Ringly Keeps Your Finger On Incoming Calls & Texts

Posted: June 13, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Can’t hear the phone when it’s in your purse? Ringly may be for you. It looks like a fashion ring, but 9to5mac.com says light and vibration patterns can be set to alert you via Bluetooth to calls, texts, and more. It works with iOS and Android, and presale price is $149. That’s a bit pricey, but if you can’t miss a crucial call or text, check it out.

Google Now continues to get smarter. Thenextweb.com says Google is testing a feature that suggests calendar entries from your Gmail inbox. It’s already live with a select pool of users, and you can switch it off if you find it creepy.

According to tech crunch.com, Amazon has added audio integration to its iOS and Kindle apps. It’s an extra $.99 to $3.99 per title, but you can switch from reading to being read to on the fly. You could listen to a book while commuting, then pick up reading later right where you left off with Amazon’s Whisper Sync.

Apple insider.com says the Apple has patented a smarter smart cover for iPads with illumination that lights up to alert users to incoming messages, low battery warnings and other notifications.

Orange is the New…App

Posted: June 9, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

You know a show’s popular and getting binge watching when it has its own app. According to tech crunch.com, that’s just what Netflix has done with Orange is the New Black. Look for OITNA…orange is the new APP in the app store.

Google Now has had transit information, but the contextual assistant now goes a step further. Gigaom.com reports it will now remind you to get off at your stop…or wake up, if you snoozed during your commute.

A little late to the party, but Apple Maps will have transit directions in iOS 8. Bgr.com says it wasn’t announced, but there were screen shots indicating the addition in a video shown at the World Wide Developers Conference.

All ‘i’s’ Watching October

Posted: June 6, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

The iWatch will be here in October, and have a curved OLED touchscreen. That’s what 9to5mac.com hears from the Nikkei Asian Review, and it’s also being reported by recode.net. Apple expects to sell 3 to 5 million a month! The HealthKit health and fitness app rumored is said to be a big part of the iWatch rollout.

If you’re a bit paranoid about putting all your stuff on the cloud, how about your own? Bgr.com reports that a Kickstarter called Sherlybox lets you create a personal cloud, and control everything about it. It’ll cost $149 for the setup, and you bring your own drive! What if you run out of room, you say? No worries, it supports up to 127 external USB drives!

Cnet.com says that within a year, police forensics could tell how old a fingerprint is! The work is being done at Netherlands Forensics Institute. They are accurate from 1 to 2 days if the print is less than 15 days old.

Cheaper HTC One Coming

Posted: June 3, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

A less pricey HTC One smartphone is due out this month. It’s the E8, and according to cnet.com, it’s mainly a polycarbonate skinned M8, with the tough plastic replacing the metal skin the M8 has and a little less fancy camera. The E8 comes in blue, red, black and white. There’ll be a dual-SIM version in some countries, allowing you to make and receive calls from two numbers in one phone — handy for people who like to keep their business and personal lives separate.

Ostendo has built a tiny 3D projector chip the size of a smartphone camera. Geek.com says it costs $30, can project 48 inch 3D images, and will be out next year. At that price, there will definitely be at least one Android phone maker that takes a gamble on Ostendo’s holographic projection chip.

They may become as common as police and media choppers…gigaom.com reports the FAA is thinking of allowing movie studios to use drones. The precision agriculture, power line and pipeline inspection, and oil and gas flare stack inspection industries have also approached the FAA about an exemption.

Rough on Phones? Check the Galaxy S5 Active

Posted: May 30, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

Samsung is readying an Active version of it’s Galaxy S5 smartphone. Gigaom.com says the ruggedized version that meets Military spec loses the fingerprint scanner for 3 large buttons at the bottom. It’s weatherproof, available in camo, and out next week at AT&T. If you’re rough on phones, but want an iPhone or other brand, at least get an Otterbox!

Apple is talking to some high profile retail brands about its iPhone payment service. 9to5mac.com reports that Cupertino now has an amazing 800 million credit cards on file for iTunes accounts. Depending on how things work out, your phone as wallet may finally be coming to the US.

Businessinsider.com says Amazon is about to join the music streaming party, with a catalog of songs 6 months old and older available free to Prime members this summer. Amazon is hoping this will help justify their price increase for the Prime service.

Apple Going Bigger on Biometrics

Posted: May 27, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

According to KGI research, Apple will include the Touch ID fingerprint sensor on all iOS devices that come out this year…two new iPhone models and two sizes of iPads. They are also changing the sensor to make it more durable, utilizing tin to replace part of the sensor components.

Google is looking at picking up Dropcam, and getting into the home surveillance business. The Information reports that the automated home surveillance business could be combined with Google’s Nest products. With Apple rumored to be launching a smart home system that can be controlled by iOS next week at the Worldwide Developers Conference, it could get interesting!

Twitter may have leveled off in the US, but a report from eMarketer picked up by techcrunch.com says by 2018, 40% of Twitter users will be from the Asia Pacific region.

Cellular Bay Area Internet of Things Coming

Posted: May 21, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

A French company called SigFox is going to build a cellular slow lane for the internet of things that will cover from San Francisco through Silicon Valley. Technologyreview.com says they already have done this in France to connect appliances, bike locks, and even dog collars.

Want to make your own modest game app? Businessinsider.com reports that you can build your own simple app in about 5 minutes using Appy Pie. It is uploaded to their servers, and for a fee, can be uploaded to iOS, Android, and others.

Restaurant payments app Cover now lets you dine and dash…legally…in 20 select San Francisco restaurants. Techcrunch.com says they’ve been running in 80 eateries New York City.

Solar Powered Bike Lock

Posted: May 19, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

For your two-wheeled transport…and specifically making sure it stays yours… cnet.com reports on the Skylock from Velo Labs. Velo is crowd funding a solar powered bike lock you can access from your smartphone. An hour in the sun, and it’s good to go for a week. It will notify you via your smartphone if your bike is moved around, and you can lock and unlock it from your phone via either Bluetooth or wifi. The company was founded by former Boeing and Jawbone people. Skylock similar to BitLock, but BitLock doesn’t work over wifi and isn’t solar. It’s $159 for backers, and will be $249 retail.

If your transportation leans towards the 4 wheeled variety, Pioneer has demoed a number of automotive entertainment systems using Apple’s CarPlay. 9to5mac.com says Pioneer demoed them this past week…they’re already discounted on Amazon from $536 to $984!

The Steam PC gaming system continues to gain steam…Gamasutra.com says more games have been released on Steam so far this year than in all of 2013! The Steam game platform from Valve Corporation runs on Windows, Apple OSX, and Linux. Valve has plans to convert Steam into an open platform, where any developer can publish their games, with Steam users acting as the curators.

Samsung Galaxy Gear Dropping Android and Name?

Posted: May 15, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

In something of a big break, Samsung is moving the Galaxy Gear smart watches from Android to the Tizen operating system. Tizen may be pushed as an over the air update to Gear watches. Geek.com says they will likely also drop the Galaxy name.

A useful feature has been added to Facebook for iOS…thenextweb.com reports you can now create posts offline, and they’ll automatically upload to Facebook when you have a better signal, or switch out of airplane mode if you’ve been flying.

Cnet.com says UC Irvine Med school has handed out Google Glass to all the medical students. Irvine is the 1st med school to fully incorporate Glass into its 4 year curriculum. It could be a boon for doctors to check files or lookup info without having to use their hands. (At $1500 each, don’t hold your breath for your employer or your school to do this!

Order That Takeout From Your Phone

Posted: May 12, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Ordering takeout from your phone just got easier. Techcrunch.com reports that Square has launched a new app called Square Order, which lets you order from nearby restaurants, pay for your food, and then the app pings you when the food’s ready for pickup. Meanwhile, Square has quietly pulled Square Wallet from the App Store.

LG adds to their 8.3 inch tablet by rolling out no less than 3 additional sizes of the G Pad: 7, 8, and 10.1 inch versions will be available soon…maybe this month. 9to5google.com says all use the personalized ‘Knock Code’ screen lock feature.

The Microsoft morality police have struck, and removed the hidden rude emoticons from Skype. Geek.com says Microsoft has known about them, but no reason was given for pulling the trigger on them now. No more fubar or mooning, until someone comes up with a hack!

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