Flipboard now learns from your reading habits, arranges your favorites in sections
In an effort to predict what you want to read, Flipboard is updating its Cover Stories to learn from your perusing habits. This section of the app learns how you navigate content and will feature articles from sections that you spend the most time reading — rather than displaying selections in the order they’re posted. Here, stories will also be sorted by source, social network and topic for quick scanning, and the mute function is still in play for the text you wish to hide. The outfit plans to integrate the functionality in other areas of the app too, like its curated magazine The Weekend. Android and iOS users can expect to see the new Cover Stories features soon, as the roll out has already begun.
Filed under: Software
Join the Engadget HD Podcast live on Ustream at 8:45PM ET
It’s not Tuesday and but it is time for the Engadget HD Podcast. We hope you’ll join us live when the Engadget HD podcast starts recording at 8:45PM. Tonight we cover the recent TiVo rumors, some interesting earnings, as well as other top HD news. If you’ll be joining us, take a peek at the topics after the break — then do everything else you’ll need to do in order to be ready to participate in the live chat.
TiVo reportedly lays off industrial design team, sees its future in DVR software
New Apple TV may include a revamped interface, more kinds of content
Rumors suggest Amazon’s game console project is still alive
Netflix ends 2013 with 44 million subscribers, will keep experimenting with pricing
Netflix ‘post-play’ feature that automatically jumps to the next episode is now optional
Time Warner Cable customers can now stream on-demand shows from A&E Networks
Google offers Fiber to more Provo residents, to expand coverage area throughout 2014
Samsung profits drop slightly, but it’s still seeing increased demand for phones, tablets
LG shrinks losses thanks to strong TV sales, promises new flagship phone next month
Blu-ray discs may soon get billions of colors with new encoding tech
Must See HDTV for the week of January 27th: Super Bowl XLVIII, State of the Union Address
Filed under: HD
Nintendo’s strategy to save its gaming kingdom: DS virtual console on Wii U, GamePad focus, on-demand service
It’s been tough times for Nintendo. Its Wii U console has sold, in a year, 5 million units. Sounds decent enough, until you realize that’s roughly the same number as both the PS4 and the Xbox One — both on sale for mere months. Nintendo kicked off a business strategy briefing today in Tokyo, but it won’t involve playing Nintendo titles elsewhere. The CEO announced at the start of the presentation that he wasn’t pessimistic about the future of the company, reiterating that Nintendo would not be giving up the hardware side of the business. So what’s stopped the Wii U from succeeding so far?
Nintendo’s CEO announced at the start of the presentation that he wasn’t pessimistic about the future of the company, and that they would not be giving up on hardware
The Nintendo boss admits that recognition of the GamePad’s role has been difficult, and that many people view it as an accessory for the console. Most interestingly, however, was the mention of an on-demand gaming service across games consoles, with the service based on your Nintendo ID rather than a device you owned. Bigger news still, is that you will see Nintendo DS games appear on the Wii U, via virtual console. Iwata added that the team will seek a partner to increase exposure for games and hardware — it will even, gasp, license character rights to other companies.
When it comes to gaming on the Wii U, the CEO said they will focus on games that make the most the tablet-esque GamePad, especially titles with NFC — expect to see announcements on this at E3 2014. Mario Kart 8 will also launch in May, and will apparently make strong use of the GamePad. At the same time, Nintendo is working on ensuring a faster start time when its used without a TV.
He said that Nintendo needed to identify new markets and opportunities. According to David Gibson, senior research analyst at Macquarie Securities in Tokyo, Iwata added that it “doesn’t make sense for Nintendo to do business on smartphones.” More nebulously, the company will, however, “actively” use smart devices to connect with customers, making the approach sound more like an app than playable game demo. Nintendo’s Iwata added that simple advertising wasn’t enough, and that the company needed any smartphone presence to be fun and engaging.
Finally, the Nintendo CEO said he wants to find Nintendo’s next “blue ocean”, and thinks that it could be health. He reckons entertainment is tied to quality of life (Vitality Sensor anyone?) — the games maker will continue developing its health and fitness software, but without getting into the current scrum of wearables. No Nintendo GameBand, then.
Source: NIntendo, David Gibson (Twitter), WSJ
Motorola’s Project Ara team being integrated with Google’s Android team
The Internet is buzzing about Lenovo’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility and you may be wondering what is going to happen to Motorola’s Project Ara.
We have great news for you…. the Googlely project will remain with Google. It seems that the about $3 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility to Lenovo does not include the Advanced Technology and Projects group led by former DARPA director Regina Dugan, whose biggest project is the Project Ara modular phone.
According to The Verge, sources familiar with the matter said that the team of just under 100 people will be moving from their current offices in Sunnyvale to Google’s Mountain View office where they will be integrated with Google’s Android team. There Dugan will report to Android/Chrome OS chief Sundar Pichai, while maintaining “a more independent role.”
Anyone think that Project Ara could potentially become a Nexus some day? Thoughts?
via The Verge
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Lenovo gets Motorola, but Google gets to keep its skunkworks
Lenovo may be buying a brand to help it sell smartphones across the world, but it’s not getting everything that was under Motorola’s umbrella. In addition to the “vast majority” of Motorola’s patents, Google will also hold onto the Advanced Technology and Projects division and fold it into its Android team.
That group is responsible for some of Motorola’s more wild-eyed projects, like the authentication pills and tattoos that ATAP chief Regina Dugan showed off at AllThingsD’s D11 conference. The most eye-catching example of the group’s work was Project Ara, the modular smartphone initiative that first started turning heads in late October. Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside said the prototype phone was nearly done just over a month later, and the company planned to get the Ara module dev kit out the door this winter. It seemed like the team was making real progress, but we’ll soon see if those plans have shifted now that Motorola is leaving the building.
Justice Department searches for culprits behind Target data breach
Target is bringing in some big guns to find those who swiped its customer data — the Department of Justice has confirmed that it’s investigating the breach. It’s not clear how close officials might be to identifying suspects, but Target tells the Wall Street Journal that the thieves got in by using credentials stolen from one of its vendors. We’re not expecting the DOJ to catch the perpetrators any time soon. However, it’s good to know that the feds are directly involved in fighting a rapidly growing data theft problem.
Filed under: Internet
Via: LA Times
Source: Department of Justice, Wall Street Journal
Samsung Galaxy Note PRO 12.2 available for pre-order in the UK
We have been hearing rumors about a super-sized Samsung Galaxy tablet for months, until it was finally debuted during CES 2014.
The Note PRO packs a selection of high-end specs including a gigantic 12.2-inch display resolving at 2560×1600, Exynos 5 Octa core processor clocked at 1.9GHz, 3GB of RAM, 32 or 64GB of storage with a microSD slot, an 8-megapixel rear camera and a massive 9,500 mAh battery. The device also supports LTE and ships with Android 4.4 KitKat with TouchWiz UI on top.
For whatever reason, Samsung decided to initially launch the tablet in the UK instead of the US, with more countries to follow. You can pre-order the device from Samsung’s website. It will set you back £649 — around $1074. If you pre-order now you will also be provided with a $99 gamepad for free.
If you’re planning to buy a new tablet you can now pre-order our latest Galaxy NotePRO 12.2 from our e-store http://t.co/sRkHWuoWpD
— Samsung Mobile UK (@SamsungMobileUK) January 28, 2014
In case you are interested head over to Samsung’s e-store and opt for one before it goes out of stock. Let us know if you picked one up in the comments below.
Source: @SamsungMobileUK Twitter
Project Ara will not be moving in with Lenovo, instead will be absorbed by Google’s Android Team
While Google’s sale of Motorola to Lenovo is all but done and dusted, we’re still yet to find out exactly all the details of the sale and who gets what as part of the agreement. One part of Motorola that we’re most interested to find out the fate of is Project Ara, Motorola’s tantalizing modular phone project that was said to be shaping up quite well by Motorola’s CEO, Dennis Woodside, late last year.
Well, we’ve now learned that the Project Ara team, as well as the entirety of Motorola’s Advanced Technology and Projects group, will be moved to a ‘little’ part of Google‘s company under Sundar Pichai. And yes, that is the Android division. It’s hard to say what Lenovo might have done had they acquired Project Ara, but under the Android team at Google, you would hope the project would get the kind of care that Google typically gives to its other crazy, secret ideas.
What do you think of this sale of Motorola to Lenovo? And are you happy to know that Project Ara will be moved to Google instead of Lenovo? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Source: Pocket-lint via Android Police
Porsche’s first car is 116 years old, and it’s electric
Many think that Porsche EVs are relatively new creations, but it turns out that they’re quite old — 116 years old, to be exact. The automaker has recovered the P1, an electric car that Ferdinand Porsche built while working for a carriage maker in 1898; it was also the first car he ever built. No one will mistake it for a Tesla between its wood frame, 3HP motor and 50-mile range, but it was fast enough to win an all-electric race in 1899. You’ll have to travel to the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart if you want to see this piece of EV history in person. Still, it may be worth the trek to know more about the 918 Spyder’s very, very long pedigree.
Filed under: Transportation
Via: LA Times
Source: Porsche
Samsung to back down on copying Google apps
New deal between the two should see less look-alike apps and services on Android
Earlier this week, Samsung and Google inked a patent deal for cross-licensing which should benefit both companies and help in any would-be lawsuits. As part of the terms, Samsung now agrees with Google to stop copying the infamous apps that make up Google’s service portfolio
CES 2014 featured some of Samsung’s current products, a launch of the Galaxy Camera refresh, and new Galaxy Pro tablets. It seems that Samsung has tried to make Android their own system in a sense, but now hopefully that does change. Perhaps the company’s push into Tizen might help place some extra space between them and Google.
As a Samsung user, I can definitely attest to the fact that many of these apps simply just aren’t needed. Hopefully this year we can see Samsung do something more simplified with the oft-overbearing TouchWiz/NatureUX.
Samsung shouldn’t feel the need to recreate something that already exists. On the other hand, when you’re that big, you can stretch out your arms a bit. There’s nothing wrong with trying to woo users to your platform-agnostic services.
There does come a time, however, when even Google has to step in and speak up. While some Samsung apps may have jump-started changes in apps like the default Video player, many owners (that we know of) haven’t much used some of the others. How many of you are using apps and services such as Samsung Apps, ChatON, and Samsung Wallet?
Recode via Android Community (image also courtesy of Android Community)
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