Google May Be Designing Its Own Phones; iPhone 7 & Apple Watch Rumors
Posted: June 27, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Android, Apple, Apple Watch, Force Touch, Google, GPS, Haptic feedback, HTC, Huawei, iPhone 7, LG, Motorola, Nexus, Space Black, Waterproofing Leave a commentIn a report from the Telegraph picked up by thenextweb.com and others, Google is rumored to be designing its own Android phones for release later this year. While they do now have a hardware division being run by a former president of Motorola, this would really be a curve ball to other Android makers…especially LG, Huawei, and HTC, which have built the Nexus phones for Google. It’s not clear how an in-house designed phone would be more perfectly optimized for pure Android than the ones they already specify for their partners making the Nexus…stay tuned.
A report from an unconfirmed source (but one physically near Apple HQ in Cupertino) says iPhone 7 will come in a ‘Space Black’ color similar to the Apple Watch…no deep blue color. 9to5mac.com also reports that the Home button will include haptic feedback to simulate a click, like Force Touch. As for the Apple Watch, the version 2.0 may have GPS for accurate workout logging, and along with cellular would drop the need to carry an iPhone, and would gain the ability to track swimming…indicating a high level of waterproofing.
HTC 10 Pre-Orders Start Now; Facebook Announces Chatbots at F8 Conference
Posted: April 12, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Chatbots, F8, Facebook, HTC, HTC 10, Messenger, Quick Charge, Tweeter, Woofer Leave a commentAs we reported last week, HTC has dropped the new model 10. It comes with 4GB of RAM and a 5.2-inch 2K display packs 564 pixels per inch behind layered Gorilla Glass. And the fingerprint sensor unlocks the phone in 0.2 seconds. HTC claims the 3,000mAh battery provides 2 days of use, and can charge up to 50 percent in 30 minutes with Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0 through the new USB-C port. According to geekwire.com, it has a separate tweeter and woofer, on the top-front and bottom respectively, each have their own amp. The camera also got a bump. A new 12MP sensor has improved low-light performance thanks to the bigger “Ultra Pixels.”
Pre-orders start today, April 12, with an expected ship date of early May. The unlocked device will go for $699.
Today at the Facebook Developer Conference…F8…the social media giant officially announced it was adding the rumored chatbots to the Messenger app. Gizmodo.com says the bots can book a hotel, order a meal, find a restaurant, hail a cab, and do much more through text chatting. They also will be a lifeline to smaller businesses who have been depending on sketchy websites and 800 phone numbers. They can basically operate as an app within an app. Facebook’s F8 Conference continues this week…more to come, no doubt.
Leak-HTC 10 More Powerful than Galaxy S7 and iPhone 6S; Google’s Echo Clone & Nest Security System
Posted: March 25, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Amazon Echo, Benchmark, Galaxy S7, Google, HTC, HTC 10, iPhone 6S, Nest, Security System, Siri Leave a commentAfter disappointing with the M One 9, HTC looks poised to come roaring back and nip at Samsung and Apple with the HTC 10. The 10…they’ve dropped the ‘M’ designation…will be revealed April 10th, but a couple of big leaks shed a great looking phone, and one that tests out better by benchmarked AnTuTu than either the Samsung Galaxy S7 or Apple’s iPhone 6S. It has a 5.1 inch screen, 12 Mp cam with laser-assisted autofocus, and 4 gigs of RAM.
Google is apparently working on a voice recognition device that competes with Amazon Echo…basically Siri in a box. According to arstechnica.com, Google already has the voice tech in place from Android and google.com, so now they’re working on baking it into a box. It’s code named ‘Chirp.’ They are also working on a security system from Nest with a wireless hub dubbed ‘Flintstone’ for now. The hub would connect with window and door sensors using the low power Thread communication standard. As with a lot of projects, these may or may not be released by Google.
New HTC Phone Revealed that Mimics iPhone
Posted: September 24, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Aero, AI, Android, HTC, IBM, Watson Leave a commentA big leak has revealed the next big HTC smartphone…the Aero…and surprise! It looks a lot like an iPhone, right down to several of the colors it will be available in. HTC has a product unveiling September 29th, when the smartphone will be officially introduced to the world. It features at 5 inch AMOLED screen, 2 gigs of RAM and 16 gigs of storage, with a micro SD slot for more memory. The Aero has a fingerprint sensor, and a 13 megapixel camera. It will run Android 6.0 Marshmellow. Six color choices are available, including the three that mimic Apple’s. We should see pricing on the 29th.
IBM has announced that it’s opening a second headquarters in Sn Francisco next year for it’s AI system Watson. The New York Times reports the center will eventually employ several hundred people. Watson is also getting additional capabilities including speech, language understanding, image recognition, and sentiment analysis. IBM already has 350 companies partnering and using Watson to make products, with about 50 of those on the market. It could eventually become something of a super operating system…doing much more than winning at Jeopardy!
The iPhone 7 (It’s Never Too Early For Apple Rumors!)
Posted: September 7, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 4K, Apple, Apple Watch, Force Touch 3D, HTC, Huawei, iPhone 7, Mate S, Samsung Leave a commentWith the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus due out in just days, are you ready for a rumor about the iPhone 7…probably a year away? Appleinsider.com picked this up from usually reliable KGI Securities. the iPhone 7 will be between 6 and 6.5 millimeters thick. This would put it in the range of the iPod Touch and iPad Air 2, both of which are 6.1 mm thick. The present iPhone is just over 7 millimeters thick. In order to allow for Force Touch 3D, which needs a wafer thin circuit board under the touch pad, this probably means no 4K super high def iPhone 7…this is probably ok, since you eyes can’t tell the difference on that size screen anyway!
Samsung first exploded into the smartphone world back in 2010 by shamelessly copying Apple for it’s Galaxy S. Now, according to theverge.com, there’s a new, better copycat in town. Chinese manufacturer Huawei is not only pushing the limits of Apple intellectual property, it is lifting features, look and feel from a number of device makers. The 5.5 Mate S smartphone’s banner feature? Force Touch! Although already out on Apple Watch, Huawei has jumped ahead of Apple getting the feature to a smartphone. As for look and feel, when you first see the Mate S, a lot of what you see will make you think you’re looking at the HTC One M9! The motion gestures are borrowed from Samsung and HTC, and swiping down on the home screen brings up a dead ringer for Apple’s Spotlight.
HTC One Max Fingerprints Stored in Plain Sight
Posted: August 11, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Alphabet, Fingerprints, Google, HTC, One Max Leave a commentHTC has been having plenty of trouble of late, despite making a really cool phone, the One Max. Part of the problem is that HTC is selling phones for just over a penny profit…not a good business model for a device that costs hundreds. Their stock value has plummeted to the amount of cash on hand. For the HTC One Max OWNER, there’s a BIG problem. Geek.com notes that the Max stores fingerprints as an ordinary image file in an unsecure location. Worse…it saves a fresh copy that can be stolen every time you swipe your finger! Researchers at FireEye tipped HTC of this glaring mess, and they’ve issued a patch, so if you own a One Max, update the software!
By now, you’ve heard all about Google starting an umbrella company called Alphabet to be the parent to all their brands: Google, Google X, and so on.
It seems that the execs came up with this naming plan so quickly, no one bothered to check if the name was available online…and it’s not…for now. Theverge.com reports that an individual has @alphabet on Twitter, and alphabet.com is owned by Alphabet Fleet Management…a BMW company, which also owns Facebook.com/alphabet. With Google’s (and now Alphabet’s) billions, they’ll be able to buy up the online names, but a word to the wise for the rest of us…check first!
Nope, Even Your Fingerprints Aren’t Safe
Posted: August 6, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: App Store, Apple Music, Fingerprint sensor, Free trial, Harvesting fingerprints, HTC, Huawei, Samsung Leave a commentNope, on some Android handsets, even your fingerprints aren’t safe. FireEye researchers showed the Black Hat conference in Vegas 4 new ways of harvesting fingerprints, including one that can be done remotely at large scale. According to zdnet.com, the hacks work primarily on Samsung, Huawei, and HTC handsets. The researchers say the hacks are possible mainly because the manufacturers don’t fully lock down the sensor. Since these phones just require system privilege instead of root, jailbroken phones are more at risk, too. All three vendors have patched problems since being notified, but any prints that are taken in one kind of hack are out there forever. The FireEye researchers say iPhone fingerprint sensors are quite secure since they encrypt fingerprint data from the scanner.
Apple Music is now up to 11 million users trying out the 90 day free trial, According to the company’s Eddy Cue. Macrumors.com reports that of those, 2 million are test driving the more pricey family plan. Here’s an amazing App Store number that Cue shared, too…since 2008, Apple has paid out 33 billion to developers for apps!
HTC Will Reveal The Next One (M9?) Shortly
Posted: January 18, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Galaxy S6, HTC, HTC One M-9, iPhone, Samsung, Touch Sensor, Under Armour, Virgin Mobile Leave a commentHTC will show it’s newest flagship smartphone- which most are dubbing the One M9- on March 1st at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. The verge.com says it will be the successor to the top rated One M8. HTC may also show one or more wearable gadgets it’s been working on with Under Armour.
Virgin Mobile USA will now offer a contract free 4G family data sharing plan. According to engadget.com, plans start at $65 a month for 2 lines and 4 gigs, or up to $115 a month for 4 lines and 12 gigabytes. That’s $28.75 a month for each device. They do run on Sprint’s network, which is the slowest in the country, however.
The Next Samsung hero phone, the Galaxy S6, will likely have a fingerprint scanner similar to Apple’s. Gigaom.com has picked up a report from SamMobile that says Samsung will ditch the reader you have to swipe for a touch sensor like iPhone and iPad have.
LG One Ups Samsung With Two Edge Screens
Posted: January 8, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Edge screen, GoPro, HTC, LG, Nest, RE, Samsung, Sensibo Leave a commentAnother player besides Samsung is getting into the 2nd edge screen field. Bgr.com says LG is showing a handset with TWO edge screens at CES, in addition to a curved main screen.
Techcrunch.com reports that for those with window air conditioners, that can’t use a Nest, startup Sensibo has a unit that attaches to your non-central air so you can control it from your smartphone. It starts at $159.
HTC’s RE action camera can now stream live footage to YouTube. Theverge.com says for now, the software update is only for Android, with iOS streaming coming later. Unlike GoPro, it does need to be connected to your phone, but even the $199 model can do it.
HTC Goes Big With High Megapixel Cams in New Smartphone
Posted: December 30, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Art Slim, CES, Hima, HTC, LG, Milk VR, Samsung, Virtual Reality 2 CommentsHTC will show it’s new flagship smartphone, code named ‘Hima’ at CES next week. 9to5google.com says it has a 5 inch screen and a 20.7 megapixel camera, and a 13 megapixel front facing ‘selfie’ camera!
LG has rolled out a new ‘Art Slim’ series of TV’s that are 75% slimmer! They’ll be showing off a .3 thick 55 inch one next week, and cnet.com reports the 65 inch screen is barely thicker. They’re 25% lighter weight, too!
Virtual reality headsets are cool, but you need content, and now Samsung has introduced a service called Milk VR featuring 360 degree content. TechCrunch.com notes that Samsung wants it to become the YouTube of VR content.
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