iPhone 7 May Have Fast Charging; New Audis Help With Speed & Green Lights; Ford Teams With Baidu, Buying LIDAR Tech
Posted: August 16, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: A4, Apple, Audi, Baidu, Fast charging, Ford, Galaxy S7, Green lights, iPhone 7, LIDAR, Q7, Samsung, Traffic management, Velodyne Leave a commentAccording to a rumor out of Asia, Apple’s iPhone 7 will have improved, fast charging circuitry supporting at least 5 volt, 2 amp charging. Right now, iPhone chargers put out a measly one amp. According to appleinsider.com, Samsung’s Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge already have fast charge tech that gets them from totally drained to half charged in 30 minutes. As a lot of iPhone users have griped for years that their phones don’t even make it through the day, this will be a welcome upgrade if true.
New Audi models have what is really a gimmick, but a pretty cool one at that. Arstechnica.com reports that they’ll have a display that will show the real time time to green light countdown in cities that have city-wide traffic management systems. It will be on 2017 A4s and Q7s. Now, you’ll be able to check that display, and know when to mash the pedal to the metal and beat that light. As Evel Knievel used to say, ‘Speed and Green Lights!’ (Ok, no he didn’t…I made that up.)
Ford and Chinese search giant Baidu have dropped a combined 150 million into LIDAR tech. Theverge.com says the two companies, which are both hard at work on developing self-driving tech, have invested in Velodyne, a Silicon Valley operation that makes LIDAR sensors for autonomous cars. LIDAR works on the same principle as RADAR, except using light waves, which gives you the ability to make more detailed 3D maps of what’s around the vehicle. Baidu already has 100 people in the Valley working on self-driving tech, and Ford plans to triple the size of its test fleet this year.
New iPads Next Year; Bigger, Range-Increasing Battery for Teslas; Pokemon Influence On Upcoming Tech
Posted: August 15, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AMOLED, Apple, AR, Augmented reality, Battery, Increased cruising range, iPad, iPad Pro, Pokemon Go, Tesla Leave a commentAccording to KGI Securities, which has a good track record with accurate Apple rumors, Cupertino will roll out new iPads next year…freshening the 9.7 inch model with a ‘low cost’ version, adding a 10.5 inch iPad Pro, and beefing up the 12.9 inch iPad Pro with a more powerful processor. Macrumors.com also says Apple is planning a so-called ‘revolutionary’ iPad in the fall of 2018, with radical form factor changes and maybe a flexible AMOLED screen.
Tesla is getting ready to release a 100Kw battery for its Model S and Model X cars…giving the Model S a range of 380 miles….more than your bladder can handle without a pit stop. Theverge.com reports that a Dutch regulator that certifies Teslas for sale in the EU published model listings that included designations pointing to the increased battery size…100D and 100X. There’s also a P100D…maybe a higher end version of the Model S…in the listings.
Techcrunch.com is saying the influence of the wildly successful Pokemon Go is already rippling through the tech world, and will for years to come. The relatively simple game has suddenly gotten millions to understand what augmented reality is, and how cool it might be. Even though it’s been used in map software for some time, the game has opened up other avenues. In addition to mobile games, movies and Video games can extend their reach into ‘the real world.’ The Pokemon effect could even be extended to medical apps…helping an elderly person find where they left a medication, and remembering that they ‘captured’ their pill yesterday, and should take another. Look for other applications of AR as offshoots from Pokemon Go in the next months and into next year.
Sony PS4 Neo Event Scheduled; iPhone Outselling Samsung S7 in US again
Posted: August 10, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, Galaxy, Huawei, iPhone, PlayStation 4 Neo, PlayStation VR, Samsung, Sony, Xiaomi Leave a commentSeptember 7th is the date…Sony has announced their PlayStation Meeting in New York. Arstechnica.com says we can expect the rollout of the 4K ready Playstation 4 Neo. It’s rumored to have a jump in CPU clock speed, more and faster GPU cores, and more memory bandwidth. On the heels of this updated PlayStation, Sony is thought to be going to show their PlayStation VR headset in October, just a month later.
After taking a dive, Apple’s iOS got another uptick in the second quarter of this year. According to 9to5mac.com, Apple’s share of the smartphone market growing by 1.3% in the USA and 3.1% in the UK. This gave Apple a 31.8% share in the U.S. and 37.2% in the UK. Here in the US, iPhone 6s/6s Plus outsold the Samsung Galaxy S7/S7 edge to make the iPhone the best-selling handset in the quarter at 15.1% against Samsung’s 14.1%, with the iPhone SE taking third place at 5.1%. In Britain, the iPhone SE was the best-selling smartphone for the quarter, at 9.2% of the market, just ahead of the iPhone 6s at 9.1%. Apple didn’t fare so well in China, where Apple’s share dropped 1.8% to 17.9%, putting Apple behind both Huawei and Xiaomi.
Nearby Tracker for Pokemon Go; Apple Killer Health Device; Amazon Video Pilots to Air on Twitch
Posted: August 9, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Amazon, Apple, Battery saver, blood sugar, Health product, heart rate, I Love Dick, Nearby, Niantic, Pokemon Go, streaming, The Tick, Twitch Leave a commentAfter some stumbles with the Nearby feature, Niantic is testing out a variation of ‘nearby Pokemon’ with a subset of users now. There are a couple of tabs…Nearby and Sightings. The Nearby feature allows you to pan around a PokeStop for the little critter, while the Sightings tab doesn’t even give you the distance to the Pokemon…at least in the beta that’s out to the subset of users. Bgr.com reports that they have also restored the battery saving mode that had vanished from the last version of the iOS app.
In a big, but vague, rumor, Apple could be looking to launch a killer new product in the health area in 2017. According to appleinsider.com, who picked it up form Taiwan’s Economic Daily News, the product will ”accurately collect users’ personal daily life including heart rate, pulse, blood sugar changes and other information.” It’s apparently been in development for 2 years.
Amazon is going to stream a few of its original pilot programs on Twitch, which has been trying to expand beyond content for gamers. Twitch had dipped its toes into other content with old Julia Child and Bob Ross shows, but Techcrunch.com says Amazon will air 3 new pilots on the platform for 24 hours. They will still break on Amazon Prime Video first…on August 19th, but then will stream on Twitch for 24 hours on August 31st. Two of the pilots are ‘The Tick,’ and ‘I Love Dick.’ The third show wasn’t named.
Blue iPhone 7 After All; Alphabet Gets Approval to Test Delivery Drones
Posted: August 3, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Blue, China Unicom, Delivery, Drones, iPhone 7, Project Wing Leave a commentEarly on, it was rumored Apple may add a blue color with the iPhone 7. That’s been tamped down up to now…until pictures appeared from China Unicom. Bgr.com reports that China Unicom posted an image that actually says iPhone 7, and shows 4 different colors….including blue! The others shown are the present Space Grey, Gold, and Rose Gold. The graphic also shows the double sized camera opening, as has show up in a number of leaks, and believed to be from the iPhone 7 Plus or Pro.
Alphabet’s Project Wing will be allowed to test its unmanned aerial vehicles in designated areas in the US. The test flights were announced as part of a new initiative unveiled by the US National Science Foundation, which plans to spend $35 million over the next five years on unmanned flight research. This just comes after Britain gave permission for Amazon to test delivery drones there a couple weeks ago. Google has said it plans to start using drones for delivery by 2017.
Delphi Tests Self-Driving Car; Thinner Apple Watch 2; Tesla Buying Solar City
Posted: August 1, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, Apple Watch 2.0, Delphi, Elon Musk, One Glass Solution, Self Driving Cars, Singapore, Solar City, Tesla Leave a commentGiant auto parts supplier Delphi is testing a fleet of self-driving cars in Singapore. According to theverge.com, by later this year you should be able to book a ride in a self-driving Audi cab there using your smartphone. Singapore had partnered earlier with MIT to advance self-driving research. There will initially be 3 fixed routes for 6 vehicles, all in the central business district. Delphi has already been testing an autonomous fleet in Silicon Valley, and plans to expand to other US locations and to Europe.
Solar City announced today that they have agreed to be acquired by Tesla for $2.6 billion. The majority shareholder of both is Elon Musk, who says it’s a necessary step in order to build what the companies are calling the world’s only vertically integrated sustainable energy company. Businessinsider.com says the deal may be finalized by the end of the year.
The version 2.0 Apple Watch will use a so-called One Glass Solution, and be thinner and lighter. Bgr.com reports that Apple will drop glass on glass to make more internal space…possibly for more components and bigger battery. Apple also plans to switch from and OLED display to Micro-LED, but that won’t make it into the Apple Watch 2…it’s expected in 2017. Most leaks point to the Apple Watch 2 being rolled out with cellular connectivity and a FaceTime camera along side the iPhone 7 in September.
Samsung Gains Smartphone Share As Apple Slips; Amazon’s Seen on Kickstarter Section
Posted: July 28, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Amazon, Apple, Kickstarter, Samsung, Smartphones, Startups Leave a commentSamsung 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 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Android, Apple, Backlighting, iOS, Microsoft, Otto, Photo App, Pix, Self-driving trucks Leave a commentMicrosoft 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.
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