Intel Buys Mobileye; Google’s Smart Commuter Jacket; Pandora Finally Starts On-Demand Streaming
Posted: March 13, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple Music, Google, Intel, Jacquard, Levis, Mobileye, On-demand streaming, Pandora, Pandora Premium, Self Driving Cars, Spotify, SXSW, Trucker jacket, USB Leave a commentMobileye, which makes the chips that help guide vision-based self-driving cars, has been snapped up by Intel for $15 billion. According to theverge.com, the chip making giant had already announced dropping $250 million the next couple years on self-driving car tech, so this is an enormous jump in investment in that sector. Previously, Intel, Mobileye, and BMW had partnered on 40 autonomous vehicles that will be tested on public roads later this year.
Google’s Jacquard showed off their Levi’s commuter jacket at SXSW South by SouthWest over the weekend. 9to5google.com reports the wearable looks like a classic Levi’s trucker jacket, but with a touch sensitive strip on the sleeve for controlling music, checking time, or taking phone calls. The plastic tag on the cuff with the electronics is removable from its USB port on the sleeve, so it does’t walk away when you’re not wearing the jacket. It all works through a smartphone app. It’s cool, but an eye-watering $350 when it drops this fall…compared to a normal Trucker jacket that runs less than $100…but hey, you can talk into your sleeve, like a Secret Service agent or Dick Tracy!
In what may be a ‘better late than never’ move, Pandora has rolled out Pandora Premium for 10 bucks a month, hoping to compete with Spotify and Apple Music in the on-demand streaming space. Geekwire.com says they feel their recommendation engine, continuously updated since 2000, should give them a leg up. The service initially will be invitation only…it will also be available free for 6 months for subscribers to the ad free radio service Pandora Plus.
Apple TV Hires former Amazon Fire Exec; Google Cracks Extreme Picture Zooming
Posted: February 8, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI Brain, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Cable, Google, Netflix, Picture zoom, Pixels Leave a commentEvery year is going to be the year that Apple comes out with its own TV, or otherwise revolutionizes television by breaking cable’s stranglehold with Apple TV. Now, according to 9to5mac.com, they have taken another step in that direction. Apple has hired Timothy Twerdahl, former head of Amazon Fire TV, and before that at Netflix. It’s unclear what Apple might be up to, but this hire shows that Cupertino still thinks TV has an important future role to them.
We’ve all seen it dozens of times…TV and movie crime dramas where they zoom way in on a picture and get a perfect view of the crook blown up to full screen. Of course, in real life, you just get a hash of big pixels…until now. Zdnet.com reports that Google’s AI Brain team has developed something pretty close. By showing lots of images to the Google Brain, it learns and can interpolate the hash into a viewable image of a face or room. Of course, since it’s an educated guess, it couldn’t really be used as evidence, but it’s still a huge step towards making science fiction into reality.
Google Pixel 2 Rumors; Huawei Gunning to be World’s Largest Smartphone Maker
Posted: January 26, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, Google, Huawei, Lower price model, Pixel 2, Samsung, Waterproof Leave a commentThe Google Pixel is a good phone, but not near what it needs to be to cut into Apple or Samsung. 9to5google.com says they are looking to rectify some of its shortcomings with the Pixel 2. Rumors had already been out about possible waterproofing, but it looks like they are especially focusing on the camera. Google is reportedly testing better chipsets from a couple different manufacturers. The Pixel 2 likely won’t get a higher megapixel size, but better low light shooting and more features. Of interest, however, is that a ‘B’ model is being tested…a lower price point Pixel. Don’t get too excited though…it appears to be aimed at different markets, and not for US release.
The smartphone market the last 6 years has pretty well been Apple, Samsung, and everyone else fighting for scraps. Now, according to macrumors.com, Huawei is angling to go from just being China’s largest smartphone maker and #3 worldwide to #1. They are shooting for passing up Samsung and Apple by 2021, just 4 years from now. They have made big inroads in European markets, but so far, haven’t dented the US. Part of the problem for them has been no carrier agreements, but Huawei has now hired a former Verizon negotiator, so look for them to try to ‘go big’ in the US.
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.
Cheaper Android One Phones Coming to US; Tesla Will Build Model 3 Motors & Gearboxes at Gigafactory; Body Armor iPhone Case
Posted: January 18, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Android One, Body Armor, Gigafactory, Google, Low priced phones, Model 3, Otterbox, Pitaka, Slim fit cases, Tesla Leave a commentAndroid One, the platform from Google, was initially introduced to make cheap Android devices available in developing markets. Now, theverge.com says they are opening up the US market to it for low cost and mid price phones. Having an Android platform that gets regularly updated and which is free of bloatwear should pick up market share for Android. You should start seeing phones running it by midyear…although don’t expect actual Google branded phones aside from the premium level Pixels.
Tesla will build motors and gearboxes for the Model 3 at the Gigafactory in Nevada. According to techcrunch.com, the production will add on 550 jobs there. The electric motors and transmissions for the Model S and X will continue to be made in the Fremont, CA plant.
Want good protection for your iPhone but don’t want a big, heavy Otterbox case? Now you can get a case made of body armor that’s as thin as a dime. Bgr.com reports that the PITAKA Aramid Fibre Super Slim Fit cases are available for iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. It has a grippy surface and has a ballistic tempered glass screen protector. About $38 bucks for the 7 and $43 for the Plus.
iPhone is 10; Freshened iPads Coming, Waymo Says It’s Cut Self-Driving Equipment Cost in Half; Mercedes Autopilot Will Give Tesla a Run
Posted: January 9, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Alphabet, Apple, Drive Pilot, Google, iPad, iPhone, iPhone 8, LIDAR, Mercedes, Self Driving Cars, Tesla, Waymo Leave a commentTen years ago today Steve Jobs…remember him?…stood in front of the crowd at Macworld, and introduced the iPhone. Of course, we didn’t get it until almost July, but smartphones were absolutely revolutionized. Now, we wait until September to see if the iPhone 8 will be anywhere near as revolutionary with a wraparound screen that covers the front and wireless charging.
Meanwhile, 9to5mac.com reports that KGI Securities is expecting 3 updated iPads, and they believe a sales slump will be blunted. Apple appears to be preparing a 12.9” model, 10-10.5” size, and a 9.7” version. The first two will get a higher end A10X chip, with the smaller one keeping the A9. More business and enterprise users will gravitate to the larger models, but KGI thinks the cheaper model will grab 50-60% of total iPads sold. They may drop this spring.
The Waymo self driving car division of Google…or if you insist, Alphabet….has cut the cost of LIdar sensors for the rigs by 90%. They’re still pricey, but in 2009 ran $75,000! They have done it by building the sensors in house, according to recode.net. At $7500, and likely to fall more, self driving tech is becoming something that can roll out in vehicles to the mass market soon!
Mercedes showed off its Drive Pilot in conjunction with CES in Las Vegas. Theverge.com says it actually works better than Tesla’s system…in fact, so well, that Mercedes has ‘detuned’ it a bit to make it move around in the lane so drivers won’t be lulled into dialing out completely. It does the emergency stop routine like the Tesla, but in the case of the Mercedes, automatically calls the Mercedes SOS service to connect a live person…a nice touch since both are in the luxury car strata. Drive Pilot will bow this summer in the S class Mercedes cars.
Samsung & Google Partner on New Chromebooks; Batteries Now Rolling off Lines at Tesla Gigafactory; Energous Wireless Charging Debuts This Year; Nvidia Co-Pilot Driving Computer
Posted: January 5, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Apple, Bosch, Chromebook, Chromebook Plus, Chromebook Pro, Co-Pilot, Energous, Gigafactory, Google, iPad Pro, iPhone 8, Model 3, Nvidia, Powerpack 2, Powerwall 2, Samsung, Surface Pro, Tesla, Wireless charging, Xavier, ZF Leave a commentThe Chromebook Plus and Chromebook Pro have finally bowed from Samsung, in collaboration with Google. Theverge.com says they will be worthy competition for Apple’s iPad Pro and Microsoft’s Surface Pro. The Plus is out in February for $449, and sports baked in Android app support, a self-contained stylus, and on-screen inking. It has a 360 degree hinge to allow for both tablet and laptop modes. The Pro will be out later this year, and is basically the same except for a more powerful processor.
It took almost 3 years from the groundbreaking, but batteries are now rolling off the lines at Tesla’s Gigafactory. The first of the custom cells will go into Tesla’s storage products…the Powerwall 2 and Powerpack 2, but are designed to fit into all Tesla cars according to theverge.com. They will start installing them in the new Model 3s when they start production this year. Tesla says the Gigafactory will eventually crank out enough batteries for 1.5 million cars.
Energous will begin shipping its truly wireless systems by later this year, but is holding off due to a partner. Macrumors.com notes that most believe that partner to be Apple, and that the Watts Up system will debut in the iPhone 8 in September. The difference between Energous and other wireless systems is that theirs is truly over the air, and can charge a device from up to 15 feet away…no need to lay the phone on a charging pad. Energous did show off several devices that use contact charging at CES this week.
Nvidia had teased a powerful AI system earlier, and now has announced Co-Pilot. They are baking the tech into their Xavier drive computers they are making to assist drivers when they are doing the driving. Techcrunch.com reports that the system will utilize data from sensors inside and outside a car, and alert a driver when they need to take action. The system can either operate in self-driving mode, or as the Co-Pilot, continuing to monitor and warn drivers to react…say, should you not spot a pedestrian. They are already partnering with ZF in Europe, and may with Bosch as well.
Google & Chrysler Pairing for Android Powered Infotainment System; Theatre Mode for iOS; Tesla Autopilot Update
Posted: January 2, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Android Auto, Apple, Chrysler, Dark Mode, Full self driving mode, Google, HW2 Autopilot, iOS 10.3, Pandora, Spotify, Tesla, Theatre Mode, Uconnect Leave a commentGoogle and Chrysler are partnering on more than just self-driving tech. 9to5google.com says they are also working on an Android powered infotainment system. This is not Android Auto…it’s built on the Android Open Source Platform, and should provide full access to Google Assistant, Maps, and other resources like Pandora, Spotify, NPR One, and Pocket Casts. It will probably live within the Uconnect system on rollout.
Bgr.com reports that Apple’s iOS 10.3 is getting something called ‘Theatre mode.’ It’s not clear what it is….a popcorn icon denotes it on the screen….but it’s thought to be a Dark Mode something like ‘Do Not Disturb’ where all sounds are muted, and many apps display white text on a black screen. Twitter already has a dark mode for its iOS app, and it works well…easy on the eyes and discreet.
Tesla has started rolling out what they call HW2 Autopilot updates to cars made since October. By next week, according to techcrunch.com, the rest of the Tesla fleet will start seeing the updates. The rewrite of the Autopilot software will eventually enable full self driving mode in Tesla cars. Tesla wants to test complete autonomy by the end of 2017!
Apple Publishes First AI Paper; Google Pixel Owners Seeing Problems; Lots More Tech IPOs in 2017
Posted: December 26, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 2016, 2017, AI, Apple, Computer generated images, Freezing up, Google, IPOs, Pixel, Tech Leave a commentAside from some cryptic words from CEO Tim Cook, Apple hasn’t said much about AI…even though they have a team working on that, as well as VR and AR. Now, macrumors.com reports that Apple AI team members have been allowed to publish a paper on digital images, and how AI can be used to decipher and understand digital images…kind of like Siri or Photos facial recognition, but more advanced. A big challenge appears to be that the AI does well with computer generated images, but not so well on real world objects and pictures. It figures. Stay tuned.
People are generally happy with the new Google Pixel phones…Google’s first phone it designed from the ground up..BUT…some are reporting problems. According to bgr.com, a growing number have reported the phones freezing up for minutes at a time for no apparent reason. A hard reboot clears the problem if you don’t want to just wait and stare at your phone. Other issues include alarms that won’t ring, the inability to play music or video content, and in some cases, the inability to make or even receive calls. So far, only a few hundred phones seem to be affected.
The year 2016 was pretty stingy as far as tech IPOs go….there were only 13, according to techcrunch.com. There may be enough pent up demand to see between 30 and 50 initial public offerings in the tech sector in 2017. Depending on what the incoming administration does with rules that separate investment bankers and equity research analysts could bump it even more…but might steer us towards another bubble like the dot com one…buckle up.
clarkreid 
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