Samsung Gains Smartphone Share As Apple Slips; Amazon’s Seen on Kickstarter Section

Posted: July 28, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Samsung 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 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Microsoft 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.

Verizon Swallows Most of Yahoo; GM & Lyft to Launch Driverless Electric Car; iPhone 7 Rollout Date Determined

Posted: July 25, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

As rumored over the weekend, Verizon is buying Yahoo for $4.83 billion. Recode.net says they will roll up the core Yahoo business into Verizon-owned AOL. Tim Armstrong, who came to AOL from Google and revitalized it as a web sales engine, will run the combined AOL/Yahoo. Marissa Mayer will, as they say, exit. The sale does not include Yahoo’s cash, its shares in Alibaba Group Holdings, its shares in Yahoo Japan, Yahoo’s convertible notes, certain minority investments, and Yahoo’s non-core patents. All of those will continue to be held by Yahoo, which will change its name at closing.

GM and Lyft will begin testing an electric, driverless vehicle before the end of the year. According to futuritech.info, the General plans to first release the vehicle on the Lyft platform, and then spread to the rest of the mass market. So far, GM and Lyft are keeping the timeline close to the vest as to when the vehicles will be available to most anybody, so stay tuned for that.

Two quick iPhone 7 notes from bgr.com…according to reputable leaker Evan Blass, the latest from Apple will hit the shelves September 16th. This points to a rollout by Tim Cook & company on September 6th or 7th. We also hear the headphone jack-less phone will ship with a dongle…oh, how we love those…so you can use your present headphones or earbuds. A new profit center for Apple, as angry users lose or break the stupid dongles, and have to buy more…probably for 20 or 30 dollars each!

Apple Car Delayed at Least A Year; Dyson Tests Robot Vac With 360 Degree Vision

Posted: July 22, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This was probably telegraphed by the fact that Steve Zadesky, who’d led Project Titan for Apple, left after 16 years with the company, but now it looks like we won’t be seeing an Apple car before 2021. 9to5mac.com says Cupertino had been shooting for 2020. One tidbit…Apple is apparently looking into its own charging systems that would replace gas stations for EV drivers. Earlier this week, Elon Musk over at Tesla claimed that 2020 would be too late for Apple to enter the market…but anyone who remembers what happened when Apple entered the mp3 player market late with the iPod isn’t going to believe that! Right now, about 600 people are still working on Project Titan, the alleged Apple car.

Dyson has been hard at work on their ‘360 Eye,’ a robotic vacuum with 360 degree vision and connectivity. It’s bigger than a Roomba, and Dyson claims it will be far better, as the software and cameras plus sensors will let it get around rooms better and easier, even if you move the couch. According to techcrunch.com, Dyson has been refining the 360 Eye concept for 18 years, and is now working on version 3. After a lot of testing in Japan and then release, the 360 Eye launches in Canada today, and will roll out in the US soon. Dyson claims they can update the software over the air, and that they plan to do so frequently. They also hint that the tech in the vacuums is more widely applicable…will we see a Dyson household robot some day like Rosie from the Jetsons?

Twitter Opens Up Verified Accounts; Apple Gets Well From Pokemon Go

Posted: July 20, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Twitter has opened up getting a ‘verified account,’ the ones denoted by the little blue checkmark. Arstechnica.com says that the blue check…previously the domain of celebrities, journalists, and high profile users, will be more widely available, but you’ll have to convince Twitter why they should verify your account. They plan to only give the coveted symbol to accounts that are ‘determined to be of public interest.’ If you want to apply, set your tweets to “public” and you have to fill in a form with a verified phone number, e-mail address, website, and birthday. They may also ask for a scan of government-issued ID.

We’ve reported that Nintendo’s market capitalization has doubled in the couple weeks since Pokemon Go rolled out, making them more valuable than Sony. Now, apple insider.com reports that the hot mobile game could add $3 billion to Apple’s coffers over the next couple years. If it stays hot, it could actually do much more…Candy Crush brought in $10 billion for Cupertino in 2013 and 2014 when it was at its peak.

Bitmoji Come to Snapchat; iPhone Pro Looks Unlikely; Nintendo Now Worth More Than Sony-Pokemon Go

Posted: July 19, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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Snapchat snapped up Bitstrips earlier this year for 100 million, and today rolled out the little comic style characters in the main Snapchat app. Businessinsider.com notes that user s will have to download the Bitmoji app separately, the feature isn’t 100% integrated in the main app as yet. Once you do that and link the apps, though, you can drop the Bitmoji stickers into chat or stick them on snaps.

Pictures have surfaced of 3 iPhone 7 models, including a Pro model. Now, 9to5mac.com reports that Evan Blass tweeted out the code names of the iPhone 7 models, and there are only two….Sonora and Dos Palos. Meanwhile, a site has examined the pictures, and the Apple logo on the back is a sticker! They also used a clone detection model to point out where the pictures were cloned and ‘shopped. It appears that the more widely rumored two models…the 7 having a larger camera opening and the Plus having the dual camera are most likely what’s coming in September.

One very hot game, and a company’s value can go through the roof. Nintendo is now more valuable than Sony, thanks to Pokemon Go. According to geekwire.com, Nintendo’s market cap has doubled in less than two weeks to over $42.5 billion. Sony is worth about $39 billion. After originally launching in the US, Australia, and New Zealand, Pokemon Go just arrived in Japan this week!

Bigger Battery for iPhone 7; New Tiny Nintendo Classic Out This Fall

Posted: July 14, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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If there’s anything smartphone users whine about, it’s battery life. Even Facebook has an entire center devoted to running their software on older phones, to ensure a change doesn’t cause a huge battery drain. Now, 9to5mac.com has picked up a report that the iPhone 7 will get a 1960 mAh battery, up from the 1715 mAh of the 6S (which, by the way was a downgrade from iPhone 6.) Of course, it may be that the A10 processor will be more power hungry, but we have to wait until September to actually find out. No leak about the 7 Plus or Pro, but if it also gets a 14% battery bump, it would go from 2750 mAh to 3140.

With the nostalgia mania about Pokemon Go, to quote Ron Popiel ‘but wait…there’s more!’ Thenextweb.com reports that Nintendo is going to launch the Nintendo Classic in November. It’s a miniature version of the original NES console that fits in your hand! It will cost 60 bucks, and come preloaded with 30 classic games. An extra controller will set you back an extra 10 bucks. Did I mention that it’s cute, tiny, and only 60 bucks?

Samsung Unpacked August 2-Galaxzy S7 Outselling iPhone 6S; Apple’s ‘Planet of the Apps’;Twitter gets the 72 New Emoji

Posted: July 13, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Samsung officially announced their Unpacked 2016 event as August 2nd as rumored. 9to5google.com expects a reveal of the newest Galaxy Note 7. In the meantime, Samsung is excited to see the Galaxy S7 pulling ahead of Apple’s iPhone 6S in sales in the US…16% to 14.6%. Of course, the S7 is new, and most expect demand to pick up for the iPhone after the 7 rolls out in September. Both phones are keeping a loyal following, with 88% of iPhone users saying they’ll buy another, and 86% of Samsung Galaxy users.

According to macrumors.com, Apple has posted an open casting call for its upcoming original TV show Planet of the Apps, an unscripted program about apps and the people who make them. The show is currently looking for developers from San Francisco, Austin, New York and Los Angeles to participate. No islands are involved, unless it’s the concrete ones in the middle of busy intersections.

Unicode 9’s 72 new emoji officially rolled out today, and Twitter is getting support for them, including the creepy clown one. Thenextweb.com reports that skin color modifiers are available. A lot of computers don’t support manually typing them in yet, but you can always copy and past from places like Emojipedia. Take it easy on the clown, ok?

Samsung Smart Glow LED Coming to Galaxy J2 & Galaxy 8; More Memory for iPhone 7; The Chemputer Will Grow Drones & Our Robot Overlords

Posted: July 6, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Samsung has been working on an LED ring that glows different colors and flashes different patterns surrounding the rear camera for notifications. 9to5google.com reports that it will be out on the Galaxy J2 next week in India, and will be a feature on the upcoming Galaxy S8 we should see next spring. It’s designed to give notification of priority messages or calls you can set from people you most want to her from.

After some iffy rumors elsewhere, the Wall Street Journal is now reporting that the iPhone 7 will indeed ditch the 16GB tier. For the first time ever, the base iPhone model will come in at 32GB. It’s looking like the 7 will have 64 and 128 gig options, and the bigger Plus or Pro will have 128 and 256 gig memory at additional cost. With bigger, better cameras, Apple figures we’ll all be shooting more pictures and video than ever.

BAE Systems has posted concept video footage of a process to create drones of the future. The so-called Chemputer could enable advanced chemical processes to grow aircraft and some of their complex electronic systems, conceivably from a molecular level upwards. They have trademarked the word chemputer, btw.

The video shows a drone being produced in a large vat of chemicals and then moved to a staging area where a robotic arm inserts what are, presumably, the drone’s engine components. Sure this is just a concept, but BAE Systems has a track record of turning concepts into reality. It’s kind of a logical extension to making things too complicated for 3D printing. Get ready to welcome our drone and robot overlords!

Leak Points to Couple Surprises With iPhone 7; 10 Million Twitterers in China; Samsung Sailing Towards Great Numbers With Galaxy S7; Apple Sandbagging With iPhone 7

Posted: July 5, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A leaked slide from a Foxconn internal presentation shows a couple of features that may be coming on iPhone 7 that have been rumored, but not really solidly. Bgr.com reports that the Apple handset may indeed have an IP68 water and dust resistant rating and wireless charging support. If this slide posted by myDrivers.com pans out, it may be a ‘one more thing’ that Apple was saving back for the iPhone 7 rollout in September.

Twitter estimates it has 10 million users in China, which gives an indication of how many people there are using VPN to get around government censorship. According to techcrunch.com, earlier estimates were as high as 35.5 million. There’s no solid data, since the VPNs the scofflaws are using to Tweet show up as being in other countries besides China. With only around 10 million users out of Twitter’s 310 million, it’s not a crucial part of their business, but does give an idea of the people using VPN to get around the government censorship….and that’s usually journalists, activists, prominent business leaders, and decision makers. This is a significant leak in China’s ‘Great Firewall.’

According to analysts, Samsung is heading for the best quarter in a couple years, when they release smartphone numbers later this week. After some iffy quarters and phones that underwhelmed, Reuters.com says the Galaxy S7 has done better than expected…with about 16 million pumped out between April and June, and the curved screen model outselling it’s flat screened sibling.

Speaking of marketing, most everybody is predicting that since the iPhone 7 will be more like a 6 SS, and not a wow-year upgrade, it will mean a sales slump. Business insider.com reports that this may be intentional. Some Apple watchers are now saying that the so-called ‘tick-tock’ system of a major iPhone upgrade every other year is not sustainable, and Apple is just going with the math. Normally, about 33% of iPhone owners might upgrade this fall…that’s been consistent for 6 quarters, but if things really are a little disappointing, Apple can look forward to a huge jump of about 43% for the next 5 quarters after an iPhone 7S, or 8, or Anniversary model or whatever the 2017 model will be called. That will be a bonanza for them, and it sounds like just the kind of thing a nuts and bolts guy like Tim Cook might ‘cook up!’

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