Hello there: HP teams with Gilt to design “a Michael Bastian smartwatch”
With the release of Android Wear, the benchmark for style in the smartwatch world would seem, by popular consensus, to be Motorola Moto 360. Well, there may be a new challenger to the arena, and its from a manufacturer you might not be expecting a smartwatch to come from. That manufacturer is HP, who is teaming with Gilt, an online retailer, to create what is so far looking like a very intriguing device. Designed by U.S. designer Michael Bastian, the smartwatch apparently takes some of its cues from the interior of luxury cars.
It seems unlikely that the device will be running Android Wear as it is said the smartwatch will be able to be paired with both Android and iOS devices. There will also be a companion app that will allow you to customize the interface of the watch to your liking, though there’s nothing more specific about that yet. There’s also no word on pricing yet, though you can sign up for updates, however we’re assuming that level of style isn’t going to be cheap. Still, it looks like it’s going to be a thing of beauty, and it’s interesting to see HP enter the smartwatch market in such a unique way.
What do you think about the Michael Bastian smartwatch? Let us know your opinion.
Source: Gilt via engadget, Hypebeast
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Google’s peculiar floating barge meets its maker
Remember Google’s mysterious floating barge? Well, you probably won’t for much longer, because it’s met an untimely end. According to the Portland Press Herald, the search giant no longer has a use for the iconic four-story structure, so it’s been sold to an anonymous “international barging company” and will be broken down for scrap. It’s a rather damp end for the barge, which was set to become a high-tech showroom for inventions like Glass, self-driving cars and other top-secret inventions from Google’s X lab, after it first appeared in Portland Harbor late last year. Google’s yet to comment on why it’s no longer interested in hosting tech-centric cocktail parties, but cost is likely the ultimate factor. It paid $400,000 in property taxes alone to moor the barge on the city’s waterfront — then there’s also the small matter of retrofitting its 63 shipping containers into something that Californians would actually want to visit.
[Image credit: Tom Hilton, Flickr]
Filed under: Transportation, Google
Source: Portland Press Herald
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YouTube comes to Sky’s Now TV box
Sky’s done a reasonable job of bringing new channels to its Now TV set-top box, especially given the rebranded Roku is just a vehicle for selling short-term entertainment and sports passes to the contract-adverse. Today, that £10 box gets a little bit more useful, with the addition of an official YouTube app to the Now TV channel store. Sky can take credit for giving it the green light, but its arrival is no big surprise when the channel launched across the entire Roku range a few months ago (after being exclusive to the Roku 3 for a time). It’s been possible to watch YouTube content on the Now TV box through third-party channels such as Plex, but the official app has a much better interface for searching and browsing. Unfortunately, it’s slow to navigate to the point of frustration, but if you want to catch a quick fail compilation while the kettle’s boiling, it’ll do the trick.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD
Source: Sky
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Take a look at HP’s luxury smartwatch
Despite their utility, smartwatches remain a geeky niche item thanks to a certain lack of je ne sais quoi. However, HP is partnering with a retailer called Gilt to build an Android and iOS compatible smartwatch that may finally tick the style box, thanks to US designer Michael Bastian. He’ll take care of the design, which will feature a circular, 44mm stainless steel design and three swappable bands: black rubber, brown leather, olive green nylon and a limited edition black.
Bastian says the design cues came from luxury automobiles, namely interior features like the dashboard and trim. Meanwhile, HP will will add the watch’s smart features, which will reportedly include notifications like email, text and calls, along with user controls for music and other apps. It’ll reportedly arrive this fall, with no word yet on pricing — but we imagine it will be in the “if you have to ask” category.
Via: Hypebeast, Fashionista
Source: Gilt
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Typo’s iPhone keyboard is back and it still looks a lot like a BlackBerry
Auto-correct fails can be pretty hilarious, but if you’d rather avoid them altogether (boo!) maybe a litigious phone case’s second coming is up your alley. See, earlier this year Ryan Seacrest’s iPhone accessory company, Typo, found itself on the wrong side of the law when BlackBerry filed suit against it. Why? Because, well, its product looked an awful lot like something you’d find on one of the Canadian outfit’s devices. But, that copyright infringement applied to Typo, not the almost identical Typo 2. As iMore tells is, the American Idol host has added a few new bits and bobs like a lock key, backlight and battery indicator to the keyboard that’ll hopefully distract Chen and Co.’s attorneys. The accessory starts shipping this September, but you can pre-order now for $99 — whether its maker is back in court by then is anyone’s guess.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Blackberry
Via: iMore
Source: Typo
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See how Tesla intends to Supercharge the world
Is the thought that you might end up running out of juice in the middle of nowhere keeping you from buying an electric vehicle? Tesla wants to assuage those fears (in hopes that you’ll get one of its EVs, of course) by laying out its plans to build a lot more Supercharger stations in the US. At the moment, there are only 103 stations in the country, but according to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, there’ll be enough Superchargers in 2015 to cover 98 percent of the US population (see GIF above). You can always charge your cars at home, of course, but the stations are supposed to provide you power when you need it in the midst of a long drive, say if you’re going from coast to coast. Unlike gasoline-powered cars, though, EVs need some time to juice up, so you might have to line up to charge… assuming more people dump their traditional vehicles for a Tesla.
Sure enough, the company’s Q2 earnings report published earlier indicate that more people are converting to Tesla, and it’s doing better than analysts expected. The company delivered 7,579 Model S cars in the second quarter and is on track to deliver a total of 35,000 vehicles this year. Tesla also managed to bring in twice as much cash this quarter ($769.3 million), but that didn’t stop it losing about $62 million in that same three-month period. The automaker also revealed that it plans to spend between $750 and $950 million in 2014 for several projects, including these Supercharger stations and its battery mass production site called the Gigafactory.
While most of the new Superchargers will be built in the US, Tesla’s also planning a considerable expansion in Europe. Some stations are also slated to be built in Asia, mainly in China, where the Model S (in the company’s words) “is off to a very encouraging start.”
Supercharger growth in Europe:
And in Asia:
Source: Tesla
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Making a parody will soon become legal in the UK
When it comes to the right to take the mickey out of famous songs, movies or books, the UK has always cast envious eyes toward the US. That’s because a Brit couldn’t parody something unless they’d been given direct permission from the creator or paid for a license. That meant for most people, making a parody was legally impossible, and saw several famous instances of works being pulled from YouTube. Thankfully, that’s all set to change on October 1st, when the Copyright and Rights in Performances (Quotation and Parody) Regulations 2014 are set to come into force.
If you’re a YouTube sensation-in-waiting, just gagging to unleash your parodies onto the world, what is it that you can and can’t do under the new rules? For a start, you can make a pastiche, caricature or parody, and while there’s no word on transformative works (i.e. mashups like Buttery Biscuit Base and They’re Taking the Hobbits to Isengard) we’d imagine they’re pretty safe, too. What you can’t do is making something so similar, that people might buy or listen to your work instead of the original, so you probably can’t make a Weird Al-style version of a pop song — so Newport State of Mind would probably still not be covered. You’re also not able to contravene the original creator’s moral rights, which means you need to give credit where necessary and you can’t defame the author by association. That means that you can’t compare your least liked recording artists to any European war criminals of the 20th century, no matter how badly their music stinks.
Filed under: Internet
Via: Open Rights Group, Chortle
Source: Legislation.gov
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Samsung to announce Samsung Galaxy Note 4 on September 3rd, ahead of IFA 2014
Samsung has traditionally announced its new Galaxy Note devices around the time of the mobile convention, IFA, and it appears this year will be no different. The Korea Times is reporting that Samsung will indeed be announcing its next Galaxy Note, the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, on September 3rd, just before the start of IFA 2014, which is running from September 5th-10th. If you’re in the business, The Korea Times is saying that you should be receiving an invite from Samsung very soon. Still waiting for my Unpacked 5 invite, Samsung…
Word in the street is that Samsung is actually pushing things along quite quickly regarding the Note 4, primarily due to the rumours that Apple’s iPhone 6 is going to be slightly larger, thus challenging more of Samsung’s market in the phablet space. Because of this, it’s expected that the Note 4 will become available very soon after the announcement on September 3rd, much like for its predecessor, the Note 3. Samsung is hoping this works in their favour considering their lackluster earnings report for Q2 which highlighted their struggles as a result of the Galaxy S5 launch. Still, the Galaxy Note devices have never let us down, so we’re excited to see what Samsung brings to the table.
Are you looking forward to the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 announcement? Let us know what you think in the comments.
Source: The Korea Times via SamMobile
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Need a bulletproof shield? How about a Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 Instead
Many of us were confused by Samsung‘s move to release the Samsung Galaxy Mega line of devices, particularly the gargantuan Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3. As it turns out, we now know exactly what it was made for (don’t quote me on that). A Chinese man has survived a gunshot thanks to his Mega 6.3 which was nestled in his breast pocket. The gunshot occurred due to an altercation between the victim and another man; the victim had picked up the man’s wallet after it fell out of his pocked and proceeded to joke about buying a beer with it before handing it back. It was at this point that the wallet’s owner took issue with that comment and shot the victim in the chest. Talk about an overreaction…
As you can see from the photo at the top of this article, the phone was destroyed in the shooting, but it’s always good to know that a phone can stand between you and a potentially fatal wound. Samsung has of course superseded last year’s Mega 6.3 with the even more massive Galaxy W; perhaps Samsung should rename the line to be the Galaxy Shield instead. And the lesson here? Make sure you have a larger smartphone in your pocket if you decide to make an inappropriate joke in public. Or, you know, don’t.
What do you think about the Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 stopping a bullet? Do you think a phone over 6-inches is too big? Let us know your thoughts.
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Delta Airlines Launches In-Flight Entertainment for iOS Devices Through Updated Apps [iOS Blog]
Delta Airlines today updated its Fly Delta apps for the iPhone and iPad, allowing customers to access free in-flight entertainment through its new Delta Studio initiative. Avaliable on all domestic and two-cabin aircrafts, the app will allow access to a number of TV shows and movies including Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Frozen through on-board Wi-Fi.
The updated Fly Delta app also allows access to past and current issues of Delta’s Sky Magazine, as well as the Glass Bottom Jet feature which provides tracking information for a current flight. The airline is also allowing users of the Gogo Video Player app [Direct Link] to stream and access content through in flight entertainment services.
Delta’s move to offer in-flight entertainment through its apps for iOS devices follows a similar move by United Airlines, which started its movie services for the iPhone and iPad in April. This September, Hawaiian Airlines will also begin offering iPad minis on flights, as those units will come with equipped with a variety of movies and TV shows in addition to games.
Fly Delta for the iPhone [Direct Link] and iPad [Direct Link] are free apps and can be downloaded through the App Store.
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AIVAnet 