iPhone 8 Likely 3D Cam Points to Augmented Reality Future; More Galaxy S8 Reveals
Posted: March 6, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI assistant, Apple, AR, Augmented reality, Bixby, Facial recognition, Galaxy S8, Headphone jack, iPhone 8, IR Blaster, Samsung Leave a commentA number of sources are giving credence to the iPhone 8 having a 3D camera setup. Businessinsider.com reports that the system will probably be in the next iPhone, but that some uses of it are a ways away. It may be that facial recognition for security or placing one’s face in games will still take a year or two, and it could be 3 years before Apple releases an SDK for AR content creation. Most analysts think an all new AR Apple product that will be a game changer like the iPod or iPhone may be just 3-4 years off.
The leaks surrounding the Samsung Galaxy S8 have become a firehose at this point. The new flagship phone, which rolls out the 29th, will revive the IR Blaster, and will have a separate button to launch Bixby, the AI assistant…this according to 9to5google.com. In addition, the on-screen home button will always be on, enabling one to turn the display on, but users will need to pick up the phone to activate the fingerprint sensor. It WILL have a USB-C connector AND a beloved headphone jack, as well as a SIM/Micro SD slot.
Dates for Galaxy S8 Release; Apple- 5 Groups Working on Wireless Charging; Tesla Formulating All-in-One Pricing & More Gigafactories
Posted: February 23, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: All-in-one-pricing, Apple, G6, Galaxy S8, Gigafactories, Inductive Charging, Insurance, iPhone 8, LG, Long range charging, Maintenance, MWC, Qi, Samsung, Tesla, Wireless charging, Wireless Power Consortium Leave a commentSamsung had originally wanted to show the Galaxy S8 at Mobile World Congress, but the Note 7 mess threw a wrench into that plan. Now, bgr.com says they will show the latest handset on March 29th, and likely preorders in the US will begin on April 13th. Competitor LG WILL show their new G6 model at MWC, and it will go on sale March 10th.
Apple reportedly has 5 groups working on wireless charging. There has been speculation for months about the iPhone 8 getting that feature, but disagreement about whether it would be inductive charging…which other phones have…or a longer range system. According to macrumors.com, they have also been testing 10 different versions of the iPhone 8. It’s likely things are pretty well finalized, and Apple did join the Wireless Power Consortium, which pushes the Qi inductive system. They may be looking to the across the room charging systems for future iPhones.
Tesla is working on formulating all-in-one pricing for their cars, which would include lifetime insurance and maintenance. Thenextweb.com reports that the insurance would come from traditional insurers. Tesla feels that with their autopilot and future self-driving, the accident rate would be low enough to make this work financially. Their electric cars have far less mechanical systems to maintain already. Also, Elon Musk wrote to shareholders that they may be looking at adding 3 more Gigafactories. The first one is in Reno, and they call the solar plant in New York Gigafactory 2.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 May Dock; Apple Campus 2 Opens in April As Apple Park
Posted: February 22, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, Apple Park, Campus 2, Desktop mode, DeX, External monitor, Galaxy S8, Galaxy Tab 3, Samsung, Steve Jobs Theatre Leave a commentSamsung will show off its Tab 3 mini tablet at Mobile World Congress. Bgr.com says originally, the Galaxy S8 was supposed to be the big star there for them, but they had to push back the rollout of it after the Note 7 disaster. Of note with the Tab 3 is that it will dock and is rumored to be connectable to an external monitor…so you could use it as both a desktop and portable device! The Galaxy S8 and S8+ are also being rumored to have the desktop mode, but you’ll need a special accessory called the DeX station to connect to a bigger display.
Apple will officially open its Campus 2 in April, and begin moving employees in….more than 12,000 of them. According to macrumors.com the move will take 6 months. Officially, it will be known as Apple Park, and the thousand seat theatre there has been christened Steve Jobs Theatre. Maybe most of important of all, there’s a visitors’ center with an Apple Store and cafe which will be open to the public.
Galaxy S8 Pay Surpass iPhone $$; Apple Acquired Facial Recognition Startup; Chevy to Test Thousands of Self-Driving Bolts; Bill Gates & the Robot Tax
Posted: February 20, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: $1000 phones, Apple, Bill Gates, Chevrolet, Chevy Bolt, Facial recognition, Galaxy S8, iPhone 8, Lyft, RealFace, Robot Tax, Samsung, self-driving car 1 CommentUsually, smartphone rumors are pretty exciting…especially about the handsets from Samsung and Apple. Here’s one that has a bit of a chill to it…bgr.com says that the upcoming Galaxy S8 may pass up the iPhone 8 in price! The iPhone 8 is rumored to be around $1000, but SamMobile spotted a leaked database in Ukraine (since taken down), and it shows the Galaxy S8 models at $950 and $1050. Whatever the price, they will launch next month in black, gold, and Orchid Gray. Get your wallet ready!
According to a report from and Israeli finance website called Calcalist picked up by 9to5mac.com, Apple has acquired facial recognition startup RealFace. This lends credence to the rumor that the next generation of iPhones may have facial recognition either in addition to or in place of the fingerprint reader. The tech may first be rolled out on the iPhone 8 this fall.
Chevrolet is aiming to field a test fleet of thousands of self-driving electric Bolts in 2018. Techcrunch.com reports that the fleets will mainly be operated with partner Lyft for on-demand ride-hailing. This is a couple years ahead of competitor Ford and others who have been shooting at 2020 for deployment of test fleets. Self driving cars may be here sooner than you think.
Yes, it sounds like the title of a Tom Swift book….Bill Gates and the Robot Tax…but actually, the tech magnate is calling on governments to look a bit further into the future. Engadget.com says in an interview with Quartz, Gates advocates taxing worker robots to offset job losses. the funds would be used for training of the people who lost jobs to robots…training in areas where humans will still be needed…he specifically points to child and senior care. The European Parliament has rejected a robot tax for now, but that is to develop guidelines for deploying
iPhone 8 May Just Get Inductive Charging; Newest Snapdragon Chip May Be Exclusive to Samsung Galaxy S8; Amazon Echo For Trekkies; Kids & Internet Devices in Bed
Posted: January 24, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Alexa, Amazon, Apple, Bedtime, Computer, Echo, Energous, Galaxy S8, Google Pixel, Inductive Charging, Intel Security, Internet devices, iPhone 8, Kids, LG G6, Qualcomm, Samsung, Snapdragon 835, Trekkies, Wake word Leave a commentWe’ve reported before that Apple will probably have wireless charging for the iPhone 8. Some rumors have it getting the Energous system, which uses radio waves, and works across the room. Now, macrumors.com reports that patents filed as late as 2013 indicate Apple may just roll their own with inductive charging….in other words, the tried and true set the phone on a charging pad method. It’s not as zoomy or futuristic, but in filings, Apple claims the wireless radio charging is too inefficient and not practical now.
There’s a new Qualcomm chip coming out, the Snapdragon 835, and it looks like Samsung’s Galaxy S8 will have it exclusively at first. 9to5google.com says LG’s new G6, which will be shown at Mobile World Congress, will ship with the 821 chip, the same as the Google Pixel. The Snapdragon 821 is a perfectly good chip, and not quite a year old, but for the latest and greatest, you’ll have to get the Galaxy S8 after April.
Amazon may have added a killer feature to the Echo for Trekkies. You can now change the wake word in the settings to ‘Computer.’ Cnet.com says in addition to ‘Alexa’ and ‘Computer,’ you can also choose ‘Amazon,’ or ‘Echo.’ A Cnet reporter asked Echo to set phasers to stun, and it replied that was coming in a future update!
According to a new study by Intel Security, 76% of parents let their kids take internet connected gadgets to bed, while only 23% of them monitor the kids’ usage. Venturebeat.com says the survey polled 13,000 people. They come by it honestly….the survey also found that 36% of parents had been called out by their kids for checking their smartphones during family time. Even though parents aren’t monitoring kids as they should, 34% of parents have caught children visiting inappropriate sites.
Galaxy S8 Delayed; iPhone 8 Gets Improved 3D Touch Sensor and Flex OLED Screen; All 2017 Chromebooks Will Run Android Apps
Posted: January 23, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 3d Touch, AI assistant, Android apps, Apple, Bixby, Chromebooks, Flexible OLED, Galaxy S8, Google, Google Play Store, Mobile World Congress, Samsung, Stainless steel Leave a commentSamsung won’t be showing the Galaxy S8 at the upcoming Mobile World Congress, as they have done for years with predecessors. Instead, 9to5google.com reports they will show it at a dedicated event in New York City in April. In addition to rumors about losing physical keys, borrowing Apple’s 3D Touch, and wireless earbuds, Samsung will probably show off their dedicated assistant, Bixby.
Meanwhile, Apple will refresh 3D Touch to work with the expected new flexible OLED screens. According to 9to5mac.com, it will have a higher sensitivity and wider range of touch pressure levels. Analysts are still expecting a wrap around all glass front screen and glass back with stainless steel bezels and for the 8 to be larger than the 7 Plus.
All 2017 Chromebooks will support Android apps right out of the box. Techcrunch.com says none will require updated software, you can just fire them up and immediately hit the Google Play Store. Up to now, only select Chromebook models could run Android apps….this should goose popularity of Chromebooks, and give them an ecosystem more akin to Windows or mac OS.
Samsung May Release Limited Galaxy S8’s Early; Apple Partnering with Zeiss on AR Glasses; Verizon & AT&T Trip Hammer on Legacy Data; TwitchCon Switches to Long Beach
Posted: January 10, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, AR, AT&T, Carl Zeiss, Galaxy S8, Grandfather plans, Legacy plans, Long Beach, Samsung, Twitch, TwitchCon, Unlimited data, Verizon Leave a commentAccording to thenextweb.com, Samsung may drop a limited supply of Galaxy S8 smartphones a month of so before the official launch…shipping perhaps as early as February or March. Sammy is reportedly gearing up for a sizable production bump for the S8, partly to make up for lost units and the debacle with the Note 7.
Apple is said to be partnering with Carl Zeiss on AR glasses. Cnet.com says they are lightweight AR/mixed reality glasses. Visualize Pokemon Go through glasses, only with all sorts of interesting things overlayed on top of your field of view. Tim Cook had said in an interview last year he felt AR was the larger of the two, when compared to virtual reality. If Apple can build a cool looking pair of glasses or slightly more that aren’t dorky and work well, they could blow the AR market up like they did with the iPhone 10 years ago.
Speaking of smartphones, the Big Two carriers are taking slightly different tacks…but both aiming squarely at making users with legacy unlimited data plans miserable. Zdnet.com reports that Verizon users who use over 200 Gigs of data over several months will have to move to a new plan by February 16th or be cut off! Nothing like the subtile approach! AT&T, on the other hand, will start dinging people with grandfathered legacy data plans….like moi….an extra 5 bucks a month starting in March if they don’t move to a so-called tiered data plan. They just jacked up the grandfathered plans last February. So with both Verizon and AT&T you can either pay more, pay more, or be cut off. The ‘free market’ at work…
After a successful convention in San Diego, Twitch is moving TwitchCon 2017 to Long Beach. Engadget.com reports that the show will be at Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center in Southern California October 20th through the 22nd. Last year, the attendance jumped to 35,000 from 20,000 the previous year. They plan to incorporate even more non-gaming events this time, to attract a broader scope of attendees.
Apple Wins the Holiday; Galaxy S8 May Have a Stylus Supporting Model; How About a Paper Airplane Machine Gun?
Posted: December 28, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 3D, Apple, Galaxy Note 7, Galaxy S8, iPhone, Paper airplanes, phablets, S Pen stylus, Samsung Leave a commentEver since the Galaxy Note meltdown in late summer, the year has gone south for Samsung. Now that holiday figures are in, we know the extent. According to Flurry Analytics, if you got a phone for the holidays, it’s likely it was an iPhone. 44% of new phone and tablet activations were for Apple devices. Samsung didn’t quite hit half of that, with 21%. Huawei was a distant third at 3%, with 5 other phone makers tied for 4th at 2%. Medium phones are still most popular at 45%, but phablets are gaining fast…picking up 10% year over year to capture 37% of the form factor share.
A new rumor may throw a bone to Samsung’s hardcore Galaxy Note 7 fans. Bgr.com reports that there may be a ‘plus’ sized Galaxy S8 that will accept the S Pen stylus. The leak out of China says it won’t fit inside the phone, and will sell separately. Still, it’s a popular feature that may bring a lot of Note fans back to buy a new S8.
Everyone’s been to sporting events where they inspect for weapons and such. Everyone has also seen the occasional paper airplane sail down to the court or field. Now, gizmodo says you might see a blizzard of them without such checkpoints. A fellow named Dieter Krone has developed a 3D printed machine gun that folds and shoots 120 paper airplanes a minute! Take that, opposing team!
iPhone 8-PLASTIC OLED Screen; Samsung Looks Elsewhere for Batteries; Amazon Fire Tabs Get Kids’ Reading App & Better Alexa
Posted: December 19, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Alexa, Amazon, Apple, Fire tablet, Galaxy S8, iPhone 8. Curved plastic OLED, Kids' reading app, LG batteries, Samsung, Wireless charging Leave a commentNew reports about the Apple iPhone 8 indicate that Apple is ditching aluminum and glass for a PLASTIC OLED panel that curves all over. According to 9to5mac.com, this is the plan for the 8, with iPhone 7S and 7S Plus models retaining the current design and just getting upgraded internals. The 8 may also have wireless charging, but typical of Apple, you would have to buy the wireless charger extra…it won’t come in the box!
After the world wide flameout with the Galaxy Note 7, it looks like Samsung will look outside of his own battery division for phone batteries…turning to LG. CNET.com reports that the LG batteries probably won’t show up in Galaxy S8 and Note 8 models until the second half of 2017, however.
Amazon Fire Tablets are getting upgrades…techcrunch.com says they will have Amazon’s chat-based kids’ reading app. The app encourages young readers by presenting stories across multiple categories in the style of chat bubbles. The download is free with a 2 week trial, then is $2.99 a month. Alexa is also getting video support.
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