employees flexibility when choosing a work phone. The DoD even has plans to create a mobile app store that can handle as many as 8 million devices. There are currently more than 600,000 mobile devices in use at the agency, 470,000 of which are older BlackBerry smartphones. There are currently more than 40,000 iPhones and 8,700 Android devices in use, however most of them aren’t connected to military networks except for testing
Fri, 17 May 2013 10:40:23 -0400
On the global stage, BlackBerry is still hurting — for the first time ever, Microsoft’s Windows Phone market share topped BlackBerry in the first quarter this year to take the No.3 spot in the smartphone platform war. We’re still very early on in BlackBerry’s comeback attempt though, and progress is being made in some key markets. Raymond James analyst Tavis McCourt points to BlackBerry’s home turf in Canada as one of the markets where the vendor has seen good early response to its new BlackBerry Z10 and Q10 smartphones, and BlackBerry’s progress thus far has been impressive according to his figures. In a recent research note, McCourt says that BlackBerry’s share of the smartphone market fell to an embarrassing 6% in Canada to close
Thu, 16 May 2013 20:36:53 -0400
By Miyoung Kim SEOUL (Reuters) - Overtaking Apple Inc as the world's leading maker of smartphones has stretched Samsung Electronics Co's in-house supply lines, and the South Korean firm is now courting some of its rival's main parts suppliers. After costly courtroom battles over technology patents, the two gadget giants are now going head-to-head over securing the best supply of parts as they jostle to rule the $253 billion smartphone market. The two took 100 percent of the industry's profit in January-March, Canaccord Genuity data show. ...
Thu, 16 May 2013 19:15:06 -0400
Google on Wednesday announced a new application, known as Hangouts, during its annual I/O Developers Conference that looks to unify the company’s existing chat and video services. The application was released for Gmail, Android, iOS and Chrome, and it supports Google Talk, Google+ Hangouts and Google Messenger. Dori Storbeck, community manager of Google+ Hangouts and Chat, confirmed on Thursday that SMS integration is also “coming soon,” noting that is it one of the company’s “most requested features.” Adding the ability to send and receive SMS messages will help Google further compete with Apple’s iMessage service and BlackBerry’s upcoming cross-platform BBM app.
Thu, 16 May 2013 19:15:06 -0400
Google on Wednesday announced a new application, known as Hangouts, during its annual I/O Developers Conference that looks to unify the company’s existing chat and video services. The application was released for Gmail, Android, iOS and Chrome, and it supports Google Talk, Google+ Hangouts and Google Messenger. Dori Storbeck, community manager of Google+ Hangouts and Chat, confirmed on Thursday that SMS integration is also “coming soon,” noting that is it one of the company’s “most requested features.” Adding the ability to send and receive SMS messages will help Google further compete with Apple’s iMessage service and BlackBerry’s upcoming cross-platform BBM app. UPDATE: Storbeck may have jumped the gun on Google’s plans for SMS integration in Hangouts. “Oops! We actually have
Thu, 16 May 2013 17:45:30 -0400
A new report suggests that prepaid smartphones are becoming more popular among consumers. According to research from NPD Group, 32% of all smartphones sold in the first quarter were prepaid devices, up from 21% during the same period in 2012. Samsung was found to be the most popular vendor of prepaid smartphones, accounting for 32% of sales in the first quarter. Handsets from LG made up 22%, Huawei 11%, and Apple and HTC tied at 8%. Prepaid iPhone sales were found to have increased fourfold in Q1 though, while sales of LG smartphones doubled year-over-year. “Prepaid has proven to be a real winner for national retailers,” said Baker. “The easy purchase cycle and grab-and-go nature of the product play into the strength
Thu, 16 May 2013 16:20:33 -0400
Samsung’s marketing Death Star isn’t just hovering over the United States — it has designs on conquering the entire world. Per Barron’s, Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry thinks that Apple may have a tougher time in India than other markets because BlackBerry and especially Samsung have already blanketed the country with ads touting their smartphones as elite products that consumers simply see as less expensive versions of the iPhone. Because of this, he says that the companies have created ”an environment where they tend to mentally enslave the consumer to buy their products.” Chowdhry says this is particularly true of Samsung, which he says airs TV ads once every 15 minutes in India.
Thu, 16 May 2013 15:40:08 -0400
Millenial Media, a leading mobile advertising platform, is out with another Mobile Mix report. It shows Amazon’s tablets gaining share in the mobile content market at a fairly dizzying clip. The Mobile Mix report is based on billions of monthly ad impressions and it offers an interesting glimpse of emerging trends in mobile content consumption. Perhaps the biggest bombshell is that Amazon is now hogging 28% of ad impressions served to Android tablets; just marginally behind Samsung’s tablets that get a 35% share. No other Android vendor has achieved double digits. The cheapo Kindle tablet strategy has helped Amazon to already vault to the top tier of the U.S. tablet market when it comes to content consumption. Android tablets get 45%
Thu, 16 May 2013 14:20:23 -0400
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Mobile phone service was cut off Thursday in areas of northeast Nigeria as jet fighters streaked through the sky and more soldiers were deployed to fight Islamic extremists waging a brutal insurgency.
Thu, 16 May 2013 13:35:25 -0400
The latest numbers from IDC show that Windows Phone is still having a tough time gaining traction, as the operating system was found on just 3.2% of all smartphones shipped in the first quarter of 2013. And things could look even worse for Microsoft in the second quarter since Windows Phone devices will have to go toe-to-toe with heavyweight flagships being rolled out by both Samsung and HTC, as well as the low-cost BlackBerry Q5 that BlackBerry is aggressively pushing into emerging markets. In fact, the only company that’s really devoting a lot of resources toward manufacturing and publicizing Windows Phone devices is Nokia, which really has no choice since it has chosen Windows Phone as its exclusive operating system. Let’s
Thu, 16 May 2013 12:50:59 -0400
The first day of Google’s I/O Developers Conference keynote has come and gone without a single mention of a potential update to the company’s Android operating system. Despite a number of rumors that suggested Google would announce a new version of Android at the annual event, the company remained quiet on the issue. According to a press release from the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, however, a new version of Android will be announced in the ”in the coming months.” The group announced on Wednesday that Google has committed to bringing support for Bluetooth Smart to future versions of the operating system. The power efficient Bluetooth standard is already supported in Apple’s iOS, as well as in a number of Android smartphones
Thu, 16 May 2013 11:36:15 -0400
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Mobile phone service has been cut in areas of northeast Nigeria as the military sends more soldiers to the region to fight Islamic extremists.
Thu, 16 May 2013 09:20:26 -0400
Microsoft and BlackBerry are fighting to become viable alternatives in the mobile market, and while Android and iOS accounted for a majority of smartphone shipments in the first quarter, Windows Phone made some significant moves that propelled it ahead of BlackBerry. Research firm IDC found that Windows Phone shipped 7 million smartphones, accounting for 3.2% of all shipments in the first quarter of 2013, more than double the year-ago quarter. Microsoft was able to overtake BlackBerry, which despite its new BlackBerry 10 operating system, saw smartphone shipments decline from 9.7 million units to 6.3 million units, accounting for 2.9% of global channel sales. “Windows Phone claiming the third spot is a first and helps validate the direction taken by Microsoft
Thu, 16 May 2013 07:50:53 -0400
Is the mobile industry headed for a duopoly where Apple and Samsung are the only two companies that matter? Breakdowns of smartphone industry profits sure make it look that way and now Barron’s points us to a new survey conducted by MKM Partners showing that the two companies’ grip on the smartphone market has only strengthened over the past several months. The survey, which measures smartphone buying intentions for just over 1,000 American consumers, found that 30% of likely smartphone buyers planned to buy an iPhone while 28% said they planned to buy a Samsung device for their next smartphone. For comparison, just 6% of likely smartphone buyers said they would go with a BlackBerry device and just 2% said they
Wed, 15 May 2013 21:50:25 -0400
Google made a splash at its I/O Developers Conference on Wednesday when it announced a special edition Galaxy S4 smartphone. The device will be sold directly through Google’s Play Store for $649 and runs a stock version of Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, rather than Samsung’s TouchWhiz user interface. Unfortunately it would appear other manufacturers will not be following Samsung and Google’s lead. HTC confirmed in a statement to TechnoBuffalo that it has no plans to offer its popular all-metal One smartphone with a stock version of Android. The company does offer an unlocked developer edition of the HTC One on its website, however that model still runs the company’s Sense user interface.
Wed, 15 May 2013 19:30:23 -0400
HP on Wednesday announced the Android-powered SlateBook x2 and the Windows-powered Split x2. The SlateBook x2 is equipped with a 10.1-inch 1920 x 1200-pixel display and a new 1.8GHz quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor. The tablet also features 2GB of RAM, up to 64GB of internal storage, a rear-camera capable of 1080p video recording, an SD card slot, HDMI-out, a USB port and Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. The Split x2 is equipped with a 13.3-inch 1366 x 768-pixel display and has the option of an Intel i3 or i5 processor. The device is powered by Windows 8 and also features an 8-megapixel rear camera, 2GB of RAM, a micro SD reader, one USB 2.0 port and one USB 3.0 port, an
Wed, 15 May 2013 19:19:57 -0400
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google's sixth annual conference for software developers opened Wednesday with a chance for the company to showcase its latest services. Announcements included new features for online games, maps and search, a new music-streaming service and enhancements to its Google Plus social network, including tools for editing and sharing photos.
Wed, 15 May 2013 18:11:00 -0400
A new study says you can add a commonplace activity to the list of things that raise blood pressure: talking on a cell phone.
Wed, 15 May 2013 17:15:46 -0400
The new Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy at the University of Southern California will offer a curriculum aimed to help young innovators create the next iPod or Facebook. The hip-hop mogul best known ...
Wed, 15 May 2013 16:00:28 -0400
Google’s shares continued to rise on Wednesday in the wake of the Google I/O conference, closing at over $900 for the first time and giving the company a market cap of over $300 billion for the first time in its history. The company’s stock value has been increasing at a rapid pace all year, growing from the low $700 range at the start of 2013 to the low $900 range by the end of trading on Wednesday. The continued rise in shares Wednesday was somewhat curious given that Google didn’t unveil a new Nexus tablet or a new version of Android at I/O this year as many had been expecting. Some analysts have slapped the company with a $1,000 price
Wed, 15 May 2013 14:31:29 -0400
With its I/O Developers Conference in full swing on Wednesday, Google took the wraps off its redesign of Google Maps for mobile devices. As revealed in an earlier leak, Google Maps has been updated with a brand new layout, new search features and new ways to highlight the “things that matter most.” The latest version of Google Maps for mobile devices is fully integrated with Zagat restaurant ratings, Google Offers and includes enhanced navigation with real-time updates for accidents. The update will hit the iPhone, iPad and Android devices this summer. Google also redesigned the Maps user interface on the Web to better match up with the company’s mobile offering. Google’s I/O keynote is streaming live and the video feed is available on this