Echo Show-Yep, It’s the Ugly Version; Preorders Live for Unlocked Galaxy S8 & Plus; T-Mobile to Carry T-Mobile Branded Phones
Posted: May 9, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Alcatel, Alexa, Amazon, Android, Blackberry, Echo Show, Galaxy S8, REVVL T1, Samsung, T-Mobile, TCL Leave a commentAmazon has unveiled the Echo Show. It has a 7 inch touch screen, a 5 MP camera, and dual 2 inch Dolby stereo speakers and 8 microphones. Techcrunch.com reports that it will sell for $230, and is available for preorder. The actual device will be released June 28th. Besides having Alexa tell you things or do things, the Show will allow her to ‘show you things.’ The Show can be used for video calling. The nicest description so far was from engadget.com: “Unusual, boxy retro style.” It’s available in black or white, so if either is your kitchen color scheme, you’re in luck!
How about preorders for a device that IS gorgeous? Samsung answers, as preorders are open for unlocked Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus models in the US. They should be available May 31st. Theverge.com says you can either order through Best Buy or samsung.com, and they start at $724.99 for 64 gigs on an unlocked S8 and $824.99 for the 64GB unlocked S8 Plus. Both can be ordered in Midnight Black.
T-Mobile is getting ready to launch its own line of Android phones. According to 9to5google.com, there will be 3 versions, with the first out the door to be the REVVL T1. Say that fast 3 times! All will be built for T-Mobile by TCL, the firm that makes BlackBerry and Alcatel phones. The T-Mobile handsets will be midrange smartphones, with the T1 sporting a 5.5 inch screen, 3000mAh battery, and running Android Nougat. It will have a 13MP rear camera with 5MP for the selfie cam. No release date or pricing has been announced.
Amazon Touchscreen Echo Leak; Smart Speaker Market Set to Double; Spray On Touchpads
Posted: May 8, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Alexa, Amazon, Apple, Echo, Electrick, Google, Spray-on, Touchpads, Touchscreen Leave a comment
As with all tech companies, Amazon plays with different versions of products. Thenextweb.com got its hands on a pic of one version for the upcoming Alexa powered touchscreen Echo, and the tech media collectively threw up. The wedge shaped gadget with a 7 inch screen has been universally panned. A prior leak had a short round tower with a smaller touchscreen angled on top. Let’s hope the previous leak is closer to what actually drops…probably later this month. It is said to be equipped to make video calls, and may have visual recognition, like the hapless Fire phone.
With a touchscreen Echo in the pipeline, the Google speaker finding homes, and Apple reported to be working on a high end smart speaker, 9to5mac.com has picked up a report from Reuters that says smart speaker use will double in the US this year. They are looking at 35.6 million. Amazon is expected to hold a little over 70% of the market.
Want a touchpad somewhere? Just spray it on! That’s the concept behind Electrick (with a ‘k’), a design from some brainy folks at Carnegie Mellon University. Techcrunch.com says it is mainly the brainchild of a PhD student named Yang Zhang, and it uses small electrodes attached to the edges of a painted surface. You can put a touchpad on wood, plastic, dry wall…reportedly even Play Doh and Jell-O. The tech is set to be demonstrated at a conference in Denver.
Facebook to Add 3000 Moderators Over Live Streaming of Crimes; Hulu Live TV Drops in App Stores
Posted: May 3, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Facebook, Hulu, Live Stream, Live TV app, Moderators Leave a commentFacebook is hiring 3,000 moderators to intercept deaths and crimes before they can stream live. Businessinsider.com says these moderators will be in addition to 4500 content reviewers that Facebook already employs around the world. They will also monitor hate speech and child exploitation according to a post by CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
The Hulu Live TV app is now available in beta in app stores. Techcrunch.com reports that it will be useable on Xbox One, Apple TV (4th generation), and Android mobile devices, as well as Chromecast. The old Hulu app won’t work with the live programming, but if you download the new one, it will still get your on demand content, too. It’s $39.95 a month for over 50 channels, and includes a cloud DVR feature. A premium version gets you Showtime, more DVR storage, and unlimited in-home screens.
Windows 10 S Laptop Guns for Chromebooks; 43 Inch LG Monitor Supports 4 Sources; Twitter Adds More Streams and Shows
Posted: May 2, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 4K, Apple, Bloomberg, Buzzfeed, Chromebook, Education, LG, Live Nation, Microsoft, Minecraft, Monitors, Office 365, Twitter, Video streams, Windows 10 S, WNBA Leave a commentMicrosoft has revealed its answer to Chrome OS. Windows 10 S is a ‘streamlined and secured’ version of Windows 10…translation….it’s sandboxed. That’s not the biggest part, though. Techcrunch.com reports that Microsoft has talked most major PC makers into making Windows 10 S machines. Base level ones will start at $189, and should be out this summer. Redmond expects school districts to snap up the laptops at that price point. They come with a one year free subscription to Minecraft: Education Edition, and Office 365 apps are free for both students and teachers.
As Apple announced they were getting out of the monitor business (then had a change of heart of sorts), other companies have jumped in with displays to take up the slack. Now, 9to5mac.com says LG has quietly unveiled a 42.5 inch 4K job that has 4 HDMI ports and supports up to 4 display feeds….for under $700! Four feeds, so you could keep a browser open, watch a game, PLAY a game, and have a window for actual work!
We heard yesterday that Twitter was building out a 24/7 streaming video service with Bloomberg. Now, they’ve announced live video plans with Live Nation, Buzzfeed, The WNBA, and almost a dozen partners. According to recode.net, the partners look so far to be heavy on sports, then news, with a little entertainment sprinkled in. It remains to be seen how much of the new content will materialize and when.
Apple Echo-Type Smart Speaker Coming; Galaxy S8 Random Reboots; Samsung Approved for Testing Self-Driving Cars in Korea
Posted: May 1, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Amazon Echo, Apple, Galaxy S8, Google, Hyundai, Korea, Random reboot, Samsung, SD card, self-driving car, Siri, Smart Speaker, WWDC Leave a commentThere are now two sources saying Apple will make a smart speaker like the Amazon Echo or Google’s speaker. Bgr.com reports that now KGI Securities says they will launch a ‘Siri Speaker’ at WWDC in June. No word on the cost (don’t think cheap), but it’s expected to hit stores and the web in the second half of the year. It will reportedly have 7 tweeters and a subwoofer, which should give it great sound. It will use some type of Beats tech and run a version of iOS.
Samsung’s Galaxy S8 had record preorders, but as it gets to peoples’ hands, there’s word that some are having random reboots. 9to5google.com reports there’s quite a thread about this on Samsung’s forums. It can happen when in use, or just sitting around. The phone does fully reboot, and it appears it may be related to an SD card issue, as removing the SD card seems to fix the problem until Samsung rolls out a software patch.
Speaking of Samsung…for those of you who thought they only made phones and TVs, etc, the Korean giant is now approved to test self-driving cars on roads in Korea. According to techcrunch.com, Hyundai has been at it for about a year now, so Samsung will be playing catch up to an extent. Samsung started as a trading company, and has interests in shipping, insurance, and more. The Korean approval allows for operating without steering wheels or pedals, which is also part of proposed new regulations in California and which Michigan already allows.
Nintendo Scores big with the Switch; Lyft Donation Program Going Live; SiriusXM Buys Automatic
Posted: April 27, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Automatic, Bluetooth, Lyft, Nintendo, OBD, Round Up and Donate, SiriusXM, Switch, USO, Wii U Leave a commentNintendo has a serious hit in the Switch. The new gaming system sold 2.74 million in less than a month, and geekwire.com says that’s more than the Wii U sold in its first full year. The flagship game, “Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” slightly outsold the console, too!
Lyft had announced it would be offering a ‘Round Up and Donate’ feature, allowing users to top off their fare to the nearest buck and give to a worthy cause. Now, tech crunch.com reports that the program will go live May 1st. It will bow on Android first, followed quickly by an iOS version. The first organization Lyft is supporting is the USO, the folks that provide support and entertainment to military members and veterans. There will be a number of other charity partners, with the user getting to choose which one they donate to.
SiriusXM has snapped up smart car accessory maker Automatic for a cool $100 million plus. Automatic makes a Bluetooth gadget that lets you track and read driving data from your iPhone.The Automatic Link plugs into the OBD….on board diagnostic port of your car, and transmits data to your phone. They also have a cheaper device called the Automatic Lite.
Twitter Use Back on An Upswing; Instagram Use Balloons; Mattel ‘Alexa for Kids’ Coming
Posted: April 26, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Alexa, Aristotle, Facebook, Instagram, Mattel, Twitter Leave a commentTwitter is still a rather shaky proposition to Wall St. types, but did add 9 million users last quarter, the most since early 2015. Recode.net says they also made 11 cents a share on $548 million in revenue, beating the expected penny a share on $512 million for the quarter. Importantly, daily active users went up 14% year over year. Twitter doesn’t release the number of active users, only the percentage, but 14% growth is a good sign. Twitter claims about 328 million users.
Meanwhile, at Instagram, they now boast 700 million users, and added 100 million the last 4 months. Engadget.com reports that the last time they put on that many new users it took 6 months. If they can keep adding at that pace, they will be the second social network to pass a billion users, like parent Facebook has.
Mattel is about to release Aristotle, a $349 voice-activated speaker launching in May that functions like Google Home or Amazon Echo devices, but for kids. Aristotle is built to live in a child’s room—and answer a child’s questions. Think a combination of: a nanny, friend, and tutor, equally able to soothe a newborn and aid a tween with foreign-language homework. It’s an AI to help raise your child. Mashable.com says they have particularly worked on making little voices understandable to it and making it as hack proof as possible…since it’s equipped with a camera that streams video to your phone.
Waymo Offers Free Rides in Self-Driving Vans; Galaxy S8 Grabs Big Preorders; Google Tweaks Search to Tamp Down Fake News
Posted: April 25, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Bixby, Fake news, Free rides, Galaxy S7, Google, Note 7, Phoenix, S8, Samsung, Search engine, Self Driving Cars, Waymo Leave a commentIf you live in the Phoenix area, and intrigued by self-driving cars, has Waymo got a deal for you. According to theverge.com, you can sign up for a free ride in a Waymo minivan…in fact, you can sign up as often as you like on their website. They will select riders based on the types of trips they want to take and agreeableness to using the self-driving service as their primary mode of transportation. All the test cars will have a safety driver along to grab the controls if needed. Besides Phoenix, the service will be available in Gilbert, Tempe, and Chandler. Waymo says the service area there is about twice the area of San Francisco, to give you an idea of the covered territory. They have 100 minivans there, and will add 500 more for this free project, which they are calling “Easy Rider.”
Despite the disastrous Galaxy Note 7 with the fires and recall, Samsung says the Galaxy S8 preorders are their best ever, with 30% year over year growth compared to the S7. Macrumors.com reports that this is despite launching without one of the signature features, the personal assistant Bixby in English language countries. Samsung says that should be available by the end of May…maybe they hooked up the software with a Berlitz course.
Google has announced that it has altered its search engine to ‘surface more high quality content from the web,’ or in English, tamp down fake news, offensive, or clearly misleading content. Cnet.com says Google is also allowing users to flag results that are offensive or unhelpful.
iPhone 8 Supply Will Be Gorgeous and in Short Supply This Fall; Larry Page’s Flying Car; Audi Adds Useful ‘Nanny’ Feature
Posted: April 24, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: A4 Allroad, Apple, Audi, Flying Car, iPhone 8, Kitty Hawk, Larry Page, Short Supply, Touch ID, Ultralight Leave a comment
The iPhone 8 will just have a slight curve and very thin stainless steel bezels, according to the latest leak. It will also be in tight supply….possibly through the end of the year because of production issues that are causing production to start late. According to bgr.com, it will have the all glass front and back design, and the stainless bezel will be black to make it look virtually seamless. Apple has apparently cracked the code to put the Touch ID under the OLED screen, and the front camera will also be nearly invisible under it as well. Benjamin Geskin posted several pics of a mockup, one of which is shown here. For more, hit bgr.com.
Larry Page’s Kitty Hawk startup will release their flying electric ‘car’ later this year. 9to5google.com notes that what’s been seen of it so far looks more like a platform on pontoons that a rider can fly over land or water…primarily water It HAS, however, gotten FAA approval as an ‘ultralight’ that can be flown over uncongested areas. Kitty Hawk says the first iteration will be mainly for recreation, and will be different from the prototype, but still features 8 rotors powered by electric motors. You can lear to fly it without a license in less than an hour.
In the cars you can actually buy now department, the Audi A4 Allroad talks to you. While this seems like it could be annoying, venturebeat.com reports in a truly useful ‘why didn’t they think of that before’ feature. As with many current cars, you can plug your phone into a USB port to charge it while you drive. When you get ready to get out of the car, it will sense that, and remind you to take your phone with you! Cars are truly becoming computers on wheels…or maybe Alexa on wheels!
clarkreid 
GE Alexa Lamp Coming; Facebook Reaction Emoji Live for Comments
Posted: May 4, 2017 | Author: clarkreid | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Alexa, Comments, Facebook, GE, Lamp, Reactions Emoji | Leave a commentGE will apparently release its lamp with Alexa in September for $200. The futuristic lamp, which looks a lot like a Dyson bladeless table top fan that lights up, is available now on preorder for a discounted price of $160, according to theverge.com. Besides the obvious stuff you can ask any Alexa device, it has a few new tricks…like ask it the time, and it will place indicators where the hour and minute hands go. It also responds to requests for warmer or cooler light.
You’ve probably already been clicking or tapping and expecting them, and now Facebook has added reaction emoji to comments. Thenextweb.com reports that they have started showing up for desktop Facebook users. I just tried them out a little while ago…and no, no new ones have been added. So far, it hasn’t gone live on mobile devices. We truly are heading back to the time of ancient Egypt’s hieroglyphics.