Apple Echo-Type Smart Speaker Coming; Galaxy S8 Random Reboots; Samsung Approved for Testing Self-Driving Cars in Korea
Posted: May 1, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Amazon Echo, Apple, Galaxy S8, Google, Hyundai, Korea, Random reboot, Samsung, SD card, self-driving car, Siri, Smart Speaker, WWDC Leave a commentThere are now two sources saying Apple will make a smart speaker like the Amazon Echo or Google’s speaker. Bgr.com reports that now KGI Securities says they will launch a ‘Siri Speaker’ at WWDC in June. No word on the cost (don’t think cheap), but it’s expected to hit stores and the web in the second half of the year. It will reportedly have 7 tweeters and a subwoofer, which should give it great sound. It will use some type of Beats tech and run a version of iOS.
Samsung’s Galaxy S8 had record preorders, but as it gets to peoples’ hands, there’s word that some are having random reboots. 9to5google.com reports there’s quite a thread about this on Samsung’s forums. It can happen when in use, or just sitting around. The phone does fully reboot, and it appears it may be related to an SD card issue, as removing the SD card seems to fix the problem until Samsung rolls out a software patch.
Speaking of Samsung…for those of you who thought they only made phones and TVs, etc, the Korean giant is now approved to test self-driving cars on roads in Korea. According to techcrunch.com, Hyundai has been at it for about a year now, so Samsung will be playing catch up to an extent. Samsung started as a trading company, and has interests in shipping, insurance, and more. The Korean approval allows for operating without steering wheels or pedals, which is also part of proposed new regulations in California and which Michigan already allows.
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
MobileEye & Delphi Partner For Self-Driving System; Tesla’s Ludicrous Mode Goes Beyond Plaid; Playstation Now Cloud Gaming
Posted: August 24, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 2019, Delphi, Extended range, Ludicrous mode, Mobileye, Playstation Now, Playstation PS4 Slim, Production-ready, self-driving car, Tesla Leave a commentA big announcement yesterday from Delphi and sensor-maker Mobileye. They plan to partner to build a fully autonomous car system that auto manufacturers can use to make their cars self-driving. The system will be production-ready for car makers by 2019, according to arstechinca.com, and could show up in new cars between late 2019 and 2021. Mobileye recently split the sheets with Tesla, but will apparently continue to work with BMW and Intel on BMW self-driving platforms.
Speaking of Tesla, businessinsider.com reports that they have announced an upgrade to the Model S and Model X. A beefed up battery pack will extend mileage from 289 to 315 miles on a charge, and Ludicrous mode will get the Model S P100D from zero to 60 in 2.5 seconds, making it the world’s fastest production car. The upgrade is $20 grand, or an additional $10 grand if you already ordered a P90D Ludicrous but haven’t taken delivery yet.
Pictures of the Playstation PS4 Slim and a new controller have already leaked out prior to Sony’s rollout September 7th. Now, bgr.com says a Sony blog post mentions “PS Now on PC Announce Post”. This may have accidentally spilled the beans on release of their Playstation Now cloud gaming service on PCs. No word on pricing, but it had better be more reasonable if Sony expects it to catch on.
Uber Rolls Out Self-Driving Cabs; Facebook To Muscle in on Steam
Posted: August 18, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Facebook, FREE, Gaming, Oculus, self-driving car, Steam, Uber, Unity, Volvo Leave a commentWe may be seeing quite a few car makers and tech companies rolling out self-driving cars by 2020 or 2021, but meanwhile, Uber is rolling out a small fleet of self driving Volvo SUVs later this month in Pittsburgh. Thenextweb.com says they’ll still have a driver supervising from behind the wheel. The cars will be assigned at random, and here’s the cool part….rides in them will be free for the time being! Uber will be staffing them with a co-pilot of sorts, to take note of how everything is working. Uber has had a $300 million dollar deal with Volvo to build fully autonomous cars, and apparently has been working on its own global mapping system, so they won’t have to rely on Google for navigation.
Facebook is looking to go after Steam, or at least claw back some of the revenue it’s lost since casual gaming moved to mobile. According to techcrunch.com, the social media giant announced it was working with game engine Unity to build a dedicated, downloadable desktop gaming platform, in addition to broadening the Facebook.com experience for gamers. It’s thought the desktop app will support both casual games and more hardcore games. Of course, Oculus was a big…and pricey…step back to gaming for Facebook, but the bulk of us still stare at screens, as opposed to strapping on headsets for hours at a time at this point.
Ford Driving for 2021 for Self-Driving Car; Amazon Patents Several Drone Systems
Posted: August 17, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 2021, Amazon, Drones, fixed wing, Ford, Mercedes, ride-sharing, self-driving car, Tesla Leave a commentFord announced yesterday that they expect to have self-driving cars on the road by 2021…the same time frame as Google and Apple’s secretive Project Titan. According to appleinsider.com, the car will be specifically built ‘’for ride sharing and ride hailing.’ The cars will have no steering wheel or pedals, and will only drive a pre-programmed area that’s been 3D mapped. Ford says these will meet SAE Level 4 standards for autonomous operation…Tesla and Mercedes only make Level 2 right now. Ford didn’t say if the cars would be hybrid, electric, or even still take old-fashioned gasoline.
A couple of interesting patents show that Amazon is looking at different kinds of drones for different applications. Geekwire.com reports that one shows 4 rotors in a protective shroud. Another design has shrouded rotors, plus two smaller pusher props, and a fixed wing. It’s thought the shrouds are to protect people and property in the event of a crash. The extended wing would provide extra lift, perhaps giving the small electric motors more range and a better flying time than 20 minutes, like a lot of drones out there now. Amazon has said they have a goal of delivering small packages weighing 5 pounds or less in a half hour or less.
GM & Lift Within a Year of Testing Self-Driving Taxis; iPhone 7 Generating More Buzz Than the 6S Did
Posted: May 6, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Chevy Bolt, China, Cruise Automation, General Motors, iPhone 7, Lyft, self-driving car, US Leave a commentGeneral Motors and Lyft’s on-demand, self-driving taxis will begin testing in an undisclosed city sometime in the next year, according to the Wall Street Journal and engadget.com. Earlier this year, the General invested $500 million in the ride-sharing service, and last month, GM also picked up San Francisco-based Cruise Automation. Cruise has been making aftermarket self-driving kits that could be added to several Audi vehicles for around $10,000. The self-driving cabs will be based on electric Chevy Bolts powered by Cruise’s self-driving technology.
After the 1st quarterly dip in iPhone sales since the first Apple smartphone rolled out, it looks like the slump may be over. Bgr.com says a UBS report shows that almost half of those surveyed said they ‘are holding off buying a new iPhone until the next model is available.’ They break it down to about 40% in the US…virtually the same as with the iPhone 6, and 50% of prospective iPhone 7 buyers in China.
Google Looks Poised to Do Full Scale Launch of Self-Driving Car
Posted: September 14, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, Google, Hyundai, iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus, Rose gold, self-driving car Leave a comment9to5mac.com spotted a report last night from Automotive News that Google has hired the former CEO of Hyundai to run its self-driving car program. In an email, he mentions the cars being used by millions of people, and saving thousands of lives. Google is still saying it has no plans to manufacture cars itself, but will partner with a number of different companies. They still seem on track to have a self-driving car on the market by 2020.
Apple told Financial Times that strong weekend orders indicate the new iPhone 6S and 6S Plus will beat the 10 million sold the first weekend of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus last year. In the past, the off-year ’S’ models have lagged behind sales of the pure numbered models. Thenextweb.com reports that the 6S Plus models show sold out right now, and the 6S rose gold models have a wait time of 3-4 weeks before shipping. We’ll know more if this sales pace will be maintained when the phones show up in stores next weekend.
Big Microsoft Product Event In October
Posted: August 20, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Band 2, Ford, Lumia, Mercedes-Benz, Microsoft, self-driving car, Surface Mini, Surface Pro 4 Leave a commentMicrosoft is planning a monster product launch event in October. According to theverge.com, they’ll show two new Lumia handsets, the Surface Pro 4, and a Microsoft Band 2. There MAY be a slimmer Xbox One as well, but that’s an outside chance. More likely is additional Surface hardware in addition to the Surface Pro 4….Maybe a Surface Mini.
Ford has patented an autonomous car that allows for the driver pivoting around with their back to the wheel. This would enable 4 adults to sit facing each other. It will be interesting to see how this works out, as Mercedes-Benz already has a functioning self-driving car that does this, and has demonstrated it to the press. A fresh wrinkle in the Ford version is that the entire front seat can fold back, creating a bed or leg rest for back seat passengers. That in and of itself will present interesting scenarios for future parents when junior asks to borrow the car!
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