More iPhone OLED Display Rumors; Google Makes WHAT from Android?
Posted: January 22, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Android, Apple, Google, iPhone, Japan Display, Java, LG, OLED, Oracle, Samsung Leave a commentJapan Display says it will start mass producing OLED displays within the next 2 years, according to a Reuters report picked up by theverge.com. This is being seen as angling for the Apple iPhone business Samsung and LG are gunning for. It’s been widely rumored that iPhones will use OLED screens by 2018. Numerous Android phones already have them, with Samsung touting Super OLED. Those screens are lighter and thinner than the LCD displays Apple uses, and have more vibrant colors and greater contrast.
Those pesky lawyers! An attorney for Oracle said in court that Google’s Android generated revenue of $31 billion and $22 in profit. If my math is correct, that’s around a stunning 70% profit margin! Bloomberg.com says the disclosure was made January 14th in an Oracle suit accusing Google of using Java software without paying for it to develop Android. Meanwhile, Oracle’s copyright suit against Google also revealed that Google dropped a cool billion with Apple in 2014 to keep it’s search bar on the iPhone! Note to Apple: I’m available for adoption.
Periscope Live Video Tweets in Twitter Stream; Lenovo’s Moto Plans’ Musk on Apple Car
Posted: January 12, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Android, Apple, Apple Car, Elon Musk, Facebook Live Video, Fingerprint sensors, Lenovo, Moto, Motorola, Periscope, Tesla, Twitter Leave a commentTwitter bought Periscope a year ago, and now the live video is available in your feed…in fact, you can broadcast live video directly into your feed without leaving the Twitter app. Businessinsider.com reports that Periscope…which only launched in March 2015…is consistently one of the top 20 social networking apps on iPhone. Twitter hopes this will help engagement, like Facebook has done with Facebook Live Video.
Lenovo is killing the Motorola name for Moto, and now, we hear that all Moto phones in 2016 will have at least 5 inch screens and fingerprint sensors. That’s according to Chen Xudong of Lenovo, in a story from 9to5google.com. For now, at least, Lenovo will use its Vibe brand for smaller and low end phones, and keep Moto as the flagship oriented line. The only down side is they plan to stop using the pure version of Android for a custom version…like almost everyone else.
Elon Musk is on a roll…in an interview yesterday covered by appleinsider.com, he says the Apple electric car is an open secret in Silicon Valley. Musk points out that they’ve hired a thousand engineers, including a number they have poached from Tesla. Musk claims that whatever Apple does automotive-wise won’t hurt Tesla. Apple now holds the domains apple.car, apple.auto, and apple.cars.
Nexus 6 for $250 at Amazon; Hi-Res Music May be coming to iTunes & Apple Music
Posted: December 21, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Amazon, Android, Apple, Apple Music, Hi-res, iTunes, Lightening, Marshmallow, Nexus 6 Leave a commentIf you are in the market for a phablet at a great deal, or for a last minute gift for someone you REALLY like, Amazon has a 32 gig Nexus 6 for $249.99 shipped in Cloud White or Midnight Blue. With Amazon Prime, it can be under the tree by the 23rd. 9to5toys.com says the 64 gig model is $299.99, and both come with Android Marshmallow.
A rumor is afoot again that hi-resolution audio is on the way to iTunes and Apple Music. This one is from Japanese blog Macotakara, picked up by 9to5mac.com. The blog claims Apple will have better than CD quality for iTunes sometime next year. The leak is from some manufacturers that make Lightening based headphones, which would support the higher res format.
Wal~Mart Launches Wal~Mart Pay; Adidas Looks to Robots to Make Shoes
Posted: December 10, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Adidas, Android, CurrentC, iOS, Mobile Wallet, Robots, Shoes, Speedfactory, Walmart, Walmart Pay Leave a commentWal~Mart has rolled out its own mobile wallet called Walmart Pay. It will be available on iOS and Android devices, and allows payment with any major credit, debit, pre-paid, or gift card. According to reuters.com, it should be in stores nationwide by the first half of 2016. The giant retailer says it’s not bailing on the merchant consortium that developed CurrentC, and will consider it as an additional mobile wallet option. CurrentC was beta launched in August.
No longer content to export jobs to people making slave wages in developing countries, Adidas is finishing up a factory in Germany that will be staffed with robots. Right now, there are 10 people helping make it work, but the company is shooting for 100% automated production. Geek.com says they are more concerned with shipping costs than rising wages in Asia, and building so-called ‘Speedfactories’ all around the globe where their customers live will help them move from selling 600 million shoes to a billion in the next 5 years.
Cortana Lands on Android and iOS; A Number of Us Are Rarely Offline
Posted: December 9, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Android, Cortana, Google Now, Internet Use, iOS, Microsoft, Pew, Siri Leave a commentIn what seems like quite a clever move (and a bit of bet-hedging), Microsoft gone live with Cortana for Android and iOS. 9to5google.com notes it’s been a small beta since last month, but now you can check out it’s functionality for real. Since it’s an app, and not baked in, don’t expect it to have the power of Google Now or Siri yet. With Windows Phone still in the basement, Microsoft is smart to be porting over to the two much more widely used mobile systems.
TV and Comedy have had a lot of fun with people being inseparable from their smartphones and computers…everything from chipped people to the Simpsons’ Eye Phone, where the thing replaced an eyeball…so now comes data from Pew research that 21% of Americans go online almost constantly. Drilling down, 73% are online daily, 42% several times a day, 13% several times a week or less. The Luddite contingent of people who never use the internet stands at 13%. They probably still have buggy whips…and I don’t mind insulting them, since they’ll never read this or hear it anyway!
New Apple iPhone Battery Case; Google Makes Mobile Chrome Safe by Default
Posted: December 8, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Android, Apple, Apple Maps, Chrome, Google, iPhone 6, iPhone 6S, Logistics center, Sacramento, Safe Browsing, Smart Battery Case Leave a commentSeveral Apple news items: Today, Cupertino rolled out a Smart Battery Case for the iPhone 6S and 6, their first since 2007. According to appleinsider.com, Apple claims 25 hours of extended use. It’s soft silicone with a strange hump for the battery on the back, and runs $99. The silicone gives a sure grip, but does collect dirt.
Many people will be surprised to find that Apple Maps is now used 3 times as often as Google Maps on iPhone. Macrumors.com says this figure was given to the AP by Apple. Google does dominate over all smartphones, of course, with more Android phones in service than iPhones. I tried Apple Maps last spring traveling from Northern California to the Magic Kingdom, and it routed me off the 5 through city streets and back. I thought it was nuts, until I discovered it routed me around a terrible crash in LA with a monster backup.
Apple is dropping 13 million on their Sacramento area campus. Reportedly, this is to change a large warehouse into a logistics center, and they will add an additional 1450 parking spaces and jobs, of course. It’s possible more than logistics is going on…this facility was Apple’s last manufacturing center in the US until 2004.
In a nice move by Google, they have turned on Safe Browsing by default on Chrome for Android. Theverge.com reports that it has always been in the settings, but this will give an extra layer of protection to mobile browsing on Android for Chrome users. Google is releasing the feature as part of Play Services, which means it will appear in other in-house apps moving forward.
Google Weighs Building Its Own Smartphone From Scratch; Samsung Galaxy S7 Update
Posted: November 11, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Android, Apple, Galaxy S7, Google, Nexus, Samsung Leave a commentGoogle already has the Nexus, and two models just recently rolled out. Now, according to bgr.com, which spotted something in The Information, Google may not look to HTC, Samsung, LG, Motorola, or Huawei for future smartphones, but may roll their own. The Silicon Valley giant is apparently considering developing its own chips for mobile devices…like Apple does. Even though Android dominates the smartphone market, they continue to lose share to Apple. Nothing’s decided yet…including whether or not they would use the Nexus brand.
Earlier, we reported that Apple may be on track to drop the iPhone 7 by June or July, instead of September as with the iPhone 6S and 6 before it. Now, it appears Samsung is at least a month ahead of last year in developing firmware for it’s next iteration of the Galaxy, the S7. 9to5google.com notes that his could allow them to get the drop on Apple with a rollout as early as January or February.
Google Maps Adds OFFLINE Features; Vizio TVs Sleazy ‘Opt Out’ Data Harvesting
Posted: November 10, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Android, Data Harvesting, Google, Google Maps, LG, Offline, Samsung, Smart Interactivity, Toshiba, TV, Vizio Leave a commentGoogle is rolling out a MAJOR new feature for Google Maps on Android…full offline support. 9to5google.com says you could already see a map area without a net connection, but now you will be able to use features like navigation and business info without being connected. You will need to download sections of the map while you’re online first…once you’ve done that, all of the above is available without using your cellular or wi-fi connection. Keep in mind that some features…like traffic alerts…won’t work if you’re offline. The rollout of the feature is underway to Android users now.
Big Brother may not be watching, but your big screen TV may be. Of course, you knew that some brands have had this dubious feature….it’s been reported about Samsung, LG, & Toshiba…but on those, you have to opt in. It turns out that Vizio smart TVs make you opt out of their spying on you and selling your data. Geek.com reports that they’ve buried the option under the ‘Smart Interactivity’ label, and they even tell you the so-called feature is at ‘no cost to you,’ and warn that you’ll miss out on coupons and special offers if you turn it off. As geek.com pointed out, if you’ve ever wondered how Vizio can sell its TVs so cheaply, with the same features as the big boys, now you know.
Local TV News for Cord Cutters; Kickstarter Hits Major Milestone
Posted: November 5, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Android, Cord cutting, iOS, Kickstarter, Local TV news, NewsON, Roku, Sherlybox Leave a commentOne downside for some of cutting the cord is you generally lose local TV news…something handy to have access to, since local events may affect you more than national or international ones. According to techrunch.com, that drought ends today. A company called NewsON, which unsurprisingly is backed by TV stations, gets you local news on your iOS and Android devices, as well as Roku. It makes available video content from 118 stations in 90 markets. You choose local news from where you live or where you are with an interactive map, and can even post real time Tweets about news coverage. The interface is a little kludgy, but the app is free now on iTunes, Google Play, and the Roku Channel Store.
Despite the occasional scam or big delays in getting products, Kickstarter’s 9.5 million users have now pledged over 2 billion dollars to projects. So far, there have been 260,000 campaigns since 2009. Engadget.com reports that the crowdfunder is simplifying its rules for submission, too. Gaming projects have raised the most money, $412 million, with tech related ones #2 at $360 million. I’ve backed several, and only been burned once…for less than 50 bucks. Just this week, two new products I backed..including the Sherlybox private cloud and VPN arrived–it worked as pitched. I’m jazzed about it!
clarkreid 
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