Filowz seeking funding for the Sonomad, portable Bluetooth speaker with boombox vibe
Most Bluetooth speakers today are getting smaller for more portability, but Paris-based company Filowz is planning to offer a speaker that takes its styling from the past.
Filowz is seeking $90,000 for the Sonomad through its Indiegogo campaign that has just 11 days left, ending Feb. 2. At the time of writing this, the Bluetooth speaker raised $20,527 and the company needs to raise the full amount for the project to be funded.
According to a press release, the Sonomad is “a Hi-Fi wireless portable sound system” that packs “performance and portability,” offering 20 hours of music playback on a single battery charge. While it has 70s looks, it carries modern features with the ability to connect to your smartphone, tablet, computer, MP3 player, etc., through a standard audio connector or Bluetooth and it sports a 5V USB connector to keep your smartphone charged while you listen to some tunes. Filowz put a “safe dock” on the device as well, that will securely hold any size smartphone inside, as long as it is less than 3 inches in width. This could be useful if you wanted to take the speaker to beach and keep your phone safe from the sand.
Although its not exactly the smallest device, to carry it around it features a handle and shoulder strap. The speaker weights about 2.6 pounds as well.
Besides being a nifty little device that combines new and old technology, it has a unique back story as well. Filowz said it’s funded by Grégoire, a sound engineer who has traveled and lived in Africa for 6 years, where he felt the need for an effective, convenient and reliable portable speaker.
If you’ve been looking for a speaker that offers high performance with an innovative universal dock, be sure to hit up the links below.
The post Filowz seeking funding for the Sonomad, portable Bluetooth speaker with boombox vibe appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Android 4.4 KitKat Ready for the US HTC One
HTC One users. Get ready to break yourself a piece of that KitKat bar. Android 4.4 is about ready to be sent out to all HTC One users, on all US carriers. According to HTC’s Twitter page, the Android 4.4 update is ready, but awaiting certification. It shouldn’t take too long to get that certification, so expect the update to start rolling out in the next couple weeks as promised by HTC.
Source: HTC
Spotify makes an update brings artist touring Details
One of the other major streaming music apps to grace our digital lives, Spotify, has released an update to their Android app. Adding in a new section in Artist views that will keep you up to date on touring details so you don’t miss your favorite bands performances. Not only does it give you the date and location (with a quick tap to Google Maps for directions), but you can go buy tickets.
The remainder of the update details are rather comical, not in what they are specifically, but in how Spotify delivers them. I love it.
Improved: Spotify Connect will be on its best behaviour when you play radio.
Fixed: We’ve tickled some pixels and dealt with some crashes.
Fictitious: This app was assembled from old clock parts.
Ha, tickled some pixels. The update is live in the Play Store for all who wish to pick it up. If you want to save your self a few taps, just hit the nifty Play Store image below.
FBI tells retailers to expect more credit card data theft
Don’t think that the end of holiday shopping means an end to attempts to swipe your credit card data. The FBI is warning retailers that it expects these intrusion attempts to become more of a problem in the near future, particularly through malware that grabs account info from cash registers and credit card readers. It’s not clear if these attackers have any specific stores in their crosshairs, but retail account security is undoubtedly a growing problem — Neiman Marcus recently confirmed a breach that compromised 1.1 million customer cards, and Reuters hears that other companies have been victims. Paying with cash suddenly doesn’t sound like such a bad idea.
[Image credit: Roadsidepictures, Flickr]
Filed under: Internet
Source: Reuters
Time Warner Cable customers can now stream on-demand shows from A&E Networks
Sure, Time Warner Cable already provides a way to view on-demand A&E Networks programming via its set-top boxes. But in an era where watching stuff on different types of screens is key, service providers and creators alike know how important it is for people to consume as much content as possible, regardless of where they are. Today, as part of the TV Everywhere initiative, TWC struck a deal which lets its subscribers have full on-demand access to a number of channels from A&E Networks — such as History, Lifetime and, of course, A&E. Naturally, this means being able to use the desktop site and mobile apps of each network to watch a variety of shows at any given time, including ones like Duck Dynasty, Pawn Stars, American Pickers, Swamp People and Project Runway.
We should mention that, as is often the case, Bright House Networks customers will also benefit from Time Warner Cable’s latest content agreement, though they won’t be able to use their subscription credentials until next week. A&E Networks has a number of apps across iOS and Android, so now might be a good time to download and set them up using your TWC ID — because, let’s face it, you can’t wait to binge-watch Storage Wars: Texas.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD
Source: Business Wire
iWork updates let you share password-protected files through iCloud
Many fans of cloud services are used to sharing secure files with their friends, but that surprisingly hasn’t been an option for iWork users — at least, until today. Apple has updated both iWork for iCloud and all its Keynote apps to let productivity mavens share password-protected documents through iCloud links. Appropriately, iCloud now offers a list view that helps you find shared documents. Whether or not you’re the sharing kind, we’d suggest at least grabbing the Keynote update; both iOS and Mac users get better presenter display options, new transitions and more sophisticated charts. You’ll find all the iWork upgrades at the source links.
Filed under: Internet, Software, Apple
Via: GigaOM
Source: Mac App Store, iWork for iCloud, App Store
Apple Executives Consider Thirty Years of Macintosh, Say iOS and OS X Convergence ‘A Non-Goal’
To celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the unveiling of the original Macintosh — tomorrow, January 24, 2014 — Macworld has published a lengthy interview with three Apple executives to discuss where the Mac has been, and where it is going. Senior Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing Phil Schiller, Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi, and Vice President of Software Technology Bud Tribble — who was a member of the original Mac development team — all shared their thoughts and the full article is well worth a read.
Among the more interesting tidbits from the interviews is one particular statement from Federighi, where he notes that while iOS and OS X do share some cross-pollination of features and design, they will not become one operating platform without good reason. He says that the Mac has “been honed for over 30 years to be optimal” for keyboards and mice, while attaching a touchscreen to a PC — or a keyboard to a tablet — without a good reason to do so makes for a bad experience.
“We don’t waste time thinking, ‘But it should be one [interface!]‘ ‘How do you make these [operating systems] merge together?’ What a waste of energy that would be,” Schiller said. But he added that the company definitely tries to smooth out bumps in the road that make it difficult for its customers to switch between a Mac and an iOS device. For example, making sure its messaging and calendaring apps have the same name on both OS X and iOS.
“To say [OS X and iOS] should be the same, independent of their purpose? Let’s just converge, for the sake of convergence? [It’s] absolutely a non-goal,” Federighi said. “You don’t want to say the Mac became less good at being a Mac because someone tried to turn it into iOS. At the same time, you don’t want to feel like iOS was designed by [one] company and Mac was designed by [a different] company, and they’re different for reasons of lack of common vision. We have a common sense of aesthetics, a common set of principles that drive us, and we’re building the best products we can for their unique purposes. So you’ll see them be the same where that makes sense, and you’ll see them be different in those things that are critical to their essence.”
Macworld editor Jason Snell mentions that though he brought an iPhone, iPad and MacBook Air to the interview at Apple’s Cupertino campus, he ultimately chose to take notes on the MacBook — something not lost on the Apple execs.
“You had a bunch of tools,” Federighi said, pointing at my bag. And you pulled out the one that felt right for the job that you were doing. It wasn’t because it had more computing power … you pulled it out because it was the most natural device to accomplish a task.”
Schiller said Apple believed that the Mac “keeps going forever” because its differences make it really valuable. The current Mac lineup looks very different from what Steve Jobs introduced thirty years ago, but Apple clearly considers it crucial to the future of the company.
Images courtesy Shrine of Apple
     |
iWork for iOS and Mac Updated With Password-Protected Sharing, New Features
Along with an update for its iWork for iCloud apps that brought an iOS 7-style redesign, Apple today released updates for its iWork apps for both Mac and iOS, as well as minor updates for both iMovie for Mac and Podcasts for iOS.
All of Apple’s iWork apps, including its iWork for iCloud apps, now have support for more secure document viewing with password-protected sharing capabilities.
In addition to password-protected documents, Keynote for iOS has also gained a built-in remote function, which will likely replace the standalone Keynote Remote app, while Numbers for iOS now offers landscape viewing and the ability to edit spreadsheets.
Keynote for Mac has gained new transitions, improved display options, the ability to share password-protected presentations via iCloud, and charts with time, date, and duration values. The update also includes improved compatibility with Microsoft PowerPoint 2013 presentations and support for custom number charts on imported Keynote ’09 and PowerPoint presentations.
Pages for Mac has new center and edge guides, while Numbers for Mac now offers tools for sorting multiple columns or rows. The updates for all of the apps should be available later today, with Slashgear and TechCrunch providing some additional information on the new features.
Apple’s iWork update will be a welcome change for Mac users who were disappointed with the upgraded iWork apps that were released in October, as the new apps were missing several features available in older versions of the software. In November, Apple pledged to re-introduce several lost features over the course of the next six months and today’s update is the first step in that direction.
The iWork suite of apps for iOS and Mac are available to users who owned previous versions of iWork and to users who have purchased new Mac and iOS devices. Customers who do not fit those criteria can purchase the iWork apps for Mac for $19.99 and the iWork apps for iOS for $9.99.
Pages for Mac – [Mac App Store]
Numbers for Mac – [Mac App Store]
Keynote for Mac [Mac App Store]
Pages for iOS – [App Store]
Numbers for iOS – [App Store]
Keynote for iOS – [App Store]
| |
Apple Seeds OS X Mavericks 10.9.2 Build 13C44 to Developers [Mac Blog]
Apple today seeded build 13C44 of OS X 10.9.2 to developers, marking the third developer beta iteration of 10.9.2. The release comes a week after the second OS X 10.9.2 beta, build 13C39, and a month after the first OS X 10.9.2 beta.
The update is available to registered developers through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store as well as through the Mac Dev Center.
Apple has also seeded a new version of Safari 6.1.2 for Lion/Mountain Lion, asking developers to focus on General Website Compatibility, Accessibility, AutoFill features, Printing and Emailing from Reader, Dragging Tabs Between Monitors, and Extension Compatibility.
| |
Price drop for T-Mobile LG G2, Now Just $499.20
Looks like a price drop just happened for the T-Mobile LG G2. A slash pulls it down from $600 to $499.20. That would be a savings of $100.80. Seems like an odd price tag, but when you consider that this is with $0 down and EIP payments of $20.80, it adds up just fine over the 24 months period.
That isn’t all though. It also looks like the price drops even further if you happen to qualify for an upgrade. As TmoNews pointed out, thanks to a reader, the LG G2 is hitting at $403 with $0 down and only $16.80 for 24 months. That would also appear to be a WEB ONLY offer.
Guess it is time to clear out some stock to make room for the LG GFlex. Head over T-Mobile.com if the LG G2 has been something you have been eyeballing.
Via TmoNews
AIVAnet 