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.

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.

Pay By Palm

Posted: April 14, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

A new startup is demoing a way to pay at stores that’s always with you…Quixter has a reader that reads the veins in your palm…no card, no phone no wallet. Techcruch.com says its up and running at a university in Sweden. Since it involves replacing readers at point of sale, don’t look for it to spread like wildfire.

Gigaom.com says continued security concerns on the web are prompting Google to look at listing encrypted sites higher in search results. Thousands of websites will encrypt so as not to lose their ranking.

Car electronics maker Alpine will be out this year with a standalone aftermarket console that supports Apple’s CarPlay. Macrumors.com reports it will sell for between $500 and $700.

Repairable Tech and More…

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

Here’s something you almost never hear…there’s a gadget you can fix. Techcrunch.com says the Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 smart watch is surprisingly repairable…as easy as a watch to replace the battery or band.

Speaking of Samsung, with the chatter about Apple’s bigger screen iPhones due in September, Samsung has gone the other way, launching the Galaxy Ace Style with a 4 inch display. 9to5google.com says it’s a bid for the mid price market. No pricing yet, but it will be out this month.

JP Morgan thinks Apple should build a laptop-tablet hybrid for between $500 and $1000…knowing Apple, it would be $999! The investment bank says Apple would make an extra 63 billion selling such a hybrid device…this according to cnet.com. Intel says the A-8 chip makes it possible. It has the computing power, but is stingy enough with your battery.

The rush to 3D printing continues, with Micro…a sleek 3D printer, raising a million dollars on Kickstarter in just it’s first day. Bgr.com reports it’s small and sleek…just about 2 pounds, and will be $300.

If you have a 4K TV, and haven’t finished House of Cards season 2 yet, rejoice! Techcrunch.com reports that Netflix is now streaming it in 4K, which they’re calling Ultra HD. They also are rolling out some nature shows in the new format. Don’t expect too much…HDTVtest.com says in their tests, the 4k stream isn’t as clean as some Blu-ray disks.

A Billion Mobile Users on Facebook- NOT Counting Instagram

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

Facebook has passed yet another milestone…theverge.com reports they now have a billion users on mobile devices, and 200 million on Instagram.

Techcrunch.com says Apple has a new patent application that describes earbuds with a built-in mic that could automatically detect your voice, and tune a series of built-in mics to optimally pick up their speech and cancel out any background noise. One can hope they put a little more into quality drivers so they sound as musical as other, third party earbuds…which, up to now, they haven’t done.

If you’re really wanting to go green, check the Ego (love the play on words….E—Go) Power+ electronic lawnmower. No cord, and a lithium ion battery that charges in a half hour. Cnet.com says it’s $499. Did you notice the part about NO cord?

Twitter’s New Photo Features

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

Twitter has just introduced a couple of new features…gigaom.com says you can now tag up to 10 people in photos, and include up to 4 pictures in a single tweet. User names appear above the pictures, and don’t count towards the 140 characters.

This feature creep at Twitter may be a way of playing catch up…according to thenextweb.com, Instagram has passed up Twitter in US users. The Financial Times says Facebook owned Instagram has 35 million users and Twitter 30.8 million. Twitter still has 40 million more worldwide, though.

Techcrunch.com reports that Apple has patented a Surface like touch keyboard smart cover, but with a twist…multitouch gesture support turns the whole thing into a giant trackpad, instead of just a small dedicated portion.

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