Chrome updates bring data compression to all Android and iOS users
Google has been testing data compression in mobile versions of Chrome for what seems like ages, but today it’s finally ready to bring that efficiency to the masses. Both the Android and iOS versions of the browser now let all users squeeze website content to reduce their data use — and, in some cases, their phone bills. There’s also a pair of platform-specific upgrades in the pipeline. Android fans will get to create web shortcuts on their home screens, while iOS users will see the automatic translation bar that has been available on Android since last year. Whichever version of Chrome you’re running, you’ll want to grab its latest update through one of the source links.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Google
Source: App Store, Google Play
James Frey and Google team up to fuse interactive teen novels with AR games
We knew Google’s Niantic Labs was planning to use its Ingress tech to power other augmented reality games, but we didn’t expect this. In an announcement today, Niantic announced it has teamed up with publisher HarperCollins to create a location-based game for ENDGAME, a new book trilogy for young adults by bestselling authors James Frey (of A Million Little Pieces fame) and Nils Johnson-Shelton that has already been optioned by Twentieth Century Fox. Niantic will play a significant part in the interactive project, which is lovingly referred to as an “innovative omni-platform endeavor,” by developing a virtual-meets-real-world game that allows mobile users to solve virtual puzzles to advance parts of the story.
Google’s involvement doesn’t end there, either. The company has secured the rights to exclusively distribute six of fifteen original e-books on the Play Store and will also use YouTube videos, search and image results and maps to build the story, mirroring elements of Niantic’s Ingress campaigns. So when can we expect the project to bear fruit? HarperCollins says the first first book in the trilogy, ENDGAME: THE CALLING (yes, it appears someone’s Caps Lock got stuck), will be published on October 7th, along with Niantic’s official iOS and Android games. To mark the occasion, gamers will be asked to solve a virtual puzzle to claim a quantity of gold secured inside bullet-proof glass case. If that’s got you excited, there is a catch — that case is on public display and Google plans to stream the event live on YouTube.
Filed under: Gaming, Internet, Software, Mobile, Google
Source: HarperCollins (PRNewsWire)
Larger iPhone 6, ‘iPad Pro’ and iWatch Could Tap New Display Sizes in Development
Research firm DisplaySearch has once again tapped its sources in the display supply chain to assess what panel sizes and resolutions are currently under development, using that information to speculate on the display technology that may land in Apple’s iPhone 6, new iPad and rumored iWatch. According to the firm’s latest report, the iPhone 6 and iPad may receive size and resolution boosts in line with circulating rumors, while the iWatch could sport a flexible AMOLED display.
On the high end of the spectrum, DisplaySearch analyst David Hsieh predicts the iPhone 6 could ship with a 5.5-inch display that has a 1920 x 1080 resolution, yielding a density of 401 pixels per inch (ppi). The display would be a LTPS (low-temperature polysilicon) TFT LCD, which is the same technology used in a number of previous iPhone models. Another possibility is a smaller 4.7-inch LTPS screen with 1600 x 900 resolution and 386 ppi. Either configuration would bump the iPhone 6 up from the 4-inch, 1136 x 640 display found in the iPhone 5s, and a previous report has suggested that Apple could release both sizes.
On the iPad side of the equation, Apple may increase the size of the tablet and introduce a 12.0-inch “iPad Pro” model. This echoes several previous reports in recent months claiming that an oversized iPad with a 12.9-inch Retina display is entering production and may launch as soon as early 2014. There have, however, been no part leaks supporting the existence of such a device so far.
According to DisplaySearch, the 12.9-inch “iPad Pro” model could include a display with a resolution of 2732 x 2048 and 265 ppi, edging out the 12.2-inch panel Samsung introduced in its new Galaxy Tab Pro and Note Pro tablets. The Samsung models ship with a 12.2-inch display that has a 2560 x 1600 resolution and 247 ppi.
DisplaySearch also reiterates an earlier claim that the iWatch may ship in two different sizes. The firm’s forecast predicts the Cupertino company may adopt a 1.3-inch display for women and a larger 1.6-inch display for men. Both sizes would sport a 320 x 320 resolution and would use flexible AMOLED technology. Rumors suggest Apple may debut its iWatch product sometime in 2014.
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Honda’s new EV charger can draw some of its power directly from the sun
While your new EV or plug-in hybrid is surely green, plugging it into the coal-fired grid may not feel so much like winning. Solar energy is a much better story, though, and Honda has just announced a new exterior, wall-mounted plug-in charger that can work directly with such systems. The charger will switch between standard AC and solar according to the amount of power produced by the sun, and even work during a power outage. It’ll also allow smart-card metering for commercial installations, tamper-proof locking and smartphone monitoring via WiFi. There’s no timeline or pricing for it yet, but for the chance to stick it to big energy? We can’t wait.
Filed under: Transportation
Via: Tech On!
Source: Honda (translated)
R.B.I. Baseball returns this spring to consoles, phones and tablets
The MLB recently dropped a bombshell: One of the most beloved baseball games of all time, R.B.I. Baseball for the NES, is getting an update. It’s coming to current and next-gen consoles in addition to mobile devices, and given the span of time between now and its vague Spring 2014 release window, it being a downloadable arcade title seems likely. The game’s webpage doesn’t offer much by way of details, but according to Joystiq it’s being developed internally by Major League Baseball Advanced Media — the division responsible for WWE’s streaming channel, MLB.tv and At Bat. Sure, it probably won’t stand toe-to-toe with Sony’s MLB: The Show franchise, but, for non-PlayStation gamers it’s the only real option for a virtual home run.
R.B.I. Baseball 14. It’s back. You’re welcome. http://t.co/HUzLggoAKR #RBI14 pic.twitter.com/UDG4GfxjQw
– MLB (@MLB) January 15, 2014
Filed under: Gaming, HD, Mobile
Via: Joystiq
Source: RBI Game
Sky’s AdSmart brings targeted advertising to your TV
As it turns out, Sky isn’t prepared to sit and watch while its business get trashed by Google and chums. To get in on the targeted advertising game, the broadcaster is launching a new platform on its UK set-top boxes, called AdSmart. The system works by sending a library of clips direct to your Sky+HD box, which will run during ad breaks in live broadcasts in place of the standard national ads transmitted to everyone else. So, while the rest of the country is being sold nappies, you could be watching a pre-downloaded ad for a new phone, for instance. The targeting might not be totally precise, however, because we’re told that the only information Sky has access to is your post code and your Experian-supplied credit report, but hey — perhaps you’ll be clued-in when your local restaurant begins offering a new menu.
[Image Credit: dagoaty, Flickr]
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Via: Sky Corporate
Source: Sky AdSmart
Netflix commissions third season of Lilyhammer and a new show based on Marco Polo
Netflix’s exclusive content push is rolling on, starting with news that Lilyhammer will return for a third season later this year. As usual Netflix hasn’t released viewer numbers or statistics, but season two’s eight episodes have apparently done well enough in a month to justify another go-round — a good sign for the series that kicked off the service’s focus on fresh content. This weekend, the streaming video service also netted its first Golden Globe Award as Robin Wright won for her part in House of Cards, and Netflix co-hosted an awards party with The Weinstein Company. The surprise however, is that the two had more to celebrate than their recent deal that will bring TWC movies exclusively to Netflix during their pay-TV window, starting in 2016. They’re also working on a new TV series, focused on “the epic adventures of Marco Polo, a kinetic tale of high politics, masterful manipulation and deadly warfare among clashing empires.”
Due later this year it joins other selections like HoC season two, Orange is the New Black season two on Netflix’s slate of originals and will arrive at around the same time as the Wachowski-backed sci-fi series Sense8. As we’ve come to expect from such series, the nine-chapter Marco Polo production has a number of experienced names attached. That includes executive producer and creator John Fusco of Young Guns and Young Guns II fame, plus executive producer/director Dan Minahan, who not only carries credits from Game of Thrones and True Blood for HBO but also wrote/directed one of our current Netflix streaming favorites, Series 7: The Contenders. Placed in 13th century China amid “a world replete with astonishing martial arts, sexual intrigue, political skullduggery and spectacular battles” this project is likely aimed directly towards fans of HBO’s adult-themed hits and recent Starz history-based efforts like DaVinci’s Demons and Spartacus.
Skål to a new season of Lilyhammer! pic.twitter.com/HM0lNmCQXQ
– Lilyhammer (@Lilyhammer) January 13, 2014
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Netflix (1), (2)
SoftKinetic’s 3D scanning solution aims to popularize MakerBot’s printers
SoftKinetic, the 3D gesture middleware provider for Intel and Ubisoft’s Just Dance 2014 for the PS4, is once again catching our attention by announcing its strategic partnership with MakerBot at CES. These two companies will work on optimizing the former’s time-of-flight depth camera technology for 3D scanning, which will hopefully help popularize MakerBot’s 3D printers. While we didn’t get to see objects being printed live at the show, SoftKinetic’s CMO Eric Krzeslo surprised us by how quickly he could scan a person’s face using his depth camera. The data was then sent to Volumental’s impressive cloud service, which returned a printer-ready render in a matter of minutes. See for yourself in our video after the break.
SoftKinetic also announced that NVIDIA’s Tegra Note 7 platform comes with the former’s gesture recognition middleware, as well as support for its DepthSense 3D Time-of-Flight USB camera. This means OEMs or developers will be able to quickly implement short-range (“as close as 6 inches away”) gesture control on NVIDIA’s tablet reference design. At this rate, it shouldn’t be long before we can control our tablets from afar — it’s just too much effort to reach over one’s bowl of noodles to poke the screen.
HP’s smartphone revival begins with two enormous Android handsets
Remember when HP wanted to get into the smartphone business, but changed CEOs and scrapped Palm, the company it bought for $1.2 billion? Well, a few years and another CEO later and the company has decided that it wants to get into the… smartphone business. Speaking with re/code, HP’s Ron Coughlin has revealed that the company will launch 6-and-7-inch tablets with voice calling, called the Slate 6 and Slate 7 VoiceTab, respectively. If you’re already reaching for your wallet, however, you’ll be disappointed to hear that the company is launching the hardware in India first, as Meg Whitman and chums feel that the subcontinent has a demand for oversized phones that only HP can satisfy. Spec-wise, both handsets are said to run Jelly Bean on an unspecified quad-core processor, with 16GB storage and a microSD card slot that’ll add up to a further 32GB. There’s a 1,280 x 720 display on the 6-incher and a 1,280 x 800 on the 7-inch version, but both will come with front-facing stereo speakers, a 2-megapixel webcam and a 5-megapixel primary lens. The company has yet to say how much either device will cost, or if we’re likely to see them over in the west, but we’ll be keeping our eyes on this in the hope that history doesn’t repeat itself.
Source: re/code
Samsung tipped to revisit Windows Phone 8 with the 5-inch, 1080p SM-W750V
Much like HTC, Samsung hasn’t expended a huge amount of effort on Windows Phone 8, having crafted just a few handsets running the platform before seemingly losing interest. Various clues are now pointing to a renewed curiosity in Microsoft’s mobile OS from the company, in the form of the high-end SM-W750V. Shipping documents from before the new year indicate a screen size of 5 inches and provide first mention of the model number, which matches a recent North American approval by the Bluetooth SIG. A user agent profile on Samsung’s site is even more fruitful: “Windows Mobile Lab” is named co-conspirator alongside Sammy, Internet Explorer is penned as the default browser, and a couple of specs point to an LTE-capable handset with a screen resolution of 1,920 x 1,080. As these things go, it’s probably just a matter of time before pictures of the handset start surfacing, and there is a large mobile conference a little more than a month away. With Nokia rumored to soon enter unfamiliar territory, perhaps Samsung is preparing a undercover agent of its own.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Samsung, Microsoft
Via: Windows Phone Central, SammyToday, PhoneArena
Source: Bluetooth SIG, Samsung (UAProf)
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