Samsung May Be Going Extra Thin in Addition to Extra Large

Posted: June 17, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

We had just reported on the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus, an upcoming smartphone/phablet with a whopping 5.7 inch screen, and now it appears that the phone giant is prepping a model that’s much thinner than an iPhone 6. According to bgr.com, the Galaxy A8 is a full millimeter thinner than the iPhone 6 at just 5.9 millimeters. This svelte thinness is in spite of the phone having a 5.7 inch display like the anticipated S6 Edge Plus! No release schedule for this skinny whopper, and sources say it might even be exclusively for the Asian market.

Amazon is looking at crowd sourcing for deliveries. Forbes.com reports that their On My Way program may use individuals to deliver packages, something like an Uber or Lyft for package delivery. Amazon’s shipping costs grew 31% last year, and this would be a way for them to keep a lid on delivery costs. If they do roll the service out, it may be limited to smaller, more inexpensive items…and not larger or more expensive ones that require insuring. Smart & Final has partnered with Instacart to make local deliveries for a while, and last month Costco and Kroger joined them in doing so.

Apple TV Confirmed As the Hub for HomeKit

Posted: June 3, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment

As Moscone Center in San Francisco is being readied for Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference next week, more keeps leaking out. This week, several early HomeKit devices from 3rd parties rolled out, and now thenextweb.com reports that…as expected…you’ll need Apple TV to remotely control HomeKit gadgets. Apple has posted a setup page to help people configure the system. If you already have Apple TV, it needs to be 3rd generation or later with software version 7 or newer.

Amazon has rolled out free shipping on small and light products…that is, ones that weigh less than 8 ounces. According to geekwire.com, ‘Fulfillment by Amazon Small and Light’ will also focus on items that cost less than 10 bucks. No more $35 minimum purchase requirement or Prime membership for free shipping of these small and light items. It won’t be free TWO Day shipping though…expect your items in 4 to 8 days.

Tiny LiteOS Prepares for the Internet of Things

Posted: May 20, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Huawei is readying their minuscule operating system, LiteOS, to power everything from wearables to cars to the electronics around your home. The system is 10 KILObytes! For a little perspective, Apple’s iOS 8 takes a gigabyte of space, and ancient DOS 2.11 was 28 kilobytes! The mini-system is designed for zero configuration, auto-discovery, and auto-networking. The verge.com says it isn’t intended to compete with iOS or Android, but to power small internet connected gadgets from light bulbs to toothbrushes.

From the very small to the biggest on the block…or in this case, the planet. Despite growing competition from Microsoft and Google, Amazon is the 800 pound gorilla of the cloud world. According to geekwire.com, Amazon Web Services not only increased market share in 2014, but operates more cloud capacity than the next 14 providers combined! Google cut cloud prices by 30% just yesterday, to try to grab more share, but it’s a long climb. Microsoft’s strategy is to provide more complete services for a price, where Amazon sticks to a la carte pricing. Microsoft’s revenues from cloud were up 96%, making them the leader by that metric.

‘Googlemobiles’ Will Be On The Loose This Summer

Posted: May 15, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Don’t look now…but look later! ‘Googlemobiles’ will be hitting the public pavement in Mountain View this summer. Yes, according to the official google blog, self-driving Google cars will be tooling around…albeit with a safety driver aboard, and limited to 25 miles per hour. Google notes that 94% of crashes are caused by human error. The second generation Google cars still look like a VW Beetle that’s been hit with an ugly stick, but there’s plenty of time to get the styling right later after self driving is perfected.

Amazon may be working on making its Prime membership more valuable to members. Cnet.com reports that they have been reaching out to third party merchants, looking into letting them shop goods directly to customers, instead of drop shipping the goods to Amazon first. This would make a lot more goods in on the free two day shipping, and also expand the selection of goods available to you that way. It’s likely that the reports that Walmart is going to test free 3 day shipping this summer for a $50 annual fee is pushing Amazon to sweeten their Prime membership, which is $100.

Patent App- Amazon Drones May Stalk You With Delivery

Posted: May 8, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

With the range limited by battery power, Amazon is working overtime, trying to develop their drone delivery system. Thenextweb.com reports that FAA rules may not be in place for something to work in the next couple years, but meanwhile, Amazon is pressing ahead. One patent just granted lets them get data from a smartphone to determine the best place to deliver your item…in other words, that Amazon drone will stalk you until you get that item!

A little late to the mobile party, but Nintendo’s first smartphone game should be out by late this year. Macrumors.com says they expect to release 5 games by late 2017. Nintendo claims none are ports of existing franchises, but are all tailored for the smaller screen experience. Earlier, the company announced a partnership with Universal for Nintendo characters to be used in a theme park.

FAA Drone Study May Bring Good News For Amazon

Posted: May 6, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Federal Aviation Administration is beginning a study regarding drone flights beyond the pilot’s line of sight. Both Amazon and Google have clamored for this, and the Europeans are already getting ready for it. Geekwire.com notes that the present FAA policy-just set in February- limits drones to the pilot’s line of sight.

Home Depot is upgrading its point of sale equipment, and working towards accepting Apple Pay at all of its 2000 stores. Bloomberg.com says that would make the chain the largest retailer to accept Apple Pay. Home Depot doesn’t yet have an agreement with Apple, but already accepts PayPal, and is looking at including other kinds of mobile payment, too. This would presumably include CurrentC, the still developing pay system from the Merchant Customer Exchange.

Amazon & Uber Both Launch Added Services

Posted: April 28, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Amazon has launched Amazon Business Marketplace, claiming ‘hundreds of millions of products.’ The service has business-only pricing and selection, and free two day shipping on orders of $49 or more. Amazon says it works with purchase orders and third party purchasing systems. Check geekwire.com for more details.

Uber’s experiment with food delivery has been expanded, and is now live in 4 cities. According to engadget.com, the newly branded UberEats is available in the former trial cities of Los Angeles and Barcelona, and also New York and Chicago. The service takes the place of pickup orders…you choose from curated restaurant menus, and an Uber driver shows up in a few minutes with your grub. No word if there’s surge pricing for meal times!

Testing the First Real Drone Delivery System

Posted: April 24, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

No, it’s not Amazon! The first actual test of drone delivery is being launched by Swiss Post, the Swiss postal service. They’ll use the service of Matternet starting this summer. The Matternet One drone can deliver about 2.2 lbs 12 miles on a charge. Swiss Post thinks that’s enough to deliver light packages such as documents, medical supplies, and parts. Check out tech crunch.com for more.

The widely used Dropbox cloud synced storage system has already expanded into photo storage and mail. Now, they are beta testing Dropbox Notes, a collaborative note taking function. It sports a similar interface to Google Docs, and competes with that as well as Evernote. The verge.com reports that so far, it looks like a corporate focused beta, not yet available to individuals.

Looking for a Place to Eat? Check Your Wrist

Posted: April 19, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Yelp has announced an Apple Watch app with local listings and reviews. 9to5mac.com says you will see the majority of the info you’re used to seeing about eateries right on the small screen, without having to fish in your pocket or purse for your phone. As with the Yelp smartphone app, the Watch app is integrated with Apple Maps, too.

Google has announced that it’s encrypting the vast majority of its search ads and YouTube ads….finally. TechCrunch.com notes that gmail was encrypted back in 2008. The new HTTPS encryption will apply to Google Display Network, AdMob, and DoubleClick, and will be in place by June 30th.

Amazon is dropping one of the coolest features of its Android app store. Engadget.com reports they are killing TestDrive, the try before you buy feature where you could run apps on a virtual machine, and compare them before downloading. Amazon points to the fact that the vast majority of apps are free now anyway as the reason for dropping the service.

Google Plans Apple Watch Access from Android

Posted: April 12, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Google seems poised to pull something clever regarding the Apple Watch. Businessinsider.com notes they may be building support for the iPhone into their Android Wear smartwatch software. The present Android wear smartwatches only work with Android phones, and of course Apple Watch only talks to iPhones.

According to forbes.com, Paypal will be allowed to work with Amazon and Alibaba after the split from eBay later this year. The parent company has been positioning Paypal as a ‘true neutral third party’ to commerce and retail clients. In the short term, eBay will remain Paypal’s biggest client, however.

Microsoft has launched without fanfare a new Android app that lets you control Powerpoint presentations on a PC from your Android smartphone. Thenextweb.com reports says the Office Remote app also works with Excel and Word. The remote app has previously only been available on Windows phones.

Amazon has quietly acquired Shoefitr, a startup that uses 3D tech to help match online shoppers with shoes that will fit them better. TechCrunch.com says it’s unclear so far if they will operate it as a freestanding site, roll it into their Zappos subsidiary, or both.

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