TechCrunch: Samsung eyeing home automation startup SmartThings
We know that Samsung isn’t one to let any potential market segment pass it by, and according to TechCrunch, it’s considering an acquisition that would put it in play in the suddenly expanding home automation business. The target? SmartThings, which would follow a recent theme of former Kickstarter projects being acquired by behemoths, and pump up Samsung’s Smart Home efforts to match Google/Nest and Apple/Homekit. In case you’ve forgotten, SmartThings is the company that figures it can connect everything in your house to the internet through its Hub device and make them controllable from pretty much any mobile app — if you’re ready to handle that kind of responsibility. TC’s sources put the proposed price at $200 million but caution that the deal may not be done yet, and we don’t know where the just-announced Thread industry partnership would fit in with this. SmartThings’ PR declined to comment on the rumor, but we’ll go ahead and pencil in “Galaxy Lightbulbs/Door Knobs/Thermostats” for Samsung’s next big unveiling just in case.
Filed under: Household, Samsung
Source: TechCrunch
Engadget Daily: Ascend P7 review, FCC extends net neutrality comment deadline and more!
Today, we review the Huawei Ascend P7, take a look at an external E Ink display for your phone, dive into the world of wearable apps designed to ease the burden of flying and learn how Gamestop made millions by selling digital add-ons. Read on for Engadget’s news highlights from the last 24 hours.
Huawei Ascend P7 review: the best mid-range phone you’ve never heard of
Huawei’s Ascend P7 might not be the most powerful handset on the market, but for the money, it can’t be beat. This mid-range handset is well-built, has respectable battery life and a beautifully crisp display.
FCC extends the deadline for comments on net neutrality until Friday night
Didn’t get your comments about the FCC’s proposed new version of net neutrality before the site crashed? Don’t worry, the commission is extending the deadline until midnight this Friday.
Add a battery-saving, E Ink display to your phone for $79
This is the InkCase Plus, an always-on E Ink display meant to help you get the most battery life out of your handset — specifically, the Galaxy S5. Want one? Lucky for you, the project is now live on Kickstarter.
Hacking the friendly skies: creating apps for wearables at 36,000 feet
“In-flight hackathon,” you say? By partnering with American Airlines, Wearable World aims to equip wearable startups with the tools they need to build apps that ease the burden of flying.
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Sling’s ‘M1’ streaming box brings built-in WiFi at a lower price
It’s been nearly two years since Sling unveiled new placeshifting boxes, so it’s high time the company brought its products into the year 2014. The firm just announced two refreshes, including the entry-level M1, which has a smaller footprint and comes with built-in WiFi so that you don’t need to park the thing near an Ethernet cable to stream live and DVR’d TV to your mobile devices. Additionally, it can now be configured using the Android/iOS app, though unfortunately, you need to use old-school component cables (maybe in the year 2016 they’ll add HDMI). On the software side, meanwhile, Sling is bringing back its Mac and PC desktop apps, since users seemed to miss it. Most importantly, it’s cheaper: The M1 costs $150, compared with $180 for the Slingbox 350 it’s replacing.
Meanwhile, the Slingbox 500 has been renamed the “SlingTV,” though the design and price ($300) remain unchanged. But while the hardware is the same, the UI has gotten a major overhaul, with a new gallery view that’s a little prettier (and potentially easier to navigate) than your typical TV grid. In particular, the new software now shows live sports scores and stats, courtesy of Thuuz. (Gotta hand it to Sling for knowing its audience: men who love sports and are away from home a lot.) The downside to this new look, though, is that Sling has to start all over again in getting developers to make apps for the Slingbox. Indeed, at launch there will only be two channels, including Blockbuster on Demand. So, here’s hoping Sling can work with the Netflixes of the world to build custom apps, and soon.
Speaking of apps, Sling also made some updates to its various mobile applications, which you can use to either stream content from your Sling box, or send it to a set-top box like a Roku or Apple TV. For starters, the iPad app can now send video Roku to players; previously, only the iPhone and Android apps could do this. Also, regardless of which platform you use, the apps are now capable of what’s known as a “full handoff,” which is to say you can safely exit the app once you’ve sent the video to an Apple TV or Roku box. Those updates are scheduled to hit this weekend on July 20th. The M1 will go on sale then too. The SlingTV, meanwhile, will arrive until late August, at which point Slingbox 500 owners will get a free software update to the new user interface.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
The Big Picture: The Philippine government’s big EV initiative
Manny Tangco (far right) owns Manila’s Malabon Zoo. Above he poses with “Pacquiao” the orangutan, an albino python and former beauty queen Gionna Cabrera in a PR stunt last weekend promoting e-trikes in The Philippines. The country’s government is funding an initiative to encourage adoption of electric tricycles over the (estimated 3.5 million) conventional petrol ones. The target is to replace 100,000 combustion engines with e-trikes by 2016. In a statement, Tangco believes many animals are dying because of polluted environment — and one way to prevent this is for a cleaner vehicles such as EVs.
Filed under: Transportation
Verizon’s prepaid plans now let you use LTE smartphones
Verizon got a little more serious about tackling prepaid cellphone service when it unveiled new Allset plans a few months ago, but it was hobbled by the lack of LTE. Why not just go to rival carriers who’ve had fast data for considerably longer? That won’t be a problem after today. Big Red now lets you either bring your own 4G-capable Verizon phone to Allset or buy a fresh device with Allset in mind. You won’t have a wide selection of hardware to choose from, but Verizon isn’t saving all the good phones for its subscription customers. You can get the HTC One, Samsung Galaxy S5 or Moto X if you want something relatively fresh; the Galaxy S 4 and two LG devices, the Lucid 3 and G2, are on tap if you’d rather save money and get something slightly behind the times. The data buckets are still modest at 500MB (included with the $45 base plan), 1GB ($10) and 3GB ($20), but you at least won’t have to pair them with outmoded gear.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Verizon
Source: Verizon
High-tech cat feeder uses facial recognition to save all nine lives
Our four-legged friends have a habit of not eating when something ails them. However, if you’re at work all day, you may not pick up on the lack of appetite until it’s too late. Well, there’s a smart cat feeder with built-in facial recognition that’s looking to lend a hand. Bistro is a high-tech feline food and water hub with sensors that monitor consumption. There’s the requisite camera to distinguish between members of your in-home pack and the furry creatures stand on a scale that measures their weight while eating. All of the collected data is beamed to a smartphone app to keep you abreast of the activity while you’re away for your “quantified cat.” Heck, you can even watch your pets feast, should you choose to do so. If you’re looking to snag one, act quickly to nab a Bistro for $149 instead of the full $249 price it’ll carry when it launches in March.
Filed under: Household
Bing and Cortana will make it easier to research your school papers
Microsoft might just give you a little help finishing your next term paper. The company is integrating academic data into Bing and services that use it, like Cortana in Windows Phone 8.1. When the upgrade hits in the fall, you should have an easier time tracking down articles on given subjects, finding an author’s other works or following news from a conference. Importantly, you won’t have to visit a separate page to see academic info front and center, as you do with Google Scholar. If all goes well, you’ll have the luxury of starting research on a big report from your Windows Phone; just don’t expect Cortana to bail you out hours before the due date.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile, Microsoft
Source: Inside Microsoft Research
Tesla’s next new car will be called the Model III
Tesla hasn’t quite delivered its followup to the Model S yet, but at least we have a name for its first electric vehicle pointed at the mainstream. In an interview with AutoExpress, CEO Elon Musk revealed it will be called the Model III, after Ford put the kibosh on calling it the Model E.
[Thanks, WeaponZero]
Confirmed: Our Gen III car, due out after Model X, will be named Model 3. http://t.co/PLhUzycSlp pic.twitter.com/noZf17LXre
– Tesla Motors (@TeslaMotors) July 16, 2014
Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation
Source: AutoExpress
Google Play Store 4.8.22 has arrived, download and install it [APK]
New version of Google Play Store is here and with it we get some changes, as usual. Here’s what’s new:
- New headers
– Kirill Grouchnikov from Google posted a preview of the changes made here, header images and action bar area has seen some changes in the video and book sections of the Play Store. We can see more transparency here as well as a nice fading effect when you slide down the action bar. The search button is always at the far right now.
- New additional information section
– Below the app listing itself you can now find an “Additional Information” section. Here you can find the latest version of the app, installed size, content rating and a link for permissions.
- Simplified permissions list
– Permission are now set into categories like location, camera/microphone, photos/media/files… you get a drop down-menu when you click one of them. The descriptions are also more clear now.
- Bigger buttons
– We did get bigger buttons in the 4.8.20 version of the Play Store, but they seem even bigger now, which is great if you keep on missing those for some reason.
- PayPal support
– This option isn’t available to everyone using this version just yet it seems, although we guess it will be soon.
You can get all these changes right away if you want. The size of the download is 6.7MB and you can download it from this link.
Via: Android Police
Download: Google Play Store 4.8.22
The post Google Play Store 4.8.22 has arrived, download and install it [APK] appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Google search now tells you when websites won’t work on your phone
Many websites are built for mobile devices these days, but you’ll still run into the occasional page that refuses to run. Wouldn’t it be nice if you got a heads-up before you wasted a click? As of today, you will: Google search now warns you when a site isn’t likely to work on your hardware of choice due to incompatible content, such as Flash. You can still visit if you’re convinced everything will be A-OK, or if you just have a masochistic streak. However, the new search policy may leave some site designers scrambling — now that Google is discouraging mobile users from visiting pages that insist on proprietary plugins, companies may have to switch to web standards like HTML5 if they want to get your business.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile, Google
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Google Webmaster Central Blog
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