Apple Working on More Secure Future iPhones; Samsung Building 256 Gig Memory Smartphone Chips

Posted: February 25, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

In the middle of the dust up with the FBI over writing a software backdoor to hack it’s own iPhones, which Tim Cook has called ‘the software equivalent to cancer,’ Apple is working on making their phones even more impenetrable. Theverge.com reports that they are working to plug a troubleshooting feature that allows Apple to install new firmware on an iPhone to upgrade the operating system without inputting the user’s passcode. If they remove the feature, which security experts deem highly likely, they won’t be able to open up a backdoor no matter who wants one or tries to force them to.

Samsung has started mass producing 256 gig embedded chips, double what it had last year. According to engadget.com, they will run the Universal Flash Storage 2.0 standard, which will make them red twice as fast as current ones. These chips will not only give future phones the storage capacity of a lot of laptops, but will make it easy to store memory hogs like 4K movies…and transfer them faster using USB 3.0. It will also make it much more practical for phones to carry virtual reality content.

Samsung Galaxy S7 & S7 Edge Revealed; LG’s Svelte VR Headset

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

The long-awaited Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge were showed off yesterday at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Looking great with a premium metal and glass case, the latest Edge has a bigger screen than last year’s S6 at 5.5 inches. The regular S7 has a 5.1 inch Super AMOLED screen. The micro SD slot is back, so you can expand to an insane 200 GB of memory! The upgraded 12 MP camera is almost flush with the back, and shoots 4K video. The S7 has a 3000 mAh battery, and the edge a 3600 mAh power supply. Pre-orders start February 23rd, and they go on sale March 11th in black, gold, wine red, and gray/silver.

LG has showed off their new 360 VR headset, and it’s a pleasant departure from others. Instead of large goggles that hold your smartphone in view, the 360VR looks like an overgrown pair of glasses, something like those telescopic ones you could buy. The smartphone plugs in, and you also jack into it for audio. LG says it simulates a 130 inch TV that’s 2 meters away, with a resolution of 630 ppi. It works with their own 360 cam footage, and also with Google Cardboard content. Pricing and availability to be announced later.

Mitsubishi: 56 Inch Projection Screen You Can Walk Through; Apple Watch Really Is Succeeding

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

Mitsubishi has developed a 56 inch projection screen a person can walk through. The midair display is clean enough that you can read text from it, according to geek.com. It might be overkill for home use, but this could well be a big thing in advertising. The tech to project it can be either off to a side, or a meter back from the image. Mitsubishi expects to have it on the market within 4 years.

The supposedly failed Apple Watch sold 5.1 million during the holiday quarter, grabbing 63% of the smartwatch market. Macrumors.com says that, combined with Samsung, the two makers held down 80% of the smartwatch market. The Swiss watch market, which has been slow to react to smartwatches, dropped off 4.8%, selling 7.9 million in the holiday quarter. If the next gen Apple Watch can actually be used to call, text, and so forth even if you leave your iPhone at home, it may really blow the smartwatch market wide open.

Smarter, Thinner, Always-On Smartwatches; Apple Dumps Samsung for Next Gen iPhone Chips; Tesla Model 3 Deposit News

Posted: February 11, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Qualcomm has developed a new processor it has dubbed the Snapdragon Wear 2100 that it says will enable ‘always on’ smartwatches that are smarter and thinner than the current ones…and don’t need to be tethered to phones. 9to5google.com reports that there are actually 2 versions…one for tethered and one free range, so to speak. The chips are much more efficient and 30% smaller. Look for them in the next generation of Android Wear smartwatches.

Speaking of chips, Apple has finally jilted frenemy Samsung. TSMC of Taiwan will build all the A10 chips for the upcoming iPhone 7. 9to5mac.com says TSMC made all the chips for the iPhone 6 series, but Samsung was brought back in to produce part of the chips for the 6S and 6S Plus. Benchmarks have showed that the TSMC chip ran cooler and had better batter life than the Samsung version of the A9.

Elon Musk tweeted last night that the Tesla Model 3 won’t have a Signature Edition, and that you can preorder (with $1000 deposit) at Tesla stores starting March 31st and online starting April 1st.

Samsung Announces Galaxy Unpacked Date; Tesla May Mirror Apps On Big Screen

Posted: February 1, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

It’s official…Samsung has announced their Galaxy Unpacked event at Mobile World Congress February 21st in Barcelona. 9to5google.com says the event will be live streamed at 10am Pacific, 1pm Eastern over Samsung’s YouTube channel. A teaser video has a person wearing a Gear VR virtual reality headset reaching for a cube with a 7 on it, a nod to the rollout of the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge.

Tesla is looking at allowing smartphone apps from iPhones and Androids to be mirrored on it’s big display in the centre console of the cars. Theverge.com reports that the maker may be going this direction instead of putting out their own native developer kit to wall the phone apps off from the system that controls the functionality of the car itself. Although Tesla has one of the better infotainment systems in any car, they haven’t embraced Android Auto and Apple CarPlay at this point.

Google Box On Wheels For Drone Deliveries; Another Feature Samsung Borrows from Apple for the Galaxy S7

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

Since announcing last November that they were launching the Project Wing drone delivery service, not much has been heard from Google on the topic. Now, thenextweb.com says a patent reveals a so-called ‘delivery receptacle.’ It’s essentially a box on wheels with a computing system and drive mechanism, so a drone can drop it off, and it rolls the final distance to you…even into your garage, if you have concerns with packages being stolen off your porch. Google is aiming for a system that will deliver packages of 5 lbs or less to your home or office in under 30 minutes, and this may be an important piece of that puzzle.

We had already reported that the Galaxy S7 will sport its own versions of Apple’s Live Photos and 3D Touch. Bgr.com reports that Samsung will also be rolling out an upgrade program like Apple’s iPhone Upgrade Program that arrived with the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus. The leasing type program will drop in South Korea first, then come to the US.

iPhone 5se in March & More on the iPhone 7; Galaxy S7 Out in March

Posted: January 25, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Several sources say the updated smaller iPhone will carry the 5se name when it drops in mid-March. 9to5mac.com also reports that the smaller phone will probably be powered by the current iPhone 6s’s A9 and M9 processors. Apparently, when the iPhone 7 comes out in the fall, Apple doesn’t want the 5se to have chips that are two generations older than the iPhone 7’s expected A10 system. The M9 chip will allow the 5se to have the always-on ‘Hey Siri’ feature. It’s also now thought it will replace the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in the fall when iPhone 7 comes out.

Before all that happens at Apple, we now know the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge will launch in the US on March 11th. Samsung is widely expected to show the phones at a special event February 21st, or at Mobile World Congress the 22nd through the 25th in Barcelona. Bgr.com says the S7 will probably have a pressure sensitive display…a nod towards Apple’s 3D Touch, as well as Vivid Photos, which appears to be an answer to Apple’s Live Photos.

More iPhone OLED Display Rumors; Google Makes WHAT from Android?

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

Japan Display says it will start mass producing OLED displays within the next 2 years, according to a Reuters report picked up by theverge.com. This is being seen as angling for the Apple iPhone business Samsung and LG are gunning for. It’s been widely rumored that iPhones will use OLED screens by 2018. Numerous Android phones already have them, with Samsung touting Super OLED. Those screens are lighter and thinner than the LCD displays Apple uses, and have more vibrant colors and greater contrast.

Those pesky lawyers! An attorney for Oracle said in court that Google’s Android generated revenue of $31 billion and $22 in profit. If my math is correct, that’s around a stunning 70% profit margin! Bloomberg.com says the disclosure was made January 14th in an Oracle suit accusing Google of using Java software without paying for it to develop Android. Meanwhile, Oracle’s copyright suit against Google also revealed that Google dropped a cool billion with Apple in 2014 to keep it’s search bar on the iPhone! Note to Apple: I’m available for adoption.

German Car Makers Heating Up on Hydrogen; Samsung New Smartwatch/Fitness Tracker?

Posted: January 18, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Audi and Mercedes are getting excited about hydrogen fueled cars. For Mercedes, it’s back to the future…they first had a fleet of them in 1980, but with a 150 mile range and 45 minutes to fuel up, killed the project. Now Audi has showed it’s h-tron Quttro fuel cell SUV at the North American International Auto Show, and according to arstechnica.com, Mercedes has green-lighted production of it’s fuel cell version of the GLC SUV to sell in 2017. BMW has showed an i8 and a 5 series with fuel cells, but neither is set for production so far. General Motors has partnered with the Army to investigate suitability of fuel cell EVs for military use. Toyota and Honda are well along in hydrogen fuel cell tech, too. Toyota has the 2016 Mirai that’s actually for sale. California…where you can buy a fuel cell EV, has now increased the subsidy on them up to $6500 on top of any federal incentive. A combination of hydrogen fuel cell and electric may be the wave of the automotive future…along with driving by Jarvis, apparently.

Details are sketchy, but Samsung may be about ready to launch new wearable, possibly to replace the less than exciting Gear Fit. It’s called SM-R150 for now, and a watch version has a rotating bezel like the Gear Fit. The interesting thing is a picture with one on a shirt…like a removable that you don’t have to keep on your wrist. Engadget.com points out that leaks so far don’t indicate if it will be a full blown smart watch or something more like a Fitbit, but expect it to be revealed in the coming months.

Samsung Looks Like Apple’s Primary OLED Screen Supplier; Microsoft Planning 2 New Flagship Phones

Posted: January 14, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

There’s been a lot of buzz that Apple will move to OLED screens, like a number of Android phones have and as Apple uses in the Apple Watch. Now, 9to5mac.com reports that a deal is all but signed for Samsung to supply the bulk of OLED iPhone screens. Don’t look for a screen with the more vivid color and deeper blacks in the iPhone 7, though…they’re unlikely to get the new screens into a phone before 2018.

Every now and again, Microsoft does something to remind the world that they still make smartphones. According to businessinsider.com, Redmond may be planning a pair of flagship phones, which they’ll show next month at Mobile World Congress. The Lumia 850 would replace the 830, and there’s a 750 to take over for the 735. Microsoft appears to be keeping the 950, which came out in October. No details on the 750, but the 850 will have a 5.5 inch screen, Qualcomm processor, and 2 gigs of RAM.

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