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Telepathy One Seeks to Rival Google Glass

April 25, 2013 by Leave a Comment

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We have been a bit remiss in talking about the recent news related to the Google Glass efforts such as they are powered by Android, expected to launch later this year for under the $1,500 price point and that Mark Andreessen’s company Andreessen Horowitz is teaming with Kleiner Perkins and Google Ventures to fund startups to develop apps for Google Glass in an effort called the Glass Collective.

That is all nice and good but expect a good deal more info coming out when the Google I/O conference rolls around in mid-May in San Francisco, and that seems like a more appropriate time to do a complete roundup on the platform.

For now we will satisfy ourselves with Telepathy One, a startup rival that was demonstrated earlier this week in New York City by a Japanese inventor named Takahito Iguchi, who demonstrated the streamline device and showed its first apps.

While it comes in a headset like the Google effort it is not glasses but rather an optically projected screen that appears in front of the user. The projector is positioned above the eye in a way that is no expected to interfere with a user’s line of sight. It also features ear buds for audio and currently has a camera and a cellular phone app also in the works and at least partly demonstrated this week.

Unlike Google Glass, the Telepathy One device is being pitched much more as an extension of social media that will enable users to share what they are viewing with friends and family if they have a similar device or have a Magna Camera app on a smartphone.

It will be interesting of a small player can actually challenge Google, or for that matter the other variations of connected glasses that have been emerging over the last year or so, but we can hope that we get a healthy marketplace with multiple choices.

Pricing and availability are not available but the creator said that he wants to sell it for significantly less that the reported $1,500 price tag that Google Glass will have and ship this year.

Filed Under: Android, Apps, Google Tagged With: , ,

Malware Growth a Threat to Mobile Users-Even Sports Fans

April 16, 2013 by Leave a Comment

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Almost every sports fan that I know has a host of different sports-centric apps on their tablets and smartphones covering everything from leagues wide news to ones that simply focus on an individual team or even player, but there are dangers lying in wait for them.

Everybody is aware that computers can get viruses and malware, annoying applets that do everything from track web sites that are visited to trying to steal passwords, address book and financial information. Now that threat is increasingly coming to mobile devices as well.

A report from antivirus detection company McAfee shows that malware for mobile devices is experiencing a tremendous upsurge and that it is primarily focused on one specific operating system, the Android platform.

The report shows that the rise in malware attacks is experiencing tremendous growth, coming from a relatively low of 792 samples in 2011 to 36,699 in 2012. Of those attacks 97% were against Google’s Android operating system.

While as far as I know no known sports apps have been the focus of a Trojan or any other attack but it is worth noting that it will only be a matter of time. Often scammers will use a tragedy to get past normally skeptical people and have them download an infected app.

The report shows that there are growing numbers of methods to gain complete control of a smartphone, and with the growing use of smartphones as banking and financial tools this could represent a great deal of danger to the average user.

Android, due to the openness of the platform, makes an obvious target for the mobile malware developer. Relatively closed platforms such as Apple’s iOS are much more secure, at least at this point in time.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Google, Intel, iOS Tagged With: , , , , ,

Friday Grab Bag: The Cost of Hot Dogs and New Nexus Coming?

April 5, 2013 by 4 Comments

If you cannot get enough of Facebook on your mobile devices this will be very good news. The company has delivered an app called ‘Facebook Home’ that is an Android program which replaces your normal Android home screen.

Scheduled to be launched within the next two weeks the app will also come preinstalled on new HTC First Phones that will be available from AT&T. Facebook is working to launch a version for tablets in the near future. Head over to TechCrunch to see what the new features will be.

Next Gen Nexus rumored for July
The latest in the tablet rumors is that Google’s popular Nexus tablet will be seeing a platform refresh this coming July, according to a report in Reuters, and from the sounds of the report the company plans to be very aggressive in its pricing.

The new Nexus would feature greater screen resolution, a thinner bezel and a new processor, dropping Nvidia in favor of Qualcomm. It is reported the company will be seeking to sell 8 million tablets in the second half of the year.

Speaking of Google rumors another has it building an Android powered notebook that it is planning to launch as early as in the third quarter of this year.

Amazon Kindle Phone on the way?
Computerworld is reporting that Amazon is looking at developing and delivering a smartphone that it would deliver later this year. It is not clear of Amazon would make it a type of Kindle phone or if it would be a more traditional Android device.

Amazon recently hired Charles Kindel who had formerly headed up Microsoft’s Windows Phone application and platform developer relations. Apparently Kindel has been blogging that he was hired by Amazon to ‘do something secret” I am sure blogging will help keep it a secret.

Ematic delivers low cost Android tablet
If you are looking for a low cost tablet, possibly as a single use device or one that you are not afraid to have damaged you might want to look at the latest offering from Ematic and its $79.99 7-inch Genesis Prime tablet.

While certainly not designed to set the world on fire with its features it does have a 1.1GHz Intel Core Duo processor, 4GB on-board storage, 5GB cloud storage, 512MB of RAM, front-facing VGA camera and 4.5 hours of battery life.

No peanuts or crackerjacks here
Sports fans are always competitive and now they can see how they rank in two very important categories- how much they are spending on beer and on hot dogs at the ball yard, thanks to a survey by CNN Money.

I have to say I surprised at the differences. You can buy six hot dogs at Cincinnati’s Great American Park for the price of one at the New York Met’s Citi Field, for instance. Beer is most expensive in Washington D.C. and cheapest in Cleveland.

Filed Under: Amazon, Android, Apple, Apps, AT&T, Baseball, Google, Intel, iPad, Kindle, Major League Baseball, Microsoft, Smartphone, Tablets Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Friday Grab Bag: More Smart Watches and Games to Play at Ball Parks

March 29, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Still a year out Google Glass is already raising eyebrows and causing concern in legislative offices locally and nationally. Already West Virginia is looking at banning them from being worn while driving, and that could just be the start.

We have long questioned what casinos would do with players that can instantly see the odds flashed on their glasses but it appears there is a whole realm of other uses, from invasion of privacy to electronic surveillance.

FAA to ease in-flight powered device rule?
It is starting to look as if you will soon be able to continue reading on a tablet while your jetliner is taking off or landing. The New York Times is reporting that unnamed Federal Aviation Administration said changes are in the works.

An FAA work group found that powered up devices caused no issues with the aircraft and that the agency is now looking to ease rules, possibly as soon as the end of the year. It look like the ruling will apply to reading devices such as tablets only.

Aim is important even in the minor leagues
In what has to be the oddest in-ballpark games I have heard about the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the Philadelphia Phillies’ top minor league affiliate, has installed a ‘urinal gaming system’ that it is rolling out this season.

The gaming system, the details of which are few, is said to activate as a person approaches the urinal in the men’s restrooms at the Lehigh ballpark. The guy can aim left or right to control the action on the screen. Glad it is not a touch screen program.

Rumors of the week

The next Generation Galaxy Tab to have 8-Core processor
The rumor mill always loves Samsung and the latest is that the company is developing a next generation Galaxy Tab that will feature an eight core Exynos 5 Octa processor, a chip that has four low powered cores dedicated to handling low powered tasks in order to extend battery life.

While Samsung has been talking about the processor technology since the start of the year it has not named a product, as of yet, that it plans to use with the chip. SamMobile is now reporting that it will be in a Galaxy Tab to be released later this year that will feature either a 10.1 HD screen or a 11.6-inch HD screen.

LG to build smartwatch?
While Apple’s iWatch and Google’s smartwatch development programs are still only rumors and Samsung has talked about its plans in a relatively vague manner others are already joining into this (overhyped?) market. The latest is LG Electronics which is reported to be planning on developing a rival offering.

The Korean Times, via Yahoo, is reporting that LG is now looking at developing a connected watch that will compete with the smartwatches that are being developed by rivals. It said that company officials belive this to be the next must have device.

Filed Under: Amazon, Android, Apple, Apps, Baseball, Contests, Google, Samsung, Smartphone, Tablets Tagged With: , , , , ,

Low Cost Lenovo 7-inch Tablet Almost Here

March 26, 2013 by 2 Comments

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If you are ever wondering how news services and even blogs get advanced information about upcoming products it is often because the devices have to go through approval at the FCC, which has to make the records of approvals public. The forthcoming Lenovo A1000 is no exception.

The A1000 is no secret, the company talked about it and two additional tablets last month at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, but the fact that it is now getting approval to be shipped into the U.S. shows how close the device is to reaching the market.

The low-cost 7-inch tablet is an entry level device that the company is targeting at two different groups, first time buyers and music enthusiasts. When Apple hit the market with its iPad the market quickly responded with a list of me-too offerings, few of which gained any sales. The entry level was particularly weak as everybody compared the devices to the iPad.

Now the market has started to mature and people have a much better idea of what they want a tablet for and are starting to understand the differences that different price points represent in terms of display size, processor capabilities, storage and other features.

One of the key differentiators on the A1000 is its audio, which features Dolby Digital Plus and the large front facing speakers as part of its attempt to appeal to music fans. The tablet runs the Android Jelly Bean 4.1 operating system and is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor. It will ship with 8GB or 16GB of storage that is expandable to 32GB with a micro-SD slot.

There are a few features that the company has not yet released such as screen resolution. Pricing has also not yet been released and that will be key as the 7-inch space has been heating up and is expected to quickly catch up to the 10-inch display space. The other two tablets that were discussed last month, the 10.1-inch S6000 and the 7-inch A3000 appear to be further out but both are expected in the second quarter.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Google, iPad, Lenovo, Tablets Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Friday Grab Bag: No $99 Kindle Fire, ESPN Carries Frisbee

March 22, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Screen savers have come a long way since the days of flying toasters. Apple has just filed a patent entitled “Protective Mechanism for an Electronic Device” that is designed to recognize when a iPhone, or other device, is in freefall and takes automatic steps to save the screen, according to Apple Insider.

It looks like the technology discussed in the patent is designed to do one of two things, either protect the data on the screen and in use or to realign the device while falling in order to have it land in a manner that will not damage the screen. Sounds a bit farfetched but would be interesting if real.

A nice look at Google Glass’ future
Google Glass has been an interesting platform since its introduction about a year ago, with people speculating on uses and at least one place already banning the as yet unreleased commercial model, but what are the real challenges and opportunities that they will provide users?

Mashable has a nice outlook piece of the platform that talks about a host of challenges that the platform will face from connectivity, how commands and control are implemented to safety issues that they might present. Head on over.

Athletic Directors Pay too high?
Sports on Earth’s Patrick Hruby has an interesting piece on the issue of paying college athletes, taking a different approach than most do by looking at how well paid executives in athletic departments are at top schools.

The issue is of importance because a lawsuit against the NCAA is slowly making its way through the court systems and the NCAA is saying that it will destroy amateurism in sports, although a cycnic might think that the organization was more concerned with its tax exempt status.

ESPN adds a new league with USA Ultimate deal
USA Ultimate may not ring a bell but now you will be able to watch its matches on the network’s channels as ESPN has reached a deal with the governing body of the sport of Ultimate Frisbee in the United States.

The deal calls for ESPN to broadcast the sports three major events; the College Champions, the US Open and the National Championship. There will be both live and tape delayed coverage on the network’s ESPN3 and ESPNU channels.

Survey Says: Mobile Apps win over mobile net
A survey run by Compuware found that the speed and convenience of mobile apps makes them a clear favorite among smartphone users over mobile web sites, with 85% of those surveyed giving the mobiles apps the thumbs up.

It looks as if the convenience factor was a major factor since the poll also showed that only 28% felt that the apps gave a better user experience. Another interesting fact from the study was that the number of apps that smartphone users have on their devices grew 28% last year and now stands at 41.

No $99 Kindle Fire
For the last several weeks there has been a rumor that Amazon was going to break new pricing ground by offering a version of the Kindle Fire for $99. It was supposed to be a 7-inch tablet and would ship later this year.

Not so fast Amazon has replied. Talking to Business Insider, as reported by the Inquistr, the company has responded saying that it is simply not happening. So it is no longer necessary to wait for the fall releases if you were waiting for that device.

Filed Under: Amazon, Android, Apple, Apps, ESPN, Google, iPhone, Mashable, NCAA.com Tagged With: , , , ,
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