Nearby Tracker for Pokemon Go; Apple Killer Health Device; Amazon Video Pilots to Air on Twitch
Posted: August 9, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Amazon, Apple, Battery saver, blood sugar, Health product, heart rate, I Love Dick, Nearby, Niantic, Pokemon Go, streaming, The Tick, Twitch Leave a commentAfter some stumbles with the Nearby feature, Niantic is testing out a variation of ‘nearby Pokemon’ with a subset of users now. There are a couple of tabs…Nearby and Sightings. The Nearby feature allows you to pan around a PokeStop for the little critter, while the Sightings tab doesn’t even give you the distance to the Pokemon…at least in the beta that’s out to the subset of users. Bgr.com reports that they have also restored the battery saving mode that had vanished from the last version of the iOS app.
In a big, but vague, rumor, Apple could be looking to launch a killer new product in the health area in 2017. According to appleinsider.com, who picked it up form Taiwan’s Economic Daily News, the product will ”accurately collect users’ personal daily life including heart rate, pulse, blood sugar changes and other information.” It’s apparently been in development for 2 years.
Amazon is going to stream a few of its original pilot programs on Twitch, which has been trying to expand beyond content for gamers. Twitch had dipped its toes into other content with old Julia Child and Bob Ross shows, but Techcrunch.com says Amazon will air 3 new pilots on the platform for 24 hours. They will still break on Amazon Prime Video first…on August 19th, but then will stream on Twitch for 24 hours on August 31st. Two of the pilots are ‘The Tick,’ and ‘I Love Dick.’ The third show wasn’t named.
Disney Releases Kid-Focused Messaging App; Company Gets Pokemons (and players) Off Businesses Lawns
Posted: August 5, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Cartoon characters, Cybersecurity, Disney, Disney Mix, Ingress, LookingGlass, Messaging app, Niantic, Pokemon Go Leave a commentDisney has rolled out Disney Mix, a new messaging app for kids as young as 4. 9to5google.com says the tag line is ‘chat, share, play.’ The free app has stickers from virtually every Disney movie you can think of, custom cartoon avatars, built-in games, and safety features to keep it all family friendly. A whistle icon at the top of the app will cause an adult moderator to jump in in the event of bullying or the like. It’s available at the Google Play Store and on iOS, too.
We’ve all heard and read stories about people basically yelling at Pokemon Go players to ‘get off their lawn,’ but now a cybersecurity company is actually working to have the Pokemon removed from maps in certain places. Thenextweb.com reports that LookingGlass is working with at least 8 companies to get Niantic Labs to pull them out of certain areas to help players to avoid dangerous situations. Apparently, most of the locations were pulled from the game company’s earlier AR game Ingress, that they released in 2013. LookingGlass and others are also trying to get Niantic to build in a way to notify them to remove Pokemon from dangerous areas.
LG V20 Rollout Date Announced; Tesla Gives Timeline for Minibus & Big Rig Unveiling
Posted: August 4, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Android, Big rig, Compact SUV, Electric cars, LG, Minibus, Nougat, Tesla, V20 Leave a commentThe first smartphone to run Android Nougat, the LG V20, will be showed off to the world September 6th in San Francisco. According to thenextweb.com, the cryptic announcement just says ‘Play More,’ and ‘The Second Story Begins,’ along with a cool graphic of a book open to reveal San Francisco landmarks. With LG continuing to struggle for market share in the shadow of Apple and Samsung, this rollout a week before Apple shows the iPhone 7 may give them a boost.
Tesla had a slightly bigger loss than expected for 2nd quarter, but during the investor call, Elon Musk revealed more about upcoming new vehicles. Theverge.com says Musk announced that the company would unveil their electric big rig and minibus in early to mid 2017, and said at that point, they’d give a ‘fleshed out plan when those would enter production.’ The minibus will be built on the Model X platform. He also said that a compact SUV would be a top priority after getting the mass-market Model 3 into production.
Blue iPhone 7 After All; Alphabet Gets Approval to Test Delivery Drones
Posted: August 3, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Blue, China Unicom, Delivery, Drones, iPhone 7, Project Wing Leave a commentEarly on, it was rumored Apple may add a blue color with the iPhone 7. That’s been tamped down up to now…until pictures appeared from China Unicom. Bgr.com reports that China Unicom posted an image that actually says iPhone 7, and shows 4 different colors….including blue! The others shown are the present Space Grey, Gold, and Rose Gold. The graphic also shows the double sized camera opening, as has show up in a number of leaks, and believed to be from the iPhone 7 Plus or Pro.
Alphabet’s Project Wing will be allowed to test its unmanned aerial vehicles in designated areas in the US. The test flights were announced as part of a new initiative unveiled by the US National Science Foundation, which plans to spend $35 million over the next five years on unmanned flight research. This just comes after Britain gave permission for Amazon to test delivery drones there a couple weeks ago. Google has said it plans to start using drones for delivery by 2017.
Delphi Tests Self-Driving Car; Thinner Apple Watch 2; Tesla Buying Solar City
Posted: August 1, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, Apple Watch 2.0, Delphi, Elon Musk, One Glass Solution, Self Driving Cars, Singapore, Solar City, Tesla Leave a commentGiant auto parts supplier Delphi is testing a fleet of self-driving cars in Singapore. According to theverge.com, by later this year you should be able to book a ride in a self-driving Audi cab there using your smartphone. Singapore had partnered earlier with MIT to advance self-driving research. There will initially be 3 fixed routes for 6 vehicles, all in the central business district. Delphi has already been testing an autonomous fleet in Silicon Valley, and plans to expand to other US locations and to Europe.
Solar City announced today that they have agreed to be acquired by Tesla for $2.6 billion. The majority shareholder of both is Elon Musk, who says it’s a necessary step in order to build what the companies are calling the world’s only vertically integrated sustainable energy company. Businessinsider.com says the deal may be finalized by the end of the year.
The version 2.0 Apple Watch will use a so-called One Glass Solution, and be thinner and lighter. Bgr.com reports that Apple will drop glass on glass to make more internal space…possibly for more components and bigger battery. Apple also plans to switch from and OLED display to Micro-LED, but that won’t make it into the Apple Watch 2…it’s expected in 2017. Most leaks point to the Apple Watch 2 being rolled out with cellular connectivity and a FaceTime camera along side the iPhone 7 in September.
Samsung Gains Smartphone Share As Apple Slips; Amazon’s Seen on Kickstarter Section
Posted: July 28, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Amazon, Apple, Kickstarter, Samsung, Smartphones, Startups Leave a commentSamsung has extended its reach in the smartphone market, according to 9to5mac.com, citing numbers from Strategy Analytics. Worldwide, Samsung was up from 21.3% to 22.8 from 2nd quarter 2015 to 2nd quarter of this year. Apple Dipped from 14.1% to 11.9%. The overall smartphone market ticked up .7% to 340 million units, and should be up more this year with the rollout of new Samsung and Apple smartphones. Apple did hit a milestone this week, delivering it’s one billionth iPhone!
Amazon started its Launchpad program last year, for startups and innovative products. Now, thenextweb.com reports that they have added a new section with crowdfunded products from Kickstarter. The section is already stocked up with over 300 items. It’s available today.
Microsoft Claims New iOS Cam App Beats Apple’s; Otto Keeps On Truckin’
Posted: July 27, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Android, Apple, Backlighting, iOS, Microsoft, Otto, Photo App, Pix, Self-driving trucks Leave a commentMicrosoft has rolled out an app called Pix that they claim takes better photos with no settings that the standard Apple app does with them. According to 9to5mac.com, it uses AI to automatically adjust the shots…taking particular aim at making sure people are brightened up, to compensate for backlighting…one of the biggest spoilers of smartphone pictures. The app also starts shooting when you open the app, and before hitting the shutter, to keep from missing that great shot you wanted to capture. It basically shoots a burst of pix, but only offers the 3-4 the AI picks as best, so as not to gobble up your memory. I read several reviews by professional photographers, who agreed that it gets close to professional results. It’s free, and at the app store now, and coming soon to Android.
We reported a while back about Otto, the self-driving truck startup built by a trio of ex-Googlers. Now, businessinsider.com finds they already have four trucks out 24/7. Otto doesn’t plan to build trucks but kits to retrofit them. Existing trucks can install one of Otto’s $30,000 kits to produce autonomous driving capabilities. Right now in a test truck, two people ride in the truck: one behind the wheel and another studying what the truck’s LIDAR and software systems are “seeing.” But ultimately, Otto envisions that trucks will only require one person, and that the “driver” will be able to take lunch breaks and naps in the cab while the truck fully steers itself down the highway, requiring the driver to take control only on city streets. The Otto folks see self-driving trucks in wide use within 5 years.
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