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Google Enters Facial Recognition Space with Viewdle Buy

October 4, 2012 by 1 Comment

Viewdle

Google’s Motorola Mobility unit has purchased Silicon Valley-based developer Viewdle, a company that creates face detection software for an estimated price of between $35 and $40 million. Gesture and facial recognition appears to be the next technology that smartphones and other device manufacturers will be using as they seek to differentiate themselves as rivals have also been moving down this path.

Viewdle is a cross platform developer that creates applications and software development kits that enable facial and gesture recognition that are optimized for the low power environment of mobile devices. At last year’s CTIA conference the company won the Social Networking/Content/Entertainment category of CTIA’s annual Emerging Technology (E-Tech) Awards competition.

Viewdle was founded in 2007 and closed an estimated $2 million Series A round of funding backed by Anthem Venture Partners. Iit closed its Series B round of funding in October 2010 after raising $10 million. Investors included Best Buy, BlackBerry Partners Fund and Qualcomm as well as Series A investor Anthem Venture Partners

In the past few years others have been snapping up developers in this space. Apple reportedly has purchased a developer named Polar Rose, a developer that helps identify users in photos and enables storing images based on their content for an estimated $22 million.

Intel has long been showing that it is working in this area and last year showed that it could perform facial recognition with software running on its systems. If it is internally developed look for smartphones and tablets sing its processors to offer that capability at some time in the future. Earlier this year Facebook entered the fray when it purchased Face.Com for $100m and it was expected at that time that the facial tagging app would find its way into mobile products.

I imagine that it will be some time before we see a Motorola Razr phone that has this capability but it will be interesting to have. This could be a real boon for sports fans that take lots of pictures, say of college baseball players and then forget who they are. Now you phone or camera can tell you.

Filed Under: Apple, Apps, Facebook, Google, Intel, Motorola, Viewdle Tagged With: , , ,

Mobile Sports Report TechWatch: Cheap Google Tablet? Apple Map ills

October 1, 2012 by 2 Comments

The latest rumor on new tablets comes from the partnership of Google and Asus, which just recently introduced the popular Nexus 7 tablet. Now it is being reported by Digitimes that the t

wo may be looking to break new price point barriers with a $100 offering.

With new Nooks from Barnes & Noble, Kindles from Amazon and systems pending from a host of other OEMs over the next few weeks the competition is getting much stiffer as customers are now being presented with more viable options to Apple’s iPad. It will be interesting to see if this pans out. Others are already claiming that the rumor is false.

Fallout from Apple Maps continues
Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly apologized to customers about the poor shape that Apple’s maps is in. The app, which replaced the popular Google Maps, has some glaring flaws like eliminating landmarks and moving roads.

Cook said that the company was very sorry for the frustration that it caused its customers and he even went so far as to recommend 5 apps that might do as a replacement to Apple’s offering. Speaking of Apple the iPad 3 (not iPad Mini) rumors have started- stay tuned for a growing wave of them as others launch their latest tablets.

Google loses appeal on patent enforcement
Google has been barred from enforcing a German court ruling against Microsoft that would have led to the banning of select Microsoft products on Germany. The ruling came from the US Court of Appeals and it upheld a lower court decision that prevented Motorola from enforcing the ban.

Foss Patents appears to see this as a positive move in getting Google to start licensing its patents on a FRAND basis.

FCC OKs wireless auction
There may soon be more bandwidth available for wireless use as the Federal Communications Commission has given approval to the auction by television broadcasters of bandwidth that they no longer need.

The expected bidders will use the bandwidth to meet expanding cellular and wireless Internet usage. The FCC is still working out the details of the auctions, according to the New York Times.

Nokia signs mapping deal with Oracle
Nokia will now be providing mapping software to Oracle, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. The deal is expected to be announced today at OracleWorld and will allow Oracle’s application users to integrate mapping capabilities.

Android and iOS market shares grow
Android and iOS grew market share during the summer according to a report from market analytics firm comScore. The study, which tracked the operating systems from May to July show that Android represents 52.2% of the US market while Apple’s iOS is now 33.4% of the market. It looks like the Apple win over Samsung might have had an impact as Samsung had stagnant growth, losing 0.3% of its hardware sales.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Asus, Barnes & Noble, Google, iOS, Kindle, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia, Nook, Oracle, Samsung, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Mobile Sports Report Friday Grab Bag: 3D at MLB Playoffs — New Galaxy Note Coming

September 28, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Is Google adding ads to Maps?
WebProNews is reporting that Google appears to be preparing to monetize its Maps app. The company has applied for a patent for Online Map Advertising. It looks as if this will allow the company to insert ads directly into the maps that you are viewing.

However on the plus side it looks like it might just be targeted at third party sites that use the maps as part of an effort to show people where their place of business is and they might include an ad in the space.

Also Google has said that contrary to rumors it has not submitted a new maps app to Apple for approval in its App Store. However the company is not ruling out doing so in the future.

Did the Lingerie Football League help settle NFL Ref strike?
Seattle fans are pointing to the team’s last second, replacement referee assisted, win over Green Bay as the straw that broke the camel’s back and forced the NFL to settle with the regular referees, who will be manning the field this weekend.

However a funny piece in Deadspin about the officials from the Lingerie Football League notes that it has a tougher standard for its referees that the NFL did for its replacements. The logic behind this was that apparently the LFL fired some refs for incompetence and they ended up doing NFL games as replacements. True or not it is pretty funny.

Are HTC and Nokia the next patent litigants’?
DigiTimes is reporting that Nokia and HTC may be about to meet each other in a court over potential patent issues. The problem appears to be that the Windows Phone 8 that each company has released bears a great deal of similarity to the one its rival introduced.

The article states that Nokia has already lodged a complaint with HTC over the belief that HTC has copied the design of Nokia’s Lumina 820 for HTC’s Windows Phone 8x offering.


Toys “R” Us sued over tablet
The battle for tablet supremacy has apparently spilled over into the toy aisle as Fuhu is suing Toys “R” Us for coping Fuhu’s Nabi tablet and using the technology in the recently released Tabeo. The suit claims that the two companies also had a deal signed in October 2011 under which Toys “R” Us had agreed to distribute the Nabi and to promote the product.

Fuhu is claiming that the product was not adequately advertised or promoted and that Toys “R” Us deliberately tanked the product in favor of its own Mateo that was then under development.

MySpace trying for resurgence
An interesting piece in Gizmag reports that MySpace, once the power in social media but a backwater since the emergence of Facebook a few years back, is currently undergoing a major redesign and I seeking to reestablish itself.

The site will have a much more visual look from the previews shown and it will have a new interface, in part influenced by the emergence of tablets. One interesting feature will be your ability to import all of your Facebook contacts.

Samsung’s next generation Galaxy Note out next month?
There is going to be a major Samsung event in New York on Oct. 24th, according to a press release that Samsung Mobile has sent out to the press. While the company has been mum on what it will be unveiling at the event, the rumor mill seems to think that it knows.

The answer is the next generation Samsung Galaxy Note, the Galaxy Note 2. The hybrid smartphone tablet has already been unveiled in South Korea and has been expected to be released in the States soon.

TBS to add 3D imagery to baseball playoffs
TBS has said that it will be adding “3D hologram imagery’ to its playoff broadcasts this fall. It will use the technology to illustrate different pitch grips and to show how the pitch will work. It will also be used to show pressure points, release points and ball rotation.

I guess using real live pitchers to show the same thing would be too complicated. While I think that this could be interesting I also am afraid that it will cause the station to miss a number of live pitches. The channel will also be tripling the number of super slo motion cameras that it uses compared to a regular season game.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Baseball, Facebook, Google, HTC, iOS 6, Lawsuit, Major League Baseball, NFL, Nokia, TBS, The Big Lead Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Barnes & Noble Expected to Offer Nook Video Services

September 25, 2012 by 1 Comment

Barnes & Noble is planning on offering a video streaming and downloading service later in the fall as it faces increased competition not just from Amazon but also from the expected Apple iPad Mini and the upcoming Windows 8 tablets from Microsoft and its OEMs.

The company, which has been pondering the fate of its Nook e-reader for some time despite its popularity when released, said that the service will enable Nook users to buy movies and television shows from Time Warner’s HBO; Viacom; Sony Pictures Home Entertainment; and Walt Disney Studios. It said that it is planning to add additional media content in the future.

It is commonly viewed that Amazon’s Kindle platform is the primary rival to the Nook and recently Amazon provided a huge upgrade to that platform in terms of quality of tablets and added a new larger model.

However the physical tablets are only part of the equation as Amazon offers both a streaming video service via its Prime offerings, but users get two day shipping on many items purchased using Amazon. Amazon has added a huge new library of videos via a deal with Epix as it seeks to also steal customers from Netflix as to help differentiate its offerings.

Aside from the Amazon threat is the looming issue of just additional competition in the overall tablet space. Intel has said that there are almost two dozen new tablets pending using its processors that will be running one of the versions of Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system.

Microsoft will also be entering the space with its own tablet, called the Surface. Google’s Nexus 7 was released just a few months ago to very favorable reviews and looks to be a long term contender. Then Apple, the overall market leader in the tablet space, is expected to enter the smaller form factor sector next month with a 7-inch iPad.

Barnes & Noble has not yet provided a pricing structure for the video service. Amazon offers its streaming video by the year while Netflix has a per month charge.

Filed Under: Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Google, Intel, iPad, Microsoft, Nook, Surface, Tablets, Windows 8 Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Mobile Sports Report TechWatch: New Kickstarter Rules, Wal-Mart Kicks out Kindle

September 24, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Kickstarter has imposed a set of rules that will limit the type of products that can be promoted for funding on the crowdfunding site. Gone now will be renderings of projects that are being promoted and instead the site will require an actual working prototype of the project.

It will now also require that the project creators provide a “Risks and Challenges” section that will enable potential investors to have the needed information to make an informed decision about the obstacles that the development might face. In other words, you need to let potential “kickstarters” know that your cool idea may, in fact, not ever happen.

Wal-Mart dumps Amazon’s Kindle
Many smartphone users have probably “showroomed’ — used their phone to check out a price of an item that they are looking at in a store against what Amazon offers it for, and retailers have been seeking ways to slow this trend.

One way is to make Amazon less welcome and now Wal-Mart has said that when its current supply of Amazon Kindle Fire Tablets is sold it will not renew the product offering. The fact that there is almost no profit on the product may have helped with the decision. Target ceased selling them several months ago.

Apple asks judge for more
Apple has requested an additional $707 million in damages from Samsung, on top of the $1 billion that it was awarded by the jury. Among the parts of the request was for an enhanced award of $535 million for willful violation of Apple’s designs and patents, approximately $172 million in supplemental damages using an enlarged period of time for the violations and it is asking that the court to review damages that the jury awarded that were less than Samsung’s expert calculate that the damages actually were.

Apple loses two in Germany
Apple’s cases against both Motorola Mobility and Samsung were tossed out in a Mannheim court after it ruled that the two companies did not infringe on patents that Apple owns relating to touch screen functions.

Other bad news for Apple
One of the bigger pieces of news prior to the iPhone 5 and iOS 6 introductions was that Apple was jettisoning Google Maps, a preinstalled app since the beginning of time, or the first iPhone hit the market at any rate.

Instead Apple was including its own map technology, which with its elimination of some towns and the moving of other landmarks it is apparently the company’s most advanced software ever as it can see into the future. Or it is terrible. It is unusual for Apple to release something this raw and unfinished and the company it is now saying it is still a work in progress.

To make matters worse Google is mocking Apple’s failure with an ad that shows an Android phone using Google Maps showing an accurate vision of a street while Apple’s app shows a basically barren road.

Google sued for patent infringement
Of course it is not all smooth sailing for Google either as, for the second time in as many years it finds itself being sued by Skyhook Wireless, this time over patent infringement. The issue revolves around geolocation technology and WLAN-based positioning systems.

There are a total of 9 patents involved in the case, which was filed in US courts in the District of Delaware by Mass.-based Skyhook, according to Foss Patents.

Filed Under: Amazon, Android, Apple, Google, iOS, iOS 6, iPhone, Lawsuit, Motorola, Samsung Tagged With: , , , ,

Google Snaps up another Top App Developer-Nik Software

September 17, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Nik Software

Google has acquired smartphone image app developer Nik Software giving the company an alternative technology to offer users that will compete with Facebook’s Instagram. Google has not disclosed what it has paid for the company.

Nik is an established player in the mobile and desktop photo editing market and develops both for the general user space as well as having products that are targeted for the professional space as well. It was founded in 1995.

The company has won a number of awards for its programs including the 2011 International Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) Best Photo Software for its Complete Collection of professional photography products, which includes Color Efex Pro, HDR Efex Pro, Sharpener Pro, Silver Efex Pro, Viveza, and Dfine.

However it is likely that the app that caught Google’s attention is Snapseed, the first one that Nik released for the mobile space. Released last year it has already gained over 9 million users and won the iPad App of the Year from Apple’s App Store last year. This year TIPA awarded the app as winner in the Best Mobile Photo App category. Google has not laid out what it is planning on doing with the company.

Google has been a very aggressive player in the merger and acquisition space over the past few years with 119 deals so far in the company’s history. This year it has now acquired 10 companies counting Nik Software. Others include Meebo, QuickOffice, Sparrow, Frommer’s and VirusTotal.

Filed Under: Apps, Facebook, Google, Instagram, Meebo, Nik Software, QuickOffice, Snapseed, Sparrow, Wildfire Tagged With: , , ,
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