Samsung Working on a Glass-Like Visor; Huawei Sticking With Android for Now; Twitter Adds Stickers

Posted: June 28, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Digitaltrends.com says Samsung recently filed a patent application for Samsung Ahead, a headset described as a “wearable computer” built “in the shape of a helmet.” Yes, that smacks a bit of Google Glass. The application describes an operating system for a “digital electronic device” that sports built-in support for “electronic display modules” like a screen, plus headphone hardware capable of “MP3” and “MP4” playback and “digital communication” and such peripherals as “digital camera” and “camcorders.” Somehow, ‘Helmet Heads’ or ‘Samholes’ doesn’t have the same ring to it as ‘Glassholes.’

Just last week, The Information reported that Huawei has assembled a team working to replace Android for their smartphones and tablets. Bgr.com reports that the company’s CEO Richard Yu went on social media site Weibo over the weekend to confirm that Huawei will continue to use Android as long as Google keeps it open. Samsung has already shown just how tough it is to launch a new OS and have it take hold. Tizen has been in various stages of release since 2012, but try to find someone that’s not a mega-nerd who has even heard of it.

Thenextweb.com notes that Twitter is introducing stickers for images uploaded to your feed, which are also searchable when tapped. Here’s how it works: you upload an image to Twitter, then pick a sticker or stickers to put on it. Once you post the image, stickers become searchable when tapped. You can only use Twitter’s stickers, not 3rd party ones. It may seem a bit silly, but with a sticker, you don’t have to use up your 140 characters with hashtag words, so it can save big space on your posts.

Sharp May Be Third Supplier of OLED Screens for 10th Anniversary iPhone; Netflix May Launch Downloading

Posted: June 24, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

According to 9to5mac.com, Apple may not need to rely completely on the two major manufacturers of OLED screens for the iPhone 8. While Samsung and LG currently manufacture most of the world’s OLED screens, Sharp expects to be doing the same ‘before 2018’.

A story in Light Reading picked up by bgr.com says Netflix will go live by the end of the year with downloading, which would allow offline viewing as an option. Not surprisingly, Netflix will not confirm or deny this. Although most people are generally happy streaming TV shows and movies, this would be a big plus for road trips and flying, or places where you know they aren’t going to have a fast or reliable internet connection.

Samsung Gets Laptop That Converts to Tablet; Repositioned Sensors on iPhone 7 Mean New Cases

Posted: June 23, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Samsung is getting in on the growing market for laptops that convert to a tablet, thanks to a bendy hinge. Lenovo has had success with their convertibles, and Mashable.com reports that now Samsung had dropped the Notebook 7 Spin in 13.3 and 15.6 screen sizes. They run Windows 10 with Intel’s Core i5 or i7 processors, and start at $800 for the 13 incher and a grand for the 15. The Notebook 7 Spins should be in Best Buy stores the 26th.

Besides moving the antenna bands, the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus should be indistinguishable from the 6S models…that is, unless you are a case or screen protector maker. According to appleinsider.com, Apple has moved the ambient light and proximity sensors, on the front panel. Those, in addition to the larger camera openings needed will make present case models and screen protectors obsolete. I will probably go for the larger phone model anyway, but for those who aren’t…thanks a lot, Apple….you’ll have to buy new cases when you upgrade.

Minor Refresh of iPhone 7-Big Changes Next Year; Samsung Gear 360 Cam Now in Limited US Availability

Posted: June 22, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

After we noted reports here Monday that Apple would keep the audio jack on iPhone 7, several similar stories appeared Tuesday in WSJ, CNBC, & Business Insider, saying Apple WILL ditch the 3.5 mm phone jack. Looks like Apple may have planted these stories….sorry headphone fans, we’re all screwed. You will either need a Lightening adapter and dongle, or new Lightening or wireless headphones. Music companies will love this, as with no analog output, digital rights management will make sharing music harder. Also, reports are the 7 won’t be a major update…1 mm thinner, and moved antenna bands, but basically the same as the 6S and 6S Plus, albeit with upgraded processor and memory, and the dual camera on the Plus. Apparently, the tech isn’t ready for what Jony Ive wants until next year…OLED screen, and all glass phone…no physical button, and no bezel around the edges for iPhone’s 10th anniversary.

Samsung announced their Gear 360 VR camera earlier this year, and said it wouldn’t be available for a while in the US. That time has arrived, according to cnet.com. The cam is in limited availability for $350. If you’re able to score one, you can shoot your own VR videos for VR headsets. This week, you can only buy it at VidCon in Anaheim, and Samsung says they will have more details about further availability later. They have been on sale in South Korea and Singapore since April.

Samsung’s Galaxy S8 Rumors; Huge Twitter Video Move

Posted: June 21, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Samsung Galaxy S8 may sport a UHD 4K display, and feature a dual main camera. 9to5google reports that and unnamed source in China claims Samsung is looking at an Ultra HD 4K display. The downside would be a huge battery drain, but it would produce a fantastic VR experience. Much more likely is a dual camera setup, which LG and Huawei already have, and Apple is supposed to be rolling out on the iPhone 7 Plus in September.

On the topic of video, Twitter is making a huge change involving Vine. According to recode.net, they are introducing a feature to Vine videos. the Vines will still be 6 seconds, but along side them will be a function allowing 140 second videos! Twitter is also adding a Watch Mode and expanding the video length in the main app from 30 to 140 seconds! They will also allow content creators to use Twitter Amplify and run pre-roll ads before a Vine starts…Twitter will keep 30% of the revenue, with the content creators getting 70%.

Bendable, Foldable Samsung Smartphone by Next Year; In-Flight Wi-Fi to Become Much More Useable

Posted: June 7, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Samsung has developed the tech for folding screens to the point they may roll out smartphones with it next year. Engadget.com picked up a story from Bloomberg saying that a couple of devices will have flexible OLED screens- one folding like a cosmetic compact and another that transforms from a 5-inch smartphone-sized screen to a roughly eight inch screen …basically, converting from a phablet to a tablet. If the rumors hold up, we could see these by Mobile World Congress next February!

If you’ve tried it, you know in-flight Wi-Fi is more like in-flight dial up…but that’s about to change. According to bgr.com, American has signed a deal with Viasat, and is ditching Gogo. Where Gogo has relied on ground stations, Viasat use satellite tech to get Wi-Fi to travelers. They are claiming 12Mbps to every passenger, which would be enough to stream movies, make Skype calls (with some lag) or surf the web without feeling like you want to commit homicide. Gogo is also rolling out a satellite system, but it only gives 70 Mbps to the entire plane to share, which won’t be much better than what they already offer. American’s fleet should be equipped with the Viasat faster internet by September 2017.

Xiaomi Getting Ready to Bring Their Smartphones to the US; Apple’s WWDC Starts June 13th

Posted: June 2, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

After following the lead of Samsung and shamelessly aping Apple’s iPhone in their home country of China, it looks like maker Xiaomi is ready for their US closeup. Bgr.com reports that they have become the fastest growing smartphone maker, and now they’re coming to the US. Their latest crop of phones barely resemble the iPhone now, and they’ve purchased about 1500 patents from Microsoft. Xiaomi is known now for selling affordable smartphones with designs and specs that rival much more expensive ones, so if you’re on a budget but want a top flight phone, this could be the real deal.

We knew it was coming soon, and now we have a date. Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference will kick off in San Francisco Monday, June 13th, with the keynote at the usual 10 am Pacific. Bill Graham Civic Auditorium will be crammed to the rafters with tech reporters and developers. By noon that day, we should have lots more details about the next version of Apple’s iPhone/iPad software — iOS 10 — as well as news on Apple Watch, Apple TV and Macs. Cnet.com says they’ll have live coverage, as will a number of other tech sites. We’ll recap things right here. Stay tuned…

New ARM Chip Will Be a Big Boost to Samsung Phones; Apple Working on Flexible Touch Displays; Base iPhone 7 Gets a Simple, Big Upgrade

Posted: May 31, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

ARM will have new chips out in time for next year’s flagship smartphones like those from Samsung that will boost performance by 30% while giving 30% better power efficiency. Cnet.com says ARM claims you will be able to run a phone’s chip at full speed for the duration of a movie, game, or VR experience! It’s the Cortex-A73 computing processor and Mali-G71 graphics processor. The graphics processor gives 50% higher performance with 20% energy savings. Samsung and a couple others have already licensed the tech…no word about Apple, but they’ve used ARM in the past.

An Apple supplier, TPK…which is a division of Foxconn, has a silver nanowire tech rolling out that will allow for flexible touch screens. Since Foxconn is the major supplier of iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad, patentlyapple.com notes that there’s a high probability that you’ll be seeing these everywhere in the next 2-5 years. More to the point, TPK says they expect their clients to launch flexible touch panel devices in the 2nd half of 2016! If they’re talking about Apple, a folding 7 inch tablet or display that wraps around your arm will be one hell of a ‘one more thing! Stay tuned!

One of the most boring, yet important tidbits has just dropped about the iPhone 7…bgr.com reports it will finally ship with 32 gigs of memory instead of the nearly useless 16 gigs in the base phone. No more cheapskate Apple buyers whining about having to delete pictures and songs from their iPhones anymore!

Apple Rolls Out New 12” Retina MacBooks; Android App Keeps Screens Away From Kids’ Faces

Posted: April 19, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Apple has refreshed its 12 inch Retina MacBook. According to 9to5mac.com, there are new Skylake processors, increased overall performance, and a new rose gold color. They say the updated internals give you an additional hour of battery life. It continues to have the single USB-C port and edge to edge keyboard, and remains $1299. A quibble with Apple: their so-called rose gold is a lot more pink than the rose gold you find in watches, pens, and musical instruments. You can always go space grey or silver, though. Processor speed gets bumped to 1.2 gigs, and it comes with 8 gigs of memory standard, and the graphics are 25% faster. It’s available today at Apple’s website or Apple Stores and resellers.

Samsung has built an Android app that alerts kids….or adults for that matter, when they have mobile device screens too close to their face. According to thenextweb.com, it’s called Safety Screen, and uses facial recognition to calculate if a smart device is too close to the user’s face. If so, a cute animation pops up to let the user know…it disappears when the gadget is moved to a safer distance. The app’s creators say kids are more at risk for developing computer vision syndrome than adults. Parents set it up, and password protect the app, and it’s ready to go.

iPhones to Finally Get OLED Screens in 2017; Huawei VR Headset Coming

Posted: April 15, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

OLED screens are known to have more vivid blacks and better viewing in bright sunlight, and have been used by many smartphone makers for years. Now, according to 9to5mac.com, Apple has cut a deal worth some 2-1/2 billion with Samsung to buy 100 million 5.5 inch panels by 2017. This probably means the iPhone 7S in 2017 will be a major upgrade. Because OLED screens are thinner and require less power, it could be a thinner iPhone.

Huawei has announced it’s putting out its own VR headset. Like rival Samsung, you’ll need a late model Huawei smartphone to use it. According to thenextweb.com, it has a touch panel and control buttons on the back so you can adjust the lenses to suit your eyes. The Huawei VR has a 95 degree field of view, and anti-blue light filter to cut down on eyestrain. They haven’t given the release date or price yet, but did tout 4000 movies and 40 games that will be available free at launch.

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