Broadcom’s new chip lets your phone use any wireless charging standard
Wonder why only a handful of mobile devices support wireless charging? It’s partly because the standards are horribly fragmented: companies have to choose between technologies like PMA, Rezence and Qi, and it’s not clear which of those will last. Broadcom might put the issue to bed with its new (and awkwardly titled) BCM59350 chip, though. The hardware lets gadgets charge using any existing wireless technology — you won’t have to hunt for specific charging pads. It can also handle up to 7.5W of power instead of the usual 5W, so your gear might charge faster than it would using old-fashioned wires.
Broadcom isn’t naming customers or estimating release dates, but test samples have already gone out to “select” partners. It’s doubtful that the chip will resolve confusion over standards; that’s going to require fewer standards or greater compatibility, either of which could take much longer. However, device makers may now be more comfortable including wireless power in their products. It won’t be shocking if it’s much easier to get cable-free charging in your next phone or smartwatch.
Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals, Mobile
Source: Broadcom
BBC’s major iPlayer update comes to iOS and Android
Incredibly, Windows Phone users were the first to see the BBC’s big mobile iPlayer refresh, but platform parity has now been restored. Continuing its ongoing iPlayer revamp, the Beeb has launched updated versions of its iOS and Android apps, bringing with them up-to-date channel pages, themed programme collections and clearer categories. Both apps now sport a fresh new UI, making it easier to browse and find programmes, and displays subtitles on downloaded shows for the first time. Other sections of the app like Favourites, Downloads and Search remain unchanged, but the BBC says it intends to deliver new features “at regular intervals,” including options like Live Rewind and continuous play. However, the most notable upcoming feature is likely to be Netflix-like cross-platform playback, allowing you to play, stop and pick up where you left off on any device.
Filed under: Mobile
Via: BBC Media Centre
Source: BBC iPlayer (App Store), (Google Play), Windows Phone
Robotics kit steers kids away from complex code, toward fun projects
You”ve likely come into contact with one of the many wondrous robots with an Arduino brain, but actually building one yourself? That’s hard enough for adults, let alone young kids. BirdBrain Technologies, the brains behind the Hummingbird Arduino Kickstarter project (along with Carnegie Mellon University) feels the same way and has just launched the Hummingbird Duo, a robotics Kickstarter project for kids “10 to 110.” It’s designed to ease the robotics learning curve with two boards: the original Hummingbird kit to help younger kids start making projects, and a “Leonardo” board for when they’ve gathered some experience. You’ll get the same building blocks like LEDs, vibration motors, servers and sensors from the original kit, along with an integrated motor/servo shield and improved connectors on the second board.
Luckily, it’s not just boards. There’s free software like the Create visual lab programmer that uses a simple “storyboarding” interface to create the control code. You can also purchase a base kit with hardware to create simple robots, a premium kit with more sensors and motors, and a classroom kit that helps 16-24 students build projects like animatronic puppet shows. That’s far from the gearhead reputation of robots and gives kids a chance to be creative as well as technical. The Hummingbird Duo board starts at $69, while the Base, Premium and Classroom kits run at $129, $225 and $1,500 for early backers, respectively. To sign up, hit Kickstarter here or at the source.
Source: Hummingbird
Samsung will let you swap your DSLR for a free NX30 on June 4th in NYC
If you like free stuff, you’re gonna want to make your way to Times Square on Wednesday, June 4th. Samsung’s hosting a “Ditch Day” event from noon to 6PM, letting you trade in a digital SLR (any DSLR) for a brand-new NX30 mirrorless camera, “while supplies last.” Samsung reps were unable to confirm the number of cams on hand, so if you want the best chance of getting $1,000 worth of free loot, you might want to queue up early. Alternatively, if you can’t get your hands on a DSLR worth “ditching,” you’ll still be able to walk away with a coupon for 50 bucks off a Samsung cam, such as the NX Mini or Galaxy Camera 2, both of which will be on hand for you to try out at the event in NYC.
Amazon welcomes numismatists with new collectible coin store
Amazon’s well known as the one-stop online shop for practically anything you might want, but apparently it has, until now, regretfully underserved numismatists — that’s coin collectors to the uninitiated. According to the company, rare and collectible coinage is one of the most popular product categories people search for on its collectibles and fine art portal. As such, Amazon’s thought it necessary to open a dedicated page (in the US, at least) showcasing such items from “highly regarded dealers.” The Collectible Coins store is now live for your perusal, through which you can even buy a 1907 Saint Gaudens Ultra High Relief Pattern $20 coin — provided you have $3.75 million to hand. Not the best exchange rate, but the shipping’s free, at least.
Source: Amazon (1), (2)
Facebook pokes the EU to help push through its WhatsApp purchase
Facebook’s $19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp is a done deal in the US, but in Europe, it still has a few more hoops to jump through. In a bid to move things along, the Wall Street Journal reports that the social networking giant is taking the unusual step of actively seeking an investigation into the deal by the European Commission. As it stands, the company will be probed by regulators across Europe, but if the Commission gets involved, Facebook would no longer need to gain approval from each European member state. That could possibly push the deal through a little bit faster. Facebook’s decision to go direct likely stems from opposition it currently faces from European carriers, which are worried that the social network would dominate the text and photo messaging market (read: kill SMS revenues). For the Commission to get involved, Facebook needs proof that it’s already under review in at least three EU countries. It isn’t clear if that’s the case, but if it is, a Facebook-owned WhatsApp would likely become a reality a lot sooner than is currently expected.
Filed under: Internet, Software, Facebook
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Microsoft slashes Surface Pro 2 prices by up to £150
Microsoft might be gearing up for the launch of its bigger, better Surface 3 tablet, but it still hopes to shift some older slates in the interim, with help from an enticing discount. In the biggest price cut we can remember since Surface RT received similar treatment, all configurations of Surface Pro 2 are now available through Microsoft’s UK store for £140 or £150 off their normal cost. This means you can grab the base 64GB model for £569 (down from £719), up to the top-of-the-line 512GB unit for £1289 (reduced from £1439). Alright, so they’re still not the most wallet-friendly tablets around, but if you want full-fat Windows 8.1 on a 10.6-inch slate, then at least these ones are cheaper than they were last week.
Filed under: Laptops, Tablets, Microsoft
Source: Microsoft
Apple Introduces Education Pricing for iPad Air and Retina iPad Mini, Now Starting at $469 and $379
Apple has introduced reduced education pricing for the iPad Air and Retina iPad Mini, offering both tablets at starting prices of $469 and $379, reports MacGeneration (Google Translate). With both iPads still showing a standard retail price starting at $499 and $399, the new education pricing totals to a $30 discount on the iPad Air and $20 discount on the Retina iPad mini and marks the first time that Apple has included the iPad in the special program. Apple is also offering special education pricing on refurbished previous generation iPads.
Apple previously cut education pricing on the non-Retina 13-Inch MacBook Pro to $999 last year, and also offers discounts on the entire Mac line in its education store. The discounted education pricing is available to employees of K-12 schools as well as faculty, staff, students, and parents of students at higher education institutions.
Google uses self-aware datacenters to cut the cost of searching
Google spits out about 4 million search results per minute (among many other duties), which consumes a lot of energy. According to a recent blog, it cut its electrical bills significantly by applying the same kind of machine learning used in speech recognition and other consumer applications. A data center engineer on a 20 percent project plotted environmental factors like outside air temperature, IT load and other server-related factors. He then developed a neural network that could see the “underlying story” in the data, predicting loads 99.6 percent of the time. With a bit more work, Mountain View managed to eke out significant savings by varying cooling and other factors. It also published a white paper to share the info with other data centers and prove once again that humans are redundant.
Filed under: Internet, Software, Google
Source: Google
Virgin Media’s TV Anywhere app now works on the latest Android devices
Virgin Media’s TV Anywhere Android app has been available since November, but its rollout has been hampered by limited device support. After the company opened the app to Nexus 5 owners earlier this year, it’s finally made the streaming service available to most powerful Android smartphones and tablets that money can buy. If you own Samsung Galaxy S5, Sony Xperia Z2 or HTC One (M8), you’ll now be able to stream over 90 channels and remotely control your TiVo box while on the move. There is a minor catch, however: the company notes that while the new devices can download TV Anywhere from the Play Store, they’re not officially supported. In the company’s own words: “We expect them to work, we have not been able to test all of them due to the large number of Android devices available.” The list of supported devices is updated regularly, though, so for now, check out the list below to see if your Android smartphone or tablet makes the grade.
The full list of new devices: Samsung Galaxy S5, Samsung Galaxy Note 8, Sony Xperia Z2, Sony Xperia M2, Sony Xperia Z2 tablet, Sony Xperia M, HTC One (M8), HTC One Mini, HTC One Sensation, HTC One Max, HTC Desire HD, Motorola Moto X, Motorola RAZR I, Motorola Xoom 2, Motorola Xoo ME, Lenovo Ideatab A1000, Lenovo Ideatab S6000, Barnes and Noble Nook HD, Barnes and Noble Nook HD+, Huawei Ascend Y300, LG G2, LG GPad 8.3, Samsung Galaxy Note PRO 12.2, Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, Samsung Galaxy S Duos 2.
Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Internet, Software, Mobile
Source: TV Anywhere (Google Play)
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