Synaptics to Acquire iPhone Display Chipmaker Renesas SP Drivers for $475 Million [iOS Blog]
Earlier this year, Apple was rumored to be in negotiations with chipmaker Renesas Electronics to acquire its Renesas SP Drivers division, which produces chips for smartphone displays including the iPhone. Talks between the companies reportedly “failed to make progress,” with touchpad and touchscreen maker Synaptics entering the picture as the likely acquirer. As noted by Reuters, that deal is now official, with Synaptics paying $475 million for Renesas SP Drivers.
Synaptics previously supplied the scroll wheel for the first iPod, but lost Apple as a customer when the Cupertino company decided to bring its touch technology in house. Synaptics hopes to bring back Apple as a customer now that it will be acquiring Renesas SP Drivers in a deal expected to close later this year.
“Our better opportunities are really complementary technologies to what they do internally. And at this junction I don’t believe they do any driver chips internally so that would really be an opportunity for us,” Synaptics Inc Chief Executive Rick Bergman said to Reuters.
Synaptics reportedly will use this acquisition to develop a single-chip solution that combines its touch technology with Renesas SP’s display technology. This combined chipset is projected to improve display performance and lower component cost for smartphone makers such as Apple and Samsung. Synaptics also manufactures fingerprint sensors and controls 90 percent of the market after it acquired fingerprint ID provider Validity for $255 million last year.
Small World 2 Tournament Style update brings in a lot of impressive multiplayer Features
Small World is one of the world’s most popular board games with 650,000 copies sold all over the world, spanning both its physical and digital versions which are dynamite sales in the board game world. We reviewed its digital version, Small World 2 (read the full review here), and while it had some fairly extensive multiplayer options available to it, it lacked perhaps a more competitive approach to its multiplayer modes. Thankfully though, Days of Wonder is adding a new update, the Small World 2 Tournament Style update, which adds quite a few features that board game buffs are going to really appreciate.
Chief among the updated features is the Tournament-Style multiplayer, which allows times to be set for how long players can take to make their moves. This includes a feature that allows an AI to take over for a player that runs out of time, seeing the game to completion, and although the AI may win in the person’s place, does not count as a win for that player. This is a really neat feature as it means that games cannot be ruined by people giving up or simply leaving the game, something that has typically plagued digital board games.
The update also includes several new modes, including Single and Multi Session games, Online Arena, which features a real-time chat lobby and other community focused features, and quite a few chat options have been added at player’s request, in particular persistent chat windows being available while in-game. It’s a pretty extensive update, one which Days of Wonder is hoping will foster the same kind of community that has taken shape over at its other popular digital board game, Ticket to Ride.
If you want to take advantage of the new Small World 2 update, you can pick up the game from the Play Store at the links below. And for more details about the update, take a look at the Press Release below.
Press Release
About Small World:
- Small World 2, the digital follow-up to the best-selling Days of Wonder digital fantasy board game, is officially expanding from iPad to Steam and Android platforms.
- The Small World franchise (physical game, expansions and digital game combined) has generated more than $20 million global sales
- The physical Small World board game has sold more than 650,000 copies worldwide across its digital and physical versions.
- To put that number into context: a “hit” independent/hobby board game typically sells between 5,000-10,000 copies.
- Small World 2 does something no other digital board game can: it allows players to challenge friends to a real-time game across iPad, Android tablets (including Amazon’s Kindle Fire), and PC’s via both Steam and Days of Wonder Online.
- Players can even start a game on one platform, and continue on another and challenge friends on any platform.
Download links:New Features – Small World 2 Tournament Style
- Full-featured Lobby (called “Online Arena”) with real-time chat, list of connected players, game creation and list of open games to join. This will help building a thriving community just like what happened with Ticket to Ride.
- Two types of games : “Single Session” games and “Multi Session” games.
- The single session game is real-time gaming à la Ticket to Ride, with AI taking over if a player quits the game. This will allow players to play quick real-time games and be sure to finish them even if a player “rage-quits”.
- Multi session games are the asynchronous gaming that already existed, but with the new system described below.
- Tournament-Style Multi-player – This is the big new feature. The player creating a game decides in advance how much time will be allocated to each player for the entire game.
- This includes a mechanism that works much like a Multiplayer Chess Clock, with the difference that if a player runs out of time, a AI takes over for that player until game end. The player that runs out of time loses no matter what (i.e. even if the Bot that steps in her shoes to complete the game wins the game), but the other players can finish the game to completion and see how they fared against each other.
- Bad players won’t be able to spoil the other players’ experience by dragging their feet when they lose.
- Allows for different styles of play, from “quick fix” to “deep strategy” games.
- Also sets proper expectations right from the start in terms of how fast or slow a player wants to play a game.
- Finally it paves the way for some future major features, such as tournaments.
- A Player Clock will govern both style of plays, albeit with different preset durations.
- Player Clock duration is adjustable to the minute, with a number of preset durations available for tournament play as well as more leisurely games.
- Additional improvements in the online gaming area. This implements the most important requests of players:
- Ranking, private games, karma filtering, starting player selection when creating a game,
- Persistent in-game chat,
- Chat at the final score screen, with possibility to add the other players as Buddies right away,
- An improved invitation system for “games with friends”.
- A detailed statistics screen at the end of each game to analyze how each player performed with the various race/power combinations
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Taiwanese Star Jimmy Lin Gaining Attention for iPhone 6 Mockup Photos
Taiwanese media star and race car driver Jimmy Lin has once again surfaced showing what he seems to be passing off as a legitimate iPhone 6, although the device is more likely to be one of many physical mockups seen in recent months.
Lin has a history of such postings, having shared what he claimed was a mini iPad back in 2010 two years before the real iPad mini debuted, what was clearly an iPhone 5 mockup, and what appears to have been a knockoff iPhone 5c shell or dummy unit based on accurate design specs that were circulating ahead of the device’s release last year.
In his latest “iPhone 6″ photos, Lin shows the device next to the iPhone 5 and 5s, comparisons that have been seen in a number of different settings already. Among the suspect aspects of his unit are what appears to be a nonfunctional yellow blank in place of the rear flash, a larger than expected FaceTime camera hole, and a lack of any photos with the unit turned on.
Lin’s unit appears very similar to one we’ve seen in photos sent by a supplier to screen protector and stylus firm Halo-Direct, although this unit lacks the Apple logo seen on Lin’s.
The 4.7-inch iPhone 6 is expected to debut around the September timeframe, with an even larger 5.5-inch model reportedly also in the works. It is unclear, however, where that larger model will debut alongside or up to several months later than the smaller version.
Your Chromebook now sends photos to Google+ in the background
To date, Chrome OS has only backed up photos to the cloud as long as you left the Google+ Photos app open; that’s a hassle on the frequently limited screen real estate of a Chromebook. You won’t have that headache if you grab the updated Photos app, however. The new version automatically uploads snapshots from your SD card in the background, even if the app is closed; you can move on to email knowing that all those vacation pictures will be safe. It’s a simple addition, but it should make a big difference if you’re planning to go on photo safaris this summer.
Filed under: Laptops, Internet, Software, Google
Via: The Next Web
Source: Chrome Web Store, Oren Blasberg (Google+)
Here are Nintendo’s new ‘Super Smash Bros.’ Amiibo toys for Wii U
Toy-based gaming is not only alive and well, it’s expanding to more franchises. This time it’s Nintendo’s turn: Following the footsteps of games like Skylanders and Disney Infinity, Nintendo announced the Amiibo, which are plastic figurines that you scan into your Wii U by holding them on the gamepad. As soon as the toy is scanned, its corresponding character — Mario is a primary example — appears in the game with its own unique score, experience points and skills. The point of doing this is so you can either partner with or fight against these virtual characters. Additionally, the more the Amiibo fights, the better it will become. The toys, which were shown off for the first time at E3, will initially be available for (and compatible with) Super Smash Bros. this holiday season, but more games will be compatible later on, such as Mario Kart 8 and Mario Party 10.
The Amiibo’s secret sauce is Near-Field Communications (NFC), the same short-length wireless communications standard used for mobile payments and Bluetooth pairing. Each action figure — which is just a hair taller than the average human finger — is embedded with crucial stats that gets transferred into the game as soon as you pair it with your gamepad; conversely, once you’re done playing, any new experience points, tactics or abilities you received during gameplay will be saved onto the Amiibo. These enhancements to your Amiibo’s profile can come either through battle or training, and thanks to the large number of customized moves and skills that you can rack up, you won’t have to worry about two Mario Amiibo figures being exactly alike.
There are a few different ways an Amiibo can be used in battle. You can have them fight other characters, team up with them, use them to take on your friends or go up against the Amiibo yourself. And according to Nintendo, going head-to-head against an Amiibo in Smash Bros. is more challenging and rewarding than if you were to fight the regular computer, since they’ll level up faster.
No prices have been announced, nor has Nintendo released details on how the figures will be utilized in upcoming games. For the holiday season, however, keep an eye out for Mario, Link, Princess Peach, Pikachu, Samus Aran and around five other characters who will be available at launch, with more planned for later. Nintendo also plans to come out with a NFC peripheral pad next year that will make it possible to use Amiibo with a 3DS.
Amazon stops taking DVD pre-orders in price row with Warner
Amazon’s quest for better deals and cheaper prices has seen it squeeze publishers, but it isn’t limiting itself to just books. The New York Times reports that the retailer is refusing to list DVD pre-orders for upcoming launch of many Warner Home Video movies. We’re not talking small releases either: The Lego Movie, 300: Rise of an Empire and Winter’s Tale are just three titles launching in the coming days that Amazon lists but isn’t allowing customers to order. Last month, the company admitted it was limiting orders for new Hachette books, including JK Rowling’s forthcoming release The Silkworm, in an attempt to gain cheaper pricing for e-books. Now it’s stuck stalemate with suppliers that are unwilling to acquiesce to its demands — a risky situation that is already pushing some Amazon customers to shop elsewhere.
Filed under: Amazon
Source: New York Times
Researchers write comedy rulebook for joke-telling robots
Imagine if, at some point in the future, groups of humans were force-marched down to their local theater to watch Jerry Seindroid or Stewbot Lee say “Hey, so what’s the deal with humans, eh?” How would our robotic overloads know what zingy one-liners to crack, in order to keep us amused and distracted? As it turns out, the team behind the KOBIAN Emotional Humanoid robot has spent the last few months writing down the rulebook for robotic comedians. Volunteers were wired up to sensors that monitored their reactions to joke-telling, and the team has concluded that dirty jokes, exaggeration and imitation are some of the more effective way to get a laugh. There’s a video showing some of the highlights of KOBIAN’s bits, but we should warn you that, thanks to the language barrier, you might not find the jokes funny in the way that they’re intended. (Actually, no, they’re hilarious.)
Filed under: Robots
Source: Spectrum.ieee
Cable companies duped community groups into fighting net neutrality
Last week, it transpired that the big cable companies were bankrolling fake consumer groups like Broadband for America and The American Consumer Institute. These “independent consumer advocacy groups” are, in truth, nothing of the sort, and instead represent the interests of its benefactors, in the fight against net neutrality. If that wasn’t bad enough, VICE is now reporting that several of the real community groups (oh, and an Ohio bed-and-breakfast) that were signed up as supporters of Broadband for America were either duped into joining, or were signed up to the cause without their consent or knowledge.
For instance, TalkingWithHeroes, a veterans organization, was listed as a member, but its head hadn’t even heard of net neutrality, and insisted that they remain nonpolitical. Another, the Ohio League of Conservation Voters was unaware of Broadband for America until it discovered that it was listed as an official supporter. A third, the Texas Organization of Rural and Community Hospitals did sign up, but said that it had been duped, because it believed that Broadband for America was a cause promoting broadband installation in rural areas. The list of supposed members stops making sense when you read that Buster’s Auto Art and Summitville Tile and Roofing are, for some reason, members of an anti-net neutrality campaign group.
VICE has also discovered that Broadband for America, which describes itself as a consumer group, is actually run by a lawyer who supported Verizon’s lawsuit against the FCC. Former senator John Sununu, who co-chairs the organization, can’t really present himself as being nonpartisan, since he himself currently has a seat on Time Warner Cable’s board. Then there’s Beneva Shulte, another leading figure at BfA that just happens to be tied up with a lobbying firm that represents Verizon in the capital. We’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions, of course, but it’s probably worth saying that both Engadget and AOL do not endorse Broadband for America, just in case you see our names pop up somewhere they shouldn’t.
[Image Cedit: Shutterstock / Brandon Bourdages]
Filed under: Internet
Source: VICE
Intel’s cable-free future will use WiTricity’s advanced wireless charging
The wireless charging space recently expanded with the introduction of A4WP’s Rezence brand, followed by the participation of PC giants, Lenovo and Dell. Now, things are about to get even more interesting as WiTricity and Intel — both being A4WP board members — today announced their technology licensing deal. The basic idea is that WiTricity will be implementing its resonance-based charging technology onto future Intel-powered devices, as according to the Rezence specification. Conveniently, WiTricity’s newly appointed CEO, Alex Gruzen, is a veteran in the laptop industry, which will no doubt help his new company make a bigger push into the PC space.
The company’s technology boasts an efficiency of over 90 percent, and since it’s based on magnetic resonance instead of induction, you don’t have to place the devices directly on top of a pad for the power transfer; plus you can charge up multiple devices with a single transmitter (and you can add repeaters if you need to extend the range). In terms of power output, WiTricity already has solutions providing as little power as 10W for portable devices, all the way up to 6kW for cars; and it’s prepping for 20kW support for even bigger applications.
“We have been working with a variety of partners across a variety of industries,” Gruzen said. “We have great momentum in the automotive space, for example, and Toyota’s already announced that the next-generation Prius will have wireless charging with WiTricity’s technology.”
Another example mentioned by the CEO is a helmet kit that draws power wirelessly from a backpack, meaning front-line staff in the emergency services or the military wouldn’t have to worry about wires getting in the way. Similarly, protonics can be powered the same way. These are apparently already being tested in the field.
Medical implants is also an area of interest, and we were told that the FDA’s already testing a WiTricity-powered heart pump that charges up while the patient’s in bed, rather than having to plug a cable into a socket that sticks out of the body (which is a common cause of infection). This will be a few years before the FDA makes the approval, though, but Gruzen reassured that the technology is very safe.
“Everything we’re doing operates well below any defined standard around the world, so we’re pretty confident,” the CEO said. “The first revision has been locked in, we’re now in the process of bringing that in front of all the standards bodies to get an agreement on the approach.”
This echoes what Gruzen’s predecessor and company founder, Eric Giler, told us by way of a live demo back at CES 2013. As shown in the above video, the former CEO happily placed his head in between a power source and a receiver, to prove that there’s nothing to worry about this dark magic.
“That’s about 100 times safer than making a cellphone call,” Giler pointed out. “It’s about the same magnetic intensity as the Earth’s magnetic field. So we like to say to people: If you’re comfortable living on the Earth, you ought to be comfortable with WiTricity.”
With Rezence coming into shape and Intel partnering with WiTricity, Gruzen said we can expect the first WiTricity-powered portable devices to arrive by as early as end of this year, followed by cars in 2015 or 2016.
Filed under: Wireless
Europe opens investigation into Apple’s tax deals
Apple has said on more than one occasion that it pays its fair share of taxes, but it appears that the European Commission isn’t so sure. Today, the regulator confirmed it’s launched an investigation into whether the company is enjoying better tax deals than are warranted under EU law. It all centers around Apple’s Irish subsidiaries, Apple Sales International and Apple Operations Europe, which may have benefited from pricing arrangements that allowed it to minimize the overall amount of tax it paid. At 12.5 percent, Ireland’s business tax rate is lower than most EU member states, but Apple has previously been accused of securing rates as low as 2 percent.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has been questioned over Apple’s accounting practices before. Last year, Cook noted that Apple’s “effective tax rate” was 30.5 percent and it paid a total of $6 billion, which he claimed was more than any other company in the US. Due to its massive size, the company stores most of its cash overseas as it would cost billions in taxes to repatriate it. “I’ve seen something where people think we have a special deal with the Irish government where we get a two percent flat tax rate,” Cook has also said, referencing Apple’s operations in Ireland. “We don’t have that. Let me just set that aside.” Now the probe is official, the Commission says it will look to gather more information from Irish authorities and from Apple itself, no doubt following up on Cook’s claims in the process.
Filed under: Apple
Source: Europa
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